1Blessed Natural Mag

 Kimberly J. Childs If it were legal to be married to a hair product, my spouse would be Kinky Curly Curling Custard, curl definer. I love that stuff! It has loved me, and my hair for years. We're just in love, ok?:) But, every spouse has a flaw, or 2. This one's flaw is the price. Although it does a great job defining my curls, it is around $17 for a petite size. Recently, I discovered a plus sized container of EcoStyler Olive Oil gel for around $5.50. Many ladies say they are using this as a curl definer for their wash ‘n’ go. I decided it's time to cheat on Kinky Curly, and go on a date with my Eco. (That's his pet name;) Here's what we did on our date for the wash ‘n’ go… First, I washed and conditioned my hair as normal. For kicks, here is a picture of my hair, no product, just washed… Next I separated my hair into four sections. I raked a good amount of product into even smaller sections of my hair. I worked my way from the ro...

Kimberly J. Childs' rocking a beautiful puff for her wedding day (photo cred: Kimberly J. Childs) Kimberly J. Childs Just had an awesome conversation with one of my besties, a gorgeous woman with locs to die, kill and steal for! She told me about a talk she had with an engaged woman, also with beautiful locs. My friend asked her,  “How do you plan to do your hair for the wedding?” The woman replied, “I'm cutting my locs off, I want to be pretty that day!” Well ladies and gents, here it is. This woman has grown out beautiful locs for years, only to chop them off, to be pretty. Why? Her locs do not meet the standard of “wedding day pretty”, apparently. Hearing this truly made my soul sad. I also nearly dropped my drink! So, after gathering my thoughts, and grasping my margarita, I thought: 1. Have you felt unpretty all of these years? 2. Why did you go natural in the first place, if your highest standard of pretty requires a weave or relaxer? 3. The Sis...

(photo cred: Dionysius Burton via Flickr under CC By-ND 2.0 ) Kimberly J. Childs Before I went natural, I must have googled the words natural hair, big chop and shea butter at least 1.5 million times! Yet, after all of my research, I still had surprises on my journey, and still do! Here are my top 6 surprises after going natural, the good and the bad! 1. My Hair Still Moves, it Even Swings Sometimes! When I went natural, I had accepted the imaginary fact that my hair would no longer blow in the relaxed wind, as it had for years. However, I have discovered that my hair can still blow, without chemicals or heat. Believe me, there are days when I have my puff, and it’s not moving anywhere. Tornado or not. That is totally ok with me! 2. My Hair Holds Scents/Smells for Much Longer When I use some of my more fragrant leave-ins, my hair holds that scent for days!  This makes using essential oils like rosemary or peppermint even better. On the other hand, it ho...

1BN Contributor: 4 Ways to Cutefy Your Nighttime Natural Hair Routine Kimberly J. Childs It's time to go to sleep naturals. You've put your hair into 6 jumbo braids, reminiscent of your childhood. Problem is, you  have a grown husband/partner waiting on you when you get to bed! Now, we know he loves you, regardless. The issue is, you feel a little self conscious. Anyway, you curl those ends with multicolor perm rods and glance in the mirror…Good Lawd...Helllooooo Sista Pippi Longstocking! If you feel self conscious in front of your boo, here are some tips to reclaim your cute at bedtime... 1.  Make Your Braids/Knots/Twists Into a Style If you are prepping your hair for the best braid out ever, try to make your braids into a style. For example, if you usually put a bunch of braids in your hair, and just let them hang, why not twist them into a style for the night? If done right, it can eliminate the need for rollers too!  Here's a picture of me, bra...

  1BN Contributor: Top 5 Funny Reactions to My Shrinkage ( photo cred: ABC/ Black-ish ) Kimberly J. Childs  As naturals, we know how to give ourselves a complete hair makeover, by simply washing it, and wearing it “out”. I’m about to use the "S" word, Shrinkage. I have gotten many funny reactions to my hair shrinkage, and I know you have too! Here are the top 5 reactions to my shrinkage... “Oh wow, did you get a haircut?” This one by far, is the the most popular reaction to my wash and go styles. I will go from super stretched, day 4 hair, to shrinkage that makes me look like I got a haircut; or 2.  It is so hard to explain this to people,especially when they don’t have our texture of hair!  So my quick answer is,” I washed it, let it air dry, and this is what happens.” It is tough for people to fathom this. One guy responded with, “So let me get this straight, every time you wash your hair, it gets shorter??!”. “What happened to your hair...

1BN Contributor: A Nappy Girl's Prayer (photo cred: Pink Sherbert Photography via Flickr by CC by 2.0 ) Kimberly J. Childs " Dear God, when I wake up in the morning, please let me wake up with White girl's hair, Amen." This was the prayer I prayed nearly every night as a child. Not "Dear God, please let me get a bike for Christmas." or "Dear God, please let Derrick sit next to me at lunch." As a child, I was so dissatisfied and miserable with ME, that I bombarded Heaven, with HAIR PRAYERS! Growing up a Black girl in the 1980’s meant a few things. 1. You were likely taught that “new growth” was the devil, ugly, and you should rebuke it (Or at least greeeze it down). 2. You were VERY likely sitting in front of your Momma or Grandma’s stove on Saturday nights, about to feel the fire from that hot comb. 3. When the fear of that evil hot comb became too much to bear, you were begging for a perm. At 11 years old, I was pleading with...