Category: confidence boosters
Nappy Hair is Strong Hair: Tasha Smith
I recently spotted this wonderful video of actress Tasha Smith discussing black hair and I absolutely love it!
One of the takeaway quotes for me was when she said:
“Nappy hair is strong hair.”
I love that!
For so long, many of us have deemed our kinky hair as being weak, broken, fragile but in actuality our kinks are strong.
I’ve heard many people (women and men equally) describe kinky hair as “tough” in a derogatory way but we need to swap that word with strong.
Tough gives the implication that our hair is hard to manage, hard to deal with but it’s not.
As us naturally curly girls know, with the right management and tools our hair is really quite easy to handle.
It’s far from being “tough.”
So, the next time someone says you have hard to manage hair, look them in the eye and tell them:
My hair is strong!
Check out the video below and leave a comment sharing your thoughts.
HAIR TALES_TASHA SMITH from MADFREEtv on Vimeo.
Victoria xo
4 Hairstyles That Will Make You Ditch Your Bonet
There’s a lot of controversy about whether hair bonets are a YAY or NAY for curly girls.
Although they’re great for protecting curls, many men and women feel as if they’re not exactly the cutest of choices when it comes to helping you look great at night time.
So, what’s a girl to do when she wants to look cute for bed but always wants to make sure her tresses are protected?
It’s simple.
She simply needs to check out these gorgeous hairstyle options that will make sure you can protect your curls whilst still looking smoking hot in the bedroom.
What I love about these styles are that they enable you to look great at night and then wake up with perfect hair.
If you like these styles, please share them with a friend. It could just help her to feel and look amazing during the day and at night.
3 Stunning Natural Beauty Queens Who Are Rocking The Professional World
Here at mycurls.co.uk, we pride ourselves on being open-minded and tolerant. We like to look at arguments from both sides of the fence; we think compassion is an all-too-rarefied commodity in today’s cut-throat environment.
There are limits, however – and nothing gets our goat quite like that being told that our natural hair is “unprofessional” or “unsuitable for the workplace”.
Excuse me, what?
It’s true: it happens, it’s damaging (and plays no small part in the growing number of women with natural hair who suffer from self-esteem issues), and it needs to stop.
What better way to end this onslaught of bigotry than by starting a conversation about the wildly successful women who refuse to abandon their curls for the sake of “professionalism”? Read on to discover the three queens we’ve chosen to profile for this piece.
1.
Julee Wilson‘s first steps in the professional world were as humble as they could be. After being told numerous times that her preference for wearing her Afro hair naturally was “unprofessional”, she finally landed a position an assistant to the Editor-In-Chief of Real Simple Magazine.
Needless to say, her natural hair didn’t hinder her journalistic talent to any degree – a fact made evident by her meteoric rise to the Staff Fashion Editor in two years, becoming the first African-American woman to do so.
Where is she now?
Queen Wilson now plies her trade as the Style & Beauty Editor for the Huffington Post’s Black Voices project, making frequent reference to her roots (pun intended!) through articles and series such as Curly Hair Chronicles, in which she discusses the very problem she had to overcome to get to where she is today.
2.
Denise Young Smith: a name you should get used to because you’re going to be hearing it a lot over the next few years. After earning her bachelor’s degree in Communications and a master’s degree in Organisational Management from Grambling State University, she made her first corporate inroads when contributed HR and management consulting to companies such as Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers portfolio companies.
It wasn’t until 1997, when she joined Apple (then still a fledgling, albeit rapidly-expanding, company) that she really started making waves, though. She has since served the company in several key HR roles, not least among them sitting on the team that crafted Apple’s retail organisation – which today welcomes more than one million people every day, and has re-defined what the word retail means to the corporate world.
Where is she now?
Ms. Smith was recently chosen as Apple’s Vice President of Worldwide Human Resources – a position whose responsibilities include attracting and retaining talent at Apple, and reports to none other than Tim Cook, the CEO, himself.
3.
Kay Wilson Stallings earned her master’s degree at the University of Illinois, and ever since has been charting an astonishing rise through the ranks of corporate television.
Starting out as a manager at Nickelodeon, within ten years she’d become the Vice President of Production and Development – the first African-American woman to hold the title. She was primarily responsible for the development of such adored television programs as “Yo Gabba Gabba!”, “Lazytown” and “Wonder Pets”, and shows no sign of slowing either her creative juices or her impressive ambition.
Where is she now?
Ms. Stallings currently works her naturally-curled head off as Senior Vice President for Sesame Street, where she has an enormous amount of influence over what our children are exposed to on television’s most-loved children’s program.
There they are: three gloriously natural women sticking it to the Man one curl at a time.
Do YOU have any similar success stories you’d like to share?
Let us know in the comments below!
4 Simple Steps To Longer Natural Hair
On top of that, throughout my childhood and early teens I’d constantly been told that “afro hair doesn’t grow,” OR “black girls can’t grow long hair” which led me to believe that growing long hair was simply impossible for a girl like me.
Opt for hair accessories like ribbons, scarves and flowers rather than applying heat to your hair.
5 Life-Changing Secrets To Growing Longer Natural hair
“My hair could never be that long!”
“My hair’s too tough to comb!”
“Girls like me don’t grow hair to that length!”
These are just some of the many misconceptions that women of African heritage hold about their hair.
If you’ve ever made any of the above statements then this article was written for you in mind.
That fact is that although many of us have felt as if our hair is incapable of growing beyond shoulder length, this is simply untrue.
The actuality is that with proper care and caution, every one of us can significantly improve our hair’s growth and retain far more length.
