Hello World...Product Review...Miss Jessie's Jelly Soft Curls...

Hello World...

This is my first time doing a product review.  I am a naturalista with what are called "tight, kinky curls".  These are the curls that create some of the most awesome afros and lots of people purchase hair pieces and wigs to recreate the look.  You'd think that those of us with these cute little curlies would be totally ecstatic BUT just everyone else, you always look at someone else's hair and wish yours was like that.  For us it's probably the wish of a looser curl.  eh...I used to wish that and even allowed myself to get a texturizer process done on my hair which loosens the curl JUST a bit but since it's a type of chemical process it wears off and the hair reverts back to your natural curl.  It's not the Jheri Curl, I've never had one of those although I probably should have because back in the day I wore a relaxer which is what put some serious damage on my follicles.  So between the two chemical processes, the Jheri Curl is more healthy. But I digress.

So I fully embrace my natural curls and love the fact that I can wear my hair in so many different curl patterns and styles.  I LOVE it!  But the one thing, for me anyway, that is sometimes the most nerve wrecking is finding the right moisturizer and conditioner that gives us the right curl  pop.  What is "curl pop" you ask?  It is when YOUR curl definition just POPS!  So normally when we get our hair shampooed or just wet, the definition is there you can see how curly or wavy or whatever your hair is while it's wet.  But the biggest issue about those of us with tight curls is that once the hair dries, our curls kinda  go into this shrunken frizz, the curls are still there but no longer defined.  There are a lot of products on the shelves for our sisters with the finer, looser curl or wave but not so much for us with the kinky hair.  I've tried a few different products, i'm not quite a product junkie BUT I've tried a few and the only product line that has consistently defined my curlies is Miss Jessie's products.

I started out with their butter creme for moisture and definition that I used with a different leave-in conditioner because they didn't have one at that time.  Well just recently, today actually, I felt like doing a wash and go for work.  I'm currently wearing a short cut that my barber keeps neat so I can easily do a wash and quick fluff and roll out.  So I attend different hair/fashion events where we get goodie bags with neat items which include Miss Jessie's stuff ALL of the time.  So I've had this product, Jelly Soft Curls in my drawer for a minute BUT because my coils don't really care for EVERYthing I was a little nervous about using it.  I wasn't sure that my coils would pop like the description promised.  Boy was I wrong and boy was I glad I was wrong!  I wet my hair and evenly distributed the product as directed and noticed the cute little curlies start to form but didn't get excited because I see this all the time.  BUT I noticed as my hair got drier the curls and a lot of the length stayed. I got a teeny bit excited but figured I'd check my kinkies once I got to work just to see and the definition is still there!  Even as I write this, I still have definition which is why I even thought to do a product review.

So to my fellow tight curled natural sistahs, if you are looking for a product line to try I do recommend Miss Jessie's.  I suggest you get a sampler don't spend a lot of money on full sized items.  Actually the best thing to do is to go to your nearest natural hair salon and get a consultation.  What is a consultation?  This is when the stylist sits you in the chair and discusses your natural hair with you, advise on your type and try out a few products on your tresses.  Not your whole head, just a few strands here and there so YOU can see how your curls react.  These are normally free OR the stylist will have a charge which will go towards product purchase and/or a style.

Hope you try it out and enjoy!

Peace and blessings.....

Am I Ugly?

Am I ugly to you? Because weave is not flowing from my head, held on by some glue or some thread?

You seem to think a black woman like me, should be ashamed of my natural crown because it's kinky.

Am I ugly to you? Would you prefer I go get a relaxer?  You see the problem with that is that I'll have no hair after.

You see the one thing that you don't seem to understand, is that I'd rather be single with a head full of healthy hair than bald with relaxer burns and a man.

Am I ugly to you? Because you feel like hawaiian silky is better?  It seems that you are more concerned with aesthetics than making our people's minds better.

You see a long time ago slave masters put us against each other by making their own mixed kids, putting them in the house and telling them they were better people, telling them that the ones with the kinky hair outside were not their equal.

And it's sad to say that it worked because as a people we haven't been the same sense.  Instead of embracing our uniqueness we strive to copy others.  Not realizing that an entire people kill themselves daily with plastic surgeries to look like us.

Am I ugly to you? Because I don't do what everyone else does? Well that's kinda good to hear because I like being different and going my own course.

If you look in the mirror and don't like what you see...how 'bout you fix your own shit and stop taking it out on me!

(created/owned By Nissa K)
*The End*
~the first poetic installment of hello world~

I will not stand for...

I'm taking a bite from the apple of the "I will not stand for" commercial where the people sit down and have different issues printed on their t-shirts.  Well I will not stand for...
Natural Hair Ignorance!!!!!!

Ok, let me give you a little history.  Growing up during the time of you have to "good hair and be light skinned" to be automatically liked (or hated),all other hair textures and skin color had to prove themselves.  Crazy right? Well guess what, the skin color part is s-a-l-o-w-l-y tapering but the hair thing is front and center.  I remember, i fell into the trap of "i like light skinned dudes with good hair" for a short time but then i kept seeing these dark-skinned beautiful brothers and soon fell out of that but THEY were into light so that kinda dampened my self-esteem a tad.  However, the first time I saw one of my cousin's cousin...a beautiful dark skinned girl with long, coal black curly hair.  I was like ok, i'm good! And then I saw Whitney Houston with her brown skinny self on the front of 17 magazine (one of my faves) with a short natural looking 'do AND sanging (something else i did back then) and I was really "Good".  But I'd still get the "you look cute to be dark-skinned". WTF???? What the heck does that mean???? Ok ok ok ok sorry I need to digress...

