Sometimes, this obsessive blog thing tends to pay off when you stumble upon something as poetic and downright beautiful as this piece written by Tami, of ‘What Tami Said’ today.

Right now, the back left side of my hair is strangely puffy, fuller than the rest of my head. The curls there are stretched out and winding this way and that. You may surprised to hear me say that I am NOT having a bad hair day. I am; however, in the throes of hand-in-nap disease.

From my own experience, and the stories of other women, I’ve learned that a curious thing often happens when a black woman “goes natural.” First, she is curious, but a little fearful of what lies under all those years perming or weaving or wigging. The decision to stop relaxing can be far from…relaxing. How could it be when society reinforces the idea that if curly hair is a problem, kinky hair is an abomination? It is not beautiful or professional or presentable. Fashion models don’t rock TWAs. The girl nextdoor never has dreads. CEOs don’t sport twists or BAAs. That’s what we’re told, anyway. For years, she has headed to the salon at the first sign of a wave at her roots. Girl, I need a touch up! This shit is NAPPY! Now, she is expected to believe that the same thing she has sought to hide for decades is a good thing.

So, she watches her new growth and hopes that her nappy is not too nappy. There is even a hair-typing scale to obsess over. Please, please let me be more 3A than 4C. Perhaps she spends no small amount of time looking for lotions and potions that will create curls where there are only kinks and zigzags or to give the illusion of wet, shiny tendrils. This behavior–the symptom of a mind still fettered to misguided notions about race and beauty–hopefully does not last for long.

Freedom eventually does come. She learns to stop wishing her hair was other than it is. She learns that naps–whether loose and curly or tight and kinky–can be beautiful. She experiments and discovers that her thick 4a hair makes gorgeous, plump twists; or that her 4c tresses spring into a kick-ass afro; or that her 3a curls look elegant in an up-do. She learns to “do you” as they say. And it clicks that a beauty scale that preferences appearance based on how closely it conforms to that of the majority culture is as useless as it is biased.

And then she falls in love. I did.

Folks who think only straight and silky hair is worth a loving touch are missing something delightful. Running your hand over textured hair (With the owner’s permission!) is addictive. I start at the back. First, my fingers usually find the smooth, neat curls at the nape of my neck. I pull them and they spring back into place. I wrap the strands around my fingers absentmindedly. My hands then crawl further up my head to the crown, where the texture is tighter and a little more coarse. I examine the differences in texture, touching the bumps and waves–smooth here, crinkly there. Before long I am separating my curls, pulling them apart where they have clumped together. And when that is done, when my loose hair is no longer a series of curls but a mass of brown cotton candy, I start wrapping the strands together into twists. Then I pull the twists out again. The result–usually a section of my hair is fluffier and puffier and less uniform than the rest, due to my stretching and stroking. It is relaxing and sensuous. Last night, while catching up on a season one disc of the Fox show Fringe, I discovered I had plaited my whole head.

I can’t help it. Such is “young love.” I adore the feel of my hair. I yearn to touch it. It is hard not to fondle it. And that is so much better than hating it.

*more beauty found here

Several years ago I was in need of help.  I needed a place to hide until the wears of being unemployed floated away & conversation with friends, neighbors were no longer strained & overly consumed by patterns of weather.  It was a few years after college graduation, I’d recently moved in with my loving grandmother to save on rent in NYC, & was barely getting by to pay my car note at the time. Woe was me, Blah!

My days were literally spent figuring out what to eat for breakfast, sending out resumes mid-noon, lunching on chicken kabobs and fries from the local deli, checking e-mails for replies, then dining on grandmother’s rationing of rice & beans.

You know what…it was all good. Jobless, but far from hopeless it was easy to keep abreast of my own sanity because I had music, I had a channel that was broadcasting in the only luxury I could afford at the time, VH1Soul. That’s right, even in the midst of a jobless moment, I had cable where the only channels ever perused were The Food Network,  Bravo & VH1Soul.

VH1Soul gave me my first intro to the talented, beautiful voice that you see below. The moment I was lost:

“….don’t you let those other boys fool you, gotta love that afro hair-do.”

Lost. I was back in a zone of complete love for music, Good Music because it was still happening, someone was still finding & playing it.  Ironically enough, it’s that ‘someone’ who’s shutting down the goodness by pulling the plug on VH1Soul. Word came round the sphere earlier this month, and to say that I was heartbroken & disappointed..would be a tragic understatement.

Granted, television & broadcasting networks are NOT what they used to be, and I’m venturing back to only 4 years ago. Drastic changes have propped up, all to benefit advertisers & executives rather than those that essentially matter—>the viewers. Yet finding blogs like Music Nerdery and hearing the same sentiments echoed by our fellow Bella, I knew this wasn’t just a flighty pull of the plug for some. VH1Soul matters to the masses because of those last four letters.

Are you game to have your voice heard? Click here to sign a petition granting you the right to Good Music, and here to show your support via the Save VH1Soul Facebook page. And while you’re at it, stay current on the shenanigans going on over at headquarters by following Music Nerdery.

Y’all remember SoulStage?! Lawd…

I’ve made it no secret over the past year that I have a few scalp sensitivities. Many trips have been made to the dermatalogist over the years to help diagnose whatever it is that’s seemed to overtake the scalp situation. I’ve had varrying symptoms from, itchy scalp to soars and blisters to dry scaley patches.

It’s not pretty.

It has been a frustrating journey figuring out the causes, finding a solution & helping to maintain a balance that would not interfere with my daily activities. In the winter time I just do not have the energy nor time to wash my hair/scalp upwards of 3-4 times a week. I gave up the habit as soon as the hair grew down to shoulder length, and the detangling process set me back a cool 45min-1hr.

