the eXclusive

December 2011 Length Check

2011-12-21T17:52:00.000-08:00

I know it's been awhile since I posted a hair update, but I've been busy getting A NEW JOB, moving and winning awards (wink. wink.)!! I'll be moving to Fort Myers, Florida soon for a new reporter position, which I'm really excited about. It will be a big change for a Midwestern girl like myself, especially for my hair. I expect there will be plenty of updates about how the humidity treats my natural tresses. Well, in the meantime, during this holiday season, I "allowed" my mom to put a pressing comb to my hair for my yearly length check. Check out the photos below:

Dec. 2011

Aug. 2009 (I received my last relaxer July '09)

Sept. 2010 (I officially finished transitioning in April this year.)

Finally, I wanted to add a point about using heat/straightening/pressing my hair out. I'm a huge proponent of the no-heat natural movement. Because of this, I typically only straighten my hair once a year (since going natural, although I've done this twice this year due to vacationing). When I do choose to straighten, I make sure I use a product that protects my strains. For my most recent pressing, my mom purchased Isoplus Pressing Silk Oil with Aloe Vera. The ingredients were not the best (petolatum was the first ingredient), but it did help in the process).

In the past, I've used Fantasia IC Hair Polisher Heat Protector Straightening Serum. However, it also doesn't have the best ingredients and is full of cones (Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethiconol).

Protective Styling

2011-11-09T09:59:00.001-08:00

It's winter in Wisconsin and one of the best ways to protect my tresses is using a protective style like braids. Simple and very low maintenance. I was able to wear these for about six days before washing and restyling.

What's In My Hair???

2011-10-02T21:54:00.000-07:00

As I was watching the Detroit Lions winning streak come to an end this Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys... yeah, I know, the Lions have a winning streak??... I started to think about whether or not I was really putting an effort into my hair. I know it's been awhile since I'd blogged about my progress and the truth is, I've gotten pretty complacent. It's easy to fall into routine... pre-poo, wash (co-wash), deep condish, condish, detangle, style.... do it again the next week. So I thought, I should give myself a refresher course in maintaining natural hair.

My first stop was over to kimmaytube on YouTube. If you have no clue who this woman is, she is a must stop for your natural hair journey. In the couple of years I've been following her online, her Type 4 hair has grown from shoulder length to bra-strap length.

Anyway, I started peaking at some of her earlier videos about conditioning and stretching when I noticed she has been updating them to reflect changes or new information she's gathered. That's right... just because you've been doing one thing with your hair, doesn't mean you should keep doing that same thing. Case in point — products.

Products change and as much as we, as consumers, like to think that the companies that make these products will keep the ingredients the same forever, the fact is, they don't. Often times, they're looking for the easiest and quickest way to get the product to consumers and that means changing up their ingredients. Via kimmaytube, I noticed she had learned about changes in products through a Cosmetic Database website.

This website is a God-send for naturals (and maybe even non-naturals) about the products we're putting in our heads. I'm not big into figuring out ph levels or the chemical composition of every shampoo, but I like that there is a database out there with a simple to use way for me to know if the products I have are good or bad.
The website looks at the hazard level of the ingredients in the product and the amount of research or data available on the ingredients in the product.
Take for example, this screenshot for when I looked up one of my favorite conditioners, Herbal Essence Hello Hydration.

For the most part, the big kicker in HEHH is fragrance, which has a hazard level of 8 on the website's scale.

Updated: By the time I finished this blog post, the Lions came back to beat Dallas 34-30... 4-0 baby, 4 and 0!!!!

Return of the Poof

2011-08-03T11:04:00.001-07:00

You can never go wrong with a wash-n-go. The spritz bottle also comes in handy if you don't want to bother with a full wash.
I spritz with a mixture of glycerin (to trap moisture), aloe vera gel, distilled water and peppermint oil (for scent and to sooth my scalp).

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Braids

2011-07-20T11:33:00.001-07:00

The weather has been so hot and humid around here, that I've begun leaving my braids in instead of wearing them out.

Speaking of humidity and heat. It's always key to keep your hair hydrated during the summer. The sun can cause a lot of damage. So I'm working on deep conditioning every week, wearing protective styles like braids and keep oil on my ends.

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Vacation Hair

2011-06-14T21:37:00.001-07:00

Completely natural, blown out and flat ironed hair.

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Random Hair Tip for the Day

2011-05-11T11:09:00.000-07:00

From NaturallyCurly.com:

If you want to fight frizz, rinse your hair with cold water. Apparently it helps with smoothing out the hair cuticle and making it shinier. It's not pleasant (trust me), but it really helps with getting all that pesky conditioner out after you've finished co-washing.

Wake me when it's over!

2011-04-21T08:51:00.000-07:00

If I see one more news article, television show or advertisement about the Royal Wedding... my head will explode.

I couldn't care less what Catherine Middleton will be wearing or if Wills will wear a wedding ring or not.
I couldn't care less if the ceremony is a rehearsal for Queen Elizabeth II's funeral or if Elton John will sing a song to the new couple.
I couldn't care less who is invited to the family's private after-wedding dinner or what made for TV movie Lifetime is showing about how the couple met.
I couldn't care less about the decor in the very intimate Westminster Abbey or how the young couple met.
I couldn't care less about this ROYAL WEDDING!!!

And this is coming from someone who loves weddings. I love turning to the WE channel and watching "Rich Bride, Poor Bride" or brides crying over their gowns on TLC's "Say Yes To the Dress." I love helping people plan weddings and come up with new ideas or putting wedding books together with my single friends. How much do I love a big, pretty wedding? When "Sex and the City" (the first one, not that horrible sequel) came out, my friends and I put on our favorite pumps, bought Steve & Barry Sex and the City t-shirts, ordered tickets, and joined hundreds of women for the first-night showing at a Novi, Mich. movie theatre that served alcohol (Cosmos, please!) to catch the flick. There's this one scene where Sarah Jessica Parker's Carrie Bradshaw is trying on a multitude of designer wedding gowns for a photo shoot. I was so happy, that tears started rolling down my face with glee. One of my friends, Kim, looked over at me and said, "Ashley, are you crying???" I could only nod yes, enthralled by the scene in front of me. Another friend overheard us and said to Kim, "Don't worry about her... she just loves weddings."

Last year, when Chelsea Clinton — the closest thing to a princess Americans have — was getting married, the details were somewhat hard to come by. There certainly weren't ceremonial dishes being sold of the couple, but the media took an interest and besides a few details released after the wedding... that was it. Most Americans took an interest. But polls are showing neither Americans or the Brits care about Wills & Kate. I get that Charles and Diana drew interest, but that was 30 years ago! Check out this Vanity Fair/60 Minutes poll taken in January this year:
Prince William is tying the knot in April with Kate Middleton. Which of the following best describes your interest in the royal wedding?

TOTAL

UNDER 30

30+

Not interested in any of it

65%

75%

62%

Interested in some of it—it’s a harmless spectacle

Interested only in whether it will last

Interested in all of it—I wish I could go

The British don't seem too thrilled either (and they don't have to wake up at 4-5 a.m. to catch the wedding broadcast). A recent ComRes survey, found only 48% of British respondents plan on tuning into the live broadcast of the ceremony.

The Brits tend to have a love/hate relationship with their monarch anyway (expected since they're mostly really expensive figure-heads). But why all of the American media attention? We fought a war to escape that monarchy and every 4 to 8 years spend a crap load of money and time re-electing a new national leader, in part to avoid this type of pomp and circumstance over one family.

I can enjoy a good wedding, especially when I care about the couple exchanging the vows. And I'll probably check out a website or two, maybe even turn on the TV, on April 30 to see just what did the Kate wear. But I think that's all I, and everybody else, probably needs. You can keep your Lifetime movies and constant updates of the Royal Wedding or just wake me when your done.

Transition Over

2011-04-11T11:18:00.001-07:00

It's official. Last week, I cut away the two to three inches of my hair that contained relaxer and now I have a full head of natural hair. I finally got a chance to just wear a true Wash-B-Go.

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Denman Brush

2011-04-11T11:14:00.001-07:00

Finally got one and as advertised, it works amazingly for detangling. It cost $12, but works wonders.

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The Great "Going Natural" Guide ~ Part Two

2011-04-10T17:47:00.000-07:00

Styling Aides

Once you've finished washing or co-washing, the next step is what to do with that pile of hair on-top your head. First key is to not use a regular towel to dry your hair. If you do, just lightly use the towel to keep your hair from being dripping wet.
There are a few handy hair utensils you may want to have on hand when your getting prepared to style your wet hair, here are a list of my favorites:

The Spritz Bottle

Your spritz bottle can contain any type of moisturizer in it, as long as there is some water there to keep the hair you're not styling, easy to manage once you get around to it. You never want to style too dry hair -- that would lead to breakage.
Typically, my spritz bottle contains:

distilled water
A leave-in conditioner (Giovanni Direct Leave-IN or Kinky Curly Knot Today)
peppermint oil (I'll cover more about oils in part 3, but just know that peppermint oil smells amazing, relieves an itchy scalp and keeps dandruff away. Peppermint oil mixed with jojoba and glycerin helps grow hair).

Bobby pins, clips, shower comb, styling rods or any other type of aid.

You should apply a leave-in conditioner like Kinky Curly Knot Today or Giovanni Direct Leave-In before you begin styling.
Other styling aids that I use or have used after applying a leave-in (in order of favorite to least favorite):

Styles

There are plenty of styles out there for the natural fashionista, below I've listed a few that have helped me get through my transitioning phase, however I should add that whenever I did transitioning styles like braid-outs or twist-out, I would use bobby pins or perm rods on the ends of my hair that were still relaxed in order to hide the difference in the two textures:
When transitioning:

Braid-out
Twist-out
Kinky Twists
Braids
Up-dos

Not Transitioning:

Wash-N-Go

In Part 3, I'll talk all the extras to going natural such as protecting your hair when sleep, the benefit of oils and perfect places around the web to look for resources and help.

Hair pieces

2011-04-06T13:06:00.001-07:00

Not everyday is a good hair day, so it certainly doesn't hurt to invest in a hair piece. I found this super cute drawstring ponytail for $13 while visiting my mom last month.

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The Great "Going Natural" Guide ~ Part One

2011-03-27T22:17:00.000-07:00

Dictionary:

Transitioning — The period of time since one's last relaxer. "Long-term" transitioners are those who wait usually a year or more before they completely cut off the relaxed ends of their hair from the natural growth from the root. "Short-term" transitioners are those who may have waited less than a year before they cut off the relaxed ends.
BC — "Big Chop" is a term used to describe completely cutting off relaxed hair at any one time.
ACV — Apple Cider Vinegar
Baggy — A deep conditioning or pre-poo treatment where you apply conditioner to the hair and cover it with a plastic hair cap. You can "baggy" your hair for any extended period of time to allow moisture to seep into the hair follicle.
Co-Wash — using a conditioner to wash your hair, instead of shampoo
Cones — Or "silicones" are ingredients in hair products that aren't water soluble. They can make your hair dry or break the strands.
Deep Conditioning/Treatment — Applying a specifically defined deep treatment/conditioner to the hair for an extended amount of time. Heat may be applied.
Essential Oils
EVOO — Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Pre-poo — A conditioning treatment used prior to shampooing. It's a mixture of oils or conditoiners applied before shampooing to help maintain moisture.
Sealing — Applying a water-based moisturizer to the hair and following it with a cream/butter/oil to trap the water into the hair shaft.
Slip — Describes how slippery a product is, typically a conditioner. The more "slip" a product has, the easier it is to detangle.

Co-washing/Shampooing

One of the first things you'll have to decide, is how often you will want/need to clean your hair. My typical schedule is about once a week I co-wash, but every four weeks (or once a month) I shampoo.
- Shampoo vs. Co-washing: It sounds weird (and I've even heard someone refer to it as dirty), but co-washing can work miracles on any type of hair. Traditional shampoos contain sulfates (which create suds), but can be very drying on the hair. You don't just want clean hair, but hair that isn't left dry and breaking off. Using a silicone-free moisturizing conditioner to wash your hair can be the best route or a sulfate-free shampoos.
  My favorite shampoo/co-washing products (ordered from most favorite, to least):

Clarifying

Clarifying methods help remove impurities from the hair and allows your hair to better respond to moisturizing conditioners.
Typically the cheapest and easiest way to clarify your hair is using ACV (apple cider vinegar) diluted with water. I only do ACV rinses after co-washing my hair.
I dilute the vinegar using 3 parts of ACV and 1 part water. The vinegar is acidic and shouldn't be used too often with color-treated hair.

Leave-In Conditioners

Once I've finished washing or co-washing my hair, I then apply a leave-in conditioner for added moisture. Below, I've listed my favorite to least fav products:

Kinky Curly Knot Today — it's slightly on the expensive side, but I can't sing praises enough for this detangling product. Oh and it smells good too.
Giovanni Direct Leave-in Conditioner

Deep Conditioning

Once a month I deep condition my hair. Once again it's all about providing moisture and taking care of damaged hair.
Deep conditioning can either be done with or without heat/steam (although I'm a fan of using a hard hat dryer for this). Typically using heat I will cover my hair with a plastic cap and sit under the dryer for 45-55 mins. Without heat, I wrap a warmed towel around my cap covered head and leave the conditioner in for about 2-3 hours.

Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose
Aussie Moist conditoner — this is a pretty quick an inexpensive deep conditioning product, but it typically works when mixed with about 3-4 tablespoons of EVOO.
Yes to Carrots Hair and Scalp Moisturizing Mud mask — it's a pretty good product, but somewhat expensive for a small amount

In Part Two of this guide, I'll discuss styles and styling aids.

The Great "Going Natural" Guide

2011-03-23T21:23:00.000-07:00

Almost two years ago when I first started going natural, I scoured the Internet in search of a guide to going natural.

What shampoo should I use? What if I don't want to "Big Chop"? What if I can't find the right conditioners? How do I detangle? Which products to use?
All of these were questions I was dying to know in the quest to eliminate my hair of relaxers, but the problem was, I couldn't find anything. Sometimes... I found too much and the problem became determining who and what was right.

Recently one of my best friends (who chopped her hair a year ago and has been going natural under weaves) informed me that she too needed a manual. That she wanted a detailed how-to book or manual on going natural. I chuckled a bit and thought to myself, "Yeah, I'd like one of those too." The problem with finding such a manual is that EVERYONES HAIR IS DIFFERENT. Yes, even amongst black women, are hair comes in many different types and shapes and combinations of types and shapes. (Thank you, evolution!) There are some common threads, such as the majority of black women crave moisture, but a black woman whose hair is a Type 3B, isn't going to use the same product as a woman with a Type 4C. (I won't even touch on the women who don't even go by types).

