Congressional Black Caucus

Hey ladies! This past weekend I was fortunate enough to be in attendance at the Congressional Black Caucus in Washington, DC! I wore a black corset with black pencil skirt...very classy! Of course, hair has GOT to match the mood and therefore I went with a classy updo (duhh, my hair is short lol). I achieved this style by flat twisting the front on either side with an off center small part and pinning the back in a "tuck & rolled" fashion. I don't mean to toot my own horn but this style gets a GIRL, YES! from ya girl! (once again, excuse the camera phone images. i still haven't bought a replacement for my USB port.)

Hello dolls, I was on youtube and came across this video and thought I'd share. Enjoy!

Good News, Bad News

"My newgrowth curls are so camera shy!"-DJ

Hey hey hey! Week 21 has arrived and I am SO excited!!! Unfortunately, as the post title says, I have a little bad news. My camera's memory card USB adapter is broken! Until I get a new one I will not be able to post any digital pictures of my hair's progress. Honestly, the camera doesn't really show the progress too well anyway. I can feel my curlies coming in soooo nicely but when I take the pictures it's like "uhm, where's the curl dude?" lol. HOWEVER, the post title also says I have a little GOOD NEWS to share!!!!! (LOL don't get too excited it aint alla that!) The good news is I have a camera on my blackberry and although the quality will be just a notch above horrific, I can at least post something! So anyway, on with the moral of this story. I was playin around with some products last night after my co-wash and decided to see if SoftSheen.Carson's LET'S JAM! (picture below) would do anything special to my damp hair. Like I said, I can see and feel my little curls just lovely, but they never realllllyyy.....stay! So on the sides of my hair just above my ear, I applied a little LET'S JAM onto my damp/wet hair strands. The result was INCREDIBLE! I could see a definite curl pattern in my new growth and I was in love! To all my transitioners, LET'S JAM get's a Girl, yes! from me for exposing that little camera shy new growth! Here are a couple pictures. The first one is a picture of the LET'S JAM that I bought on campus at a rip off price of nearly $5.00! (yeh, I'm mad! lol) The second is a shot of the curl pattern that LET'S JAM helped to define and third shows my hair stretched. I think I'll suffer from sever shrinkage when I become fully natural! LOL...and that's JUST FINE! (click to enlarge)

Now, as you all know I keep things 100 here and I must say, I don't know if I would want to use LET'S JAM all over my head as a curl defining product. It does contain mineral oil, which as we know can be very drying to us naturals and permies alike! Also, the consistency doesn't really float my boat too much. It's very thick and sticky and I feel like if I were to use this all over as a curl defining product that it may weigh my hair down. On the up side though, by the end of the day I can't even tell I put any in. (actually I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing...) There are other, lighter products that claim to have the same result as I got in my little experiment (i.e. Kinky Curly Curling Custard, ECO Styler Gel, etc.) While I have not actually used either product personally, I have felt the texture of KCCC and would much rather have something of that consistency on my hair than I would LET'S JAM. But of course, most ladies (including myself) use LET'S JAM for their edges. As far as slickin these suckas back, I would rate LET'S JAM at a 7/10. It definitely gets them back but it fails miserably at the "extra hold" part. Just a few hours into the day, and my sides are already getting frizzy! That is so not cute! I'm not sure if it's just my hair that gives this product a hard time but this isn't something that I would give much praise to. Welp, I need to start getting ready for class dolls! Until next time, Happy Healthy Hair Growing!!!

Fab For Less

Hey girlies, one of the lovely natural ladies that I subscribe to on youtube posted a video that I thought would be very beneficial for all (especially high school/college students) to see. In the video posted below, Dontuwishuknu gives the perfect example of how we can all maintain our beautiful tresses on a budget. Again, no two curls are the same and what may work for her may not work for you...but at these prices, it's worth a shot! I wanna send big thanks to Dontuwishuknu for giving me permission to use her video on Girl, yes!

Trader Girls

Nani Doll

Hair Status: Freshly Locked!

Tips & Tricks: Be neat. -One of the worst things I hear about natural hair is that "its just so lazy" or "it looks so messy" If you wanna work than work dont use natural hair as an out of taking care of your self. -Be comfortable in your own skin. One of the best things about having natual hair is that we flaunt who and what we are. We were all delt a hand, all we can do is work it.

My Apology

Hey guys, I know it's been a while since my last post but I have been just UBER busy with school and life in general! Please forgive me. While I don't think posting everyday during the semester will be a possibility, I can try my hardest to post at least once a week! So just forgive me and know that I have not forgotten!!!! My next post will be a TRADER GIRL edition. And remember, if you would like to be a trader girl for Girl, yes! all you have to do is email me at donnajenay@aol.com! Until next time ladies, happy healthy hair growing!!!

