1Blessed Natural Mag

1BlessedNatural: Natural Hair & Sticking to What Works for You Hey, my blessed naturals! Today, I wanted to talk about sticking to what works for you when it comes to natural hair. Last weekend, I ran out of Aunt Jackie's Detangling Therapy , but I used some of the Cantu Leave-In Conditioning Repair Cream I had left. My hair felt completely different than when I use the Aunt Jackie's detangler as my leave-in.You all may know that I started experiencing moisture overload about 2 months ago. Even though, I couldn't figure out exactly what caused it, I'm guessing it was caused by me switching from the Cantu Creamy Hair Lotion as my daily moisturizer to the Curls Creme Brule . So, what am I saying? I'm learning more and more that it is important to stick with what works for you, especially when it comes to products. Price for Products Above from Family Dollar                   ...

1BlessedNatural: My Review of Episode 6 of Cutting It: in the ATL (photo cred: WE tv) In this week's episode 6, "The Art of War" of Cutting It: In the ATL, things got more awkward and heated between Dedra and the rest of the girls, especially Mushiya. Remember last week when I said it was safe to say that Beautii and Maja would not be doing business together? See, what had happened was... The idea is not off the table. Beautii has to prove she can stay drama free. We'll see! Maja invites the women to an art gallery, and it gives me the "staged" feeling. Maja, LaKenya and Beautii are the first ones there. Beautii sees her old client Desiree who got her hair done at Mushiya's salon and tells her she feels she was disrespectful. After Beautii makes fun of Desiree's hair (textured weave style), she decides to leave but is stopped by Mushiya. Earlier in the episode, Mushiya has a consultation with Desiree about going natural and Desiree remo...

1BlessedNatural - New Video: Rubber Band Cornrow & Twist Updo Tutorial Happy Tuesday, my blessed naturals, I've just added the Rubber Band Cornrow & Twist video tutorial to my YouTube channel. This style has become one of my favorite protective styles this year. The items used in the video were Cantu Creamy Hair Lotion, 100% coconut oil, rubber bands, sectioning clips, and bobby pins/hair pins. The video is below! You can comment, rate, and/or subscribe if you like! Are you going to try the rubber band cornrow & twist updo? Related Article: Rubber Band Twist and Cornrow Updo                           Protective Style: Cornrows and Pin Curl Twist Updo                           Cornrow & Flat Twist (Tuck...

Beautii Decides to Get Her Coins By Herself on Episode 5 of Cutting It: in the ATL (photo cred. WE tv ) Happy Saturday, my blessed naturals, On Thursday's episode of Cutting It: in the ATL  on WE tv, Maja confronts Beautii at her 25th career anniversary celebration about her sending a spy to her shop. Maja meets with LaKenya to discuss doing business together. She tells her to be careful around Dedra. Mushiya and her husband celebrate their 10th anniversary, and we find out she can sing. Who knew! All should be well, but it's not! Before Beautii's celebration, Mushiya warns her that someone told Maja about her sending a spy into her shop. Beautii tells Mushiya not to blow her cover. Little does she know, Mushiya already did it. After Maja confronts Beautii at her celebration, they agree to be upfront with each other about everything. Mushiya also warns LaKenya to watch who she associates herself with, meaning Dedra, but LaKenya doesn't trust her either. ...

1BlessedNatural: Amandla Stenberg Wears Grey Extension Braid-Out to Women in Film Awards (photo cred: Instagram ) Actress Amandla Stenberg turned heads with her grey extension braid-out on Tuesday at the Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards in Los Angeles. The 16-year-old's braided extensions were unraveled up until about 2 inches from her scalp and cut to her shoulders. I thought the style looked cute! It looked like she was preparing to take out her braids, but decided to rock them! I think this will definitely start a trend, especially among teens. Earlier this month, Stenberg, who is natural went with Jaden Smith to prom. She was also wearing her grey braids at that time, but they were waist length. It's good to see  a lot more Black actresses stepping out of the box when it comes to hairstyles on the red carpet. Zendaya Coleman's faux locs and Lupita Nyong'o cornrows are two examples. It's going to be interesting to see what other creative hairsty...

1BlessedNatural: 5 Steps for Washing and Detangling Long & Thick Natural Hair Happy Tuesday, my blessed naturals! Two weeks ago, I did my niece Big Sister Natural's (BSN) hair for the first time. Many of you may know that she is 10 years old with a head full of super thick and long natural hair. She is also very tender-headed. I'm going to share with you my 5 steps of washing and detangling her hair: 1BlessedNatural: after applying olive oil to the first section of hair and twisting it 1. Use an oil, conditioner or moisturizer to detangle .   After removing BSN's cornrows, I broke her hair down into medium sized sections. After spraying olive oil on each section, I gently finger detangled it. Coconut oil, in my experience is the best oil for detangling. If you use it you have to use large amounts on each section, especially if the hair is very thick. It's important to try and remove all of the shed hair to minimize tangles during the wash pro...

