“Everything has…

“Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.”
― Confucius

“The beauty of …

“The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries or the way she combs her hair.”
Audrey Hepburn

Food For Thought

Does wearing your hair natural make you a better person or more self-accepting person than someone who straightens their hair or wears a weave? Absolutely not. This past weekend a friend of mine on Facebook posted a very interesting status:

She couldn’t have said it any better. The phrase “I am not my hair” means that no matter how you wear your hair or how you treat it – it doesn’t reflect you as a person nor does it reflect your beliefs. I think what’s important to keep in mind, however, is that any kind of hair can be beautiful. Curly, straight, natural, weave – beauty isn’t a “fixed” definition. Be comfortable being who you are – don’t let the media or people around you tell you what’s beautiful. Form your own opinions and your own voice.

I leave you with this little excerpt from wikipedia on Hair that I thought was some good “food for thought”!

“Tightly coiled hair in its natural state may be worn in an Afro. This hairstyle was once worn among African Americans as a symbol of racial pride. Given that the coiled texture is the natural state of some African Americans’ hair, or perceived as being more “African”, this simple style is now often seen as a sign of self-acceptance and an affirmation that the beauty norms of the (eurocentric) dominant culture are not absolute. It is important to note that African Americans as a whole have a variety of hair textures, as they are not an ethnically homogeneous group, but an ad-hoc of different racial admixtures”.

– Wikipedia – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hair

Who Makes Our Media?

So, this weekend I decided to go on a hunt: a hunt for curly hair. I am a magazine junkie, to say the least. I have countless subscriptions. Magazines, without a doubt, influence how we look at the world. They influence a lot of aspects of our lives, like what trends are cute, what is beautiful, and also what is the norm. I took an interesting tally this weekend from a few magazines. I counted how many models their were with straight hair, curly hair – models who are diverse, meaning black, hispanic, or Asian, and the tally of white models. Take a look:

Lucky Magazine (March 2013) – 122 models with straight hair, 1 model with curly hair, 18 “diverse” models, 124 white models

Lucky Magazine (April 2013) – 111 models with straight hair, 4 models with curly hair, 10 diverse models, 102 white models

Martha Stewart Living (April 2013) – 55 models with straight hair, 2 models with curly hair,  6 diverse models, 69 white models

Self Magazine (April 2013) – 122 models with straight hair, 11 models with curly hair, 16 diverse models, 113 white models.

Well, if it isn’t apparent their seems to be an imbalance of representation in these magazines. Could these magazines be mirroring the American demographic? Aren’t we America? The land of immigration and diversity? Why isn’t our media representing us as a people?

Well, we’d have to look at who makes our media. It is with great pleasure that I introduce to you the editors-in-chief of some of the leading magazine publications:

Joanna Coles – Cosmo

Lucy Danziger – Self Magazine

Anna Wintour – Vogue

Brandon Holley – Lucky Magazine

Hm…I don’t see much diversity in who’s running these magazines. There is no doubt that these women are skilled, hard working and the crème de la crème, but something is lacking in their publications: the average, every-day American. It’s our responsibility to demand images that reflect us as a nation – not as an elite class.

My curls…I’m claiming them back!!

Preach! How many times have we mistreated our hair while relaxing in a salon chair?!

Going back Natural

SONSHYNE CITY!

I am hoping to grow my hair to my back and to the middle of my back so I am going to grow my hair and not press it for some time… WISH ME LUCK!!!!

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Ya got curly, ya want straight. Ya got straight, ya want curly.

RUBY CANOE - Home

A lot of my illustrations have long curly hair, at the moment.  I’ve found some awesome examples.  Very sorry, but some of these do not have sources to credit.  If any illustrations pictured here are yours and you do not want them here please let me know immediately and I will remove them, but they are just so good. 🙂

I don’t go to the hair dressers very much these days, for a few reasons.

• I have very long hair = lots of $$$$$$
• My hair grows very quickly so I would have to get it coloured every 5-7 weeks which  = $$$$$$$ (last time I got it done cost me over $200 😦 …)
• And ever since I can remember someone says “geez you have really thick hair” or “OMG I love your hair, it’s so curly” (you wouldn’t love it if you owned it), “Oh wow, so much…

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Wash My Hair? Sure, Give Me Two Hours

Having curly hair is no joke! It involves a lot of maintenance and extra care. People with naturally curly hair have dry scalps and are prone to frizzing! Here are the products I use.

Share some that you use! I’m sure we all have an intense armoire of hair care products 🙂

This product, Silicon Mix Bambu, was recommended to me by many Dominican friends who have luscious curls. It’s a leave in conditioner that I find in the local pharmacies and hair supply stores near me. After I shampoo and condition, I lather this bad boy right on and work it through my strands. I leave it in for a good 10 minutes and rinse. The difference is great!

Next up on my all-time favorite list – AVEDA Damage Remedy conditioner. Love is an understatement with this product. I would suggest the shampoo as well but these babies get a little pricey for a college student. I use it just like regular conditioner only that, of course, I let it stay in a bit longer than needed. It has protein that helps replenish my dry hair and leaves it super smooth!

Who doesn’t love the smell of Coconut? While the Organix line is actually organic, I can’t get over how delicious their shampoos smell. I only use a little dab and work it in my hair and scalp really well.

This next product is possibly my closest friend. Organix CoconutSerum. Need I say more? This is an oil that I apply to my hair after conditioning and before applying any mousse. I just put a small dab on my palms and work it in my roots. Too much of this product can leave my hair looking or feeling greasy so I make sure to put a tiny bit! But, oh the difference it makes!

Can this list get any longer? Well, when you have curly hair – the answer is yes.

Next up on my list is the MOST IMPORTANT PRODUCT for me: Pantene Hair Mousse! For whatever reason, gel works horribly with my hair. My hair actually EATS gel. So, I use mousse instead. So far the only mousse that works well with my hair, that I know of, is Pantene! It gets hard to find their curly line of hair mousse, but any one of their mousses works with my hair! I put a LARGE amount of mousse. Must maintain frizz free!!

Which leads me to the next product on my list. Pantene Non-Aerosol Hair Spray.

I try not to go crazy when spritzing my hair – but it’s SO HARD NOT TO! I don’t want flakes from putting too much product but I also don’t want frizz…which I still get anyways depending on the weather.

Well, there you have it. People with curly hair like mine have to go through barrels of products so that our hair is presentable. Yet, out of all the products that are made and distributed, where are the surplus of curly hair products? Why do I have to squint my eyes and be on my toes in order to scoop out the curly hair care products? And the ones that are made for curly hair are extremely expensive! Things must be change!

Arax

Ani Boghossian Photography

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Curly is Natural, so What is Relaxed?

Expressions in Gender

                                                                                        In the last couple of years we have seen a rise in black women “going natural”. Now, for those who don’t know what “going natural” is, it’s when a black woman cuts off her relaxed hair and grows her hair out without harmful straightening chemicals. The term “go natural” has taken off and in suit, so has the term “team natural.” Now, I like to go on record and say I support my natural sisters and I’m always finding new and great products to suggest to my natural friends, but I can’t hide from the facts. A line has been drawn and judgment has been cast…

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