Lost & Found

Found it! A couple posts ago I told you guys that I had lost my camera but I've FOUND IT!!! So you all know what that means! The pictures are coming very VERY soon! I cannot wait to show you guys my progress and my little curlies that are developing. It's only been 4 1/2 months but it seems like sooooo much longer because I am just soooo anxious! So on my next wash or co-wash I will be SURE to take some pictures and allow you all to see what I know you're waiting for! Afterall, that's the whole purpose of this blog; to document my journey! Until next time lovies, happy healthy hair growing!

Holdin Out...

Guys, I've been holdin out on a product review/recommendation and I am so ashamed. About a month and a half ago I installed a new shower head in my shower with the health of my hair and scalp in mind. I believe it's the same brand one that the creator of the natural hair blog "Mane & Chic" uses. Mine looks like this:

Being able to detach the head and use the long neck to get the flow of water closer to my scalp allows me to get my hair really saturated fast! I use the pulsating mode to do my scalp massages which feel AMAZING, btw! Detangling my hair also seems easier when my hair is as wet as this thing gets it. Bottom line, it gets two thumbs up and a definite Girl, YES! from me! I found this article online about the benefits of massaging your scalp and thought I'd share. Click here for the full article.

• It provides deep relaxation to the head and scalp which allows blood circulation to flow more easily to the hair roots.
• Improved circulation, which results from scalp massage, provides hair roots with nourishment to help trigger hair growth. Why? When the scalp or head it constricted or tight due to stress and tension, it blocks adequate blood flow to the hair roots.
• When scalp massage is repeated on a regular basis, it will help to actually strengthen the roots of the hair which will help hair growth.
• When a good moisturizing oil like jojoba is used as the base, it can help add moisture and conditioning to the scalp and the hair enhancing natural textures and making it move vibrant.
• Moisturized hair is less likely to split and break, which is a wonderful benefit of the oils used for scalp massage.
• Scalp massage adds natural luster and shine to the hair.
• In some cases, scalp massage can relieve itchy scalps, prevent flaking and help with chronic dandruff. Of course this is dependent on other factors but is a possible benefit.
• Regular scalp massage can help protect hair from environmental toxins and other weather conditions by helping to strengthen the follicles.
• It can help eliminate depression or other stressful or negative emotions.
• Scalp massage can also help alleviate chronic insomnia and provide restful sleep.
• In some cases, scalp massage can slow hair loss conditions.
• It also helps to spread the natural scalp oils to the ends of the hair without the harmful effects of daily brushing. Sebum, if produced in sufficient amounts, is typically distributed along the length of the hair shaft through normal combing and brushing but can be distributed through fingers at the time of the scalp massage.
• The benefits of scalp massage also help provide a glow to the complexion of the face.
• Scalp massage as well as body massage can also help to regulate the thyroid and can help to balance body temperatures.
• It can help your eyes to relax, help to minimize chronic eye strain, and can be a general tonic for hypersensitivity or excessive nervousness. In some cases it may help to soothe ADD behaviors.
• Scalp massage, can also help awaken creativity centers in your brain for more enlightened idea processing or long term meditation.
• It can be combined with deep breathing for even deeper results.
• When the base scalp massage oils are blended with essential or aromatherapy oils, emotional, spiritual or mental blocks can also be relieved, with ongoing treatments. Harmony can be restored.
• In some cases, regular massage with appropriate essential oils can help to slow the onset of white or gray strands.
• Regular scalp massage has proven to help in some cases of chronic headaches or migraines.

So as you can clearly see, scalp massages are highly benefitial. You can also use the balls of your fingers to massage your scalp to reap the benefits in a more cost efficient way! :)

Until next time ladies, happy healthy hair growing!

s

Oh Where, Oh Where..

..has my FREAKIN camera gone?! I cannot for the life of me find my digital camera and I reeeaaaalllly want to show you guys my new growth. Yesterday officially marked week 19 of my transition journey and I can see clear curls, especially in the back of my head. I tried to snap a pic of it with my camera phone but it did NO justice whatsoever. Even though there isn't that much visible progress, I can feel the difference and when my hair is drying after a shampoo or a co-wash, my sprouting mini fro is highly visible! As soon as I find my camera I will be taking pictures for you guys to see. Trust me, I'm just as anxious as you are to see those flicks! Hopefully I'll find time in my schedule to clean this disaster that I call a room and maybe..just maybe, my camera will come out of hiding! Welp, until next time happy healthy hair growing!

