What’s missing from the natural hair conversation?

Morning ladies,

I want to get back to blogging and vlogging. However, first  I would like to know what do you ladies feel is missing from the conversation on natural hair. There are an abundance of “gurus” and amateurs out here talking about all kinds of the same topics. Seriously, have you ever tried to Google any natural hair term/topic/products?  The results are often overwhelming you have to wade through tons of  opinions and reviews just to find your answer. No shade but how many tutorials does a person need on how to do a  two-strand twist? I would like to attempt to fill a void in the natural hair conversation but I am not sure exactly what that void is, so I am asking you guys…

I Was Featured on Curly Nikki

So last Monday (February 3rd) I was my birthday, it was also the day I was featured on the curlynikki.com. Now naturalistas you know that Curly Nikki is like the website for all things natural hair and can I just say that when I saw my pic on the site I literally squealed for joy. It was seriously the best bday present (outside of the trip to the Bahamas) a girl could ask for. I am especially thankful to Patrica of Global Couture for her profile of me which then lead to my Curly Nikki feature. THANKS!!!!  To read my full feature click here

BARBIE IS NATURALLY GLAM!

i big chopped | journey to natural- personal accounts | naturally glam-natural hair idols | on the couch

via Global Couture, LLC

NY Times: The Afro as a Natural Expression of Self

The New York Times online edition has an interesting article  about afros i.e. natural hair as an extension of self-expression and or politics. The article is titled, “The Afro as a Natural Expression of Self” . In college  had a professor who always said. “The personal is political.” And while her statement was more so directed towards the creation of social movements perhaps it has also validity in our current natural hair trend (I don’t really think natural hair is a trend but for a lack of a better word we use it). While I do consider wearing my hair in its natural state an expression of who I am, I am not sure whether I find it to be a political statement. I don’t really feel that by wearing my hair natural I am  liberating myself from some conformist European beauty standard.  I just like my hair in its natural state.

What do you think of the article?

Are you over this whole natural hair debate?

Product Spotlight: Qhemet Biologics

Hi Beauties,

I know it’s been too long and so much has been going on. For one I moved to DC (more on that in a later post) !  the Also, Lola has grown significantly and while I really am going to try to blog more often I just wanted to come through and let everyone know that my love for Qhemet Biologics is real. Like really real, like, “It’s realer than Real Deal Hoyfield!” I have so far used the following pictured products and let me tell each one of them is A-mah-zing!

 

 

 

  Cocoa Tree Detangling: First off this stuff smells so yummy.  I have used this product as both a detangler and a leave-in with great results. If you decide to use it as a leave-in make sure you aren’t heavy-handed because a little goes a long way as the texture is a bit thick.

Burdock Root Cream: I really love this product. I tend to be a bit heavy-handed since the product feels so light and it still doesn’t leave a residue and my hair didn’t feel dry. This particular product was intended for use by people with fine strands while the Amla & Olive Heavy Cream is for people with dry, coarse hair. I found that Lola responds slightly better to this product than the Amla and when I say slightly better I mean my hair feels less weighed down with this product.

Amla & Olive Heavy Cream: I like this product too however, it does leave my hair feeling a bit weighed down. I will revisit this product in the colder months to see if my opinion of it changes. For those of you with thicker  hair strands this may be a better option than the Burdock Cream.

Aethiopika Hydrate & Twist Butter (try saying Aethiopika five times fast): This stuff is thick and has a  citrus -ish scent . While I am not much of a fan of the scent I really this product.  I use this butter to seal my ends and to retwist during the week. It is very thick so definitely don’t be heavy-handed with this product. Also, the product can feel a bit grainy but it’s not something that would deter me from buying again.

Have you used Qhemet Biologics products? What did you think? 

We know girls love Beyonce, but do men hate braids?

Hi Beauties!

First off please excuse the title of my post, I am  obsessed with that damn Drake song!  Anyway, a few weeks ago a really good guy friend and I were talking and the subject of hair came up, specifically braids. I was telling him how I was going to keep my hair braided for the summer and much to my surprise he told me and I quote,  “Men don’t like braids, they tolerate them but they don’t like them. Only women like braids.” He told me if I was to put my hair back into braids he would start a campaign to, “Free Lola” printed t-shirts and all. I simply laughed it off as the banter of a man who wears sunglasses at night in the darkness of  nightclubs (inside joke) but the following week a male co-worker also said something along those same lines and I couldn’t help but start to wonder, “Do men really hate braids?” Now I know not everything is for everyone and perhaps I should just chalk it up to that but still I kind of wonder if any of you ladies have heard anything like this too? I always thought braids were sexy, hell didn’t LL, “want a girl with extension in her hair”  Let me know what you think!

Party Over Hair: We Are Onyx Video Chat + Twitter Party With Felicia Leatherwood

What are you doing later this evening say around 8 EST or 5 to 6 PST? Nothing? Well then  join celebrity natural hair stylist Felicia Leatherwood and Delali Kpodzo, founder of  WEAREONYX.com in their first ever Twitter Party + Live video chat!

 

 

Submit all question on Twitter using the #ASKONYX!

