November 20, 2012

Hairspiration: Marlana Sharpe





Marlana rockin' the Curly Mohawk

What do you do? 
I'm a high school math teacher and owner of a tutoring business for students ranging from elementary to college level.

When did you start your natural hair journey?I started in Dec 2009.


Why did you decide to go natural?

Initially, I did it because I wanted a permanent color and the only way to achieve that without my hair falling out was to not relax my hair anymore. I was going to keep it straightened because I didn't know what else to do with it. The only styles I'd seen naturally were on women who had looser curls or wavy hair, nonkinky curls, the type of hair society labels as "good hair" and the opposite of mine. Then I attended a seminar for teaching, and every black woman there was natural with my same hair type! I saw twist outs, wash n gos, TWAs, braid outs, all in different lengths.That was it, no more straightening for me! I went home that day and did the B/C!


Big Chop 8/2010
B/C or transitioned? Actually both. I transitioned from Dec 2009 until Aug 2010, and then I B/C on Aug 3, 2010

What kind of feedback did you encounter and how did you handle it? When I did the B/C, it was such a drastic change, that everyone was shocked. From that point, a lot of women stopped and asked about going natural. So I started posting pics every month showing my hair's progress and also how you don't have to have a certain texture or a certain shaped face to be natural. Now, just about everyone I know is natural.


Describe your hair.
I have 4a/4b curl pattern, which is tightly coiled and kinky curls. I have 75% shrinkage when my hair is dry. In the top, I have a patch of hair that is 3c, which is genetic. I have sebhorric dermatitis, which leaves my hair and scalp extremely dry.


What is your hair care regimen? Because I have dermatitis, I have to wash my hair every week. I wash with Shea Moisture African Black Soap and detangle with Suave Naturals conditioner, because it has no silicones and it's very cheap. No matter how I style my hair, I always use Giovanni Leave-In conditioner and Olive Oil to keep it moisturized. At night, I pineapple my hair to maintain the style, and apply a little water and olive oil to restyle on a daily basis.

What are your favorite products?I love, love, love the Shea Moisture line! I use the African Black Soap Shampoo to treat my dermatitis (it is excellent) and the Shea butter and Olive Oil to moisturize. Kinky Curly's Leave-in and Curling Custard are my second favorite products.
What are you favorite hair styles to wear?I switch between braid outs and twist outs with a braid "crown" in the front. After having a baby, my time has been limited even more for my hair, so I make smaller twists and braids in a style and leave them in for a week.

How do you handle bad hair days?I can honestly say that since I have gone natural, I haven't had one. But if I don't feel like braiding or twisting, there's always the Afro!
Wash n' Go

What is the most effective thing you have done to your hair?
One, I only use products with all natural oils and ingredients and I only straighten my hair or apply heat only twice a year to trim it. This has kept down dryness and breakage.


Any encouragement to upcoming naturals?I always tell women there's no such thing as not looking right in their natural hair. It's who you are so it will always look right. Don't be afraid to try different styles and products to achieve the look you want. There is no one right way. Get to know your natural hair and take care of it accordingly. I also encourage B/C. Having two hair textures makes care difficult and result in higher breakage; you'll be surprised how fast your hair will grow and how healthy it will become when all the relaxer is out. 



November 19, 2012

Steps to Achieve the Perfect Wash n' Go

Picked out Wash n' Go
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Time and again I've tried to achieve the "perfect" wash n' go. I tried all kinds of products, searching for the one product that would define my little ringlets. Eventually I realized...there aren't any. No stand alone product has ever tamed this mane of mine. Unfortunately, I had to figure that out after accumulating lots of product (product junkyism anyone?). After several trial and errors, I figured out a good combination for my 3C/4A hair. For those trying to figure out how to get that wonderful wash n' go, try this on for size:

Must have:

1)The Leave-in. The first thing that should be applied to wet, damp, or even dry hair is the leave-in. It can be in the form of a conditioner, hair milk, etc. The goal is to add moisture to your hair. Moisture helps prevents frizz. My go-to leave-in is Giovanni's Direct Leave-in.

2)The Sealant. The sealant can be an oil of choice or butter, etc. The sealant's job is to lock in the moisture you put into your hair. It helps to keep the hair soft and flexible. I like to give castor oil this job.

