Howdy do yall….

This is going to be my last blog post regarding this topic.. But I must say that I have learned along the way. For people that blog for a living, I have a greater appreciation for them because finding information to back up your thoughts and topics can become a tedious job. Not only finding substance to write about… but just simply WRITING.. takes time lol..

I haven’t mastered the whole 60 to 70 words per minute on the computer lol… so it takes me some time to put together my thoughts and words… I may average about 20-30 ha-ha..

Any who..

My favorite thing about doing a blog is that it allowed me to speak on things that would probably spark issues within the organization that I am affiliated with. I mean being a female in the military is hard enough and for some reason we will never meet the standards of the males and they will always have an issue with us.. It’s not all of them tho… But being in a male oriented workforce.. The views of some make it feel like the views of all.

To try to discuss hair topics in a shop full of males would be like trying to cross the street during rush hour! It just doesn’t make any sense. For one they wouldn’t understand the topic and because they simply don’t care. For example a coworker of mine and I were discussing where she went and got her hair done at, and she stated that she went to a Dominican shop and then we proceeded to continue to talk about it. Now mind you there were males present but not in the conversation. I am assuming that the guy was tired of our conversation so he then said “maybe I can go to the Dominicans to get my hair done to.” SO me and my friend just laughed it off and walked away but in my mind I was thinking seriously! First of all you are white and secondly you have no hair! I felt that if he was so over the conversation we were having he could have just left the area instead of interjecting a pointless statement..

This blog has given me a certain level of freedom and also a tool to expose some of the dos and don’ts within our organization. For example the dreadlocks… Do yall know the same girl I see all the in the gym is still putting a wig over her dreads! So one day I asked her why was she doing that? She told me that she grew her dreads as soon as she was accepted into the Navy. It was something that she had prior to joining the military and she had to cut them to join so she wanted to grow them back… She didn’t really have any religious reasons as to why she wanted to wear dreads… it was just her personal style. So lastly I said, you know they are now authorized for wear in the Navy. Why are you still wearing a wig over it? She said because she just wants to avoid comments from coworkers about her hair and it was easier that way.

In retrospect I could kind of see where she was coming from about not wanting to be a shop spectacle because I have had it happen to me before… Not in a bad way but every time I would change my hair… It would be this big hoopla about “wasn’t you hair another way last week?” I’m like thanks for noticing but it gets old after a while.

Anyway… now when I see her I feel a little more at peace instead of being puzzled about her wearing a wig over dreads… I mean it made her head look lumpy.

Lastly,

I have enjoyed sharing my thoughts. I liked reading the comments from my viewers. Let me tell you something funny… I had no idea anyone was reading my blogs until I found the comment section. I was like they like me… they really…really like me. Lol…

I may continue to blog after this… but maybe a different topic… I would like to explore a whole different world out there because there are so many issues out there that are just screaming for my opinion such as the way people let their children behave in public… I think that would be an excellent topic because man do I tell you… There are some brats in the world…

Thanks for reading…

Be blessed

Ash

Its Friday!!!

Maaaaaaaaaaaaaan! Has this week been extra long!

I feel like the closer we get to the end of the semester, the longer the days start to become. You know for us pro-crats! (procrastinators!) lol.. Finishing papers, prepping for tests and still tying to balance everyday life!

Speaking of.. This week felt like I was watching ice melt in the winter while the sun was out at the same time lol. Being apart of the NROTC is apart of my active duty obligations while the military allows me to go to college. While it may be a small obligation.. I feel that it takes up much of my time! Waking up at 0400 in the morning to be to school by 0545 is no joke.

What kills me in the morning is the debate I have with myself to do something with my hair.. Especialy on PT days..

Now i’m not going to go looking any ol type of way lol.. But for my natural sistas you know in the mornings we have to put some form of lubricant on our hair or its going to look dry and stiff like a tumbleweed hahaha…

Ok a tumbleweed may be much of an exaggeration.. but when your hair is dry and you are walking through a  crowd that is basically how you look hahaha.

Sometimes I just have to humble myself and do what I need to do because if I don’t I know plenty people will have something to say lmbo! Another reason is because the men have to come to work everyday with a clean shave. If they can wake up every morning and shave their face.. The least I can do is throw some water and moisturizer on there and call it a day.

