Fabulous Natural Hairstyles I'm Loving

You already know how I feel about fabulous fros. more women should rock them!!

I'm definitely feeling home girls earrings as well.

Love the ring on the left and the black & white striped blazer. One of my New Year's Resolutions is to take my fashion-forwardness to a new unprecedented place of fabulousity. And of course to document it as I do so. These ladies are rocking the natural so right!

California, specifically the Bay Area(where I am now) is a couple steps behind in the natural hair scene, and I may have to single-handedly lead them into the new nappy place. Lol I kid, there are plenty of fabulous women rocking natural; however, it is not as prevalent as I saw in Atlanta or in New York.

I have a lot of women come up to compliment me on my hair and express how they wish they could go natural. I tell them they absolutely can and give my little bit of advice. I want to help women step over to the nappy side. Has anyone wrote a book on how to go natural yet? Hmmm....

Love my thick fabulous sistahs representing.
Black women will forever epitomize true beauty to me because we come in every size, shape, and color. With the amazing ability to flaunt what God gave us, we represent such varying degrees of beautiful. We are like butterflies in that each of us has a different design and we flutter around so magnificently. I could be bias...but it's my blog and what i say goes. Plus its just true. :)

"Young Hollywood": White and Thin

I saw this article online and it upset me a great deal to know that as far as we have come, beauty standards have not budged, rather they have become increasingly hegemonic, and I am sure they continue to implode the self-esteem of young girls of color and girls that are not a size 2.

What does "Young Hollywood" look like? According to Vanity Fair, it's pretty, thin, female and white.

Amanda Seyfried, Anna Kendrick, Kristen Stewart, Carey Mulligan, Abbie Cornish, Rebecca Hall, Emma Stone, Mia Wasikowska, Evan Rachel Wood: There's not a single woman of color on the cover of Vanity Fair's "Young Hollywood" issue. Two of the ladies — Kristen Stewart and Amanda Seyfried — were already on the August 2008 "Hollywood's New Wave." issue. There were two women of color — Zoe Saldana, America Ferrara — on the cover of 2008's "Hollywood Issue," but apparently the next decade is not about diversity.

VF's "Young Hollywood" is much like the golden age of Hollywood: There was a fetishization of the lithe, gorgeous, virginal ingenue, whose virtues and ambitions were pure, and therefore desirable. You either wanted to be her or sleep with her. She was the photographed wearing white, and her "All-American" good looks meant that she was a WASP or a fresh-faced farmgirl. Certainly not black, definitely not fat, and never both. Looking at the March 2010 issue, has anything changed? Even Evgenia Peretz's descriptions of the actresses — "Ivory-soap-girl features," "patrician looks" "dewy, wide-eyed loveliness" — reinforce the idea that a successful actress is a pretty, aristocratic-looking (read: white) actress.

It's hard to say if fault lies with the editors of the magazine, or with Hollywood itself — trying to come up with some projects employing new, young Asian, black or Latin actors and actresses is a tough exercise. The few names which come to mind — Jaden Smith (The Pursuit Of Happiness, The Kung-Fu Kid), Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire, Julian Schnabel's Miral, Woody Allen's next film), Gianna Jun (Blood: The Last Vampire, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan) — are up-and-comers with just a few roles under their belts. The Hurt Locker's Anthony Mackie recently did a Q&A with VF.

Gabourey Sidibe — cover girl for the March issue of Ebony — is an obvious choice, though she admits in the accompanying interview:

"I don't try to live up to the standards of Hollywood or any of that – I know that I'm different and I celebrate it. In a weird way, I kind of really, really love being the alien in the room. I dig it."

And it's good that Gabby doesn't care about living up to Hollywood standards. Because judging from the VF cover, the "Hollywood" standards need to change.

Touche. So unfortunate that Hollywood still refuses to acknoledge some talented actress because of their deviation from the white standard of beauty. Where are the Freida Pinto's, the Jurnee Smollett's, Zoe Saldana's, America Ferrara's? Well, you get the point.

But, anywho, who really reads Vanity Fair anyways?

Searching for the Perfect Fro'Hawk

For the past few days, I’ve been fascinated with frohawks. Shaved, Braided, Slicked down. I really want to do my hair in this style. Unfortunately, my sister-the hair braiding guru- has left which would mean, I would have to braid up the sides of my head. It wouldn’t be too difficult, but it would take an insanely long time, in comparison to how fast my sis could do it.

Sigh. These college breaks end so quickly.

Anyway, I'm really excited about putting my hair in a frohawk and at one time, was seriously considering shaving the sides. Dramatic, I know...but that's just how I feel about my hair right now.

My hair(as gorgeous as it is) has begun to bore me. I would love to chop it all off and go blond à la Amber Rose, but too many people have cautioned me against it. *Sigh* and since I'm still trying to get a job, I guess I'll save that for another life crisis.

Why Michelle Obama's Hair Matters

I recently read this article from Time Magazine entitled "Why Michelle Obama's Hair Matters".

The article explains, for all who don't know, why hair is such an important issue in the black community. It touches on the expectations and politics behind a hairdo , and attempts to explain the significance behind all the media hoopla over Michelle's hair.

One quote I found quite interesting:
"Whenever I start a new job I always wear my hair straight for the first three months until I get health care. Then gradually the curly-do comes out."

