Five Year Old With Tailbone Length Hair & First Straightening!

Hey, curly mamas! Today I am bringing you a video on Symari's first hair straightening. This is her absolute first time getting this done! If you recall, I already blow dried her hair for the first time earlier this year and it was a success.

For flat ironing, I wanted to wait as long as possible before doing so, because when Syriah was about 2.5 or 3, I'd flat ironed her hair to see how long it was and at the time, I didn't know what I was doing as far as natural hair care yet. Her hair was already damaged prior to this... this was the VERY beginning of the natural hair movement... about 2009-2010ish. I didn't want to do the same to my second daughter, EVEN though when she was born, I'd already been through 2 kids and knew way more about natural hair care than I did with Syriah. There was no reason to flat iron a 3 year old's hair, so I waited till she was 5.
So I hope that you guys enjoyed the video! Comment below or on the video if you have any questions or concerns. Thanks for reading!

                                                 ~Curls of Innocence~

Flat Ironing Done Well!

Sup, curly mamas? Any good hair news?

Yesterday, I uploaded a video showing that my hubby has no heat damage from his first ever blow drying and flat ironing experience. I did a good job, I believe. Haha!

I didn't really expect for him to have heat damage, but I always put it in the back of my head as a maybe. I didn't put the temperature too high, I used heat protectant AND grapeseed oil, and I took my time, even though it was mega late. But that was the only free time that I had to get his trim done, while all 5 kids were knocked completely out for the night. That was the main reason why I wanted his hair straight to begin with. The trim was really needed. His hair is already kind of choppy and damaged from him previously having locs, so I'm working on getting it back to better health, starting with getting rid of dead, split ends.

I am impressed with this flat iron. It's still fairly new. I just got it this spring, I believe. So far, it's done well. I still have yet to straighten my hair with this thing really well, except for the one rush job I did back when our water heater was broken and I couldn't wash my hair too well. But the cooler weather is coming, so I will definitely be straightening my hair for real soon. I want to see the length and because of less humidity, I usually flat iron during the colder months anyway and don't have to worry so much about my curls reverting back.

Do you have a favorite flat iron? What is it? How often do you straighten your hair with it? Got any recent heat damage? How did you go about repairing it? Let me know!

~Curls of Innocence~

curlsofinnocence.com

Do Babies' Hair Stay Straight...? + BIRTH Vlog!

The other day when my 5th child Kyanah was born, Syriah was pretty curious about her sister's straight hair. She was stroking it and trying to figure out why it was straight while her other siblings hair was curly/wavy.
We know that a lot of black babies are born with straight hair because of all the mixed up genetics in our bodies and then it eventually starts to curl up. Some take longer than others to curl up, but they still do.
I guess Syriah was just noticing this now whereas two years ago when Jalani was born, she hadn't thought about it yet! His hair as well as all 5 of my kids were born with bone-straight locs that curled up within the first month or two. But the simplest answer to to her question of why babies are born with straight hair and then turn curly was to just say that it depends on your parents. I told her that if the parents have curly hair, then the baby's hair will turn curly, too. And if the parents have straight hair, then their hair will stay straight. As far as the in-betweens, she'll have to figure that out as she gets older because she's only 7 and knows nothing about genetics or even what sex is, for that matter. LOL!
She didn't press the issue, though. She took that answer and went with it, which is what I wanted. Parenting SCORE! Haha!

If you haven't seen baby Ky yet, here's my 'birth vlog'!

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My STRAIGHT Hair & Trim? June 2015

Hiya, curly mamas!
So, if you follow me on Instagram and Twitter, you already know that I straightened my hair yesterday! I just wanted a change, and ever since I went half blonde in January, I had been dying to see what my blondish hair looked like straight. So I finally went for it, even after a two and a half day mini vacation to NC by PLANE with my mom, sister and baby niece, and all 4 of my kids for my great grandmother's 82nd birthday! O_O
Yeah, talk about tiring. All those babies and bags, fighting through TSA.
Anyway, I rested for two days after that and washed my uber dry hair, deep conditioned, and went for the flat iron the next day when it had dried. I used only my Tresemme heat protectant, the same one I always use and have yet to run out of considering that I barely use heat on my hair.

If you want to see the big reveal, check my Instagram page or wait for the video! I have freaking tons of footage to edit, between the NC vlog clips and the straightening video with trimming and tips, etc. But I will get on it soon! Balancing time being a mommy and video editing can be extremely difficult. That's also why I took a week off from homeschooling this week. It's too much to deal with...

So stay tuned to YouTube for more videos and stuffs. Peace out! 