Karen’s Body Beautiful Target Listing

Hi Beauties,

The official date for Karen’s Body Beautiful products to be available in Target stores is March 18, 2013 and I have posted a list of store below. There will be 6 KBB products available in select Target stores: The Luscious Locks Hair Mask, Sweet Ambrosia Leave-In, Hair Blossom Moisture Mist, Butter Love, Super Duper Hydrating Cream, and the Hold-it Hair Gel w/Argan Oil.

Product Review: SheaMoisture Coconut & Hibiscus Curl & Shine Condtioner (New Product)

Per Shea Moisture: This lightweight, daily conditioner restores moisture and smoothes dry hair cuticles. No more knots, snarls, and tangles. Tames frizz as it define and enhances natural curl. 

Key Ingredients: Coconut Oil: Hydrates and protects hair while reducing breakage. Silk Protein: Smoothes hair for a soft, silky feel. Neem Oil: Controls frizz while adding brilliant shine.

Other Ingredients: Deionized Water, Cocos Nucifera(Coconut)Oil, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter) Sorbitol Esters, Mangifera Indica (Mango), Seed Butter, Simmondsia chinensis seed (Jojoba) Oil,  Glycine Soja (Soybean) Oil, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oilm Cetyl Alcohol, Behentrimonium Chloride, Panthenol (Pro-Vitamin B-5) Proprietary Essential Oil Blend, Aloe Barbadenis Leaf Extract, Hibiscus Sabdariffa Extract, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Melia Azadirachta (Nee) Seed Oil, Rosemary Extract, Caprylyl glycol.

Directions:  After shampooing, apply generously and comb through for even distribution. Leave in for 3 minutes. Rinse. Style as desired. 

Scent: Now I don’t think I have ever smelled anything that was hibiscus scented however, I don’t really think this product smells like coconut so I gonna say it smells like hibiscus, either way the scent is pleasant and not too overwhelming.

Availability: This product is only available at select Targets (click here for store listings). I purchased this product from the Target in Colombia Heights in Washington DC. I made a special trip to this Target because according to the list no Target in Massachusetts is carrying the new SheaMoisture products.  This weekend I am at the Target in South Bay (Dorchester, MA) this past weekend to scoop up items from the Parabal Gurung for Target collection and what do I spy in the hair care section…this product and the coconut and hibiscus co-wash conditioning cleanser. So if you are in Massachusetts and want to try these products now you know of at least one Target which carries them.

Price: Unfortunately, I bought this a while back and can’t remember the exact price $9.99 or $11.99.

Don’t Believe Hype?  Believe it kind of…

Final Thoughts:  I hadn’t used any products from the SheaMoisture Coconut & Hibiscus line so I was excited to try this product. Overall, I think it’s a really good product, again the smell is pleasant, the consistency is thick which I like since hair is pretty dense. My hair felt moisturized after I’d rinsed the product out. Would I buy the product again? I doubt it. Again this is a really good conditioner however, it a rinse out conditioner, it is not a deep conditioner nor is it a  leave- in.  Now, I am a hard-core product junkie and am always up for buying products however, I can’t justify spending $9.99 -$11.99 on a conditioner that I apply to my hair for 3 minutes and then rinse out. If I was able to use this product as leave in spite of what the label/directions say I would buy it again. However, the product has silk protein in it and I am afraid it may eventually result in dry, brittle hair.

Additional Images:

Will you be trying SheaMoisture’s Coconut & Hibiscus Curl & Shine Conditioner?

Prabal Gurung for Target: My Review

Morning Beauties,

I hope you all had a good weekend! To my New England beauties I hope you and your loved ones made it through the storm safe and sound.

This weekend didn’t just bring about the fifth largest storm in the history in Boston’s history it also brought about the release of the Prabal Gurgung for Target collection! While most people would shop online in the confines of their warm, cozy home, I decided to physically go to Target to shop the collection. Snowstorm be damned! After searching the inventory of my closest Target stores, I realized the I would have to drive to the Dorchester or South Bay Target for my Gurung fix.

After some slipping and sliding across the roads my sister and I arrived at Target with full expectations of shopping till we dropped. Needless to say we shopped, but we didn’t drop. I picked up two pieces the  sweatshirt in First Date (aka  floral) print and the long sleeve t-shirt in Nolita print.

My sister purchased the same long sleeve Nolita print t-shirt in addition to the Nolita print shirt dress.

My review of the overall collection

When I first saw the lookbook for this collection I was very excited but you know how it can go, the lookbook makes you super excited then you head to the store and the pieces just don’t speak to you in the same way. However, upon seeing this collection in the stores I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it. I was hoping to purchase more items for the collection however, the Target I went to did not have the full collection in stock and unfortunately by the time I arrived at the store which was only around 1pm quite a few things I liked were sold out in my size. According to  Target employees what was on the floor was all that was available. The collection also ran a bit large  so I wasn’t able to just go up a size. Overall,  I feel it was a solid collection, fantastic prints, pretty good materials all for a reasonable price.The collection is pretty much sold out-online and from what I understand Target will not be restocking the any of the items.

Did you score anything from the Prabal Gurung Collection?

What do you want me to review?

Hi Beauties,

If you didn’t already know I live in Massachusetts and we are going to have a wicked stawm this weekend. Since I haven’t done a product review in a while and I’ll pretty much be snowed in for a greater part of the weekend. I have decided to play in products so that I can do some product reviews. However, the question is what products should I review, and that is where you ladies come in. I would like for you to tell me what products you would like to see reviewed.