1Blessed Natural Mag

1BlessedNatural- New Video: How to Make a Length Check T-Shirt! Happy Tuesday, my blessed naturals, I hope you're having a great week. I've just uploaded a new video to my YouTube channel titled " How to Make a Length Check T-Shirt." This video is for all of you who want to do a natural hair length check and save money! Check it out below! You can comment,  rate, and subscribe if you like! :-) Are you going to make a length check t-shirt? Related Articles: N EW: 3 1/2 Years Length Check!                              My 4 Year Natural Hair Anniversary                             October 2013 Length Check                

1BN Kids: Banded Braids and Ponytails Happy Saturday, my blessed naturals! Today, Big Sister and Little Sister Natural were rocking their banded braids and ponytails. My sister and I took them to see the movie HOME , and they loved it! We did too! Big Sister Natural wore her flat ironed her in a ponytail at the top secured with pink and green ponytail holders. Her hair hung loose at the bottom. She had 2 interlocked cornrows in her bang area like in the article before last . Little Sister Natural wore her hair in 3 braided ponytails. She had 2 in the front and 1 in the back. Each ponytail had 3 individual braids that were all secured together with bands or ponytail holders at the ends.  Both of the girls' natural hair was blow dried before styling. Their mom used the Softee Thickening Growth Oil shown below. 1BlessedNatural: side view of Big Sister Natural's cornrow and ponytail style 1BlessedNatural: front view of Big Sister Natural's cornrow a...

Wearing High Natural Hairstyles for Long Periods of Time Happy Monday, my blessed naturals, The one question I get asked a lot is if it is okay to wear a high natural hairstyle like a puff, ponytail, bun etc. all the time. In my experience, I think it's good to wear those styles for 2 or 3 days at a time, but you should give your hair a break in between to avoid Traction Alopecia and breakage around your edges and nape. If you are going to wear a puff, do not make it too tight and take the band out before sleeping. In the past, I've tried keeping the band in my hair, moisturizing, and sealing my hair at night. This method worked for awhile, but I had to remove it completely after 5-7 days. When I wear my hair in an updo (with a band) with gel, I usually keep the style in for no more than 5 days. 1BlessedNatural- puff with band For the past few days, my hair has been in the flat twisted and banded style . I do not like to wear my hair pulled up in the bac...

New Video: Natural Hair Product Haul! Aunt Jackie's "Oh So Clean" and "Knot On My Watch) Happy Saturday, my blessed naturals! I've just posted another video to my YouTube channel called " Natural Hair Product Haul ." Check out the great deal on hair products I found at Family Dollar two days ago. Check out the video below! You can comment, rate, and/or subscribe if you like! (smile). Can you believe this??? LOL Related Articles: 7 Ways to Save on Natural Hair Products                             Save Money by Washing Your Headbands 

1BlessedNatural- New Video: Flat Twisted and Banded Protective Style Hey, my blessed naturals! I hope you all are having a great start to your weekend. Many of you might remember the " Banded Hair as a Style " article. I've just uploaded a natural hair video tutorial for the flat twisted and banded protective style on my YouTube Channel You can check it out below. You can comment, rate, and/or subscribe if you like! (smile) 1BlessedNatural: front of flat twisted and banded protective style 1BlessedNatural: back of flat twisted and banded protective style Are you going to try the flat twisted and banded protective style? Related Article: Banded Hair as a Style                           Using Fabric Bands to Stretch Natural Hair

16-Year-Old Girl's Response to Straight Outta Compton' Casting Call   Many of you may have heard about the NWA: Straight Outta Compton movie casting call from last July. The criteria for the roles were sexist and racist among many things. It raised some eyebrows and blood pressures. When I read the casting call, I quickly dismissed it as plain nonsense.  Yesterday, my 16-year-old niece, J.T. sent me a response that I couldn't have said better, myself. Here is her response: Hello everyone! A few months ago I heard about the casting requirements for the upcoming movie Straight Outta Compton , based on the group NWA. When I read the casting call, I was absolutely shocked by the criteria designed for the actors. Coming from a blended family, race never really occurred to me and it was stressed that everyone, no matter the color, was beautiful. Wanting a certain look for a character or group of characters is expected, but the requirements related to each “rank” i...