3) Gel. This gel should not have alcohols or petroleum in the ingredients. They will dry the hair out. I prefer to apply gel as my last step because my actual hair strands would already be fortified by the leave-in and oils. Gel is basically used as a cast, holding the curls in place and keeping them from frizzing. Depending on how much you apply, your hair may get hard. But after a day or two, the gel cast should break up releasing dry, defined curls. My gel of choice is Eco Styler.

Of course, variants of the above may help as well, but it is a good place to start. And don't forget to avoid the big HIH syndrome (hand in hair). I notice when I become comfortable with my wash n'go I touch it more. This speeds up the frizz process and I have to re-style sooner. This is easier said than done, but to each his own.

What is your wash n' go regimen?



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November 18, 2012

Terressentials Organic Hair Wash Review





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I've used the Terressentials for some time now. I really love how they make my hair feel. Check out my video where I go into detail about the product!

If you'd like to buy this product click here!

November 15, 2012

Detangling Naturally Curly Hair - lazy day detangling

What does it take to detangle a head full of wild hair? Not much.
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Until recently, I felt that the only way I could thoroughly detangle my hair was to drench it with water, and smother it with some conditioner possessing awesome slip. I've learned that while the latter is true at times, the former is not always the case.

What's wrong with drenching my hair to detangle? Well, I limit my hair washings to once a week. This means that I would have to detangle once a week. That just wasnt going to fly. By the end of the week I'd have a tangled mess and it would take FOReverrr to sort things out in the shower.

One lazy day I decided to give it a go without drenching my hair and OHmygosh! Why didn't I think of it before! With just a little spritz of water and a little product, I was able to detangle my hair a lot quicker and I lost a lot less hair. Here's a video showing how I do it.


I mostly use my fingers to weed out any knots and snarls I may find. Afterwards I use a comb to get closer to my roots (neglected roots=a hot mess!). If you've detangled thoroughly with your fingers beforehand, there is no reason the comb should come back with hair on it. I love this method now:
1) I can now detangle twice a week, giving me less knots
2) Detangling sessions become quicker
3)I can style my hair differently midweek

I didn't show what I did after detangling, but you can easily do a braidout/twistout after going through each section. Me? I decided to do a wash n go. Yay lazy detangling! ;)

How do you detangle?



November 14, 2012

An Introduction...

wash n go

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I've been "natural" now for about 2 years. No I didnt big chop, so the above picture is not some miracle growth. But I did have to "transition" so to speak...

Though my mother cut out the perm in my hair at a young age, I still had to transition. I had to change my mind over. I couldnt stand my natural hair. I wanted my hair long and straight. I wanted it to do what it didnt want to do. I had to snap out of it.

I was never surrounded by negative talk about natural hair. Neither was I ever put down for the curls that would spring up whenever my hair was wet. My deterrant was simply the lack of positive views on natural hair. At school, on tv, in advertisements, I never saw where black girls wore their hair as is. Everyone was straight. Everyone. So I never knew how beautiful it really is. For a long time my hair was flatironed and kept nice and straight; straightened to my liking even if that meant damaging it. Of course I knew nothing of that. I just knew that I was achieving what I wanted and my hair grew and grew.
My hair had to be straight


Eventually, it seemed my hair had stopped growing. It had reached a certain length and didnt seem to get any longer. My ends seemed to be so raggedy every time I went to the hair salon and they would have to cut it. Even with the nightly wrapping and upkeep, my hair just came to a standstill..

I dont really know at what point I decided to wear my hair curly. I guess I realized that my hair needed some attention. I searched "how to's" online and found a plethora of...natural hair videos?? Where did these come from! I had found a gold mine. From then on everything was curls, coils, kinks, and then oils, butters, creams, and finally leave-ins, conditioners, and gels... I fell in love with my new found hair. My curly hair. It was no longer long and straight. But the exact opposite: super short (shrinkage) and super eye-catching (BIG). Was it a struggle getting used to the difference? Surprisingly, not really.

 And I have not looked back since, except the occasional special occasion of course. But I've been able to limit my straightening escapades to once a year. And that is that..

My goal is to, by means of this blog, provide useful information for those who also want to embrace their natural hair.

Wouldn't change the curls for the world

What was your natural hair turning point? And how did you make the transition?






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