Natural Hair Kids – Unlikely Martha

Beauty• Featured• Hair

hair crushin’

In being more intentional about keeping clutter to a minimum, today when I saw Addi attempt to squash one more doll into an already overflowing basket I told her to dump the whole thing out and decide which toys she wanted to give away to needy children and which ones she wanted to keep.

As I supervised her, I looked at her hair and was like OMG!

Not only have I had a love hate relationship with her tresses but she has had some issues adjusting as well. Few people understood my concern when I started being more intentional in the way I spoke to her about her hair and making myself more diligent in figuring out how to work with it. I refused to straighten it until I knew she was comfortable with her natural hair, especially going to school in an environment where she is the minority.

I remember being the only black girl in my class and when I told my mother I wanted my hair straight like the white girls she pressed it, and continued to press it until I can’t ever remember seeing my hair in it’s natural state.

Well my friends it is a new day and I need Addi’s norm to be a puffy fro and I see to it that she has learned to love and embrace her hair. I scold her brother even when he makes jokes about her hair not just for her sake but for all of the women he will come across with natural hair.

I’m proud of how far I’ve come in making sure my girl has a head full of healthy hair that she loves. Now if I could just get my hair to look like hers!!

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Featured• Hair

{How To} Natural Hair Kids Protective Style

I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Just For Me. I received product samples to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for my participation.

Keeping my daughter’s hair in protective styles is not only good for my time but also good for her hair. I wash her hair weekly with the Just for Me Hair Milk collection, and dependent on my time I will either cornrow her entire head or cornrow the back and do something quick with the top. One of my go to styles is this quick twisted pin up style that I have to refresh just once during the week.

Start with freshly washed, or in this case untwisted hair.

Apply a styling aid. I applied the Just for Me gel and Curl Perfecter for hold, and sheen. You can find these products at your local Walmart and they are really great in helping to detangle and smooth out the hair, making sure you get a sleek finish. I put a small bit on and finger detangled prior to twisting.

To complete this style you will also need bobby pins.

After applying the product of your choice, haphazardly twist chunks of hair. No rhyme or reason to this step, you can choose large or small twists. Make sure to give the twists a little twirl at the end to seal the ends, which I didn’t do in this picture!

Now you are ready to pin. Leave out a few twists in the front, while you start to pin from the back. I suggest playing with the twists before pinning to make sure you get a result that you like. It is likely each time you do this style you will end up with something different.

Once you’ve secured the back, get creative with the few twists left in the front. Swoop to the side, or pin straight back, this is what gives the style flavor.

Our new wash routine has truly been made so much easier with use of the #5FingerChallenge and Just for Me Hair Milk Collection. You can read about the wash routine here. To make wash time a little more bearable try using the #5FingerChallenge by detangling with your fingers. The results are better for the hair and hopefully less stress on you as we know wash days for some can be a struggle!

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Hair

Just for Me Hair Milk Tangle Free Tension Blow Out

I participated in a Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Just For Me. I received product samples to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for my participation.

Growing up as an only child you learn to occupy your time in the most creative ways. I spent a ton of time as a child braiding and combing my doll’s hair. When I had Addison, I couldn’t wait for her hair to grow long enough so that I could cornrow it and give her all of those styles I mastered some 20 years before sitting on the floor cracking my doll’s head with the comb because she wouldn’t sit still…..not that my mother did that to me.

Fast forward to now and I’m not ashamed to say I loathe wash day. Since school has started and she is active at least 3 times a week not including recess and gym, her hair needs to be washed weekly and I’m just 3 weeks in and I’m already tired. The main issue with her hair besides the fact that she has a ton of it, is it tangles so bad and is extremely dry.

I try to keep heat off of her hair as much as possible and use protective styles but on days like this past Sunday or when I am pressed for time I like to use the tension and finger combing blow dry method to knock the water off of it and make it a little more manageable for ponytails.

This week I used the Just for Me Hair Milk line that boasts of its ability to make hair more manageable and easy to comb before, during and after the wash phase. The entire line consists of:

Pre-Wash Detangling Conditioner: I slathered, and when I say slathered….I SLATHERED it on her hair and ran my fingers through it. Think of this as a pre poo. It smelled great and I noticed her hair was much softer after letting it sit for about 5 minutes.

Not sure she was convinced just yet

Moistursoft Sulfate Free Cleanser: I rinsed out the pre wash with cool water and then applied the shampoo. To be sulfate free it lathered quickly. I felt like I got a good foam the first time so I only washed once.

Silkening Conditioner: Following the shampoo, I used the conditioner. The conditioner has oils and proteins to keep hair hydrated. I put this on and put a conditioning cap on her hair for about 20 minutes. When I rinsed this out I was able to finger comb through her hair without incident. Was pretty hype about that.

Hydrate and Protect Leave in Conditioner: Next I added on this conditioner. I was wondering if this additional leave in was needed but I did it anyway and I’m glad I did. Made of shea butter, honey and soymilk this conditioner is ultra moisturizing. Her hair looked so healthy and shiny after I put it on. Initially it was white but soaked in after I finger detangled it.

Leave in Detangler: This leave in detangler was everything. I misted on each separate piece as I finger detangled and then twisted the hair up section by section. Amazing, I promise I’ve never seen her hair comb through so easy post wash. Her hair was ultra shiny and healthy looking.

I took the #5FingerChallenge, meaning I only used my fingers to detangle while I blow dried and I had great results. Here is a quick video to show you just how well this detangled her hair allowing me to finger detangle.

…and because she had a case of the Mondays

If you want to take the #5FingerChallenge you can find the Just for Me products at your local Walmart for SRP $5.49. To learn more about the products in this line be sure to check out Just for Me via the Web, Twitter, Instagram and Youtube

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Hair

Curly Q’s and Straight Talk with Essence Magazine

Hair can be a women’s greatest accessory, but it can also be frustrating when your hair isn’t at it healthiest point. I’ve talked about my hair journey here in the past, and I was recently invited to talk on a panel about healthy hair. Essence magazine and Pantene brought together a panel of bloggers, youtubers, and a professional hairstylist in order for us to speak our hair journeys and all that we’ve learned through the process of trial and error.

The event was hosted at Whiskey Blue in the W hotel located in Midtown Atlanta. The entire event was a great opportunity to get some fresh inspiration for new hair products and styling methods. Prior to the panel discussion, there was a plethora of cocktails, eats and massage stations on hand to get everyone relaxed from a long day…and the Atlanta traffic that day just happened to be of epic proportions.

During the event each of us had the opportunity to share what treatments, major cuts, and successes we had all been through. I was able to give the perspective of having to manage my hair and my daughter’s hair along with the struggles I face because we have different hair types.

One method that we talked about for achieving healthy beautiful hair is the importance of getting the right balance of moisture and nutrients (water/oil). So that means ensuring that you keep your hair hydrated with steam and water. As well as incorporating oils and cream moisturizers that put oils back into your hair and allow it to hold its shine and movement.

Aside from the tips and tricks, a huge portion of the dialogue was just talking about the fact that as a women’s greatest accessory it is up to every one of us to decide what we want to do with our own hair. At the end of the day you have to make sure that you are happy with the style or state of your hair. We all have the right to make the decision on what we want to do with our own hair. Straight natural, curly natural or relaxed the main goal is healthy hair!

How are you wearing your hair these days?!!

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