So, while the doctor remedied my condition with a whole host of oils, pills, foams & creams, I was still far from satisfied.  Ingesting a medicine cabinet while applying topical products with ‘questionable’ ingredients always made me a bit leery…and broke.

Lately I have been seeking out alternatives to help calm ‘the situation,’ and recently came across a VERY strong contender.  *Bee Mine’s Sensitive Oil Free Hair Serum was an impulse purchase after watching a Youtube gal demo it late last year. I was still in vacation mode, anticipating the Black Friday Extravaganza deals & took a gamble purchasing.

From the Site:

Bee-Sensitive ~ Oil Free serum ($14) comes to you by popular request for our family members with scalp conditions that prevents the use of oils. We’ve formulated this oil-free hair serum with love to help soothe the scalp and promote a healthy environment for optimal growth. The soothing and healing properties of organic aloe vera juice paired with select herbs can assist in alleviating the discomfort of many scalp conditions. Feel the calming and stimulating and effect of this oil-free serum and keep your hair looking beautiful and healthy. Specially created for those with dermatitis, psoriasis, eczema and other sensitive skin condition

My scalp is not sensitive to oils, so while this is not marketable to me per se, I opted to use it ultimately because of it’s claim to heal the effects of dermatitis & other skin conditions.  I’ve been using the serum weekly for two months, applying directly to scalp after styling the hair. The serum is very runny, & took a bit of trial and error before landing the application down. I absolutely make sure to apply it on my scalp if I’ve been sitting under a dryer to dry my twists because I find my scalp to be most sensitive and lacking moisture after a wash. I massage the serum in (at night usually) and leave-in. I repeat about a day – a day and a half later to ensure effectiveness.

There is a small tinging sensation after first application, but nothing seriously close to burning or uncomfortable.

Ingredients: Organic Aloe Vera Juice, Herbal Infused Purified Water, Ayurvedic Herbs, Select Herbs, MSM, Fragrance, Paraben & Formaldehyde Free Preservative.

The Bee Mine Serum has been a staple in my rotation for the simple fact that it is compatible with what my scalp essentially needs, & frankly that is a very hard thing to do.  Today, I sit here with eight day hair, haven’t washed my scalp since last week’s Sunday and can safely say I have a flake free, scab free scalp!  Downsides to applying a serum with a water & aloe vera juice base, is the inevitable damp scalp. To avoid this I apply sparingly, because you really do not need to douse your hair in serum. To avoid applying liberally, the spray application is best as is shown in the picture, though mine did come with a pour nozzle. The roots of your scalp will be slightly damp after applying, but should not interfere with whatever hairstyle you are currently maintaining.

*product was purchased solely by Chai, of Back To Curly while maintaining an unbiased review

I am officially sidelined today due to a stomach virus thingy that’s wreaking havoc on my body, so essentially all systems haven’t been a ‘go’ since Saturday evening.  My energy has been completely zapped, so not washing of the hair yesterday & most likely today….so what’s a stir crazy girl to do!!!

I really do feel as if I’m going a bit bonkers, I HATE staying home, particularity on a rainy Monday when all me fellow 9-5′ers are out commiserating with the world.  Sippin on nothing but ginger ale and chicken broth gets old after the first few sips.

But to make do & to help prevent any more inevitable boredom,  I’ll post a few reviews that have been waiting in the wings as drafts for a while. No time like the present.

Times like these usually call for updating my music pod, so will be doing just that…starting with this fine fellow. It’s a collection of ‘unreleased’ tracks from Dwele, whom I’m a huge fan of.  The full track set was released earlier this month, but personally… there’s no such thing as late if it’s free music;-)!

Click here to download full album.

I’m happy it’s Friday, I’m thankful another week has come & gone…& I am overjoyed to be ‘here.’ I hope I’m not coming off a bit ambiguous, but I always have a select few Mantra’s floating in my brain at any given time…and this one is speaking to me quite loudly today.

That small bit was supposed to segway into something more special, but I’ll just fall back & let you know about a famously Girl Friendly Blog for the ‘modern brown girl’, ‘A Girl’s Guide to Naturelle-Chic‘. I came across Zannëta’s blog a few weeks ago, & she was kind enough to reach out asking me to be featured . The blog is quite addicting, mixing hair profiles with style icons, chic home decor & even gooey homemade recipes I never knew about! Aside from being a certified PJ, I’m no doubt a blog whore…by choice;0), and this one was instantly added to the bill. You can check out my spot here.

Another cool endeavor  comes by way of Indie land to help raise awareness of Haiti and it’s current relief efforts. Each day Indie Fixx will silent auction a bevy of beautiful items made & donated by indie crafters, artists and designers.  Great things are up for grabs, including a few items from Zaja Naturals, a personal favorite vendor of mine;-). 100% of all proceeds will be donated to the Red Cross Response Fund. Click here or on link below to learn more.

Posting is set to resume as regularly scheduled beginning this weekend. Update on Contest in the coming days as well;-).

I hardly ever  do a short & sweet post do I?!

Ha!

Have a FANTASTIC weekend everyone!

*image via CK Collectables

Posting will be a bit spotty for a few days. Grad School/family/life seems to take over when you least expect it. But a jewel landed in a lot of folks laps this morning in the form of some REALLY sweet music. Click on image to listen to Corinne Bailey’s new album, The Sea in it’s entirety. Full album is set for release January 26th.

Too hard to pick a favorite track;-)!

via npr