Cultured in Media

In all of my years on this Earth, I have not discovered as much beautiful hair as I have seen on instagram. I mean there are some naturally and even relaxed beautiful black women with the most gorgeous manes. I mean manes that will have you literally drooling. I thought it would be cool to show some pictures. This week I want to show EnvyMe_Mary . This beauty just happens to be a hairstylist with Aveda Institute. Our black is beautiful. Even if it is mixed with other blends. EnvyMe_mary says to be  African-American, German, Cherokee, and Russian.  What is amazing is, the products that she uses are not some high-end ordered from offline stuff, but products that you find in your local beauty supply stores. I spotted for this summer she is using Mane & Tail products as well as Shea butter leave-in conditioner repair cream. Follow her instagram for more pictures and inspiration.

"You can say I'm plain Jane, but it's not the same I ain't in to big names, but I like nice things I watch boxing matches and uh football games  I wouldn't mind being an actress, but I love to sing  I like going out, talking walks and stuff I don't round that many girls cause they talk too much..." We all know the beautiful girl back in the day with Wyclef Jean's R&B group, City High. Well that beautiful girl is now a gorgeous woman. Claudette Ortiz and her hair are absolutely flawless. Those curls, that clear skin, again, those curls....Wait are you watching R&B divas btw? Well, if you aren't, you  may want to tune in.  This Afro (of Puerto Rican Descent) beauty was blessed with gorgeoud curls that just blossom into the most beautiful, natural "twist out" like style. If I could only get my hair to that level. Sigh* It appears as though she really don't do anything special except wash and go. I guess t...

This week's hairstyle will be a simple braids (cornrows) to the side with a portion of "bang" area left out for either twists or a twist out. I haven't decided if I was going to take the twists out for tomorrow or wait until mid week so the curls will be tighter. Personally, I don't look right with the twist.  I'm still in the "no heat" challenge so this is helping me cope without straightening. I will use my one heat pass for when I go away on vacation on August 2nd, but I am trying to think of an alternate style to wear away so I can be purely heat free for the summer. 

As I'm prepping my hair for a protective style for this week, I decided to do a quick length check without heat (meaning the basic "pull-down - stretch" method). Even after a trip back in May, my hair is back to the same length. I am still aiming for WL by the end of this year. Wish me luck/blessings =) I will do a REAL length check at the end of summer. Most likely around Labor Day. Today's length check on stretch (no heat) hair.

I have been noticing a trend lately. Maybe I'm late, but I noticed women are rocking scarves as some sort of hair-do. And funny thing is, a lot of other races are doing the same exact thing. I'm not talking about those do-be scarves women wear when they are just wrapping up their hair. I'm talking about the kind you create your own hairstyle with. Not those back in the days banana scarf over the hair kind of do. Who didn't do those? Flash back: I see nothing wrong with it as long as you are not coming out side in dirty pajamas, flip flops, rollers under neath the scarf, and crust on the side of your mouth (yuck). Point is, I find them kind of cute and stylish. So if you are looking for a "quick-fix" or a protective style, try to get an old scarf, wrap up your hair in some sort of updo, then create the scarf around that. Done! .

I FAILED. I must take these box braids down tonight. As in RIGHT NOW. I miss my hair. I'm tired of looking ragged. And generally, I am bored. On top of everything else, we are in the middle of a freakin' heat wave. Come on! After I take down, I plan on Deep Conditioning and either wearing a wash-n-go or a bun. Either way, I will feel much better. So much for lasting a month right? At least I am continuing the "No Heat" challenge. So don't shake your head too much at me. ETA: I finally took down these braids after 6hrs of labor. Wow. You do not know how relieved I am. This 100+ weather in Brooklyn is too much. That + no AC is  a no-go. I am about to DC overnight, then wear a wash-n-go for work tomorrow. I will gladly take pics. Ciao

I'm beyond bored with these box braids. You already know how I get bored with my hair easily, so imagine having these braids in. Yea. Sucks. I'm trying my hardest to maintain until the end of the month. That will make four weeks of these braids. My hair is growing quickly. Already I have new growth that is killing me just to look at. (images below)  So pretty much I have been keeping it in a loose bun. Now to help me get over this hump/funk I'm in with styling options on loose braids, I went to youtube for some ideas.  I found a few styles I am going to give a try. I will post pictures of course as I do them. For now, I will go off and sulk in my own braided misery. 