The pressure that black women feel regarding hairstyles in the workplace is intense and real. Should it matter what our hair looks like? As long as its "put together", I don't think so. (I wonder if a case can be made against a corporation that, let's say, didn't hire a qualified female who wore her hair natural. Maybe she could go to court and say that she is being discriminated against based on hair texture which is something you're born with). But I digress...

My point is...well you've heard it before....
We keep resigning ourselves to external forces imposing their expectations upon us and we buy into it...we teach it to our youth, we promote it as superior...and I'm absolutely sick of it.

Take back your right to have your hair however you please!! And if that is straighten or pressed, then let it be that way because you honestly want it rather than because society tells you your natural curls are ugly or you won't be able to get a job unless you damage/straighten your hair.

Part Timing It

So it appears I will start working here part time as an Executive Assistant(I gave myself that title, but whatever) lol

I love natural hair and could talk about it forever so I'm pretty glad I have an opportunity to learn more about it and help an up-and-coming business work to project natural hairstyles into mainstream and strive to infiltrate the media.

But I once heard that you should start looking for your next job the day you get one so I'm def still on the prowl for exciting ventures and job opportunities.

Afro-Beautiful Hairstyles in the Workplace

I've always debated with the issue of how to wear my hair when it comes to the workplace. I think it's ok to wear your natural hair however you please(as long as you come correct with your style), but when going in for an interview: is it ok to rock that 'fro? Could you possibly scare an employer away by making a "statement on your head"?


Sadly, it's def possible. But what people need to realize is that natural hair is not a radical statement. It's NATURAL. As the U.S. continues to genuinely embrace diversity, we need to internalize the idea that we do not need to blend into the white conservative environment.

I, myself, am not ready to rock a full out afro to a job interview yet, but hopefully soon.

Good Hair

Can't wait to see this new documentary from Chris Rock. It looks enlightening and hilarious. Check out the promo:




Out this October, "Good Hair" is definitely a must see.

Who's Loving Black Women Now...

Lately I've been stumbling across blogs dedicated to the beauty of black women. Nothing new there. But what is interesting to me is who is writing these blogs. There seems to be a whole community out there of white men who are genuinely appreciative of brown, dark-skinned women! I mean I knew they were out there--I've had a few white dudes holla at this on several occasions--but I guess I didn't appreciate how genuine white men were about their love for black women.

Half the time I'm not sure whether to be uncomfortable by the sheer adulation that could seem borderline slave-master love or whether to be flattered and feel validated that some non black men appreciate and covet black beauty. I think though that I will go with the latter.

Whether it be jungle fever or serious attraction, it most likely depends on each man.

Love Stevie....

Natural 'fros I Just Can't Help But Love

"Black women may be the only race of women who live their whole lives never knowing what their real hair looks and feels like. Think about that."

Wow...that quote caught my eye. But it is def too true. Black women from an early age begin processing the mess out of their hair and forget what their true hair feels like. After reading that quote from a fellow blogger , I just wanted to post some of my favorite natural looks on black females.

When will we see the light?!!

I do love dark dark skin. This model's skin tone is amazingly flawless and I just love the ultra short cut on her.

Funky style too.

Not too much hair in this pic, but I did love her skin texture.

I heart this picture. Pretty sure that's a wig, but could you a imagine someone walking down the street with an Afro that big? White people would be scared lol. I kid, but not really....

Well, I could go on and on with the pics, but you get the gist: Black women are just so stunningly beautiful.

Are Black Women Missing Out?

Today I was talking with a friend of mine who said she was going swimming but she wasn't going into the water because she had a perm.

This got me thinking about all the things black females are missing out on because of one aspect of their blackness or another.

My own swimming experience: During college, all students were required to pass a swim test. One of my first weeks on campus, I took the test and failed so miserably, I had to crawl out of the pool and slink away wet, tired, and embarrassed. Needless to say, I ended up in a swim course with waay too many black females.
I don't know if it's because we don't want to ruin our hair(actually, I'm pretty sure that's the reason) that we never learn how to swim or what, but that's just dangerous...you never know when or if you might have to tread water for hours until a rescue team arrives(these things happen).

Basically, my point is swimming is actually a lot of fun and all women should feel they have the option to enjoy the cool refreshing feeling of a dip in the pool, no matter what their hair texture. So, just jump.

We are Still Brainwashed

In today's society, you only have to look as far as a magazine to see what American media has deemed beautiful. Magazines, t.v., and film are saturated with images of thin, light-skinned, straight haired women who sell sex and beauty to the public. All we have to do is observe what is the first thing that comes to mind when we hear the phrase "All-American girl". Most likely someone blond, blue-eyed, thin and young came to mind. Someone white.

I'm becoming ever-increasingly exasperated with people who have difficulty realizing the simple fact that we equate white with American, and have normalized white as beautiful. Beauty is on a spectrum where thin and white is on one end and everything and everyone else is on the other end.

Too many people buy into this standard without realizing it. Every time a black woman buys a hair relaxer to straighten her naptural away or a a child gets ridiculed because he/she is "too dark" or a guy says he prefers his girl with straight hair but can't really give a reason as to why, they are stating that their natural is not enough and that they prefer to move closer on the spectrum to white.

The saddest part is these people refuse to allow the veil to be lifted. For every reason you give them as to why they have a whitened standard of beauty, they will give you a defensive excuse as to why they do the things and think the way they do. Always. Each and every time.

This is too huge and complicated a topic to cover in one post, so you can be sure there will be more posts about this one, but for now, I just want to say this is not simply a black and white problem.

Slip of the Tongue