And thanks Gloria for sending this great link!

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I found out yesterday that BGLH won the Black Weblog Award for Best Culture Blog. I just wanted to thank everyone for voting. It means a lot!

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“Her frustration with my curls—and by extension, with me—was palpable. Each time she put her hands in it I could feel her resentment with each tug… Soon my mother ceased to personally care for my hair. She was caught up in the world of crack cocaine.”

By Kadian Pow, Contributing Writer

I love my mother. We’ve had a turbulent relationship for most of my life, under which my self-esteem and hair took a beating. But when I was 13, my mother and her overbearing influence on my life were forcibly shipped off to Alderson Federal Prison Camp ( ‘Camp Cupcake’ of Martha Stewart fame). During the subsequent seven years without her, I discovered both my hair’s natural texture and myself.

When I was seven my mother relaxed my hair. I can’t say that it was totally out of the blue, as the clues were there before the perm.

Permed at age 8

Her frustration with my curls—and by extension, with me—was palpable. Each time she put her hands in it I could feel her resentment with each tug. My hair was an inconvenience to her life. We lived with my grandmother, but my mom would disappear for long stretches of time. Hair under grandma’s care was thick blue or green grease, barrettes and plaits. When I did see my mom, she would promptly deliver me to her salon du jour to have my hair lye-d, fried and laid to the side.

Soon my mother ceased to personally care for my hair. She was caught up in the world of crack cocaine. Never a user, she was either slinging it; allowing it to be cooked and cut in her home (occasionally with me present); or dating dealers. Sometimes it was all three. She was so ‘successful’ that it took none other than the FBI to bring her reign to an end.

By the time I was nine, I was sporting a perfectly coiffed blue-black bob with bangs, courtesy of Jazzing hair dye. Rarely would I make it to eight weeks without a ‘touch-up’. I had all but forgotten what my true texture looked or felt like. The concept of being natural was a complete anathema to me. It was not my reality, nor the reality of those closest to me.

Before the big chop

In late June of 1992, while other seventh-graders were getting ready to embark on their summer break, I was leaving on a trip to West Virginia. My mother was sentenced to nine years in a federal penitentiary. After her trial, she got to come home briefly before reporting to Alderson. I rode in the back of the car, stroking my favorite pale pink pillow while sucking my thumb. In the car, my mother and her boyfriend (also a dealer) spoke as if she was headed to the grocery store, not prison.

My grandparents became my full-time care-takers. They were hard-working Jamaican immigrants, both with two jobs, a mortgage, car note and massive legal bills (courtesy of my mom). Needless to say, regular trips to the salon for touch-ups were a thing of the past. The longer I went without a relaxer, the more curious I became about the poufy stuff growing out of my head. My un-relaxed hair always seemed like an alien weed that needed to be treated. It was as if it wasn’t a part of me. With no one dragging me off to regular salon appointments, I became more curious about the new hair springing from my scalp. I started caressing it, discovering how soft it was—silky, even. It had a zig zag pattern and texture that made me smile. The more it grew, the more attached I grew to it. I was infatuated with it but only in my bathroom mirror. I did not discuss it with my friends, all of whom had relaxed hair.

By the time I turned 15 I had started experimenting with my look: red lipstick paired with pink blush; shaving my eyebrows and penciling them in; wearing orange with hunter green (not a good look). I had quickly grown used to the freedom my grandmother afforded me. I made mistakes and learned from them. Now I had another experiment in mind. The alien of which I had grown so fond could no longer be blown out to blend with the rest of my hair. My mother had always been my artistic dictator. With her behind bars, the decision to go natural was mine alone to make.

Emboldened by this decision, I wanted to do it in dramatic fashion. Too impatient to wait for a symbolic springtime rebirth, on December 22, 1995, I walked into a Hair Cuttery and had all but a half-inch of my hair lopped off. Looking at the disembodied clumps of relaxed hair on the floor, I felt no attachment to them. Now that hair felt alien to me. My heart raced as I slowly lifted my head to look in the mirror. I stared at myself for a while. A smile slowly curled across my lips as I thought, I am not my hair, but this is me.

Kadian today

Kadian Pow was born in Jamaica and grew up in Washington, DC. She has recently moved to Birmingham, UK, with her partner where she enjoys writing, travelling, being obsessed with technology and experimenting with hair products. You can find her on Twitter, YouTube, and her part-time blog whatgetsonmytits.blogspot.com.

