Beauty

♥ | Shea Moisture: Curl Enhancing Smoothie [Natural Hair Product Review]

Big Chop Jul 2012

Ever since going natural the last week of July 2012, I’ve spent the past 10 months discovering the quirks of my hair, the coils, and what my products my hair loves and hates. That moment when I first did the “big chop” I figured I’d have a lot of time to do the wash and go without worrying about too much product, but since (considering the growth) I realized that I need to find a good regime that works for me. And I have!

I’m not really an active member of the natural hair community, ya know all those bloggers and Youtubers that seem to only talk about their hair. Don’t get me wrong, it’s very helpful, but exhausting after awhile. But I digress. My point is, every now and then I’ll have a comment on products and like to share. For me, being natural is not apart of this big “movement.” I just got tired of perming my hair and styling it, so I cut it off. Simple, no biggie. So with that being in mind, here are my brief thoughts on Shea Moisture’s Curl Enhancing Smoothie.

My Um…Regime?

Normally I’d co-wash (or just wet it,) then apply some random olive oil leave-in conditioner, and top it off with Jamaican Black Castor Oil. But I found that my hair was having issues retaining moisture throughout the day. The olive oil leave-in wasn’t getting the job done, so after several hours of research and spending a good hour at Sally’s, I decided to finally give Shea Moisture’s Curl Enhancing Smoothie a shot. And guess what? It actually works!

Right out the shower, no product in hair. Length check!

My hair type is really coily and I have a lot of shrinkage, which explains why you can’t see most of my length. With that being said, I needed a product that could enhance my coils, keep them soft without frizz, and just hold in the moisture all day. And Shea’s Moisture’s products (especially the shampoo) tend to do that, so I knew I couldn’t go wrong with the Curl Enhancing Smoothie.

Work It Through Ya Hair

Not only does the Curl Enhancing Smoothie keep my hair nice and soft all day, but it smells pretty good and it’s packed with some organic ingredients that are beneficial to the naturally inclined.

Here are a few benefits of Shea Moisture: Curl Enhancing Smoothie

• Coconut oil: Hydrates and protects hair from heat and chemical damage
• Silk protein: Reduces breakage, strengthens hair, adds smoothness and silkiness
• Neem oil: An age-old ayurvedic oil that strengthens hair and provides brilliant shine
• No parabens, phthalates, paraffin, gluten, propylene glycol, mineral oil, synthetic fragrance, animal testing, PABA, synthetic color, DEA, or animal ingredients

Style Time!

So, my final thoughts? It’s a great product that is affordable and worth giving a shot. I’m a big fan of the Shea Moisture product line, so next time I go to Sally’s I might even check out some of their other products. Feel free to share your thoughts and regime below. Has it worked for you?

Afros x Curls | My Second Time-Around Going “Natural”

In 2009 I made the decision to go natural, but due to my impatient personality and moments of “identity crisis,” I decided to rekindle my addiction to the creamy crack — the relaxer (perm.)

I regularly relaxed my hair up until July 2012, but one day before taking a trip to NYC, I decided it was time to cut my hair off. I just got tired of all the work it took to keep it straight, and I briefly “dated” this guy who always made me feel bad because I didn’t go and get my hair “done.” Over and over again, he always reminded me that I’d look good if I got a weave or my hair cut into a fancy style (which would of course wash out the moment I worked out.) Well, he’d look better if he lost 75lbs…but I didn’t make him feel bad about it, but he just wouldn’t shut up about my hair. SMH.

Big Chop to Now

So, fueled by my irritation of his constant rants on what makes a Black woman beautiful (weaves and long hair, in his opinion,) I made the decision to no longer feel like I had to wear my hair that way.

I cut it. I had my mom just chop it all off. I told her it was the last time I’d ever have to force those scissors into her hands and beg her (even though she was willing) to help me make the transformation.

I made my first big chop in 2009, so July 2012 was the last time I’d have to say “I’m Going Natural.” Since then, I’ve been “natural.” I put it into quotation marks because I’m not 100% natural, considering the purple/red tint to my hair. But as far as the texture of my hair; as natural as it gets.

Even now and then I’ll rock a fro on my Black Power days. I get into an Foxy Brown (Pam Grier) mood and just love having a 70s vibe. I even had a guy tell me, “You’ve got a 1970s beauty.” Wow, such a cool compliment! He then preceded to tell me that I reminded him of a Black Hippie…yet another compliment I gladly welcomed. I love having different looks that I play around with. And the beauty of it is that I’m just doing me. I’m not even sitting their knocking girls who wear weaves, wigs, or their hair straight. Werk it and be fabulous! It’s just not for me…and you know, that’s okay.