It is just so hard being a single parent in the military! When I wake up at 0400 the last thing I am thinking of is doing my hair. I mean really!!!!!!!!! that is why I cut it so short.. But it turned out to be more maintenance than my relaxed hair.

When I find myself rushing in the mornings.. and I am almost out of the door.. That is when I remember! You didn’t do anything to your hair.. and then I have to run back in the house with my sleepy 5 year old and do something quickly.

Side note***

You ever feel like you are moving at top speed and then you look at the clock and 10-15 minutes have passed lol.. That is what I mean when I say I have to rush back in the house and hurry up lol.. It always takes more than 5 minutes to get the right look..

—End rant!

I mean I shouldn’t complain… By far I am blessed beyond belief… but I am human.. and I do complain. lol. The military has been good to me besides these long hours and personality restrictions lol.

I think I need those tho.. because for sure I would be out of control.. Especially with my hair and make up.. (-_-)

I do like the regulations in regards to make up tho.. Its bad enough girls be coming to work with mushroom shaped wigs on their heads.. But if they added make up.. They would just look like clowns.

Hope yall enjoyed my blog..

—Another side note lol—

I always have these random thoughts in my brain… But have you all noticed Raven Simone lately? Since she came out about being a lesbian, her whole image and persona changed. I came across this picture the other day.. Her eyebrows and hair were out of control.. What do yall think? I feel like because they are celebrities they will try and do just about anything for attention whether it is positive or negative!

How far are you willing to go with your personal appearance. Some changes you make take a while to recover from.. Especially if it is dealing with your hair! lol

Have a blessed week!

Hey All..

Short post!

As the holidays approach us.. I am trying to figure out what to do with my hair (or the lack there of lol). I always get the same thing every time.. Braids!

I think it is the more feasible and smart way to go being that I work out so much.. But it just takes so long to get. Im going to Mexico for the new year and I must be fabulous! lol.

SO I may end up braving the long hours that it takes to get my hair braided.

They say beauty takes time.. Although. Beyonce said she woke up like that. Oh well who knows lol! I’m just a regular person trying to look good and maintain my military persona lol!

Have a blessed day yall!

Hey All,

I hope you have been having a great hair week so far!

I’m not lol. I have been experiencing this extreme dryness but I know why and it is because I have not been properly taking care of my hair because I have been so busy. Not to mention this constantly changing weather we are having. One day it is ice cold and then another day it is warm. So I have yet to find the proper balance with my hair care routine, military and parenting. The military seems to always be first and then everything else falls in line.. Leaving me to look like a ragga-muffin by the end of the week. #notcool!

So… For those of you that don’t know I go to the gym a lot. Whether it is on base or at one life fitness (i love that place!)

Random drift off to rant land lol…

One Life Fitness has a lot of civilian personnel that go there. OMG!!! You would be surprised by the type of things you see in there. In particular the hair styles of choice! I cannot make this stuff up.. I seen this man with the front of his hair slicked down. It looked about 98% like the picture below except the front was more slicked down. I was like um.. excuse me… What in the world is going on with your hair??? In my mind of course.. Because it would have been absolutely rude to say that to his face haha…

>>>>>>>>>>>end rant!

Back to the topic at hand. So I go to the gym a lot and I see the same girl every time. She is active duty military of course. Every time she is changing into her work clothes.. She ties her hair back(dreads!) and puts this old dusty wig on top.. Adding about 5 years to how ever old she really is. Look at the photo below! I kid you not.. This is 100% how it looks when she puts this wig on except it is black.

Okay are you ready for it!

Because you already know I have an issue with it lol…

Here is my problem with it.. as I have stated in many of my blogs.. Rules and regulations are set in place for a reason and are meant to be followed! In this particular case.. The Navy has authorized the wear of dread locks.. But everyday I see her in the gym, she is putting on her wig as shown in the picture above.. Making two things look obvious. 1 that she has no idea of what to do to her hair or 2 that she is hiding something under that wig!

So why is she wearing this wig to cover her dreads? You ask. Well because they are blonde! For some reason people like to test the boundaries of everything!

You would have to see it in person to get the same effect that I got. I mean it looks like a large hump on top of her head. It just looks unnatural!