1BlessedNatural: Gabrielle Union's Weave Confession on "Being Mary Jane Hits Home for Many Women Last night, Gabrielle Union revealed her natural hair on the BET hit show Being Mary Jane. Union, who plays "Mary Jane" stood in the mirror with her huge Afro while finding out that her stylist was canceling her appointment. After calling her niece to redo her sewn in weave, Mary Jane confessed that she was "terrified" to go to work without it because she thought people would think she wasn't beautiful. She would just be "normal." I'm glad Being Mary Jane addressed this common occurrence on national television, because a lot of women can relate to it. Mary Jane's confession rings true for a lot of woman who wear weaves, and I've known many of them. Some may feel like their hair is not good enough. Others may feel like they need to wear a weave because they've worn it for a long period of time. It becomes a part of the...

1BlessedNatural- New Video: After Natural Hair Wash| Before Bedtime Preparation  Hey, my blessed naturals! I've just posted a video  called " After Natural Hair Wash | Before Bedtime Preparation " showing you how I do style prep for my natural hair after a wash or before bedtime. The technique in the video is really great to do if you do not feel like banding or twisting your whole head before going to sleep.  The video contains one of the alternatives from my article " 3 Quick Alternatives to Bedtime Twists " articles from a while back. Check out the video below! Comment, rate, and subscribe if you like! Are you tired of twisting your hair every night? Related Articles: 3 Quick Alternatives to Bedtime Twists                             New Video: "My Natural Hair Wash Routine"

1BlessedNatural: Cartoon Pokes Fun at Natural Hair and Sheds Light on Origin of Negative Hair Attitudes The Nickelodeon cartoon , Winx Club released a racially offensive version of one of their cartoons that pokes fun at natural hair. The cartoon was then edited, removing the subject of hair and replacing it with another topic. The original video was posted on the All Black Media (for being offensive) and Winx Club YouTube sites. The show is about the adventures of teenage girls who attend a fairy high school. In the 2004 original version (Season 1, Episode 12) called "Miss Magix", one of the white characters named Stella, who has straight blond hair is backstage at a beauty pageant getting her hair and makeup done by her friends when they hear a girl crying outside. When the girls peek into the hallway, they see a Black girl with a big brown Afro, covering her face and crying. Another character is holding a mirror up to her saying "a catastrophe" happened...

1BlessedNatural: Regina King Posts Before and After Pic of Hair Hot Combed ( photo cred: Facebook ) Today, actress Regina King posted a before and after Facebook photo of her hair hot combed. This was her caption: I love myself before and after the pressing comb. ‪#‎ kitchen‬ -dos  Those born in 71 and before know what those are. Although I was born after 1971, her picture brought back memories of me getting my hair hot combed as a child and teen. My hair was hot combed from the 5th grade to the 11th or 12th grade, and then I started relaxing my hair again. King's photo made me think of the times when I was told to hold my ear so I wouldn't get burned, lol. There was nothing like letting your ear go too early... Ouch! I also remember the sizzling sound of my greasy hair burning when the comb was too hot. Yikes! I think Regina King's hair is beautiful and thick, though. I like her cut too. Good job, Ms. King! What do you think of Regina King's befo...

  1Blessednatural: 7 Creative R&B and Neo Soul Videos from the '90s and 2000s by Naturals (photo courtesy of Flickr- Isaac Campbell - under CC by 2.0 ) Hey, my blessed naturals! I remember when music videos were so creative that they looked like mini movies! Here are 7 creative R&B and Neo Soul videos from the '90s and 2000s by artists who wore natural hair: 1. "On & On" by Erykah Badu Ms. Badu was having a Cinderella moment in the "On & On" video. It seems like everything was working against her getting her chores completed. The house was a  mess. The kids were running all of the place. The dog snatched her laundry off the line. She also falls in the dirt, but she made it out of the house to sing at her favorite club. I love the story and "back in the day" feel to the video. Oh yeah, be sure to peep her putting the little girl's hair in a ponytail. That girl has a lot of hair! Speaking of hair, Eryka...

1BlessedNatural: Dreamworks Introduces Natural Hair Character  in "Home"Movie On March 27th, DreamWorks Animation's new 3-D animated movie, HOME featuring a cute and curly haired Black teen named Tip will hit theaters. Tip encounters a little clumsy alien named "Oh" (Jim Parsons) from another planet. The two go on a fantastic journey which teaches the lesson that no one is perfect. Tip's voice is played by singer Rihanna. When I first saw the trailer for the movie, I thought it was nice to see a character who looked like a normal teen rocking her natural hair.   There are some great close-up texture shots of her hair in the movie! I also liked the fact that Tip is not super skinny, and she is dressed like a normal kid. One of her outfits include a light green hoodie, jeans, and sneakers. She is also wearing stretchy bands on her arms. I think kids and teens will be able to relate to her. The idea of a young character with natural hair in a ch...

