Enjoying My Senegalese Twists

It’s going on my third month of having my Senegalese twists and I must say that I have enjoyed them IMMENSELY! I’m not the most creative person when it comes to styling my braids or creating buns and pony tails, but when the mood hits me I’d struggle to get a good bun going, lol! 😉 I know it’s also best not to pull on your hair too much because it weakens your edges and can cause breakage, so for the most part I have worn my twists down. Anyhoo, I thought it would be fun to share a few photos of me and my various styles with my twists. Their nothing exciting, trust me! The time is coming quickly for me to take my braids down and I’m going to miss them. I also miss my afro and I can’t wait to see how much it has grown! 🙂

Hair down

Bun me

HAPPY One Year Creamy Crack Free To ME!

April marks my first year of no longer putting chemical relaxers, aka creamy crack in my hair. I’m over the moon happy about this milestone because I feel free and brand new! I feel like I’ve shed an old part of me similar to how a snake sheds old, dead skin. For years I abused my hair and scalp, and one year ago I finally got the courage to do something that I wanted to do for the past four years – go natural. It’s such a liberating feeling! Making the decision to go natural is why I started this blog. I wanted to share my experience with as many as I could reach and hopefully be a source of inspiration and encouragement to those who are on the same journey or thinking about taking this journey.

Since going back to my natural roots I’ve been more aware of all my fellow naturalistas out there. So many of my friends have gone natural while other friends have been natural for years. When I see naturalistas on the street I feel a sense of pride and I can’t help but smile at them or compliment them on their hair and ask questions. It’s a sister and brotherhood that we share, and it’s such a beautiful, wonderful thing to see so many embracing their natural beauty. Some critics are quick to call the natural hair movement a “fad” and I hate hearing that. Doing something that is good for your overall health and health of your hair and scalp is not a fad. Embracing your natural beauty and culture is never a fad.

We all have different reasons and different situations that led us down the path of natural hair, and no one should judge why a person made that decision. Nor should anyone judge those who choose to get chemical relaxers or perms in their hair. That’s why I celebrate and encourage those who choose to be natural. It’s scary yet exciting, frustrating yet fulfilling. It’s a journey filled with highs and lows and many learning experiences. More importantly it’s a journey I’ll never regret.

HAPPY ONE YEAR CREAMY CRACK FREE TO ME!!!!

When is your creamy crack free anniversary? What made you go natural? Please share, I’d love to hear your story!

I’m Frustrated, and Here’s Why

Whenever I go to a store (department, boutique, etc.) I’m constantly checking out their hair accessories. Headbands, hair clips, cute things that my girls and I could use in our natural hair. What I’ve noticed, and have grown increasingly frustrated with, is the lack of selection, variety, and the absolutely RIDICULOUS prices!

Having two girls made me become very creative when it came to finding things I had around the house to style their hair or to use as an accessory. For instance, the majority of the headbands they sell in the stores ARE NOT, I repeat ARE NOT for people with kinky, coily hair. They often break because they aren’t strong enough to deal with tight curls. If they are of the elastic kind, the elastic quickly loses it’s elasticity after one or two uses and then it’s no good. What I started to do when my girls were babies was cut the legs of their old tights, tights that they’ve out grown, and use it as a head band. It was sturdy, it stretched as much as you needed, and it stayed in place for however long you needed too and no one was ever the wiser that it was the leg of one of their old pairs of tights! See the picture below of my girls when they were 3 and 5 years old rocking their huge, gorgeous natural afros, and my baby boy…….

Now my girls are older and they want more color, patterns, and stylish options. Then an idea popped into my head, an idea that I can’t believe I didn’t think of a long time ago: Go to the fabric store or Wal-Mart and buy a few yards of fabric and make cute scarves and headbands for our hair! It’ll be much cheaper than spending $8 – 12 dollars on ONE badly made headband, or $20 and up on a fashionable scarf from a department store. Makes sense, right? I’ll be sure to post pictures of what my girls and I have come up with and how we’re rocking our scarves in our natural hair.

Have you made your own hair accessories for your natural hair? What kinds of things have you used? Please share! 🙂