Wednesday 29 February 2012

Moi a Curly Ambassador


Since starting my blog, I have been developing and nurturing relationships with Curlies and Naturals, and I have been really enjoying it.
Well I’m happy to say that this has blossomed into something new. In addition to posting my anecdotes, experiences and feelings on my blog I will also be a regular contributor to the iHeartMyHair.com website, as a Curly Ambassador. Añya Grant founded the site in 2009 and foundation is to Love the Hair You're In.

 I also featured her on Canadian Curlies last October. Check out the POST if you want to know more about her story. Needless to say it was not a difficult decision to get on board, as I continue to get to know my hair, not to mention I also believe it’s important for everyone to love and appreciate the beauty that their hair has, whether it’s curly, kinky or wavy. 
Añya approached me to be a part of her site late last year and it has been wonderful to join her and her team in this venture and most importantly to meet and network with other Curlies and Naturals. We are learning from each other and helping one another on this exciting journey of being natural.
There are great things to come this year and beyond, so keep checking in with me. I love getting your feedback and comments. 

Monday 20 February 2012

My Curlie Anniversary

So yesterday February 19th, was one year since I cut off the remaining relaxed ends off. I can't tell you how liberating and scary that was - all at the same time. I don't regret one minute of my transition or the actual moment I cut my hair.

Over the last year, I've met some amazing like-minded people and have gained respect from others that I didn't expect - all through my journey with my hair. I'm happy to say that I would not have done anything differently and I'm looking forward to next year and I'm very excited about the curlie years to come!

Since it was my hair anniversary, I thought I would kick it old school with a style I did often in my transitioning days - CURLFORMERS. I washed my hair as usual, applied my prep products and a little Lottabody setting lotion. I have to say I love the results and the curls are super cute. Tell me what you think:





Blessings and Curls,
B-Curlie








Friday 10 February 2012

Part 1 - Days of Bliss


Now that I’m a curly, I often wonder why it took so long and I want to get to the bottom of the history of the perception of our coils. As the old adage says, “you won’t know you are going, until you know where you came from.” I will be doing a series of posts throughout February as my way of celebrating Black History Month. So here I go:

Before slavery our hair was something that was always pampered and taken care of. Usually, the person who washed, moisturized and styled your hair took great pride in the task and was someone close to you. You trusted them. Often your hair told a story, depending on the tribe wearing a different hair style was a way of letting the tribe now at what stage of your life, ie: marital status, social rank or mourning a loss to name a few.            

Argan oil


Hand-carved comb
Black soap was used widely as a shampoo and shea butter, palm oil and argan oil were commonly used to moisture and style. There was also great pride in hand-carving combs.

The combs are literary works of art and to me this says that they loved their hair with all its kinks and coils. It was important to take proper care of it. 




Blessings and Curls,



B-Curlie

Tuesday 7 February 2012

CurlyCanadians Vision - co-founder Althea Joseph


What was your draw to natural hair?
I’ve always been drawn to natural hair. Over the years I’ve gone from synthetic hair extensions to texturizers to finally purely natural hair. Now that I’m getting married & soon to be starting a family, I want to be more aware of what goes in & on my hair & body.

Althea Joseph, co-founder of CurlyCanadians™


Why did you decide to go curlie?
I’d already begun to consider transitioning from texturized to natural last summer. Then my aunt passed away from cancer in the fall of 2011.  After my aunt’s passing, I decided right away to stop putting chemicals in my hair. Better yet, my fiancé, Jason Branton and I decided to completely detox our home from harmful toxins. Reading There’s Lead In Your Lipstick by Gillian Deacon was also a powerful motivator to go natural.

At what point did you think of creating a business that would promote healthy hair and sell natural hair products?
After I made the decision to go natural, I embarked on an extensive Google search for natural hair care tips and products.  I found some great products yet they were not available in Canada. I wanted to find hair care tips for Canadians and I couldn’t find much of that either.

My fiancé and I were (and still are!) inspired to start CurlyCanadiansTM for naturally curly people living in Canada. Our focus is on natural hair care for straight, wavy & naturally curly styles for people from all walks of life.

