Authentic Hair by Ademola Mandela

I saw this book about five years ago, when I went to New York. When I got back home, I tried to search for it, because I was really impressed by how the book was put together. So originally, I found it online for about $45 dollars. But I though... O' I will just wait until they lower price. But a few months later, I could not find it any where! It was sold out. So today, I did a search, and someone is trying to sell it on Amazon for $145! Ok, I like the book, but I don't need it that bad. Dang... :-P. Any how, I will keep my eye's open. It was a really nice book filled with pictures of people (a few celebs) with their natural hair. It includes passage and poetry. If I ever get the book, I will share more about it with you.

Authentic Hair

by Ademola Mandella

"This book features photographs of African locks, Nubian twists, Bantu knots, Barber cuts (Afro & Fades), Hair Tattoos, Cosmic locs, (dread- extensions), and MC Locs, (Multi-cultural Locks) by Preston B. Phillips Jr. Empowering poetry and prose by 50 of the Diaspora's most dynamic spoken word artists, enhancing these innovative styles. Also included is a vocabulary and essential information about the care of so called 'ethnic hair". Introduction by Tulani Kinard Foreword by: Malcolm-Jamal Warner." - inetmgrs.com

Loving the Redo of this style!

Franchesca (from Franchesca.net) read an old post from my blog about

a recent Natural Hair Show. She like the picture featured in the post and

decided to do a hair tutorial doing the style. Here is the original picture

on the left, and Franchesca's re-do on the right!

Very cute! Thank you Franchesca for giving this style a try. It came out very well. Check out her YouTube video below -

FYI: To see Franchesca's interview on the Naturally Beautiful website, click here.

Natural Beauty Spotlight - Valerie June

I love seeing how uniquely different women and men loc's/dreads look. Because we all have a different textures, shapes, styles and color of hair. A lot of times, I will see someone that will look like they have perfect loc's, but knowing better... I am sure that each of their loc's are different in some kind of way, whether it be the length or the thickness.

I saw a picture of Valerie June on Holistic Loc's, and I was mesmerized! What a beautiful crown of hair she has. I just love it. Free form dreads are not every one's cup of tea. But I think she looks amazing. Valerie is a singing artist. To read more about her, check out the post on the Holistic Loc's Blog.

Love what you do!

I saw this great poster on The Bright Side Project. I probably mentioned a few times how much I love being creative. My dream was always to be a artist or designer of some kind, but I ended up in boring Corporate America.... :-P.

But I have found numerous was to reconnect with my passion of being artistic. I love to draw, do crafts, sewing, knitting, painting, creating websites and blogging with tons of great images that express what I am feeling or trying to portray. That's how I get in touch that that part of me. I keeps me centered. I would love to hear about your passions and what keeps you happy.

Back from Sacramento...

I just came back from a great weekend in Sacramento. My family and I went up to celebrate my sister-in-laws graduation. What fun that was! Lots of great food, sun and celebration... Got a chance to get in the pool and and relax. My daugthers, husband and I all got sun-kissed. I can't wait to go back. I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday weekend!

UK Love

After a quick look at The Coil Review, I saw this great article on natural beauties from the UK. Check out the article below, or go to the source! I am liking this website already...

May 4, 2009

A U.K. Hair Affair
By Princess L. Goosby

Sisters around the world are celebrating their natural beauty, and their proclamation of what is beautiful is catching on. Stepping out in style and with a very contagious charisma, they are making a phenomenal hair statement: The way their hair grows is beautiful, chic, and oh yes, stylishly fabulous to boot.

Check out these snapshots of natural styles that are sported in the streets and magazines of the U.K. These styles have a traditional everyday natural look but with a twist of versatility, funk and volume. The result is a head turning hit!

The Coil Review

Check out this Natural Hair website called The Coil Review. It looks really informative. Check it out and let me know what you all think. They also have a blog at Coil Review Blog.

It's about that time....

Y'all... I am getting so old.

Two!! Not one.... but two grey hairs in my beautiful head of loc's.

Aww man, this is a serious reality check. I could just cut them out and go into denial...lol.

Or I can embrace it!

O' what the heck! I think I will embrace it.

You only live once.

So excited!!

I just won a Cantu Shea Butter contest, for a gift bag (valued at $100) on In Her Shoes!

I have never won any thing in contest or giveaways, so this is so awesome. Check out the post here. I have been wanting to change up my maintenance products for a while. I read that if you alternate/change the products you use every 6 months it will help to cut down on build up and give your hair a boost. So this is perfect. I will let you know about my experience with this product line after I try it out. Thank you In Her Shoes!