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This roll call serves is a check-in.

How is your natural hair journey coming along? Are you stumped by a certain issue? How are you trying to overcome it?

Let’s compare notes, and share advice.

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Please make sure your photos are at least 250 pixels wide and submitted in jpg form.

*****************************************
Kim

Crissy
I am 8 months post big chop today (9/1) and LOVING it!!

Devan

Devyn

Efe

Chiquita
I am loving every minute of my natural hair journey with support from sites like BGLH.

Antoinette
I’ve been natural for 3 years and 5 months and I LOVE it!

Tina
The before photo was taken in 2007 – my hair started to break off from perms and bad weaves. My last perm was in October 2008. I transitioned wearing braids and wigs and have been completely natural for approximately one year.

Mia
The graduation photo was taken in 1999, shortly after my last relaxer ever and in which my hair was thinning & breaking AGAIN. The other photo is from 2008 (no hair photos from this year), 8 years after I became 100% natural and tossed my hair damage woes.

Thanks for making such a great site!

Denetria

Charlotte

Kiana

Akia

Shaz
I did the big chop on 30 June this year. I’m loving it. xoxo

Jarquisha

Janelle
I went from curling iron curly to natural curly! I love my natural curls

Nickki

Bernadette

Stephanie
This is me about 3 years ago and again a few months ago after my (not so big) big chop and 20 mins after first trim,

Dominique

Kim (mother) & Ashleigh (daughter)
I wore my biig Afro as a child in the seventies… how wonderful to share this natural transformation with my daughter Ashleigh! Thanks for starting this community!

Ashleigh

Kim

Necolia
Hi! My name is Nikki and I’ve been natural since July of 2006. I tried transitioning, but in my frustration I decided to take the plunge and just chop it all off. It was shocking for my friends and family b/c I’ve always had long hair or “neat and pristine” hair LOL now I’m wild, carefree, fancy free, and LOVING IT!

Ebonee

Raquel

Amber

Amanda
All natural rocking my tapered twa..I feel so edgy rocking my kinks …yikes!

Keisha-Renee
I’ve been relaxed for as long as I can remember. I’ve always had the same just-a-little-longer-than-shoulder-length hair. I’ve always been curious about my natural hair; always wanted to know what I looked like under there. I took the plunge on June 5, 2010. So glad I did.

Kadian
I went natural (3rd time and for life this time!) 6 months ago after spending 5 years being relaxed. I really missed my curls and I’m so happy to have them back!

Raiara
My name is Raiara, I’m 19 and am totally inspired by this blog. I just find it so beautiful that black women are embracing their natural hair in a society that rejects it. I’m really excited about the future of the black woman. I did the big chop in March of 2010

Halaveshia

Remi

Elshawnda

Kenya
Thank you BGLH for having such a wonderful site where women like myself can go and get regimen suggestions and styling tips. This site has been a hair life saver for me.

Rachella
1 year natural! Did my big chop in Aug. 2009 and never looked back!

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“I know there’s a need for discussion about the self-esteem issues, cultural stereotypes and pigeon holes. But we should all check ourselves for any degree of intolerance that may be influencing our attitudes in these discussions. Diversity of opinion benefits everyone and is necessary to avoid group thinking.”

By G G, Contributing Writer

When I discovered the natural hair community online, I felt as if I’d been living under a rock. Where had I been?? With all of the resources and testimonials available online, I probably would have gone natural long ago had I discovered all of this information sooner. With that said, I’m glad that I didn’t tune in until I was at the end of my transition. My decision was completely self-involved and uninfluenced. That is important to me because my journey was very personal and linked to a significant change in my outlook on life.

Once I came out of my cave and tapped into the network of natural hair resources online, I saw that I wasn’t the only one experiencing this liberating change in perspective. I read stories about women like me who were becoming more self-aware and confident as they transitioned or big chopped. To my dismay, I also saw many women using the relaxed vs. natural debate as a way to cast judgment and label each other. At one extreme, some natural hair advocates believe that black women who relax their hair are unevolved and don’t love themselves. At the other extreme, you have relaxed black women who view natural hair and the women who rock it as unsophisticated and unkempt.

School Daze, anyone?