This idea got me thinking, no one ever asks for a guide to taking care of relaxed hair or weaved hair or braided hair? I remember being 14 years old and being told "you'll have to take care of you hair if you want a perm." I was warned to keep my scalp oiled, keep my hair conditioned, wrap it at night, and get touch-ups every six weeks. It seemed easier, quicker. Why was it that going from my grandmother's press-n-curls to relaxers didn't throw me into a fizzy to find a manual or guidebook?

But I've now gone off into a tangent, because examining why being natural is so foreign (and sometimes derided) to black women, is a true examination of the black woman's psyche into beauty. And there are plenty of books out there that examine that fact, I would recommend "Hair Story: Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in America" by Ayana D. Byrd.

The best possible way to learn how to handle natural hair is EXPERIMENTATION. It certainly leads to frustration and heart break, but I can't be anymore happier about learning what worked (and didn't work) in my hair. And although there isn't any manual or guide book out there (although Barnes & Noble has a few books that I've never checked out, that claim to be guidebooks), blogs, YouTube and natural hair sites can work easily as well. As I said earlier, it can be difficult finding reputable sites, but it doesn't hurt to start with the most popular/familiar ones like Curly Nikki or Naturally Curly that can like to other lesser known (but just as good) blogs or sites.

Despite everything I've just said, starting tomorrow I'll begin my first in a few "chapters" on going natural. Not only because I promised my best friend that I would give her a guide or that I always have a friend or two calling me for hair advice, but because I started writing this to detail my hair experience and it's about time that I share what I've learned so far.

Elizabeth Taylor

2011-03-23T13:10:00.000-07:00

Anyone who knows me, knows that I was raised on classic movies. Turner Classic Movies, to this very day remains a staple in my house. So it's not unusual for me to be familiar with actors like Paul Newman, Montgomery Clift, Gene Kelly, Spencer Tracy or Cary Grant. Even when I go through my list of favorite actresses, I cite women like Katherine Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, Ingrid Bergman and Joan Crawford. On the very top of that list stands a woman that can only be regarded as the last, great movie actress — Dame Elizabeth Taylor.

There are plenty of news articles today that describe the great life of Dame Elizabeth, so I won't do that here. Instead, I want to talk about what the great Elizabeth means to me as a young person familiar with her films. You see Ms. Taylor came of age during the Golden Age of Hollywood. The best time (and often times worse for actors under the studio system) to be a fan of film. Sequels were rare and originality reigned as king. It was a time when you could lose yourself in a film, where often times realism clashed with idealism.

One of my favorite films of Ms. Taylor's during this time period is "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof". It's based on the Tennessee Williams novel and because of modesty codes during the time, much of Williams' subject matter was skirted around, but Taylor and Newman give a commanding performance. Much of the film takes place in one room (a bedroom), where Taylor's Maggie demands to be loved by her husband. She's both sultry, passionate, eager, desperate, exhausted, sympathetic and pathetic in these attempts. Who today could pull off such a multi-layered performance?

Then there's "Who's Afraid of Virgina Woolf?" A role Ms. Taylor played opposite her then husband Richard Burton. She put on weight just to appear 20 years older for the film. Ms. Taylor captured the audience with her antics as a sad and insane wife. It won her an Oscar.

Even one of her largest (and not so commercially successful at the time) films "Cleopatra" shows the power of Ms. Taylor. It turned her into the highest paid actress ever. Historians say that the real Cleopatra wasn't physically attractive, that her power came from her position. There's no denying the beauty of the violet-eyed Ms. Taylor, but she never alone relied on her looks. Her presence in that film dominates over both Rex Harrison's Julius Caesar and Burton's Marc Anthony. She makes both men appear as puppets to her whim.

I can't name another actress today that resembles both the celebrity and acting magnitude Ms. Taylor embodied. I doubt there will ever be another Elizabeth Taylor.

Trying Something New - Wash 'n Go Buns

2011-02-24T13:51:00.000-08:00

Last week I was tired. I worked the weekend and had just come off of my 25th Birthday celebration.

Did I want to spend hours twisting my hair? Absolutely not.

Did I want to try my new cache of Kinky-Curly products? Most certainly.

Although not all of my relaxed hair has been trimmed or grown out, I decided to try a Wash 'n Go.

The Kinky-Curly Come Clean worked pretty well and it didn't take long for it to lather in my hair. The smell was light, with a Caribbean flavor, and using a sizeable dollop on each side of my head twice managed to do the job.
I used my favorite condish (Trader Joe's Tea Tree Tingle conditioner) to help detangle. Once I was done detangling/washing/conditioning, I patted my hair down, split it into six sections and applied the Kinky-Curly Knot Today to each section. I detangled a tad bit more and then proceeded to push my hair into a ponytail.

There's two points here I should make. (1) As much as I've grown to have a love-hate relationship with Kinky-Curly Curling Custard, the Knot Today worked like magic, smelled amazing and got the job done without having to apply too much product. It was simply amazing. (2) This is the firs time, in a long time, that I allowed my hair to dry without being in some form of twist.

Fast-forward two days: I hadn't taken my hair down. As it dried, it only thickened around the band, so much so that by day 2 I had to take it down in order for my scalp to breath. The first thing I noticed was that the middle of my hair was still wet. The second thing I noticed was just how thick and curly my strands are. It took me 30 minutes to put another ponytail together, simply because I couldn't get my hand wrapped around the hair while applying the band. I decided to mix some filtered water, Knot Today and Peppermint Oil in a spritz bottle to get my hair to shrink back and finally get the ponytail together.

Rewind two days: Because the ends are still relaxed, I then created a bun style (in celebration of the 1960s-70s??) and have been wearing the style all week.

I should also note that I also applied the Curls pomade to my edges, which worked really nicely to lay down and smooth out my curls.

I'll post pic soon.

Organic Root Stimulator Nature's Shine

2011-02-16T10:43:00.000-08:00

I hate bogging this blog down with product after product, but I have to talk about Organic Root Stimulator's Nature's Shine. I purchased this from a beauty supply shop in Detroit the week of Christmas when I was home. In two months (probably less) I've run out of this magnificent concoction of coconut and soybean oils. Nature's Shine is light, not greasy, adds shine, sheen and moisturizes my scalp. It works perfect as a gloss on my dry curls after spritzing with a water-based moisturizer and then using the Shine to seal. I'm dying to get back home to Detroit to stock up on this stuff in March, because I'm two spritz away from having to throw the bottle out.

Kinky Curly

2011-02-13T12:48:00.001-08:00

So I definitely went on a product splurge while celebrating my 25th bday in Milwaukee. I'll do reviews of everything I use and have already started dipping my finger in the Curls pomade.

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Broadcast reporter goes natural on TV

2011-02-10T10:55:00.000-08:00

This happened last year, just saw it recently via The Coarse Hair Diary, but thought it was interesting. Check it out:

New Year's Resolutions

2011-01-03T15:30:00.000-08:00

I said I wouldn't make any New Year's resolutions... and technically I'm not. Let's just say, I try to live without regrets and picking one day out of the year to hold yourself accountable for 12 months of action (or inaction) just seems like a recipe for failure. There are certainly things that I want to happen to me over the next year, like making more money, getting a new job or finding the love of my life. But let's be honest here, I can't control any of those things. Heck, as a young working woman there are only a few things that I can control. So no huge resolutions, but I will list some things I will WORK AT and FOR:

Losing Weight — I've got a set goal in mind (i.e. the Natural eXclusive) But my goal is to be essentially be healthier, eat healthier and when I do splurge on McDonald's or Coldstone to at least work my ass off the next day.
Water — This sort of fits in with #1 on the list. Anyone who knows me, knows that I hate water. I hate the taste of water and it's been a growing experience for me to find just the type of water I like. On my list of favs, is Fiji (too expensive, but damn good), Aquafina (can never go wrong) and Dasani (whenever I can't afford Fiji or can't find Aquafina on sale). I've significantly cut back on my pop drinkage over the last year, now I'll work on increasing my water intake.
Save Money.
Read more — I used to be a pretty avid reader. How avid, you ask? I remember being a 5th grader and tackling Jane Eyre and in the 11th grade, I had read Dante's Divine Comedy twice just for recreational purposes. Why that film hasn't been made a movie, I don't know. In any case, ever since my senior year of high school I just haven't found the time. Now with nothing to occupy my time but work, I will attempt to pick up a few books.... which brings me too....

Books I Plan to read before the end of 2011 (still not a resolution):

The Southern Vampire Mysteries.... I like the show, might as well start reading the book.
The Vampire Diaries.... see #1.
Anything by Jane Austen
Whatever is on my "to read" Goodreads list.

Professional Service Pt. 2

2010-12-21T19:03:00.000-08:00

Well I finally had the chance to make it to a professional salon to get my hair twisted. Unfortunately, when I attempted to make my appointment, my stylist didn't show. At the absolute last minute, I was able to schedule a new appointment at Textures by Nefertiti in Mid-town Detroit.

The service was really professional and great. I was able to get a great wash, hot oil treatment, clipped ends and eventually my two-strand twists. My stylist completely underestimated just how thick my hair is and a typical two-hour twist took more like four hours, not including everything else. I've posted pics below of my hair and will definately be returning there.

As for my previous appointment at Transitions Salon where the stylist completely forgot about me, she contacted me two days later to apologize and offered to do my hair. But I have to say that I am beyond pleased with what I got at Textures by Nef.

Professional Service

2010-12-02T09:19:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since I had my hair professionally done.

And besides my mom, no one has attempted to manage my twisted locks but me. So I asked the girls over at Curly Nikki Forums a few days ago what metro-Detroit salons should I visit when I go home for the holidays. I was informed Transitions in Farmington Hills was the way to go.

First, I had no clue what to even ask for. Twists, twist out, um... anything to make my hair nice. Second, I'm super worried that they won't have any idea how to manage my hair, especially since I'm simply transitioning. I managed to get in a great weekend time with the owner so she and I could sit down and work this out. Hopefully, when I blog again about my salon experience. It'll be all good.

I love my curls...

2010-11-17T13:57:00.001-08:00

I clipped my ends again ahead of the usual 6 month schedule, but it felt nice not having to deal with any more tangles. My curly locks seem like they're undergoing a texture change. They feel extremely soft, which is a good thing, and are becoming really easy to handle.

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Weird Hair Moment: "Can I touch your hair?"

2010-11-03T11:13:00.000-07:00

Yep it finally happened.

One of my assignments for a new project I'm working on at work was to talk with a parent's Show Choir group in the small town of Colby, Wisc.

During the interview, with a group of four women working hard behind sewing machines to finish the costumes for the Show Choir, one of the women stopped short in her conversation with me to say, "I'm sorry, but I just have to ask. Can I touch your hair?"

I could tell all the other women were shocked she asked, but I laughed and told her it was no problem. I bent down and let her touch the side of my hair.

"It's so pretty and soft," she said. Turning to the other women, she said, "I know you all wanted to know."

We all laughed as the women all replied that my hair was pretty.

She was very polite and when you're probably the only black person in a 200 mile radius that is going natural, you have to understand you're also an educational piece for people who've never felt or seen natural black hair.

Henna

2010-10-24T11:44:00.001-07:00

So I finally decided I wanted to color my hair and after some research learned that henna was the best route to go. If you're interested in henna, there are two reliable sources I went to (besides the wonderful owner of Non Toxic Chic): CurlyNikki and Henna For Hair.

Now there are few benefits to using henna that convinced me this was the best route to go, then attempting any other type of "natural" dye. First, henna is a plant that has been used for centuries (most notably the Egyptians) for dyeing hair. Second, henna has been used to keep hair healthy. Third, henna CAN NOT lighten your hair. In fact, over time, it may actually darken it.

So why am I using it, if my purpose is to lighten my hair? Well, I'm glad you asked.

First, the henna dye can penetrate the hair shaft and bind with the keratin in the hair. What is keratin? Well, keratin is a type of structural protein found in skin, hair and nails. Henna essentially makes the keratin stronger.

Second, henna doesn't block moisture.

Third, it may not turn my hair bright red, but it does expose the natural color in the hair, especially red and especially in the sun. Henna, by the way, only comes in red. But henna hair dye applications are sometimes mixed with color enhancing herbs like indigo and there are a few natural tricks (like using honey or lemon juice) that can create some color effects. All of this of course depends on the color of hair you already have on your head.

So, I decided to undergo my first henna treatment and with any success. I will probably be keeping this up.

Below is my step by step process, but first, the ingredients:

1. 2 cups of distilled water
2. 4 bags of 100% natural green tea
3. a box of henna (Light Mountain Natural is the brand I chose after a visit to my new favorite organic beauty store, Non Toxic Chic. The color I picked was auburn, which was as bright as she had in stock. Also, the henna should be "body art quality".)
4. Vaseline or petroleum jelly (I know, I hate this stuff, but you DO NOT want to get henna all over your skin)
5. 2 tablespoons of 100% honey
6. plastic cap
7. plastic gloves (both the cap and gloves come in the box, but like with most hair coloring applications, both of these sucked. It's best to use your own cap and latex gloves.)
8. plastic bowl or container and plastic spoon
9.Deep Treatment conditioner and possibly olive oil.
10. Newspaper or paper bags to cover your floor.

Now the first step is to bowl the distilled water. You don't want it to be too boiling hot, but the moment you notice steam and bubbles, go ahead and take it off the stove and ....

... place aside in a bowl (I used this easy measuring cup to get the water in and out of the pan) and steep your four tea bags. Meanwhile...

Add your henna mix into your plastic bowl. Once the green tea is ready and not too hot, put on your gloves and...

... slowly pour the tea in with the henna mix and stir. Here I'll mention the importance of using gloves. Most people are familiar with henna for body art, i.e. tattoos that over time will come off. Henna does stain the skin and unless you're an art student, you really don't want to get this on your skin while trying to color your hair.
The consistency of your mix should be between mashed potatoes and beaten eggs.

Seal your henna. Now according to the application, the henna should sit for about three hours to get the desired consistency. I allowed my henna to sit overnight, partially because it was getting too late in the evening for me to go through with this and partially because I had started late due to watching a nail biting MSU v. Northwestern football game. I instead used the time to perform a small strand test, which I failed miserably at and will not discuss any further.

Meanwhile, while the henna is sitting (depending on how long you want it to) at some point you should Co-wash (I used HE Hello Hydration) and detangle your hair as usual. I DID NOT do my traditional ACV (apple cider vinegar) rinse to clarify, simply because I was unsure what effect, if any, it would have on my henna process.

After co-washing and detangling, I rinsed water from my hair and only barely towel dried. You want your hair to be dripping, but not wet.
I then proceeded to mix 2 tablespoons of honey into the henna, until I got a thick pudding mix. Now why add honey, besides being a conditioner unto itself, honey also works to lighten the hair. (Note, that for darker hair or a different color, there are tons of other things like indigo, coffee beans, etc... that can be mixed with the henna to achieve a color effect.)

After adding the honey, I then covered the bathroom area around the floor of my sink with large brown paper bags and covered my sink with a towel (I didn't mind getting dirty). There will be splatter. I also proceeded to rub Vaseline around the edges of my hair, ears and neck, since I don't want those areas dyed.