Unpretty

So all weekend I was pretty much sick and my appearance was definitely the last thing on my mind. My hair was in a horrible version of my bantu knot out and me taking very little time to do anything to it and the matting that it had done in my sleep only made matters much much worse. I looked like Sideshow Bob's neice. NAWT cool. Honestly, if I were someone else looking at me I would have give myself one big fat GIRL, NO! As I walked through the mall, I felt like everyone was staring at me and that really sucked! I noticed, though, that it wasn't the white people staring (as so many of us mistakenly assume will be the case) as there were black women staring at me. And I know what they were thinking "WTF is going on with her hair?!" Well, A) I'm sick and B) I have no other excuse...but still, mind your business dammit! To make matters worse, I didn't have on any earrings or make up and looked like a straight up 12 year old boy. Not even a cute boy. I felt so...so unpretty. I seriously dreaded my reflection in the store windows. I was really goin through it ya'll! Granted, I wasn't at my apartment here at school and thus didn't have the proper tools to tame my hair anyway but I still just felt embarrassed about my appearance and let me be the first to tell you that foolishness just don't go down over here! I am not one to have low self esteem or feel bad about my appearance on any given day. Yes, I have my sweat pants and hoodie days and no, I don't wear make up most days out of the week but I still feel beautiful at all times. Yesterday was not the case. But don't worry guys, this morning I snatched Ms. Bre into a cute pony puff and felt good about myself again. Alls well and ends well I guess...Until next time dolls, happy healthy hair growing!

Trader Girls

Before I do this edition of "Trader Girls", I would like to publicly thank Ms. Leslie for sharing her knowledge with myself and my readers. I learned something with every point this diva made! Thank you soooo much from the bottom of my heart for your contributions! It means a lot to me that you wanted to partake in my journey and my blog!

-Donna

leslie`nikole

NATURAL SINCE: natural all my life and I don't plan on changing it.

TIPS & TRICKS: in my short life span, i've learned many things.

1. natural black hair is not white hair. most of your time your hair doesn't flip and water might not always smoothen out your hair, might make it fuzz up more.

2. if you're like me, living in montreal, canada; your winters are EXTREMELY COLD. love your hats and hate having frozen ears but don't wanna break your hair because the hats are wool or cotton? find out about the fabric shops in your area, maybe even in china town and see if you can get a yard of silk cloth and glue. those two should cost you about 20 dollars. when you get home, cut out the cloth and glue the pieces on the inside and the rims of your hats to keep your hairline and your style. it's WAY cheaper than buying a whole bunch of hats.

3. you know those pantyhose you have, the ones with the gigantic hole in them? TAKE THEM OUT OF THE GARBAGE NOW AND WASH THEM. you can use these. cut off the toe and stretch the material over your brushes after you give em an extremely good cleaning. this will help you brush dust out of your hair. the dust will not collect in the brushes and the strands of hair will be EXTREMELY easier to get out. when you want to clean your brush, simply pull off the cut pantyhose and wash it.

4. braid/twist/Bantus knot your hair before you go to bed and slather on some moisturizer. not too much, just enough to seriously moisten the hair. then put a little oil in your hands and run it over the braids/twists/Bantu knots and tie your hair down with your scarf. then, cover that one with a cotton bandanna, usually about 50 cents. this will keep the silk scarf from slipping around and will keep some of the heat that leaves your body through your head, giving you a mild hot oil/moisturizing treatment while you sleep. when you wake up, maybe towel your hair if you find it too greasy, but usually it'll look okay. great for people who don't have a lotta moisture.

5. dreads. now, i grew up with reggae music, dub, Rastafarians ( my dad used to be one ) and incense. you don't need any of the things i listed to have dreads. and all though people associate dreads with rastas, doesn't mean you are one. the term dreadlocks is a rasta one though.
Rastafarians basis for dreading their hair is because they believe that scissors/razors/combs are Babylonian inventions and they want nothing to do with Babylon. it's just that serious. the reason why they dread their hair is because Samson, who's hair was never cut supposedly only had seven locs of hair, which they believe can't mean seven strands. dread locking symbolizes patience and a nazarite law of not cutting hair, so basically, dread locking means "dread to cut your locs ( of hair )" to Rastafarians.

6. just because you're natural, doesn't mean that boys won't talk to you. actually, boys will stop talking to you. young men/men who have their minds in the right direction will. so natual hair just might be the answer to stop getting so much of mcthug mcphony's attention. and with natural hair, comes the idea that you have an enlightened outlook on life. so put down that zane book when you're on the train and try malcom x's bio or something about african american history.

if i think of anything else, it'll probably be on: http://yngblkqwncnfsd.wordpress.com/ check it, it's my blog

If you would like to b a trader girl just email me at donnajenay@aol.com and we'll take it from there!

