Chronicles of a Natural Apostolic: DO NOT cut your hair, I repeat, PLEASE don't do it

Sometimes I tend to forget the many struggles I encountered when I was transitioning...

I remember being extremely discouraged and upset over my hair. I wanted my relaxer to grow out, I wanted natural hair, but all the while my hair was breaking and thinning. It seemed impossible that I would ever achieve the thick, healthy locs that I saw so many other naturals wearing. There were people close to me that went natural too, but none of them did a full transition without big chopping or trimming their hair. But every time I so much as thought to pick up the scissors it was as it something within me was screaming... Kendra please, DO NOT cut your hair, I repeat PLEASE don't do it!

First of all, it is a MYTH that your hair will not grow if you choose not to cut it or trim it. I am a living witness along with many other women. I did not cut my hair, I did not trim my hair, I left it alone and took care of it. Yes my hair went through a stage where it was very dry. Yes my hair went through a stage where it was breaking and thinning. Yes my hair went through a stage where I never thought it would be healthy again. But the storm is always worst before it is over. Look at my hair now. That is why, I am asking you, DO NOT cut your hair, I repeat PLEASE don't do it!

We have to learn to look at the BIGGER picture. If you are doing it just to do it, this message isn't for you. But if you are a

ONE GOD,

Apostolic,

Pentecostal,

Holy Ghost Filled,

Tongue Talker,

Baptized in Jesus Name,

Living Holy and Separated from the World,

You cannot AFFORD to cut your hair. Is it worth losing the power of angels? Is it worth losing authority in prayer? Is it worth losing your identity as an apostolic woman? We are known for uncut hair because it is what the bible teaches. My sister in love Courtney told me a story about a lady in her church,

Her son was trying so hard Sunday after Sunday to get the Holy Ghost. For some reason he could not pray through. Finally one Sunday she took her hair and laid it on her son. She began to remind God of the power that she had because her hair was uncut, and you know what happened almost instantly? Her son received the Holy Ghost!!!

What is that was your son? Does God come on the scene immediately for you? Do you want him to?

I know personally of apostolic women who gave in and cut their hair. As a result, they were miserable, depressed and regreted ever going it. You undergo a major spiritual catastrophe by cutting your hair. You will not receive the same results in prayer. You will not have the same anointing you once possessed. Uncut hair is serious business. OH GOD give us revelation and understanding!
Sister, DO NOT cut your hair, I repeat PLEASE don't do it!


Consider this: why is it that when a woman backslides, the first thing she does is cut her hair?? The devil knows that we carry the glory of God upon our uncut hair. The devil knows that there is POWER in our hair. We have a distinct anointing when we have uncut hair. I remember the first time I walked into a Pentecostal church where the ladies had uncut hair, you could FEEL the difference in anointing on the women! There was something about them that was so beautiful, holy and radiant. They almost looked like angels to me (that is no exaggeration).

I remember my immediate thought was that I wanted to be like them. And now I am like them! I wouldn't trade it for the world and neither should you.

Its time to bring EVERY thought into captivity! God touch our minds and show us truth. We need revelation in these last days.

"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; "

 (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)

Chronicles of a Natural Apostolic: My favorite products

What products do I use?

In this post I will explain all of the products that I use and when I use them. There are some products that I only use once a month, once every 2 weeks, once a week or daily. I base the product on the state of my hair.

When I decide whether a product works for me, there are many things I consider. They must be able to:

• Combat a dry and itchy scalp
• Keep my ends moist when they get too dry
• Maintain a good pH balance in my hair
• Detangle my hair with ease
• Contain ingredients that are not damaging to my hair
• Define my curl pattern

In addition, I have learned, and constantly tell others, what works for me may not work for you! You have to find what works for your hair! This is the MOST important thing to keep in mind!!

With that said, I will list my favorite products categorically.