I parted my hair into sections, using clips to keep them up, and then applied the henna mixture to each parted section.

I actually used more than one set of gloves, just to avoid making an even bigger mess while attempting to place the shower cap. I also "double baggy'd" to also avoid making a mess.

By 2 p.m. Sunday, I had finished. There was some dye on my skin, notably on my arms and ears. I just used a wet paper towel to carefully wipe the dye off.

The next step, which is awfully tedious, was sitting under a dryer to allow the heat to warm and distribute the henna throughout my hair.

I decided to sit under the dryer for about 4.5 hours. Note, that a lot of people complain about the smell of henna. But to me, it smelled like collard greens cooking on the stove... a smell I love. Anyway, I filled up my kitchen sink and dunked my head in the water a few times. Using gloves, I carefully rinsed the henna from my head. Here it comes in handy to have a cheap conditioner on hand to help wash the stuff out. I went through about 75% of a brand new bottle of Suave Coconut conditioner and it still didn't get out all of the little henna particles.

The next step is VERY IMPORTANT and should always follow a henna treatment. I then proceeded to put my hair through a DEEP TREATMENT. I was advised not to use a deep conditioner with a lot of protein, so I couldn't use my "Yes to Carrots Mud Mask" and unfortunately I hadn't ordered a new bottle of Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose (despite calling 8 different natural/organic stores in my area. I learned they were all sold out). Instead, I tried something new and purchased a bottle of Aussie Moist and mixed it with EVOO.
After applying the deep condish, I recapped my head (note that I went through three pairs of gloves and four shower caps) and returned under the dryer for 1.45 hours.

After my deep treatment, I rinsed my hair and continued styling like any other day.

So how did it turn out????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Yep, that's right. NO COLOR! Not a single ounce of red or brown or dark brown. NOTHING. There are two things to note here... 1. This has not deterred me from using henna again and 2. I'm really leaning on the hope that multiple henna treatments over the upcoming months continue to strengthen my hair and maybe lighten it.

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Sesame Street song: I Love My Hair

2010-10-22T11:43:00.000-07:00

"I really really really love my hair!"

Long Overdue

2010-10-09T11:30:00.000-07:00

It's been over a month since I promised this, but since I've managed to find some time from working, job searching, vacationing (lol), bill paying and bar hopping :) I'm finally posting my hair growth photos.

Before (Aug. 2009):

Now (Sept. 2010):

My Social Media addiction

2010-09-27T21:27:00.000-07:00

Random musings that are less hair focused and more.... random!

Visit xclusivelyjune.tumblr.com.

Hair Growth - 1 year anniversary of going natural

2010-09-07T15:42:00.001-07:00

Did a length check yesterday. I'll post details and comparison photos after my Zumba class, but the growth is very obvious and good.

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Happy One Year Anniversary to Me!!!

2010-08-31T22:23:00.000-07:00

It seems like just yesterday.

My life had been uprooted. I had just buried and said goodbye to one of the most important people in my life. The woman, who gave me my first Shirley Temple curls and had spent weeks and hours oiling my hair back or touching my edges up with a burning hot comb, had died.

My granny was old school. She remembered everything she learned in beauty school decades ago when they were "teaching" young black women how to do hair. In 2008, when I was interning out in D.C. and stressed about graduation, I went to a salon about a block from Howard University's campus and cut my hair into a very short bob. I loved it -- my granny, in her on special way said, "Mmhm, that's nice, but you shouldn't cut it again. Let it grow out."

It's not simply the one-year anniversary of my decision to go natural, it's also the one-year anniversary where a significant part of me died. They say, you shouldn't change anything drastic about yourself after losing a loved one. But I decided my hair needed a-changing. I don't know what my granny would say about the tightly coiled naps that have grown far further than the nape and edges of my head. Or the wavy and "uncontrolled" curls I've been flaunting over the past year.

There's a certain connection black women share with one another when we decide to share our hair. That connection is made deeper between mother and daughter and even grandmother and granddaughter. The centuries of history and feelings we've wrapped around hair have made this connection inescapable. As women, and not just black women, there are memories and feelings tied to who and when and what happened during a simple hair styling moment. I can remember ever single person who ever styled my hair better than I can remember all the people I talked to on the phone last week (Editorial note: I'm a journalist, so granted, it's probably a lot of people... but still.) Why this is, I don't know. I do know that a few weeks ago I started to think about my granny's hands. The way she placed one hand on top of the other on her lap. The movements of her hands as she spent 20 minutes laying out one of my curls as I sat in the kitchen getting my hair done -- itching to get up and move about as a child. The clicking of the curling irons in my ear and the unique way she held them. Even when arthritis was starting to bother her, the way she swept the hair around the thin, hot, metal rods never changed.

I don't know what my grandmother would think of my hair now. Don't get me wrong, there's no way in the world I would have my granny back on this Earth to suffer the way she did like the last few months of her life, but I think I want to know more than ever what she thinks, because it's the first change in my life that she's not a part of, however minor of a change it is. I think she would be happy that I was taking care of my hair. That I was learning how to manage and grow it. She would be happy that I was no longer putting chemicals in my hair and destroying it.

On another note, on this 1-year anniversary, there's a few thank you's I should send out. The first being to my curly buddy Fredricka, who after some needling and prodding convinced me to try going natural. Dricka turned me on to the natural community and even got me experimenting with Miss Jessie's. The second thank you, as a whole goes out to the Curly Nikki community forum. When it was 3 a.m. and I was detangling knots out of my hair, there were ladies there who were giving me suggestions and advice for how to manage my tangles (detangle under water, use a conditioner with plenty of slip).

When I set out a year ago to "try something new with my hair", I didn't know how long my "experiment" would last. The fact is,I had never seen MY hair before. Certainly I had only been receiving relaxers since I was 15, but even before then, I was always under a hot comb, braids or using thick oils that didn't allow moisture to penetrate the hair shaft. My mother says, "In another year, your hair will return to how it was when you were a little girl." Thick and long. And while that is something I look forward to, there's another component I want my hair to embody....healthy.

If anyone has managed to make it through my extremely long blog post, I just want to say thank you for joining me on this roller coaster. There are a few pictures of my hair I've recently taken that I'm going to post below. And with it being a year, I'm going to take Labor Day to post my length check and do a before and after of my hair blown out.

Look at all the new growth!! A little length perspective.

I tried a new twisting method this week, using bobby pins to curl my ends.

In my spritz bottle...

2010-08-13T21:37:00.000-07:00

During the summer:

About 4 oz of Suave Naturals conditioner
Olive Oil setting lotion
vegetable glycerin
2 oz coconut oil (to minimize tangles, moisturize and add shine)
Avocado (for hair growth) or almond oil (for moisture) and jojoba (for moisture)
Water to make it watery

This is my summer mixture that leaves my hair refresh, soft and moisturized. In the winter, my spritz bottle changes, due to the affect glycerin can have in low humidity winters here in Wisconsin or Michigan.

In the winter:

2 oz of Giovanni Leave-in conditioner
1.5 oz of distilled water
1/8 cup of avocado oil

Humidity and my Hair

2010-08-12T10:57:00.000-07:00

Why I didn't take photos of this phenomenon, I don't know.

But on Monday, the AC in my workplace appeared to be struggling. The humidity and heat outside was so overwhelming that the AC was pushing itself extra hard to keep the building cool. Well the affect left our newsroom extra humid.

How humid?

Well the paper in the office was wet. The pad along my keyboard holder and mouse pad were both wet. All of the white people in my office had wet dripping hair. So what happened to my hair, that I had just freshly done and twisted the night before? What happened to my hair a half hour after I had spent 30 minutes that morning taking the twists out to have curls?

It fell flat. It didn't curl or shrink like you would expect... but fell flat. Not a half hour passed before I noticed wet hair on the nape of neck. Disappointing. I pulled my hair back in a pony tail and it wasn't until that afternoon that the AC in the office got its act together and rid the humidity surrounding us.

This time last year....

2010-07-18T20:04:00.000-07:00

July 18, 2009: My very last relaxer before going natural:

My hair today:

Feeling the Natural Love

2010-07-08T11:39:00.000-07:00

Stuck in the middle of central Wisconsin can be tough for any young black woman, but especially a young black woman whose made the decision to transition to a natural hair life style. Products have to be purchased online if they can't be found in a Targets or Walmart and there's no other black women around to commune with about the trials of transitioning.

So if you could, imagine the joy I felt this weekend as I vacationed for 4th of July weekend in Chicago. Never at any one time had I experienced so much love for my natural hair in two days:

1. My best friend/bff (who I hadn't seen since August, before I made the official decision) loved it and is now seriously considering going natural.
While at the Taste of Chicago, my friends and I took a rest from all of the chaos that is heat, food and too many people, under a shaded area. Suddenly I heard someone say, "Do you bantu?" I looked over my shoulder and could see a young black woman with pretty thick and dark curls talking to me. I responded, "No, just a braidout and twist." She said, "It looks nice. I bantu." I told her, her hair also looked great.
Friday night, hanging out with friends at a Chicago nightclub. We're near the bar, in a particularly crowded area, when a young man taps me on the shoulder and says, "I love the curls."
My friends and I meet up with my bff's Chicago co-worker and her sister. Both ladies are rocking natural hair. They both made the decision about two years ago and are rocking pretty puffy 'fros. So, as we leave the Taste to do a little shopping on the Mile, an older woman walks pass us and says, "Yeah to the natural girls. Looking beautiful ladies!" We all throw a thank you back to her.
Had a great 8 minute conversation with my bffs natural friends on transitioning, products and why it took us till our 20s to learn how to take care of our hair. This may be my first time having a face-to-face convo with natural sistas outside of e-mail, phone, Twitter, Facebook and G-chats. And as much as I appreciate social media, there's nothing like having that 1-on-1 (technically 2) face-to-face.

Braidout Video

2010-06-16T21:11:00.000-07:00

I've uploaded my latest video showing how I recently did a braidout. I'm still editing some of it on YouTube, especially because it's slightly difficult to hear, but wanted to get the gist of it up now... enjoy:

Product Review: Yes to Cucumbers Daily Makeover Conditioner

2010-06-15T21:37:00.000-07:00

I really feel like I've found a gem with the Yes to product line.

After scanning the CurlyNikki forums (which I highly recommend for advice, product information or just natural and transition rantings), I decided to cowash with the Yes to Cucumbers Daily Makeover Conditioner.
Unlike the Yes to Carrots deep conditioning product which boast to being for normal to dry hair, the cucumbers line says it for color treated and damaged hair. That may be true, but I don't have color treated or damaged hair and yet fell head over heels for this conditioner.

Ingredients:
Aqua (Water), Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Extract*, Cetearyl Alcohol, Peucedanum Graveolens (Dill) Extract*, Capsicum Annuum (Green Pepper) Extract*, Maris Aqua (Dead Sea Water), Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil*, Magnesium Chloride, Chamomilla Recutita (Camomile) Extract*, Olea Europaea (Olive) Oil*, Brassica Oleracea (Broccoli) Extract*, Benzyl Alcohol, Spinacia Oleracea (Spinach) Extract, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Oil*, Calendula Officinalis Oil*, Maris Limus (Silt) Extract, Cucumis Melo (Melon) Extract*, Parfum (Fragrance), Triticum Vulgare (Wheat) Germ Oil*, Punica Granatum (Pomegranate Peel) Extract*, Lactic Acid, Centaurea Cyanus, Beta Vulgaris (Beetroot) Extract*, Olea Europaea (Olive) Leaf Extract*, Dehydroacetic Acid. Certified Organic Ingredient

Directions for cowashing:
Apply conditioner to your hair & scalp. Soothingly massage with your fingertips and leave in for 2-3 minutes. Rinse thoroughly and comb through your tangle-free tresses.

Price: $8.99 from Target

My Opinion:
I love this product for detangling. I've been using Herbal Essences Hello Hydration as my Holy Grail detangling conditioner for cowashing, because it has excellent slip.
But Yes to Cucumbers is better.
I didn't have to apply a lot, which is great considering the price and different from the large amount I have to use with HE. Not to mention there aren't any silicons or parabens. The smell isn't anything special, but it's simple and nice. There was also a little bit of suds from the conditioner and water mixing, which was weird (but normal) for a conditioner.
The biggest thing I liked about this product is that I feel it did exactly what it said it would.
It moisturized, detangled and made my hair softer. Not only that, but I feel the end result of my braidout came out better, because I used this conditioner.
Yes to Cucumbers is officially my go-to cowash product and I'm looking forward to trying more products from the Yes to line.

To -Cone or not? that is the question...

2010-06-09T17:13:00.000-07:00

I'm writing this up fairly quick, since I'm on a lunch break at work, but on an earlier blog post, I was asked about silicone and just how damaging is it to hair? The question was in reference to my review of Yes to Tomatoes Mud Mask conditioner that contains dimethicone. Not everyone wants a product that has cones in it, and here is why:

Disclaimer: Thanks to the ladies at NaturallyCurly.com and CurlyNikki, I was able to learn the following:

First what are silicones:
Silicones are inorganic molecules used to coat the hair to provide a smoothing effect. The majority of silicones, such as dimethicone are non-water soluble, which means they don't allow water to penetrate the hair shaft. They can also suck out the moisture from inside the hair and create dehydration. Because they can't simply be rinsed away with water, they often times require a "detergent"-based shampoo to remove.

However, there are some water-soluble silicones like PEG-modified dimethicone or dimethicone copolyol. These silicones provide a "breathable" film on the hair surface to allow water penetration and they don't create build-up, so you can rinse it off.

A third type of silicone is amine-functionalized silicones, like amodimethicone, which are not water soluble, but have chemical properties to prevent buildup. Although they do lock out moisture and require a shampoo to remove.

Silicones in Shampoos:
Silicones are used in shampoos for conditioning purposes, because they form a film on the hair shaft to avoid being completely rinsed away with water. The cones help the hair by replacing oils that were stripped away by using the shampoo.

Silicones in Conditioners:
Used in conditioners like leave-ins, intensive treatments or rinse offs, they reduce combing friction, provide an emollient effect, impart gloss and reduce static charge between hair strands.

Using a silicone product is really up to you and what your hair needs. For me, because I only deep condition once a month (maybe twice), as well as shampoo once a month, the threat of a little dimethicone doesn't bother me. There are a few different types of ingredients in shampoos that help erase the dimethicone, which you can check out here.

Product Review: Yes to Carrots Hair and Scalp Moisturizing Mud Mask

2010-06-03T11:31:00.000-07:00

And the great deep conditioner search continues.

I think I've struck gold folks... or that oil that's floating around the Gulf these days.

After recently being asked my opinion about the Yes to hair care line, I decided to give Yes to Carrots a try. The carrots line is apparently crafted toward "normal, thick or coarse hair that tangles easily" and desires moisture. For normal to dry hair, the carrots line boasts to reducing daily hair damage, protecting hair from sun damage and providing moisture and nourishment.