Ok back on topic, even today in 2012 I was in a group conversation and this lady was saying she was natural and said that she loved my hair (i'd just taken it down from a two-strand and had a scarf wrapped around it).  So one lady says "oh you got that good hair".  Those words are like finger nails on a chalk board to me!! What in the heck is "good hair" except the fact that you have hair on your head...well good!  The reason this statement was said is that she'd had her hair pressed and it was straight, beautiful length and i have other natural friends that do the same thing and i admit it's beautiful and stuff but with my 4b/4c (kinky/curly) stuff, once the elements hit it i'd have something like half straight/half curly..nah, I'll just stick with curly. LOL!  So anyway, the lady continued to talk and say well everybody can't wear that natural, we need it straight.  I got those beady beads so I can't do it like you and annissa.  I said well I have the type of hair that is referred to as how did you just describe it "beady beads" and it's no problem.  It's all in the product.  I will no longer stand for natural hair ignorance!  It's too many real salons available now that can give you a professional consultation without you still acting like you are a part of the salon scene in Spike Lee's "School Daze". Ugh!

Which brings me to my next soap box..  Products

I will not stand for all of these products that do NOT work and you know they don't work.  But you shady manufacturers are trying to ride the naturalista wave and you know a few somebodies will buy it just to see if it works on their hair.  Or how about this...if it's meant for only a certain type (see the hair type list goes from 2-4; 4 being the kinky curly) then say that!  Don't have ppl wasting money!!!  Nobody wants a bathroom full of shit that doesn't work! Period!  One website I will promote is curlynikki.com! They have reviews from real people on different products that let you know right off the top if the product does what it claims it will do.  Thanks Curly Nikki!!

I give a standing ovation to the PR person that setup the "I will not stand for" commercials because it allows one to vent about so many topics!!  Thank you and have fun spending that bonus! You deserve it!

Everyone one have a great weekend!  *peace and blessings*

Go-Go Gadget Fro!

 Good merning, good merning, good merning...govern yourselves accordingly! (in the words/voice of Sis Bernice Jenkins)
(if you're not familiar, you need to check out ricky smiley on youtube)

So I grew up in the 70s during a time when having long straight, thick hair was the thing to have on your head and in that same spirit every Saturday night, my granny would wash my, then, thick hair and press it.  Now if anybody got their hair pressed, you heard the sizzle in your mind and you flinched as soon as I said that..i know you did.  I have a permanent mark on my right ear where my granny was trying to "get my edges".  So at the age of 6, my mom decided to put a "Kiddie Kit" on my hair.  That name rang a bell didn't it? I know it did.  My granny was pissed! She immediately washed my hair with egg to strip the relaxer.  yes that actually works, it's the raw protein of the egg, it stripped that relaxer right out and she went back to pressing it. LOL!!  So anyway eventually i ended up with a relaxer and that started the hair breakage.  I have this one spot that's normally called a "stress spot" in the middle in the back of my head that grows to a certain length and breaks no matter what the rest of my hair is doing. 

I found out by watching my older relatives that at a certain age, our DNA structure activates this thinning thing that happens in the front and the top of our heads. Our=females.  I made my decision to go natural back in 1997(ish) and had the last piece of relaxed strand clipped out of my head in 2000 and have been natural ever since.  I have and still will wear braids, either hidden braids which is a braid style that uses hair extenions and the extensions and the natural hair is braided in a corn row style leaving the natural hair totally braided and available for conditioning and only the extension or weave hair is styled.  This style was created by Alice Burnom of Houston Texas-Certified Cosmetology Instructor at San Jacinto College/Master Stylist/Owner of Ebony Persuasions- http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlsalons/view/3672/ebony-persuasion-houston-texas-united-states and also I've worn the Tree Braids which are similar to Hidden Braids.  I discovered the Tree Braids when I moved to Atlanta in 2004. 

So my hair is o-kay right now.  I wear my fro, i've figured out how to do my own two-strand twists and coils.  I have had a professional consultation and for the most part I know what products to use to make my combo 4b/4c kinky hair look its best. (shout out to Miss Jessies's Baby Buttercreme, Jane Carter's Daily spray leave-in conditioner and Design Essentials's Daily Lotion and Creme Gel).  But here is where my hair and I differ, I love color (i'm red right now) and my hair follicles do not like it. *sigh* so, it will grow and then break and then grow.

All of this to say that after hearing constant commercials for Ovations Hair Treatment and after speaking with someone that actually uses it and seeing her beautiful hair, I have finally ordered the treatment system.  It's on the way and you can check out the information http://www.ovationshair.com/ and read the specifics but I'm hopeful that this will give me the extra oomph that I need in my head to encourage my strands to move beyond the length they are used to growing.  So going forward from this day, along with all of the other topics that pop in my head, I am going to take you on my fro growing journey.  Hence my title "Go-Go Gadget Fro".  For my 70s babies we had a cartoon called "Inspector Gadget" and that was his code word for either his mechanical arms or legs or his other mechanical devices to activate. 

So Ovations Hair Treatment...let's see what we can do.

*Peace and Blessings*