My thing is.. How far will you go to hide something that you are not even suppose to have! Is it worth sacrificing your everyday appearance to maintain a style that you are authorized to have but you insist on pushing the limit!

When women do these types of things, it draws unwanted attention to the rest of us. We now all fall into that category of females always trying to push the limits and get away with it.

Its just sickening that people would go to great lengths for what they want when they know it is not right.

My question to you is… How far is too far? What would you do to cover up any secrets that you may have?

Now I am not going to lie.. When I was younger (in the military) I tried different things with my hair that at the time I didnt know was unauthorized. I had purple hair and upon arrival to my first duty station I was told to “remove the crap” (just like that hahaha). At the time I didnt think anything was wrong with it because I was use to getting crazy styles in school and no one ever saying anything. It was at that point (because I spent lots of money on that hair) that I realized that my hair was no longer my hair, my body was no longer my body and I only owned about 45% of my brain lol. Uncle Sam had claimed who I was and told me who I was gonna be!

Hope you enjoyed my post!

Hey y’all,

So I think that it is only right for me to tie in this week’s events in my blog. November 4 was the midterm election. All that was on TV and internet sites was get out and vote. 

Specifically it seemed to be targeting the African American community. Then you get those speeches.. “our great, great ancestors fought for our right to vote and yall not gone vote”.

Yea they did fight so that I may have the right to vote.. But let me just say this. I don’t follow politics nor did I vote. A lot of the American population don’t vote in the midterm election. I feel like my family wanted me to vote democrat so that they could keep all democrats in the office. In my personal opinion, I don’t really see the effect of policy change because Uncle Sam controls most of the aspects of  my life. How much I can weigh, what I can wear, even where I can go at times. I mean they have a whole list dedicated to places that are off limits for us to visit in the city. It’s like when you sign up to be a part of an organization you sign over the rights to have your old self thrown out of the window and reprogrammed to fit Uncle Sam’s standards.

…………

So I came across this video on face book and it was an interesting way to inspire women of the African American community to get out and vote.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10153297558197786 

The gist of the video is that a senator would dictate how the women were to get their hair to fit inside a box that is socially accepted to all races. 

For example, this whole natural hair movement..

Side note..

I jumped on the natural hair bandwagon because I didn’t realize how much time it would save me in the morning to wake up and do my hair. When my hair was relaxed it was difficult to manage and keep healthy because when we would work out I would have to dry my hair after each session to make my hair look presentable in which caused my hair to get heat damaged. But now I just throw some water on there and keep it moving. 

——–End rant lol

But back to the natural hair movement thing.. People were so used to seeing African American women with pressed or really straight hair that just flowed, not afros. When the secret was discovered that wearing your hair in its natural state is better for your hair.. Women started doing what we call “the big chop” (something like my hair.. Or shorter). 

Now I am not going to lie, the first time I saw someone in the military community do it, I was like ‘whoa what happened to your hair?’ lol because we all have different textures of hair and some can be less flattering in uniform.

But after a while, the natural hair movement started to take off and became more socially accepted and people are not uptight when they see a big afro walk by. lol

In regards to the video.. You see how irate the women get when the senator suggest they get their hair straightened by a relaxer.. Because it would look better in society.

Being in the military that video really hit home for me because I felt like no matter if I went out and voted, the way I live and operate will still be dictated by Uncle Sam until the day I hang up my uniform. So for me it’s like even if I go out and try to help choose who I want to keep in the senate, in my heart I feel what are they going to do for me to help me feel more like an individual within a team. I mean for Pete sake.. It always seem as if they are trying to cut our benefits anyway.

Ok 2nd tangent..

Remember in my previous blogs, when I said it’s all in the eye of beholder if something complements your or is considered out of regulations. By putting my words on paper and having my own epiphany, I find myself being one of those people saying hey something doesn’t look right on you because, I am use to seeing them another way.. i.e. managed hair. 

But through my trials with dabbling into the natural hair world, I now realize that the curl patterns we are praying to have takes time to get in your newly cut hair.. lol

——-ends tangent hahaha

Well.. I hope you were afforded the opportunity to get out and vote if you wanted to.. 

Go America! The land of the free!!!!!!

Hola!