Shampoo, Conditioner and Clarifier

I have two types of shampoo and conditioner that I alternate with. Nourish Spa by Trader Joes and Tea Tree Tingle also by Trader Joes. Nourish Spa is made with organic ingredients and it does contain parabens. (I do not find these to be bad, despite must controversy and debate). Tea Tree Tingle is a certified organic shampoo and conditioner. They are very inexpensive, ranging no more than $5 per bottle. They last me about 3 months! Sometimes more!

To clarify my hair I used apple cider vinegar or white vinegar diluted with water. I generally use 6 parts vinegar to 4 parts water. I like a strong rinse! I use this to help remove product build up and to restore the proper pH balance to my hair.



Nourish Spa found at Trader Joes.



 

Tea Tree Tingle found at Trader Joes



Detangling Mixtures

I have two methods of detangling:

The first method is simple. I do this method right after I wash my hair. So I only do this once a week!

• Garnier Fructis Sleek and Shine Leave in Conditioner OR Herbal Essence None of Your Frizziness Leave in Conditioner to detangle. I smooth a large amount over a section and comb/brush it out with my tangle teezer.

• Once I have detangled, I apply oil to the section to seal in the moisture using Hollywood's Beauty Tea Tree Oil OR Africa's Best Ultimate Herbal Oil

My second method is to maintaining moisture throughout the week. I made a mixture containing:

• Bottled water
• UNCUT hair oil by Christine Carney
• Aloe vera juice
• Leave in conditioner

I put all of this in an empty leave in conditioner bottle. I use this to maintain moisture in my hair throughout the week.

Detangling and Styling Tools

I recently purchased the Tangle Teezer for $10.86 at Sallys. I wanted to know if it was worth the hype or not! And IT IS! This is my new most favorite detangling tool ever. No more combs or brushes needed! It sliced my detangling time down from 45 minutes to 10 minutes. It pulls out less hair and it removes shedded hair with ease. I will be posting a review about this very soon :)

My other styling tools consist of:

• Bobby pins
• Elastic hair ties (with no metal)
• Hair clamps
• Headbands, bows, scarves and clips

Styling Products

I use Eco Styler Gel with olive oil to:

• define my curls
• slick back my hair
• to make my little "jew curls" on my temples
• to make coils

I use Glycerin with water in a spray bottle for twist outs, twists, braids, ANYTHING! It gives me tons of sheen, body and volume. I can't find a picture to show you but you can find it at your local beauty supply!



ANY MORE QUESTIONS?? Feel free to leave comments or send me emails!

Celebrating hair, hair & hair <3

Chronicles of a Natural Apostolic: Natural in Pentecost

Is it easy or difficult being natural in an Apostolic Pentecostal church?

As soon as the decision is made to go natural, the first thing a woman does is start researching like mad! You want to know how to do it, what products to use, etc. Then of course your eyes are open to the ready available hair forums and websites about natural hair. As you read the content of these articles and conversations you begin to see things about the big chop, trimming, henna treatments, etc. It is a bombardment of information contrary to a lot of our beliefs at Pentecostals. So what do you do???
I have heard many varying opinions regarding this question. Allow me to share my personal experience.

I first got into truth the third week of August in 2009 on a Sunday night. I was new to natural hair. I had been transitioning for about 5 months at that time. Because I was having such a hard time with my hair, I had it in a sewn in weave. After the first service I took out my weave and decided to never wear them again. I felt bad that after church everyone thought my hair was so long.

I remember thinking that I didn't want to fake my hair length. I was blown away and inspired by the beautiful hair styles, elegant up-dos, curls, poofs, etc. I was determined to grow my hair out whatever it took!

A few weeks later. I decided to braid my hair with extensions. We are all programmed to automatically revert to (a) braids (b) kinky twists or (c) a sewn in weave to "grow" our hair. In went the braids...

After a week of itching, frizz and not being happy with fake hair. Out went the braids.

I later found out that my pastor is against any type of fake hair. So good job Kendra :) But then I had to learn to adapt to MY hair. I was in a rut because I wanted neat and well groomed hair. However, most black women only achieved that by straightening their hair which I didn't want to do all the time. In addition, I wanted my hair to grow so I knew I had to do protective styling.