Ingredients:
Water (Aqua), Silt (Maris Limus), Dead Sea Water (Maris Aqua), Olea Europaea (Olive) Oil, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Oil, Macadamia Ternifolia Oil, Glycerin, Lactic Acid, Cetearyl Alcohol, Niacin, Dimethicone, Algae Extracts (Rhodella, Dunaliella, Spirulina), Ipomoera Batatas (Sweet Potato) Extract, Cucurbita Pepo (Pumpkin) Juice, Daucus Carota (Carrot) Organic Extracts, Daucus Carota (Carrot) Juice, Panthenol, Chamomila Recutita (Chamomile) Oil, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Juice, Imidazolidinyl Urea, Fragrance (Parfum), Cinnamomum Zeylanicum Oil, Apple Vinegar (Acetum), Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Extract, Daucus Carota (Carrot) Seed Oil, Cetrimonium Chloride, Punica Granatum (Pomegranate) Peel Extract.

Directions:
Apply lovingly to towel-dried hair. Massage into hair and scalp. Go kick your feet up and relax for 12-15 minutes then rinse thoroughly with lukewarm water. Blow dry and head out for a fun-filled day or night! Recommended use is 1-2 per week. *Tip: For ultra dry or damaged hair, leave on for 25-30 minutes and rinse.

Price: $12.99 from Target

My Opinon:
Although the smell was nothing to jump up and down about, I have to say that I love this conditioner. Not only did it make my hair feel incredibly soft (I left it in for about 50 minutes), but it detangled easily. The one downside is the dimethicone that is available in the product, which if you're going -cone free would be a no-no. So far, I've been able to research that the Yes to Cucumbers line for color-treated, processed or damaged hair could benefit those who are scared of the -cone. But until I find something better, Yes to Carrots is entering my regimen.

Stretching

2010-05-12T14:48:00.000-07:00

Stretching is something that you may find yourself doing without knowing, just to make your hair last longer in-between co-washes or shampoos.
Essentially stretching works great for naturals who want to change up their hair style, erase frizz or add some length.
There are multiple ways to stretch your natural hair — roller banding, roller setting (which I covered a few posts ago), flat ironing, twisting or braiding.

Right now, I'm going to focus on braiding, which has been the most successful type of stretching for me.
Because I my day-to-day style is twists after cowashing/shampooing, by day two or three, those twists can appear frizzy and out of order. So at night, I section my hair and rub my scalp down with extra virgin coconut oil.
I then apply half a tablespoon amount of Karen's Body Beautiful Hair Milk to each section and braid (If I've been stretching for one or two days, instead of using the KBB Milk, I use Miss Jessie's Curly Buttercream which is oilier and adds a bit more shine to what would then be 5 or 6 day old hair).

Once I've finished, I slip on a satin cap and go to sleep. In the mornings, I unbraid my hair and style. Stretching works really well, if you find you don't have time to wash, but the downside is that it does lead to plenty of product buildup. Which means the next wash will call for a rinse like an apple cider vinegar one, to clean out the build up.

Below I've posted photos from one of the days I've spent stretching (photos 1-3). The second group of photos (photos 4-6) are from one of the first stretches and then the third group (photos 7-8) is my hair after my most recent stretch.

Product Review: Burt's Bees

2010-05-12T14:23:00.000-07:00

I know this is long over due, but I'm back and am reviewing a new product I've tried twice now — Burt's Bees Hair Repair Shea & Grapefruit Deep Conditioner.

The product is 98% natural and for awhile now I've been looking for just the right product that I could deep condition with. Be mindful that I flip-flop on how often I deep condition, but try to keep it at once to twice a month (twice if I've really put my hair through some hell).

First the details:
Ingredients: water, cetrimonium bromide, cetearyl alcohol, sucrose laurate, glycerin, honey, butyrospermum parkii (shea butter), glucose, betaine, citrus grandis (grapefruit) seed extract, citrus aurantium dulcis (orange) peel oil, citrus medica limonum (lemon) peel oil, citrus tangerina (tangerine) peel oil, citrus aurantifolia (lime) oil, zingiber officinale (ginger) root extract, citrus reticulata (tangerine/petitgrain) leaf oil, acacia senegal gum, polysorbate 60, glucose oxidase, lactoperoxidase

According to Burt's Bees the featured ingredient in the deep conditioner is shea butter. The smell is extremely strong, with grapefruit being the dominant scent. The price is also a little high for my taste. For a 5 oz the price ranges from $7.99 to 8.99, if found at Targets, Walgreens or your local health food store. The only reason this bugs me is that depending on how thick your hair is, you may find yourself using an entire container of conditioner just to coat your hair. I was only able to use it twice and ended up cutting open the container with scissors to scoop every little bit out. Because there was so little left, I ended up mixing the conditioner with my Aubrey's Organic Honeysuckle Rose, so my opinion of the product is technically based after one use.

And unfortunately I couldn't find anything great or spectacular about this product. I wanted the deep conditioner to possibly be my gateway product to using the other Burt's Bees hair line products, but considering the price and what little I received, I just don't see that happening. Did I feel my hair become repaired, conditioned, softer or better? No, it simply seemed it did what any other deep conditioner could have done.

Twist and Trim

2010-04-10T22:08:00.000-07:00

This is my first video, so bear with me and the low quality production, lol. But since my last trim was in December, I knew it was time to go for a another one, except there's no where or no one for me to go to. So thanks to the ladies at CurlyNikki.com forum, I was told to try a twist and trim.

It's pretty simple, after shampooing and deep conditioning my hair, I proceeded to section and twist my hair as usual, except before rolling each piece, I trimmed about an inch of hair

Too Excited... Sex and the City 2 trailer

2010-04-09T16:55:00.000-07:00

"And Jasmine and Aladdin?"

"Yes sweety, but with cocktails."

I giggled like a fat kid eating double chocolate cake when I saw this... but I have a few questions about why mom of 2 Charlotte has an all white kitchen/play area and why oh why is Aiden here, that's the last thing Big and Carrie's relationship needs???

Baby received a relaxer

2010-04-03T13:16:00.000-07:00

I was visiting CurlyNikki's forum when I caught a thread linking to this Youtube video of a 3-year-old girl suffering from the affects of a relaxer. Apparently this baby was 9 months old when she received her first relaxer.

I know some naturals can get hoity-toity when it comes to women who relax, but I seriously feel it's any adult woman's choice to do whatever she wants with her hair. But a baby, should never ever have chemicals applied to their hair. I personally feel the decision to have a relaxer should be between a daughter and her mother, when the daughter is at an age to understand how to take care of her own hair, like 13 or 14.

In any case, watch the vid:

Product Review: Karen's Body Beauiful

2010-03-30T16:53:00.000-07:00

It's official... I have found my new staple product.

Last week, I ordered the Karen's Body Beautiful Heavenly Hair Sample. The fragrances I chose were the coco lime for the hair milk and hair cream, pomegrante guava for the hair butter and cranberry cocktail for the jojoba hair oil. I also received two samples of KBB's body lotion in the lavendar vanilla and white tea.

First, I have to say that every single product smelled delicious. The coco lime reminded me of a fresh box of Fruit Loops and the lavender vanilla was airy and had a hint of baby powder to it. (I've posted the all-natural ingredients of each of the products below pics).

But it isn't as if I made this purchase for the smells. After co-washing my hair with Suave Coconut conditioner and detangling under the water with HE Hello Hydration, I applied my Giovanni Direct Leave-in Conditioner and parted my hair to begin my twists. To each section, I applied some of the KBB Hair milk. As someone who has tried Carol Daughter's Hair Milk, I feel it's important to add that the KBB version is creamier, lighter, smells better and applied easier. I then used a finger tip amount of KBB's hair cream on each piece of hair I wanted to twist. As usual, I twisted my head, used bobby pins to curl it, let my hair air dry for about five hours, put on a scarf and went to bed.

Well this morning, I woke up to soft, untangled curls. And the smells were awesome too!! I still haven't found a use for the hair butter or the oil, but hopefully as the week progresses I'll find a way to integrate both into my routine.
After failing with Carol Daughter's, Miss Jessie's and Kinky-Curly, I really feel I have finally struck gold.

Ingredients:
Hair Milk: Purified Water, Jojoba and Avocado Oils, Vegetable Wax, Vitamin E, Panthenol, Arnica and Calendula Flowers, Echinacea, Nettle and Horsetail Extracts, Vegetable Glycerin, Wheat Germ Oil, Fragrance Oil and Natural Enzymes

Hair Butter: Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter, Mango Butter, Jojoba Butter, Aloe Butter, Essential and/or Fragrance Oils, Grapefruit Seed Oil & Vitamin E

Hair Cream: Shea Butter, Rosehip Oil, Vegetable Glycerin, Essential and/or Fragrance Oils, Vitamin E & Carrot Seed Oil

Hair Jojoba Oil: Jojoba Oil, Carrot Seed Oil, Avocado Oil, Black Seed Oil, Vitamin E & Essential and/or Fragrance Oils

Rollersetting

2010-03-25T19:22:00.000-07:00

So I'm no where near the time (Sept or Dec.) I want to be for performing my length check and roller setting, but one of my friends, Jennifer, did. Using a overhead dryer, it took her an hour to dry, but if you don't want to use heat, it will obviously take longer. The following process took her two hours:

Wash and condition hair as usual.
Detangle using wide tooth comb
Apply all leave-ins
Section the middle of your hair as if you were going to wear a mohawk, making sure the width is no longer than the roller width. (Choose size of rollers depending on the length of your hair. Short hair = smaller roller/ Longer hair = larger roller)
Part hair no thicker than inch, detangle hair with larger cob, then rat tail comb.
Place magnetic roller at tip of the hair, with roller on top rolling up toward the scalp. (Always roll the hair in the direction you want to wear it.)
Secure roller with a metal clip.
Repeat process until the entire head is rolled.
Place net over rollers.
Sit under dryer (or air dry) until completely dry.
Remove rollers and wrap the hair.

Coming soon: After a recent convo with a friend who's been natural somewhat longer than me, I'll break down hair types and how I figured out what mines was after a few months of transitioning.

Listen Now: Diggy Simmons "The First Flight" mix tape

2010-03-24T12:58:00.000-07:00

After news broke yesterday that hip-hop pioneer Rev Run's son Diggy Simmons signed to Atlantic Records after getting 100,000 people to listen to his mixtape, I had to hear the 15-year-old's music for myself.

And let me say, that I listened to every single track straight through to the end.... twice. This kid is great, his flow is amazing, and his lyrics are impeccable.

Most of his lyrics center around not riding the Run/Russel family coat tails, but he also talks about how the reality show nearly ruined his teen social life, how fame isn't everything and continuing the Simmons music legacy. The teenage lyrics are more Wale than Soulja Boy, which equals a win in my book. Not mention he scanned the Internet and MySpace looking for producers instead of just running to Dad or Uncle Russ.

If you get a chance, check out #2 Hustle Simmons, #3 Laid Back, #4 Point to Prove, #7 Like A Star and #13 The First Flight prequel.

Download Mixtape | Free Mixtapes Provided by DatPiff.com

Stylz

2010-03-19T11:00:00.000-07:00

Saw this shoe and had to share. This Valentino sculpture laced pump is absolutely gorgeous... and expensive. Neiman Marcus is selling it for $4,700.

Back on Twitter, Follow me @AASmith8608

2010-03-18T08:49:00.000-07:00

After a four month hiatus, I've returned to Twitter.

I'm somewhat excited to be back, but having to take on a new Tweet identity and rebuild my followers is a pain.

ON A TANGENT:
Major sidenote, but recently I've started watching episodes of Ugly Betty again. There was the different time movements and then the outrageous story lines that lost me, not to mention I have this reflex where whenever Betty does something embarrassing, I automatically change the channel. Anyway, I caught last night's episode and saw history being made when 15-year-old Mark Indelicato, who plays Justin, had his first on-screen gay kiss. Too bad this show is being canceled after four more episodes, especially since next week Betty won't be so ugly anymore.

Check out NY Mag's re-cap of last night shows, by clicking here.

Watching: Spartacus: "Blood and Sand"

2010-03-13T13:12:00.000-08:00

So I've started watching Starz's new series "Spartacus: Blood and Sand" and have gotten hooked on the characters and the action for this hourly Friday night show. I'd really encourage people to watch if they can handle the gore and sex. This show isn't your grandfather's Spartacus. It gets in your face with the violence and (unnecessary?) nudity. Seems like every episode some gladiator is forced to remove his loin cloth and show all his manhood. For example, last night's episode ended on a high note with a man being crucified and his penis being chopped off, which they showed in all its gory glory. But, if you know the true story of Spartacus, the show is good with keeping up with his fight for freedom and his love of actually fighting.

Product Review: Kinky-Curly Curling Custard

2010-03-13T12:42:00.000-08:00

I wish I could stress just how much I wanted this product to work.

This organic, paraben/protein/silicone/glycerin-free product has the following ingredients: botanical infusion of water, horsetail, chamomile, nettle and marshmallow, organic aloe vera juice, agave nectar extract, tocopheryl acetate (vitamin e), pectic, citric acid, potassium sorbate and natural fragrance.

Looking at the above, how could I go wrong.

I've only used this product twice and the first time I followed it by the book for my hair type. The directions told me for tight curls to apply the custard to SOAKING wet hair and to divide my hair into small sections. If my hair started to dry, I was to re-wet with a spray bottle.

Unfortunately all of that water, wetness and gel, meant it took over 24 hours to get my hair to properly dry. Which also mean that my curls were limp and weak looking. My hair appeared more blown dry. The front of my head, which tends to dry faster, was left hard and crunchy.

The second time I used this product (I attempted to give it another try since the first time was also right after my unfortunately knotting incident... see last post), I used a little less of the custard and didn't re-wet my hair if it appeared to be drying. I still walked away with the same problem.

Not to mention, both times, the custard left some flaky, sticky residue in my head.

The one good thing I can say about this product is the smell. It really smells like cupcakes and candy, but I'll be going back to my own mixture and unfortunately am throwing away $30 and passing the custard to a friend.

FOLLOW-UP TO THE GREAT KNOTTING DISASTER
I finally talked to my natural buddy about why and how I had the great knot disaster a week ago. The problem turned out to be extremely simple.
Because I don't wash or condition my hair in the shower, I do it in the kitchen sink, I've chosen to detangle my hair after applying my leave-in conditioner and before styling. Without water pressure during my detangle process, my hair knots up. The knotting is occurring because of the two different hair textures I'm working with (my natural texture and the relaxed texture). So using HE Hello Hydration, I'm now making it a point to detangle the conditioner through my hair while under water. The difference is literally a miracle.

Hair Update: No good, just the bad and ugly

2010-03-04T19:47:00.000-08:00

I said I would document everything, well, I've had one of my first horrible hair experiences.

