4 Tips To Keep Your Hair Healthy While Wearing Weaves

Weave is great. You can style, fry, dye, and cut the hair any way you want to without ever damaging your real hair that is neatly braided and tucked away underneath. Flexible styles, hair protection, and an overall love for weaves is one reason why many women—myself included—still wear them despite loving what we’re working with Click to continue...

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needle+thræd: Choker Lust

“I designed this collection on my first trip to Kenya, inspired by the rich culture of the Maasai people, and their layers of intricately beaded accessories and shuka fabrics. While there, I learned the art of beading and the unity in this practice from the Maasai people. The designs I developed with them were minimal and focused on highlighting the beauty of the bead work itself. The process of hand sewing the beads onto leather, or individually stringing them together takes about 1-2 days for the women to make depending on the intricacy of the design. The end result was a Maasai-meets-seventies choker collection.” -Celia Lee Roach; needle+thræd founder and fashion editor
 
needle+thræd partners with the Bebe Ravi women’s cooperative that employs 50-100 women based in Nakuru, Kenya – an area with unemployment rates as high as 40%. many of the women have been widowed by the AIDS epidemic, thus becoming the sole source of income for their families. by giving them access to revenue, not only are the lives of their children significantly improved, but the entire community is propelled forward. each woman is paid above average wage and provided with free meals. Meet the makers here
 
Scroll below for a closer look at the beautiful intricately designed needle+thræd choker collection.
 
 

The needle+thræd choker collection is available at Spring and coming soon to Donna Karan’s Urban Zen store in Sag Harbor, kicking off with an in-store event Memorial Weekend, that will potentially focus on supporting made in Africa designs.
 
Our mission is to find that common thread between style and substance and sustain families, communities and traditional crafts by providing fair wages. -needle+thræd

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5 Signs You Are Definitely A Product Junkie

I cannot tell you how easy it is to become a product junkie especially when you are just starting out as a new natural. For one, there are so many products out there and two ‘natural’ hair products are sold anywhere from the grocery store to the mall so you are always faced with temptation. With Click to continue...

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Would You Loc Your Child’s Hair? Get Inspired! [Video]

If you are thinking about locing your child’s hair and need some inspiration, this just might be the post for you. Locs have been around for hundreds of years so for some people the locing process comes very natural. For whatever reason you may decide to start a loc journey especially with children we wanted Click to continue...

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Mucilage Bearing Plants Are Great Styling Aids For Your DIY Products

All plants, due to their nature, produce some sort of mucilage, but by definition, mucilage plants are those which consist of 15% or more mucilage. When boiled down in hot water they produce this thick, slippery substance that can be utilized for its gel forming properties as an ingredient in your DIY styling aids. One Click to continue...

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February is Black History Month: Natural Hair BLACKOUT Challenge!

As you probably already know, February is Black History Month. While I'm a tremendous advocate of Black history being 365 days a year (well, 366 days this year), I would be remissed if I didn't take advantage of the next 29 days to issue a challenge near and dear to my heart:

The Natural Hair BLACKOUT Challenge!

If you've been rolling with me for a while, then you know I've been talking about supporting small Black-owned natural hair businesses for a few years now. Check the receipts on the series I did with Black Girl Long Hair:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4 (Black Owned Beauty Supply Stores)

The core of the Natural Hair BLACKOUT Challenge is this: to purchase and use only products from Black-owned businesses on my hair during the month of February. I'm talking Be Kekoa. tgin. The Mane Choice. CURLS. Mielle Organics. Soultanicals. Kyra's Shea Medleys. Eden BodyWorks. Up North Naturals. Obia Natural Hair Care. Hydratherma Naturals. If there's a product in my regimen that's holy grail status but not Black owned, my challenge is to find a replacement.

The point of the Natural Hair BLACKOUT Challenge is not to "limit" myself, but rather to make a conscious decision to financially invest in, and support Black owned businesses in an arena that I am most vocal - natural hair. It also serves as a way to remember who supported who first.

When I say that, I mean, recognizing that the L'Oreals, the Garniers, the Pantenes, and the relaxer companies with our faces on the box were terribly unbothered by our natural hair until they realized how profitable the natural hair industry was. I speak with my platforms (blog & social media), but I also speak with my wallet.

I'm encouraging you all to the same, and stand along with me this February. Take the Natural Hair BLACKOUT Challenge in your own way. If you can't afford to completely overhaul your regimen, then commit to purchasing at least one product from a Black owned natural hair business. Take advantage of at least one sale (I'll be sure to share them all on FACEBOOK, so be sure to like my page!) And if you really are about that life, go ALL IN with me!

Chat with me in the comments below -- share some of your favorite Black owned natural hair brands, and let me know if you're joining me this February for the Natural Hair BLACKOUT Challenge!



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Monday Motivation | Focus. Focus. Focus.

In 2016, I'd like to accelerate the time it takes to create massive results.  In my limited experience, there's one key factor that has the ability to multiply results by 100% or more.  This factor is what I would consider a success lever.

A lever is basically a tool used to move a heavy object.  Or a tool used to create an intended result.  Today, most levers have been replaced by switches.  We essentially flip a switch (or press a button) causing multiple operations to take effect.

What if there were an internal button we could push that could cause intentions to manifest.  If there was a button, or specific action, that could easily multiply your results, would you harness it? Would you make it part of your daily ritual?

If there was one success habit I'd advise you to develop in 2016, it would be the ability to focus.

I heard somewhere that we now have a shorter attention span than a goldfish.  The average amount of time we focus on something before shifting our attention is 8 measly seconds.  Basically, we have a hard time focusing on an idea or task long enough to bring it into existence.

For the most part, I toggle between periods of heavy focus and times where my mind is all over the place. When I'm operating with an unfocused mind, I get behind on work, my house looks messy and I stop caring about my appearance.  Basically, everything falls apart around me.

On the flip side, whenever I cultivate the habit of nurturing intense focus, it takes little to no effort to accomplish massive results.   I'll never forget the story I heard in a book on mindfulness where the author details the account of the time when he tuned a piano using all the focus he could muster.  This type of work usually took him hours so he allotted for extra time because of the added attention to detail.  He meticulously went through all the steps required to complete such an effort. And, at the end of his focused session, he was astonished to realize how fast he completed the task.  Taking away all distractions allowed him to complete his work in a fraction of the time.

Back when I had a desk job, I recall leaving for work at the end of the day feeling like I hadn't accomplished anything.  Juggling a bunch of open projects without finding resolution was draining.  I was stressed out and felt like I was drowning.  The solution?  Total and complete focus.  I challenged myself to work single mindedly on a task refusing to change gears unless absolutely necessary.  With my to-do list before me, I worked on one thing on my list until I could cross it off and move to the next.

At the end of the day I felt stress free and filled with a feeling of accomplishment.  The only problem was that I was done with my massive to-do list at around 3:30pm.  Just like Thomas, I accomplished my intentions well ahead of schedule.  If the ability to fully focus allows us to reach our task related results faster, imagine what effect focus has on our achievement long term.  You can become one of those people who seem to always reach your goals with very little effort, or as the author puts it, "without a sense of struggle."

This week, I encourage you to begin the practice of developing your level of attention.  In a world of multiple distractions, cultivating focus will require conscious effort. All you have to do is be fully present with what is in front of you, or the goals you've set for yourself.  If you feel overwhelmed when it comes to experiencing results, try mastering the art of focus and watch your intentions manifest right before your eyes.





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