1Blessed Natural Mag

1BlessedNatural: Internet Shocked Over Bloody Scalp and Braids Photo (photo cred: Instagram) Over the last couple of days, there's been a photo circulating on social media of a person wearing cornrows with a bloody scalp. Viewers have been resharing the photo as a cautionary tale about wearing tight braids. Wearing tight braids and other styles, especially for long periods of time can put too much stress on your hair follicles, damaging them and causing traction alopecia . This means that you will experience balding in the affected areas. Many of us in the Black hair community have sat in braiding salons getting those neat and too tight braids , but they are not worth it! In the pic above you can see the person's scalp is swollen in some areas. When I was 5 or 6 years old, a family friend was braiding my hair in cornrows. I felt a tingling sensation on the right side of my head and when I touched it, I saw that it was bleeding. (photo cred: @kix...

August Ed: My New Articles on the Natural Hair Care News Site! Hey, my blessed naturals! I have some new articles on the Natural Haircare News site for this month! For those of you who do not know, the Natural Haircare News is changing attitudes about natural hair. Check out my new articles below: 1. The Effects of Celebrity Natural Hair Stylists' Presence on Social Media 2.  Sonequa Martin-Green Appears on the Cover of Entertainment Weekly Rocking Her Natural Hair 3.  5 Actions to Help Your Child Recover from a Negative Natural Hair Incident 4. Five Ways to Make Money in the Natural Hair Industry Look out for new articles coming in September! Related Articles: June Ed: My New Articles on the Natural Hair Care News Site!                             My New Articles on the Natural Hair Care News Site! 

 1BlessedNatural: Queen Sugar's Rutina Wesley Removes Locs and Shows Off Her Natural Hair (photo cred: Facebook/Queen Sugar/OWN) Yesterday, Queen Sugar star Rutina Wesley let her natural hair down and gave us a peek! The actress removed her famous faux locs and had her hair blown out into a frohawk. Wesley's hair was done by Dr. Kari Williams. It looked like it could've been shoulder-length. Wesley's hair was put into two big cornrows with purple hair. She was loving her new style! The actress also known as "Nova Bordelon" on Queen Sugar posted the before and after pictures on Instagram. She said,"That #process though..." It makes sense that Rutina Wesley would remove her locs because she wears them on the show. The Queen Sugar mid-season finale aired August 2, 2017. On July 26th, OWN announced that there will be a third season of the show! Awesome! Earlier this month, Wesley was a presenter on Black Girls Rock on BET. Rutina ...

MAC Announces Aaliyah Collection for Summer 2018 (photo cred: Flickr/ k.jacykow under CC by 2.0) Aaliyah fans all around the world are rejoicing! Yesterday, MAC Cosmetics announced there will be an Aaliyah MAC cosmetics line that will launch the summer of 2018. The company made the exciting announcement on social media. They said, "Aaliyah is truly one in a million -- an unstoppable icon whose groundbreaking work in R&B music inspires us all. Today we join her countless fans in celebrating her with the announcement of the MAC collection Aaliyah Collection. You made it happen! Stay tune in 2018." MAC Cosmetics entered into a partnership with the Haughton's, Aaliyah's family. The announcement of the MAC Aaliyah Collection was made a day before the 16th anniversary of the late singer's death. Aaliyah passed away in a plane crash on August 25, 2001. Two years ago, Aaliyah fan Jennifer Risinger started a petition with Change.org to honor Aaliy...

1BlessedNatural: My Regimen to Reverse Overload - Part 2 - This photo was taken August 20, 2017 Hey, my blessed naturals! For the past few months, I've been experiencing protein overload, and I've come up with a much simpler and faster regimen to reverse it for natural hair! I decided to do this article as a part 2 to my original article My Regimen to Reverse Protein Overload . The last time I had a serious case of protein overload, it took me about 6 months for my hair to fully recover. My current regiment should have me fully recovered in much less time. Wash Day I wash my hair about 1-2 times a week in 4 sections . I used a clarifying shampoo by Suave for the first couple of weeks of washing. Then, I used Suave Professional Almond and Shea Butter Shampoo because it makes my hair feel moisturized. I followed up with the conditioner and put on a  conditioning cap. I would advise sitting 15-30 minutes under a heating cap to deep condition.  The dee...

My 5 Favorite Natural and Textured Hairstyles from Black Girls Rock! (photo cred: Instagram/BET) Tonight's airing of Black Girls Rock on BET was awesome, and I was especially loving the natural hair and textured styles from the show! The original taping of the show was August 5, 2017 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in Newark, NJ.  Here are 5 of my favorite  natural and textured styles from Black Girl Rocks in no particular order: 1. Taraji P. Henson's Tapered Cut   Taraji P. Henson (photo cred: Instagram/BET) #TBT to a young @tarajiphenson! A star then and a star now, y'all better recognize! Catch our girl at #BlackGirlsRock Aug 22 at 8/7c 🌟 A post shared by BET Networks (@bet) on Aug 17, 2017 at 6:40am PDT  I loved Taraji's new tapered cut and color! It looks good on her. I also like how they showed a couple of her hairstyles from back in the day including the asymmetrical and "side-swept bang." I cra...

1BlessedNatural: Amber Riley Shows Off Her Curly TWA. Back in May 2017 (photo cred: Instagram) Amber Riley is slaying the natural hair game with her TWA ! Today, she shared an Instagram photo  of her hair parted on the side with finger coils. The hair was short on one side of the part and longer on the other side, top, and back. The style was done by stylist Naaman Goodhall. In May of this year, Riley did a Big Chop. Since then, she's shared photos of her natural hair's progress. She is currently playing the lead role as Effie White in Dreamgirls at the West End in London.  Amber girl, we're loving your hair! Amber Riley's coils (photo cred: Instagram) Amber Riley at the Hollywood Walk of Fame (photo cred: Instagram) What do you think about Amber's new do?   Related Articles: Amber Riley's #BlackGirlMagic on Instagram                     ...