Two nights ago I spent seven hours detangling knots out of my hair. How did they get there? I'm still trying to figure that part out. But I did my monthly shampoo with Organix Coconut and Giovanni's Tea Tree Triple Treat. I then deep conditioned, and this is where I believe my trouble began, by mixing Root Stimulator's deep penetrating conditioner with Herbal Essence Hello Hydration, and sat under the dryer for 45 minutes. This was the first time in months that my hair has received some heat. This was also the first time in months that I didn't pre-poo with oils. I rinsed my hair and was left with a huge matted mess. Following my routine, I applied Giovanni direct leave-in conditioner and spent hours until 3 a.m. Thursday morning getting knots out of my head. At one point, I had to cut out an entire piece with scissors because I spent an hour trying to unknot it.
I'm still slightly depressed, especially since this was also the first time I used Kinky Curly's styling custard (more on that later).
This is a photo of a clump of the hot mess that was in my hair:

This is the very sad looking knot that frustrated me for a little over an hour:

I unfortunately had to cut it out:

More knotting:

I was so disappointed and tired, that the next day, I wore my hair like this for work:

But after two days, my hair turned out pretty okay, although I don't think I'm a fan of the Kinky Curly custard (more on that in my next post):

Hair Update: The Substitute

2010-02-22T14:51:00.000-08:00

So after breaking down my problem with Miss Jessie's Curly Meringue and it's ingredients, I did a little investigating and came up with a substitute. I mixed shea butter, aloe vera gel, castor oil and peppermint oil (for scent purposes).

The really oily stuff on the side of the bowl is EVOO that I keep in my shea butter bowl. But I tried not to mix this in with the shea, aloe, castor and peppermint mixture that is in the rest of the bowl. So after detangling, I'd put the mixture to each piece of hair before twisting. Bobby pinned my twists, put on a satin scarf, went to sleep, woke up, untwisted and found (yayyy!!) soft and moisturized hair.

I apologize for the pic, I took it about six hours after untwisting and going out for the day. I've already put in an order for Kinky Curly, but will be using this as a suitable substitute.

Also, a few weeks ago I took a stretched photo of the amount of new growth I've had in the last few months since I started transitioning. Approximately 2/3 of my hair is still relaxed, with about 3 1/2 inches of new growth.

Hair Update: What Not to Do

2010-02-11T10:35:00.000-08:00

When it comes to learning how to take care of my hair, much of what I'm doing is a lesson on what NOT to do. So far, I've been accomplishing this through trial and error.

Lesson #1: Mineral oil is a huge NO NO for my hair.

Something I should've known about Miss Jessie's products is that some of them are an expensive version of bottled mineral oil. To start with the basics, mineral oil is liquid petroleum (the stuff of gasoline). It may feel good and be great on your skin, but it's bad for someone looking for moisture... like myself. Thanks to The Natural Haven blog, there's a reason why mineral oil is so vilified: "Mineral oil does not penetrate into the cortex of hair (Journal of Cosmetic Science pg 169-184,2001). This is because the oil does not have an affinity for protein (meaning it is not attracted to protein). It also prevents water from getting into the hair shaft."
Now if you don't want too much water penetrating the hair shaft (because of porosity, for details on determining your hair porosity click this link) perhaps a healthy dose of some form of mineral oil is beneficial, but my hair is going through a super-dry phase that has been affecting me my entire life.

Two products I've integrated into my natural hair care regimen are Miss Jessie's Curly Meringue (which I use for styling my twists after washing/cowashing) and Miss Jessie's Curly Buttercream (which I use in the morning to give my hair some added moisture and to define my slept on curls). I was recommended both of these products and used sample sizes on my hair before purchasing larger bottles this Christmas.

Now the Curly Meringue, which many people do love, has the following ingredients: water, parafinium liquidum, glycerin, triethanolamine, fragrance, carbomer, wheat amino acids, aloe barbadensis leaf extract, avocado oil, coconut oil, sweet almond oil, jojoba seed oil, olive fruit oil, oleth-5, PEG-12 dimethicone, ethylhexyl methoxycinnanate, disodium EDTA, DMDM hydantion, iodopropynyl, butylcarbanate, yellow 5.

Parafinium liquidum is a a saturated hydrocarbon used as a fuel oil, it's also known as alkane, kerosene, lamp oil or mineral oil. This is just me, but I was always taught that the most important ingredients are the first few listed, and while I love to see water in anything, mineral oil as #2 and glycerin (which can dry out hair in the winter or dry atmosphere) are red flags to me.

I'm less concerned with the Curly Buttercream, which has the following inredients: Deionized Water, Acetylated Lanolin, Beeswax, Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter, Carbomer 940, Fragrance, Peppermint Oil, Castor Oil, Dilaurate Laneth-15, Glycerin, Glyceryl Stearate, Hydrolyzed Animal Protein, Imidazolidinyl, Jojoba Oil, Laneth 15, Mineral Oil ,Methyl Paraben, Milk Protein, Panthenol, Paraffin, PEG-400, PEG-100, Stearate, Petrolatum, Propyl Paraben, Triethanolamine, Vitamin E, Wheat Germ Oil.

But there are also some red flags in the list of buttercream products like the use of mineral oil, paraffin and petrolatum all of which are different forms/variations of petroleum, oil, gas, the stuff that's caused nothing but trouble in the Middle East. I'm more likely going to stick with the buttercream until I find a better substitute, especially because it's very greasy on my hair and the price of Miss Jessie's ($32 for 8oz of buttercream and $22 for meringue) is just too much.

Lesson #2: Glycerin in the winter or dry atmosphere
Like I said, my scalp craves moisture. Without it, I turn into an itchy machine. So in my search for solutions, I was advised to use a mixture of water, vegetable glycerin and basil oil. I was told this would sooth my itchy scalp and provide my hair with its much needed moisture.

To start with the basics, when it comes to water, you can never go wrong. But the problem is finding the right mixture of water and some type of oil that will lock the water into the hair shaft, to avoid evaporation or drying. Thanks, once again to The Natural Haven, here is why vegetable glycerin could be the antidote: 1. It is hygroscopic - meaning it bonds to and retains water. (Hygro meaning 'moisture' and scopic in this case meaning 'seeking' - therefore moisture seeking) (Griffin, W. C. et al Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists, 1952) 2. It is a humectant (because of no 1) and therefore can be used to stabilise the water/moisture content in products (perhaps as in KY) (Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists,pg 19, 1958) 3. It makes hair softer (Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists pg 251-263 1989) 4. For natural African hair, it prevents premature failure of hair - and therefore, premature breakage of hair when the hair is under stress (combing/stretching/pulling). However if your hair is relaxed, there is no such benefit (Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists pg 39-52 1985) 5. It offers some thermal protection to hair, preventing cracking of the cuticle on exposure to heat (Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists pg 141-153, 1998)

But here's the problem with glycerin, the fact that it is a humectant can be damaging in the winter time, thanks to information from curl expert on all hair types Tiffany Anderson: " You also need to take care with products that contain glycerin, which although a humectant, can actually dehydrate your hair drastically in weather with very low dew points. Glycerin has what are called hygroscopic properties, meaning it absorbs water from the air, but if there is no moisture in the air to absorb, it will take the next best thing and go after the moisture already present in your hair."

Lesson #3: The morals of lessons 1 and 2 are to RESEARCH, RESEARCH, and EXPERIMENT. Just because one person's suggestion works for their hair, doesn't mean it'll work for yours. I'll continue my search on how to best moisturize my hair, hopefully before spring gets here. I somewhat failed my first time a baggying (I'll blog about that soon) and saw a lot of hair loss and the most breakage I've had since I started transitioning. I'm also going to take a new approach to my apple cider vinegar rinse

Dumb Comment of the Day

2010-02-04T09:37:00.000-08:00

From the Detroit Free Press article, "400 protesters say they've had enough of Granholm":

Paul Babcock, a 44-year-old truck driver, drove to the event from Roseville with his 12-year-old daughter, Belle. Babcock said he was tired of politicians who don't worry about where the money is coming from.

"Socialism never worked anywhere," Babcock said. "We're not willing to hand over more and more. I don't really care about the poor. I'm pretty sure I am one of them."

In Honor of "Lost" final season...

2010-02-03T18:11:00.000-08:00

Lost returned on Tuesday (I didn't watch until Wednesday), and as usual IT WAS GREAT!!!

With only 16 hours left before it ends, the sixth season premier with all of it's alternate universes, possibly dead not-sure they're dead people and the return of the smoke monster has given me some hope that the writers will bring me a satisfying end (unlike BSG, which ended horribly).

The audacity of Joe Jackson...

2010-01-22T10:19:00.000-08:00

The late great Michael Jackson's father, Joseph Jackson, actually wanted his son's estate to pay him a monthly allowance.

According to Daddy Joe, his son supported him before his unexpected death June 25, but he wasn't ale to show any proof. Which means there wasn't any. Currently, Mike's mother Katherine and his three children receive about $86,000 a month. But Joe, it appears to be, has separated from Katherine (they live a part). On the list of stuff he's asking for, is $1,200 a month rent for his home, $2,500 to eat out, $1,000 on entertainment, gifts and vacations, $2,000 on travel and $3,000 on hotels.

It's completely reasonable to believe that Mike supported his father, even though there's no proof.

And I could reasonably believe that Joe didn't really physically abuse his kids (probably just mentally wrecked them), and simply gave them spankings they were too sissified to handle.

But Joe Jackson gets a major FAIL in my book for having the the audacity to take money that would instead go to his wife and grandchildren.

But then again, this is the same man who was heavily promoting himself days after Mike passed and got paid for interviews months later. Not to mention, I've caught a few episodes of A&E's Jackson show following Mike's four older brothers, and it looks like they have nothing to do with Joseph either.

My Top Movies of the Decade

2010-01-07T12:49:00.000-08:00

So we're almost a week into the new year and new decade and after some considerable thought, I've finally narrowed down my list of my top films from the 2000-2009 decade.
Now, I haven't seen every movie that has ever come out (about 500 a year), but I do like to consider myself a film geek and try to catch those I think will become classics. I should also add, just because I chose these as my best, doesn't make other popular films my worst, movies like Sex and the City were great, but it's pure entertainment and didn't meet the "accomplishing something beyond that feat" that I required.

500 Days of Summer (2009) — Not all love stories end happily and year there's a lot of moping by Joseph Gorden-Levitt when Zooey Deschanel's character breaks up with him, but this is a really good and different story.

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) — This film deserved a lot of praise and is the first unappreciated one on my list. Yeah it's slow, but it was filmed to be slow. It's a little violent, but it was meant to be violent. Ben Affleck's little brother holds his own, but Brad Pitt is just awesome in this.

Atonement (2007) — I never read the book, but I love the movie. Any film that forces you to react and express emotion to it, is a damn good film. And if this movie managed to piss you off for what happened to its main characters, then Mission Accomplished. I still can't watch anything that happens after the "dinner scene" because I know I will be pissed off.

Avatar (2009) — James Cameron delivered. Great actors, great effects, outstanding story line. It took 10 years to make this masterpiece, so it deserves to be on the list.

August Rush (2007) — The acting isn't anything special and the story-line is a modern day, urban fantasy of a tween boy in search of his parents, or nothing new. But this film made my list because if you listen closely, the entire film is about music bringing people together. Everything from the beginning of August's journey listening to the sounds of a New York street to his final master piece performing for Julliard is composed of everything he sees, learns and hears on his journey to create a sound that will reach his parents.

300 (2006) — Besides being a Sparty and screaming "Ha-hoo, Ha-hoo, Ha-hoo!" for two years in college, this film makes it for bringing a graphic novel to the screen without erasing the fact that it was a graphic novel.

Children of Men (2006) — I could so see this future happening soon. Another under-rated film that is really hopeful and was still good after killing off both main characters, one of them within the first 30 minutes.

Death at a Funeral (2007) — Chris Rock has re-made this dark British comedy for a black audience, which worries me somewhat, because the 2007 version is just so good. The film is about a family on the day of their patriarch's funeral confronting a dark secret. If Rock can capture what made this film a success, than the 2010 version will be a crowd pleaser.

The Departed (2006) — I don't feel I need to explain Scorsese at his best.

Finding Nemo (2003) — The only animated film on my list, I know people can argue that Shrek was the best animated flick of the decade, but seriously this cute story of a father searching for his son made everybody whoever saw a little clown fish name them Nemo or Marlin.

Fracture (2007) — I love smart films. This is one of those you-think-you-know-everything-but-you-don't thrillers. Like Ryan Gosling's character, you may know Anthony Hopkins murdered his wife, but good luck trying to prove it.

Half Nelson (2006) — Another Ryan Gosling (under appreciated actor, although he did get a Best Actor nod for this) film. I can't quite pin down what it is that makes me love this film. It could be Shareeka Epps, who needs to be in somebody else's film right now, because as a rookie actress she definitely delivered and matched up to Gosling. This is a really great character driven story.

Inglorious Bastards (2009) — Quentin Tarantino and Brad Pitt are genius and kick ass. For those of us who've been upset for the past 65 years over having never been able to see Adolf Hitler tried and executed, this film gives you a little peace, I mean who wouldn't want to pour a gallon worth of bullets into that guy.

Kill Bill, Vol. 1 (2003) and Vol. 2 (2004) — Quentin Tarantino makes this list twice, or at least three times, because the 2000s were his decade, and he was greatly under appreciated for not directing a Pulp Fiction-esque hit. Uma Thurman's The Bride is a memorable action heroine and I bet there isn't one person who could hear the Kill Bill theme and not think of this movie. The film launched Uma into super stardom and brought back David Carradine.

Kingdom of Heaven (2005) — This film is sorely unappreciated, in part I believe because of Orlando Bloom as the lead and the fact that it takes place in Jerusalem. I have this on DVD and can watch it over and over again because of the cinematography, Liam Neeson, Jeremy Irons and a surprising Edward Norton.

Knocked Up (2007) — The only reason this film makes my list, besides being funny, is because it made "guy comedy" mainstream. You could argue Judd Apatow's 40-year-old Virgin (2005) did the same thing, but I don't know any 40-year-old women who knew who Apatow was until Knocked Up came out and made it believable for a group of women, who would go see Sex and the City (2008) one week, to go see The Hangover (2009), the next week.

Love Actually (2003) — I rarely watch romantic comedies that look like they're made for Meg Ryan/Sandra Bullock/Julia Roberts types. But the British-made Love Actually is so cute in the way it shows different types of love with an all-star ensemble cast, it's hard to stay away from. I'm expecting this year's Valentine's Day, which seems like the American version of this film, to be just as good.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (2008) — Another unappreciated film that is smart, funny, witty and has great acting. This is so close to being my #1, just for the fact that when it goes off, I want to watch it all over again.

Pan's Labyrinth or El laberinto del fauno (2006) — This movie is absolutely beautiful and dark that leaves you wondering if it's all fantasy or true.

