Cultured in Media

I got tired of having my hair brown, so I decided to do something about it. I went out and bought hair dye (home kit) and went to work. Here is the tutorial on the process. SAME PROCEDURE IS DONE FOR BOTH RELAXED AND NATURAL HAIR. BEFORE YOUR COLOR, MAKE SURE YOUR HAIR IS HEALTHY ENOUGH TO ENDURE THE CHEMICALS IN THE DYE. IF NEEDED, GIVE YOURSELF A PROTEIN TREATMENT A WEEK BEFORE COLORING. I DEEP CONDITIONED 2 DAYS BEFORE COLORING AND WILL ALSO DEEP CONDITION A WEEK AFTER THE COLOR. MAKE SURE YOUR HAIR STAYS MOISTURIZED AFTER COLORING TO AVOID BREAKAGE. FOLLOW MY BLOG FOR MORE HAIR TIPS: SCARYHAIROBSESSION.BLOGSPOT.COM THANK YOU

Wait no longer, the secrets (not really a secret), the inside scoop to get you the hair you always dreamed of. Just because you have relaxed/permed hair does not mean you cannot achieve your goal of having the length you desire. Read my article on how to achieve this in no time.  Achieving long relaxed hair

CELEBRITY FEATURE OF THE WEEK: JANELLE MONAE Bad Boy Records has a new artist and this artist brought along a new look to the music industry. With her signature “tux” suit and her 1950s themed hair style, Janelle Monae has become a natural hair inspiration to many....( Click here to continue reading her natural hair story )

I wrote an article on the meaning, the cause and the cure for scab hair. Read about it here: Scab Hair, The Meaning, The Cause, and The Cure

Photo courtesy of thehairfiles.com, click photo to enlarge image Length checking is a way to measure the length of your hair. Length checking is a way to track your hair journey, your progress in other words. The average hair growth is about six inches per year, some achieve more, some achieve slightly less than the average, but the way to track that is by length checking. Keep in mind that length checking is just checking the growth that you have RETAINED, not the actual GROWTH accumulated between progress checks.  Click to enlarge hair chart Before I tell you how to do a proper length check, let's look at how each length looks at the levels of growth. I'm not for sure what this length would be called but I'm going to just call it above ear length (AEL): EAR LENGTH (EL): Hair touches the ear in this stage. NECK LENGTH (NL): Hair is now past the EL stage and is touching the base of the neck. NL varies due to body composition. Some people have nec

Unfortunately, I was unable to continue the CG challenge due to hair breakage. I noticed a lot of breakage in the middle of my head where I would normally pin the hair back during this challenge. Okay, I can't totally blame it on the CG challenge because this has always been a sensitive area for as far as I can remember. Plenty of times I had to cut this section. It can be one of three reasons: The flat iron is sectioned off there The way my hair is wrapped at night on that section When I pin my hair back, it is always around that section I am determined to figure out the reason. So I flat ironed my hair and trimmed that section. I will now flat iron every two weeks like in the past. Now this time when I flat iron, I will NOT section it off down the middle and across the side, instead, I will section it off in a total of six pieces. I am also going to up my oil rinses and deep conditioning. Last but not least, I will not wrap my hair in a bee-hive, I will wear it in a

For those of you wondering if this is all of Brooke Bailey's hair.....I can let all of the inquiring minds know that YES, this is indeed her real hair, and not only is this her real hair, she is also natural.  She was asked on twitter if she perms or presses her hair out with a hot comb. She had responded by saying @brookebaileyinc LOL ...  I don't perm or press my hair. In this pic I washed it and let it air dry.  It seems as if she always had beautiful hair. Her hair is absolutely gorgeous and looks very healthy. Her natural haircare line (in which she uses for her hair) will be launched shortly. I guess I may have to give it a try. Considering how shiny her hair looks, it can't be that bad. (Click to enlarge images)