~Epic Realist~

www.curlsofinnocence.com

Did I Get Heat Damage? O_O

Heya, peeps! I wanted to mention that I washed my straight hair out a few days ago. I couldn't take the itch! It was straight for a week like always, and then my scalp was on fire as it always is when I don't wash my hair every week. I missed my curls, anyway. This is why I can never do protective styles and keep them longer than two weeks, because my scalp starts to feel like needles after about 7 days. -___-
Now, I have wet my scalp and added some oil sometimes when my scalp itches, and then gave it a little massage to loosen up whatever is causing my scalp to itch in the first place. But unfortunately, it's only temporary. The relief is there for a little while, about a day and then it's back to Itch City. I don't have any tea tree oil, which I have heard is great for itch.
Soooo, on wash day, I sprayed my hair with aloe vera juice and water that I had in the fridge and watched my hair revert. I added EVOO along with that onto my hair and scalp as a pre-poo and then covered my hair with a plastic bag for two hours. Felt so good using something cold on my scalp! I made a video doing this process that I will edit and upload soon.
I washed my hair with a cheap sulfate shampoo and did an ACV rinse afterward. My hair felt amazing, and not an OUNCE of heat damage. Woo hoo!
Don't get me wrong; I'm going to miss my straight hair. I don't do it often, so when I do, it's wonderful. It looked amazing, too, as you can tell from the pic of me and my hubby lol! But it's all good. No heat damage. Three years natural, almost four. I know my hair now, and I am doing a great job with it. Yay!
Stay tuned to my YouTube channel. I have more videos coming up, including family vlogs! ;)
www.youtube.com/curlsofinnocence

Peace out till later, curly mamas!

~Epic Realist~

Mane & Tail Originally For... Horses!?

Hola, curly mamas! I wanted to talk about something random I just found out through a hair group on Facebook.
Someone posted a picture of some Mane & Tail hair products and asked if anyone has ever tried them. I hadn't tried those particular products, but before I could state that, someone else said that M&T was originally designed for... horse hair. O_O
Now, surprisingly, it wasn't that much of a surprise to me because when I was growing up, my mom used M&T on my hair and hers, but I've always wondered why there were horses on the front label and why it was called 'mane and tail'. I don't know; it's one of those weird things that kids probably pick up on more than adults. My mom swore by their shampoos and conditioners especially back in the day. I was shocked to hear that this speculation of mine was actually true. LOL! Check here on their website. http://manentail.com/faqs/
So with that being said, no wonder naturals have had a lot of bad things to say about M&T products. If it was supposed to cater to horses, then it must work well on naturally STRAIGHT hair, not curly hair. Interesting. I suppose the ingredients were safe for humans to use as well as animals when they decided to market this brand towards humans, or maybe not. They're probably very harmful. Who knows? I haven't used any Mane & Tail products in probably over ten/twelve YEARS. Now that I know this is the case, I will NOT be trying them out for my natural hair lol!
You learn something new every day, right? Knowledge is power. ;-)
Well, that's all for now. Gonna go chill out because kids are down for the night. Woo hoo! #36weekspreggo

Peace out till later, folks! 
                               ~Epic Realist~

Personal blog link: http://epicrealist.blogspot.com/

WARNING: If you are easily offended by religious debates/statements, DO NOT even attempt to read this blog.

Riah's Yearly/Holiday Hair Straightening!

Heya, guys! Happy Holidays! I wanted to briefly show my attempt at straightening my four year old's hair. It came out very well! Her hair is already so silky, so it's easy to get straight. Her hair is 3A-3B, sometimes seems more like a type two instead. But either way, it was easy. It only took a full hour to get her fine strands straightened.
Before I did anything, her hair was freshly washed two days prior, oiled up, and put into four braids. When I wanted to straighten it, I cranked up my regular cheap flat iron (400 degrees), put some grapeseed oil on her sections, and then applied my Tresemme heat protectant on the sections as well. Then I combed through with my wide toothed comb. I started with smaller sections. Syriah did so well with being still... she always does.

To avoid more damage, I only did one pass. A few ends had an extra run through them, but then I realized how badly she needed a trim. Her last trim was in July... about a half an inch. I measured her hair after I was done to get a more accurate length check than the one above, and her hair was actually about 22.5 inches (damn!) instead of 21. But she needed a trim, so I took off about an inch. Her hair was also a little uneven from the last trim as well, so I evened it out. And she looks gorgeous! Her hair is soft and silky, flows well like 'white people hair' LOL!

This is how her hair looked when she went outside the same day (above). Below is the trim.

            Here is how she wore her hair when we went to a woman's breakfast at my mom's church.

 

My little fashionista LOL! I love the waves in her hair due to braids.

Nightly Care:

Every other day, I put a light oil (grapeseed oil or coconut oil) all over her hair, especially the ends. Then I thoroughly comb it after parting it into two sections. Lastly, I braid each section into the same 'Pocahontas' braids showed above, except without the hair band at the top. She wears stocking caps to bed and her hair always looks fresh and un-bothered in the morning.

So, that's my straightening update for Syriah. I wish that my hair was as easy to get just about bone straight like hers sometimes. But I love my curls and my own hair, anyway. ;)

Hope you guys enjoyed. Peace out till later and happy holidays! <3 

 ~Epic Realist~

Hair and... Politics!?

I do not view going natural as a political statement, because frankly, I do not care about politics. I believe that politics are fake, and that they only portray into the media what they want the masses to believe.