The Prestige (2006) — I like films that acknowledge how smart the audience is and that's what Christopher Nolan's film does. A film about two turn of the century magicians, like Houdini, it begs you to make sure you're watching one hand, because you never know what's happening in the other until the end, and by then... you're tricked.

Pride and Prejudice (2005) — Obviously this Jane Austen book has been made and re-made a million times, but I love this version because of it's interpretation. What makes this film great is not what is said, but the actors movements, the music and every piece of atmosphere the crew creates to help the audience interpret Austen's classic words.

Requiem for a Dream (2000) — Probably the only film I've ever seen that's been able to really tackle the mind of an addict.

Training Day (2001) — Two words and one quote: Denzel Washington, "King Kong ain't got shit on me!"

Honorable Mentions: Be Kind Rewind (2008), Before Sunset (2004), A History of Violence (2005), Hotel Rwanda (2004), Spanglish (2004), Dave Chappelle's Block Party (2005), The Notebook (2004).

Listen Now: Robin Thicke's "Sex Therapy: The Experience"

2010-01-06T09:39:00.000-08:00

Sex Therapy is a huge improvement over Robin's last album, Something Else. Looks as if he returned to whatever made his sophomore hit The Evolution of Robin Thicke such a year-long great. Thicke offers two different versions of his therapy, the Session which is only 11 tracks and the Experience which has 18 tracks. The Experience is definately worth it.

Must hear tracks: 2. Mrs. Sexy, 3. Sex Therapy (the first single), 4. Meiple (a cute little Spanish, destined-single with Jay-Z), 6. It's in the Mornin (with a Snoop Dogg, who isn't overbearing), 8. Elevatas (almost gives the impression you're listening to Michael Jackson with Kid Cudi guest starring), 10. Rollacoasta (with Estelle, smooth, fast-beat hit that molds to Robin and Estelle's voices), 11. Million Dolla Baby (featuring Jazmine Sullivan, this is worth listening to if just to hear Robin sample Marvin Gaye's Trouble Man).

Nice Point

2010-01-05T20:20:00.000-08:00

So this is pretty old and it happened sometime ago, but thanks to Stuckey over at Before I'm No Longer Young, Gifted and Black, I got a chance to catch this this cat over at illdoctrine.

Catch last night's (Jan. 4) episode of The Daily Show and Jon Stewart made some good/funny points on how selective Republicans opinions have become.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Terror 2.0 by Yemen

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Political Humor

Health Care Crisis

Trailer Tuesday

2010-01-05T19:57:00.000-08:00

Talk about confusing:
Knight and Day featuring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz

So what is this film about?

Holiday Vacay

2009-12-30T19:05:00.000-08:00

New hair styles and products, the Lakers, Pistons and Kobe Bryant, shopping, shopping, dinner with my girls, hanging with my girls, Avatar, Avatar and more Avatar in 3D on Imax.

Aahhhh it was great Christmas vacay home. Pictures are below, followed by transition update:

Natural Hair Transition Update:

Okay, so there are one or two changes I've made to my method in the last few weeks.
1. I now massage my scalp nightly with 100% coconut oil.
2. No longer using flexi rods for my twists, which made them huge. Now there's a simple twist and roll process using bobby pins.
3. My oil formula now consists of: 100% shea butter, 100% coconut oil, jojoba oil, avocado oil and 99% aloe vera gel. I removed the vegetable glycerin from my oil concoction because I really felt like it dried out my hair.
4. I have fallen in love with Trader Joe's Tea Tree Tingle conditioner and am now using it to co-wash instead of HE Hello Hydration. This conditioner has made my hair feel so much softer to deal with and worked through really well when detangling.
5. I'm now using Miss Jessie's Curly Meringue instead of the Curly Pudding to set my twists. The pudding was fine and didn't have a smell. It did it's purpose, but I love the meringue. The smell is intoxicating.

Courage to BC

2009-12-15T10:38:00.000-08:00

On my transition road, it's been difficult to find other women who are doing a long term natural hair transition. Just recently Curly Nikki debuted a new blogger who is a year into her long term transition and also found a lack of other women going that route.

One reason people choose not to BC, also known as Big Chop, (my reason), is fear of the unknown.
As a black woman, I've grown up knowing that long and thick was beautiful. Yes, short cuts were cute... but only for awhile. But after years of relaxers, straighteners and heat, in order to transition completely you really have to cut off the relaxed hair. For long term transitioners, that means waiting two or three years down the road. But for short-term trainsitioners, they've found the courage to buck the norm and chop it all off.

There's an abundance of YouTube videos showing young black women at their local salon getting it all chopped off. Some find it liberating, others emotional.

Recently one of my best friends and sorority sisters did the big chop. She's been natural for about three years now (having made the jump, back when I was shouting about never being able to get rid of a perm). When I saw her cut, my first thought was how beautiful she looked and how amazing she must feel to be liberated from the burden of maintaining a 'do. No more styling, flat ironing or forever blow drying.

Whenever I think of BC'ing, I have a slight panic attack. How do you know what's under all that hair? Would a TWA (teeny weeny afro) even fit my head? How would people react? Would the opposite sex view me differently?
But there in lies the problem. If the decision to go natural, my decision, was to lift the burden of relaxing, re-claim my true self, express my beauty on my terms and feel uninhibited about my hair, then is my choice not to complete that decision and BC negating those factors. There is no doubt that at some point, in order to go completely natural I will have to cut off the relaxed part of my hair, but by prolonging that process I can't help but feel that I'm not truly embracing what I'm searching for in this process. By waiting two, three or more years I'm still living by the code that more hair is better than less hair, and that is not what I want.
My friend, Hanya, did it and happily. She thought about it and like Solange she let it all go. Just like that. In the age of "Good Hair", I hope that I can express that courage in the same way.
Here's before and after photos of Hanya:

Transition Update

2009-12-14T19:02:00.001-08:00

So it's been four and a half months since I made the decision to go natural and six months since my last relaxer in July. I've changed my process since first describing it, but here are some photos of how I wear my hair sometimes and what the transition process is looking like:

My first Black Friday trip

2009-11-27T13:35:00.000-08:00

My first Black Friday... well the first one that I ever actually woke up super early in the morning and stood in line outside of a store for.

So Target had this 32" LCD HGTV on sale. I'd been planning to get this thing all week, especially after I learned the price. So after working Thanksgiving Day, I immediately went to bed at 6 p.m. Unfortunately I awoke at 10 p.m. and found myself unable to go back to sleep.

By 1:45 a.m. Friday, I was brushing my teeth and throwing on the layers to head out to Target. Long johns — check! Hoody — check! Boots — check! Gloves, scarf, coat — check.

By 2:30 a.m. (after making a quick drive-by of Wal-Mart to assess their Black Friday situation), I was the fifth person in the caution-taped line of Targets.

By 3:30 a.m., after me and the other early birds had finished laughing about our craziness, the cold began to set in. First went the toes. As if I was walking on a bed of ice in zero-degree weather, my toes began to lose feeling. Then the fingers, but only just the tips began to feel beyond heat redemption. I looked at all the other shoppers around me and noticed they'd gotten quiet.
There was shivering now. One person lit a cigarette, while another rocked from one leg to the other.

By 4:30 a.m., the excitement started to pick-up. Those of us at the front of the line learned the tail end had circled the building and was heading up a road to the nearest YMCA. The Target personnel emerged from beyond the red-spotted doors to hand out cloth bags and maps of the doorbuster sales. I huddled with a young woman who had been the first in line and learned she too was going after the TV I wanted. We peeped through the Target doors to spot the area the TVs were in and planned how we would grab a cart and raced toward the end of the aisle, between maternity and shoes, to grab out TVs.

By 4:50 a.m., the Target manager informed everyone we would be entering single-file into the store. There would be no pushing and everyone had to enter through one door.

By 4:58 a.m., I could feel the teenage boy behind me and his buddy inching their way forward as the people behind them were getting antsy.

At 5 a.m., the doors opened and like a little girl on Christmas morning, we rushed towards carts and found our sought after holiday items.

By 5:02 a.m., my TV was in the cart, there was a smile on my face and I happily made my way the cash register.
I had survived my first Black Friday outing.

Good Hair??

2009-10-12T09:56:00.000-07:00

For years I thought black women and girls were the only ones to walk around with this monkey on the back. The Quest-to-achieve-good-hair monkey.

Apparently not.

I haven't seen Chris Rock's new documentary, "Good Hair". It debuts nationwide (and hopefully in central Wisconsin) Oct. 23, but I've been reading reviews about it and caught parts of the Oprah show that featured Rock and Nia Long discussing it. And the more I've been on my own mission to revert my tresses to their natural state, I've come to realize that black women are not the only ones struggling with this "good hair" issue.

During the Oprah show, Chris Rock mentioned white women all want to be blonde. In 2007, the Washington Post did an article about how Dominican women strive to erase their kinky curls with blow outs, roller sets and lots and lots of heat. Then there's the host of Jewish women who also blow out their natural curls seeking straightness. And when a little black girl, possibly from Detroit, was You Tube'd for undergoing the torture, ahem process, of having her hair brushed straight by a verbally abusive mother, there were white women who screamed in horror as they reminisced about their mothers doing the same.

Certainly for black women and Dominican women there's a history rooted in slavery, miscegenation and intra-racism over the need to do away with the "naps" and "frizz". Only recently have we all (clearly me included) jumped on the au naturale band wagon. Only since the 1960/70s have Jewish women not been considered second class citizens (e.g. just watch Mad Men). But white women? I suppose centuries of straight, long and blonde ideals have hurt them too.

So what the fuss? If, what it seems to be, a majority of women have had to struggle with having "good hair" then why do we keep beating ourselves over the head?? To make each slap straighten every strand?? When will curly and frizzy be in style? When will destroying our hair with too much heat or chemicals become taboo? When will we start to love our hair?

Going Natural...Day 32

2009-09-16T18:59:00.000-07:00

It's been over two months since I had a fresh relaxer and 32 days since I declared I was officially going natural. I've studied up a little more about the transition process, especially since I don't plan to BC and have tweaked my regimen.

I've also chosen to twist my hair after co-washing to avoid blow drying with too much heat and flat ironing.

I've also changed up which products I use, because how can you go natural with chemical products that are for relaxed hair. So my shampoos are Organix Creamy Coconut Milk and Giovanni Tea Tree Triple Treat Shampoo. I deep condition with Herbal Essence Hello Hydration conditioner and co-wash (whenever I don't shampoo) with Suave Natural Tropical Coconut conditioner. I then use Giovanni Direct Leave-in conditioner and add Herbal Essence Totally Twisted mousse before I start twising/braiding/rolling. Once I twist, I add Herbal 'Essence Totally Twisted gel and then seal my ends with Carol's Daughter Honey Mimosa. I then apply shea butter to my edges. So, the experiment continues.... stay tuned for any progress.

Read Me Wednesday: "Skeletons at the Feast"

2009-09-16T09:45:00.000-07:00

So I've been absent for the past few weeks because my grandmother passed away August 29 after a four-month battle with pancreatic cancer.
But I've returned with a new segment called Read Me Wednesday, in which I'll promote the latest book that I'm reading. So for today, I'm reading Chris Bohjalian's Skeletons at the Feast.

I'm only half-way through the book and absolutely love the story. It's a beautiful love story set in World War II between a Scottish prisoner of war and the Prussian aristocrat whose family is in favor of the Nazi regime. What I like most about this novel, is it's one of the first books I've read set in this era from the point of view of a Nazi-party family. Despite the atrocities the Nazis committed and their supporters defended, this novel gives their perspective and reasons for why they were in favor of Hitler to begin with. I and you may certainly not agree (especially now decades later), but there's always two sides of a story and there were hundreds of thousands of everyday people, who didn't commit those atrocities, but were still in favor of the Nazi party.

Here's a full synopsis from Barnes & Noble:

A masterful love story set against a backdrop of epic history and unforgettable courage.

In the waning months of World War II, a small group of people begin the longest journey of their lives.

At the center is eighteen-year-old Anna, the daughter of Prussian aristocrats, and her first love, a twenty-year-old Scottish prisoner of war named Callum. With his boyish good looks and his dedication to her family, he has captured Anna’s heart. But he is the enemy, and their love must remain a closely guarded secret. Only Manfred, a twenty-six-year-old Wehrmacht corporal, knows the truth. And Manfred, who is not what he seems to be, is reluctantly taken with Anna, just as she finds herself drawn uncomfortably to him.

As these unlikely allies work their way west, their flight will test both Anna’s and Callum’s love, as well as their friendship with Manfred–and will forever bind the young trio together.

Showing BScott extra love

2009-08-26T12:09:00.000-07:00

Sorry babies I missed Trailer Tuesday. I'm getting back on my exercise and healthy grind after 2-3 months off it (oops). But I seriously want to lose 30-25 lbs before Christmas, which means long days at work followed by an hour of the gym, dinner and early to bed. Today, this morning to be exact, the world found out Sen. Ted Kennedy died. I'm a history buff and have always marveled at the Kennedy family for their unselfishness and fight to make America as great as we all want her to be. I just pray our Congress will be able to pull off Sen. Kennedy's "life cause" of health care reform when they return to D.C.
I did find a great article in the NYTimes today about health care its pretty informative for anyone whose head is being crowded by all the shouting.

Moving on thanks to my favorite news web site The Root I was able to discover B Scott. His youtube videos are inspirational and I've fallen in love with his website.

And because I missed yesterday's Trailer Tuesday, I have to blog about James Cameron's new move "Avatar". The trailer debuted last week and I am super excited about seeing this. It's Cameron's first film since "Titantic" and I love anything with Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana in it.

Finally, I was on another one of my favorite news website Freep.com when I found out two students from my alma mater (Go Green!!) had started a website called TextsFromLastNight. I spent about an hour dying of laughter from the texts people have submitted here. It's absolutely funny, be sure to check it out.

Trailer Tuesday

2009-08-18T20:27:00.001-07:00

Because sometimes the best part of the movie is the 10 minutes before it starts when you can watch the previews to other movies.

Spread : August 14, since Ashton Kutcher hasn't been pimping this movie ENOUGH via Twitter (major sarcasm)

The Other Man : Sept. 25, this reminds me of Unfaithful with Richard Gere and Diane Lane, except it looks like the other man strikes back. Love the actors, so probably worth seeing.

An Education : Oct. 9, love Peter Sarsgaard, Emma Thompson and Alfred Molina in anything. This looks like a beautiful and well done film...at least the trailer makes it look like one.

The Book of Eli : Jan. 15, looks like a mix of Will Smith's I am Legend and every other zombie, apocalypse movie. But since Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman star is this Hughes Brother thing, I'll give it a chance.

Bright Star : Sept. 18, I'm a sucker for romantic period pieces, so I immediately fell in love with this. So much so, that I'm going to buy the book on payday and can guarantee I'm going to see this.