So HOW did I learn to adapt and cope??

I have learned several things:
1. I cannot go to every website about natural hair.
I learned early on that many natural sites were more detrimental than helpful because there was so much pressure to cut, trim or "dust" my ends. *screeching halt* lol. So now, my only purpose for visiting a natural hair website, blog, forums etc is for informational purposes. I look for hair growth techniques, detangling techniques, product reviews, and such information. But I am not concerned with henna, cutting and trimming as well as finding a way to spend more time on my hair. I just need to basics to take care of my hair and provide information to all of you beautiful ladies. Be careful what websites you visit.

2. I will not get addicted to forums and websites.

In the beginning this was a snare for me. I spent hours upon hours on my hair. I am just recently learning that it doesn't take all of that!!! Hours upon hours wasted watching youtube videos, chatting on forums, reading natural hair journeys, etc. This is a huge problem! Natural hair becomes a time stealer and an obsession. That is not the will of God for His people. Again, I was very guilty of this for quite some time.

We should commit more time to the things of God than to anything else. Many of us have jobs, careers, full time school, children or perhaps all of the above. Lets be mindful about how much time we put into natural hair. I am the author of this blog and you will only see 2-4 posts every week from me. This is because my life doesn't revolve around the Internet and blogging anymore. I love you all to pieces but I do have lots of other things to do lol

3. I will not be concerned with the latest hairstyles.
I just want to reinterate that while we are in this world, we are not in this world. I don't want to look like everyone else. There are certain styles that I will do but that are many styles I will not do. I identify with the church of the living God, not with the world.( I will talk more about that on the next point). Again, be careful even how you do your hair. Here is why: you want people to look at you and SEE a difference. Everything about us is different. We dress different, we do our hair different, we talk different, we even walk different! The initial part of letting your light shine starts with your appearance.

4. I will not make my hair an idol.

It took me a while to come t the conclusion that I don't "identify" with the natural community. I identify with the church of the living God! This is what I have learned to identify with. Identity is everything! I am proud of my natural hair! But I have noticed that many naturals hold their hair in such a high esteem, spend hundrends of dollars on products, spend hours on forums, ALL that time wasted over hair? No my hair isn't my idol. It is my glory :) so yes I care about it but not to the extent that it is an idol. I had to learn to check myself and make sure I wasn't glorifying my hair more than God. Sounds extreme but it happens to many women. In essence, natural hair literally becomes a religion because it is a belief system!

I have read MANY naturals refer to their hair as their glory. We know this to be a true statement. However, their definition of glory is not our definition. We say our hair is our glory because this is what God calls it. What they are saying is that their hair is their god. An idol is: an inanimate or animate object/material that is worshipped or praised in the place of the only true and living God.  Hair can become an idol! We walk a thin line and we must be mindful. There is a tactic of the enemy to take things God considers beautiful and taint them. When we have uncut hair, take time to care for it and allow it to grow, it is an act of worship. Yet when we come obsessed, we are worshipping the creation more than the creator. Our hair is not our god.

5. I found what worked for me.
I am working with my hair and learning my hair every day! It is exciting to me to have natural and healthy hair :) With that it is also exciting to have a good pentecostal look with my natural hair. It is part of our heritage! A part that I am proud of. There is a look that I can identify with as well as many others. Lets celebrate our heritage and be proud of our hair all at once :) A bun with rolls and pin curls is actually a protective style. Now I have adapted my hair to be protected, fully natural, healthy and it has a pentecostal look to it all at the same time!

I challenge you to embrace who you are and love it!
Frizzy hair, untamed hair, thick hair, thin hair, big coils, large coils, who cares, its ALL beautiful!!

