Shea Lets Loose on her Natural Curls

My Name is Shea, and I'm from the Rotten Apple!!!

When did you go natural and why?

I grew out my relaxer in 2001, but continued pressing my hair because I didn't know how else to care for it. When I found nappturality a little over 3 years ago, only then did I realize there were other options besides flatironing, and gradually I stopped. Now I press it out twice a year to get a trim and that's it.

I stopped both of the above cause I saw other gorgeous ladies walking around with a head full of natural, beautiful hair and I thought, why can't I? So literally, I made up my mine to go natural. The process took about 4 seconds, literally.

What have you loved most about being natural?

The advice, the knowledge, the people!! Some say "it's just hair" but it's a bit more than that for a lot of people. This has become more of a hobby for me, something I enjoy learning about and researching. Plus I've actually gained quite a few friends through this whole process and that was nice.

What I also love is helping others in learning how to care for and accept their hair, and when they come back to you and say hey, I tried xyz that you told me and it worked! You can't help but smile. Again, it may seem like a small thing to people, but some ladies have actually grown up with issues where they were called names by friends or even family, so they have some really deep rooted issues. When you are told that you helped someone overcome those issues, it's a beautiful thing.

What have you liked least?

The psychotic people that try to put others down. I mean really, do these people have a life? Oh, and washing my hair in the cold @$ winter. It's not fun trying to twist your hair, as you fingers go numb. Have you ever tried it? Not fun at all.

What's your best advice for people transitioning to natural?

Stick with it!!! Research, research, research. And ignore the negative comments, cause trust me, everyone from your family to the little ants on the sidewalk will have an opinion, be it good, bad or indifferent. Say thank you to the positive and screw you to the negative. People tend to shut up around me now cause I will go there, now matter how close we are.


What are your favorite natural hair care websites or forums?

Nappturality.com
Naturallycurly.com
Longhaircareforum.com


What are your top three products and why?

DARN YOU!!!!! I'm foiled again! So many people ask me this *sigh*. Shall I name lines? Or actually products? Okay, I'll name actual things and keep it simple. If I HAD to pick, I'd choose black soap, cause you can use it from head to toe, karen's body beautiful hair milk cause that thing helps shine, define, and detangle like nobody's business, and Jamaican black castor oil cause I couldn't believe how soft it left my hair.


Find out more about Shea on fotki at http://members.fotki.com/EmpressRi/about/ and hope you're all keeping your hair kinky!

Short Loc Hairstyles

You can do these styles with plaits or braids too. Enjoy!

Shalilac's Hot Style

Today's Hot Style comes from Shallilac of Fotki. Check out her blog here.
http://shalilac.blogspot.com/

The Lips Have It

The lips have it today. As you all know, every once in a while I like to leave you with a little beauty suggestion. I tried the lipstick combination in the pic and really liked it. The mixture of lipstick and gloss lasted for hours without reapplication. Click on the image for a larger view of the shades and brands. Hope you try it if you like it.

Keep It Kinky!

100 Day Challenge Update & Olive Oil Braids Treatment

With 58 Days to go, I'm almost halfway!

For everyone who doesn't know, I've been on a 100 day hair challenge since December 17, 2008. Click here to see the rules of the challenge. It's going very well. I changed hairstyles once and been in braids for about 3 weeks. It's been great not having to comb my hair. I did however become concerned about moisturizing or deep conditioning my hair. So after much thought, I found a solution.

A hot extra virgin olive oil treatment. It was GREAT. I washed my hair with shampoo then applied the olive oil, covered my hair with a cap and two towels for heat, then washed out the oil with a light conditioning shampoo after 30 minutes. My braids and hair are not matted like it they are after conditioner washes and my hair is ridiculously soft. I needed to redo my edges anyway, and was surprised how soft and moisturized my natural hair was after taking out the kanekalon hair. I'll definitely be using olive oil for regular deep moisturizing treatments on my natural hair after the braids are out.

A Hot Style Hairstyle Tutorial

Well I'm back with another tutorial. This one takes about 2 minutes (if that long) to create and is fun for a night out on the town. Click on the image to view the tutorial or click HERE.

Corporate Napps: A Kinky Haired Lady's Profile

CorporateNapps, Southeast, TX

KiK: When did you go natural and what have you loved most about being natural?