Going Natural....Day 1

2009-08-16T00:37:00.000-07:00

I've decided to take the plunge and grow out my relaxer. To simply put it, I've become bored with my hair. Spring of last year I chopped my thinning hair (due to stress of my last semester in college) and went with a cute bob cut. Now that my hair has grown back to shoulder length status, I'm tired of relaxers, wrapping, and the same old hair styles.
That and well, living in Podunk U.S.A. where my stylist is four hours away, were also contributing factors.
So, after 9 years (I was 15) of having a relaxer, and four weeks since I got a touch-up, I'm beginning the au naturale route.

Disclaimer:
I have no clue where this will take me.

I have no clue what my hair type is (3c/4a/4b/4c).

I have no idea how long this is going to last....

But I am going to do it.

So I was recommended some websites and some online guidance for this transition, such as CurlyNikki and Naturally Curly and thought I'd post what some of my initial hair product would be.

For the most part, since I've just made this decision today, there's very little difference in the products I'm using now and what I use with relaxed hair.

1. Olive Oil Aloe Shampoo

2. Olive Oil Deep Penetrating Conditioner

3. Carol's Daughter Hair Milk (never used this before, but will now since I got a free sample with some Sephora skin care products I ordered online)

4. Olive Oil Hair Lotion

I also use Carol's Daughter Mimosa Hair Honey to take care of my extra dryness, Olive Oil Hair Sheen for that after style effect, and Carol's Daughter Tui Hair Oil for my hot oil treatment. I'm pretty much an Olive Oil and Carol's Daughter groupie, and although I've been hearing some pretty bad things about Carol's Daughter products online since I've begun this venture, I'm stubborn when it comes to changing my hair products, so for now I'm sticking with the above.

LISTEN NOW: Blacksummers Night

2009-07-27T13:31:00.000-07:00

Everything on this album is great and specifically for the grown. "Pretty Wings" is a hit, but check out the other songs like "Bad Habits" and "Cold" and LISTEN NOW!!.

To Nike: The damage has been done...release the tape.

2009-07-13T14:32:00.001-07:00

The much heard about Jordan Crawford dunk over LeBron James has already done it's damage. Nike should just release the tape showing the dunk, because for one, there's plenty of other examples of LeBron being dunked on (albeit by other pro players and not a college kid as Crawford is) and two, until the tape is released the hype won't end.

Check out this tape from Kobe Bryant talking about how he won't be getting dunked on anytime too soon as this kid puts out a warning: Kobe, you too can be dunked on by a young upstart, lol!!

I give up on network television

2009-07-08T15:57:00.000-07:00

I tried, I really did try to give network television, also known as the "during the summer we struggle" channels, a chance, but I can't in any way support them.

They being, NBC, ABC, Fox and CBS. The fifth one, CW (or whatever name it goes by now), has been off my radar list since it decided to become the combined UPN/WB networks, so I'm not counting it.

Two Fridays ago, producer Ronald Moore, debuted a new series on Fox called, "Virtuality." I literally stumbled on this show, while flipping channels and thought, "Hey, there's that black girl from Antwon Fisher! I like her!" BTW, her name is Joy Bryant and she's an amazing model and actress. Anyway, I stop to watch and immediately peep she's in an inter-racial relationship with some hot Asian guy. I've NEVER seen that angle done before on TV and thought, "Ok Fox, you've got my attention!" Only later did I learn this was a Ron Moore creation, and I'm a huge fan of Ron Moore, anyone whose ever watched one episode of Battlestar Galactica should be a fan of his.

Now rumor has it that four years ago BSG was originally pitched for NBC and they turned it down and sent it to Sci Fi network (which is now called SyFy for reasons I don't understand). I've always thought that was a dumb decision for NBC, because look at the fan following BSG created. It's become one of the greatest dramatic shows of my generation and has a highly anticipated prequel set to debut next year, but then again had NBC picked it up viewers probably would've never gotten past the mini-series.

So, getting back on point, I'm surprised to see a Ron Moore, science fiction-esque show on Fox, but then again Fox has been doing pretty well keeping "Fringe" (another great show) on its line-up this fall, especially when I was sure it was going to be cancelled after four episodes, but don't underestimate the power of Pacey Witter...oops, I mean, Joshua Jackson.
But it's a Friday, and in TV land, Friday/Saturday/Sunday are also known as time slots of death. "Virtuality" turned out to be really good and I enjoyed the premise, actors and plot lines. I thought, "Yay, another hit for Fox and Ron Moore. Can that man do any wrong?" So, like most social human beings, it's rare to catch me at home on a Friday twice in a row, so I figured I would catch up on the second airing of "Virtuality" online... only there wasn't a second airing. Where was it? I mean, anything with Ron Moore's name tied to it, should at least get half of the BSG followers to keep it on the air. Except Fox never intended for the show to be kept on the air. The two-hours I had watched a couple of weeks before had originally been planned as a pilot, but Fox decided it should be a mini-movie because of what they expected would be low viewership (uh duh, Fox, if you schedule a show on Friday, of course it'll have low viewership). In fact, the network is actually waiting to decide if they want to give this show a chance. Meanwhile, there's an online petition to just move the show all together to a cable network.
You can watch the "TV movie" here:

Maybe I shouldn't be surprised, this is what has happened to network TV. They're struggling right now to compete with hundreds of channels, including premium networks that show "quality" like HBO and Showtime. Not to mention, it's expensive these days to put on a high quality show vs. running reality crap (which dominates network TV). Unless you're a runaway hit like "Lost", "Ugly Betty", "Gossip Girl", or "30 Rock" you really don't stand a chance. And even those shows have become lack luster during certain years, do I even need to mention "Grey's Anatomy" and the Izzie/Dead Denny storyline?
The biggest reason I'm giving up on network television is Fox's reaction to "Virtuality" is coming on the back of NBC canceling "Kings".

Kings had an excellent premise, a modern-day revision of the Biblical narrative of King David. NBC scheduled Kings on Thursday, but then moved it to Sunday, after little advertising, they later moved the show to Saturday in June after three episodes. After one additional showing, it was placed on hiatus for summer status on Saturdays. Now how is a drama supposed to survive, in the spring, when it's constantly being moved around and with little advertisement In other words, NBC has been waiting to kill this show off for awhile. It's been a long time, since I've seen such a beautifully written and acted drama on network TV, and that's what Kings provided. Deadwood's Ian McShane is amazing as King Silas aka King Saul. And although Chris Egan is a lightweight actor, I've absolutely fallen in love with his David. The characters are complex, there's a homosexual prince, a queen as ruthless as her king, the ever-watching advisers and of course, God and history. The fact that this show has remained interesting despite it's source being a 3,000 year old Biblical book says something alone. Unfortunately, after 13 episodes, Kings will be no more.

Watch Kings on Hulu here.

My hope is that some other network will pick up "Kings", it would've been perfect on HBO or Showtime, maybe even USA or TNT. Hell, I'd even watch it just on Hulu, as long as it still came on, but sadly once these 13 episodes are over "Kings" will be no more.
The best thing for shows like "Virtuality" and "Kings" is to not be on network TV. This can happen relativly easy, I mean NBC Universal owns SyFy, USA, Bravo and Hulu. Unless shows have something to do with doctors, cops or lawyers it doesn't have a chance of survival. TNT, USA, SyFy — those networks have managed to do well with shows similar to "Kings", it's why BSG managed to grow so well. There are plenty of great quality shows that get cancelled and years later people wonder "what the hell were those network execs thinking," they'll say that about "Kings," "Virtuality," and "Pushing Daisies," (which I never watched, but hear has been in the same boat). Remember "My So-Called Life", yeah, it too started out on network (ABC), and was cancelled after one season. Nothing high budget about it, quality actors, great plot lines, but early low viewership (and a "I want to do movies" Claire Danes) killed it. Had ABC given "My So Called Life" more time, the show would've gained followers and blossomed. Hell, even the X-Files had low viewership and was on the brink of being killed off after its first season.

My point is, crap is prevalent on network TV (reality shows) and even cable TV can keep horrible shows popular and growing (ABC Family's "The Secret Life of the American Teenager"), but why is it that when something new, different, intriguing and actually good comes around, it's cancelled at the drop of a pen?
So I give up on network TV, there's no reason to watch anything new that comes on, they won't last. Network TV is home for reality, and the best bet is to go elsewhere for quality.

The bitter truth...

2009-07-01T11:54:00.000-07:00

I have to link to this blog about the hot mess that is the BET Awards and what they did to the King of Pop. Would've, could've, should've, I'll be sitting around waiting for the VMAs to do him justice.

"Why Couldn't They Check Their Egos at the Door"

The King of Pop is dead...Long live the King!!! R.I.P Michael

2009-06-26T07:42:00.000-07:00

Going Green: The Garden

2009-06-24T11:12:00.000-07:00

So as I've mentioned before, I've been working on being more green and about a month ago began growing a garden filled with tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, spinach, peppers, zucchini and basil.

And well, I got to gardening and this is what happened (which I'm pretty proud of considering this was my rookie year, lol):

Yesterday evening, I went out to water and saw my lettuce was ready to harvest. I walked away with enough lettuce to fill 7 bags about 1 to 2 pounds and gave to my co-workers. Think about it, the average Dole salad bag of lettuce runs from $2.50 to $3.50 and a single lettuce plant cost around $1.00, I more than made my money back.

Father's Day Weekend

2009-06-19T12:32:00.000-07:00

It's Father's Day weekend, and my very first one living away from my Dad. There's never too much hubbub about Father's Day, not nearly as much as Mother's Day. Dads always remind us months in advance to get mom a gift (sometimes getting her those gifts for us with our names signed on the card), but plenty of really good Dads see the holiday past without much appreciation.

Why The Reticence On Father's Day?

On Thursday I mailed my Dad a gift card and singing Father's Day card (no, it wasn't me singing). So whether Dad lives at home, thousands of miles away or has passed on from this life, be sure to thank and acknowledge him this weekend.

OMG...Fox News has actually gotten something right for once!!!!

2009-06-10T16:43:00.001-07:00

The Eradication of the G.O.P.

2009-05-29T10:53:00.000-07:00

If the Grand Old Party, i.e. The Republican Party, i.e. The Soon-to-Be-Extinct Party, wants to alienate women, Hispanics, minorities, moderates, people with common sense, people who work to make it on their own, immigrants, social liberals and the majority of all Americans.....they're doing a good job of it.

Check out these Huffington Post pieces: GOP Hispanic Strategists Stunned, Outraged By Sotomayor Attacks.

Check out Arianna Huffington's piece titled Why Sotomayor's Confirmation Debate Is the D.C. Equivalent of Rock of Love.

Graduation season.

2009-05-18T10:12:00.001-07:00

As an education reporter for a Wisconsin newspaper, I've been spending all of this month preparing for a bunch of graduation stories about non-traditional students or who's speaking at which convocation stories.

I've been noticing that there is a huge difference between high school graduation and college ones, and there are differences in the emotions expressed amongst classmates when they finally receive the diploma and move the tassel to the other side.

It was only a year ago, literally a year and two weeks, that I graduated from Michigan State University. For the semester leading up to my graduation there was excitement, anxiousness and nervousness leading up to finally being able to bring an end to four years of hard work, stress, blood, sweat and tears.

My parents would be there, my family would send (much deserved, very much appreciated) money, and my friends and I would celebrate our mutual accomplishment. Looking back now, I'm more than sure I had a better time graduating from high school than from college.

Once it happened, once my name was called and I walked across the stage and shook hands with professors from my college, received my (fake) diploma (they'll send the real one once I finally finish paying for a student loan) and took my picture it was pretty much over. I don't remember who our guest speaker was (in high school it was Detroit radio personality Frankie Darcel, I probably remember this because I'm not a fan of hers and was disappointed she was chosen). I do remember taking pictures with people I sat next to during convocation and talking about my then internship in Flint. I remember, probably the best part of all, singing our school's fight song as if we'd won the Rose Bowl and NCAA Final Four all on the same day. But that's it. Once it was over, we all filed out, met our parents, heard congratulations and went about the rest of our day attending other college's graduations or meeting family and friends for dinner.

It was lack luster.
And for the longest time, I thought, perhaps it was only lackluster for me. Perhaps I had put too much expectation behind it. I had assumed that the excitement and tears from high school would be the same. But attending graduations here in Wisconsin, I've found the same thing.

The college graduates smile, take pictures, accept their diplomas, listen to the speaker and call it a day. The high schoolers hug one another as if its the last hug ever, they take pictures and sign yearbooks, every member of their family shows up, they cry and say, "stay in touch," with everyone. They even have heart-to-hearts with the teachers who've helped them along.

What is it about high school graduation that differs from college? I remember my mother, who wasn't the first woman in our family to graduate college (my grandmother beat her to it, no small feat for a black woman in Birmingham, Alabama), but became the first in our family to earn her Master's degree, tell me she didn't even go to her graduate school graduation from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Albeit most of our family was in Michigan, down south, or Chicago at the time, but she didn't even attend it. "It was just another graduation anyway," she said.

As much as people pride themselves on education, especially higher education, it seems once you've endured one graduation (presumably high school, although in my life I had a kindergarten and 8th grade graduation), the college graduation is pretty okay and anything beyond that is expected if you decided to attend graduate, law or medial school anyway.

It's slightly disappointing, for the hardest and some of the best four years of my life to culminate so un-dramatically, but maybe that's reality. If the point of college is to get you ready for the real world and there are few if any rewards given in adulthood, then maybe the collegiate experience succeeds all too well.

Check out the First Lady on Sesame Street...

2009-05-07T15:00:00.001-07:00

Yes, I admit I'm excited for tomorrow's premier of the new Star Trek movie....

2009-05-07T13:40:00.000-07:00

Okay, so who said black girls couldn't be into sci-fi or Star Trek. I'm super excited for tomorrow's premier of the new Star Trek movie and have to admit Chris Pine (the new guy who plays Kirk) is kinda hot. It's also great to see Zoe Saldana (Uhura) on the screen again. The orignial Uhura from the orignial series did big things by being the first woman of color to play a main character and to have the first interracial kiss with Kirk. But I hear she's got a thing for Spock in the new film.

In any case, because those of us who are into science fiction and fantasy come in many forms, I wanted to share this video of the greatest Grey's Anatomy character ever at her best:
Check out Bailey spittin some Star Wars knowledge...

The little things...

2009-04-23T10:41:00.000-07:00

I've been looking for more ways to become more Green, and stumbled across this video from WhiteHouse.gov

Everyone talks about how President Obama is changing international relations and the country's finances, but I thought this was pretty interesting. One of Obama's advisors (cutie) Van Jones did a blog on Earth Day about green jobs. What caught my attention was how this video blog was created, it felt more like watching the Science channel than listening to something from the White House.

Going Green, Happy Earth Day!!!!

