Good to Know

I don't know if she was the first person to think of this, but she was the first person to tell me.

Mama Knows Best

To Invest or Not to Invest.....In My Future.

I was recently accepted to the Paul Mitchel Beauty Academy, and will be officially making huge strides towards my dream of being a professional hairstylist. But like everything in life, it seems like this place has a catch. I've always been really bothered when upscale salons have only one stylist that is the certified person who knows how to handle black hair (if they have that at all). How is it possible that there are salons that literally can't do African American hair? How could you call yourself a professional at hairstyling and you can't professional style my hair?

So here is my dilemma: I'm worried that when I start school in the fall, I will not be taught all the ins and outs of dealing with African American hair. I know that they will probably touch on it, but I'm not sure if they teach you how to professionally handle it. I'm investing so much money into my education ($20,000 to be exact), and now I'm coming to the realization that I might have to take more classes on how to weave, braid, treat and style A.A. hair elsewhere. Needless to say this isn't sitting to well with me.

The African American community has always had a rich history in hair. It is safe to say that us black folks will spend some serious money on our tresses. So why do so many salons and beauty schools neglect us? Time will only tell if I will need to seek outside help in my technique with A.A hair, but I sincerely hope I get my moneys worth this year. If not I will be spending a lot of money continuing my education...and to think that some people think that beauty school is the easy way out.

REVIEW TIME!!!

Hello everyone! I tried this new Tea Tree Conditioner by Tea and Honey Blends. I really recommend this conditioner if you need to boost your hair! I applied this to my hair, and someone else's. Since I have a weave in I wanted to see how it reacts on natural hair. When I applied it to the other person's hair I added coconut oil because their hair was very damaged, and I wanted to deep condition.

Benefits:
-Makes hair extremely soft
-Promotes shine
-Makes hair very manageable and strong
-You can see a difference in one use

Tea and Honey Blends is a company from two young African American chemist. I read their story and I'm so in love and impressed by them. You can read their story here. After I conditioned it I styled it in curls as you can see here. I can't wait to buy more products from them!

Inspiration

Oscar James- Super Stylist!

 For those of you who don't know, Oscar James is a top hair stylist. Some of his celebrity clients include Tyra Banks, Beyonce, Iman, Vanessa Williams, Nia Long and much more. You've seen his work in numerous ads and on numerous celebrities. This was the man who styled Halle Berry's signature do for the 74th Annual Academy Awards! I love this man! I always love to research top hair stylist, just so I can get of taste of what it takes to become successful in this business. James has been in this business for over 10 years and doesn't seem like he's stopping any time soon. You can see his recent work in the August issue of Essence Magazine, where he styled the hair of the fabulous Viola Davis.   Here is some of his work:

Follow Oscar on twitter at @OscarJamesHair

Photos and info from: http://www.kenbarboza.com/hair/oscar_james/oscar_bio.html

Braid-Out

Hey everybody!! I did a braid out today and I really love it. I used no product on the hair itself, but I greased my scalp with the Shea and Olive Hair Butter from Pooka Pure and Simple.

I braided my hair in 5 cornrows.

Here are the results:

By the end of the day there was no evidence that my roots were braided. I ended up braiding two cornrows on the side of my head. I know better than to put no product in, but I wanted to make sure that this was a style I wanted BEFORE I put anything in it to give it hold.