A Love me Natural - Thank you!

532 views.... Wow! Wasn't expecting that. I didn't expect that at all. I created this blog one day on one of my then usual bus rides between Buffalo and Brooklyn. Then somewhere along the way, with all the business of my life as of late, I kinda unintentionally abandoned it. :(

Over the past several weeks I've been active getting my life in the blog-o-sphere in some sort of working order. Getting rid of the pages & sites I don't need, and organizing the sites I have. Which brings me to this site this morning. I'm more of a Wordpress girl these days, but I began on blogger. I logged in to check this blog to decide what to do with it, when I saw the 532 page view. That's a lot considering I haven't been working this one. Which basically shows there is a audience somewhere out there that clicked on this blog for a reason. I feel bad that there wasn't much there for them once they arrived.

So in regards to that, I am going to keep this blog and be more active with it, continuing with my natural hair journey on here.

At this point I am 11 months natural. I looking forward to celebrating my one year natural next month on May 4th! I must admit that I didn't go hard with my daily and night time regimens, but I still managed to be somewhere about average with my growth. At last measuring about a month ago, I was somewhere about 6 inches of growth in each section of my head. That not bad,

This upcoming year, instead of letting my hair do its own thing, I have begun putting more attention into it. I've come up with a batch of scalp oil that I like a lot. I know what my hair likes and have totally fallen in love with my natural hair texture. I've also become quite acquainted with wigs, which I've been wearing a lot as the shaven side of my hair grows back. Wigs are fun!

So I won't hold you all long today. Thank you to all the 532 that dropped by without my knowledge. It is because of you that I will continue & develop this page into something worthy of your time.

Have a Beautiful and Wonderful day!

Indeed <3

Poetic Just Us. (My Senegalese Twist Experience)

 Senegalese Twist!

I just couldn't wait. Nope, I just couldn't wait. 

See I had this great idea for a awesome fall look that would not only keep my head primarily warm, but would also compliment my half shaven head and soften up my look. The solution? Senegalese Twist. I've been wanting them for a while, especially after doing a kinky twist style on my daughter that came out quite nice. All I had to do was keep on doing my little bantu knots or two strand twist for another month or so, then I could bask in the glory of fall with my warm twist and a nice outfit. But no, I'm impatient and just could not wait. 

So I hit up the neighborhood grocery store/weave spot for a couple bags of chips, soda and 7 bags of their prime Kanekalon braiding hair. They only had 4 bags of 1b left. The Arabian owner recommended that I try his cousins hair store a bout 2 miles away, but through the thick of his accent and vague directions, I was left to find another spot on my own. Now every good hair story begins with an wild goose chase all over the city for the perfect price, or color or bag of hair, so this one is no different. I drove a mile and found another store in a old ran down plaza downtown. 

I walked in and was greeted by an Asian clerk whom was more than happy to direct me to the braiding hair section with a quick point of his finger & a smile. Brown cardboard boxes lined the back wall of the store, filled with rainbows of colors of hair, yellow, pink, blue raspberry, neon green; yes the hood was definitely nearby. So of all the Nicky McNasty colors this store had to offer, their 1b Kanekalon hair packs were not only twice the cost of the previous store, they were seemingly half filled and looked as if they had been sitting for years. Probably so, I mean who in the hood would want color 1 or 1b hair, when there are so many rainbow bright colors to choose from, Right :-?

So I drove back to the store where my adventure began and opted for the 4 bags, figuring by the time I was finished installing those bags of twist, that I would have asked around and found another location that sold the same hair. 

Installing the hair 

I look mean, lol.

Well in the hair world, it's often said that anything you can do on yourself, you can do on someone else. So as I contorted my arms above my head to attach the braid hair onto the little hair I had. Then proceed to twist these long Poetic Justice like twist down to my butt..., I thought to myself, "Yeah, I would really do an awesome job on putting these on someone else". 

After 4 bags and a few hours later, I had researched & found the location of 'the cousin's' store. I hopped up, half head twisted, threw on my bandana and headed over to the other hair store. This one was even deeper in the hood, and was like the neighborhood Mecca of weave stores. I walked in to what seemed like a warehouse of hair. I wondered how many people in india sacrificed their hair to the hair gods, just to stock this store alone. But in that same breath I thought not many, as most of this hair had to be primarily synthetic; but I could be wrong. Anyhow not only did they have 2 long rows of nothing but Kanekalon Twist hair, they had Marley braid hair, Kinky braid hair all in (dare I say) really nice array of colors. I decided to get a few bags to match the color of the blonde patch in the front of my hair. I mixed it with 1b to tone it down a bit. And you say, who am I to dare use the word... Hood. Lol. 