Myth Buster

"Give my hair a chance, America!"-DJ

Hello dolls! So I've been sitting here thinking about the past four months of my transition and one thing that sticks out in my mind the most is the reactions that I've gotten from people when I tell them I'm going natural. I've gotten everything from blank stares, to the big eyes accompanied with raised eyebrows, to the outright "why?!". Those things I can handle, I really don't expect people to get my logic on it because four months ago, if you would have told me I would never get a perm again I probably would have given all of those reactions and then some. My issue is when people equate going natural with locs. YES, locs are natural, but why is it the general assumption that if I'm not longer going to get perms that I must Must MUST be getting locs! And just the way that they ask. "So what are you gonna do with it? You gonna loc it?" Ew, first of all no more referring to my hair as "it" I have named her Bre! Secondly, what the hell man!? What are you gonna "do" with your hair?! I'm gonna do whatever the heck I please! Ponytails, puffs, wear it WILD! (oh, my!) I swear they all automatically picture me looking like Ciely from The Color Purple. I've even had "Bre" be told she looks like Ciely when I wear her twisted up. How DARE they be so rude? Matted? Nappy? Oh no! Bre is a diva, digg me? She is just coming into her own right now. Give my hair a chance, America! Why so critical? Why so rude? Why so...so ignorant? Sigh, well...there's my rant. Until next time ladies...Happy Healthy Hair Growing.

Stretch It

So last night, I really wanted to co-wash and do a fresh bantu knot set but life had other plans. Well, not really....I just kinda....didn't do it! LOL so around 9 or so I said screw it and just did a dry bantu knot set on my hair that was already in a bantu knot out...(have I lost you yet? hopefully not.) I pulled random sections of my hair, rubbed raw shea butter on it and proceeded to twist and knot that sucka. This morning when I took it out, it was stretched! As opposed to when I co-wash and knot it simply looks like I have a fro...ya'll seen the pictures lol. Today my curls were more elongated. NOW, I shall not tell a lie, there was way less curl definition and these curls show very little promise of looking like anything nice tomorrow. Tonight will definitely be a co-wash night, but learning how to stretch my hair will more than likely come in handy at some point before the semester is up. I'm sure there will be even more, much lazier nights to come!

All In Moderation.

Hey dolls! Today I'd like to share a technique that I've been meaning to share with you ladies to all give a try. Have you ever noticed on youtube or other natural hair care sites, a lot of the naturals there talk of how they use massive amounts of conditioner when co-washing in order to get the hair totally saturated? I know I have.

"You're doing entirely too much"-DJ

Frankly, I don't have the money to just go through even ONE bottle of conditioner a week let alone two and three. My solution has been simple. When in the shower, I like to apply a nice amount of conditioner to my soaking wet hair and instead of using goo-gobs more, I use my paddle brush to smooth the already applied conditioner through. Sometimes I do add more to my edges in the back, sides, and front, but for the most part I end up with excess conditioner on my hands. The way I see it, there's only so much that your strands are going to soak up in one sitting, why go adding more and more conditioner on top? Pure waste! If your hair is thicker you may want to use the same technique but in sections. I challenge you all to try this out and see how much less conditioner (or whatever other product this technique could be used for) you're using and how much more money (and time on trips to the BSS) you're saving! Until next time, happy healthy hair growing!

P.S., for anyone who's wondering, yesterday marked my 18th week post relaxer! So if you go by the 4 week=1 month rule, i'm 4.5 months deep but if you're going by dates then i'm 4 months and 4 days deep. That's a huge difference! I think I'll go with the 4.5 month count! lol, makes me feel a little more accomplished!

It's Rude To Stare!

But it's sooooo pretty!!! -sigh- so classes began about a week and a half ago and all over campus I am noticing women who have gone NATURAL! Now, granted they could have very well been natural all along and I just wasn't paying it any attention, but now that I do notice, I just can't help but STARE! I know they probably think that I'm looking at them with a critical eye but of course you ladies know that is far from the case! I don't feel too bad doing it when my hair is in a bantu knot out because I like to believe that we share a certain understanding toward one another as I quietly convince myself that they know my stares are those of admiration. LOL maybe I'm right. I haven't gotten any awkward o.O WTH stares back yet and no one has come out to ask "what the hell are you looking at?!" so let just hope the non-negative feedback continues! Until next time ladies, happy healthy hair growing!

"It is not polite to stare!" -Everbody's Momma