Link of the Day - Franchesca's Updo

Updo style by Franchesca! Her inspiration for this style is singer Janelle Monae. Makes me wish my hair was a little bit shorter... I would try this style myself. Here is the video tutorial for this style -

Color Correction Tip from Nerissa

Model Nerissa Irving did a YouTube video talking about how she washes her hair. It is a two part video. I can't link the first video, because there is a shower scene... lol.  But above are a few screen shots of of the first and second video. Before Nerissa washes her hair, she does a color check/correction. She looks for any spots where there may be sun damage or embedded lint.  She then uses Bigen to color correct those spots.  I can link part two of the video where she shows how she moisturizes her hair and creates her big curls -

Thanks Nerissa!  I also did a blog a while back on an alternative color spot correction here.

Awesome Bloggers - Mop Top Maven!

I am always excited when I discover a new blog that is full of great information, tips, natural beauty and more. This month, I want to highlight Mop Top Maven. Not only is she and her hair gorgeous! But she also have recipes, great information, YouTube tutorials and gorgeous pictures on her site. Her blog will be added to my Favorites as of now!

The Mop Top Maven
Mop Top Maven - You Tube
Facebook

Regular Braid Out Tutorial

Flexi Rod Tutorial - Part 2

See Part 1 Here.

Goapele's Hair: Style How-To from Black Voices

(Image above from Kontrol Magazine)

See below for a great article and Style how-to video from Black Voices.

I Want Her Hair: Goapele!
By Aisha I. Jefferson on Nov 29th 2010 12:00PM
 
"Once known for donning waist-skimming locs, Goapele is turning heads with a cornrow-design updo that is truly a work of art.

For those who may remember, on first sight Goapele's natural coiffure is a throwback to the chic braided styles that actress Cicely Tyson wore in '70s. But Goapele, whose father is South African, says the hair creations worn by the late South African singer Miriam Makeba married with styles typically worn on straighter hair served as inspirations for the look seen above -- think the bouffant hairstyles of the '50s or the teased and overly hair-sprayed 'dos of the '80s.


Although the look doesn't have a formal name, it's an artistic conception. "I like to kind of mimic styles you would do with straight hair because it looks so different when you do it with natural hair," says Goapele, who cut her hair four years ago into a short, cropped cut. "It's a way for me to keep things fun and interesting for me now that I've moved on from the locs. And it's a way for me to keep my braids unique."

The Oakland native, who received a lot of attention when she wore her hair locked, is now receiving much of the same type of notoriety for this hairstyle, which takes about nine hours to complete and another two or three hours to wrap. "The braids are so small. And she's patient and so steady," says hairstylist Anana Scott about the timely process.

If sitting for nine hours sounds challenging, Scott says bear in mind that the amount of time is relative and "depends on the thickness of the hair, the width, and sometimes length of the braids and how elaborate the style."

Goapele usually wears the updo for two to three weeks (she doesn't like for it to get fuzzy) and uses a dry shampoo like Organic Root Stimulator Herbal Cleanse ($6.39,Sallybeauty.com) to wash her scalp. She then wraps her hair at night with a silk scarf and moisturizes with Organic Root Stimulator Shea Butter Moisturizing Lotion ($8.29, Sallybeauty.com) or a Carol's Daughter Tui hair oil ($8.50, Carolsdaughter.com).

"As for thread wraps, the design is taut– but not unbearable. It will last through washing, swimming, etcetera, but make sure for both braids and wraps that you keep the scalp moist with light oil after washing," Scott advises. How does it affect the edges? As a way to preserve her edges and avoid any scalp stress, Goapele sports two-strand twists in between getting this style. " I really like for the edges of my hair to get a break for about one and a half to two weeks," she says.

Thread-wrapping isn't a new style for Goapele, however. Scott used to style and thread-wrap the singer's hair when she was a little girl. And even though Scott learned this technique from her Mississippi-bred grandmother, who used do a similar wrap style with women's hair decades ago, she says it's a technique that definitely has its roots in Africa.

"I am glad to say not all of the culture was stripped from us during the dark years!" Scott says.

Watch the how-to video to see how Scott creates this look on Goapele."

~ Source

Here are a few more images of Goaple rocking this unique braided style.

Loc Tutorial - Nautilus inspired updo

Franchesca Ramsey  inspired the latest link of the day. Now I have to update the post with the tutorial video that Franchesca recently posted. Take look! This style can actually be achieved with loc's, kinky hair and curly. Love the style. Perfect for the holidays!

Taren - Curly Hair Inspiration

Beautiful photos from Taran. She has her own website, called Areyaa, and also has hair styling tip video's on youtube. To see more of Taran, check out the links below and click on read more to hear about her natural hair story.

To see more of Areyaa, go to:
Website:   Areyaa.com
Youtube:  Taren916
Email:     Taren.Areyaa@gmail.com

And click read more below, to read about Areyaa....

"Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY growing up as a biracial child, I always had HAIR issues.. My Swedish grandmother who raised me didn’t know the first thing about caring for my type of hair.. At the age of 13, both of us agreed and I was happy to get my first relaxer to make things “easier” for the both of us..

Fast forward to my adult years, At the age of 21, I started seeing more and more beautiful NATURALS around me and I actually WISHED my hair was like theirs and it triggered a memory of me remembering “Oh! My hair IS like that naturally!” This was my lightbulb moment and I decided from that day, sometime in 2003, I decided not to relax my hair anymore cause I wanted my “curl” to come back..