Celebrating our heritage :)

Chronicles of a Natural Apostolic: Embracing My Curls

About my curls: I have VERY tight curls. For the most part they are ringlet "S" curls.  Some times it gets frizzy, sometimes it doesn't. It really just depends on how my hair is feeling. I have a lot of hair, but my strands are fine. They aren't thick, therefore I don't have coarse hair. Yes natural hair still be fine :) When I wash my hair I get MAJOR shrinkage. Inches and inches of shrinkage. It barely touches my neck lol. But no matter what the roots are doing, those ends love to curl up!

In this pic: I didn't put any product in my hair. Fresh out the shower in a puff!

Why can it be hard to embrace your curls? There is such thing as curl envy. Sometimes you might feel ashamed of your curls because they don't look like someone elses curls you like. But you can't focus on that. No product will give you a different hair texture or curl pattern. It will only enhance and define what you already have. This is all part of finding what works for you and embracing it!

This was taken December 10'

Don't force your hair to be something it isn't... this is a lesson I am learning in life. It was actually part of the reason why I went natural. Why was I continually altering my hair?! I mean- isn't it pretty enough without anything? Now in my opinion, I am not against wearing your hair straight BUT I am against straightening your hair in an attempt to run away from your natural hair. Your hair is unique and beautiful in its own way!! You might be the only one in the world with the texture you have!



I surely do have my fizzy days. See!! This was December 09'

I used to wonder why my curls would turn out different every time I tried to wear it out... I still don't know the answer to that question! haha. But I just know how to go with the flow better. Like in this pic below, my hair did something very strange- I must have washed a braid out. I don't remember but my curls were extremely defined that day. Natural hair has character and it has a mind of its own. But its FUN when you can learn how to make it work and just dance to the music anyway!

So my best advice to myself is to love what God gave me. Some days it is easier than other days (you know- when you are having those, I know my hair looks bomb days). Those other not so easy days its easy to forget the whole embracing thing. But we have to love what we have!! The more we love it, the more confident we will be and the more confident we are, the more we let our light shine for Jesus through our hair! That's right :)

Celebrating us <3

Chronicles of a Natural Apostolic: Encouragement for Discouragement

I am all about encouraging others to do what is right for their hair, to keep up the good work and to not even consider giving up! Whenever you need an encouraging word, Kendra is there for you! Yet there are times I am speaking encouragement that I am wishing someone would speak to me. For about the past month my hair journey has gotten a bit hard. Straightening my hair was a huge highlight because I was able to see the growth! It was super exciting for me to see how much my hair had grown :) well about two weeks later, discouragement came.

The washing, detangling and protective styling takes sooo much time. I was wishing I could easily put my hair into a bun and call it a day.

I wanted it down my back already! I looove my pentecostal sisters at church, but it started bugging me that my hair was so much shorter. I was wishing I could just have different hair.

Kendra why did you cut your hair in the first place?? When I was in the world I didn't know the truth. I chopped my almost mid back hair into a super short cut. I was wishing I had never ever done that.

If only I had mixed textured hair, straight hair - any other type of hair- life would be so much easier for me concerning my hair. I was wishing the kinks and curls would just disappear. Suddenly relaxed hair began to look appealing for the first time in a very long time.

Now I understand why so many black women give in and resort to weaves, extensions and wigs. Its easier to fit in than to stand out. Is conformity really wrong when it makes you feel more comfortable in your own skin?

-the pressure was really on-

And the biggest of all- God I love natural hair but why did you have to make my hair this texture?

I am being transparent and open to share my thoughts with you because I know these are common battles with having natural hair.

On Thursday night I was preparing myself for bed. I was frustrated because I was exhausted but I had to prep my hair for the next day and tie it up. My husband was in bed waiting patiently for me to finish, as he always does. I threw down my comb and said,

"Why does it take so long for me to do my hair?!"

My husband answered quick without any hestiation,

"Because its so beautiful."

I replied, "what do you mean?"

He explained, "Butterflies are one of the most beautiful yet fragile insects. Did you know that if you touch their wings they can never fly again?"

"No I didn't know that..."

His words touched me. It was as if God spoke through him the answer to all of my frustration.