CorporateNapps: My last relaxer was August 2005. Overcoming, in my mind, the stereotype of what beauty is as it relates to hair and other physical features is what I've loved the most.

KiK: What have you liked least?

CorporateNapps: The time it takes to create many styles.

KiK: What's your best advice for people transitioning to natural?

CorporateNapps: Stick with it and learn what products and styles work best for your hair.

KiK: What is your best advice for people who are trying to stay natural?

CorporateNapps: Before making any drastic change, whether it be coloring, cutting, locing, or deciding to relax, wait a full 7 days from the time you make the decision before making the change. This way, you will know whether or not you truly want to make the change or if it's just frustration in the moment.

Also during that time period, put your hair in a protective style because if it is frustration, it will only be amplified if you are dealing with your hair daily while trying to make a decision. This has saved me from doing a lot of crazy things to my hair that I know I would have regretted in the longrun.

KiK: What is your favorite natural hair care website or forum?

CorporateNapps: I used to frequent Nappturality several hours a day and night when I was transitioning all the way through my 2 year period of being natural. And other than support from the ladies on Fotki, I don't really visit other sites regularly.

KiK: What are your top three products and why?

CorporateNapps: 100% Raw Shea Butter - My ends love it and it helps to seal in any other moisturizer I use.
100% Coconut Oil - My hair, when in twists, thrives on this stuff. Perfect for winter.
ORS Olive Oil Creme - This is my new love. Even though it's light, it gives great moisture. Used mostly on my ends.
As you can see, I am really into moisture.

KiK: What has been your experience being natural in the corporate world?

CorporateNapps: My name gives way to this question a lot. I have to be honest. All of the pressures about my natural hair being appropriate for Corporate America were self-induced. I had been debating going natural probably about 3 years before my last relaxer. I had that hang-up of whether or not people would see me as a professional with kinky hair.

The truth is, I don't think anyone in corporate views me any differently than if I wore a relaxer. Mind you, I am very conservative with my work attire as well as my hair styles. I feel that because my hair does not look like the majority, I utilize my attire to kind bridge that gap. For work, I am usually in a pant/skirt suit or slacks/jacket and my hair is usually in an updo. I definitely have my bad hair days when I am ready to wear it "out" to work, and in the humidity, my hair becomes larger than life. But that is rare and on those days I just step a little bit harder to assure myself that I’m still working it:-)

I can tell you this. The people who I thought would have a problem, non-Blacks, don't know the difference or don't care to act like they do. Because Blacks historically carry a lot of stereotypes about nappy hair, I think when Blacks get comfortable with me in my work environment they tend to ask more questions.

I've come to realize that it's all about how you carry yourself.


KiK: Where on the web can you be found?
CorporateNapps: http://public.fotki.com/CorporateNapps/

Revamp Your Old Scarf Tutorial

Hi guys. Just to switch it up a bit, I did a scarf tutorial. This video is a sewing tutorial showing how you can easily revamp your scarf. I got the inspiration from a natural diva who actually sells her own scarfs. View her scarves here.

Please click on my picture or click HERE to view my video tutorial. It was a lot of trial and error but very fun. I love sewing and DIY projects!

Trimming the Dusting Way

Hi guys. I don't know if you all remember that article I wrote for NaturalHairCareGuide about dusting as a method of trimming hair. PrettyDimples did a video on it. It shows how easy it is to trim/dust your hair ends while natural. Hope you all enjoy watching the video below!

More Hot Style Tutorials

I'm back with another tutorial. Click on the image of the style of here to view the tutorial on Youtube.

Hot Style Hairstyle Tutorial

You've all been asking so I'm trying to supply what's in
demand - tutorials! Click on the image or click here to view the tutorial for this style.

Acne-Friendly Moisturizer and Braids Spray Product Review

Hi everyone. Just letting you all know I did another Youtube video. Click on the image to play the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xggjfatS1pY&feature=channel_page

Styles by Mika

Hey Everyone. Mika from Caribbean Natural Hair Scene has definitely been boasting some very creative hairstyles. To see hers and other hairstyles and to find out what's going on in the Caribbean Natural Hair Scene, visit her site HERE.

