Thought of Today

The Definition of My Hair: Densely Populated Follicles



Happy 100th Post to Me!!!

Esperanza Spalding: Re-Post on 2009 Post

Nope. The Grammy's got it wrong. There's nothing "new" about Esperanza Spalding cuz this chick has been around for a minute. Just cuz they're now acknowledging her talent doesn't mean she's "new."

Anyhoo, here's a re-post of the post I wrote on Esperanza back in 2009. She inspired me then and still inspires me today. Still rocking her fierce natural hair in 2011 this time with Grammy award in hand! Nothing short of Natural. Hair. Fierceness.

She drew me in with her divalicious afro and captured me with her voice. So I was just walking down the ailes of my local library a couple days ago, waiting to use a computer, when the cover CD of an afrolicious beauty caught my eye, the name - Esperanza.

Of course I immediately picked it up if only to look through the CD booklet to see more pictures of almighty afro, very impressive, but what was even more impressive was her music. It's basically a fusion of latin and jazz which I have never listened to before, at least not on purpose.

Esperanza is definitely an inspiration to me now and should be for the whole natural hair community and I'm pretty much in love with her music. It took me a second to fall for the music, but I did, hard.

Beautiful Pics of Braids...Courtesy of Essense.com

While browsing on Essence.com guess what I ran across right after I wrote the post on braids.

Hairstyle File: The Evolution of Braids

Simply Gorgeous ---Enjoy:








While browsing on Essence.com guess what I ran across right after I wrote the post on braids.

Hairstyle File: The Evolution of Braids

Simply Gorgeous ---Enjoy:

A Second Transition...This Time For Length

This picture is an example of the paragraphs below: Cornrow Backwards
I gave myself a 3 weeks with my hands-off hair and clip-on ponytail challenge. And I am actually amazing myself!!!

I've actually been able to keep my hands of my hair except for 1 day a week when I re-braid it and slap on some more conditioner + glycerin + H2O!!!!

I didn't know that I would be this excited about letting my hair be @ peace and rest but I am....And I'm actually learning more from my hair being at rest than I thought I would.

For example I took a closer look and noticed:
My hair grows, backward to forward
So, I wash my hair from the back to the front (I've actually been doing this for the longest but now I'll really keep doing it)

Also, if my hair grows back to front, I'll style it in a way that accommodates its growth pattern. Basically, what I want to do eventually is braid my whole head, not just the ends, in a kind of a basket shaped pattern. The way my grandmama used to do it when I was a young'n.

My hair was thick (still is) and luscious when I was a child mostly due to heredity and partly due to the fact that my grandmama always had it braided up in this basket shaped pattern.
She'd cornrow the back of the hair up to the crown, or center of my head then she's cornrow the front of my hair to meet the center or the crown of my head.

Of course, I didn't appreciate the style at the time but I do remember that my hair grew like a weed.

What I'm coming to the conclusion of is that I'm slowly getting into my second transition. The first time, 3 years ago, I transitioned from relaxed to natural in about 3 months, now I feel like I'm ready to transition for length. I'm transitioning for a true re-birth of my hair's potential.

Now that I've gone past the 3-year experimental phase of trying all kinds of potions and lotions, mixtures and concoctions, and killing my hair several times over with flat irons; I am ready to tap into the full potential of all that my hair can become. I am ready to transition for real growth. Something tells me wigs and clip-ons will be my new best friends for a couple of years.

But I do have a question, if I no longer reveal my natural hair everyday for the world to see and keep it under wraps for a couple of years, does that mean I'm no longer a natural hair purist?

Yes! I Rocked the Ponytail For a Week

Well.....except for the one day when I wore the turban on my head but, my hair was still safely braided and tucked underneath.

I'm definitely patting myself on the back that I was able to keep my hair underwraps for a whole week. I wasn't tempted in the least to play with it until today.

My simple routine has just been unraveling it, rubbing in some conditioner and Castor oil, and re-braiding it again. I've done it twice this week.

Its pretty simple and easy and I'm sure my hair's enjoying a well-deserved break from all the twisting and tugging.

Rocking the Ponytail

I got me a ponytail for $7.99 at my local wig shop! (I bought a very similar piece to the picture that you're looking at). I've been feeling sorry for my hair lately. Why? because, if you got twirled and twisted -- poked and prodded everyday, you would be tired. So, I'm on a quest to give my hair a break for a while (even though I'll miss my beloved bantu-knot outs).

A few posts back I wrote something along the lines of, "if you want straight...go buy some," well I should've added curly hair to the list...to be specific, a medium length curly ponytail. I just brush my hair back and braid the ends and tuck it underneath the ponytail.

But I rock my own curls in the front of my hair. I put the front hair in curlformers like I do...pretty much everyday this gives it a nice touch of 'realness.' It gives an extra dimension because its not just your average hair slicked back and ponytail clipped at the end. My curls in the front give it some 'umph.'

Don't know how long I'll be rockin' the ponytail, knowing me and the fact that I get bored so quickly when it comes to my hair. But I want to rock it for at least 3 weeks. If not 3 weeks in a row, then alternating weeks.

I'm sure my hair appreciates a break from being touched everyday and protection from the elements.

@ Chez Cerise....

Chez Cerise......The beauty and fashion gurus are saying textured hair is going to be really big this year.....so more business for you!