My hair is beautiful.

My hair is fragile and requires care, because its beautiful.

My hair may not look like everyone elses, but it is still beautiful.

Perhaps if we take the time to care and love our hair we will truly realize, its beautiful.

And when the going gets tough, and at times it will, say these words to yourself,

"Because its beautiful"

Chronicles of a Natural Apostolic: Straight Hair, Please Share!!

It has been 6-8 months since I have straightened my hair last! I was sitting on my hands and waiting for the day. And you know whats funny? After wearing it straight for a week, I couldn't WAIT to get my curls back. Girls, let me tell you! As my friend Geanie said, Your curls have more character. I agree. Not that I'm anti-straight hair, don't get me wrong, I just like my curls better. It was a nice change and it was cool to see how much my hair has grown!

Before I show you the pictures, let me explain how I straightened my hair as well as some other details,

• Wash & Detangle: I washed and detangled it on a Wednesday. After detangling, I braided it in about 10 plaits. I made sure to use extra oil, paying special attention to my ends
• Preparation: I continued to moisturize and I left the plaits in until Saturday morning. I kept my braids covered with a crocheted hat (with my silk bonnet underneath) in order to keep it protected from the cold weather.
• Straightening: I used my brothers girlfriends straightener because I was out of town, but I didn't take the temp over 350 degrees. I took small pieces and slowly straightened my hair. It took about an hour and a half in total
• Maintenance: Just about every night I put my hair in loose bantu knots and covered it with my silk bonnet. If there were any tangles, I gently worked them out with a wide tooth comb. I NEVER used a thin toothed comb. In the shower I just put a shower cap over my silk bonnet
• How did my ends look? FABULOUS! The last time I straightened it, I was somewhat devastated. lol. My ends were so brittle and dry. I was like, greeeat. I will never be able to wear my hair down again. BUT this time, it was amazing! My ends were smooth, moisturized and they looked so good. I was very pleased with them :)
• Did my hair get dry? Slightly but whenever it did I just used my oils before bed and in the morning it was just fine!!
• Did it poof up easily? It was strange because on Sunday morning we shouted the house down soo I was left with a kinda Tina Turner look lol. But midst and a small amount of water didn't really phase it too much. Weird. lol. But no my husband actually mentioned that he was shocked how well it stayed straight.
• Did it revert back to curls easily?  OH YES! As soon as those locks hit the shower, the curls came bouncing back into town. In fact, I had more shrinkage than usual. I don't know what that was about lol.

NOW for the pictures...

Like I said, the straightener wasn't that hot

(I did that on purpose so as not to burn

my hair- you can do that, you know)

So its not BONE STRAIGHT. Anyhow

this is where the longest pieces are falling...

I only wore my hair down TWICE lol

It was so weird having it on my neck.

It was HOT. So yes, my name is Kendra

and I am addicted to protective styling up dos

See told ya.

This is Sun nite after the recital

You can see some of the curly roots

But its not too bad!

This is like day 6.. So its pretty poofy!

But big is great!!

It was 6:15am

I was not happy.

Grrrr.

My 50s inspired up do,

Yay :)

The Day of Reckoning

"WASH DAY"

Well, it was fun while it lasted!!

Feel free to comment with questions!

Celebrating a Season of Loving Naturals <3

Hello there beautiful!

SORRY LADIES!! Last week was the blessed, most stressful, most intense week of the year, FINALS! They greet our household about 3 times a year. My husband and I turned into studying, coffee drinking, and eating pros. So hence the reason for my absence! But I am back in action :)

Now... This is kind of not related to apostolic hair... But kinda!Brendan and I took Christmas pics last week and I LOVE how my 12 min quickie hair do turned out! I thought it was gonna look rough lol..

Now for some pics! Let me know what you think! Sis Marie Prime did in AMAZING job!

 Posts to Look Forward To...

