Natural Hair Extraganza: Shout Outs and Previews

I attended this event on Saturday, May 21st and had a GREAT time!  I could only stay for an hour and a half, as I had to attend a work function, but boy, did I pack a lot of fun into that time. Upon entering, I was greeted by two beautiful naturals, given a bottle of water and some candy (YAY) and then given my choice of samples-Jessicurl Deep Conditioner or Mixed Chicks conditioner, and a Goody mini detangling comb/pic.  I chose the Jessicurl DC which I gave to a friend on the condition that she provide me with a review.  One of the highlights of the event was meeting one of my favorite YouTube vloggers, Keenya Griffin (aka KinkyKeenya)!! 

I wore my hair in a variation on the Southern Tease Bun (tutorial on YouTube, not by me).  When I got there, there was a live big chop in progress onstage, at least 30 vendors of natural hair products, home accessories, clothing and jewelry (I especially loved Aldoeuri Jewelry and Accessories which featured headbands, necklaces, bracelets, and earrings crafted from recycled materials-I bought a pair of earrings AND a necklace), etc.  I'll include pics of these in a later post!

I met with a young lady from Salimah's House (whose name escapes me :(  who was born with HIV and promotes HIV/AIDS and abstinence education among other things.  By the power of Google, I will contact you!


I won  a 4 oz jar of Crocodile Killer Extra Extra Dry Skin Pudding by Adiva!  The scent is a little woodsy and masculine to my nose, so I will be loaning that out for a review of the product.  On the plus side, the ingredients include water, vegetable oils (avocado, sweet almond, cloves, coconut, soybean), capryllic triglycerides in the first three listed.  Other ingredients include colloidal oatmeal and shea butter, both known for their serious moisturizing properties.

I purchased a beautiful soy candle from Pamper Me Essentials owner, Nakia Austin.  She provided me with a sample of her Brown Sugar Scrub, which I will review later on the blog.  Thank, Nakia!

I purchased some Natural Coils Curling Jelly by Darcy Botanicals from Karen Wilson of Karen WilsonBeauty.com.  I'll be reviewing that product as well.  Thanks for the product suggestion, Karen!

I also purchased some 100% Moroccan oil from Urpurebeaty.  I have tried this oil and so far, I love the scent and the sheen. 

I purchased some really cute, ironic "diamond" post earrings (5 pair) from Brit, the owner of The Mass Production Massacre (massproductionmassacre.com).  I'll feature a pic of the earrings on the blog along with a pic of the rest haul.

I also purchased a "Good Hair" t-shirt which will also be featured in the haul pics.

Whew!

New Findings

Hello all (ok, hi, Ma)!

Here is my hair observation for today:

It is so important to affirm your beauty everyday, especially while you are transitioning.  Yup, that's all I had, but I thought it was important.  A lot of women lose confidence while transitioning and fall for the lye. Sometimes, people aren't ready and other times they are not comfortable styling without training wheels (most of us know our relaxed hair well and our natural hair is a distant memory from around 3rd grade at the latest).  I don't hate on permies, but I do feel that it's important to re-affirm and embrace your beauty at each stage of growth (hair or otherwise).  Ok, stepping down off my soapbox now!

I Used to Love Her...

WTH?

Like most kinky/coily/curly heads (and 80s babies who grew up on Bert & Ernie), I was excited and proud when Sesame Street debuted their brown girl character singing loudly about her hair pride.  My excitement was re-ignited when I saw a post on CurlyNikki about an "I Love My Hair" tank at Forever 21.  I mean, follicle pride and frugal shopping in one.  Be still, my heart.  And then I scrolled down.  I could go along with this newly whitewashed face and wear it proudly as a "light-skinned" (Lord, I hate that word) curly, and consider it accurate.  But what about the little brown girls who live in my neighborhood or who I see out in the greater community who can see their curls in my hair?  What does this character's bleached skin say to them, since the shirt is only sold in this shade (I checked).  I was dealt a double whammy after realizing that this shirt was licensed by Sesame Street and therefore, brought to you by the letter M, for mass marketing.  But wait, aren't young brown and Black girls a major part of Forever 21's market?