The Politics of Black Hair

This early afternoon I came across an interesting video about "The Politics of Black Hair". It's a Melissa Harris-Perry special on MSNBC that features four beautiful women of color rocking their very own natural styles. The discussion talks about how black hair is perceived by the media, the workplace, and our counterparts.

"It's amazing that its considered revolutionary to wear my hair the way it grows out of my head"

The Many Uses of Coconut Oil

Originally from NaturallyCurly

Enjoy the rest of your day everyone!
XOXO,
Simone

Poetic Justice Inspired Box Braids + YouTube Channel

Hello world! Last week my mom installed some jumbo box braids (Poetic Justice/Janet Jackson inspired) & I looooveee them! It took about a total of 12 hours to install the waist length braids & I used about 8 packs on Kanekalon (spell-check) synthetic hair. I haven't really played around with new styles with them yet simply because there is so much hair to manage! In the next few weeks I will be playing around trying to put in high buns, trying out different patterns for head scarfs, and much more. It was perfect timing for me to get these braids because I am actually participating in The Good Hair Blog Protective Style Challenge (TGHBPSC) for a 3 month period. Myself & about 100 more transitioning/ natural women are participating. If you're interested in joining, click here. 

Some even more exciting news....I started a YouTube channel! I've been wanting to do this for a while so I finally built up the courage to start one up. I will try to up date at least once a week, depending on the topics. If you could please just support me by checking it out and like, comment, and subscribe. I'll post my very first video below. Your support is much appreciated! Thanks for reading, enjoy the rest of your day.

YouTube channel: NaturalistaNeff

XOXO,

Simone

Finding my curl pattern!

Natural curl pattern

So over the past few weeks, I've been noticing my hair's natural curl pattern to come in. It's definitely more prominent in the back of my head because my hair grows at the fastest rate back there. The sides and the middle are starting to evolve as well. The front has yet to catch up, which (to me) is the most important part I'd want my curl to display itself lol. Doing some research on different hair types, I've discovered I'm between a 3C and 4a. A 3C hair type is defined as coiled curls that require a lot of moisture to reduce the frizz. I'd like to think my hair is for the most part confused.  Some sections of my hair are more 3C like, with it's soft, manageable, pencil circumference sized curls. Other sections are more 4A like, shrinking towards my scalp for moisture, almost as if my hair is the Majuve Desert. This shrinkage can mostly associated with what we call "naps" or what family likes to call them, "peas" lol. My natural curl pattern is something I've never noticed before, mainly because I was relaxing my hair for more than half my life. I also have noticed a regrowth of baby hairs/edges, something I've never seen before with a relaxer. Finding my curl pattern hasn't really affected me in ways of changing up my transitioning regimen,  it has just provided a sense of process and total excitement. I can't wait for my hair to continue grow out. I recently had my mom give me my first "mini" big chop. She cut off about 1 in. of relaxed ends all around. It's a very blunt cut, but I don't mind it now because I will be undergoing protective styles for the next few months to give my hair a break from all the stretching, twisting, washing, and knotting. Because of this, I've decided to transition for another year 1.5 years. I've already achieved 6 months of achievement. I officially started the transitioning process in December 2011 & I am going to extend my transition period to June 2013 (end of my sophomore year). We'll see how the hair growth process goes from there! Ta-ta for now <3

3C Hair type

4A Hair Type

Regrowth of "baby hair"

Structured curl

What's your hair type? Find out here: http://www.naturallycurly.com/hair-types

Find Mizani hair products that match your hair type: http://www.mizani-usa.com/?m=86&rid=300

Introductory

Hello world! To anyone who's reading this, thank you for visiting Nappily Ever After! This blog is dedicated to keeping track of my natural hair journey. I'm currently transitioning from relaxed to natural and I'm post relaxer since October 2011 (6 months yay!). This blog is for me to document my experiences and share them with you. I'm open to giving advice (with the little knowledge I have about naturality) and open to receiving advice too! My eyes light up when I see a natural girl in the crowd. Just simply embracing natural beauty, don't be alarmed...

Well, to tell you a little about myself..my name is Simone. I'm a 19 year old rising sophomore in college. I'm a communications major with a concentration in journalism. I'm from Albany, NY. I have a wonderful family, a loving boyfriend, and some pretty amazing friends. Without them, it'd be pretty hard to get through this transitioning process with ease...

I begged for and received my first relaxer when I was 8 years old and boy, was I in love. Before then, I would go to my grandma's house to get my hair straightened by a hot comb heated up on the stove (if you're a black girl, you most likely know what that's all about lol). My hair from ages 6-8 was pretty long, from what I can remember I'd say bra strap length. But until I received my relaxer, all I can remember is that it'd come out little by little. Infatuated with the new straight, flowy hair I had I ignored the fact that my hair was falling out. Therefore, I just kept getting them because it's the only thing I've ever wanted...

It wasn't until 6th or 7th grade that I realized I had thinning hair problem. Sure my edges would lay down perfectly, but my hair was never full so I really couldn't do much with it. It always pained me to see other girls (regardless of race) with long, beautiful hair because that's something I once had that I could never get back, all because of that creamy crack...

I started wearing braids & weaves to achieve my lengthy desires but deep down, it still wasn't self-satisfying. My real hair would often grow nice & healthy. But then I'd do something crazy to it like glue in a weave or dye it myself, and it'd all fall out again. My hair was thinning, my hairline was receding, I had uneven hair lengths. It wasn't until my freshman year of college, specifically winter break, that I said "enough is enough, I'm going natural!"

Now my story about wanting to become natural isn't really different from the next black girl's, but my journey through this transitioning process is what I believe is a story worth telling. It's hard to maintain confidence when people are constantly are telling you, "You look a hot mess" "What happened to your hair?" "You need to go to the hair salon and get that taken care of". Most people in society don't view having hair styles like bantu knots or twisted locks as professional. It's also very hard to maintain a style when the roots maintain a perfect coil pattern and your ends just weren't having it. But, I'm making a promise to myself that I will get through this WITHOUT the big chop! (No offense to the ladies who have gone through it though, more power to ya)

I guess what I'm really trying to say is I don't need somebody to tell me that my hair is nappy. That is something I already know. All I need is some coconut oil, a wide tooth comb, and an excellent support system of caring individuals. By this, I will live Nappily Ever After.