From StyleBlazer

If social media has taught us anything, it’s that natural hair isn’t going anywhere! A simple search of the hashtag “naturalhair” will pull up MILLIONS of awesome curly hair enthusiasts on Instagram. So to help feed all of your natural hair cravings, we put together a list of kinky-textured mavens who provide endless hair inspiration. It was SUPER tough picking ten, but after much deliberation, here’s our list (in no particular order).

1. curlBOX

This monthly subscription box, that allows natural hair-istas an affordable way to experience products for curly hair, provides TONS of hair inspiration pics updated several times of day. All you have to do to get your fix on the latest styles and product buzz is to hit that follow button on the curlBOX Instagram account.

See the other 9 on StyleBlazer.com.

Veronica Fletcher, owner and founder of Sirca Designs, Inc

For Veronica Fletcher, natural hair isn’t a trend. It’s a choice to take ownership of who you are. It’s a mission she’s spent decades blazing a path for. Her fingertips are the ones that cultivated Lauryn Hill’s legendary locs in the early 90s. They went on to style the crowns of the likes of Toni Morrison, Angela Bassett, and DL Hughley, making Veronica a go-to specialist for celebrities embracing their natural beauty.

The Grenada, West Indies native is now the owner and founder of Sirca Designs, located near New York’s fashion district. Under her brand, she promotes positive self-image and a natural approach to hair care. Allergic to the chemicals used in hair school, Veronica decided early on to devote her styling career to taking the emphasis off chemicals and promoting healthy hair.

Veronica is authentic in every since of the word. She loves styles that accentuate natural features and regimens that allow women to accept who they are. “I tell the truth,” she says. “Sometimes I’m too honest. But I’m not going to take your money if it’s not going to work. If you come in and ask me to do something to your hair that is damaging or just doesn’t work with your texture, I’m not going to do it.”

It’s a steadfastness that comes with experience. Veronica denies setting out to make a statement with Lauryn’s signature dreadlocks. It was a personal journey that happened to be documented on magazine covers around the world.

“Going natural or coming back into it has to be an individual decision. It’s a lot of work that goes into being natural,” she says. “You have to be ready for it. You have to be ready to embrace yourself at any length. Because even if someone tells you it looks beautiful, if you don’t believe it, it doesn’t matter.”

Veronica has made it her job to show women how they can make their natural hair work for them. She is currently working on her first book, The Sirca Of Life: Celebrating My Natural Self, chronicling the natural hair revolution from the 90s to now including resistance from corporate America and within black families. She is also working on a natural product line.

Hair follows the same trend cycle as fashion. It always repeats itself. Veronica knows that natural hair is nothing new, but she still believes society has a way to go before natural hair truly becomes mainstream. We won’t see celebrities rocking twists and locs on the red carpet in mass until we demand its representation and celebrities become more accepting of their natural hair.

“It’s not going to happen if a celebrity isn’t in tune with herself. But we have to force it through,” she says. “Natural hair has always been there, but it’s been hidden. It was appreciated but not the way it needed to be appreciated. We hid ourselves with wigs, we hid ourselves with relaxers, and we hid ourselves with Jherri curls because it wasn’t accepted. To this day there are people who still can’t accept it.”

Whether through her salon, books, or product line, Veronica’s message is always the same, embrace who you are. “This is your mother and father, and grandmother,” she says. “You have to own this. This is you.”

—

C. Cleveland covers professional development topics and entrepreneurial rebels who blaze their own career paths. She explores these stories and more on The Red Read, Twitter (@CleveInTheCity) and Facebook (/MyReadIsRed).

Source: Shutterstock

From BlackVoices

Is the texture or style of your hair preventing you from being hired? Sounds like a pretty silly question, however it was precisely the topic at hand during a panel discussion entitled “Black Women, Their Hair & The Work Place – A Dialogue” at Georgia State University.

Approximately 100 women gathered last week to contemplate the idea that their skills, talent and intelligence could be overshadowed by a hairstyle. And more often than not, the concern is based on women of color sporting their natural hair.

Yes, the hair that grows naturally from the roots of our heads could be contributing to the growing unemployment rates. Baffling.

Read more on BlackVoices.com.