RE: Bohemian Soul - I love this store!

Check out my new cute knitted-hair-flower and earrings from Bohemian Soul. I just got it in mail yesterday! I love the cheerful color. It's actually a bright orange, but my camera did not pick up the true color.

I originally saw this on one of the Bohemian Soul models, featured on Bohemian Soul's Myspace page -

"Good Hair" ... Part 4 (feedback from YouTube)

Thank you Shuantae for sharing these videos on YouTube. Very well stated and put together. I agree with you! Every ones "hair is good hair"!! No matter the texture, color or style.






To check out Shuantae on YouTube, click here.

1st Naturally Beautiful Hair Reader artwork!

I love art of every kind. Whether its drawing, painting, sculpting, performance art, poetry, creating jewelry, designing clothing, graphic art and so much more! I am a very visual person. So it was really cool when I got an email from Larry yesterday with a screen shot of his desktop screen saver. This is a picture I took sometime last year I believe. But I was very honored that he would not only make this picture his desktop image, but that he shared it with me. He labeled the email "Desktop Inspiration." So thank you Larry for being the first, and hopefully not the last to send some Naturally Beautiful inspired art work.

I myself love to create art. I wish I could do it full time and get paid for it! But for now its just a hobby. If you are an artist, poet, designer, etc.... please write in to share you art if you think it is something that the Naturally Beautiful readers will enjoy or feel inspired by.

Slightly Annoyed...lol

I have not knitted in a very long time (since I was a kid). Even when I did knit, it wasn't anything amazing. But I thought, hey... let me give this a shot. So I am trying to knit something as simple as a scarf, but for some reason instead of getting a rectangle shape that I need, it starts curving inward into this funky triangle shape.

And I am like dang! What in the world happen? So I ended up having to stop, because it was going no where fast...lol. So I just ended up sewing up the two sides and it fitted nicely on this Barbie. Cute - but not what I was going for. I need help in the knitting department.

*On a side note: You gotta love this shirt!

Tiffany Pollard ... Naturally Beautiful?!?

OMG! Ok - TV personality 'New York' kinda drives me crazy... lol. She is just a little to much for me. But I still seem to find myself watching her reality shows. On Rock your Natural Blog, I found this amazing picture of New York (real name Tiffany Pollard) with her natural hair. And she looks amazing! I have no idea why she keeps putting those crazy weaves on her head. Any way, I like this look. I hope she rocks it more often.

To read the original post, go to: Rock Your Natural: Surprise! She's Natural! This picture came from Miss Jessies. Here is what 'New York' had to say about her hair:

“Here is some new pics i took especially for you guys! not too many people realize what beautiful head of hair i have… my mom and i both love the curly pudding and quick curls and my favorite are rapid recovery and curly meringue”...Tiffany Pollard aka New York

Franchesca's Style

Thank you for sharing this Franchesca. I think I will give this style a try... Stay tuned for pictures :-).

What is good Hair? ...Part 3

I have two other post on the whole "Good Hair" topic (blog part one and two) because it is such a big issue. I really should have addressed it way before I saw the Tyra Bank's show yesterday. I guess I just hoped, blindly, that the issue was not as relevant. One of the guest on the show, was a loc'd sistah. I don't know her name (see her picture on the side --->), but she represented well. She told her fellow guest, that were clueless, and the audience that having natural hair is something to be proud of. That we need to take that part of our beauty and heritage back! It has been taking away from us through shame and hate. And that it is up to us to reclaim it.

Let's make sure that our young woman understand that they are beautiful not matter what! They do not need to alter the texture of their hair to be amazing little queens.

You can see more from Knp512 (as she is known on you tube) here, and she has her own website.

"Good Hair" Part 2

I watched the Tyra Banks show today, and the topic was "What is Good Hair?", and I was surprised at how angry I was at some of the guest on the show. This mom decided that she need to start perming her 3 year-old daughters hair, so it wouldn't look nappy. Even though the girl cried during the whole perming process, the mom still wants to do it, so that her daughter will have "good hair".

This mom is teaching her own child that if someone has nappy hair, that they are lower class! She even even admitted that she refused to date a black man, because she did not want to have 'kinky headed babies'...

And the last one, decided that not only did she need to perm her daughters hair, but she also puts a weave in her daughters hair so it's "more manageable" and easier to style. Toward the end, she admitted that she thought her little girls hair looked better with the weave.

