December 2010 ~ Chulalouie

Inspirational Photo of the Day

Giveaway Winner!! Cranberry Satin Flower Headband

Thank you everyone that participated in the Cranberry Satin Flower Headband giveaway! After much consideration, LaShay has picked Finally Ja'Net as the winner!! Ja'Net, please email LaShay at hello@hotdogsandpoodles.com to claim your prize!

Link of the day - Tatiana Ali

Bossip posted a great photo of Tatiana Ali. To read more, check out the article there: Source

Giveaway winner!! Sweetbeatz music CD

The winner of the children's Sweetbeatz's cd giveaway is Micah Rose! Thank you Micah for participating. The singer and creator of the cd, Meredith, will be contacting you today to get your information.

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.

"In Love with Locs" Video

Check out this great video created by Keisha (aka - 'decor8mylife' on youtube). Thank you for creating this Keisha and for including me and so many other natural beauties!

Featured Reader - Paulette!

Thank you Paulette, for sharing photos of your cool natural style. Paulette also has a great Etsy store,

Dahlia Soleil Collection.

Link of the Day - Artwork by Leonceo!

Artwork by Leonceo Omar Bennett. Inspiration came from a photo of Amber.

Holiday Hair by Kem

Hello all! I was recently styled by a local Loctician, Kem Simmons (aka - KnappyKhem). I would say that my hair came out like a piece of art. With my lovely naps and all.... :-).

Giveaway!! Cranberry Satin Flower Headband

For a chance to win the Cranberry Satin Flower Headband, you must follow LaShay on twitter and become a fan of her facebook page. Once you have completed these steps, please reply to this post telling us how you would rock this cool accessory! The contest will end on December 18th, at 10 pm. After LaShay picks the winner, the person's name will be posted on the blog the following week.

About LaShay: LaShay Carr was inspired to create accessories while on the hunt for an amazing hair piece for her wedding. After finding out how overpriced hair accessories were, she decided to make her own, thus the beginning of her accessory company. Hotdogs & Poodles specializes in handmade earrings, hair clips, headbands, and for the fashion forward lady on a tight budget. Currently, she is in the transitioning stage of becoming natural and can't wait to wear her headbands and hair clips in a soft curly afro.

http://www.hotdogsandpoodles.com

http://www.etsy.com/shop/hotdogsandpoodles

http://www.facebook.com/hotdogsandpoodles

http://twitter.com/lashaycarr

Hat So Me - Holiday Discount!!

Suzanne, from HatSoMe, has offered all Naturally Beautiful Hair Blog readers a holiday discount. Read more about Suzanne's inspiration behind the Silk and Satin lined hat and scarf line:

"The idea to create this line of hats, came from my own frustrations from having my hair damaged every year from wearing unlined winter hats. This year I decided to do some thing about. I created HatSoMe.com with the vision of pairing fantastic and stylish winter hats with silk and satin linings.

Offer: 10% off order of $25 or more, plus free shipping on all US Orders

Expires on: 12/31/2010

Offer Code: NaturallyBeautifulHair10

JILcreations (aka -The Flying Ewe) Custom Doll Hair

Carolyn from JIL Creations (a.k.a - The Flying Ewe), takes dolls and creates custom hair as requested by the customer. I love, love her work. Check out her Custom Doll Hair album for more details.
*To have your dolls hair custom made by Carolyn, please contact her on Flickr.com. You may need to have an account with Flickr in order to email her. Try this link for Carolyn's contact page.

Giveaway!! Great Childrens Music CD

Vocalist and Songwriter, Meredith Wright, has generously offered to sponsor a giveaway. Her CD (that sells for $15.00) called Sweetbeatz, is filled with children's songs that are upbeat, positive and fun. This prize will make a great gift for Christmas; or can be used as a birthday gift for a little boy or girl. To hear samples of her song, check out her websites music and lyrics page. To win this CD, reply to this post answering these two questions -

Tell us how do you rock your baby's/child's hairdo? Or what is our favorite natural hair style on little kids?
After visiting the Sweetbeatz's website, tell us one interesting thing you learned?

You must answer both questions to be considered. If you have picture links of a great hairstyle, please include that with your entry (but not required). The contest will last until December 18th at 10pm. After Meredith has chosen a winner, check back the following week, for information on how to claim your prize. Good luck!

32 CANDLES Giveaway Winner!!!

Thank you everyone that entered the 32 Candles book giveaway.

Ernessa T Carter, the author of the book, has choosen a winner. The winner is Naptural Aaronni!! Congratulations!! Please email me at naturalhairbeauty@gmail.com with your shipping address, and your prize will be mailed out this week. Thank you again to everyone that participated in the contest.

700 Subscribers!!!!

Wonderful news for you - we have reached 700 subscribers. Yet another milestone that we have come to together. We are an international family that comes together in the commom goal of celebrating the joy we have for our natural textures. I hope that you will all continue to read, contribute and participate in making this blog a place to share and encourage each other in our love for Natural Beauty. Let's keep this positive flow of information, beautiful encouraging images and sharing of knowledge going. Please remember this blog is about you, for you! You are always welcome to contribute and participate. Thank you again for your supported!!

~ Particate & Contribute, Giveways, Website, Press ~

As always, I am very thankful to everyone that subcribes and visits. Please keep an eye out for giveways, that will have prizes, that will make great gifts!

"Mommy"... "you have hair like me!"

Joe-Hannah Louisma's little girl, Gianna, was teased at school because she didn't have long straight hair. When Gianna came home to mom and dad, they both tried to reassure her that - she and her hair where beautiful. But Giana would look to her mom's permed hair and say I want hair like yours Mommy. This struck a nerve with JoAnna. So one day Joe-Hannah went to the salon and cut it all off.

Her daughter was there with her and was so delighted. The little girl said "You look beautiful Mommy. You have hair like me!"

This is one great example of how we often teach better, through our actions, instead of just words. It is a beautiful message and I am so happy to see that the little girl in the end, talks about how much she loves her natural hair.

Rochelle Richie, how narrates this story for us, was told that she needed to get extensions in order to be and get ahead as a news reporter. She did it and saw her career grow, while wearing the hair extensions for 6 years. But as shown in the video below, she noticed how much damage the extensions caused her hair and just had enough. She cut her hair off and is proud to say that she loves her natural hair. And that she will be working as a reporter from now on with her natural hair.

Expressing through Art

Great painting...

Artist Unknown - Source

Link of the Day - Wendi Motte

"Newcomer Wendi Motte,10, is making her Hollywood debut! The pint-size star is set to star in a new film titled ” Eye of the Hurricane”:

Eye of the hurricane is a family drama about members of a small Florida Everglades community struggling to put their lives back together after a devastating hurricane.
Wendi’s character is “Abby Nelson”. Wendi is one of the Principle Lead characters. Abby is Homer’s best friend and throughout the entire movie they are on a journey to search for his eye that got knocked out by a tree limb during a hurricane in Florida. Abby is the sensible voice of reason for Homer and she is a tough cookie that stands for him when the neighborhood bullies try to pick at him throughout the movie.

Wendi has also appeared in numerous commercials and in national print campaigns. She is also the new face of the S.I.S “So In Style” African American Barbie dolls coming this Spring 2011."

From Black Celebrity Kids