Just like light skin vs dark skin, skinny vs full-figured, and the haves vs the have-nots, we have let hate creep in to distract and divide us as if there is just one definition of beauty. It’s just hair. It’s just an accessory that God have us to play with while we are in these bodies. We can use it to express ourselves or not. We can relax it, weave it, curl it, or not. In the big scheme of things, when we look back on how we lived our lives, whether we were relaxed or natural won’t matter. We are all complex human beings whose experiences lead us in different directions. While I associate my journey to natural with my journey to personal enlightenment, this is not the case for everyone…and that’s OK.

I don’t intend to play down the significant impact of the hair debate on women in the black community. I am aware of the implications and deep rooted emotions. I know there’s a need for discussion about the self-esteem issues, cultural stereotypes and pigeon holes. But we should all check ourselves for any degree of intolerance that may be influencing our attitudes in these discussions. Diversity of opinion benefits everyone and is necessary to avoid group thinking. As women of color, we are all shades, textures and sizes of beautiful and our capacity to be open-minded with each other will only make us a stronger force in the world.

So, while I want my two daughters to feel beautiful with their hair in its natural state, I also want them to know that they have choices. They can wear their hair however they want and still be authentic and beautiful. I don’t want them to define themselves by anything but character. All tangible things like hair, clothes, skin, shape – the things that define beauty for many people – are guaranteed to pass away. We should enjoy what we’ve been blessed with and have fun with it while we have it. Our preoccupation with the physical will only result in egotistical thinking which is counter intuitive to inner beauty and sisterhood.

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Where are you from?
I: My name is Isatu Haddi Jalloh, I am originally Guinean-Sierra Leonean but live in London town! I’m a 19 year old 2nd year student of African Politics and History (with a particular interest in North-Eastern Africa) at School of Oriental and African Studies in London. I absolutely loveeeee my course!!

Why did you go natural?
I: I did not actually ‘ decide’ to go natural but was almost forced to do so from the damage caused by a relaxer and weave glue! I had been caught in a cycle of relaxing my hair every 2 years since I was 12 years old. I did it to ensure the ‘manageability’ of my hair whilst maintaining some length. But my hair never grew past my chin.

In mid-2007 it was time to perm my hair again (I was 16 at the time). My sister permed my hair, but this time I wanted a short bob and need extensions for volume. She glued these tracks in and I remember taking them out about 3 weeks later and having my hair come out in chunks with glue bits stuck to the end! I was devastated. My hair had never been so thin and lifeless. I decided to never perm or put weave tracks in my hair again.

I began putting my hair in single plaits with extensions, and twist braid with extensions, I did not know that I was undergoing what is referred to in the natural hair world as ‘transitioning’. In February 2008 I decided to cut off all the permed bits and was left with a little fro. It was not a big deal at all because I knew I would continue to wear twist braids. But it wasn’t until June 2009 that I decided to not use hair extensions again and it’s funny that my hair has grown like weeds. It turns out that the extensions were actually inhibiting my hair growth.

I love the versatility of my hair. I love the fact that natural hair is almost like clay that can be molded to what you want! I love knowing more about my hair which is what being natural has forced me to do! A couple years back I was clueless as to what my hair needed and still plastering my scalp with DAX grease. Sad times!

What’s your regimen?
I: In the past 2 months I’ve developed quite a militant hair routine. I protective style my hair 4 days a week, in 15 braids and have it wrapped in a silk satin scarf underneath and then wrap it with a scarf of my choosing on top!

I clarify my scalp once a week with apple cider vinegar, and deep condition it with Aubrey Organics conditioner mixed with olive oil (I used to use this for co-washes but found out it was an even better deep-conditioner, but too heavy for co-washes for me). After this I use Rusk Sensory Healthy Hair treatment as my leave-in. I then put my glycerin mix on my hair along with a mix of unrefined shea butter, olive oil and coconut oil. This leaves my hair wonderfully moisturized in the braids and makes a nice braid out.

I do henna deep conditioning once a month. I love the shine it gives and it really does thicken up my fine hair!

I’m a major fan of braid-outs. I used to do twist-outs about 3 months back but I hated the fact that it was so hard to detangle! Braid outs offer me the curl with less of the hard work at the end of the week! I’m also a big fan of fro-hawks. At the moment I’ve decided to invest some more in protective styles to prevent these pesky single strand knots and split ends. But I must say I absolutely hate puffs because they pull at my edges!