I completed the install over the span of 10 hours, I kept getting tired and my arms felt like they wanted to fall off. My fingers felt numb & my wrist spasmed from the suspected carpel tunnel I was developing from the twisting motion. But after all the toil, I must say... They looked beautiful! :) I absolutely loved them!

Now this is where the "I probably should've waited" part comes into play. See there was a reason I knew I should've waited until fall. First of all I HATE being HOT! Summer is not, my favorite season, not by a long shot. Which is why when everyone black was uprooting and running to the "A" back in the early 90's, I pack my suitcase and radio & bounced to Philly, which still had the snow and 4 seasons I was used to. There is nothing worse than being hot and sticky to me, and I hate air conditioners they always incite sinus infections for me, so being stuck inside a freezer boxed room all day just won't work. I digressed. So needless to say, it was mid summer and the east coast has been having some very hot weather, which made for a bad choice of time for this hairstyle. 

If I wasn't sweating from the heat summer's sun & the 7 bags of hair upon my head, then I was busy trying to balance the hair that I rocked in the biggest of buns on top of my head, which I pulled up to escape the heat & keep sweat from pouring down my neck. Yeah I was cute, but suffering in silence. 

Sleeping was a chore. I had to wrap the twist in two bandanas just to get it to hold right. Then I struggled throughout the night feeling trapped to the pillow by the weight of my hair. Trapped by the gravity, then hot from the summer's night. This was definitely the wrong time to do these twist. 

I made it two weeks, then snatched my way to freedom as I cut and pulled them from my hair. 

Would I do it again? HECK Yeah! Lol. Because in the end being cute Trumps everything Right?  

Of course it does. :) 

Have you rocked Senegalese Twist? If so what was your experience? Did you love them or hate them?  Let a sista know..

What's next?.. Color removal... Taking natural to the next level... & Re-Growing a shaven side. 

Stay Tuned...

The Plug 2 Hair Style

The Plug 2.  ~ My hair tribute to Trugoy the Dove 

Usually, when I don't (want to) take the time to do my own edge ups, I make my way over to my see barber Damon. I can always count on him to get me in the chair with little or no notice at all. Another thing I can count on is Damon having the nicest hip hop blends playing softly in the background from his Iphone. Under the noisy buzzing of clippers, random TV stations & customer mutterings about the game; the melodic sounds of Rakim, The Roots, Tribe Called Quest or Jay-Z, fight to be heard from the tiny tiny Iphone speakers. 

See Damon is a DJ and well chopping heads is his day time Clark Kent persona. At night he chops beats and crate digs til the early morning. This day he's about to give me a crisp line up and shave the side of my head. I sit and wait to be draped with the ragged blue cape. The buzzers click on... and we begin our talks about love, life, trips to Brooklyn and bouncing from Buffalo. In between those rants, we brainstorm through styling ideas of swirls, stars and possible letters to be carved into my freshly shaved side. "My fiance wants me to cut it all off and get a dark Cesar.."I offer up before looking into the mirror and realizing I am obviously not ready to take it there. So as we pondered more, Damon picked up his Iphone and switched his playlist to De La Soul, and that's when it happened. 

Damon a huge De La Soul fan (like myself), stood knodding his head to the deep bellows of "Plug Tunin" of De La Soul's first album, the classic, "3FT High & Rising". "Yo! Remember this Deed?" Damon said with enthusiam. "This album was my JOINT back in the day". He reflected for a moment, smiled, then proceeded to cut my hair. We skimmed through the album talking 'bout video's and so on. Then it hit us... 

     

     "Yo Deed 'member how Trugoy was rocking the crazy out of control, peasy half-fro, in Potholes in my lawn?" 

     "Yeah that was dope. Wait remember how Maseo had the ill peace sign carved into his faded slope?"

     "Yeah that was ill."

     "Yo if you brought that back Deed, that would be hot." 

     "Yeah it would."

And there you have it, The Plug 2 was born. 

I wanted to take it all the way there and rock the peace sign like Maseo had in the video, but I really didn't want to carve all up into the dark areas of my TWA. So instead, I decided to stick to the late 80's/early 90's theme and revisit the blond patch of my youth. Yes, the infamous Kwame blond patch.

