Curls. Crowns 'N Curves

Posts tagged natural hair

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I saw this a couple of months ago and have been debating whether or not I should straighten my hair…at any rate, its good to see how others do it. So enjoy!

How I Straighten My Natural Hair (by KinkyKurlyQueen)

 Just in case it’s hard to read the captions I transcribed them for you below…
(0:41)• Prepping To Flat Iron (in order):
Wash w/ Elucence Moisture Benefits Shampoo.
Condition w/ Aubrey Organics GPB Conditioner.
Deep conditioner overnight using Bee Mine’s BEE-U-Tiful deep conditioner.
Rinse in the morning.
Apply Grape Seed Oil and allow the hair to air dry until damp.
Blow dry using the “Tension Method”.
(2:2)• Note
What looks like smoke is actually steam…Steam is the MaxiGlide’s key feature.
It helps to smooth the hair and gives shine!! If you look closely 
you can see me pressing the steam button :)
(3:41)• The only products used to straighten my hair were 
Grape Seed Oil, which was apply when my hair was wet 
and Cantu “Super Shine” Hair Silk.
Try not to pile on too many products, doing so can 
weight the hair down too much and cause buildup.
(7:15)• High heat is NOT necessary to get “natural hair” straight! My 
MaxiGlide is only set to level 4 (of 10) and 
although it’s not bone straight it’s close enough for me.
Maintain a medium heat setting and use small/thin sections. This way 
you’ll get it straight without having to go over it more than once, twice at the 
most. Slightly lowering the risk of heat damage.
(11:02)• This video was recorded on 11/24 and I was able to maintain the look up 
until 12/14. I actually could have keep it straight longer, but 
my ends were screaming for water and my scalp needed a  good wash!!
Also I’m happy to report that my kinks and curls made a full recovery 
back to their natural selves lol! I won’t front though…I always get nervous 
and  feel like they just might not come back this time…but they did. Thank 
Goodness :) Flat ironing is risky business, be careful ladies!
For more pictures visit my teaser post HERE!

Filed under natural hair Straightening Natural Hair Flat Iron blow out black hair hair natural long hair curly hair

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Blog from Bloom TCI: Tangle Beef!

Can I just take a minute to say…I HATE detangling my hair!  I mean, seriously.  Just typing the word makes my tongue go dry and I start to perspire slightly on my top lip!! C’mon you guys!!  I can NOT be alone in this!  Really!  Doesn’t the tension in your neck begin to build from Wednesday night just thinking about the effort that Saturday is going to entail.  Now, I know some sisters have these AMAZING regimines which include finger detangling, copious amounts of some exotic oil, two strand twisting or some such styling and several hours of romantic comedies.  As much as I aspire to such dedication with my ‘fro, I would be a liar of the highest degree to even remotely claim that I ascribe to the same disciplines.  For me, my extra wide tooth comb, a new botte of Burt’s Bees conditioner and an uninterrupted shower (thanks to hubby running interference with the kiddos) and that is all I’ve got in me.  Or, in that case, time for!  I know I should then graduate to the, slightly finer, wide tooth comb and then protectively style to ensure stretching my coils and ensuring a better detangle next time.  That amongst mountains of other advice that I am sure I should be taking to make the experience less traumatic next time around….but do I do it…..nah!  Apparently, though my left brain knows what should be done, my free spirit, hippie right brain somehow still believes that the Detangle Fairy will appear on Friday night and I will arise Saturday morning with easily manuverable tresses!  Don’t bet your Kinky~Curly on it!!  How is it we can know better but not do better?
~

Galatians 5:1  “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.”  NKJV
It is so easy to slide into old habits….and to justify them!  Even when we know that doing things the right way may be more challenging but will save us headache in the long run.  Yet, somehow we wallow in the stubborness of it all.  Really, avoiding the “tangles” of life has more to do with busying ourselves doing what we should be doing.  Then there is less room to fall into it if we are too busy doing theopposite of it.  In this verse, Paul was telling us all to basically stick to what we know works!  Once we understand the freedom we have in Christ, stand firm in it so that we don’t allow the slavery of sin to take us hostage!  A steady regimine of communing with the Lord will definitely cut down on having to do major Spirtual Surgery on a regular basis!  It doesn’t have to be a complex regimine, just something tailored to our Spiritual needs and sincere to the soul.  Detangling the difficult areas of our life is a daily process.  It must be done carefully and steadily.  Prepare to loose a few things and sometimes we have to cut some knots out!  But the Holy Spirit is a great conditioner and He can make the process a whole lot smoother if we allow Him!
Posted by at 23.3.12 
http://www.bloomtci.blogspot.com/

Filed under natural hair curls hair

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Blog from Bloom TCI: The “Anti-Naturalista”