1BlessedNatural- My Review of Cutting It: in the ATL- Season 1/ Episode 4 Happy Friday, my blessed naturals, Last night's episode of Cutting It: in the ATL "Turnt Up Truce" was CRAZY! The beginning of the episode is basically everyone recapping last week's hair show drama with their friends and "gusbands." Meanwhile, Mushiya is back at her salon. The thing I really like about this part of the show is that she reveals her hiring process for new stylists. She let her 2 potential hires wash and attempt to style her husband and another client's hair. She walks over to the woman doing braid extensions to examine her work and tells her the braids have bubbles that can break the client's hair.Then, Mushiya does a sample braid for her, but the young lady is still not successful. Mushiya tells her she cannot allow her to practice at her salon. I thought it was really cool to see her give the stylist constructive criticism. The other stylist was ...

1BlessedNatural: Summer Crocheted Scarf Headwrap Tutorial Video! Happy Wednesday, my blessed natuals! I've just posted the Summer Crocheted Scarf Headwrap Tutorial on my YouTube channel. The scarfs that I'm using were purchased at my local beauty supply store for $1.99 each, and I bought 3 of them. These scarfs are perfect for the summer because they are cute and allow your hair to breathe! Check out the video below for more information! 1BlessedNatural: Summer Crocheted Headwrap Style #1 1BlessedNatural: Top of crocheted headwrap Style #1 1BlessedNatural: Side of summer crocheted headwrap style #2 1BlessedNatural: style 2 Are you going to try one of the summer crocheted headwrap styles? Related Articles: Twist-Out with Tribal Print Headwrap                             1BlessedNatural Spotlight: Zig Zag ...

1BlessedNatural: My Review of Cutting It in the ATL- Season1/Episode 3 Hey my blessed naturals, It has taken me 3 episodes of watching WE tv's new series Cutting It: in the ATL to finally do a review. I was hesitant to watch the show because I thought it was going to be another show about caddy professional women who can't support one another. However, it's not as bad as I thought, with the exception of a lot of the language. I thought last Thursday's episode 3 "Hair Show Showdown" was worth reviewing.  Mushiya and Beautii attend a model casting call to pick their models for the Pro Beauty Hair Show in Macon, Georgia. Mushiya makes it clear that she is there to meet her "components" and not her opponents. I had to laugh at that one! Beautii said she needed to introduce herself to a dictionary. I think Mushiya (who is also natural) provides the comic relief on the show. She is definitely in her own world! Also, I must say her ...

Dear 1BlessedNatural, My Boyfriend Doesn't Like Natural Hair... (photo cred: Ashleigh W under the CC by 2.0 ) Q: Dear 1BlessedNatural,  I want to go natural but my boyfriend said he doesn't want me to do it. He said he doesn't like girls with natural hair. What should I do? A: When you go natural, you do it for yourself. It is my belief that if you are not married, your significant other cannot have a say in how you wear your hair. If your boyfriend really likes and/or loves you, he'll accept you natural hair and all. It might take him time to warm up to your new look, but he will eventually. I'm speaking from experience. If you want to go natural, do it for you. Go for it! If you have questions about natural hair, you can email them to me at 1BlessedNatural [at]gmail[dot]com! What did your boyfriend say when you went natural? Related Articles: Dear 1BlessedNatural, What Can I Expect After I Big Chop         ...

1BlessedNatural Spotlight: Danielle R. Big Chop date: December 2013 1. What made you decide to go natural? Simplicity. Life is complicated enough 2. What were your friends and loved ones' reaction to your decision?   My friends and loved ones said it's about time! I was natural in college and some of law school. One of my friends said that relaxed hair was like a costume. It was not the real me. 3. What is your current regimen/favorite products? I'm a wild fro kind of girl. I love any sulfate free shampoo I can find at Home Goods, henna made with coconut milk instead of water, and Oyin Berries and Juice. Danielle R. after her big chop 4. What is the most important thing you learned about going natural? There is nothing more beautiful and sexy than being the you that YOU were meant to be. Get to know yourself and be that. 5. What advice do you have for someone who is thinking about going natural? Go natural in whatever way makes your transitio...