My interview on Thirstyroots.com {Video}

My Hair.My Story:Cherie’s Colored Coiffure at Urbanbella Salon

Just before Thanksgiving I met up with my new friend Cherie of Nappy Rutz at Urbanbella Salon. Cherie was in need of a change and decided to redeem her Urbanbella gift certificate she won at a natural hair mixer in August for a sassy new color.

Some photos of the beautiful salon

I am in love with this dresser. The salon and store had a shabby chic decor.

the store section of Urbanbella

great all natural products for your natural hair.

Cherie filling out her consultation form.

Cherie was nervous due to a previous coloring session in 2008. A natural hair stylist in Texas double processed her hair in twice in a two week span. This obvious no no made Cherie’s hair break off terribly, resulting in a loss of almost half her length! So needless to say Cherie was on the edge of her seat this go around.

getting her deep conditioner washed out while telling Store Manager Marsha and I the devastating events with her past hair color.

Questions flurried in me and  Cherie’s  mind on all the possible things that could go wrong with color and natural hair, until colorist Ukalie Washington came to save the day! Ukalie was very knowledgeable and patient amidst all of our questions and pondering. Ukalie  taught us some fundamentals on Hair Coloring 101 that reassured Cherie she was in great hands.

The first section of color being applied by Ukalie.

I SEE COLOR!

After all the color was rinsed out Cherie was finger styled using Kinky Curly’s Curling Custard on soaking wet hair. Cherie received two pleasant surprised that day as she had never tried the infamous product.

Finished Result: TA DA!

beautiful medium brown colored waves and curls

Big, Bold, Hair & Earrings! Thanks Urbanbella!

Business Spotlight: My Curls

This Business spotlight features and up and coming natural hair line from across the pond in the UK, My Curls. (And  YES they ship internationally!)

What is the vision for the company?

My vision is for My Curls to become an internationally recognised brand. I particularly aim to conquer the markets in the UK and Europe where natural hair is still on the come up.

How did it all begin?

Although my business launched in October of this year, the idea came to me almost a year ago when I was struggling to find an affordable hair cream that didn’t contain mineral oil and parabens. I searched and searched for a product that worked on my hair and was disappointed that most of the hair lines targeting women of colour (in the UK) were full of unnatural, harmful chemicals that are of no benefit to my hair or health. I spoke to other black female friends who said they were also looking for a natural line of products. I decided to start mixing up my own and began planning to launch my own hair care line.

Where you would like to see the company’s growth in 2 years?

In two years, I would like to expand my range of products to include hair and scalp oils, butter-creams and shampoo bars. I would like for the brand to have receive positive national coverage and have gained the admiration of natural haired celebrities. I would also like to create a natural skincare range.

The importance in supporting black owned businesses.

I am a huge advocate of supporting black owned businesses. I think it’s appalling that even though the black hair industry is a multi-billion dollar industry, we own such a minuscule fraction of it. Ultimately we can’t expect great quality products or services if we are not the ones running these businesses. If we are to flourish as a people, we have to be proactive, entrepreneurial and supportive and that means buying products by black business owners and supporting black businesses in whatever way you can.

 What are your specialty products?

My speciality products are the My Curls Cleansing Cream, Coco Curly Conditioner and Curl Smoothie. The Coco Curly Conditioner is brilliant because it restores moisture and has plenty of slip which makes detangling easier. The Curl Smoothie is a lotion that contains great natural ingredients such as coconut oil, honey and organic palm oil. I use it everyday and it is particularly great for twists and wash and go’s.

What is the day in the life of the CEO(s)?

My day is definitely varied and not always structured. I usually start in the mornings by checking and responding to emails as well as making, sending and processing orders. I then usually update my Facebook and Twitter business pages. After that I brainstorm ideas for adding content to my website and improving SEO (search engine optimisation). I usually follow with adding new content to my website and then analyse my marketing and advertising campaigns. I also keep up to date with natural and curly hair websites and blogs because it’s always important to know what’s happening and to engage in relevant online communities.

What made you transition into natural hair?

I transitioned because my hair was suffering from severe breakage. I was at university at the time and there were no black stylists, salons or anyone I could really turn to for advice. I began looking online for hair care advice and stumbled upon a few natural hair sites. Having seen so many women on these sites with beautiful natural hair, I decided to start my natural hair journey. I initially wore my hair in braids for six months, after a while I saw how damaged my relaxed ends were compared to my vibrant natural kinks and curls, and decided to cut off the relaxed hair. I haven’t looked back since.

 Anything you would like to share to your future customers or budding entrepreneurs.