1BlessedNatural: Another Flat Twist, Twist-Out Happy Monday, my blessed naturals! I hope you all had a great weekend. I did a flat twist, twist out on Sunday. Friday, I washed, deep conditioned, and banded my hair. Saturday night, I did medium sized twists. I parted my hair across my crown and twisted it straight down the back and sides. The front was twisted towards my eye brows. My hair was spritzed with water beforehand. Cantu Creamy Hair lotion was applied to each section before sealing with coconut oil. Afterwards I grabbed the ends of a few flat twists (at a time), pin curled, and secured them with a bobby pin.  In the morning, I unraveled the twists and fluffed them out with my fingers. Then, I used a wide-tooth comb to lift my roots to give my hair more volume and hide the parts. 1BlessedNatural: I am flat twisting the back section of my hair down.     1BlessedNatural: me and my half parts lol. The flat twists are completed. ...

The Winners of the 1BlessedNatural Subscriber Appreciation Giveaway! Happy Sunday, my blessed naturals! Today is also International Women's Day! Why? It's because we rock! Thank you to everyone who entered the 1BlessedNatural Subscriber Appreciation Giveaway . The winners are.... Yorsheika White   GRAND PRIZE WINNER Rondah S.  RUNNER-UP  Congratulations!!!    "Blessed" winners you have 24-hours to contact me at 1BlessedNatural[at]gmail[dot].com with your current mailing address. If you do not contact me or respond to my email, I will pick another winner(s). If you wold like to sponsor my next giveaway, please send an email to the address above. Please type "Giveaway Sponsor" in the subject line. Thanks! Related Articles: [ CLOSED] The 1BlessedNatural Subscriber Appreciation Giveaway

1BlessedNatural: 4-Year-Old Little Girl with Locs Tells Boy She Came to Learn, Not to Look Pretty! Hey, my blessed naturals! I talk about the importance of instilling self-love in all kids, especially little girls all the time. 4-year-old CiCi told her mom that a boy at her school said she was ugly. The one thing that tugged at my heart a bit was that she paused before saying "ugly." But, the little girl responded cleverly by saying, "I didn't come here to make a fashion statement; I came here to learn, not look pretty." Round of applause for her parent or parents! The little girl with the Caribbean accent and dreadlocks said she had more words for the little boy. Check out the video below! What do you think of the little girl's response? Related Articles: Viola Davis' Facebook Photo: A Lesson in Self-Love                         ...

"Love that Afro Girl" stencil on cardboard by Asboluv (photo courtesy of Flickr- Asboluv - under CC by 2.0 ) Have you ever been walking down the street and seen the flyest piece of Afro stencil artwork? If so, you are not alone! Today, I'm featuring the artwork of a few artists and photographers who've shared similar experiences. They've either created, captured, or done both. Enjoy! LLL -choc on pink [vinyl solution] by Asboluv/ ..ROJO TERRACOTA on FRAMBUESA (raspberry) stencil art (photo courtesy of Flickr- Asboluv - under CC By 2.0 )   If Billie Holiday had an Afro....  stencil art (photo courtesy of Flickr- Daniel Lobo under CC by 2.0 )   "Tortured Soul" stencil art on cardboard by Asboluv (photo courtesy of Flickr- Asboluv - under CC By 2.0 ) Black man with beard and fade stencil art on building (photo courtesy of Flickr- Brian Hillegas - under CC by 2.0 ) "Phat Tin of Luv" stencil on card...

Dear 1BlessedNatural... Hey, my blessed naturals! Some of you have asked me questions about maintaining your natural hair, goals, etc., and I love assisting you all. So, I'm officially starting a "Dear 1BlessedNatural" portion of this blog magazine. You can send your questions to 1BlessedNatural[at]gmail[dot]com, and I will answer them to the best of my ability. Some of them will be featured in upcoming articles! I look forward to hearing from you! Related Articles: Dear 1BlessedNatural, I'm Tired of Doing My Kids' Hair                             Dear 1BlessedNatural, What Can I Expect After I Big Chop