Here are 5 life-changing secrets that will help you to drastically transform your hair’s length, strength and overall health.
Secret #1
The way you feel about your hair internally has a direct effect on its external progress.
In essence, this means that the way you feel about your hair, your self-esteem and your hair’s ability to grow has a direct correlation with your hair’s actual chances of growing longer.
Why?
Well, think about this. If you believe that your hair is ugly, impossible to look after and difficult to manage, you’re ultimately going to treat your hair as if it the bane of your existence. If however, you have a positive attitude towards your hair, see it as being beautiful and strive to improve it you’ll naturally feel the compulsion to take better care of it. Ultimately, that will mean that you’ll handle your hair with more caution, you’ll treat it better and in doing so, you’ll reduce the damage caused when handling it. Don’t believe me?
Think back to a time when you visited a salon and had your hair treated by someone who didn’t like or understand naturally curly or afro hair. Their disdain for it was evident and so they yanked your hair with a thin-toothed comb and practically ripped your hair out of your head! The way they felt about your hair had a direct correlation with how they treated it and the same applies for when you manage your own hair. Remember, the way you feel about your hair internally has a direct effect on how you treat it!
Secret #2
This secret is an extension of #1. Longer hair comes from great internal and external care. If you want to see your hair grow, start off by reciting positive affirmations to yourself on a daily basis. Examples include things like: “my hair is beautiful and I love it,” “my hair is getting stronger and longer every second of every day,” and “I love every kink and curl that God has blessed me with.”
By reciting these affirmations you’ll open up your heart and mind to a world of self-acceptance and personal growth. Furthermore, you’ll feel happier about yourself which is always a great thing.
Secret #3
Create your own unique, custom-made hair regimen. There’s a lot of talk these days about hair regimens and it can sometimes feel as if the advice you receive on how to care for your hair is contradictory. That’s why it’s essential that you get into a habit of not only finding products that work for you but also finding a regime that works specifically for your hair type.
Once you’ve come up with your regime, get into a habit of making it a daily ritual to look after your hair. For instance, you could spend 5 minutes each night moisturising your scalp and 5 minutes in the morning spritzing your curls with a home-made hair spray.
Secret #4
Stick with the fundamentals.
Fundamental hair care practices for curly and afro-textured hair include:
- Washing your hair with a sulphate free shampoo (about twice a month)
- Co-washing your hair (using conditioner to wash your hair rather than shampooing it) on a weekly basis
- Moisturising your hair every day without fail
- Trimming off unhealthy ends as you see them (also known as dusting your hair)
- Deep conditioning your hair once per month.
These 5 things are fundamental practices that natural (and even relaxed) haired girls should follow. Rather than getting distracted by the newest hair care craze, focus on making the above 5 things a part of your hair care schedule so that you keep your hair in great condition.
Secret #5
Last but not least, set yourself hair goals. For instance, science tells us that the average person (regardless of ethnicity) grows about 6 inches of hair per year. Therefore, you should aim to give yourself a hair growth goal that is in line with this. The main focus however, should be on setting yourself a goal that is realistic and attainable for your hair type. Also, try not to compare your hair’s growth to someone else’s because quite frankly, your hair is not the same as the next person’s and therefore your hair will grow at a different speed.
If you liked these tips, sign up for great free resources by joining our newsletter at mycurls.co.uk.
5 Gorgeous Valentine’s Day Hairstyles For Natural Hair
With Valentine’s Day being just two days away, you might be wondering what on earth you’re going to do with your hair.
Truth be told, it can be a complete pain to come up with a look that works well on your curled tresses and you might also be wondering whether it’s worth straightening it or rocking the biggest afro ever.
Whether you’re heading out to enjoy a night out with the girls, or off on a romantic date with your other half, these 5 hairstyles are sure to make you look and feel sublime.
Take a look and leave a comment below letting us know which of the hairstyles is your fave.
#1 The FrowHawk
Mohawk + kinky, curly hair = the frowhawk.
#2 The Twistout
It’s a natural girl’s go-to hairstyle for a reason. Twistouts rock because they’re versatile, easy to do and look amazing.
3# Cornrows.
Whilst most of us associate cornrows with having mum plait your hair in Primary School, they can in fact be a great hairstyle for formal and glamorous occasions. Take for instance, Christina Milian who rocked this gorgeous look on the red carpet in November. Just goes to show that they old school hairstyles can be modernised.
Source: Getty Images, November 2014.
#4. The Afro.
This picture says it all. The Afro can be a wonderfully glamorous hairstyle if paired with the right makeup
and a chic outfit.
#5 The High Bun
The high bun was one of the most worn hairstyles in 2014 for a reason. It’s also brilliant for keeping natural hair protected which means that you get the added benefit of healthier hair alongside a glamorous look.
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Music Inspiration For Curly Girls
Do you ever have those days where you’re feeling down about your height, weight, skin or your natural hair?
We all do. Even the most confident of naturalistas has a day or two where they feel a little less confident or a little less pretty.
I’ll admit that the other day, I had one of those days and I felt awful for it.
But then I heard a song that made me feel a little more beautiful and a whole lot more fierce.
That song was All About The Bass by Meghan Trainor. I am in love with this song and I think that the lyrics are fantastic!
If you haven’t heard it yet, have a listen below.
After hearing Meghan’s song, I realised that it would be great to share some of my favourite confidence boosting songs with you.
Listen to them below and don’t forget to leave a comment telling me what you love most about yourself.
TLC’s Unpretty.
Destiny’s Child’s Bootylicious
My Curls 