My handmade natural hair products are available for sale at www.mycurls.co.uk. I strive to always provide excellent customer service and quality natural products. For budding entrepreneurs, my biggest advice is to believe in yourself because we are often our own worst enemies and fail to see our own strengths, talents and ability. On a more practical level, I would recommend doing lots of research and to continuously educate yourself about business.

Stay connected with My Curls by joining them on their Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Silver Streaks: The Beauty of Gray Natural Hair

For natural hair wearers  that make the lifestyle change to never relax their hair again the time will come (or has come) where our hair will gray.

This video was made by Khamit Kinks salon in New York to demonstrate various styles to wear our graying natural hair and the beauty in the silver streaks.


We will discuss hair care options for graying hair in a future post.

 

Mixtress Mixtapes: Chocolate Brunette Hair Rinse

Image via Wikipedia

recipe courtesy of: The Green Beauty Guide by Julie Gabriel.

This rinse will not ruin your highlights but instead make your brown color deeper and more vibrant. Do not use a coffeemaker to prepare the rinse, as the concentration won’t be strong enough.

Ingredients:

2 cups of purified water (do no use mineral water)

5 tablespoons of dark roast ground coffee

1 ounce of BLACK chocolate

Instructions:

• Boil the ground coffee in two cups of water in a shallow pan for 10 minutes.
• Add the chocolate while the coffee is hot.
• Let the mixture cool and carefully soak your hair with the flavorful blends. Beware of spills!
• Cover with a non PVC platic shower cap ( or plastic bag) wait 10 minutes, rinse off, and shampoo as usual.

Related Articles

• Natural Hair Highlights for Dark Hair (topical-herbal-medicine.suite101.com)

Mixtress Mixtapes: Flaxseed Gel

2 cups water

1/2 cup of whole flaxseeds

1 tbsp of Aloe vera gel

Pour water and flaxseed into a pot. Heat pot to a boil on medium/low setting.

Stir

When mixture becomes frothy turn off heat

Continue stirring.

Strain flaxseeds out into a bowl.

Let cool and add the aloe vera gel.

Related Articles

• The Many Benefits of Flaxseeds (lifescript.com)

Spice Up Your Hair with Temporary Spray on Color

It happens to the best of us…. We try new styles, techniques, accessories but eventually boredom sets in.

A special event,occassion, party  rolls around and you feel like your hair is just blah..

Try adding some spray on temporary color. I know what your thinking… “That stuff you spray in your hair for Halloween? YES! but not in those crazy glitter colors (unless thats your thing).

These little spray paint type canisters are a great and inexpensive addition to a natural beauty’s product stash. If your feeling a bit punkish add some hot pink or a deep eggplant color to a section of hair. Want to find out if blondes really do have more fun? go for a honey blonde at the crown. The possibilites are endless but they don’t have to be permanent! The color washes out after one shampoo!

Check out how I used 2 cans of Jerome Russell spray in gold blonde and honey blonde to add a golden brown pop of color to my crown section of an old twistout.

Before: 6 day old twistout done with Miss Jessie's Curly Meringue

I separated a section of hair to color.

you might want to cover your face/hairline so the color wont get on your skin.

Spray, Spray, Spray. I used the honey blonde first to lighten it up.

I then used the gold blonde to cover up the remaining black hair, to give it a 2 tone highlighted look

I kept the remaining hair my natural hair color and spread the colored section out.

pulled back into a hump

overall blonde crown

2nd day the color does fade. which I like it adds highlights and dimension

* Make sure to let the color completely dry before touching it*

This is great way to switch up your look and try new colors temporarily without the commitment of permanent  harsh dyes.

Each can of hair color spray costs between 0.99 and 3.99 depending on the beauty supply store.

Do you use spray on color ? Have you in the past? What were your experiences?

Related Articles

• The Many Uses and Types of Temporary Hair Color Products (haircareproducts.suite101.com)

Mixtress Mixtapes:All Natural Red Color Enhancer

recipe courtesy of http://www.hair-style-secrets-revealed.com:

Back in the day  I colored the top of my hair (a la Kelis style) a nice red color. However, I quickly found out how fast the color faded. (Red is the fastest fading hair dye color). This all natural color enhancer should length your time in between re-dyeing or reapplying henna.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup beet juice

• 1/2 cup carrot juice

Directions:

1. Mix ingredients together, pour over clean, damp hair;

2. Wrap head in plastic and apply hot towel, medium dryer heat, or sit in the sun for one hour.

3. Shampoo.

Related Articles

• Natural Hair Highlights for Dark Hair (topical-herbal-medicine.suite101.com)
• Natural Treatments for Natural Hair (urbanbellemag.com)