So I am sure you all have seen the photos of Mrs. Carter a.k.a “Beyoncé” new dew! Just in case you missed it view below!

You can see the full story at the link below if you want to know what the streets are saying about Beyoncé’s new dew. I can tell you what I think the reviews are about 50/50. It looks a little different but it’s something that I can adjust to but hey, I am not with her everyday so it doesn’t really bother me much lol. It’s funny that some of the pictures have her looking like she just woke up and didn’t comb her bang.

http://stylenews.peoplestylewatch.com/2014/10/15/beyonce-bangs-beyonce-cuts-bad-bangs/

When I look at her bangs, I feel that the guys in the military would love for us to cut our bangs that short.

Issue in the military with bangs.. (Or any other regulation lol)

As with any rule, some people are going to try to find a way to go around or test the limits. Bangs for example. They tell us that if we are to wear bangs that the hair is not to hang in our eyes or block our view. It should look natural and not appear to interfere with your overall appearance.

Check out the picture below….

Hahaha,,, I must say myself. Now the pink hair is a bit of an exaggeration. Lol but those pins are 100% accurate. Our regulations states that if we are to wear pins they must be “inconspicuous”. Although the services each have their own set of rules and guideline, in regards to this it’s almost synonymous on what is expected. The women in the Navy are allowed to wear pins that show.. And that’s what I mean my stretching what we are allowed to do.

If it takes that many damn pins to hold a bang down.. You may want to consider another style i.e. the “Beyoncé bang”.

Nothing irks me more than to see someone that uses a jar full of hair gel and then still uses pins to hold their hair down in the front. Sometimes I ask people, did you consider the troubles that you would have to go through to make your hair acceptable after they do the big chop of the bangs. ESPECIALLY if it doesn’t look like what they expected it to look like.

***Intermission***

Yesterday when I was at the gym.. I saw the most miraculous transformation. A woman in the military had a head full of dreadlocks, which I believe are now authorized for the women in the Navy to wear, and she took a wig and put it over her dreadlocks to make it appear as if she didn’t have them. I was in total shock. It looked bulky, but it fit under her hat. In my mind, I was like noooooooooooo freaking way. But then my human side kicked in (meaning not my military intuition lol) and I had compassion for her because at the end of the day we are women and feel the need to want to express ourselves as individual. It can be hard sometimes to have to conform to institutional rules and lose a part of yourself in the process. But then I went back to being annoyed lol because her wig looked unnatural. Hahaha. She was could not win in my eyes that day.

__________>>>>> ends rant!

When I see girls constantly moving hair from their eyes, I thank Beyoncé. Why? You ask. Because it has given me a solution to offer girls that don’t know how to control their bangs or hair. I would have never thought to cut a bang before the forehead, it just looks wrong. But if they can’t take the initiative to get a proper hair cut or do what it takes to keep within regulations, I feel that cutting it a little shorter would make them think twice about getting a style that they cannot maintain.

My disclaimer!

I am not against women in the military doing things to express themselves to maintain their individual identities.

___________>ends disclaimer!

But and however! Please stop doing the most with the hair. I feel that it only draws unwanted attention to a small portion of the military, women. The rest of us will receive these labels because of a handful of peoples bad choices with hair, work performance, friends and the list goes on and on.

I would rather stir the pot for doing something positive rather than being chastised for doing something that I know is wrong.

Let’s not make headlines like Beyoncé’s Bangs!

Peace yall…

What up yallll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!,

Thank God it is Friday.. We have survived another work, school or whatever type of week you had by the grace of God.. So turn up and thank him..

Not sure what kind of week you all have had but mine was good. Nothing bad happened and I made it to school on time each day lol! We all know for college students, that can a difficult task.. And another thing that is funny is that my 8 am class that was full on the first day is now down to about half.(when they noticed she doesn’t take attendance.) But she makes us write these discussions that count as participation points.. so i guess that is her way of keeping attendance.. So if your late.. I guess your kind of screwed to. Haha

Anywho…

So I came across this video on you tube. It was basically a video about African American women creating a natural hair exhibit (using their own hair) for people to touch their hair. Now some people were outraged and others were more accepting of the video. Because for some strange reason people want to touch our hair (African American). Now that natural hair is trending.. and many different women are wearing different textures of hair that people are not use to seeing, they want to touch it for some strange reason.

http://youtu.be/AbDgxJNIAVM

How does this relate to me in the military? You ask! Well good question. 