2009-04-22T14:55:00.001-07:00

I've been going green for over four years now (Go Green! Go White, lol)!!! And I'm happy everyone is jumping on the bandwagon...oh wait...this is a different Go Green, oh well, I'm happy about that too. While this is coming a few weeks earlier than planned, today is Earth Day, and I am announcing that beginning in May I will start my very own garden.

While apprehensive about taking care of other living things, the city I live in is beginning a community garden and will introduce even us amateurs to the finer areas of growing our own tomatoes and beans. I am psyched by this, encouraged by First Lady Michelle Obama, I too will get my hands dirty, hopefully won't touch any worms, and spread a tad more green on this Earth.

So either on tweet @AASmith8604 or here, I will update a city girls beginning attempts to officially Go Green!!

This is a test...

2009-04-15T14:24:00.001-07:00

One good thing Justice Clarence Thomas said recently, "I am rounding the last turn for my 18th term on the court."

2009-04-14T18:16:00.000-07:00

And good riddance, because even hard core conservatives (the Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck kind) wouldn't agree with what his dream of America would be.
I've never understood how a black man who rises to become a U.S. Supreme Court Justice replacing Thurgood Marshall, raised in poverty in Georgia, ends up the way Clarence Thomas is. In a recent NYTimes article, Thomas told a group of young people he didn't think there should be a Bill of Rights.
Are you serious?
Yes.
You mean the U.S. Bill of Rights that insures freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion?
That Bill of Rights.
You've got to be kidding, not the one that protects our right to bear arms, provides due process and the right to have a jury and fair trial?
Yep that one.
You mean this man doesn't think power should be given to the States?
Look the man said, "Today there is much focus on our rights. Indeed, I think there is a proliferation of rights.”
You can read the story here, but be mindful that this man who admittedly said he has an uneasy relationship with rights, was talking at the Bill of Rights Institute.
Also keep in mind, Thomas' opinion of the 14th Amendment, it isn't clearly stated, but he certainly doesn't regard it as of any post-Civil War importance.
As a conservative, Thomas believes that people are born with nothing and must earn everything including the basics (i.e. food, water, housing, clothing, education, employment, you name it)
I don't know what type of world Clarence Thomas wants us to live in, though I get the picture it may have existed pre-American Revolution, in which case even he wouldn't be where he is today -- which is the conundrum Thomas has always presented, especially to black people.
I suppose the good thing is that in the nearly two decades that Thomas has sat on the highest court in the land, Americans haven't gone backward. We've survived Thomas and when he steps down President Barack Obama will do the nominating to replace him.

This can either go two ways...just watch "Idiocracy"

2009-04-14T17:33:00.000-07:00

So the Tea Party tax protests of 2009 are gaining a little steam. Right-wing extremists (a.k.a. sore losers) are planning to revolt...good luck with that. There's something to be said about these people who are completely against the Obama administration. As citizens we should always scrutinize our president, congresspeople, governors, mayors, city councils and every other government head, but this movement which Republicans are endorsing is just anti-intellectual. Although I do have to admit, even my Republican friends are saying this is taking it too far.
Just watch the video below, I'm pretty sure the woman at the end could've shouted "get your guns" and these people would've agreed. On a side note, the Department of Homeland Security released information today about right-wing extremists and their threat level.

Not tyranny...oh no!!!

2009-04-08T07:51:00.000-07:00

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

M - Th 11p / 10c

Baracknophobia - Obey

comedycentral.com

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Schlabach: Wolverine fans get on board for MSU #13

2009-04-06T10:19:00.001-07:00

Schlabach: Wolverine fans get on board for MSU #13

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Go Green! Go White!

2009-04-03T09:34:00.000-07:00

MSU plays UConn this Saturday in the Final Four. The Detroit Free Press is live broadcasting their practice. You can watch it here:

There's right and then there's wrong

2009-04-03T08:57:00.000-07:00

Malawi denied an adoption of a 3-year-old Malawian girl to Madonna.

This is good.

Malawi — as well as the rest of Africa — is not a place to go and "buy babies" to make yourself look good. Although Madonna was denied because she didn't abide by the country's residency rule for adoptions, her life has gone through so major uprooting over the past months.

Usually people who have undergone a high-profile "alledged" affair (A-Rod), a high-profile divorce (Guy Ritchie), and a high-profile random relationship with a model young enough to be her son named Jesus, don't go off adopting children illegally in Malawi, especially after the controversy from the first adoption.

I understand she's trying to do a good thing, by helping a little girl whose grandmother can no longer take care of her, but wasn't the problem with Madonna's first adoption the fact that she knew nothing about Malawi's laws, society and culture. Isn't that the real reason she had to give visitation rights to her adopted son's family? There is a huge difference between Angelina Jolie and Madonna in the way they have gone about their adoptions. At least Angelina immerses herself in her adopted child's cultural backgrounds and look to understand. Seems to me Madonna feels entitled because she's Madonna.

If Madonna really wanted to adopt a child and help make their life better, how about one of the millions of American foster care children? Or how about one of the thousands from her home-state of Michigan? Or perhaps the glam-queen might actually have to put in the work to prove to American social workers she would be capable of taking on another adopted child. Or maybe, she was just hoping her money would buy her another one?

Why I Do...What I Do

2009-04-02T11:27:00.000-07:00

Don't expect sympathy cards from crooks, corrupt politicians
By LEONARD PITTS JR.
lpitts@miamiherald.com

On the day the last newspaper is published, I expect no sympathy card from Kwame Kilpatrick. Were it not for a newspaper -- The Detroit Free Press -- his use of public funds to cover up his affair with one of his aides would be unrevealed and, he might still be mayor of Detroit.

Nor will I expect flowers from Larry Craig. Were it not for a newspaper -- The Idaho Statesman -- we would not know of his propensity for taking a ''wide stance'' in airport men's rooms and he might still be serving in the U.S. Senate. And I doubt there will be a toast of commiseration from Reynaldo Diaz and Oscar Rivero. Were it not for a newspaper -- The Miami Herald -- they would still be living large on money scammed from an agency that builds housing for the poor.

In short, the day the last newspaper is published -- a day that seems to be rushing at us like a brick wall in an old Warner Bros. cartoon -- I will not be surprised if the nation's various crooks, crumbs and corruptors fail to shed a tear. But the unkindest cut of all, the ``Et tu, Brute?'' dagger in the back, is the fact that, according to a new survey from the Pew Project for Excellence in Journalism, most other Americans won't, either. Pew found 63 percent of respondents saying that if their local paper went down, they would miss it very little or not at all.

It is the insult that compounds the injury, by which I mean the growing sense that we are working on the last major story of our lives, and it is an obituary. Ours.

There remain pockets of optimism -- Pew's new State of the News Media report says ''We still do not subscribe to the theory that the death of the industry is imminent. The industry over all in 2008 remained profitable.'' -- but it is hard to find much reflection of that sunny outlook in the newsroom, as colleagues are shoved unceremoniously into the unemployment line, media giants declare bankruptcy, and century-old papers shut down.

And yes, I know some putative conservatives, displaying their usual delusions of potency, are gloating over all that. These hard times, they feel, are due to people turning against an industry they regard as biased against their ideology. But if that were true, the only papers in trouble would be those that endorsed Kerry over Bush and Obama over McCain.

That is not the case. We are all suffering. That's because the industry's decline is not due to ideology but to the fact that it was slow to recognize and react to the threat the Internet represented. So if we die, it will not be at the hands of righteous conservatives, but because we failed to anticipate and strategize.

Which is small comfort. Dead is dead.

And too many of us fail to understand what that death would mean, believe newspapers provide no service they can't get elsewhere. But there is a reason Craig and Kilpatrick were not taken down by CNN or the local TV news. Local TV news specializes in crime, weather and sports. CNN has a national purview. Even the Internet primarily synthesizes reporting done in other media.

No, only the local paper performs the critical function of holding accountable the mayor, the governor, the local magnates and potentates for how they spend your money, run your institutions, validate or violate your trust. If newspapers go, no other entity will have the wherewithal to do that. Which means the next Blagojevich gets away with it. The next Kilpatrick is never caught. The next Diaz and Rivero laugh all the way to the bank. And the next Freddie Pitts and Wilbert Lee, two innocent men saved from Death Row by the indefatigable reporting of The Miami Herald's Gene Miller, are executed.

Sixty-three percent of all Americans think they won't miss the daily paper? I think 63 percent of all Americans are wrong.

To Support a charity or Not...that is the question...for Kelly Killgoren Bensimon

2009-03-25T15:52:00.000-07:00

Besides Jill, I actually think Kelly is a real New York socialite house(ex)wife, but last night's episode of the Real Housewives of New York just made her look fug, on both the inside and out. BTW, she is not a real journalist. Writing fluff pieces for Page Six about your friends is not journalism, especially when they're giving you free items.

Punch Drunk?

2009-03-23T09:26:00.000-07:00

Everyone is in somewhat of a furor over last night's CBS 60 Minutes interview with President Barack Obama.

Kroft: "You're sitting here. And you're -- you are laughing. You are laughing about some of these problems. Are people going to look at this and say, 'I mean, he's sitting there just making jokes about money --' How do you deal with -- I mean, wh -- explain."

Obama: "Well --

Kroft: " -- the mood and your laughter."

Obama: "Yeah, I mean, there's got to be --"

Kroft: "Are you punch drunk?"

Obama: "No, no. There's gotta be a little gallows humor to get you through the day. You know, sometimes my team -- talks about the fact that if -- if you had said to us a year ago that -- the least of my problems would be Iraq, which is still a pretty serious problem -- I don't think anybody would have believed it. But -- but we've got a lot on our plate. And -- a lot of difficult decisions that we're going to have to make."

Watch CBS Videos Online

If you're not watching Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, here's just one more reason you should...

2009-03-23T09:08:00.001-07:00

Public Enemy were the performers for last Monday night and used their chance on stage to perform with house band The Roots.

Chrisanna Drama

2009-03-09T11:44:00.000-07:00

Oprah emphatically stated on her show to Rihanna, "if he hit you once, he'll do it again!" WoW, you know if the big O calls you out like that you're career will never be the same again. Chris might as well hang it up, because I really don't see anyway for him to rebound....except maybe the book deal he and RiRi are working on about abuse!?!? WTF! Check out how Rihanna may end up hurting herself in the long-run with this reconciliation at johnjohnsaidit.com.

Check out clips from the big O educating RiRi:

O shares the cover.

2009-03-09T11:20:00.000-07:00

Oprah shares the cover of the latest edition of O Magazine with First Lady Michelle Obama. The magazine will feature and interview about life in the White House. I don't ever remember a time the big O ever shared a cover with anyone, especially since she's made a point of appearing on every single cover issue since day one — which of course you can do when you own your own magazine and company. The magazine debuts March 17.

WANTED: Sudan's President

2009-03-04T06:37:00.000-08:00

The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity against civilians. THEY DID NOT CHARGE HIM WITH GENOCIDE, despite the fact that it has been generally accepted that the situation in Darfur, Sudan was and is genocide.
Check out the NY Times article here.

NY Times Op-ED: Will Africa Let Sudan off the hook?

2009-03-03T11:10:00.000-08:00

The New York Times has a great op-ed piece from Desmond Tutu about how big a deal tomorrow is. The International Criminal Court is expected to issue a warrant for the arrest of Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir.
He's blatantly stood ignorant and has allegedly promoted the genocide that has occurred against the African Sudanese and Darfur people.

The Roots as house band for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

2009-03-03T08:59:00.001-08:00

Only the best hip-hop band on the planet...check out their first day on their new gig as house band for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

the eXclusive

December 2011 Length Check

Protective Styling

What's In My Hair???

Return of the Poof

Braids

Vacation Hair

Random Hair Tip for the Day

Wake me when it's over!

Transition Over

Denman Brush

The Great "Going Natural" Guide ~ Part Two

Hair pieces

The Great "Going Natural" Guide ~ Part One

Dictionary:

BC — "Big Chop" is a term used to describe completely cutting off relaxed hair at any one time.

ACV — Apple Cider Vinegar

Baggy — A deep conditioning or pre-poo treatment where you apply conditioner to the hair and cover it with a plastic hair cap. You can "baggy" your hair for any extended period of time to allow moisture to seep into the hair follicle.

Co-Wash — using a conditioner to wash your hair, instead of shampoo

Cones — Or "silicones" are ingredients in hair products that aren't water soluble. They can make your hair dry or break the strands.

Deep Conditioning/Treatment — Applying a specifically defined deep treatment/conditioner to the hair for an extended amount of time. Heat may be applied.

Essential Oils

EVOO — Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Pre-poo — A conditioning treatment used prior to shampooing. It's a mixture of oils or conditoiners applied before shampooing to help maintain moisture.

Sealing — Applying a water-based moisturizer to the hair and following it with a cream/butter/oil to trap the water into the hair shaft.

Co-washing/Shampooing

One of the first things you'll have to decide, is how often you will want/need to clean your hair. My typical schedule is about once a week I co-wash, but every four weeks (or once a month) I shampoo.

My favorite shampoo/co-washing products (ordered from most favorite, to least):

Trader Joe's Tea Tree Tingle Conditioner — $4 from Trader Joe's. Every time I stop at a Trader Joe's I make sure to stock up on this product. It provides excellent slip for easy detangling, feels amazing on my scalp, and provides sooooo much moisture.

The Great "Going Natural" Guide

Elizabeth Taylor

Trying Something New - Wash 'n Go Buns

Organic Root Stimulator Nature's Shine

Kinky Curly

Broadcast reporter goes natural on TV

New Year's Resolutions

Professional Service Pt. 2

Professional Service

I love my curls...

Weird Hair Moment: "Can I touch your hair?"

Henna

Sesame Street song: I Love My Hair

Long Overdue

My Social Media addiction

Hair Growth - 1 year anniversary of going natural

Happy One Year Anniversary to Me!!!

In my spritz bottle...

Humidity and my Hair

This time last year....

Feeling the Natural Love

Braidout Video

Product Review: Yes to Cucumbers Daily Makeover Conditioner

To -Cone or not? that is the question...

Product Review: Yes to Carrots Hair and Scalp Moisturizing Mud Mask

Stretching

Product Review: Burt's Bees

Twist and Trim

Too Excited... Sex and the City 2 trailer

Baby received a relaxer

Product Review: Karen's Body Beauiful

Rollersetting

Listen Now: Diggy Simmons "The First Flight" mix tape

Stylz

Back on Twitter, Follow me @AASmith8608

Watching: Spartacus: "Blood and Sand"

Product Review: Kinky-Curly Curling Custard

Hair Update: No good, just the bad and ugly

Hair Update: The Substitute

Hair Update: What Not to Do

Dumb Comment of the Day

In Honor of "Lost" final season...

The audacity of Joe Jackson...

My Top Movies of the Decade

Listen Now: Robin Thicke's "Sex Therapy: The Experience"

Nice Point

Trailer Tuesday

Holiday Vacay

Courage to BC

Transition Update

My first Black Friday trip