0 Special Report- Going Natural

There is a video out about a reporter who went natural and took the film crew with her. Here is a link to the video if you haven't seen it: Special Report- Going Natural

Okay, I'm about to be a Debbie Downer...so skip this post if you don't want to hear my not to "joyful" views on this report.

You have been warned......

I personally, hated the "Special Report". I am glad that more women are going natural but, I don't like the emphasis that is put on "black women" going natural. There are just as many if not more non-black women who also don't have natural hair.

I hate how the public tries to portray the wig/weave industry as if only black women keep them in business. Last I checked there are a heck of a lot of non-black women who rock clips ins and wigs as well. But this post isn't about white versus black, it's about the lack of self acceptance among all races.

What I would like to see is a report on how women in general need to to accept their outward appearance. We all need to accept who we are no matter what color we are. It's not okay for any "race" of people make a particular feature seem less than and I think this point is constantly ignored.

Black women are not the only women wearing weaves, using bleaching cream, using perms, getting plastic surgery and all around not accepting themselves. So, I think the media and others need to stop making it a "black" issue to accept yourself. This is a universal issue and unless we talk about it and stop sweeping it under the rug, we will always have this issue.

0 WWYD? Daughter wants a relaxer...

Are you subscribed to African Export on Youtube? If not, why not? She is awesome!!

Okay so she had a video up asking "What would we do if our daughters wanted to relax their hair?"

My answer:

I wouldn't let her. I wouldn't let my daughter do anything to permanently alter any part of her body. I am not opposed to relaxers because I do feel everyone should do what works for them. Some people prefer straight hair and that's their prerogative but, under 18 is too young to make that decision. I don't want my daughter growing up thinking what she has is "less than" or not acceptable. Everything from her hair to her toes are just fine and perfect, she does't need to alter any of it.

I also don't want my daughter to concentrate on her outside appearance too much because that is not what makes you who you are. True enough, our appearance is important but, it isn't us.

I also worry about the chemicals in relaxers. It's something she would have to apply to her hair every 6 weeks at the least and we all know teens don't do long stretches between relaxers. To me, that is too often.

I would be heartbroken if her hair broke off or her scalp were damaged like many other women (myself included) from relaxers.

So that just about wraps up my opinion on the subject.

Thanks for reading! I would love to hear you feedback on this issue. :)

0 Takin care of your hair doesn't have to take all day...

I will admit I do get annoyed when someone says "I don't have time to go natural!" or "I don't have time to take care of my hair like you!". I'm always like "huh?".

You have to MAKE time to take care of yourself, yes your hair is a part of yourself. The same way you make time (or should make time) to shower and brush your teeth, you need to take care of your hair too.

As with all things in life, you have to find a routine that works for you. Okay so if deep conditioning 3 times a week is not possible for you, well then try deep conditioning once a week, just to give you an example. Also, I have read that 15-20 minutes is long enough to deep condition with or without heat.

Here is what I do. Every Friday I wash and condition my hair, I will deep condition if I feel I need too. Lately, I haven't really needed to deep condition. Detangling for me is a breeze because I wear my hair in twists throughout the week so my hair is stretched and easier to detangle.All in all it takes me about 90 minutes to do my hair from wash to style, once a week.

Throughout the week I conditioner wash in twists or braids and let them air dry. This takes me about 2 mins. in the shower to do and if I do it at night I just let it dry overnight and unravel in the morning or before I leave the house if I want to wear a twist or braid-out.

I cringe when some people tell me they can't remember the last time they washed their hair! Would you not wash if your body was stinky and sweaty? So why let your scalp get smelly and stinky?

Just remember there is always a way to Keep.It.Simple. Find a way that works for you and stick with it, your hair will thank you!!

0 Hairextensions

Lukt het je niet om je haar op een mooie lengte te krijgen en wil je graag prachtig lang haar? Uw haar groeit gemiddeld 1 cm per maand (dat is genetisch bepaald). Om door eigen haargroei tot lang haar te komen, moet u vaak veel geduld hebben.

Met hairextensions is dit snel te bereiken: Lang natuurlijk haar; sterk, gezond, volumineus en vol vitaliteit. Dankzij hairextensions kun je gemakkelijk in enkele uren een lengte verkrijgen tot 60 cm.