Hair. It’s a four-letter word with so much “stuff” behind it you could barely scratch the surface in a two-hour documentary by the same name.

Or is it?

Just how deep is hair for Black women and who made it that way? Plus, do White women have some of the very same hangups we do when it comes to our manes? Check out this final episode of “I Always Wanted To Ask” as we peel back the layers on what hair means to women — Black and White alike.

KEEP THE DISCUSSION GOING WITH MORE EPISODES OF I ALWAYS WANTED TO ASK.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH!

• “I Always Wanted to Ask: Interracial Dating” 
  
• “I Always Wanted To Ask: Interracial Dating” [EXTENDED]
• “I Always Wanted To Ask: White People And The N-Word”
• “I Always Wanted To Ask: Do White People Recognize White Privilege?”
• “I Always Wanted To Ask…What’s Up With The Hair?”

Scrolling through pics of last night’s SAG Awards, it was hard to come across a brown face, but there in the sea of blonde hair and blue eyes, I stumbled across this pic of Teyonah Parris and all of her mane magnificence.

You may recognize the young actress as Dawn Chambers of the hit show Mad Men, but I imagine last night she was known as the  girl with the awesome hair. It’s already a rarity to see natural hair on the red carpet and I don’t think anyone has managed to rock such a gorgeously sculpted natural updo as this young lady. Please take a moment to just gaze at the side view. Are you in love yet?

We haven’t had a chance to see what Wendy Williams might think about this look, as we already know she thinks teeny weeny afros and natural locks have no place in a formal setting. But it looks like Teyonah, thankfully, missed that memo. As did Viola Davis, who also looked stunning rocking her natural mane during last night’s festivities. Kudos to you ladies!

Source: AP

Did you catch our live chat today with Nikki Walton, a leading natural hair blogger, founder of CurlyNikki and author of the new book ‘Better Than Good Hair? If not, it’s okay. We highlighted some of the best questions and answers below, which addressed everything from curly pudding to product recommendations. Be sure to check into our Facebook page at 1pm EST next week to participate in the live chat about everything hair. In the meantime, click though to see the advice she doled out for our loyal Facebook fans.

LeRose :My daughter’s hair is thick and unruly. It’s not tangled (nappy) at the roots but it is very tangled at the ends. She is only 4 don’t wanna use anything too harsh. What to do?

CurlyNikki: Practice lots of protective styling, only allowing her hair to be down or rocked in puffs once a week, if that. Keep her hair in box braids, pig tails with the length twisted… styles that allow the hair strands to fortify each other (stronger in numbers)! Keep it moisturized (paying special attention to the ends) and be mindful of her edges, don’t twist or braid too tight! Hth!

Source: Shutterstock

The jokes never end when it comes to Black women and how serious we take our hair, but truth be told, we only go so hard because we’ve been taught to from a young age. As little girls you’d be hard pressed to see us without some type of accessory in our head — shout out to our mamas — and most of us just kept that trend going right up through middle school, junior high, high school, and even college. You can probably already name five things off the top of your head that you’ve worn in your hair at some point without even trying, and if you need help remembering the rest, check out this list of hair accessories every Black girl has rocked at some point.

From StyleBlazer

We’re all about finding new tips and tricks to keep our hair and makeup on point and in 2012, we had a little help thanks to social media fave Pinterest. Our fellow pinners took to their beauty boards and shared some never-before-seen advice for StyleBlazers across the globe to try right at home.

From DIY makeup brush cleaners to manicures-made-easy, here are our top five tried and true lessons learned on Pinterest to bring into the New Year and beyond!

1. DIY Makeup Brush Cleaner

We generally try to clean our makeup brushes at least twice a month and while cosmetic companies make some great brush cleansers, a free alternative is always our preference! This simple solution had the makeup residue practically vanishing from our brushes, instantly making them squeaky clean yet keeping the bristles amazingly smooth.

Our tip: Ease up on the olive oil—oil and powder makeup is never a good combo!

Check out more new beauty tips on StyleBlazer.com.

Source: Shutterstock

I’m not one of those people who thinks, “it’s just hair,” when it comes to my mane and what I do with it, but I do happen to believe it’s just my hair. And that’s why I’m so confused as to why other people have become so concerned with what I do to my hair, particularly when it comes to anything that has to do with scissors.