What mistakes have you made with your hair that you’ve learned from?
I: So many! My first year with my hair was the biggest joke ever, I used to put a water based moisturizer in my hair and NEVER seal and wonder why my hair was so dry, I also used to leave my hair out and unbraided and just cover it with a scarf, which resulted in tons of tangles.

My sister has very thick hair strands and when I began taking care of my natural hair I simply followed whatever she would recommend, but I realized that my fine strands couldn’t manage her protein-heavy conditioner. They left my hair feeling brittle. Since then I’ve switched to doing protein treatments once a month instead of once a week.

What’s the best/most effective thing you do for your hair?
I: I’m sad to say it’s protective hairstyles. It’s such a shame because I REALLY REALLY love wearing my hair out, but I’ve realized the more I do the more my ends look scraggly and the finer my hair looks. I was in Kenya this summer interning for 2 months with a fabulous organization called Mathare Youth Development and I spent most of my time rocking twists, flat twists and head wraps, and my hair has grown so much in those 2 months! Also SHEA butter. My hair absolutely loves shea butter, and I swear by my henna deep treatment.

Is there a blog/webpage where we can find you?
I: http://wassoulou-wassoulou.blogspot.com/

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A trip to the hair braider can be a source of anxiety for naturals. You sit in the chair, wondering if you’ll get out with your hairline and edges intact. Reader Sue has an upcoming trip to the braider and asked this question;

“Like most naturals I do my own hair from washing to braiding and twisting, but occasionally I find I have to visit a salon for styles that I am yet to master. For me, it’s cornrows. I am still learning how to flat twist so that’s not an option either. I often find I have to object to certain things such as hair being pulled too tight. No one should ever compromise on this. Other times, it’s someone using a flame to get rid of fly-aways that stick up, it makes me nervous and I don’t think it’s safe! Sometimes I have let things slide like having holding spray or mousse – which I don’t normally use – applied after the style is done because I can wash it off. Before you say, find a “natural hair salon”, remember some areas have very few good salons in the first place. It can be tricky expressing exactly what you want without seeming overly picky. I wonder, how do you interact with your hair braider?”

I have a few suggestions;

1. Find the nice one. You know, the hair braider with the friendliest disposition and the least amount of attitude. I found a nice hair braider at a local salon, cultivated a relationship, and eventually she let me bring my own products. Which leads me to tip number 2…

2. Bring your own products! I haven’t been to a braider in a while, but the last time I did I brought Elasta QP Mango Butter. I asked the braider to use that instead of hair grease. She actually really liked the mango butter and ended up using it on other clients.

3. Come with your hair already washed, conditioned and (if possible) lightly blowdried. I don’t know what they have in those unmarked salon bottles, so I do my own prep work at home. I’ve often found that it’s actually a relief for some braiders when you come ready to go because it saves them time.

4. BEG THEM to not braid so tight. Unfortunately I’ve had zero success enforcing this. My idea of tight braiding and the braiders idea of tight braiding are two VERY different things! My hairline always suffers.

What about you guys? Any additional tips? And what have your hair braiding experiences been like?

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Inna Modja is a Parisian-based, Mali-born model turned singer currently signed to Warner Music/Atlanta. She is also the new face of the Mizani haircare line. When I found out that she was a fan of BGLH I invited her to do an interview. Here it is… Enjoy!

On her origins
My father is from Mali, West Africa. He was a diplomat when I was a kid so we traveled a lot. I was raised in Ghana, Nigeria and I have lived in New York and DC. My parents are retired and now living in Mali.

On getting into modeling
I started modeling when I was 17. I was going to see a movie with my friends and I was just waiting for them at the cinema when a woman came and asked me if I would like to model. I said, “Yeh, why not, but I’m not tall and I’m not pretty.” And she said, “You are. This is my cell phone just give me a call.”

I called her and we did a photoshoot and a lookbook and then I started. It’s a crazy life. I was with Elite Model Management. I did commercials, photos for Louis Vuitton and runway shows. A lot of things.

I didn’t really like it. I didn’t hate it because it was mostly fun, but I didn’t take it seriously. It was just a way to earn money when you’re 17. It’s cool, you go to school and you make money doing a fun thing. When I finished business school in Paris I decided to just model because I’d earn more money doing that and I didn’t want to work in a bank somewhere. So I moved to New York and continued modeling.

