Too far....

That Ish Cray!!!

So, I just read this article about a woman who was visiting a salon in another state and she couldn’t wait for her appointment with her chosen salon, so she found another local salon and went in for a blow out. After much whispering amongst the stylists, she was offered a deep treatment prior to the blow out. She accepted and upon mixing some things up in the kitchen, the stylist returned. After much tingling and odd smells, the woman decided that she was having an allergic reaction to the deep treatment and asked it to be washed out. This led to breakage, loss of curl pattern and eventually hair just flat out falling out. They initially told her that her curl pattern would return and it was simply weighed down due to the treatment.

After this did not occur, she came back and raised hell!

Long story short: the salon eventually confessed that they sometimes add “kiddie perm” to deep treatments for “nappy” hair and customer continue to come back thinking that they found the remedy to the almighty shrinkage issues, not knowing that they are secretly being relaxed because it is typically not strong enough to make a difference.

Click here for entire story...

I probably would’ve checked myself into a mental hospital immediately, either due to baker acting myself or just swearing that I had to be hearing things if that woman had put a relaxer in my head.

It is a sad day when even hair stylists are discriminating against hair types. I mean you do hair for a living, if you not comfortable with the hair then just say it, but don’t rape people’s hair with relaxers.

Wow! This was just one of the craziest things that I read all day.

How would you feel/react if you found out that your hair stylist was secretly relaxing your hair?

Autumn Hair Care

Autumn Hair Care

So, summer has ended and your curls are fried, autumn is rolling in and it time to recover.

Here are a few tips to help that recovery process easier!

1)  Clarifying Shampoo: after a summer full of products and sun burnt hair it is a good idea to get a fresh start. Clarifying shampoo will allow you to rid your hair of all build up without stripping your hair of its natural oils. Although, it is always a good idea to follow up with a good deep conditioning afterwards, or a great leave in to restore some moisture balance.

2)  Leave In Conditioner: A good leave in conditioner is crucial for all seasons, but as we move from a hot sweaty summer to a dry cold winter, it is especially important that we maintain moisture in our hair. This can be done using a great product or on your own. If it is done using a product then it is best to use a product with water/aqua listed as one of the first ingredients.

a.  You can also do this on your own by using a number of natural items. You can use raw shea butter, coconut oil, olive oil and/or glycerin to lock moisture in hair. They also assist in prevents breakage and shedding by penetrating the hair shaft and providing moisture throughout.

3)  Protective Styling: Buns, sew ins, wigs, extensions, anything that will hide your hair and give it a break would be a great idea to recover from the sun damage. Since our ends are our oldest and therefore, the most abused, any protective style that will hide your ends would be a good idea. Plus, your warmer fabrics could cause more damage to your ends by rubbing against them on a constant basis and prevent length retention.

4)   Protein Treatments: If you are like me, then you spent a lot of time trying to get the perfect tan to hold you out through the winter, lol. You probably also like to add lots of fun color to your hair, so a good protein treatment is always great to strengthen your hair strands and keep it from feeling like a stack of hay :s You should try to do a good protein treatment at least once a month!

5)  End clipping: as stated earlier, your ends take a lot of crap over time and the summer is pretty harsh with all that constant sun on them. It is a good idea to get your ends clipped as necessary during the fall to remove damage that was caused during summer fun.

6)  The recurring theme of this article, if you haven’t noticed, is moisture, moisture, moisture. So, it should be of no surprise that this tip is also about properly moisturizing. The wash n’ go that you rocked all summer may not cut it as we move into the colder weather. We also need a good moisture method and what better than the L.O.C. method created by Chicoro. Liquid, Oil then Cream is the definition of the loc method. So apply a liquid, then an oil then loc it in with a cream or butter. Simple enough, right?

7)  Heavier oils and creams: it may be necessary to start bringing the castor oil, avocado and shea back out as we move into cooler weather. The lighter oils that worked during the summer may not be as effective or long lasting as the heavier oils that will coat your hair better during these drier months.

8)  Satin scarf or bonnet: I know, we always use our bonnets/scarves/pillowcases and this is an obvious, right? Well. Honestly I don’t, but my goal for autumn/winter is too be more diligent in this process with the goal of, you guessed it, maintaining moisture. Not a scarf person, get a satin pillowcase so that your sheets and pillow cases won’t steal all your oils and moisture and transfer it to your face, it’s a win-win. You can also wear your scarf or bonnet under a beanie as the weather gets colder, but you cannot wear the bonnet like a beanie!

9)  Detangle: my last tip would be to find a great detangler. Dry hair tends to hold on to more tangles. So finding a good detangler will allow the moisture to travel throughout your hair and help you manage it easier.

Those are my tips to maintain those lovely curls as we move to colder weather!

What are your changing hair regimens for the seasonal shift?

Christine's Big Chop

Christine’s Big Chop

Today we will be sharing the big chop of Christine a.k.a. Chicklet. Previously known for her unique lacefront collection, she is now setting new trends with her exclusive haircuts. I am so excited to share her natural journey with you guys. Enjoy!

What motivated you to go natural?

I was motivated by how badly my medicine was damaging my hair.

Before you went natural, you use to have a large variety of hairstyles that you wore. Were you afraid that you would lose options with natural hair?

Oh definitely, I was not planning on wearing my natural hair due to the fact that I was the lace front queen. I was beyond scared!

Do you still feel like you are limited?

Oh no! I found out through your help and my barber, Giddy, I actually have more choices than ever and more variety going forward as my hair grows.