Verdikking / Meer Volume

De natuur voorziet niet iedereen van voldoende haar. En niet iedereen heeft het geluk met een volumineuze look door het leven te gaan. Geen nood, dankzij de fijne toepassingstechniek van SoCap en Indian Gold hairextensions wordt de mogelijkheid geboden aan vrouwen met fijn of weinig haar, volume te verwerven naar persoonlijke behoefte en wens.
Natuurlijk wordt er met 100 % natural hair gewerkt. Het voelt daarom ook erg natuurlijk aan. Het is heerlijk om met uw handen door uw prachtig haar te kunnen glijden en de sterkte en de vitaliteit te voelen, tot in de punten.
De talloze mogelijkheden met hairextensions:

• Een totale of gedeeltelijke verlenging
• Haren of nekpartij verlengen
• Haar bijvullen op kalende plaatsen
• Verandering van haarkleur en nuance
• Beschadigde punten verbergen in de massa
• Langere houdbaarheid geven aan het kapsel
• Volumeverhoging en meer beweging geven aan het kapsel
• Realisatie van een nieuwe en trendy look dankzij fantasiestrengen

Voor een complete haarverlenging heb je meestal zo`n 125 á 200 stuks nodig.

Het aantal hangt af van het volume van je eigen haar, en is bepalend hoeveel extensions je uiteindelijk nodig hebt. Ook kan er gekozen worden uit verschillende lengten en verschillende kwaliteiten. Je specifieke wensen moeten we natuurlijk vooraf rustig bespreken. We zijn gemiddeld 3 á 4 uur bezig met het zetten en van de extensions.

Platte wijze

Wij werken met de nieuwe methode van platte bondjes, de platte extensions zitten prettiger, vallen minder op en geven het mooiste resultaat . Platte bondjes zijn ook het minst schadelijk voor je haar. Het haar wordt in rechte banen voorbereid, daarna worden de bondjes in het eigen haar geplaatst. Met een speciale tang worden de bondjes warm gemaakt en om je eigen haar omsloten. De andere vaak gebruikte methode is met de ronde bondjes die in het haar worden gedraaid, in het begin zit het vaak heel strak en je voelt die bondjes heel erg zitten (vooral tijdens het slapen).

Microrings extensions
Deze nieuwe methode is erg in opkomst, ik zal binnenkort een nieuwe blog schrijven over deze techniek.
Bij MK Hairextensions in Alkmaar zetten we SoCap en Indian Gold hairextensions. Door jarenlange ervaring met heel veel modellen en lengtes kunnen we voor bijna iedereen een oplossing brengen. Op onze duidelijke site vind je nog heel veel informatie over de merken en mogelijkheden. Wij maken ook op maat haarmatten en flip-in extensions.

Artikel aangeboden door:

Mk Hairextensions Alkmaar

Wij zetten kwaliteits hairextensions voor een echt betaalbare prijs, en zijn gevestigd in Alkmaar, Noord-Holland. Wij werken met de beste kwaliteit Hairextensions producten (100% human hair). (de merken Indian Gold hairextenions, Socap).
Deze topmerken staan garant voor perfect haar en draagplezier.


Kijk op www.hairextensions-alkmaar.nl

0 5 IDEAS FOR FASHIONABLE HAIR STYLING

First of all we have to admit that long beautiful hair is the trend of this season! Besides long curly hair is the best basis for creating a new shape and mood.

Perfect wave.
If you want your wavy hair styling to look perfect rub styling mousse through the wet hair and dry them. Then use a curling iron. Locks have to be small but iron has to be large in order to make our hair-do effective. After all comb your heir with a brush to make curls become waves.

More volume.
Volumetric hair-dos always look bravely and stylishly. To create much volume dry your hair with head down. At last fixate the look with hairspray. You should spray it on the roots.

Old Hollywood
Retro hair styling is still in fashion. It is perfect for red carpet and for romantic dinner as well.

Up
To make your hair-do brave and daring backcomb fringe and put it backward. Fasten it with invisible hairpins. Such hair-do is a stylish and speedy choice for a night out or keeping the hair away from face during working day.