Spice up your Hair Life

Hey everyone. I purchased a new accessory. Honestly, it feels a bit young for me. I'm almost 30 yrs old and I dunno, it's cute but not very mature-looking. Of course, you're as young as you feel but I don't feel this young. Perhaps it's all in my head. I bought the accessory at Forever21 for about $3. They have lots of cute accessories. Of course there are always places like CVS and Claire's too.

I know sometimes we get really bored with our hair. Sometimes an accessory can spice up your hair life. I still think this one in particular is kinda cute.

Updated Washing Method

I tweaked my washing method just a little. Here's the video to show you what I did.

Braids Wash Day

It's wash day! I've had my braids in for about 2 weeks now. Between the disgusting gunk and white flakes on my scalp and the itching, it's definitely time to wash my hair. I'll be using extra virgin coconut oil I got from the health food store on my scalp since I don't have the spray she's talking about in the video. (The video below shows you how I apply the shampoo to my hair and how I apply the oil as well.)

Tips for Washing Braids

1. Use a clear shampoo on the scalp (it's easier to wash out).
2. Use a natural oil on your scalp. Oiling your hair may cause too much build-up and cause your hair to mat.
3. Use a braids spray mixed with Infusium 21 on your hair to maintain strength andadd moisture.

100 Day Challenge Update

I have 68 Days left on my 100 Day Challenge. I have some decent growth after two weeks of Rope Twists with Kanekalon hair. I'll be doing more tutorials soon so don't forget to subscribe!

Loc Knots Hairstyle

Cheap Nude Lips for Black Women

I did a quick video on where to find nice & cheap nude lipsticks for Black women for my youtube channel. Check it out by clicking on the image below.

Hot Style And Tutorial

Hey everyone. Today's Hot Style comes to us from Kamikak on Fotki. She also has a video tutorial to accompany her style. I hope you all enjoy trying the style. Thanks for sharing Kamikak!

An Old Style and New Tutorial

Remember this style I did the other day with my hair in natural twists? Well, I found a tutorial online (on youtube) that may help you achieve it on your own.

Check out the video tutorial.

The video came from the wonderful Black Onyx of Youtube and Fotki. This is her channel address ( http://keepitkinky.blogspot.com/2009/01/old-style-and-new-tutorial.html ) but you can check out here video below.

Twisted Hairstyle Tutorial

Hey Everyone. For those of you who haven't subscribed to my Youtube channel, I've done a new tutorial video. It simply shows you how I created the style in today's pic. Click HERE for the video tutorial.

Keep It Kinky!

Nail Polish Madness

For someone who writes a money column, I'm definitely not frugal enough. I felt like running out and buying a new bottle of nail polish I saw on someone's blog but figured I'd do an inventory first. The plan - no new polishes for at LEAST 6 months.











I have 13 bottles of nail polish!!!! I could hardly believe it. It's somewhat embarrassing since I've been doing my nails just once a month and I'm a trained nail technician (not practicing, just trained). I even have two that look almost exactly alike - shameful. Anyway, I'll be doing a lot better and I've found some great tutorials on youtube. I hope to share some with you soon and show you the results I got after trying some cute designs too.

Kinky-haired Profiler - Todra Payne

Who’s Profiling: Todra Payne, Pennsylvania
Blog: www.makeuptheory.blogspot.com

When did you go natural and why?
I went natural about fifteen years ago. At the time I did it because I wanted locs. I’ve since cut off my locs. But as I’ve become more natural in other areas of my life, particularly with eating organic foods, keeping my hair natural just makes sense. I also teach workshops on makeup and beauty – much of what I use and talk about in my workshops are healthy and organic products. I suppose going natural with my hair was the first step towards a more aware and healthy lifestyle, but I didn’t realize it at the time.

What have you loved most about being natural?
Honestly, I love standing out – not looking like the crowd. I don’t understand why such a large percentage of African-American women have relaxers and fake hair. I’m not saying it’s wrong to have a certain style. But I wonder why it is such a disproportionate number of women who look like that instead of more natural. I think advertising and music videos are influencing our choices. I refuse to have my style dictated by ad agencies and the media’s view of what’s attractive or acceptable.

What have you liked least?
It was so much work educating myself on how to take care of my natural hair. I’ve repeatedly cut my hair back to a TWA because initially I couldn’t figure out how to care for it. Most commercial products, even the so-called black hair care products – have incredibly harmful, unhealthy ingredients in them. My hair would look great for a few months and then it would get dry, brittle and break off. I had to rethink how I was taking care of my hair. I had to learn, in some cases, to make my own hair products because I don’t want parabens, mineral oil or carcinogens in my products. But now that I know what I’m doing, I love taking care of my hair and it’s thriving.