I think what really hit a nerve (I got really emotional), is when they had the little girls talking about hair styles. There were a group of about 5 girls, all pretty young. One little African American girl said she only feels pretty when she wears her blond wig and that she wanted to wear it everyday. All of the girls where shown different kinds of wigs with different textures and colors. When they were asked which one of the hair styles they would not want, they all pointed to the kinky hair afro wig. I was just so sadden by that, that I cried.



It hurts a lot to see these 5 beautiful young African American and Multicultural girls, at this day and age, still have the same struggle that we had when we were younger. I grew up hating my hair, my naps and always wishing I could have straight long hair. My mom did her best to teach me and show me how beautiful I was. But the pressure from peers and all the images that I saw daily told me otherwise.

The one part of the show that really stood out to me as being a step in the right direction, was when it was discussed that the term "Good Hair" came from the days when black people were slaves. If you had hair that was smooth, "silky" or straighter than others - you were treated better by your slave owner. You were able to work in the house, eat better food, wear better clothes and possibly receive some education. Those days are over! And so should the use of the term "Good Hair". It is crazy that we still think this way. It hurts us, our children and their children. I hope that our generation can make changes with our own children so that this doesn't continue to repeat itself. So see a video clip from the show, click here.

Bohemian Soul - I love this store!

I think I want everything that Bohemian Soul is selling.. lol. They have great accessories and clothing. All the items in their store are handmade. Check them out on their main website: www.bohemiansoul.org or on myspace at Bohosoul. Love it!

RE: 20% discount for Natural Hair Beauty readers!!

Update! Andrea from Andrea's Beau, has extended her offer of giving all Naturally Beautiful Hair readers 20% off of their purchases for the month of May, 2009.

*Note: If you decide to order from Andrea's Beau, please use Naturally Beautiful Hair as the promotion code in the comment section of the Checkout page, upon placing your order. The discount will not show up when you first check out, but will show up on your invoice/receipt. Check out the original post for more info.

50 Subscribers!!

I am so excited to share that Natural Hair Beauty Blog has 50 official subscribers as of today! Thank you all for checking in on my blog, and for leaving such educated, thought provoking and fun comments for me to respond to. And thank you Sophia for being my 50th subscriber, who subscribed today. I would also like to say how much I appreciate everyone that has visited my blog. With an awesome number of 6,685 clicks/views... I feel like I am actually doing something right in the blog world!

But there is so much more to share, talk about and ask. I learn something new each day, and I am thankful that I can not only provide info to you but also ask you questions as well. I am so happy to live life as loc'd woman and to know that I have a community that is supportive and encouraging. Peace, Love & Blessings... Karen @ Natural Hair Beauty

"Good Hair"

Tyra Banks talk show is going to be talking about "good hair" on Tuesday, May 12th. I like Tyra (especially her show - America's Next Top Model), but she is any thing but "natural". But what I like about her is that she will take her weave off in a minute and say that it is not her hair. And that she can look beautiful without it. But I would still like for Tyra to really back that up, and wear her own hair more often. On this upcoming Tuesday show, Tyra topic is "good hair" and it looks interesting. They showed a preview and Tyra is sporting her cornrow hair style for the show.

There is one guest that talks about how she perms her little girls hair. I hope not to offend any one, but I think perming a kids hair when they don't even know what its all about, is wrong. It really should be an informed decision based on the reality of what chemicals do to your hair; and the issue of changing who you are to please others. But I could go on for days about that... I am gonna check out the show on Tuesday and write about what happens. It's a topic that has been around forever and probably continue to plague our community. I think everyone in the world has good hair... lol. Not just certain races. If any one watches this episode on Tuesday, come tell us what you thought of the show.

Buttons!

I had this black hat that I never wore because it was just to boring. I felt like a boy when I tried it on. But I didn't want to give it away because it fit really well. So I held on to it. Then I though about try to spice it up with some buttons. I did a search on Ebay, and found these cute heart buttons. It only cost me $2.85 in total with shipping for all 12 buttons. What a great deal... So I took about half of them and sewed them into a little cluster on one side of my hat. And Wahla! I just made my ok hat into a cute hat that I can't wait to wear. And it only took me a few bucks and about 15 minutes of sewing to complete. It was a fun project. Let me know what you think and tell me about some cool things you did to spice up your boring hats or clothing.