Accessories

Having long hair we can't help using accessories, such as hairpins, hair slides, fillets, hair hoops and hats. All these accessories will just underline the natural beauty of your hair.

0 So I'm a mixologist now...

google image

Not the bartender kind...I have started mixing up my own hair care and house hold products.

After looking online and doing some research on ingredients and DIY cleaners, I have found that most cleaners have the same base. Most of the ingredients you need to make your own products are probably in your kitchen or bathroom cabinets!

google image

I think that even if you don't make your own products, knowing how to make them is a great asset because you never know when you may get into a crunch and not be able to make it to the store or if you just want to be creative one day! Learning how to do for yourself is something no one can ever take away from you.

As I find them, I will be sharing recipes that would be great bases, you can add your own oils, fragrance, powders, etc. Here is one for....



Laundry Detergent:

GOOGLE IMAGE

1 bar of grated/ finely chopped soap
1 cup Washing Soda
1 cup Borax

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. If your bar soap flakes aren't very fine resulting in a chunky powder, you can put the whole mix in the blender for a few minutes. Add your oils and give it one last mix.

Tips:

• To avoid causing soap buildup in your washer, make sure you use a all natural bar of soap that has very little oil. A soap like Dove or something wouldn't work. 
• You can eliminate the bar soap altogether if you use something like OxyClean. You just mix in 1 cup OxyClean in the place of the bar soap.
• If you clothes aren't coming out as bright as you would like you can add salt (1 cup) and or baking soda to your mix. A recipe of salt, baking soda and bar soap will also work well as detergent.
• To help the soap dissolve in cold water, make sure you grate the soap into very fine pieces or blend it for a few minutes.
• To make liquid detergent from this, just boil 3 or so gallons of water and pour the mix in, let it sit overnight and in the morning you should have thick liquid detergent. *for this you must use bar soap

Look up some videos on youtube to see different recipes.  Here are some that I found useful:

Pinkyhasabrain- Homemade Powdered Detergent

Tsdvideos- Liquid Detergent (does comparison)

If you're hesitant about making your own detergent just remember that most detergents have the same basic ingredients, so just tweak it and add what you like and experiment. Also, keep in mind that people have been washing clothes before there was Gain, Tide, Sun, OxyClean, etc. if they could do it and make it work so can you!

*I haven't tried this recipe yet, I plan to try one later on today with salt, baking soda and a bar of soap. I'll let you all know how it turns out. I'll be using on my daughters stanky (yes, stAnky) onesies...if it can clean those it's a keeper!

0 Modern Celebrity Hairdos 2010 for Short & Medium Hair

Hair is the most decisive and indispensable rudiments of a person that amplify the exquisiteness and attractiveness of a humanly face. So we go after the modern celebrity hairdos such as hairstyles, haircuts and hair colors. The celebrities are very conscious and follow modern lifestyle; they are the trendsetters of newhairdos and haircuts that we call them as the modern celebrity hairdos.

Modern Celebrity Hairdos 2010 for Short & Medium Hair

Modern Celebrity Hairdos 2010 for Short & Medium Hair

0 Korean Celebrities at 2010 Style Icon Awards

"2010 Style Icon Awards” is an events show that awards celebrities who are considered to be one of Korea’s representative ‘Style Icons’ for 2010.

This year, 2010 Style Icon Awards was held at the CJ E&M Center in Seoul on November 17th. This year’s event was held by Olive, women’s lifestyle channel, and Onstyle, Korea’s number one style channel. This event is aiming for Korea’s biggest and most popular style awards event for Korean stars.

Many Stars and celebrities attented at the event. Attendees of the 2010 Style Icon Awards includes, 2NE1, C.N. Blue, Min Hyorin, Jung Gaeun, Park Soojin, Kim Jung Eun, Cheon Jeong Myeong, Lee Young Eun, Song Joongki, Seo In Young, Song Kyung Ah, Jang Yoon Ju, Joo Jin Mo, Lee Yoon Ji, Oh Yeon Su, Lee Ji Seon, So Ji Seob, and many more.

2NE1 were the only female girl group that attended the 2010 Style Icon Awards on November 17, 2010. They walked the red carpet with their fashion god-daddy, Jeremy Scott. As predicted, the girls were dressed in Jeremy Scott, once again, making a bold fashion statement (especially CL).