I’m always on the hunt for new styles as my hair grows. Rock the fro, don’t rock the fro. It changes. Other days you’ll find me playing with my curls. Ihave a lot of shrinkage, so my strands are tightly coiled together, resulting in moments of pulling curls and smiling with excitement as they spring back into their place. I was never able to do that with my straight hair! Twirling my strands where fun, but pulling them and feeling the bounce is even better.

As my hair continues to grow, I play around with new products and of course, constantly feeding my natural hair inspiration database. Product wise, I keep my routine simple with Leave-in Conditioner (Motions) and a Gel (using IC Fantasia right now, but want to switch to Eco Styler). 

In need of some natural hair inspiration? Check out my favorite site to visit inspiration: http://ohh-yo-fro.tumblr.com/

Monae Music Activate!

Music is such a beautiful thing. Expression in general is quite wonderful; true expression not that weird “want to belong” kind of expression. Not the kind of expression that gets you in with the cool kids. I hate the cool kids! Why do they think they’re so cool? How dare they. Stupid cool kids with their smug sense of superiority and their sunglasses, and lumberjack hats! Why do they wear Lumberjack hats? Am I the only one that knows cool kids that wear lumberjack hats? Could those guys just have been Lumberjacks? I’m not sure now.

Point being, I love true expression. I love when someone finds out what they want to do and expresses that, shares it with the world, and adds their own uniqueness to this teeny tiny massive planet of ours. I say all that just to say I’m a huge Janelle Monae fan! I love her. I love her music, what she sings about how she expresses herself, that thing she does with her foot….I love the thing she does with her foot! How does she do that thing? I want to do that thing. I can’t…I’ve tried. I hurt my pinky toe, which is a big deal to me. If it’s not her multi ranged voice, splendid accompanied instrumentation, or the foot thing I so love, it’s also her style! I enjoy a woman who knows how to sport a good tie. Don’t ask me why, that’s just the way it is. For too long the tie has only been regulated to a certain portion of the population. Then avril lavigne came along and made it popular for ties to be worn in the most unfortunate way ever! (I’m not a hater I just crush a lot…mostly the dreams of children.) Janelle knows ties. She knows ties well. I need tie advice from her. I need tie guidance! I’ve mentioned time and time again that ties are cool, well she’s cool and she wears ties, so thus far my statement is just constantly being reinforced and I’m kind of a genius. I haven’t been wrong yet! Just wait until I write about Bill Nye. You’re brains going to explode neon plasma and the plasma will most likely be tie shaped!

I also like her hair. I have no idea how she got her hair to do that. Is that some kind of woman magic? Am I being sexist? Is it sexist to imply that women have magical powers?……Can women fly? If I could be granted a wish it would be to fly and have my hair changed to hers at a whim. I’d be MonaeHair Man!….Or something. I don’t know exactly what I would do with that power. I’d probably be killed immediately. Again I don’t really think through much things. I like my hair as is but it’s always fun to have options. If you saw someone walking down the street with that hair I’m sure you’d freeze in awe. I base this off nothing. I base this on mostly what I would do. I’d want to touch it. I should probably never meet Janelle Monae. It would suck to get beat up for attempted hair caressing….what am I talking about? I don’t know. I guess I’m trying to emphasize my fandom. I personally discovered her music on the ancient dinosaur known as myspace. I’ve been pretty hooked since. I purchased all her music because, well I wanted to participate, and I felt that I would gain some of her powers somehow…It didn’t work. I sing off key less badly now though and lumberjacks give me the thumbs up, which makes me feel good inside.

So what else can I say? Does this make any sense? How many questions can one man ask? If you write too many questions are they just as annoying as when you do it in person? Will this get me slapped? Are you answering my questions? Is this all pointless? NO! It’s about the ArchAndroid Lady Monae. You should buy her music and listen to it. You should get a tie, a nice white shirt, get a funky hairstyle and start tiptoeing on some tightropes or something. Not actual tightropes! I don’t want you to die. Tiptoe on no ropes. Make sure your shoes are cool, and if you can find a bunch of people who sort of dress the same as you and go in the local Walmart. Just start dancing. Confuse them. No one will get hurt. At worst you’ll get strange stares, at most you will unite the entire world in dance! So do it! For the love of  Monae do it!   FIN…

Honey, There Is Nothing Wrong With Being Curvy

Fat…a word I vehemently detest. I especially hate when women that aren’t a size 6 or below are deemed “fat” because they have curves, but in the tradition of media & body image, the word “fat” is thrown around so loosely.