Now as you know with any diverse group you join, there is an even level of ignorance among all races. Why? Well depending on where you are from is what you get!

You may work with some white people who lived in areas that are not predominately mixed.. Meaning there is no diversity in their town and to see anyone other than white is foreign to them.

This does not necessarily make them racist but it does give them a high level of ignorance due to their lack of interaction with other races. Now that doesn’t only apply to white people it can apply to anyone that is in the same situation.

When I was young, I think our town had a pretty even mixture of different races and the Asians and Hispanics were the minority lol.. However, my town was pretty country so you would see all races in tall boots and camouflage gear lol.. Except me that wasn’t my thing.

I say all that to say.. Yall remember last week when I was talking about how I had just removed my braids and now I am wearing my natural hair. Well it totally slipped my mind that my hair was braided before we started school. So when those that I don’t normally associate or didn’t see for the entire summer saw my hair.. They were shocked. 

For some reason! Every command I go to there is always one white girl… (Because the guys just say nice hair and keep it moving!) That always ask.. Is that your hair? Can I touch it? Are you wearing a weave? 

Here is my problem with that.. Number one.. We are not friends and this is supposed to be a professional environment. I shouldn’t feel pointed out because you are fascinated with my hair! I always ask why they want to touch my hair and they always say because it looks different or it looks nice. 

Have they ever stopped to consider the following:

1. Our hair is greasy from all the oils and regiments that we have looked up on you tube and Pinterest to try to make our hair soft and shiny

2. I don’t know where your hands have been and you probably have Ebola (lol)

3. What if my hair falls out from you touching it? Are you going to buy me some implants!

4. Lastly. It is unprofessional!

If we are friends and you asked to touch my hair outside of a working environment for whatever reason than I would feel better about it because I don’t feel like I’m on display in front of everyone. (Especially if I say no..don’t want to be the angry black woman)

>>>>>>>>>>Ok side note!

Why everywhere you work.. (only apply this statement if applicable lol) and there is more than one black woman.. One has to be the angry black woman.. And your are out of luck if you’re the only black woman because you are automatically it.. Haha, They associate you as being angry because you are actually focusing on your job and not being a social butterfly..

>>>>>>>>>>>>Leaves soapbox! 

I am just saying there is nothing that fascination about my hair or any other woman’s hair that someone should want to touch it. I’m trying to grow it not sew it lol..

Hope yall enjoyed my blog.. Have a blessed weekend!

Peace!

Hey Yall,

So this week I took my braids and I felt like my hair hasn’t grown lol…

I looked at the pictures from when I cut my hair back in July and now and it looks the same. I was wondering why it hasnt grown but an outside source a.k.a one of my friends told me that my hair looks like it has grown. She said that she could see the difference between the roots and color of my hair. You can see that its starting to be mostly black and not the color.. I cant tell.. But hey, thats just me. Look at my before and after pics and you decide for yourself.. Lol.

BEFORE

AFTER

Side note… Boy the wonders that makeup does for a face.. Now I didnt wake up like this (as Beyonce has these women lying to themselves in the morning.. lol) but i do feel flawless lol.

Any who back to the subject at hand..

Since my hair hasnt grown that much, I was wondering what I should do with my hair because I don’t necessarily want to get braids right now (because it takes a long time to do lol).

Below is a photo from Naturally curly.com…If only it was so easy to achieve a style that looks like this. Ideally, this is ho I would want to wear my hair (but as you can see from the photos above, I have yet to achieve this look..lol) I have watched many youtube tutorials and I have yet to master the wash and go for the little hair I do have.. Haha.

http://www.naturallycurly.com/curly-hairstyles-pictures/view/twa-6356/

As you read in my previous post, the military has many different guideline when it comes to hair. It makes it difficult to express who you are as a person in regards to your hair and your personal style. Not to say I am a stylish person lol.. But I do like to dibble and dabble with different looks from time to time and spice up my look! Take the picture below for example, when i am on leave I do things that are completely not authorized. This hairstyle would completely be considered to be eccentric. Why? Well because it doesn’t look like the other styles that they have prescribed us to conform to such as hair above the collar or a tight bun.. Its eccentric because it looks faddish! Who knew wearing a mohawk would be a fad! I would say it would be more so of a trend if they allowed it (well within reason). Because we all know when you give people an inch they want to take a mile. If they would allow this style within reason.. people would take it to the extreme by putting color there or wearing it tall and spiky. Making this style not tasteful.