Winners on the night are as follows:

Style Icon of the Year: Lee Byung Hun
Popularity Award: SS501’s Kim Hyun Joong
International Style Icon: So Ji Sub
New Style Icon, Movie Actor: Big Bang’s T.O.P (Choi Seunghyun)
New Style Icon, Actor: Song Joong Ki
New Style Icon, Singer: CNBlue
Fashionista: Oh Yeon Soo
Style Leader: Gong Hyo Jin
Cultural/Arts award: Kolleen Park
Model: Han Hye Jin
Style Icon Actor: Chun Jung Myung
Style Icon Actress: Shin Min Ah
Female Singer: 2NE1
Male Singer: 2PM
Style Icon TV Star: Kim Jung Eun
Movie Actress: Lee Min Jung
Movie Actor: Joo Jin Mo
Special Award: Andre Kim (received by Andre Kim’s son, Kim Joong Do)
Sky Beautiful Sharing Award: Tiger JK & Yoon Mirae


2NE1



CN Blue



Min Hyo Rin



Sandara Park and Park Bom



So Ji Sub

Watch Lee Byung Hun, 2010 Style Icon of the Year Video here



Lee Byung Hun-ssi awarded the 'Style Icon of the Year' at the 2010 Style Icon Awards held at the CJ E&M Center in Seoul, South Korea on November 17, 2010.

0 Coastal Scents order!!

Coastal Scents is the best! I needed shea butter, cocoa butter and some other various things but, I didn't want to pay shipping as was on a budget, all the other sites wanted like $10 shipping (say what?!) for just $30 worth of products!

Well, I remembered that Coastal Scents had shea butter and black soap and lo and behold, they have it the cheapest I have seen so far!

Shea butter- $8.49/lb
Cocoa butter- $9.45/lb
Sweet Almond Oil-$6.69/lb (16 oz)
African Black Soap-$11.95/15 oz
Juniper Berry and Lavender Essentail Oils- 3.99 each
and a few 4 oz containers


My order came to $50 and I got FREE shipping!!

I still need to get some herbs and stuff but, I think I'll try to get those locally.

I should have my package in about 2-3 days via FedEx!

I love saving money, one stop shopping AND FREE shipping!! Can you tell I am glad?! :)

0 Hairstyle 2011 Kortrijk

Hairstyle is dè kappersbeurs voor kappers in de Benelux en is de jaarlijkse topontmoeting voor maar liefst 20.000 bezoekers. De komende editie van Hairstyle zal plaatsvinden in België op 27 & 28 februari in Kortrijk Xpo. Niet minder dan 150 firma s uit de kappersbranche presenteren er de laatste haartrends, kappersproducten, saloninrichtingen, kappertools en kappers accessoires. Nieuw bij Hairstyle zijn de doorlopend toegankelijke showhal en de mini podia op de beursvloer.

Doorlopende kappershows op de catwalk en technische knip presentaties op mini podia. De vroegere theaterhal van Hairstyle krijgt een nieuwe open opstelling waarbij alle haartrend presentaties van topkappers van dichtbij bijgewoond kunnen worden. Ook nieuw op de kappersbeurs zijn de doorlopende vaktechnische demonstraties op up close en personal mini podia op de beursvloer waar kappers leerzame kniptechnieken & haarstyling technieken presenteren in een persoonlijke en informele sfeer.

Hairstyle 2011 wordt het Event van en voor de kappersbranche. Noteer dus nu 27 & 28 februari 2011 in de agenda!

bron: Hairstyle 2011

0 It's too expensive!!

I can't count how many times I have heard this in regards to natural haircare (natural products, not "natural" hair), health, food, etc. People always have an excuse why they can't do something that they know they need to do. Always. (including me)

You know what I have learned? There is always a way. Always!

I'll take it section by section.

Natural Haircare:

If you buy from WAHMs the prices for conditioners, leave-ins and styling cremes can range from $8-20. For me, I make a budget and stay in it, I don't look at things outside of my budget. For example, I have set in my mind that I am not going to pay more than $8 for a conditioner. I don't care how great it is or what plant's super powers are in it, I am not buying it. All of the products I use on my hair are natural and none are expensive.