So, what is a “Naturalista” anyway?  Well, I guess since its a completely invented word, it can mean almost anything! LOL!  But, my definition is a woman who lives by the intangible.  She enjoys keeping her life and her look in an organic state.  No, I don’t mean “raised with out chemicals” organic.  Although, that may apply at times!  I mean organic as is full of the life that flows from the inside.  Her home is filled with life.  Her workplace is affected by her “life energy”.  Her personal style flows from her life energy, not from a desire to keep up with trends set by outward influences.  That doesn’t mean she is never trendy…it just means that she wouldn’t pick up a trend if it did not truly reflect her inner self.  Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s talk about the “Anti-Naturalista”!
Going natural is one of the hottest trends out there right now.  When done by a Naturalista for personal and sincere reasons, it is a great expression of self-contentment and positive confidence.  When done by an “Anti-Naturalista”, it becomes a mundane series of conversations about hair typing, fighting shrinkage, and streams of self pics documenting length and curl definition.  I see you’re about to throw a handful of Eco Styler in my face!  Just give me a second!!! I am NOT saying that chats about products and techniques are not necessary when caring for our delicate coils.  I am saying that when I get an email from you and the first item you address after greeting me is always an offer to send me a new pic of your latest hair status or a detailed description of how bouncy your curls were after treatment thus and such…….sigh…….I think you might be an Anti-Naturalista.
~
II Timothy 3:6-7  “For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of truth.” ESV
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Now, this verse was the apostle Paul warning Timothy, a young pastor, of how to spot false teachers and false prophets.  Even in Biblical times there were those who were using Christianity as a means to emotionally manipulate people.  Wow.  Not that my hair is NEARLY as crucial as my SOUL, but I can’t help but see a parallel between sisters who become emotionally crippled by depending on false doctrine that feeds their insecurities and sisters who become obsessed with commentary on their tresses because it affirms their beauty.  The women Paul was talking about were injured and damaged, therefore it was easy for these manipulators to capture their attention.  Also, they were band wagoners.  Wherever the running fad is coming from is where they want to be.  Where they NEED to be.  This gives them a sense of belonging.  Talking incessantly about our hair does not help us “belong” with each other.  It keeps us distracted FROM each other.  We become trapped in a constant cycle of narcissism; identifying with our hair rather than letting the hair become part of our identity. 
Let’s try a fresh approach.  Let’s talk about our hair as much as we talk about our teeth or our kneecaps.  Naturalistas set their hair free from the pretense of chemical processing NOT so they can draw attention to their waves every chance they get.  They do it because they want their hair to be as free as their spirit.  Don’t entertain Anti-Naturalista’s in their obsessions.  There may be some deeper emotional and spiritual needs there that manifest in their hair fetish.  Let’s encourage our girlfriends to define themselves not their curl type.
~
Posted by at 21.3.12 
http://www.bloomtci.blogspot.com/

Filed under natural hair curls hair

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Que Linda!! Miss Rizos of MissRizos.com

For all of my Dominican Sista’s, here is a different take on the natural hair journey from Miss Rizos who resides in the Dominican Republic.

Here is a little info about her:

Mi nombre es Carolina y aunque me críe la mayoría de mi vida en los EE.UU, soy Dominicana de pura cepa. Ya llevo dos años viviendo en nuestra hermosa media isla y tengo que admitir que me encanta el calorcito.  Hace un año y pico decidí cortarme el cabello y lucir mis rizos naturales. Fue algo que quería hacer desde hace muchos años pero el miedo a como me vería y al rechazo de la sociedad, no me dejaba. Por fin, y después de 15 años desrizándome decidí hacerlo. 

Me mataba la curiosidad de ver mi cabello natural ya que nunca duraba mas de dos meses sin desrizarlos. Cada ves que tenia crecimiento, me ponía a jugar con el y a pensar como luciría. Mas allá de la curiosidad, quería darle un chin de amor a mi pobre cabellito que fue violentado tantas veces con secadores, blowers, planchas y desrizados. Yo me comencé a preguntar por que le llamaban malo, difícil de manejar, y por que me tenían que matar las ondas.

Hay gente que decide hacerlo poco a poco pero hubo una batalla, que batalla, fue mas una guerra de texturas en mi cabeza y finalmente el cabello afro, gano.  No puedo negar que fueron muchas las veces que llore por que me sentía fea y dique como un hombre. Pero esos mismos sentimiento y ese mismo proceso me ayudaron a deconstruir todas esas ideas erróneas. La verdad es que hoy puedo decir que me siento increíblemente hermosa y cómoda con mi cabello y por eso estoy aquí, en este espacio.

Esta pagina fue creada para contestar muchas de esas preguntas que yo tuve y que ahora tienen muchas de mis amigas que están pensando o que quieren solta en banda el desrizado y dejar sus rizos simplemente ser.  Llámales como tu quieras rizos, afro, crespo, cabello natural, el punto es que son tuyos y son hermosos sin importar la textura, dale un poco de cariñito y trátalo bien! 

Besos,

Miss Rizos 


Check her out at www.MissRizos.com

Filed under natural hair curls hair