Yesterday, I was reading a few articles on the web about Christina Aguilera’s new video, and I ran across more than a handful of horrible comments calling her fat, lard, cow, and so many other cruel obscenities. As I sat there reading the comments, I began to get pissed off. How the hell is she fat? Just because she has thick thighs (which most men would find sexy) and an overall voluptuous build in comparison to her skinny figure, that doesnt make her fat; she has the body of a curvaceous sexy woman.

There is a big difference between being curvy, thick, fat, and obese, but in the eyes of media any time someone gains weight or their body changes, they are immediately deemed as “fat.” You all know exactly what I’m talking about, take for instance Jessica Simpson “struggling” to lose weight after having a baby, and let’s not forget Lady Gaga’s “shocking” weight gain.

If you have been paying attention to media in the past two days, then you know about Lady Gaga and her weight gain. The pop star who admittedly struggled with bulimia has gained 30lbs from eating good homemade Italian dishes, but she doesn’t regret it at all. She admits that she gained weight from eating too much “good food” and that she is dieting now, but doesn’t feel bad for the way she looks. Yet, people in the media & rude commentators on blogs are already pouncing on her calling her “fat.”

Lady Gaga has been such a spokesperson for bullying, self acceptance, and those in the LGBT community, but she gains some weight and we treat her like crap? That is so messed up! Why do we make these women feel like shit just because life happens and they gain weight? And what if they, like Christina Aguilera, decide they like their new figures, is that such a sin?

There is nothing wrong with being curvy, trust me, there isnt. I myself am a curvaceous size 14 (size 12 dress) standing at 6ft tall with thick thighs and hips for miles. Am I fat? Nope, I’m just a real woman with curves that I don’t mind flaunting and I haven’t had any complaints from the fellas, so there is nothing wrong with me. Yet, I used to actually compare myself to media images and thought I was deemed “unattractive.”

The absurd hatred and ignorance in media’s dealing with body image pisses me off. It’s not everybody’s plot in life to be super skinny. Some of us, like myself, actually have diseases/disorders (I have PCOS) that make losing weight a constant struggle. I used to beat myself up so bad and try starving myself just to be the dream size 2, but that never happened (and I don’t think it ever will nor do I want it to.) I mean I remain active and work out because I love it, but I know that getting super skinny is a challenge and I already have other aspects of my disease I deal with, so I just embrace my sexy curves and make it work. But I knew if I was in the media spotlight, people would immediately deem me “plus-size” and make me feel like shit. SHM, it’s ridiculous!

The issue of body image and what is apparently beautiful (according to media guidelines) is something that probably won’t change anytime soon. The individuals that embrace being curvy and set a new “trend” are often seen as the outcast in the limelight. But the sad reality is that being curvy is now a “trend.” Really folks, it’s an acceptable trend now to use curvy women? Wow, what has the world come to?

Instead of it being normal for curvy women to be bold, beautiful, and present in media, it’s now a shocking news ticker that Ralph Lauren hires it’s first “plus-size” model ever; Robyn Lawley is a plus-size model who is currently modeling for Ralph Lauren. Don’t get me wrong, I’m super proud that she is going to be modeling and representing for us curvy women for a clothing line that surely caters to skinny women, but why should this even be news? It should just be another day for a beautiful woman doing something awesome with her career and moving herself forward, instead of it being such a shocker in the fashion industry that Ralph Lauren is using a “thick girl.” And I wouldn’t even call her (or myself) plus size. Lawley is the average size 12 and she stands of 6 ft 2 (thumbs up for tall chicks!)

I could go on and on about body image and how it pisses me off that women with curves are deemed as “fat” by the so call bs standards of media and the modeling industry, but I’m not going to waste any time trying to convince folks curves are beautiful. At the end of the day, it’s up to you whether you think being curvy is beautiful or “fat.”  And don’t think I’m hating on women that are skinny, because I’m not. My whole point is that, you have got to love yourself the way you are and if you decide to flaunt your curves and thickness, it shouldn’t be an issue.

Curves shouldn’t be like a rare UFO sighting or Bigfoot sighting; curves aren’t a freak of nature. We need to get to the point in our society where we stop “bullying” women for being curvy or gaining weight and deciding “hey, I don’t mind being curvy, I don’t have to be a size 2 anymore.” As anorexia rises amongst women and men as well, we need to get to accept all different types of bodies and not treat those who have curves as if they are doing something wrong. Honey, there is nothing wrong with being curvy. Get out  their, shake your butt, flaunt your curves, and let the world know that you are curvy and damn proud of it.