WHAT A MESS!
 Back then, there was no YouTube and no one really talked about natural hair for me to actually start doing any type of research on it in the first place.. So when I made this decision, I was very ignorant of the TRANSITION process.. I even say now, if I was aware of the BIG CHOP.. I definitely would have been bold enough to do it.. But in my mind.. I thought that frequent wetting would magically get my curls back..Lol.. I mean, I was soooo ignorant about my haircare that I remember the very first time I tried to get my curl.. My regimen was shampoo of course… NO CONDTIONER! ( I know.. It’s crazy.. I was that bad that I didn’t understand the importance of condtioner)…. Took my blow dryer with no attachment (free nozzle) and just went wild and crazy with my SHAMPOOED ONLY HAIR!… What a nightmare that was as you can only imagine!! BUT.. I thought this was the way to do it and I actually went to work like that thinking I had achieved my natural look.. Lets just say it was an interesting day :-)

NATURAL BY ACCIDENT…
 From that point on, frustration got the best of me and I gave up… Didn’t give into relaxing.. Thanks goodness… But I gave into straightening.. I had no clue that I was doing it all wrong.. Didn’t know there were “tricks for transitioning” that I could’ve used ie: twist outs, rod sets etc…. So I would always get dominican roller sets and sometimes flat ironing.. About a year later, I decided randomly to wet my hair and just let it airdry…. What do you know! My hair was CURLY!!! :-)  So by accident, I tripped and stumbled upon my natural curls (already making the decision prior to just give up)… But I had completed my transition faze without even realizing that I was going through this process of GOING NATURAL..

CURL RELIEF…..
So finally I started getting the hang of my curls and consulted with a friend of mine back then who was natural on what I should do.. She gave me a few recommendations on what products she had used and some application techniques…. But most importantly, she introduced me to the infamous…….. DIFFUSER!!! Yes!! This was my savior! This introduction was the start of me enjoying my curls!

THE DISCOVERY OF YOUTUBE!
For a few years, I was back and forth being straight and being curly.. Then in 2009 I went to YouTube and randomly decided to type in the search bar “biracial hair”…. Back then, that is the title I associated my hair with but I know now that it’s not “biracial hair” … It’s just simply “natural hair”…. Moving along.. This was the biggest moment of my natural hair journey! I was amazed at how much information was given on this subject and I had been glued to YouTube for days! Already trying techniques that were actually working for me immediately!
From that point on, history was in the making for me.. I was inspired to start making my own YouTube videos on June 18, 2009 and never looked back! :-) http://Youtube.com/taren916

I’m just amazed at how much this has been a lifestyle change for me… It feels great finally accepting ME light heartedly…." - Source

Ledisi Inspired Updo

I love this up do by WLCECE on Youtube. They style was inspired by singer Ledisi. See Part 1 and 2 of how this style was created.

Rock'n your TWA (teeny weeny afro)

Video with various style you can create for a TWA -

More TWA Videos  on Youtube

Recipe for a hot TWA (teeny weeny Afro) from Keep it Kinky

"A dash of confidence 
(You must know that you are beautiful just as you are)

One pair of large fashionable earrings  

(An obvious feminine accent)

A nice shade of lipstick"

More photo's on Naturallycurly.com

Wahidah's Product Review & Styling Video

~ Source: www.WahidahFowler.net

Get your curl on!

Another great hair how-to video from Franchesca. Check out the video below to see how you can get this cut style, using simple and inexpensive pipe cleaners.

Styles by Bronze Goddess

BronzeGoddess on YouTube, has tons of great videos, she created, to show loc styles in various cute looks. I originally saw one of her videos on Keep It Kinky, where she showed how to do a cute Loc Bun. Below are a few of her videos, and she also has a lot more on her Youtube page. *(FYI: She also has some makeup tutorials on youtube as well).

Ambrosia's Transitioning Video

Ambrosia created two videos, that showed a cute style that you can do if you are transitioning from from permed hair to natural hair. Naturally Leslie featured Ambrosia's video on her blog, back in July '09.

Lady GaGa Hairbow How-To

Quick and cute loc style from Franchesca!

Video Reponse from Shianna

Good morning! In a recent post, I showed a picture of a style re-created by Shianna. She has also created a how-to video. Take a look -

Two Updo how-to's

Franchesca, aka - Chescaleigh on Youtube, has posted a new hair how-to styling video. I like that she gave two variations, and the styles are quick, easy and cute. Check them out:

Interveiw with Angela + Cute video!

I saw this really great video of Angela (below), doing a creative and cute hair tutorial video - and it came out great. Love the music, personality and the way she put it together. I contacted Angela, and she agreed to do an interview for NBH Blog.

1. What is creativity? Feeling free enough and comfortable enough to go outside of the box. Being innovative and not being unafraid to do something different to make a statement.
   
2. How do you express yourself through art? I express myself through crocheting mostly. I paint and draw occasionally too.
3. How long have you been Natural? I have been proudly sporting locs for two years as of June 8th 2009!
   
4. What's been the low and highs of your natural journey with loc'd hair? The abs worst thing about having dreads was the 1st 7 or 8 months when they were new. Maintaining them and babying them for that long was a pain, but it was well worth it after! The best part about them are they are beautiful, and fun. AND they're the easiest hair i've ever had! (minus the 1st several months). - :D♥OH

Curly hair products from Miss Jessie

Has any one tried Miss Jessie's Products? If so, let us know what you think.