YOUNG, Fly, and Natural

Greetings All and Happy Holidays!  As a nod to the season, I thought I would give you all a nice little "present" to kick off the holiday season.  This is a post that I have actually been sitting on for a while, waiting for the perfect time to release it because it's just that special to me.

Over the summer I got a call from a member of my glam fam...Ms. Randi.  Ran asked me for what she considered a big favor...but what I considered an honor.  Ran wanted to set up a time for her to bring her mini me Cameron, her 10 year old daughter, over for a visit.  A little while back little Miss Cam decided that she wanted to wear her natural (virgin/never permed) hair out in a fro.  And Ran, being the supportive parent she is, granted Cam's wishes.

Initially, Cam's excitement was met with a little opposition from some of her female classmates.  Cam was teased about her hair because it was "different" from the girls in her class.  But, this didn't deter Cam, especially since she had lots of reassurance from her fab mommy that she was beautiful and her hair was fab.

Now...back to the favor...Ran asked if her and Cam could come over to learn about some good products and to get some styling tips.  I don't know who was more excited out of the three of us...I'm willing to put my money on myself.  One Friday afternoon I relished in playing in products and experimenting with different styles in Cam's hair.  She left all smiles...so I'm sure she had fun too.

Cam even gushed about how healthy her hair is in it's natural state and that she observed that some of her classmates who were teasing her before, couldn't say the same.  

I absolutely adore Cam for her confidence in and love of her natural coif! Especially, at such a young age.  She is proof positive that little natural girls rock too!!!

Until next time...

Ms. K

PRODUCT REVIEW: Aveda Be Curly

Hey All!  This is my first jab at a Vlog. The video may not win any cinematic awards, but I promise, future vlogs will get better. :-) Oh and ignore the hair color...that is a long story within itself.  But, I am happy to report my hair is not that/those (lol) colors anymore. 

Enjoy the vid!

Ms. K

TOP FIVE: Natural Hair Products

Hello All!

So almost everyday I have a conversation with someone regarding the products I use in my hair.  Those conversations are what inspired this post.  I polled my top 5 chica's of team natural (including myself) to find out what their top 5 natural hair care products are.  Anybody who knows me, knows that I am a huge advocate of healthy hair.  The perfect recipe for healthy hair is a good diet (lots of water), proper maintenance, and great products.  In this post I am giving you 1/3rd of what you need to have healthy natural hair.  Enjoy!

Adriene:

#1 Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie 

#2 Qhemet Biologics Amla & Olive Heavy Cream 

#3 Eco Styler Olive Oil Gel

#4 Curls Coconut Sublime Conditioner 

#5 Jessicurl Weekly Deep Conditioning Treatment 

 

Jania:

 

#1 Shea Moisture

#2 Cantu Leave In Conditioner

#4 Biosilk

#5 Garnier Hair Milk 

 

Iyonna:

#1 Kinky Curly Curling Custard
#2 A'shea Shea Loc
#3 A'shea leave In Conditioner
#4 Nexxus Deep Conditioning Shampoo

#5 Nexxus Conditioner

Krystal:

#1 Coconut Oil
#2 Aveda Be Curly System
#3 Aveda Dry Remedy
#4 Grapeseed Oil
#5 Ecostyler Gel

 

Krystle (Me):

#1 Aveda Be Curly

#2 Ecostyler Olive Oil Gel

#3 It's a Leave In Conditioner

#4 Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie

#5 Helman's Mayonaise (use as a deep conditioner to increase protein)

Ms. K

PSA: BRAZILIAN BLOWOUTS WARNING!!!!

Hello All!

I recently came across a warning regarding Brazilian blowouts (also known as a Brazilian Keratin Treatment or BKT) that I felt needed to be shared with you all.  I, probably like most of you, have friends who have had the BKT, or at least friends who are heavily considering it.  I remember the first time I heard about the process and I myself was a little leery of a process that uses a chemical to straighten hair, but yet maintains that it's not in fact a chemical.  The proponents of this process maintain that the product is simply keratin, a protein that we have in our hair anyway.  *side-eye*

Strike #1 - I asked my hair stylist (very knowledgeable in hair care and I would trust her with anything concerning my hair) at the time about it and she assured me that there indeed was a chemical in the product and that it was not possible for the product to achieve straightening without a chemical being involved.  I did a little more independent research and discovered that BKT's contain formaldehyde (as in the chemical used to embalm dead people).  I was shocked and appalled!!!!

Strike #2 - Recently, Ash and I were having a conversation and she told me that her dad told her about an article he read that talked about how research linked the BKT to cancer.  Again...shocked and appalled.

Strike #3 - Today i was flipping through my September Essence and on Page 80 I found this warning:

OSHA WARNS ABOUT BRAZILIAN BLOWOUTS -
"In June 2011 the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a hazard alert to hair salons about potential formaldehyde exposure from working with Brazilian Blowout and other hair-smoothing products,  The warning confirmaed an initial investigation done by Oregon OSHA last fall, in which they sampled 105 various hair-smoothing products from 54 salons.  Thirty-seven samples came from Brazilian Blowout Acai Professional Smoothing Solution, and they were found to have formaldehyde level averaging 8.8%, even though they were labeled formaldehyde-free.  OSHA requires anything above 0.1% to be listed on the label.  Since the international Agency for Research on Cancer lists formaldehyde as a human carcinogen, how can you protect yourself? By banning straighteners made with these: methylene glycol, formalin, methlyne oxide, paraform, formic aldehyde, methanol, oxomethane, oxymethylene, or CAS Number 50-0-0."

Lessons learned: BKT is a chemical, BKT contains (the chemical) formaldehyde,  Formaldehyde is a carcinogen (can cause cancer) - thus BKT is a carcinogen (can cause cancer).

Now, althout I'm on TEAM NATURAL, that does not mean that I don't support others who decide to chemically relax their hair.  If you choose to chemically straighthen your hair, be informed and don't be afraid to ask to check the labels of any chemical straighteners that is used in your hair for any of the ingredients mentioned above.

#TEAMHEALTHYHAIR

Ms. K