five years ago, my hair was natural but definitely not healthy. it was shoulder length, had heat damage and i had no idea of how to fully treat and care for my natural hair.

five years ago, i was three years into being natural and a natural that thought that my hair would naturally flourish because i was, well, “natural.” five years ago, my hair knowledge was non-existent and my routine a hot mess.

five years later, i’m a book full of tips, information and advice for those looking to go natural and for those that are already are natural. and five years later, i’m still learning new things about natural hair everyday.

five years. it’s not that long to wait.

so, what about you? where are you going to be or hope to be in the next five years of your natural hair journey?

it’s not always easy to fit a hat over big hair, i know this feeling myself, but some days, just like straight haired girls, we kinky and curly girls want to cover our heads too.

enter the hat on top of low ponytails while wearing cute earrings day.

hats are so easy to do and so quick to add jazz to your style. picking out the best cap is the hardest part, and that’s an OVERstatement. hat shopping can be fun and it’s easy to find a military hat that fits your face and style – hounds tooth, embellished, over sized, etc.. click on any hat to learn more or to purchase.

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this la based nail brand is free from formaldehyde, toluene and phthalates. the nail polish has a beautiful, slightly matte, non-chip finish that lasts at least 3 days if you use it in conjunction with the nubar basecoat and topcoat. the bottle is beautifully designed to enable easy application, even for the nail-rookies amongst us.

like butter and so boss. click on the photo to learn more or to purchase.

snow flakes on the shoulder of your clothing is not a good look but going to the derm to spend tons of dollars to cure dandruff is not a good look either. you should know that you can often successfully treat dandruff at home and here is a recipe that you can try that can possibly help you get on the road to recovery to a flake free scalp.

combine:

1 cup apple cider vinegar
6 uncoated crushed aspirin (i love to buy aspirin from the .99 store)
1/4 cup witch hazel

combine all ingredients and store in a tightly capped jar or bottle. after shampooing, gently massage rinse into your hair, leave it on for 10 minutes, then rinse again with warm water.

you can use this recipe every other day or every two days. because it contains aspirin you don’t want to use it all the time.

dandruff is a fungus that is a beast to beat, but if you feel like your only option is going to the derm, you should begin to star trying natural recipes.

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the skinny jean is nothing new, but to put a spin on it, you could try it cropped to give your look a new feel with a vintage twist.

when i saw these jeans i immediately thought of christina aguilera and her candyman video where she dances about in her pincurls, fitted and cropped jeans…and of course, red lips.

to get a vintage look like christina, you could rock these five pocket crop cuffed skinny jean featuring vintage wash throughout, tonal stitch, and worn detail. these jeans are affordable and puts you in the mind of a retro pin up style.

click on any piece to learn more about this look or to purchase and peep the candyman video below.

afrobella is too cute in this photo and her afro is so nice. what i like about it the most is the little curlies on the end. it’s easy for me to make an afro, but it was not always easy for me to make an afro with curlies until i figured out a few things…

first i like to make my afros with dry hair. wet hair means shrinkage and shrinkage means small afros. i’m a go big or go home kinda afro girl, ya feel me?

so on two or tree day old hair i put my hair into four sections. i spray each section with water and glycerin – i nice mist – not wet at all – more like damp and then i add a curl activator gel to my hair.

yes, i said activator gel. you can get the slight hold of a gel but the curl that comes with the weight of a conditioner. i love this stuff and a little goes a long way because it can be greasy, so i like to apply it on my slightly, almost barely, damp hair.

after applying the gel to my hair – a dime sized amount per section, i then i take one of the sections and divide it in thirds and pin bantu knot the sections. i do this to my entire head and when i wake up in the morning – a chunky fro with curls that are more obvious on the ends of my hair.

i love it! how do you style your chunky fro?

not everyone is into the bow look – anything, i’ll be the first to admit that. i’m a woman’s woman’s but not always a girl’s girl, so bows and little frilly things can sometimes cause me to have a “too frilly” itch attack! but when i saw these pieces, the frilly girl deep inside me came out screaming!

i’m loving the feel of these bow rings and that’s because they are not just delicate bows that look to pretty to touch.

in mixed metals, shapes, colors and styles, these bow rings are more than enough to get little bow peep back to her sheep and ready for a night out. loving all of the looks! click on any ring to learn more or to purchase. are we feeling these bow rings? Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.

do you commit purse abuse? you know when you throw everything in your purse and when you need that something, cannot find it. got papers and your laptop stuffed down in your bag?

it’s time you got on the green and organized band wagon.

no need to fear looking like tree hugger if that’s what you’re holding out for so you don’t have to buy a cloth tote – though it’s cool to wear glasses and hug trees – cloth carryalls come in a variety of colors, shapes and sizes.

when you get your hands on your cloth carryall, you can start to use it for important things – like carrying your laptop, an extra sweater for that cold office and paperwork that does not need to get all smooshed in the bottom of your purse.

as you can see, you can rock a cloth carryall or tote in style and not give up functionality. you get them both. it’s a win win, for you and your stuff! click on any bag to learn more or to purchase.

infuse your looks with downtown rocker cool, thanks to botkier’s zipper-detailed satchel in luxurious leather.

* double shoulder straps, longer detachable crossbody strap, three front zip pockets, satin nickel hardware, detachable elephant charm
* top-zip closure with interior zip, cell phone and additional pockets and interior key ring
* logo lining and snakeskin-embossed leatherclick on the bag to learn more, see more pictures or to purchase.