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

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!

That Moment When You Realize Your TWA Is Not So Tweeney Weeney Anymore…

After a failed attempt to do my usual coil out on Lola this weekend I realized that my adorable twa is not so teeny-weeny anymore. Perhaps in part due to shrinkage and not really taking the time to accurately measure her growth I have been thinking Lola was shorter. Imagine my surprise when I  took a moment to actually measure her and found out she’s about 3.5-4 inches long!  Has Lola officially outgrown the twa stage?

Five Things I’ve Learned Since Going Natural

I have been natural for a little over a year but I have been growing out a  low fade since October 2011 so to some extent it feels like I am just really starting my journey. Thus, I have learned a  wide  variety of lessons about myself and natural hair in general and I have decided to create  a post about some of the more important lessons I have learned.

1. Don’t believe the hair type hype!  When I first went natural I was all about Andre Walker’s hair typing system. I was convinced that if I could just figure out what my curl pattern I would magically unlock the secrets to dope natural hair. I quickly learned that curl pattern is not as important as your hair’s properties i.e. porosity, elasticity, density, and texture. It’s the properties not the pattern which determine what products may or may not work in your hair. Which brings me to point 2…

2. Research (education) is essential– There’s an abundance of information out there to help us on our journey to healthy natural hair and it’s important to use it. Caring for natural hair is a totally different ball game than caring for relaxed hair. I had to completely reeducate myself on my understanding of hair care and I am still learning as my journey progresses. Most of what I know I ‘ve learned from natural hair websites, books  and YouTube. Naturallycurly.com is a great resource as is CurlyNikki.com  and Blackgirllonghair.com in addition  The Science of Black Hair: A Comprehensive Guide to Textured Hair Care and Hair Care Rehab: The Ultimate Hair Repairing & Reconditioning Manual by Audrey Davis-Sivasothy are two great book.

3. Water is your friend Water is a relaxed woman’s kryptonite but that is not so when you are natural. When you go natural water and water based products are imperative for healthy hair. You must moisturize your hair! And don’t forget to seal in the moisture with an oil or butter.

4. If at first you don’t succeed try again–  So much of this journey is trial and error. If a product doesn’t work try it again. If a particular hairstyle comes out a total fail revisit it again later. I have used products in my journey that initially did not work for me only to revisit them later with greater success. For instance at the beginning of my journey when my hair was super short I tried to use the oh so raved about Giovanni Direct Leave-In only to be let with a white mess on my head which refused to absorb into my hair. I then revisited the product at a later time when my hair had grown out a bit more and the product absorbed into my hair better. Don’t give up until you try it twice unless of course you have a horrible reaction to the product.

5. This ish ain’t easy- While I am enjoying my natural hair journey it has not been easy. For starters I  big chopped to a low fade, so there was that whole thing of people questioning my sanity (by people I mean family mostly my nana). Then as my hair first started to grow back there were the proclamations of how nappy my hair is (again my nana). Not to mention one co-worker keeps promising to cut my coils which he thinks are starter locs (apparently he is vehemently against locs on women) while another can’t stop calling me beady beads.  All the while I am trying to grow my hair out in its natural state and deal with its ever-changing upkeep and some days it’s all too much.  

What have you learned since going natural?

Finally, a tutorial on how I achieve my coily/curly hairstyle…

Sorry about the quality of the video which leaves much to be desired this whole blogging thing (including videos) is a work in progress and I am learning as I’m going along. If you have any questions please reach out  as I am more than happy to answer them.