My High School Reunion: Bantu Knot-Out

I attended my 22nd high school reunion this weekend. Believe it or not - it was actually our first one ... EVER. How sad is that. Well ... the good news is we finally got it together (thank goodness for Facebook). It was so much fun! Below are are a few pics of my hair (bantu knot-out).

There was one other woman there with natural hair and it was gorgeous. The kind of gorgeous that gives you a case of hair envy! I didn't remember her, so I just walked over to her and said, "My hair wants to be like yours when it grows up!" Of course she's been natural for three years ... patience grasshopper ... patience.

Professionals Keeping it Kinky: Submit Your Story

I'm teaming up with the fabulous Tamara from Natural Hair Rules to bring more attention to the series, Professionals Keeping it Kinky. We want the 411 - so submit your story with pics and we'll post them on both sites. Here are the questions:

Stats

Display Name

Age (or age range):

Degrees:

Industry:

Title:

Pictures: 2-3 shots of you in your professional best (hair and clothes)

Questions

1. Based on your profession and corporate culture, what were your primary concerns about wearing natural hair in the workplace? How did you overcome them?

2. How did your co-workers, clients and boss respond when you revealed your new do?

3. Has your performance been rewarded since you’ve been natural? If not, do you believe your hair has been a factor?Any regrets?

4. What advice would you offer a professional peer who’s on the fence about going natural?

Please email your submissions to aKinkyHairMonologue@gmail.com and tamara@naturalhairrules.com.

My Nappiversary Do: Bantu Knot-Out

Happy Nappiversary to me! As of November 17, my hair is officially one year old! My anniversary came and went without much fanfare but lots of reflection and questions. My hair doesn’t seem to be growing as fast as it was. I blame the color … whose decision was that? LOL! My ends don’t look or feel very good. I stepped up my conditioning a while back – but I think it’s too late. So I may need to get an aggressive trim to get it back in shape. Arrghhh! In my frustration, I combed through the hair boards/forums and found this great post about retaining length on naturallycurly.com. The question was posted by SuburbanBushBabe and includes responses from CurlyNikki and several other natural curlies . Read the whole string if you can – it’s very informative. But the revelation for me was that I need to dry my ends stretched. Between the color and my tight corkscrews – the wash ‘n go was starting to take a toll on my hair because I couldn’t properly moisturize or seal my ends. I’m NOT a fan of protective styles (twists, braids, etc.) … I never have been. I appreciate them on others – but not on me. So I’ve been skirting this issue for a while. But the phrase ‘dry my ends stretched’ opened up a world of hairstyle possibilities that I wouldn’t have considered ‘protective styles’ because they’re still loose. Things like twist ‘n curls, roller sets, and Bantu knot-outs! I’m still experimenting with my technique based on bits and pieces I’ve borrowed from various YouTube videos. But so far, I think this is the winning combination for setting my hair dry:

1. 1) Moisturize hair with Curls by Sisters Smith Quick Fix Spritz (includes water, glycerin, aloe and castor oil)
2. 2) Smooth/rake butter and oil blend into my hair in sections: Shea butter, Jamaican Black castor oil and virgin coconut oil (Tropical Traditions)
3. 3) Two-strand twist hair in sections; seal ends with coconut oil; create the bantu knot (approximately 10 bantu knots in total)
4. 4) Wrap with a satin scarf and air dry.

Professionals Keeping it Kinky: Submit Your Story

I have been on a whirlwind week of business travel. Tuesday - Thursday I attended a workshop where I spoke on a panel. After that, it was off to Phoenix Thursday - Sunday for an annual marketing conference. I'm pooped and so is my hair. I'm doing a deep conditioning treatment as I type while intermittently wiping pools of coconut oil off my face (TMI ... I know). But during my travels, I had lots of time to think about the series on professional women with natural hair. First of all, thank YOU for your enthusiastic response to the idea. For some odd reason, blogger would not always allow me to post comments to my own blog last week! Hmmm. Anyway - I read every single one and I'm hyped that you're hyped. So let's do the damn thang! Here's what I've got:

Stats

Display Name

Age (or age range):

Degrees:

Industry:

Title:

Pictures: 2-3 shots of you in your professional best (hair and clothes)

Questions

1. Based on your profession and corporate culture, what were your primary concerns about wearing natural hair in the workplace? How did you overcome them?