• One of the Best Winter Modest Additions
• Kendra with Straightened hair - its been about 8 months!
• Chronicles of a Natural Apostolic: Balding, Thinning and Hair Loss

Celebrating a Season of Loving Naturals <3

Chronicles of a Natural Apostolic: Damage and Destruction

I can never express enough regret for the damage and destruction that I put my hair through.


It all really began in high school. Of course before high school my hair had been through chemical damage as I wore a relaxer since the age of 12. I found that I loved to cut and style my hair via lots of heat. I loved wearing braids, twists (both with fake hair) and fake ponytails. I was already infatuated with fashion, trends and looking "unique". I wanted ALL eyes on me. That was my goal. To walk down the hallways and school just to find people staring and even whispering about how gorgeous I was. My thinking was clearly off and absolutely disgusting to God.

So it all began junior year when I dyed my hair for the first time. Red.

Little did I know that once you start dying your hair, it doesn't stop. When I dyed my hair red, I used a dye that contained peroxide and ammonium. Of course I put the dye over my relaxer. Why not? Within about 3 weeks, my hair began to fall out in chunks in the shower.

I thought I was cute.

I thought I was "creative".

My hair was unique.

My hair was flashy.

No one knew it but.....



My hair was falling out and breaking off by the inches.


So, I chopped it all off.

[16 years old, with a buzzed cut in the back, bangs in the front, spiked on top]

After about a year I started to let it grow back. And of course the dying continued. Whatever color it was clearly wasn't cute enough so dyed it all brown..

All the while I continued to cut and trim and straighten and curl...
You weren't likely to see me without my hair "done"
I didn't quite like the brown so I added highlights..

This pic above is right after I dyed my hair..

Notice how dull and dry my hair looks just several weeks later..

Doesn't it make you wanna throw some oil on my hair?! lol

WILD FIRE ALERT! LOL

Are you starting to see the damage in the pics yet?? The light highlights grew old to me. And I didn't want it quite so light anymore. So I dyed it brown with cinnamon highlights. Of course, with new dye came a new cut. I was scissor crazy! Notice that my hair never really grows in length.. because I was constantly cutting and trimming it to handle the self imposed damage!!

I got tired of those so I decided to dye the top light and the bottom dark... My hair was so porous at this point that it nearly absorbed this light color within 7 minutes of applying the dye. And within a week, the light part was already breaking off. Notice the breakage in the pic..

Again, no length retention.

Then I decided to add some tracks.. I wanted to have some length... I was tired of my hair being the same length! haha. I honestly couldn't figure out why it wasn't growing ya'll!

Just several weeks later, notice the many broken strands and chunks there are sticking out.
 I was losing more hair than I was "preserving".

Oh and to give my hair a "break" I would just put more fake hair in, and put it into tight braids. But of course normal black or dark brown wasn't suffice. I had to stand out and I had to be seen! So there I went in my blonde braids..

You know, here is another reason why I DO NOT watch television or movies! I don't even OWN a television,I do not have cable, I don't own one single movie, no dvds or anything of the sort. What a terrible image it sets of what defines beauty. It is repulsive. Lets see, the last time I checked 98% of the black women had dyed, colored (generally as light as they could get it without looking too ridiculous) and fake hair! On top of that it is almost always straight and doesn't even look like black hair. My word. Furthermore, women with natural hair were just thrown into the neo-soul, eclectic category. Hmm. What irony... Once in college I got into modeling. I would have you know, unfortunately, this was my favorite picture of myself for years. Light eyes, light skin, and my hair looked blonde.

Nothing was good enough for me! I remember the movie, "The Devil Wears Prada." That was one of my favorite movies because it represented what I wanted to happen to me. Just an ordinary girl turned into a fasionista. I kid you not, every single time I watched this movie I would go to my bathroom and cut my hair, dye my hair or go shopping for new clothes. I did whatever necessary to look and feel like a diva. After all, I was modeling and I was cute! Right?...