You kept saying you were going to go back to your lace fronts when you were getting your hair cut, do you miss them now?

Lol, yea I did say that because I thought I would not like it when it was cut. But, slowly I began to like. It was a huge change for me!

Do you feel like you have changed as a result of letting your hair go?

In a good way, I changed my wardrobe and all, but, I’m still the same Chicklet with natural hair

What is your favorite haircut that you have gotten so far?

My favorites are the ones my barber does with designs and I use colored eye liner pencils to add a pop of color to the designs.

Do you have any hair goals?

Yea, to get through this middle stage and grow it so I can do some color, and Mohawks, it has become fun!

Do you have any favorite products yet? If so, what are they, and why?

Ummm...no favorite products yes, it’s still short. But, I use Taliah Waajid to make it curly and it works well for the middle area and love the argan oil.

Lastly, what is your advice to any nervous women that are thinking about doing the big chop?

Just take strong liquor shot and do it! I’m happy I did it; I never knew the unlimited options I had. It’s the best decision I ever made for my hair! 

Would you like to share your natural hair journey? Contact me on "Adventures With Dandelions" facebook page or send it to spokenheart_mf@aol.com!

Wicked Wednesday

Wicked Wednesday

September, well a portion of September and October, is Hispanic heritage month!

In today’s installment of Wicked Wednesday we will be drooling over some beautiful curls!

Esperanza Spalding

New curly on the scene, Esperanza has showed up with an afro almost as big as her talent. Her mom is Welsh, Hispanic, and Native American, and her father is Black.

Gina Torres

Star of “I Think I Love My Wife” and wife of Laurence Fishburne. Gina is Afro-Cubana and a proud curly!

Syesha Mercado

Season 7 finalist for American Idol, Syesha is a beautiful half Puerto Rican curly!

YaYa DeCosta

Previous finalist on “America’s Next Top Model” and budding actress, YaYa has been sporting her curls long before her transformation on ANTM.
YaYa is of Brazilian, West African, and Native American descent.

Antonio Banderas

Antonio began his career as a soccer player until he broke his foot at 14. Now he is one of Spain’s most famous faces as an actor, director, producer and singer.

Carlos Leon

Former lover of Madonna, Carlos is a Cuban personal trainer, comedian and actor with a head full of curls.

I hope you enjoyed this week’s installment of “Wicked Wednesday”, don’t miss your chance to be a natural hair celebrity! Send me a picture of some of your favorite natural looks to spokenheart_mf@aol.com.

Who are your favorite Hispanic curl heads?

Day 86 of 365

Day 86 of 365

Day 86: what is the difference between living and existing?

A great poet friend, Blakk Dahlia, once purchased me a book by Buddy Wakefield called “Live for a Living”. While, I didn’t enjoy the book as much as I thought I would, I definitely enjoyed the conversation that led to her purchasing this book for me.

I think that existing is simply doing what you have to do to be alive the next day. I think that living is making sure that you do what you want to do to be happy.

I have always wondered if I made the right decisions when I was faced with forks in the road. I am not sure that I always have, but I am sure that I made sure I always made time to be happy. I have a lot of dreams and I can’t say that I will be able to achieve all of them, if any. But, I can say that I will never let work become the only thing in my life. I will always find time for poetry and friends and natural hair. To me that is the difference between existing and living.

Habitual Offender

Habitual Offender

On July 8^th, I shared a story with you guys about a school that had proposed a new school dress code that would prohibit children from wearing most natural hairstyles claiming that they are distracting, unprofessional and faddish. After much opposition, that school quickly revised the dress code. But, Deborah Brown Community School seemed to be harboring similar feelings and had no intentions of making changes until a 7 year old child was forced to switch schools due to her locs.

It hurt my heart so deeply when I watched the video of this 7 year old girl crying because she had to switch schools due to her hair. Tiana’s father, a barber, stated that he takes pride in his children’s appearance and would never allow his child to leave his home not looking “presentable”. He even attempted to compromise with the school by discussing different styles that Tiana could wear in her hair to make it “less distracting”. But, after not being able to find the middle ground he decided that his daughter was not wanted at the school and it would be best to find another school for her.

While it was in the dress code since 2007 that dreds were considered an inappropriate, Tiana’s father states that she has wore her locs to school in the previous year and met no opposition. Deborah Brown Community School has decided that they will now allow students to wear faddish hairstyles, such as afros and locs, as long as they do not present a hygiene issue.  But, Tiana’s parents said that this does not change the fact that their daughter came home crying after her school made her believe that something was wrong with her.

When Tiana was asked how she felt, she choked back tears and stated “I think that they should let me have my dreds”.

Tiana's response to having to leave school <<--- click here!

Many people at the board meeting to make this change in dress code felt a great relief at this dress code change. A board member stated that there were more important things to tackle than hairstyles and too much energy had been invested in prohibiting this style in the past 10 days.

I have expressed before how important I think it is for our children to learn to love themselves exactly as they are and I am very happy that Tiana’s parents did not succumb to the school’s rules of discrimination. But, I do wonder how many other parents were faced with this dilemma and dimply changed their child’s hair as a way of saying that “this is life”. I do understand that we have to teach children that we are sometimes not able to do what we want, but we also have to know the difference. I could understand if Tiana was coming to school with neon purple and blue locs or something that was actually distracting. But, natural hairstyle such as afros and locs being banned as unprofessional is definitely not a lesson that we want to teach our children.

What is your opinion of the ban of these hairstyles as faddish?

How do you feel about children and natural hairstyles?

Would you have handled this differently?