Monday, December 22, 2014

I Am Not Competing Against Magazine and TV Images!!!

You Really Expect Me to Look Like I Just Stepped Out of a Magazine, Daily?

Many women experience the pressure to look like a glamour girl or TV/Magazine image by our spouse, significant other, co-workers, employers and even vain family members. I feel grieved inside while hearing stories of men or husbands complain about their women wearing hair rollers in the hair at night or morning and facial masks as a routine hair care/styling and skin care regimen but simultaneously desire their women to look “picture perfect” or like women they see on TV, film, magazines and high profile/income careers on a daily basis.

Society has already put enough pressure women to look made-up all day-wearing extensions, layers of skin products and the latest trends and/or designer clothes. There’s no problem with dolling ourselves up when we feel or need to but it’s the pressure, critique and comparison many of us experience that seems like an epidemic. Because of this, many young girls/women fall into a lifestyle of a superfluous and superficial persona. I’m advocating for my sista-girls right now of all cultural diversities. 

Let’s look at a couple of facts and do a reality check:

1.        If we don’t maintain our tresses and take care of our skin (face), how can we look radiant and well-groomed?
2.       Every woman does not have 20-45 minutes to spend putting layers of make-up and hot curls on before going to work.
3.       Every woman cannot afford to book an appointment at the salon weekly, bi-weekly or even monthly.
4.      Every woman cannot spend hundreds of dollars on protective styling just to please your obsession with length.
5.       It is not realistic to expect EVERY woman to go to bed wearing make-up and head scarfs to sleep in and then wake up looking as if nothing has touched her face or hair.
6.       Every woman is not a celebrity with an (entourage) PR (public relations), Personal hair stylist, make-up artist or image consultant to assist with image/appearance, etc.
Tips for you men:
1.        Give us more time to do our thang (cleanse, exfoliate, moisturize and/or make-up our face).
2.       Agree with us in taking time to break from chemically-based products to wearing natural-based products because the goal may take a little longer when using natural products.
3.       Be supportive in our endeavors to LOOK and FEEL and BE healthy internally and externally. I promise you, you will be happy with the results.
4.      Encourage her (wife, girlfriend, daughter, mother, aunt, grandmother or sister) to be happy valuing her na-tu-ra-listic self.
5.       Be more empathetic with her changes and transitions.

6.       Compliment her more to show her you are more concerned with inner-being and feelings. 

Sunday, December 7, 2014

Natural Hair & Identity

How is Natural Hair and Natural Beauty Associated with Our Identity?
Do you feel more authentic as a person (embracing your roots, personality, characteristics & image) wearing your hair natural and/or living a life style as a naturalist (eating natural, wearing unprocessed hair, using natural products for body and hair?)
Unfortunately, many within the African American/Black/Urban community are still conditioned subconsciously to dislike or criticize their own natural hair texture. African American are not the only ones embracing the natural hair care movement. 

Boys to Men embrace the "going natural movement"which includes keeping your kinks... In this video below, A mother was flawed at a barber's denigrating action toward her son's hair textured that the barber had difficulty grooming and his only option was to cut this mother's son hair off (bald) and referred to her son as "Nigger.s" hair... Unacceptable! Many transitioners report feeling empowered and free with natural hair & face...Especially African Americans. 

To be honest, for myself, being or feeling pressured or institutionalized to ONLY wear chemically-processed hair and purchasing every new chemically-based product on the market can sometimes feels like bondage/slavery/stronghold in a since because we can become so accustomed to wearing and managing our hair one way "fried, died and laid to the side", we can forget how to self-groom/manage our own texture outside of pressing, relaxing or curly permanents. Thus, cutting becomes the ultimate answer. It's amazing that we have to learn and for some of us relearn the methods of basic natural hair care. Just a thought. No shade/criticism.



Are afros appropriate for Red Carpet events???
What do you think? I would like to hear your response and why. Do you also agree that the "Natural Hair Movement is also about African Americans/'Black people' ridding the historical shame of embracing natural and loving their features-nose, lips and skin color?