Since my hair has gotten to a considerable length, I’ve come to the conclusion that some people must be living vicariously through my locks, although I still find it a bit perplexing that one of the main culprits of these hair checkups was my 40-year-old gay male neighbor. I could literally see him one day with my hair down and he would comment on how long it had grown. If I had my hair in a bun the very next day, he’d hit me with, “how long is your hair now?” When I’d respond, “same as it was yesterday,” he’d suggestively ask, “are you gonna let it keep growing?,” to let me know that was his preference. I’d say “I don’t know” and then turn the conversation on the curly toupee he had sitting on top of his head as he tried to convince me of how quickly his hair was “growing.” And don’t let him notice a little length missing — it was as if someone stole the holy grail out the Vatican  as he grabbed the back of my hair, screaming in disbelief,  “why did you cut your hair?!” Can I live?! Better yet can I get a trim,  some layers? I mean, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to eff up your day by minimally changing the way my hair dusts the back of my shirt. Apologies.

My grandmother was actually one of the first people to hit both me and my mom with the long hair, you should care mantra. My mom hasn’t had long hair since probably the late ’80s so you’d think my grandma would be used to the cuts by now. Unfortunately she’s not. Whenever my mom would cut her hair a bit shorter, she’d get hit with that long, “I know something’s different about your hair but I don’t like it so I’m trying to figure out what to say to you”  looks. Unfortunately, my grandmother typically says what she’s thinking, which is “that looks nice but I like it better longer” as my mom gives her that, “my hair hasn’t touched my shoulders since ’89, let it go” look.

When it comes to me, my grandmother cant understand why I don’t wear my hair down more often and so when I actually do she makes it a point to let me know she likes my hair like this with the understood note: not when it’s slicked back, in a ponytail, in a bun, or any other style where I cant see it all. Her concern, read low key obsession, is so bad when she missed a speech I was giving to new college and high school graduates this past summer, her first question wasn’t “how did it go” but “how was your hair.” When I said it was in a bun she hit me with the type of “oh” you’d give someone who just told you you won $2 on a scratch off lotto ticket.

It’s puzzling to me how the temporary changes someone makes to their hair can cause such emotional reactions from people who don’t have to deal with that choice. I hate to go all 2nd grade cliche on you but it really is like little kids say, “if you don’t like it, you don’t have to look at it.” And I get it, if you’re more than happy to accept people’s compliments about your hair, you have to be willing to take the good with the bad, except it’s rather baffling to realize people are just as invested in your hair as you are. If they were your hairdresser that would be one thing — a great thing, actually — but these people are essentially bent out of shape because they have one vision for your hair and you have another and they have no control over it.

I can’t say I let these people stop me from making certain style choices but it is annoying to know that instead of people complimenting you on a new look, you’ll be bombarded with questions like, “why did you cut your hair?” Or for some, why did you color it or braid it or weave it up or whatever it is. I won’t even get started on the intrusive, “why are you still relaxing your hair?” questions. Oh well, the truth is those hair hangups are their issue and not mine. It’s my hair and I’ll cut, ponytail, color, gel and weave it up if I want to.

Do you find that people are way too invested in your hair choices? Does their opinion affect how you style your hair?

Earlier this year, we learned that Carol’s Daughter was hopping on the natural hair care trend and launching a Transition Movement website filled with suggested products and tips to help women grow their hair out from it’s relaxed stage, and now the popular product line has combined that focus with yet another trend — web series — to launch, “The Curl.”

The purpose of the new series, which launched last week, is to address some of the common hair questions women who are deciding to go natural have, and to share everyday tales about our hair. The series is also supposed to dispel the seemingly popular myth that one “must” be natural to be true to themselves, and also celebrate the range of beauty present in our various hair textures. Popular hair bloggers, like Urban Bush Babes, Hey Fran Hey, Fran Ramsey, and Around the Way the Curls, participate in the series, and the best thing about the videos, in my opinion, is in between the dialogue about the ladies’ hair journeys are tips on how to create popular styles like the pompadour.

Check out episode one of the series below. What do you think?