Like many kids I adored Kwame as a teen. I remember combing through clothes racks at The GAP looking for a polka dot button down. (I still have it, lol).  I also rocked a big bright blond patch in the front of my hair and another in the back on the opposite side (think checkered board, lol). It was dope though and became my trademark style throughout High School.

That's me. Senior Year 1991

So I have to give Kwame an honorable mention in the creation of this hairstyle, even though Damon officially dubbed it "The Plug 2". So yeah, you can call it a revisit, call it a tribute, call it a mid-life crisis, lol.. Call it what you want, but it came out rather... Fresh!

Indeed the 2012 version

Now the downside to all of this... (damn, there's always a downside isn't it...)

I absolutely love my new doo! But rocking this in a non progressive, rather style mimicing area like my endearing hometown of Ruff Buff (sad but true).. let's just say in a mere month of having this hairstyle.. Three of the other parents at my children's summer program, suddenly got the urge to put a blond patch in the front of their hair & shave off their sides too! That's so not fresh. So yeah, when I rolled up to pick up my kids and saw the mother with the 27 step weave version of my hair style, and the bigger lady with the rainbow dyed shaved side version of my hairstyle, I decided it was time to let them have it and move on. I had fun with it while it lasted.

What's cool though is I'm noticing more and more women even in this area, are taking steps & beginning journey's to natural healthier hair. That's a definite plus! And since being here this summer,  I've been stopped constantly by newly naturals or women currently transitioning whom complimented me on my hair asked for and shared tips/advice. I've also noticed a lot of women with gorgeous locs & natural tresses, who are definitely progressive and fashion forward. It's a small community here, but a community none the less. I'm happy to see and be a part of this movement. 

So as far as the Plug 2 hairstyle, well I put it to rest last week as I faded out the color with a darker caramel brown. I decided to stick to the 90's theme by going in the direction of a Janet Jackson "Poetic Justice" inspired look. So now I'm rocking a chunky sized Senegalese Twist ( I do not have the patience to do box braids). I kept the side shaved, because that's here to stay regardless of who bites it. And I'm having fun with my hair, which to me is the entire point of the Journey. 

What were some 90's hairstyles that Inspired YOU? Leave a comment below and Let me Know.

Next: Senegalese Twist...

                       NATURAL AGAIN.. My HAIR-STORY  

                                  Part One:"The URGE"

    

     It was March 7, 2007, winter was nearing it's end. Inside my grandmothers comfy abode, I relaxed, warm and safe from the frozen air outside. In my grey sweats and thermal top, covered by a grey stripped tee, I stood in the kitchen in front of the hot stove cooking dinner for my children. 

     I knew someday, that certain moment would come, but I never imagined that it would happen while I was in the middle of frying chicken! But, with a long two pronged metal fork in hand, flipping over a crispy brown thigh in the grease, is when it happened. A Jolt! It ricochet through my body, causing the hairs to raise on my arms, while riddling my body with goosebumps. The tingles vibrated up my legs, back, neck and head, then spread down my arms and into my hands. My fingertips throbbed, feeling so weird that I could barley remove the pieces of chicken from the pan, and place them on the white paper towel that rested upon the platter. Then without waiting for the food to properly cool, I hastily made two small plates and rushed kids to the table, so I could begin my search through my grandmother's drawers. 

     As the children blew on their steaming legs and thighs, I shuffled papers and items about, in my grandmother junk drawers. They weren't the best, but I managed to find a pair of worn scissors my grandmother must've had since her coupon cutting days. The big rusty kind they were, with black lacquered handles. They clanged together a bit loudly, as I sliced them through the air to see if they worked. They were kinda sticking a bit, but not enough to prevent me from getting the job done. The moment was now, THE URGE was pressing and I had no more time to waste. 

     I told myself to wait, because I still wasn't quite finished cooking. But as I stood watching the last few pieces of chicken bubble in the frying pan, I heard a voice in my head. "Come on! Quit draggin' and cut one!" the voice commanded. "Go ahead and see what it feels like". So, I reached up and into my hair. My fingers searched about for a sec,  then grabbed an unsuspecting loc from the back of my head. I opened the shears, and placed it in-between the thick rusty blades. It laid there limp and helpless, almost as if it knew its fate. Then in one swift unexpected motion, the blades sliced closed and… "Shrreeeech!" It was done.  The lifeless loc laid still in my hand, I looked at it, knowing there was no turning back now.

