Cultured in Media

Today is June 29th, a Sunday, so i did not do anything to my hair as of yet except washed, deep conditioned, conditioned, and oiled my scalp because it was severely dry that I had no choice. Now I am sitting here with big hair that is thrown back into a ponytail, and no idea what to do with it. (See image below) Any help anyone? Times like these are what leads me to flat ironing. Sigh. I know, I know, I am still sticking to the "No (Summer) Heat Challenge." I pray this brings me some growth, retention, and thickness to these strands. Now I am stuck as to what to do with my hair for this week. I really love the results that I got by wearing two buns overnight. The pictures below are all no heat styled curls. So what should I do with my hair for tomorrow at least? Should I bun it? Braid out? Twist out? Bun-out? Bantu Knot out? What? I do know that I am not doing a Wash N Go, because it just like "Oh Hell No" every time I try it. I t...

I had to come and blog about this. I know this whole "black hair care" thing has been a topic for the past few years and is increasing in popularity for the whole "natural" phenomenon, but every since I had been on this "journey," there have even been men who have been complimenting my hair. Last summer, I was walking to the corner bodega when this guy out of nowhere was like "I love a black women with long flowing hair." LOL  That simple comment made me feel as if I finally graduated in the hair academy. Yaaay me! This brings me to something that happened last night. Again, I had to run out to the bodega to grab some cranberry juice. I hate going outside when my hair is not done. Those are the times I always seem to run into someone that I know, in which I have not seen in forever, ugh! So I had used some oil, and a profectiv product, then put two braids in my hair, then continued on to the store. As I am standing in line, there was two men st...

This woman is RIH -diculously gorgeous. From hair, to make-up, to her humble personality, to her style, Rihanna has it all on lock.  This summer, via her instagram, I noticed she is rockin' her natural (assumed) hair texture which makes her face stand out even more. She looks so young with her hair worn in this manner. I just had to drop a post about one of the baddest (IMO).  Take a look at her changes in hair over the years. 

As you know, I am currently writing an urban fiction novel entitled Broken Pieces.  Being in this field, I have met and talked with a lot of other authors. But one in general stood out to me - Joy Deja King. I read her books years ago. Started off with the Bitch Series  and so on. Anyway, I started to notice that is was the same woman on every single book. Curious to say, I dug and found out that in fact it was Deja King herself. The first thing I noticed about her was her  beautiful hair. This is before I was into the whole "is she natural or relaxed" craze. But now discovering that she just pretty much "let's her hair go" meaning leaves it alone, I am in love with it even more. Check out these pics and also check out her books. She also writes under the synonym Joy King. Also, she has a mixtape out as well. <iframe src="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?t=scarhairobse-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=0984332510&ref=tf_til&...

I never came back to upload the rest of the pictures. So here you go. Enjoy this quick and easy style. If you are lost as to what I am referring to, check this post .

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.

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 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

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 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...

I AM STILL AIMING FOR WAIST LENGTH BY THE END OF THE YEAR.

Very simple style that you can do with a single braid, or you can have two separage braids. Just swirl the tail end into a curly bun, continue to pin under. I would give you my version of it as well but remember I'm in box braids, therefore I am unable to show you. Or for a more tighter version, try the one below

We all remember her as Fancy on the Jamie Foxx show. I remember her because of her beauty. She always just had beautiful skin to me that I always wished I had. You know, that flawless clear skin. Well did you also know that she is Haitian? Of course you did. Anyway, I always loved her braidouts/twistouts. I tried to find her hair-care regimen and I mean I tried hard but for some reason, she doesn't really talk about her hair practices. Go figure. However, I did find a couple of picture of supposedly her "naked hair." Garcelle Beauvais seems to have relaxed hair, I could be mistaken but I doubt it. And it also appears her natural texture (judging from the images of her needing a bad touch-up), she seems to fall right into a type 4b. Either way, her hair stays gorgeous with extensions or without.