What's your advice for people transitioning to natural?
Learn everything you can about taking care of natural hair BEFORE you do your Big Chop. If you don’t know how to take care of your natural hair, the first time it gets dry and looks bad, you’ll run back to the relaxer. Most commercial products designed for relaxed hair aren’t going to nourish natural hair. The other thing to take into consideration is how much you’re affected by other people’s opinions and comments. The reality is people may say ignorant things about YOUR hair and YOUR decisions because they are buying into the whole idea that only European hair is attractive. “Go straighten your hair and cover up your naps!” Black men can be your loudest critic. If you’re someone who’s easily hurt, going natural may be a harder journey for you.

What is your best advice for people who are trying to stay natural?
Get around other women who are sporting natural. If you’re always looking at images of black pop stars in blond lace front wigs, you are going to feel all alone out there with your little curls. But honestly, you’re not. Find images of beautiful naturals like Esparanza Spalding, Sophie Okonedo and YaYa to inspire you. I have a photo collection of natural haired models and celebs that remind me that there’s more than one definition of beauty.

What is your favorite natural hair care website or forum?
I have to say almost everything I learned was from MotownGirl. I found her by accident and was simply glued to the computer screen when I read how she takes care of her natural hair. I’ve made most of her hair care recipes. A whole new world opened up for me.

I also love my community of sistas who are on Fotki. It’s not a natural hair site, but there’s an amazing group of ladies on there who share product advice, hair routines and encouragement. I’ve gained so much from them.

What are your top three products and why?
Body art quality henna from Mehandi.com – because I love coloring my curls, but commercial dyes destroy my hair. Pure henna (versus much of the commercial “henna” that is laced with salts and chemicals) actually improves the quality of my hair while giving me a natural looking red tint.

Caramel Treatment recipe from MotownGirl’s website – it’s a deep conditioner I make out of organic bananas, raw honey, olive oil and a few other natural ingredients that really condition my hair and leave it incredibly soft.

Flax seed gel – I make a gel by boiling flax seeds in hot water and I use this for a soft hold twist out in the summer. My hair looks good and there’s no “crunch factor” like with store-bought gels.

Long Hair Inspiration

Do you have dreams of long natural hair? Perhaps your hair was long when it was relaxed. This video is inspirational and proves that you can have long nappy hair.

Hairzings & EZ Combs

Hey everyone.

So after paying a load for Hairzings I found out about EZ combs. Of course I went crazy and bought three more. I paid $16+ for 3 of them and I'm waiting on the EZ combs to arrive. EZ combs are just like hairzings. I'm just hoping they;re of the same quality. Click here to see my video tutorial and product review.

Hairzings can be purchased at http://www.hairzing.com/
EX combs can be purchased at http://www.buyezcombs.com/

What are protective styles?

I've received the question about protective styles a lot. Here is my definition.

Protective styles are any style that does not brush against your clothing or keeps your hair covered or mostly away from damaging natural elements (eg. extreme cold).

Protective styles include:

1. Headwraps using scarves.
2. Pinned up or short twists and plaits
   
3. Braid extensions
4. Pin-ups (for eg. buns, french rolls, ponytails) and Up-dos (for eg. chiney bumps/bhantu knots)
   

Shea Butter Chat

Check out my other videos here.

74 Days to Go

Hey Everyone. I have 74 days to go on my 100 Day Hair Challenge. Please let me know how you all are doing!

This is a very easy style you can create with just two large bobby pins. The tutorial on youtube HERE.

Announcement!

Hey guys. I'm merging my blogs. Makeiteasyrecipes.blogspot.com will be no more. My fotki site is slowing down too.

The main ways to keep track of the information I have to offer will be between this blog and youtube channel so please subscribe to both. See you all soon! Please remember to rate the videos and leave comments so I know what I'm doing well (or not so well). I love to know what you guys find helpful so let me know. Also, please give me your requests. i may not be able to respond to all of them but I'll try.

From now on my sites will be concerned with natural hair, beauty (acne) and health.

Keep It Kinky!