Personally, it is too hot to be wearing all this added hair in the summer. With my natural BSL hair, I find it easy to just wash-n-go with a bun tuck, or a french braid down the middle. I even just rock a high banana clip so my hair will not bother me. Usually I wear my personalized "spanish" bun when I'm tired. I mean I literally get so tired of this hair that I am so tempted to grab the scissors and cut it all off. But that would be stupid. So as of this summer, I find it simple to just wear box braids up into a high ponytail. That way my hair is still protected (with moisture rituals, and conditioning treatments) as well as not bothering me in this heat. If you are one who is not into wearing box braids, and such, try going for the all natural wash-n-go look: Credit: Essence.com or a high bun credit:  easynaturalhair.com or try styles using banana clips. These are a few I have that have kept me cool during the heat Regardless ...

I'm far from style challenged. My problem is I get bored with the same styles. Usually, I find a few styles I do, do not go with my face to kindly. With strong African features, I had to find what really looked right to me. Well It has been two weeks since I got these box braids in that I did myself. As I stated, I am going to keep them in for this entire month of July. Hopefully, this will give me that extra inch closer to waist length that I need. Last length check I did was back in May. I stopped using heat in June. In box braids until August. Man, I can't wait to see what the next length check has in store for me. Surprise galore, I'm sure. Anyway, here are a few pics of styles I have work with these braids. These are after my first wash, and conditioning treatment

Say whatever you want, but it is my hair. =) I know I play around in it too much but I can't help this serious obsession I have with my love. I decided that after I take down these box braids, that I will NOT be getting a weave. I want to feel my hair, make love to my hair with my hands. Filth, I know. As bad as I want to protective style, I miss my hair. Maybe as the date gets nearer, I will change my mind (again) but as of right now, I miss my hair. =( (Next post will be the way I have been wearing my box braids)

Was back in May. I also trimmed in June do to too many splits from much manipulation. I am so excited to see how much healthier and growth maintained since this no heat/protective style summer challenge started. Next length check will be at the end of this month after I take the box braids down and before the weave install. This is after a trim. May 03, 2013

I honestly do not recall telling you all that I will not be using heat this summer. The last time that I used heat was June 3rd for my beautiful cousins graduation ceremony. For the past month of June, I basically did wash and gos, braidouts, or a twist and bun. I got so tired of this head full of hair at one point, I decided to cut it all off. Luckily I didn't. So July 1st, I put box braids in for this month. Now you know how I get impatient, and bored with my hair easily, so my goal is to keep these in for the ENTIRE month. GASP! I hope I last that long, because honestly, as I am typing this, I feel like I had enough and want to do a wash-n-go. Now I have vacation coming up the first weekend of August. Going to the beach baby. Aaah. Fresh air, fresh hair, and fresh weave is what I will be wearing. I plan on getting a sew-in done. self-install to be exact. Now with the install, I plan on keeping it in until the first week of September. I am just in a hurry to see how much my o...

Yes, it is I. It has been so long. I finally got my laptop back this past Saturday the sixth. And I had to take time to give it love. As you recall, my laptop had a little injury that required immediate attention, okay, well not a serious issue but I could not type with the keyboard.  Now that I am back, look forward to more posts. I had other means of making posts, but let's be real, who feels like typing through a cell or through an IPOD all the time? I like the type and go of a keyboard. That issue alone prevented me from posting. Also, I am working full time now since school has been out. This semester starts on August 28th, so between classes, and work, plus working out, I will try to post as much as possible to make up for lost time. Thank you for the emails and the facebook links. I look forward to posting starting tonight. Any questions/comments/suggestions are greatly appreciated. Email: Ijaneisworld@gmail.com