1BessedNatural: Sanaa Lathan Goes Blonde for Nappily Ever After Film Adaptation! (photo cred: Instagram) Sanaa Lathan recently colored her natural hair blonde for a new role in the upcoming film adaptation of Trisha R. Thomas' novel Nappily Ever After. Lathan will be playing the character "Violet" in the movie. In her InstaStory yesterday, the 45-year-old actress shared the process of getting her hair done from start to finish. During Lathan's blonde transformation, she got her hair straightened and ends clipped. When the stylist began cutting the front, the actress stopped her and said not to cut too much. "Black girls be like don't cut too much," she joked. We can relate! Her roots were also straightened using a hot comb. Memories! Even though, the main character's name in the book  Nappily Ever After is "Venus", Sanaa Lathan explained that the film adaptation will be different. The book is about a successful Black woman...

1BlessedNatural: New Braid Trend: Box Braids with Thread Wrapped Braids Mixed In (photo cred: Facebook) It's been an interesting summer for braid styles and accessories! We've seen gold and silver cuff beads , braid jewelry, and now braids with thread wrapped around them. Yarn and thread wrapped hair styles have been around for years, but this summer it seems it's especially popular.    Chrisette Michele with box braids and yarn faux locs (photo cred: Instagram) Basketball Wives star Malaysia Pargo wore box braids with colorful thread wrapped braids scattered throughout them this summer. YouTuber MsTanish1 wore the style this summer. I also saw Chrisette Michele wear brown box braids with yarn wrapped ones (faux locs) a few years ago. I like the look because you can switch up the colors to match your outfit. I like the dark colored box braids with a few wrapped braids mixed in. I think if you're not careful you can overdo it, but it all depends on...

  1BlessedNatural: The scene where Charley reveals her natural hair (photo cred: Queen Sugar /OWN) Hey, my blessed naturals! I wanted to talk about Season 2/Episode 8 midseason finale of Queen Sugar where Charlie, played by Dawn Lyen-Gardner decides to wear her natural hair! I know I'm super late because it aired August 2nd, but I just caught up on all of the episodes. Plus I thought today was appropriate because it usually comes on Wednesday nights (smile). I think we as naturals can relate to Charley's experience. The episode "Freedom Plows" begins with Charley admiring herself on the cover of Gallant magazine. She reflects on the headline of her being her "real self" and starts to pick up the blow dryer. She catches a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Then, Charley pulls the towel off her head and runs her fingers through her curls. I don't know it was just me, but I was wondering what she was looking at when she first took the towel off!...

Kerry Washington Arrives in Full Fro Form! (photo cred: Facebook) Kerry Washington was out today with her natural hair in rare fro form! The Scandal actress wore a braid-out with a headband. She was dressed in a sleeveless denim dress by Tory Burch. Her matching, shoes, bag, and sunglasses were by Prada. Talk about style! Last year, Kerry Washington wore her natural hair out on the red carpet of the Emmys . We can expect to see her in the final season of Scandal on October 5th at 9:00pm. Kerry Washington last year at the Emmys Go ahead, Kerry! We see you! What do you think of Kerry Washington's braid-out? Related Articles: Kerry Hair Wears Her Natural Hair on the Red Carpet                             Kerry Washington in Allstate Purple Purse Campaign                

Why Solange's "Most True to Myself Selfies" are Appreciated While many celebrities aim for perfect pictures on social media, Solange keeps it 100 by posting her "most true to myself selfies." In one of her pictures, the singer appears to have brokne out in hives. "My favorite (and most true to myself) selfie lol," she said. US Magazine reported the photo was taken on Solange's wedding day. The hives were a reaction to her eating seafood and working up a sweat on the dance floor. Some fans applauded Solange for her beauty and transparency. One Instagram user said, "Stay beautiful and real. You do NOT need makeup..." Another said, "You make being a weird/eccentric black girl cool. Thank you for that!!" Solange looks like her niece, Blu Ivy (photo cred:Instagram) Solange also posted another favorite photo of herself as a child wearing cornrows. The performer's photos are a great reminder that she ...

1BlessedNatural: Lisa Arrindell Slays Workout Twists! (photo cred: Instagram) Yesterday, Lisa Arrindell Anderson showed us how you could work out and still have your natural hair in some fresh twists! The Saints and Sinners and Madea's Family Reunion actress wore her hair in mini twists with a side part. In a short video on Instagram, Lisa Arrindell shared a positive message about ascending and descending hills in your life. In my 2013 interview with Anderson about her natural hair, she shared the fact that many Black women stay out of the gym because they don't want to mess up their hair. She said, I know a lot of sisters stay out of the gym because of their hair. This is just unacceptable! Completely! How are you going to do that to your body? How are you going to look cute with your hair, cute with your nails, and your body is jacked up? Lisa's choice of mini twists and also regular twists and braids are great protective styles for working out because the...

1BlessedNatural: Kickstarter Campaign for "Hair Love" Animated Short Film Surpasses Its Goal! (photo cred: Kickstarter/ Matthew A. Cherry) The Kickstarter campaign for the new animated natural hair short film called "Hair Love" by Matthew A. Cherry has surpassed its goal of $200,000! As of today at 9:14 pm, they've raised over $204,509.