I Think I Want to Color my Fro…..

I don’t know if it’s the fact that spring is here and soon summer will be here as well, but lately I’ve been tossing around the idea of coloring my fro. First you need to understand that I’m not a daring person when it comes to hair color. I’m daring when it comes to cutting off all my hair. I’ll do that in a heart beat without blinking! Color scares me. I’m always afraid that I won’t like the finished product. What looks good on someone else may not look good on me, and I feel this way even though I’m in the hands of a licensed, experienced beautician!

The two colors I’m interested in doing are a burgundy red or a golden brown. I’ve had a burgundy rinse before many moons ago, and it barely showed because it was a rinse, and my hair is so naturally black that it drowned out the burgundy color. I know a more permanent color will show and hold better. I’ve done gold/blonde highlights in my early 20’s when I was rocking my short hair, and once I did an all over gold permanent color. That didn’t last long because I kept my hair short and the color eventually got cut out of my hair.

Now that I’m letting my hair grow and do it’s own thing, I know whatever color I choose is going to be there for quite some time. I’m going to have to commit to this color. What I plan on doing is setting up a consultation with one of the beautician’s at a great shop that I know of. I’m going to let her know what I want, let her know my fears, and ask her what would be a good color to compliment my skin tone and then go from there. I know it’s very important to keep your hair well conditioned and moisturized when its colored, so that is already on my “better do regularly” list.

I have some questions for my readers: Have you colored your natural hair? Did you do it yourself or did you go to a beautician? What is the best advice you can give for taking care of color treated natural hair?

I don’t know when I’m going to take this plunge, but I want to be well informed before I do! As always I’ll keep you posted with updates and pictures. 🙂

~Sonya

Please check out It’s Just Hair!

As promised, here is my interview with blogger Erin Elmore of It’s Just Hair! I had a ton of fun talking hair and everything else under the sun with her! Please check out her blog where you’ll meet women from all over discussing their hair and how it empowers them. If you’re a lover of short hair like I am, you’ll also see a TON of cute, jazzy hair styles and colors to drool over!

http://hairishairishair.blogspot.com/2014/03/sonya-classy-pixie.html

~Sonya

Shout Outs & Thank You’s

I felt it was necessary to go a bit off topic and take some time to thank all of my supporters, readers, and fans. The support I’ve received since starting this blog has been AMAZING and I truly appreciate it from the bottom of my heart. The support I’ve received from fellow bloggers – I’m speechless. We don’t know each other from Adam or Eve, and yet so many of you have reached out to me with arms wide open full of support and positive vibes, and I so ADORE you for it.

Just the other day I met someone through Pinterest. I’m a Pinterest JUNKIE in case you didn’t know. Anyhoo, her name is Erin and she’s a blogger. Her blog is called It’s Just Hair – Finding Pixies Everywhere. She blogs about short hair, pixie cuts in particular. I LOVE her blog because it’s different and unique and once I started reading it I couldn’t stop! She interviews women from all over the states and all over the world about their short hair, and it’s awesome. Erin reached out to me and asked if she could interview me, and from there spawned another blogging sisterhood friendship! Do yourself a favor and check out her blog at http://hairishairishair.blogspot.com/ I Promise you’ll fall in love with her blog too, as well as see some great hair cuts and styles that may inspire you to go short! You’ll also be able to read her interview with me. 🙂

After numerous emails back and forth chit chatting with one another, Erin encouraged me to start a Facebook page about my cookie business. That is something I’ve been hemming and hawing about for the last couple of years, and thanks to Erin she’s convinced me to just DO IT! Thank you Erin! I needed that extra boost of confidence and kick in the butt to keep pushing forward towards making my dream and passion of baking a reality.

I live for these moments, and I will do all I can to be inspiring and encouraging to others. From now on I’m going to make it a point to shout out fellow bloggers and small business owners that absolutely ROCK to me. Let’s pay it forward. Be an inspiration, be someone’s supporter, be encouraging. Ladies – I’m speaking to you even more so. There’s nothing more beautiful that women banding together in support and love for one another. It’s so easy to tear each other down with negativity and ugliness. As a matter of fact it’s expected for us to behave this way. Let’s change that and make it a goal to be more supportive, loving and kind. Until next time, THANK YOU to everyone who have taken the time time read, comment, or like my blog. I truly appreciate it.

~Sonya

Braids Part III: The Love Affair

My love affair with braids started as a child. The routine my mother established with me and my two older sisters was wash, deep condition, and braid or plait up our hair. On Saturday she would usually straighten it or press it with the hot straightening comb. It wasn’t long before our mom then taught my sisters how to braid while they were young, and soon they became very good at braiding hair, better than our mom even! Shortly thereafter the job of braiding my hair became my sisters, and during this time putting beads in your hair was very popular. My sisters are some of the most creative hair braiders I know. I would be the envy of all the girls at my school because every couple of weeks I’d come to school with a new braided hair style with cool beads in it. Everyone wanted my sisters to do their hair like mine. Nope, my hair was one of a kind! “Have your own big sisters braid your hair” is what I wanted to say. I just smiled and reveled in the fact that I had TWO big sisters that were excellent at braiding hair and very creative with the styles.

Having my hair braided now reminds me of my life long love affair with braids. Women of all colors and backgrounds marvel at how long it takes to have my hair braided and that I WILLINGLY sit for hours to have it done. I can do nothing but laugh because I know first hand that beauty takes time. There’s a lot of sacrifice and patience involved, and I learned this at an early age. When my mother gave the directive to one of my sisters to braid my hair on a Saturday afternoon, I knew I had to sacrifice play time with my friends and the neighborhood kids. I knew it was going to take most of the afternoon to braid my hair AND put beads in it because my hair was thick and long. I was used to sitting while my sisters worked non stop on my hair. I was used to my butt getting numb from sitting for so long and asking to stand up and stretch or getting pillows to sit on. But I also knew the reward: Having beautiful braids with colorful beads hanging from the ends swinging down my back and in my eyes. I knew come Monday I’d be the envy of my friends at school because once again one of my sisters out did herself with her amazing braiding and beading skills.

No matter what we do to our hair it takes time, especially if we go to the shop. Coloring our hair takes time, relaxing or perming our hair takes time, cutting our hair takes time, and braiding our hair takes time. Some things take more time than others, but in the end it’s an investment, wouldn’t you agree? Sitting for six – eight hours to have my hair braided by skilled women is a huge investment for me, but an investment that is worth it. Depending on the style and how well you take care of your braids, they can last for months. You no longer have to get up early and fuss with your hair. In my case I get to sleep longer in the morning. Now all I have to worry about in the morning is figuring out what I’m going to wear to work and help my kids get ready for school. That is AWESOME to me! Also because my braids are long, I can flirt with putting a big bun on the top of my head or doing something else funky and sassy with them. The possibilities are endless.

Braids will always be a part of my life. I’ll never stop wearing them, I’ll never get too old for them. I don’t even think there’s a such thing as being too old for braids! Most importantly, braids are a great protective style for natural hair. Braids are also a great style accessory, a form of self expression. My braids have led to a lot of enlightening conversations for those of other cultures who don’t know how our hair is braided or how other hair is braided into our hair. It makes me happy that people are curious and want to learn. Being educated about other cultures is how one comes to understand, appreciate, and respect other cultures instead of listening to false sterotypes. Keep rocking your braids naturalistas and know that they are beautiful!

Please feel free to “like” or post a comment if you enjoyed what you read. I love the feedback, and I always respond back!