I recently got asked what my transitioning regimen was like and although I transitioned for exactly 17 months, I didn't have an exact format that I followed directly. I basically was doing a trial and error method, where I had to find what worked for me instead of doing what worked for someone else. Jumping onto band wagons and spending a considerable amount of money on products every different "what's hot" item, just wasn't working for me.  I had tried growth aids, hundreds of shampoos and conditioners, different hairstyles every other day, weaves, and everything else you can think of. What I learned about doing all of that was that I was doing much more damage than originally.   I did the bunning thing for a while and noticed that it was breaking my hair. Some have success with bunning but I was one of those who did not. I had to cut several inches off to get it back to health because it was growing in thin, plus breaking at the end. What did work for

Have e job interview? Or do you just need to maintain a "professional" appearance at work? I collected a few options to keep you from growing bored with your hair and look great at work. Something to enhance your appearance. Did you know that certain hairstyles you wear to work are someone's first impression of you. Say if you come into work looking like any of the images below do you really think people will take you serious? I mean come on, instead of listening to you, the focus is going to be on your messed up, ugly hairstyle. Picture your doctor entering your room, or attorney walking into the courtroom with these styles. If I was the client, I would request all fees be paid for the humiliation of being represented by such craziness. So let's see some styles that do make you look good.  For the interview: For the naturals who do not wish to straighten:  For the ladies with short hair. These look great for interviews or the first day on the

Although I do not use leave-in conditioners regularly, I do have a few in the stash just in case I wear a wash and go that I don't feel like re-wetting. Instead I will wet the already outdated wash-n-go, then apply the leave-on conditioner. It keeps the old wash-n-go manageable, soft, and moisturized. It also gives my curls a more defined look.  Leave-in conditioners are exactly that – conditioners that are left in and are NOT washed out of the hair. Most of the leave-in conditioners are designed to be absorbed by the hair and are formulated as lightweight creams or lotions, or as liquids which can be sprayed onto the hair. I personally have not tried the liquid leave-in but have experience with the lotions and creams. I love both of those because it feels as if it is coating my strands better. These spray-on conditioners offer the benefit of being able to target the portions of the hair that need the most extra conditioning/protection – (example: the ends of the hair, the top of

Well, last time that I straightened my hair was 9/23/12. I officially started the CGC on 10/1/12. Still co-washing every two days, or as needed to give me whatever look I'm going for. The styles lately have been kind of scarce. I mean, I don't want to wet my hair every day, and I don't just want to wear it just hanging loosely, but also at the same time, want to just "let it do it's thang." So far my hair has been extremely soft. Very manageable despite it's appearance. I decided to give you a glimpse as to how it is doing and the looks I have been wearing and also a slight length check (again). Until next time...

Did you ever consider wearing weaves or wigs to grow out your hair. Whether you are transitioning, natural, or relaxed, I've encountered several people who use weaves, braids, or wigs to less manipulate their own strands. By the way, when I say wearing weaves, I mean non-glue weaves. One of the many people who come to mind while transitioning to natural is Reniece. The hair infamous hair stylist who helps her clients retain length and health through her weaving services. She went from broken and relaxed, to past waist length natural within four years. And not just length, but health of the hair was also phenomenal. Check out her other clients that she has helped.  Not only here, but several others have also had success with this method during their transitioning. Honestly, I tried this method in the past, but was unable to stay on that path. I like to feel my real hair and change it every other day or so, so this method did not work for me. Main thing in whatever you decid

Well the time has come, I am doing my own form of the curly girl challenge for this month as promised. Since it is October 1st, what better time to begin than now. Yesterday, I washed, deep conditioned hair and wrapped it up while it was still wet. I didn't wrap it as you would a wrap, but just stuffed the hair into my bonnet and left it over night. Believe it or not, it gives off a scrunchy, curly look and also keeps the hair soft. I don't have a set regimen for this challenge, but I do know that I will co-wash every two days with a moisture -rich conditioner. Wrap hair nightly with the bonnet to maintain my curls over night. In the morning (if needed), use a spray bottle with a mixture of water, conditioner, and some oil to give me the desired look I am seeking. Every other day, use my homemade growth oil mixture to oil my scalp. And lastly, run a quarter size amount of oil through my hair before wrapping it up. Simple.  I took a pledge to myself, not to straig