Below is another style I had. I was not on leave I just felt the color and the style complemented me. But i guess I was wrong lol. People were like is that hair orange! You know that is not authorized. Why would you get that? Like I said in my previous post, they write in the regulations that the color has to complement your complexion. Well what I see and what others see can be completely different. When the rules are so vague who is right and who is wrong!

My point is.. That sometimes it sucks to be apart of an organization. Why does it suck because conformity sucks. You somehow lose who you are along the way and every time you open your mouth something military related comes out and its almost like you become a robot.. In someways that can be good. But people fail to realize that life outside the military is just that YOU ARE OUTSIDE OF THE MILITARY lol meaning once uncle Sam is done with you, all you have left is what it WAS like when you were in the military and you have a hard time conforming to the outside world because anyone that is not like us disgusts us lmbo.

THIS IS WHY!

I pride myself on being a commercial Marine. Now I can walk and talk like the rest of them.. Hell I maybe even better than some of them but I do make it a point to try to be myself. It starts with the hair on down. That is a little piece of me that can ground me and make me feel normal like the rest of the women in the world that wake up and have the epiphany that they to want to be a red head lol!

Have a blessed week!

Hey y’all,

So it’s Saturday night and guess where I am! HOME.. The weather is getting chilly and I have no desire to go outside. I decided to start watching that new show on ABC how to get away with murder (HTGAWM). I must say that it is very unique and intriguing lol..

It gave me my inspiration for my blog this week. There were many women on the show wearing different types of styles. There is one in particular that I am dying to wear but because of my active duty status.. I am limited. The picture below is from one of the cast members from HTGAWM.

http://sharetv.com/person/aja_naomi_king

I love her hair. Although it may be simple, when you come from a culture of your hair having to be either short or in a bun.. This can be a style to die for!

Now every branch of service has their own set of regulations when it comes to hair. I feel the Marines have a very strict guide line and it can be very vague For example, when it comes to coloring your hair it says

>Ch 5 (c) Hair Color. If applied, dyes, tints, bleaches and frosting’s, which result in natural colors, are authorized. The hair color must complement the person’s complexion tone. Color changes that detract from a professional image are prohibited.

http://www.marines.mil/Portals/59/Publications/MCO%20P1020.34G%20W%20CH%201-5.pdf

I am of brown skin complexion and you see all these dark skin to light skin women wearing blonde hair. In my own personal opinion I just feel that women color shouldn’t wear blonde because it is not our natural hair color, unless you are mixed or something… but even then it’s not natural.

But where the complexity comes in is how to determine whether this color will or will not complement ones skin tone.

http://misspetaluma.wordpress.com/2009/11/11/miss-petaluma-on-9/rf247668/

This woman looks very nice with her blonde dreads, but and however for the type of job that I am in. This color would be considered eccentric (not only the color but the dreadlocks as well because they are not authorized in the Marine Corps.) because it doesn’t look natural especially around the roots.

But to be honest, the main reason is because she is brown skinned wearing blonde hair and it makes it harder to justify that bleach blonde hair complements her skin tone.

**** On another not to talk about the race issue with hair among women! When I was in boot camp, a white girl asked why we were allowed to dye our hair but white women were not allowed to wear braids. It was just funny that she felt that way about the subject because the white people from where I grew up at, wasn’t the least bit concerned about getting braids.

I learned real quickly that people don’t like controlled environments and if it looks like one is getting more or different treatment than the other, then that’s where the ignorant questions begin.

Any who

I feel that being a woman in the military kind of makes you lose a piece of you identity and individuality. Before you even get a glimpse of all the rules and regulations that are about to be placed upon you, you sign your life away to uncle Sam because the recruiter talks a good game about all the perks you would receive for joining the military.

Now don’t get me wrong, these past 8 years for me have been a roller coaster but I wouldn’t trade that experience for the world. I just wish I could have a little piece of the old me back. I like to wear long hair. Sometimes I would add color to it to make it pop!

