New YouTube Channel

Hello all,

I know it's been a while since I've updated this site, I'm in the process of making several changes.

However,

My new youtube channel is 1ManeTamed

or find me on Facebook at Black is Beautiful: I Love my Natural Hair

Find me on youtube

For more information find me on my Youtube channel ... BIB: I love my natural hair.  Or find me on Facebook.
Thanks

My Hair Journey

                Well my natural hair journey started almost three years ago, but to me, it really started this month December of 2010 but I will start from the beginning.  Ok so it all began when I was a few months late from getting a perm.  (It’s so hard for me to believe that I was into those).  Well it seemed like my whole dance ministry was going natural, including my mom.  I was very skeptical at first on whether to make the transition.  After all I had been getting perms for what seemed liked forever.  I still don’t remember ever being “natural” before now even though I didn’t get one till 6 years old or so.  For me I have always taken pride in my hair.  It always been relatively long compared to the other African American girls.  It seems like many black girls have or used to have long hair growing up and then I just began to get shorter and shorter.  I believe my hair reached its worst state in fifth grade.  My mom was letting me do my own hair (which I begged her to do), I was getting relaxers, and I didn’t know what the heck I was doing.  Since the third grade I have grown up in a predominantly white area and most of my friends were and still are white.  And if not white middle eastern or Hispanic which all have fairly straight hair anyways.  So I grew up with my friends playing with the long, blonde, straight hair, and I saw it as the ultimate beauty.  Don’t get me wrong I still think their hair is beautiful, I have just learned that mine is too.  However I didn’t feel to out of place since my hair was fairly long and straight.  Unfortunately I was blind to the fact that it was extremely damaged, frayed, the ends were jacked, and I had relatively thin hair.  It so sad to realize how blinded and brain wash I really was.

 So back to the story, my mom decided to go natural, and her being my mother and role model, I decided what the heck.  I had seen some natural hair people who had long hair and lovely curls and I thought that that could be a nice change.  So luckily I was already like two or three months into the transitioning process.  I just want to say that it is very possible to do the transition without the” big chop” my mother and I did it.  I favorite style was a “corn row out”, with this you couldn’t tell where the natural hair stopped and the relaxer ends began.  So within a year my new growth took up about 90 percent of my head, and I was soooooo tired of my straight ends.  So finally I went to my natural hair stylist that I had been seeing and we finally just cut of the rest of the relaxer and I had the cutiest bob.  Then it was experimenting time.  I honestly didn’t know what to do after that I tried straightening it which worked unless there was the slightest bit of humidity ….it was just a extremely puffy.  So I experiment hair washing tips and a couple of styles but I was still completely in -experienced. I loved playing around so I learned stuff over the years.  Even though I didn’t know what was going on in these years I learned the best lesson, to love my natural hair.  And that I did.

Ok so here’s what I meant when I said my natural journey really didn’t start until this December.    So as me and my mom learned more about hair we learned more about right products which is the key to success. I started to get so inspired I decided to start a facebook group call Black is Beautiful: I Love my Natural Hair.  I figured there are so many people who should know just how possible and beautiful it was to rock your own hair the way that it was.  Also so many people either want to become natural or are natural and are in my “what do I do now phase” and I want to share what I could offer.  Now the group has taken off and we have our own small community of natural hair.  I have learned so much from researching and hearing what others have got to say.  Now I realize I can be natural and wear it natural.  See before I was natural but I still straightened it but now my mom and I both are ready to go full fledged natural, without the straightening.  I am so blessed to see the number of people making the choice to go natural in the group, outside of the group, on the web, and even in the media.  It is truly time for us to break free of the past chains and learn to love and take care of our hair the beautiful way it is….because black is beautiful!

Shampooing tips

Some shampooing tips:

-Do Not apply shampoo to your ends. This can be very drying to an already fragile part of your hair. Instead apply near roots and let suds run down to ends during rinsing process

-Do Not tangle hair by piling hair on top of head. Try to keep hair tamable and hanging downward

-Do Not scratch scalp with fingernails, but massage with fingers tips

- If you have a lot of build-up place a little baking soda in your shampoo. This helps remove extra build-up

Starting Internally

Ok for optimal hair growth you have to start internally.

-Of course drinking lots of water

-drinking green tea

-lean proteins (if you’re vegetarian like me, soy products and tofu are full of protein)

-Legumes (which are found in beans)

-Fresh Fruit

-Leafy green Vegetables

-Vitamins increase scalp circulation like:

§  B3

§  B6

§  B12

§  Biotin aka Vitamin H (which can be found in egg yolk, legumes, and nuts)

§  Vitamin E

§  Vitamin A

§  Vitamin C

§  if you know you don't get your vitamins in, you should look into a supplement

-Minerals

§  Copper (which is found in nuts and seeds)

§  Zinc (which is found in proteins)

-Omega 3 (which is found in seafood. If you don't like sea food there are many supplements)

-Silicon dioxide: strengthens hair:  this can be found in potatoes’ skins, Cucumbers, and green and red peppers.

-Herbs

§  Saw Palmetto

§  Ginko Bilbao

§  Nettles

§  Rosemary

§  These herbs help to promote circulation, which aids hair growth.

If you have any questions on any of this please feel free to comment

Perms, Relaxers, Creamy Crack?

So what is a Perm?

-A perm chemical product mainly containing lye, water, and petroleum jelly.

So what is lye?

• Lye is also know as Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH)

What are uses for lye?

• Laundry detergent 
• pool cleaners
• metal polishers
• drain cleaners
• oh and of course straightening black hair

What does a relaxer do?

-Relaxers break down disulphide bonds that hold hair proteins together

-p.s. hair is consisted of 90% proteins

Effects..

• chemical burns that could lead to scalp and hair follicle permanent damage
• Strips hair of amino acids and moisture
• Hair loss
• damage protective outer layer of hair 
• dry and brittle that breaks off
• weak hair

Solutions... 

- there is none... damage is irreversible 

Hello All

Hello Everyone. Here is my blog spot for BIB: I Love My Natural Hair. I would love to hear your comments on the post so feel free to comment.  All of the post here should be posted on my facebook group Black Is Beautiful: I Love My Natural Hair and vice versa.  Thanks for following the blog!

Zari