I went natural for two reasons. For one, I was sick and tired of society's view on bashing black women who did not keep their hair straight and 'manageable', and secondly, I already had a passion for 'naturalness' my whole life but I didn't really know it yet.

I got tired of buying lotions and hair creams that 'didn't work' for my hair and skin because they were full of chemicals. I would complain to my sister about commercial lotions that we'd buy and use, and the next day, we were so ashy, it was as if we put nothing on at all. 

I would get utterly frustrated when I got a cream for my hair, lather my hair in it, twist or braid it up, and the next day, it would be as dry as the Sahara Desert. When I did get perms, I only got them every 4-6 months, so I was pretty much wearing my hair natural and curly, anyway. I went to college with my hair still wet a lot, and people called me 'white girl' because my hair was long and wet, and still looking good, even though it was damaged. So 'big chopping' after transitioning for two years wasn't hard for me and it wasn't a hassle. 

I did, however, have to learn how to really take care of it, and that's what I continuously do today.

The rise of natural hair products has definitely made me feel better as a black woman, knowing that we no longer have to succumb to buying crap in the stores because that's all there is. We can wear our natural hair as we have been so afraid to do for years and not have it break off due to overuse of parabens, sulfates, and petroleum.

Going natural is like going on a choosing a healthier diet; you cut out a lot of the bad things, but you have to learn what healthy things you should substitute for and put into your body as well as how to care for your body. You can't just say, I want to eat healthier but I'm not going to research how to do it, so you continue to eat the same way and not exercise. Sorry, not going to work. You won't get anywhere anytime soon with that kind of mentality. 

It may seem that going natural is harder than being relaxed, because in a way, it is. Everything that we are supposed to be doing right is automatically going to be harder. That's just life. We were born natural, so taking care of our curls is what we were born to do. Growing your own food will automatically be harder than just going to the supermarket and picking up any type of food you want with no hassle, because that's the way the world was originally supposed to work. We've just gotten lazy over the centuries, and we don't want to do any more work then what we are allotted to do. Constantly spritzing, detangling, moisturizing, twisting, parting, and styling seems to be harder than just going to the salon for a relaxer every six weeks or so, but that route has it's share of hard work as well. 

Technically, your hair may require more care with a relaxer than our natural curls, only because the chemicals wear our hair down, but hey. Either way you rock your hair is still work to look nice and be as healthy as we can.

Natural hair maintenance can be super hard work, but it's worth it, ladies! Peace out till later, curly mamas! https://www.facebook.com/pages/Curls-of-Innocence/256662627753918

~Epic Realist~

Vanna Venom- Eccentric Hairstyles and Colors!

Hiya, ladies! Okay, I'm not exactly going to be biased and allow this blog to only be about African-American hair, or curly hair, or even natural hair. I like hair, period. So today, I thought of a different 'subject'.
I came across this girl who I've seen before on the internet years ago. Her 'name' is Vanna Venom. I've seen a pic of her a long time ago, but I didn't pay much attention. I didn't know her name then, either. I saw her again today while looking for pics of hair highlights that I might want in my hair. When I tell you that this girl has the most eccentric hairstyles I've ever seen, I seriously mean that.
It's weird, but cool at the same time. Some of the things she's done with her hair are actually cute to me. She's taken the scene girl look to another level. I've never even heard of the term scene girl. Apparently, it defines punk girls, emo girls, hardcore girls. She's weird, but cute and unique in her own way.
Dont' get me wrong; most of these styles I wouldn't dare wear in my own hair!

  I just find this girl's style really... interesting. I really want to know how she even got some of those effects in her hair, the whole raccoon look. How the freak did she get those shapes in her hair? Kind of awesome. Like I said, I'm not doing this to my hair. I want to be different, but not like this. I'm not a follower. Besides, I'm married with three kids. What would I look like dying my hair like this? Talk about immaturity!
But anyway, Vanna Venom's hairstyles are the most eccentric I've ever seen. The colors, the bangs, everything. People say that 80% of her hair is just extensions, which seems about right, considering that the back of her hair is abnormally 'poofy' and lifted completely off her head. Someone may say that people who do things like this have 'issues'. So what if they do? We all have issues, don't we? Just because we choose to not implement our 'issues' into how we wear our hair doesn't mean anything. Well, she's her own person, all right, even though I heard that she sometimes hates on people who want to copy her. 
I say it's kind of a good thing, having people admire you. I think hubby and I are kind of re-starting a revolution here in the ATL because of Jamian's rat tail... and the rat tail in hubby's own hair that I created recently. People haven't seen rat tails in years, apparently, so everyone who sees us loves it and admires us for doing it. Probably giving them ideas about giving their own sons a rat tail. Hey, you have to be you. Do what makes you happy. If you're comfortable with it, then do it. Don't just do something for attention. If you do something for the wrong reasons, it may backfire. I think we all have experienced that at some point in life.
So there's my random hair post. Gonna start talking about different hair topics sometimes. I like my stuff to have a little bit of diversity to it. Hope you enjoy! Questions? Comments? Tell meh!
Peace, curly mamas.


~Epic Realist~