I hope by now you are noticing a pattern. I was never satisfied. Never content. Never happy with how I looked. I was always trying to revamp and recreate myself. It went deeper than self-esteem. It went deeper than feeling inadequate with myself. I was depressed. I had self hatred on the inside. It seemed that no matter what I did, I never felt beautiful. Instead I felt empty. And at the end of the day, no matter how many compliments I got, I still felt inadequate. I still cried myself to sleep. I still felt that no one would ever love me for me. It went deeper than my emotional and mental pain. It was a matter of being totally and utterly out of the will of God. For those of you reading this, who may know the exact feeling I am expressing here, I am telling you that you will forever feel incomplete without God.

I remember the day that I met my husband. I even remember what I was wearing. (smile) It was the spring of 2008. I thought I was cute with my weave and jet black hair. But you know what, he didn't compliment me then. He didn't compliment me when my weave was curled. He didn't compliment me in my designer jeans and stilettos. The very first compliment my husband gave me was when I was in an orange and plaid dress, with an orange sweater, my hair in its natural state all pinned up, no make up and my glasses. He told me he loved the way I was dressed and he loved my hair when it was natural.

I was shocked.

Here was a super cute white boy, who was the captain on the track team, the fastest sprinter at the school, mr popularity, who I had an immediate crush on when I saw him- and he liked me NATURAL?!

You better believe it girls. Because when you get right down to it. Men like the real you. All real. If he loves you, he will want the real you.

----

We began dating June 7 2009. And I will have you know that he HATED how long it took, how plain it looked and how it smelt when I constantly straightened my hair! lol. He was like, why do you have to do that when you can just wear it curly all pinned up? I like that better. So I thought, hmm, it is easier. So I started wearing it that way...

After all, look at the damage I had done to my hair,

Later on he told me he didn't want me cutting my hair. I was like, *record stops* woah hold up wait a sec! I love cutting my hair! haha :) Well he convinced me to stop on account that he liked me natural. You know, the real Kendra. So I stopped cutting my hair. I think I trimmed it two more times and that was it. As more time went on, would you believe that Brendan wanted me to stop wearing make up too?? Now that one took a while... But eventually I did it when I got into truth. God used my honey to help me.

Imagine waking up every morning knowing that your husband loves you for you. He loves your natural curls, frizz, poof and all. He loves your skin, blemishes and all. He loves your beautiful natural nails, nail polish and acrylic free. He knows He has the real you. All of you. Nothing hiding.

Even greater than that, imagine knowing that God loves you for you.

If he didn't make your hair blonde, it was because He thought this masterpiece would look better with black hair.He may have thought, wow, she will be a stunning brunette. Her husband's heart will melt when he see's her for the first time!

If He didn't make your hair straight, it was because He thought curls would suit your face much better.

If He didn't make your hair curly it was probably because He knew He didn't bless you with enough patience :)

If He didn't make your nails pink, candy red or with a perfect french tip, it was because He liked the natural peach and soft pink of your nail beds much better.

If He didn't make your hair short- it was definitely because He gave it the ability to grow. And He called it your glory. And He blessed it to be your covering- your power source. In fact, He gave you the power of angels!

When God formed us, He created masterpieces. For us to alter ourselves would be like taking Mona Lisa and bedazzling it with rhinestones. Sounds funny but its the truth. Would you go into an art museum and destroy the art work? It would be absolutely insulting and disrespectful. Perhaps that is a great way to view ourselves when we alter things.

Am I saying you are committing a sin by wearing make up or nail polish?

Am I saying God gets mad at you when you dye and cut your hair?

Am I saying that God is against cosmetics?

Here is a great way to answer that question. Would the artist be happy with you ruining His masterpiece?


Here is to celebrating happy, healthy and long hair.

Here is to celebrating the masterpiece that God created.

Here is to celebrating the anti-damage, and anti-altering lady :)

Here is to celebrating uncut hair and the glory God gives. The POWER of angels!

Here is to celebrating a revelation of our God given natural beauty!

Here is to celebrating me. Embracing me. THE REAL ME! And encouraging you to do the same!

Celebrating happy, healthy and long hair <3