Natural Girls Picture Diary

Two strand twists

Twists and curls

Press and curl

Twists and Curls

Can you tell I like twists and curls?

It's a Family Affair

When it comes to being natural and living a natural life, it is definitely a "Family Affair." Have you heard of the saying, "A family that prays together stays together?" Well, let's think of being natural in that aspect. "A family that learns to be natural together transforms together." We are transforming our previous thoughts on natural hair and learning to appreciate what we were given. We are also learning new hair styles that brings out our natural beauty.

If you look at the picture to the left, you will see an aunt, a mother, two daughters, and two nieces. All individuals are natural. The aunt and mother started being natural three to four years ago. The two daughters and nieces have been natural since birth.

~It's never too late

Naturally Curly Girls, Youth Edition

The authors of All in Together Girls show off their natural hair styles. 


Jaye Whaley







Shay Butler

Hypothesis: Hair Growth is Linked to Exercise (Sweating)

Picture from Tumblr.com

While getting dressed for work this morning, I started thinking about hair growth and exercise. My thoughts were sparked by my recent actions to exercise more. In saying recent, I actually mean the past two months. In my attempt to live a healthier life, I noticed that my hair was growing. Not to say that my hair lacked an inability to grow. It just did not grow as fast as I hoped it would.

My hypothesis regarding hair growth and exercise was also formed using some of my past experiences. About seven years ago, I was really into eating health and exercising. I was a size 6 and my hair was longer than it had ever been. This information allowed me to hypothesize that hair growth is linked to exercise and sweating from exercising. 

Let's all sit back and think about working out. When we work out, our heart rate increases and so does our body temperature. Sweat is the body's defense in helping our body cool off from the rise in temperature. When we sweat, it has to come out somewhere, so it comes out of our pores. Pores are located all over our bodies, even in our heads. When we sweat, our pores open up and unclogs. So when we exercise, we sweat and our pores open up and push out salt and other things contained in our bodies. In the process of pushing these items out of our bodies, sweat also pushes out our hair follicles, which constitutes hair growth. 

If I was to conduct the experiment above, I would observe 6 people using the following recommendations:

1. Observe 6 people from different racial groups (Two African-Americans, two Caucasians, and two Asians) 
2. Subjects will participate in the big chop (BC) or go bald
3. All subjects' hair will remain in its natural or naturally curly state (No chemical relaxers or perms)
4. All subjects should work out at at least three times a week for 30 minutes each time 
5. Observer will evaluate hair growth once a month
6. Observer will evaluate hair for six months to one year

Who knows, this hypothesis may become a real experiment soon.

Natural Hair Expo at Juneteenth Ohio

Are you in the know when it comes to natural hair care? Well you can be in the know with other natural hair enthusiasts at the Natural Hair Expo at Juneteenth Ohio. If you missed the National Natural Hair Meetup Day in Columbus on May 17, 2013, you definitely do not want to miss this event. The expo will include the natural hair journey for women, holistic health and meditation training, hair and skin nutrition, training fitness, and more.

Let's get natural!

Naturally Me!

Are you a natural girl in an almost natural world? Well, I definitely am. I have been natural for almost four years now. It will be four years this July. My desire to be natural started in my undergraduate work at Otterbein University. I was a little nervous because I did not know what to expect, how I would do my hair, or whether or not I would like it. Needless to say, I went natural for about two months and then reverted back to getting a relaxer. My undergraduate years provided great insight for me to test out whether or not I wanted to be natural.

My journey to be natural started again in 2009. I told myself that I wanted to get to know my hair a little better and try new styles. I knew there was more to my hair than the negative things I had heard about naturally curly and kinky hair. Well, I was right. I found out that my hair has a natural curl pattern that is amplified with certain products and techniques. I identified that straightening my hair or wearing my hair curly requires me to use different techniques and different hair products. I also found out that my hair may be different than other natural hair gurus. The photos above showcase my natural hair techniques used within the last couple of years.    

Great website for natural hair

Hello everyone!

Hope you have been doing great. Today I was on Pinterest.com and found a great blog on natural hair. I am all about linking you to other natural hair bloggers and practitioners. Check out Naturally Obsessed.

A Naturally Curly Girlie

So recently,

I have been wearing the naturally curly look, also known as a wash and go look. The look is very easy to complete. I am very hands on with my hair, which you will notice in the steps below.

Steps:

1. Water Down. Place your head under your shower head for about 5 to 10 minutes. Make sure you run your fingers through your hair to make sure every inch of your hair is wet. Your hair should become very curly when it is time to move on to the next step.

2. Condition. Use a conditioner (Garnier Fructis: Sleek & Shine) to condition your hair. You will not need to use shampoo every time you wash your hair, especially if you wash your hair daily. Shampoo is great to use when you are straightening out your hair. When you want to wear a curly look, a conditioner will suffice.

3. Scalp Massage. Make sure you are very active in conditioning your hair. This means that you will have to use your fingers a lot. The best way I can describe this method is by giving yourself a scalp massage.

4. Let Stand. Let the conditioner stay in your hair for about 5 to 10 minutes after you have deeply massaged your scalp.

5. Profound Curls. Before completely washing out your hair, run some water over your fingers and give yourself another scalp massage. You will move your hands back and forth from the water to your head at least five times. This techniques brings out your curls even more and gives you profound curls.

6. Dip Dry. Use a towel to catch the water that drips from your hair, but do not dry with the towel. This allows your hair to be wet enough for the next product you will put in your hair.

7. Styling Gel. Use an alcohol free styling gel (Eco Styler Styling Gel). Finger part your hair into four sections. Apply a medium sized amount of gel to your hands and rub together. Make sure gel is also applied to the insides of your fingers. Now apply the gel to each section. Right now, you are just doing a quick application because you want to make sure each section of some gel on it. You will now start in the first section by finger-parting smaller portions of the section and applying some more gel to the section. Continue this process until you have moved through all four sections of your hair.

8. Gel It Down. This is great for those you want the front portion of their hair to lay down. You can definitely use a brush or comb for this portion; however I have chosen not to because I am more hands on with my hair. Take a hair scarf and tie the scarf around the front and back part of your head. The middle portion of your hair will be exposed and can air dry.

These helpful tips can definitely be modified to your own preferences. Try this hair style out and let me know what you think about it.