*Don't forget to subscribe*

Frohawk Tutorial

Two Simple 1 Minute Kinky Twist Styles

Hot Style

Updo Flat Twist How-To

A Little Inspiration

Just a little inspiration to get up and go! I needed this and I don't know anyone else who doesn't. This is just some stuff that everyone can be reminded of.



Keep It Kinky.

Day 16 - New Twists!

They call these rope twists in Jamaica. They are called senegalese twists or pixi braids in the US. I used Kanekalon hair and my Jamaican stylist rodded the ends. She did a great job! I'm so happy with my hair. By the way, it's even. I'm not sure why one sides looks so much longer. Anyway...

I also removed the alkaline base from the the kanekalon first and even thought there's a little itching it is much reduced. You should have seen the yucky, oily. suddy stuff that settled on top of the water. I recommend EVERYONE remove the chemicals from the kanekalon hair before braiding. Open THIS link in another window and scroll down to see how it's done.

Now some of you who've been following the blog for a while may see why I hated the previous braids I got and love these so much. This cost me less than $50 US!!! Sigh. I wish I could visit JA every 2 months to get my hair done. I think these look far more natural and wayyy more "me". I guess everyone just has their preference but this is mine. Love my new braids. Let's see how long I can get these to last. I'm aiming for two months at least. This is definitely going to help me achieve my 100 Day Challenge.

Detangling Micro Twists

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!

Yup. That's how I felt like screaming earlier today. My darling cousin who twisted my hair clearly didn't detangle properly before twisting. I could feel the knots that she twisted in. It took upwards of 5/6 hours to detangle my hair accompanied with many frustrated moans. Honestly people, I will NEVER put my hair in micro twists again. It works for some people. It doesn't for me. Someone asked me to do a tutorial on detangling micro twist but I really don't have any tips on detangling except for the following:

1. Fully detangle before you twist.
2. Use loads of conditioner

I'm getting my hair braided and I'm not sure about the twists since they're so hard for me to detangle but whatever. *sigh* I'm just exasperated after all that detangling I did earlier. I even went right back to thinking of locking. With my hair getting longer, I fear what will happen when I have to wash and detangle in another year or two with longer hair. It's such a scary thought. I guess there are both advantages and disadvantaged to having long natural hair. The result - I think I'll be going to the salon more often when my hair gets long if I don't figure something out. Fact is though, when I blow-dry and style, I'm fine with my hair. I think the no-heat thing is just not for me. Besides, there are tons of way to protect my hair from heat so if it makes my life easier, why fight it. I can always ease off the heat for a while if I see it becoming damaging right?

I'm gonna stick with the natural loose hair for now and not lock which means I'm getting my hair braided either today or later this week before I go back to the U.S. It costs under $50 (including hair) Jamaica and all of $180 at the half-decent places I know in Maryland so I'm definitely gettng braided up before I go back. Anyway, enough for now. I'll talk about my removing the alkaline base from my kanekalon hair later :-) That will be entertaining. LOL. Until then...

Keep It Kinky!

Motions Product Review

Hey Everyone. I used my aunt's products to wash my hair today and just wanted to give you a review. It's not everyday I get to try a line of products for free so I was pretty happy about this... especially since I haven't used these products since having natural hair. So I used a Motions Conditioning Shampoo, deep conditioning treatment and a leave-in treatment.

The shampoo was nice in that it really made my scalp feel refreshed without stripping my hair. I was so surprised that the Deep Penetrating Treatment conditioner made my hair feel really soft which is not something I get from most conditioners. The Leave-In Treatment was OK and added a little softness but wasn't that great in my opinion.

I went online and saw that they have a Weightless Detangling Conditioner so I'm definitely picking that up to see if it helps with the tangles after removing my braids in a few months. My take, try the Deep Treatment and the shampoo if you want to wash without that squeaky dry hair feel. I don't plan to change everything I'm using but I will be picking up the Deep Treatment and probably the detangling conditioner too!

Keep it Kinky!

Natural Hairstyles

Swimming and Protecting Your Hair

This video is about how to protect your hair from chlorine while swimming.
Click on the image to view the video.

Micro-Twist-Out

Hi all, I did a video about unravelling my micro-twists to do a micro-twist-out style. Please click on the image to watch the video or click HERE.
Remember to subscribe.