Okay.. Okay.. so I change this story, each time I tell it :)  But, for more or less this is this what happened the day I cut off my locs. Those were my 4th set of locs, I believe. I cut them several times before, but grew new ones immediately after. Each time I cut them off was for a different reason; having a unique big chop story of its own. 

Collectively, I had been natural about 12 years. And at that point in my life, I just needed a change. So, it seems while everyone else was doing the big chop and beginning their journeys towards natural hair. I was doing the opposite and blindly on my way to a place unknown. Ultimately, I just wanted to have my fun with my hair. Not saying I couldn't or didn't have fun with my locs for that matter, because I did. In fact, color was my thing; I rarely wore my locs in their natural tone. But I was at a place where I wanted to experience the many hair-style options that I felt I had been missing for over a decade. Including fulfilling my one hair-fantasy I'd secretly been dreaming of and never had before. Yes! I wanted a… WEAVE! 
Yeah, That's right. I said it… I WANTED A WEAVE! ~ I threw that rock and I'm not running, lol :)

A CHANGE.. is what I needed. I was sooooooo tired, of being the Afrocentric, Neo-nubian queen, that had an over abundance of invites to Open Mic Poetry nights, vegan parties and cultural affairs. I was dulled at attending get togethers with potlucks of hummus and pita bread, falafels or mysterious looking entrees that I was expected to try simply because there was no meat in it. I was weary of all my eat vegetarian food eating friends, incense & oil a-alikes, who greeted me with phrases like "Peace" and "Blessings". And I was especially tired of all the Nag Champa smelling knee-grows as who now flooded the cozy comfy coffee shops, in frayed hemmed jeans & sandals, trying to get philosophical all up in my ears. Bandwagon riding Br-others who thought that because they had locs, that that made them conscious, thus, a sista was supposed to give them some play.

Sigh..

At work, I was equally unenthused. My daily spectating of the call-center bourg-hetto broads in their 27 pieces & $40 quick-weaves, strutting around the office in the latest of Chinatown warehouse fashions, with their knockoff bags, was less than thrilling. Not all my co-workers were this way of course, but enough to be annoyed. And of the annoying posse, the few bold ones, who looked at me in such an abstract way. And, dared to ask (or not ask permission) to touch or feel my locks, as if their OWN roots smothered under glue, stocking caps and plastic... weren't NAPPY! A handful that I had to warn, that if I'd ever,.. Ever.. ever.. ever…come from under my kinky-coily, earthy crown of natural hair, and step into the world of weaves; That I'd have to school them in their own arena of how it really should be done. No, crispidy, crunchidy, glued on skullcaps or ponytails.. for me. Nuff said.

Okay, I digressed. So where was I in my story.. Oh yeah, I was standing at the stove with chicken still cooking, with scissors and a freshly cut loc in my hand. (yeah, back to that)...

     So there I was... looking at my little yellow loc laying dead in my hand. I touched it. Maybe even smelled it. Then placed it on the bathroom counter until I finished cooking. I kept saying "Wow" to myself. I was tripping off the fact that I was really about to cut off my hair, again. But, unlike the previous times, I wasn't about to grow a new set of locs, and didn't know when or if I ever would again. 

     Remembering that my good friend Donnie had just brought a 'Dope' new camera, from the cash prize of a commercial contest he'd recently won. I called him up and asked him to quickly come by with the camera. He arrived half hour later, just as I'd gotten the kids off to bed. By that time a few more locs had already become victim, and laid scattered about on the bathroom sink. Donnie walked in, didn't say much and just began snapping photos. He climbed in the bathtub, stood on top of the toilet and kneeled on the bathroom floor without thought. It was easy to see why he won that contest. So while he snapped away… I looked into the mirror, picked up the scissors and continued cutting. The shards of hair golden hair lightly dropped into the sink. As I cut the last strand, Donnie aimed his camera, snapped another photo, paused. "Wow, you really cut your locs off Indeed. So what's next?" he asked.. 

..I exited the bathroom & returned with an old wig I made back in hair school. "Maybe I'll rock my hair like this..." I said, as I cocked the old wig to the side of my head.  We laughed and laughed. At that moment, I really didn't know what was next for me regarding my life or my hair.. But, I was more than ready to find out.