2. How did your co-workers, clients and boss respond when you revealed your new do?

3. Has your performance been rewarded since you’ve been natural? If not, do you believe your hair has been a factor? Any regrets?

4. What advice would you offer a professional peer who’s on the fence about going natural?

Please email your submissions or question suggestions to aKinkyHairMonologue@gmail.com. I’ll start posting the eye candy as soon as I get it.

Wanted: Professional Women with Natural Hair

As I mentioned in my "Good Hair" post, I was not happy with the way women - natural, permed, weaved or otherwise - were portrayed. But there was one segment in particular that bothered me. Recall the scene where the high school girls discussed their thoughts on professionalism. All of the relaxed girls told their natural friend that while her afro was 'cute' she'd never get a job in Corporate America because it wasn't professional enough. As a 40-year-old woman who has worked in Corporate America all of my professional life - I know this is a legitimate concern. Especially in more conservative industries. It was only just a couple of years ago that a Glamour magazine staffer addressed a group of female lawyers on corporate style and told them natural hair was definitely a "glamour don't." That staffer no longer works at Glamour. But she's not alone - both whites and blacks agree. I struggled with it as I debated the pros and cons of going natural. So I wasn't surprised by the girls' position in the movie. But what shook me to my core was how the natural girl just sat there and said nothing to rebut the attack. She reluctantly nodded her head in agreement and owned the 'unprofessional' label . I felt SO bad for her. I wanted to rescue her and tell her to say, "Not professional? Well how do you explain Ursula Burns, the first black female CEO at Xerox, or Constance White, Style Director at EBay?" I wanted to rattle off at least five more. But I couldn't. Not without doing some research. So that's what I'm going to do! With that, my feature segment on professional women with natural hair is born - featuring YOU! Give me a minute to think of some good questions. If you have suggestions, please post them in the comments. Once I get the format worked out, I'll solicit submissions from readers. I'm counting on my friends to participate as well (Wendy, Kim, Peggy, Michelle, Ingrid, Stacey ... yes I am talking about you). So professional ladies, start taking some pictures in your work clothes and office if you can. Let's show everyone that natural hair can be professional and women who choose to do so ARE successful in their fields.

Hair Growth & Maintenance

Check out KimmayTube's latest video on Hair Growth and Maintenance below. It's a visual representation of the basics. I thought it was pretty awesome! Be sure to subscribe to her channel for more details on each of the fundamental factors in the illustration. I'm looking forward to seeing what she'll do next!

"Good Hair" Not So Good

I finally saw “Good Hair.” I know, I know … bad natural hair blogger. But better late than never. Since this flick is pretty much old news now, I had to go to the ‘hood’ to watch it. There were only eight other people in the theater: One white man, two white women (all together) and five black women who all appeared to have relaxed hair. I found myself listening intently for the verbal reactions from the three white people behind me. But I quickly forgot about them as my own emotions took over. I have to admit – they ran the gamut. I laughed a lot and I learned a lot. But I mostly shook my head in disappointment and embarrassment. I couldn’t believe the lack of diversity among the people profiled. They represented low-income women who maintained weaves they couldn’t afford and wealthy actresses who can afford them but are largely unrelatable because of their Hollywood lifestyles. What about the women in-between? Last time I checked, middle class, professional women had hair too. Maybe they weren’t stereotypical or entertaining enough to make the cut. What happened to the natural women? We have hair too. There were about six actresses with weaves and only one with natural hair. (Rolling my eyes.) And please don’t get me started on Ice Tea and Andre Harrell (let’s just say I shook my head a lot when they were on screen). I’m a huge Chris Rock fan. But I look forward to seeing this story unfold from the eyes of a true documentarian who can address the issue of ‘good hair’ holistically.