Making things yourself also saves you lots of money. Check your health food stores out and see what they have, also check vitamin stores for oils, teas and extracts.

Remember you don't NEED everything, keep it simple. You need to clean, moisturize and seal your hair, that's it. Shampoo, conditioner, leave in conditioner, and sealant.

Skincare:
This has a lot to do with what you put INTO your body. Want better looking skin? Drink more water. A lot of skin problems come from a backed up colon and not properly flushing out toxins. You can't eat junk all day and expect to have glowing skin. Nothing wrong with make-up but, some sunlight and water can help get rid of dark spots and prevent wrinkles.

I am not a fan of a lot of make-up. I like eyeshadow and lip gloss but, I don't like foundation, blush, concealer and all that. To me, make-up is suppose to accentuate not make your features...but that's me.

I am on the outside looking though because I have never had skin problems and when my skin does look "blah" it's because I need to drink more water and get more rest.

Skincare is the same as haircare; clean it, moisturize it and seal in the moisture. If you're taking care of your skin, you won't need 50-11 different lotions and pomades...you could wash your face and go.

Healthy eating:

I don't go overboard with this, at all. Some people make eating a burden and I believe food is meant to be enjoyed. I don't count calories and eat only nuts. Nope, I enjoy cake, cookies, chips, sugar, flour, rice, pasta, ALL THAT delicious stuff. What I don't eat is; pork, seafood outside of fish (fins and scales, anyone?), grocery store milk (hormones and mad cow disease anyone?) and a few other things.

A lot of things are great in moderation and cooking food from scratch is one the key factors to staying healthy.

You also have to stay active, get out and exercise, drink water and get sunlight!

Just balance it out, you have to eat fruits, vegetables, and fiber (things that make you poop). Get what's withn your budget, if you can't get veggies from Whole Foods, try the fresh market or Wal-Mart, something is better than nothing.

So don't stress yourself out trying to buy ALL organic and "healthy", do what you can and make sure you're eating a balanced diet.

Also, Fast Food is the devils spawn...seriously. That stuff will have you fat as a cow and the withdrawals from it are like crack.

Well that's all for now. I plan to do a post about birth soon and wrap up some reviews...

0 Jennifer Aniston The Break Up

Aniston’s recent break up with John Meyer (a 30 year old musician) left them both emotional. John is persistent in sticking up for her. He tells the tabloids that the story is not very interesting quoting the reason for the break up as “People are different, people have different chemistry.” He is clear that there was no cheating or scandal just the two were not right for one another.

John claims he thinks she is “…the smartest and most sophisticated person I have ever met.” The break up left Aniston is a state of renewal. Shorty after she remodeled her Beverly Hills home removing the “His” section of the master bathroom in favor of a spa tub and soaking tub for herself. Looking less than ready to settle down in the near future, Aniston moves forward still confident and gorgeous. Aniston will no doubt be just fine in whatever decisions she makes and undoubtedly still able to achieve whatever she puts her mind to.

0 New clothing site!!

A great friend of mine gave me the link to a great modest clothing site.

East Essence

If you like tunics, long skirts and head wraps like I do, check out the site. They have "hijabs" for as low as $6.99. I don't wear "hijabs", I just use them to wrap my hair up.

Nice isn't it?! $19.99

I love tunics, they just look so nice, even with some stretch pants (yoga pants) you look like you atleast tried to look cute and they come long enough to cover my bum (pantylines anyone?).

$19.99

Yep. $19.99

 I am about to get a denim skirt, tunic and headwrap from here and I'll let you all know how it goes. It's hard trying to find NICE modest clothing, people want to charge an arm and a leg just for a nice full skirt and I don't have it like that.

If you get something let me know! :)

Are you a woman who likes to dress modest? Let me know where you shop!! 

0 John Frieda pakketje!

Update van vandaag: Heb een leuk pakketje van John Frieda gekregen. "Salon-kwaliteit kleur binnen handbereik". Een permanente kleuring (9N) met iets van Foam spul er in :). Ben benieuwd. Binnenkort een volledige review van dit Haarproduct.



Foto's (betere kwaliteit komt nog):




Thanx to: John Frieda