But there’s a lot of pressure on the girls. You have all the top models but you also have models who work a lot but don’t have name recognition. There’s a lot of competition between girls; you have to stay thin, you have to always be good looking, you have to fit in what they’re expecting from you. It’s not always easy. If you take that really seriously it can lead to trouble.

Eventually I stopped modeling and moved back to Paris to do something I’d always dreamed off, getting back into music.

On her new music career

Inna shooting the music video for Mister H.

My sound is a mix between pop music and folk and soul. It’s very acoustic. I love the guitar, I taught myself how to play through books and the internet.

When I was modeling I still did a lot of music. I was composing for some artists here in France so the boss of my current record company heard about me and came once to listen to one of my gigs. They really wanted to work with me so I said, “Okay. Where do I sign?!”

The response to my album Everyday is a New World has been amazing. I couldn’t even dream about this. It’s crazy because I spent almost two years on the album. I wanted everything to look like me and I wanted something really personal from this album. When it was released people went crazy, I was doing interviews with all these journalists and TV shows and it was great because I didn’t expect that. I just wanted to do music.

Inna with Jason Mraz, a frequent collaborator

Next I’m going to tour in Japan but I would love to perform in New York. I really miss the U.S.

On Nneka, and other young African artists
I don’t know Nneka closely, we just met like one or two times. But she’s great, I like her music. Here in Europe there are few African artists really rising. So it was cool for me to have Nneka before so now it’s kinda my turn, so I’m happy.

On whether her hair is real
It’s real. The real hair is even bigger than the wig (laughs). I wear a wig for some shoots because when I work I have to have the same head, the same look. But my hair underneath is natural.

On going natural
I used to have natural hair as a kid but my sister is a hairdresser and she started relaxing my hair when I was 11. At the beginning I liked it because it was smooth and just like all my friends, then I started hating it because it hurt and even when I took good care of it it broke off.

Seven years ago I thought, okay, I’m going to stop. I cut off when my hair, I didn’t even know that was called ‘transitioning’. I just let my hair grow and then I started cutting out all the relaxed hair gradually. It was difficult to take care of both textures, so I did a lot of braids.

At the beginning it was difficult because I was taking care of my natural hair like I used to take care of my relaxed hair, so I wouldn’t wash it very often because I was not used to that. When I was in New York I had a friend who was natural and she told me about what she was doing so I tried out different things.

On her regimen
When I’m working I use a lot of protective styles like weaves that I don’t keep more than 8 or 10 days. My hairdresser braids my hair underneath very loosely so that the front doesn’t break off.

I wash my hair once a week and I also wash when it’s really hot like, now it is in Paris. In the winter I shampoo every two weeks. In between shampoos I co-wash with conditioner.

I use Mizani products because before becoming their spokesmodel I wanted to try them on my hair to check if they’re really good, and they are. I also use Alba Botanica and Amazonia Preciosa products. I deep condition once a week before I do my shampoo using castor oil with rosemary, ylang, ylang (an essential oil that smooths my hair) and shea butter.

I spritz everyday with water, castor oil and jojoba oil. Before I go to bed I braid my hair, and spritz it. When I wake up in the morning I put some Mizani cream in and comb it or do a braid out.

As far as styling, sometimes I do twists and braids. If I’m wearing my real hair to a shoot I’ll do an afro or twist outs. Here in Paris it gets really cold in the winter, so I do a lot of protective styles.

On being the new Mizani spokesmodel
Mizani is a line for black hair, relaxed or natural and they didn’t have any spokesmodels for that. They asked me to do it about 6 months ago so we’re going to start shooting in September and I’m really happy about that. L’Oreal (Mizani’s parent company) is such a huge company for cosmetics and hair. They have spokespersons for their cosmetic products, like Beyonce and Kerry Washington, but they didn’t have anyone for black hair products. That was bizarre because so many black women are buying their stuff. So I’m really proud to be the first one. I really, really can’t wait.

Her number one beauty tip
Always take off the makeup before you go to bed. And get facials when you can.

Inna, thanks for chatting with us! For more of this lovely lady check out her Facebook page and her MySpace page.

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The commercial was cast at Howard University, so the actors and actresses are Howard students. It’s great to see so many gorgeous naturals at a historically black university. For those of you who attend HBCUs, what is the natural hair scene like?

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