To try to do that now in the environment I work in would be 1. Unauthorized and 2. A waste of time. I feel that I shouldn’t invest in hair that I am going to have to constantly wear in a ponytail or bun every day (well at least 5-7 days a week) or the quality and style of the hair is ruined because I am always sweating from working out.

Sometimes when I go on leave, I wear hair that I am not supposed to. It’s a way for me to feel normal and not a part of an organization whether it’s for a week or two! That short amount of freedom does something for your sanity. When men go on leave, they usually grow a beard because that’s their way of feeling normal.

I wish there was a way that we could be ourselves while at the same time appeasing the masses! Our hair shouldn’t have anything to do with the quality and output of our work!

Grade me based off my work performance and not the color of my hair!

Hey all,

Just checking in on yall… Hope your week has been as blessed as mine!

So what has been going on this week? Let me tell you whats new for me, well not really new, but something that has caught my attention!!!

So if you guys haven’t noticed already.. I am natural. I cut my hair back in June of this year and I loved it at first but then I decided to get braids. Blah… Blah… Blah… Lol. Refer to my previous blogs if you are interested in hearing that same ol blob story hahahaha.. (when you love yourself you can joke on yourself and your work…Im an artist and i’m sensitive about my ish.. lol.. JK)

Any who, back on the matter at hand. So I cut my hair.. well all of the relaxed hair anyway. For someone that is new to this #teamnatural business like me, I was expecting way to much out of this kinky hair.

When I got my braids, I was expecting them to last for about  2 1/2 months like they usually do! I am one of those people who cares strongly about the appearance of her braids.. I usually talk trash about other people who have nappy braids or hair! lol… So today.. I looked at my braids in the mirror. I said to myself.. You have only had these for about a month.. Why do they look like this! (check the picture below)..

Usually when my hair is relaxed.. My braids look neat for a long time.. Heck I usually dont suffer any causalities lol (lose a braid) while I wear my braids for an extended period of time. These braids, however, seem to be different. I am not sure if it is because my hair is shorter or what. I mean it could be a strong possibility that is why they are like this. Its just weird because I cannot tell if the hair out of the braid is new growth (new hair that is grown over time) or just the braids sliding.

Question that I would like to ask.. Has anyone ever washed their braids while having natural hair?

I am still in the process of researching that.. I have never tried it. I am afraid that it will make my hair kinky and tangled. Or in other words turn my braids into dreadlocks..

So now I have a decision to make.. Either I keep the braids I have (well the ones that are left lol) or take them out and get new ones. Keep in mind that the cost of the braids can range anywhere from $ 175 to $ 250! That’s expensive. That is my number one reason for keeping them in that long lol! Other than the fact that I don’t want to sit stationary for eight hours and forced to talk to the beautician about her man problems!

Intermittent note!

Does anyone else feel the same way? I mean its already bad enough that we have to sit in the salon for hours to get our hair done, but to add on top of the time that we have to wait, the beautician feels the need to lay her burdens on my shoulders! I mean sheesh! I only want to get my hair done and not relive days of our lives (with an update) every two to three months that I come here.. Now I know what your thinking.. Why dont you just tell her to be quiet? Well do you tell the cook at burger king to hurry up? No its just something you think in your mind because you dont want to sacrifice the integrity of your food.. By getting a little special sauce added to your burger because of your impatience ( hence that special tartar sauce on the fish sandwich at McDonalds.. Click this link to read if you haven’t heard about it lol! http://www.allsingaporestuff.com/article/health-department-confirmed-semen-found-mcdonald%E2%80%99s-mayonnaise) I mean really, your better off preparing your own meals lol… Cant trust nobody these days!

That was wayyyyyyyyyyyy off topic, but the reason why I dont tell her to be quiet is 1. I dont want to slow her process down and 2. I want quality service.. So if sitting there talking with her is what is going to get the job done, then I guess I will just have to suffer in silence. Hahaha..

So that is my mixed thought for the week.. TO keep or NOT TO keep the braids I have now. I forgot to mention the man hours it takes to remove these bad boys! Like 4-5 hours! That’s time from my life that I will never get back..

Anyway.. Enough of my rambling! Have a blessed week yall.