Salut Bellas! I hope you had a wonderful holiday and you are ready for 2012. I am very excited to see what this year has to offer and as usual, I am back to blogging about the latest and freshest in African fashions and lifestyle. Which leads me to… A few weeks ago while doing my usual rounds on the net I came upon this article by the Guardian about Nigerian women and their struggles with their natural hair. This article really hit home because although this article only talks about Nigerian women this is a reality in almost all parts of Africa. Even though I’m from Mali, I could totally relate and it made me think about our struggles as black women with our natural hair that transcends continents far outside of the West. (You can read the full article here.)
“In a world of dramatically contrasting poverty and wealth, it’s a rare common denominator: the one social status symbol of choice that cuts across Nigeria’s vast class and culture groups is hair extensions. And the longer and straighter, the better.
They are so popular that few women in the buzzing commercial cities of Africa’s most populous nation openly wear their hair in its natural, curly state. “We’re never taught to look after our natural hair, and it’s something you’re supposed to learn as a child, the way you learn to tie your shoelaces,” said Yemi Akinrinade, 28, who struggled to persuade her own hairstylist not to straighten her curls on her wedding day.”
This article really hits home for me. When I finished reading I felt like the writer was [click to continue…]
“Can’t you see
I’m talking about eternity
Tell me would you care to be
My lady, my baby”
in hinduisum, the lotus represents beauty, fertility, prosperity, eternity and eternal youth. we all know that we can’t live forever, and that in time all physical beauty will fade, but the idea of forever makes many swoon at the possibility.
in lotus flower bomb, wale is enamored by bre who, on the other hand, is annoyed by his persistence. decked in a blazer and a fitted dress, she is working it as the manager (owner?) of her own shop and plays a mash up between annoyed and coy as she buffers wale’s attempts at breaking down her wall. [click to continue…]
i’m the biggest christmas junkie! i love all things mistletoe and crackling fire related. i love to drag my friends along to go drink cider with me and the whole act of tree shopping the day after thanksgiving, dragging our noble fir home on top of the car and putting it up while listening to motown christmas music. it is one of the highlights of the season for me.
i also love the smell of peppermint and the act of eating tons of it. so much so that by the time the holidays are over, the sight of peppermint makes me feel overwhelmed! but until then, i’m all about getting my candy cane on. if you are a fan of the mint, then try this peppermint and vanilla leave-in that also doubles as a hair perfume. your hair will feel light and fabulous and your holiday guests won’t be able to stop telling you just how holiday festive you smell!
to whip up your batch that you can use on wet, damp or dry hair you’ll need: [click to continue…]
have you ever heard someone call or describe black people as “you people”? annoying isn’t it? it used to bug me to the point of sheer mental exhaustion but now i laugh it off. i laugh because i can’t save the world and wasting my breath on narrow-mindedness in uber random places is so retro for me. i used to be all hyped to set people straight after college. my anti-racism and “let me tell you something” dissertation was always locked and loaded. now? not so much. that was so early 2000s for me. i’ve moved on with my life.
even though i’ve moved on, there are still people who live in black and white and have absolutely no color in their lives. we are talking vintage black and white, silent movie, birth of a nation types, and these people seem to flock to me in uber random places with their sharp sentiments aimed right at my dome which, i must add, inspires their comments.
Do you have good hair? I do. If you are not sure if you do or not, Dr. Bella and Dr. Lola are here to take your temperate and subscribe you (yes subscribe, not prescribe) some agave elixir for your ego and hair.
First let’s do our “do you have good hair?” checklist to see if you have any of the symptoms of goodhairitis. If any of these apply to you, say, “why yes doctor!” after each one.
You love it so much even though your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife, friend-with-benefits, baby daddy, baby mama, kids, kids’ babysitter, mama, daddy, sister, brother, auntie, bee-eff-eff, frenemy, professor, soror, play cousin, mother-in-law, nosy neighbor, boss, bitchy co-worker, pastor, choir director, manicurist, zumba instructor, dentist, ob-gyn, fave blogger, hair stylist, shampoo girl, bus driver, girl that threads your brows, or any other random mo-fo’s off the street hate it.
“If you’re having hair problems I feel bad for you, son I got 99 problems And a white girl’s hair ain’t one.” call me what you want, but i like to think that most women are very much alike, much more than we like to give ourselves credit for. we all go through the process [...]
From across the street I spot it. My eyes light up. My jaw drops. Daaaaang! Look at that hair. I need to get another peek. I switch into ninja cat mode as I creep closer and closer. Hiding behind light posts. Trying to play it cool. I’m almost there. And then… it’s gone. The chick [...]
ebony is a natural and she is truly proud. learning to love her natural hair after recovering from a few stumbling blocks; she went back to relaxing for a while when she couldn’t figure out exactly how to care for her natural hair, she feels like she finally gets it and that being natural is [...]
many women flock to being natural to not only give up the costly expense of keeping up a relaxer, but to learn to embrace their hair and appreciate it for what it naturally is. they want to be able to look at their kinks and curls and say to themselves, “this is truly okay with [...]
Swedish model Sabina Karlsson hit the big time when she took part in Scandinavia’s next top model. From there the beautiful, red-haired, freckeled-face Swedish model went on to own the 2008 spring summer runway walking for Betsey Johnson, Cynthia Steffe, Heatherette, and Tracy Reese. Her walk was noticeable as her unique look stole the show [...]
i’d heard other naturals talking about it but to be honest i never thought it would happen to me. the infamous relaxer dream. i am so far removed from the lye and scalp burns and $90 hair dos that i never thought that even the idea of a relaxer would ever cross my mind again, [...]
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please take a seat: natural hair foolishness in checkout line 7
by Kurly Bella on December 2, 2011 · 26 comments
in REAL TALK
have you ever heard someone call or describe black people as “you people”? annoying isn’t it? it used to bug me to the point of sheer mental exhaustion but now i laugh it off. i laugh because i can’t save the world and wasting my breath on narrow-mindedness in uber random places is so retro for me. i used to be all hyped to set people straight after college. my anti-racism and “let me tell you something” dissertation was always locked and loaded. now? not so much. that was so early 2000s for me. i’ve moved on with my life.
even though i’ve moved on, there are still people who live in black and white and have absolutely no color in their lives. we are talking vintage black and white, silent movie, birth of a nation types, and these people seem to flock to me in uber random places with their sharp sentiments aimed right at my dome which, i must add, inspires their comments.
uber random place: the supermarket
there i was [click to continue…]