Hand made Jewelry

My daughters and I really enjoy making jewelry. I have made my own necklaces, earrings and even a few pieces of loc jewelry.

But what I am really forward to doing is creating my own loc ties. So that is my next challenge!

Kalia also got creative when making her loc ties. That has encouraged me to try and do some on my own. Look out for more post on creating loc ties once I try it out.

Early Happy Mothers Day

I know most moms will be busy this weekend, so I wanted to send out an early Happy Mothers day wish. Here is a note that a dear friend sent to me and a few other moms. So I thought I would share it with you.

Before I was a Mom,
I never tripped over toys
or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not
my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind
and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held down a screaming child
so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night
watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held a sleeping baby just because
I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces
when I couldn't stop the hurt.!
I never knew that something so small
could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom,
I didn't know the feeling of
having my heart outside my body..
I didn't know how special it could feel
to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond
between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small
could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night
every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth,
the joy,
the love,
the heartache,
the wonderment
or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,
before I was a Mom.

REALLY?!? Myspace can be positive...... Says who?

I have heard so many negative stories about Myspace. A lot of times it is from folks that don't even have a profile. And there are a few Myspace ex-users that just have had a really bad experience. But for me, Myspace has been a really positive site. I have a huge community of natural, loc'd and dread lock friends. I meet all kinds of artist - whether it's music, art, actors, designers and more.

I think a big part of it, is how you represent yourself when you are on the site, and who you allow to be a part of your community. At this moment, I currently have 2,417 "Friends" on my Myspace page. I obviously don't have close relationships with all these people. But I do get to talk to most of them at some point and time. There are a lot positive open minded people on Myspace. So for me - I don't have any complaints. Here is a look at some of the cool peps on my top friends list:


Here is a link to my Myspace page: Naturally Real. My profile is currently set to private, but send me a friend request - let me that you saw this post on my blog, and I will add you as a friend.

Get Silly!

Ok, so few months ago I was really bummed out. With health issues and no real health insurance in sight, I was feeling emotionally tapped out. So I decided to give myself a little boost. People that just met me, may think that I am kind of quiet. But if you are really close to me, you will know that I can be very silly and I am proud of it. So in the middle of this slump, I figured the best thing I could do, is to make myself laugh. I literally made the most ridiculous faces and put my hair in this crazy hair do. But it worked. I started laughing. And crazy enough - I felt better.

I will probably live to regret posting this picture... lol. But o' well. I think sometimes we just take ourselves way to serious. One of the things I learned from my mom and from life is that laughter is the best kind of therapy; and that it is food for the soul. If you have are having one of those days, pop in a comedy. Or if you can be as silly as I can be, do something that will make you smile or laugh. It helps!

Naturally Beautiful Blog Featured on...

Great News!! The Naturally Beautiful Hair website and blog has been featured, mentioned and linked on various amazing sites. Here are a few:

Concrete Loop
Clutch Magazine Online
Franchesca.net
Runway Wonderland
Tightly Curly
Cotton Texture Silky Smooth

Click the links above to read the post or to see my links! If you have seen my blog or website mentioned on other sites, please let me know and I will add them to this post. Thanks!

Naturally Beautiful Hair Reader Appreciation

Check out my websites new page: Naturally Beautiful Hair Reader Appreciation. If you want to share your natural hair journey, or you are involved in something that is inspirational, please submit your information and picture to naturalhairbeauty@gmail.com. What ever stage in life you are in, your story is important and can inspire others; and all natural hair types are welcomed!

Natural Beauty Inspiration of the Week

Thank you Omar for posting about this beautiful model on your blog, Runway Wonderland. This models spread was featured in the Marie Claire magazine. She is gorgeous!

Thrift Stores

Right now, I have a total obsession with scarves. I can not get enough of them. So I try to go to H&M like every other month to see what they have; and I check out sales on Ebay every once in a while. But yesterday, I was out in San Pablo, CA. and I was passing by Thrift Town. I had some time to kill, so I made a quick stop to see if they had any thing interesting. And I hit the jack pot... lol. They had tons of scarves. I found about 10 scarves (actually more - but I didn't want to go to crazy) that I liked, all ranging from 99 cents to $2.99 each. And they all look pretty new. I especially love the turquoise cowl neck scarf I found - love it.

Once I got home, I hand washed all the scarves and let them air dry.

I am not much for thrift stores, but if I can get some awesome scarves in good condition for cheap, O.. I am all over it! H&M is still my favorite spot for scarves as of now, but its nice to know of some options.