 When was CurlyCanadiansTM established?
CurlyCanadiansTM was established on October 1, 2011. 





What kind of feedback have you been receiving from Canadian Curlies and abroad and how does that make you feel?
We are completely astounded by the feedback we’ve been receiving from across Canada & around the world! People are really excited about having a Canadian resource for curly hair. Just this morning we received a message from one of our Twitter followers in the United Kingdom commending us for targeting a diverse customer base. Comments like this make us grateful for this opportunity & happy to do what we do.

As a business owner, what do you think on the Canadian natural community?
I believe the Canadian natural community is the most diverse on the planet. There are people who want to live a more sustainable lifestyle. There are also people who are becoming increasingly aware of harmful ingredients in their favourite personal care products. One of our main goals at CurlyCanadiansTM is to provide the consumer with as much ingredient information as possible so they are able to make an informed purchasing decision.

Secondly, I feel the natural community needs to join forces. Canada is so vast that we’re all doing great things in every corner of the country without really knowing that our neighbor down the road is also doing something great. The natural community needs to come together and work together more. That’s why we are open to selling Canadian-made “actual natural” hair care products & accessories from Canadian artisans & manufacturers.

What are your goals for CurlyCanadiansTM in the next five years?
Our main goal for CurlyCanadiansTM is to be Canada’s foremost authority on naturally curly hair and natural hair care for all ages and all walks of life. We want to show the world how products sourced from nature can help you feel, look and be your best without exposure to harmful toxins.

What new products do Canadian Curlies have to look forward to from CurlyCanadiansTM?
Hair Love for starters! Hair Love is our latest handmade product. Look for hair care products from Strauss Herb Company (an amazing Canadian company), handmade hair cleansers from McLeod Naturals and best of all: a new skin care line called Althea Officinalis, which will debut this spring!

How can people contact you?
We invite everyone to contact us via:
Twitter: @curlycanadians

Friday 3 February 2012

Review of Miss Jessie's Curly Meringue & Baby Buttercreme


So a few months ago I purchased Miss Jessie’s Curly Meringue and Baby Buttercreme on sale at HoneyFig. I thought to myself, this is my chance to try these products. I did some research and I found that Curlies either really loved Miss Jessie’s products or hated them. I actually have mixed feelings about them.
Let’s start with the Curly Meringue:

This product smells delicious. It has a wonderful lemon scent that makes you want to indulge in a lemon tart, if that is your thing. The consistency is thick and creamy. I decided to use it on my freshly washed hair, after applying my leave-in. I made sure my hair was moisturized and somewhat sealed before applying the meringue. God knows I didn’t want any trouble, since there is mineral oil in it.
So I proceeded to use half of a finger-tip amount on each twist. I was very happy with the light hold and shine the product imparted on my hair. It felt soft and healthy.
After untwisting my hair, I was surprisingly very happy with the results. I will definitely use this product again.

Moving on the Baby Buttercreme:
The buttercream smells like vanilla cake, which made me happy. The consistency was very thick and buttery just like the name. I applied the product the same way as I did the Curly Meringue. It went on damp hair nicely and seemed to give it a little shine.  Once the twists dried I unraveled them. When styling and separating my twists I found that my hair felt brittle and dry. Nonetheless I worked with what I got and tried to stay positive. By day two my hair was in rough shape, very frizzy and super dry. On day three, FORGET ABOUT IT!! I slept with my satin head tie as I usually do and found a humongous mess. I was in shock! I would like to say that I did not treat my hair any differently than I do with my other twist-outs, that usually last about five days.
So I was in a little panic and almost late for work. I decided to wet my hair to try to create a puff that appeared moist and shine. It was a TOTAL FAIL. The water only made tons of white residue appear in my hair. I had a small meltdown and then savaged my hair with a few twists in the front and the rest was covered with a bean. Needless to say I will not be using the Baby Buttercream again.

Although, this was product did not work for me, it may have work for you. Tell me about your experience and if you love or hate relationships with Curly Meringue or Baby Buttercreme.



Blessings and Curls,

B-Curlie