I'm really excited about this challenge taking place this year and motivated by everyone who has chosen to join!  Thank you all for signing up on Facebook, tweeting your interest on Twitter, RSVP'ing on the website and emailing me your starting photos.  Change happens with numbers so thank you!

First thing's first.  If you're just now hearing about the challenge, read about it here to get started.  Every month I will be posting progress photos of our challengers to show our overall progress and to motivate others to join.  This month I wanted to give everyone time to submit them to me before posting... so here are our CoilyHair.com Challengers:

Check out our Facebook Challengers!

Check out our Twitter Challengers!

This month is Black History Month, or, African American Heritage Month.  It's a time when we remember not only where we came from but also what we as a people have been able to achieve over the course of many centuries. We've come a long way to just decide to give up on the very fabric of who we are--this includes our hair. The times where you've ever thought anything negative about yourself and/or your hair, think back to the hundreds, thousands, and millions that came before you who not only lived their lives just as they were but were proud of who they were, despite what any other person may have thought of them.

In a time where technology reigns (and there ain't nothing wrong with that), advancements in beauty now mean changing what you are to fit someone else's ideal of what beauty is. As far as our hair goes, relaxers were introduced to "relax" the curl pattern in our hair. Now there is a scientist developing a pill to permanently remove the curl pattern from our hair. It's refreshing to take time out in a month such as this to "remember" what my beauty is. Whether it's attending the Pan African Film Festival, admiring Fantasia in the play "The Color Purple," or simply watching a home movie which speaks positively about where I come from... I give myself positive reminders that MY beauty exists and thrives.

In regards to our challenge this year, let's be proud of our hair no matter what texture, density, or thickness. You should be able to think highly of and speak proudly about your hair even if it's not where you want it to be right now. Be thankful that you have hair in the first place. If there is anything that I've learned throughout my years keeping my hair in it's natural state is that hair will always grow, so be patient and positive. Be kind to your hair and it will be kind to you

HAPPY GROWING!

Now that you've had a chance to make or break your new year's resolutions, it's time to take on a real challenge--promoting a healthier scalp to grow healthier hair!

IT'S TIME!!! WILL YOU JOIN ME?

How many years have gone by before you decided to do something about your hair? Or have you not made that decision yet? Well I personally got fed up with not being able to realize the kind of growth and the kind of hair that I wanted. I've perfected styling in twists, weaves, roller sets, etc... even found great products and various regimens for my hair. But after 10 years of being natural and having gone through many "chops" to my length and high heat damage from stylists, I decided to scale back and instead focus on an issue I had been dodging for quite some time--the health of my scalp.

SO WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH THE SCALP... ?

I have always had issues with my scalp and have proceeded to ignore them. I would get a "break" from the problem by resorting to wigs, weaves, extensions of all sorts, etc. In essence, I was hiding the problem, or hiding from the problem. I was recently reading "The Black Woman's Guide to Beautiful Hair" and was inspired to make some changes in how I treat my scalp. I have actually been damaging my scalp tissue by scratching it when itchy, causing lacerations to the scalp that will flake and/or get dry and itchy while it's healing. I would then scratch again because it was itchy, thus never letting it heal. I was also scrubbing my scalp with my finger nails because... well... it simply felt really good, even though I know that I'm supposed to use the pads of my fingers. The scalp has a top layer (the surface) and a bottom layer (where the hair grows) that need to be treated with care. I now believe that all of these unhealthy scalp habits have affected my hair growth or the health of my new growth in one way or another.

WILL THIS REALLY WORK...?

Yes! And there are tons of other resources that will prove it. I personally wanted to make this challenge public last December but instead wanted to try it out for myself, specifically the 1st part of the challenge. I decided to fully take on the below rules and found that they worked well for me! My scalp is able to "breathe" and is a lot more moisturized... less dry scalp as a result and less desire to want to scratch my scalp. I've also experienced noticeable growth as well

This challenge is for MOST types of hair, such as relaxed, permed, or naturally curly or coily. Even if you're still under a weave, you can benefit from this regimen. This challenge will help you get on the right track with your hair for 2010 and have you growing at least 4"-6" of hair by next January, if you follow these 'simple' rules (with scalp care being the biggest one).  Send your starting picture(s) so that I can post them on Feb. 1st! If you're reading this past this date, don't worry!  Just join the challenge whenever you're ready, and hopefully that's soon Just snap a photo backing a mirror, or have someone take a picture of the back of your head showing where your hair ends.   RSVP for the event and follow updates for the event throughout the year (see more info below under "Join The Challenge"). I will plan to post progress pictures every 1st of the month.  I will also be interviewing some amazing women who have grown their hair to unbelievable lengths!

PART I: SCALP CARE

• Refrain from scratching your scalp when it's ichy with your
  finger nails, brush or comb bristles, shampoo brushes, letter openers... basically any sharp object.
• Wash your hair every 3-4 days, as needed at the sight of any
  build up, or once every 7 days at the most.
• Use only ph balanced shampoos that are between 4.5-5.5 in ph.
• Rinse your hair immediately after sweating after a workout.
• Use only the pads of your fingers to scrub your scalp when washing your hair.
• Use a direct stream of water such as a massage shower head or a hand held shower sprayer on your scalp and hair to rid of excess dry
  scalp and debris before washing.
• Perform regular scalp massages for at least 5 minutes daily.
• Apply oil or a water soluble cream moisturizer to your scalp and/or hair when needed.
• Throw out any hair products in your cabinet that contains alcohol, petroleum, petrolatum, or mineral oil.  These do not help with your scalp's health.
• Put your scalp and your hair first and make time to do these things your scalp will benefit from.

PART II: HAIR CARE

• Invest in better products!  If you haven't already, make looking at the ingredients labels your new habit.  Water should be listed first in a list of ingredients.  Stay clear of a product if the majority of its ingredients sound like chemicals.
• Reduce your use of direct heat in the form of flat irons, hot combs, hot curlers, crimpers, and even blow dryers.  If you can, commit to completely stopping the use of these tools for a year.  These tools weaken and thin out your hair overtime, causing hair to break. Air drying is the best alternative to blow drying, and steam rollers or even air drying on magnetic rollers, in twists, or in braids are better than any direct heat appliance.
• "Dust" your ends instead of trimming or cutting them. This means feeling the ends of your hair to clip off only what needs to be clipped off. Use a good sturdy pair of styling scissors/shears which are solely for cutting hair.  Using the wrong type of scissors will damage your ends.
  
• Focus on moisturizing your ends with a light oil daily or when needed.  Your ends will always be the driest part of your hair.
  
• Deep condition your hair once every week by sitting under a bonnet or hooded dryer for 30 min or covered with a plastic cap for an hour or more.
• Consider a protein or a clay mask treatment once a month. (these and more treatments to be posted here soon!)
  
• Opt for more natural protective styling options such as two stranded twists, twist outs, bantu knots, cornrows, individual braids, buns, etc. These styles will keep your hands and styling tools out of your hair.
• Always sleep with a silk or satin scarf or pillow case.  Cotton scarves suck the moisture from your hair.
• Accept your hair for what it is.  God would never give you anything that is "too hard to manage."  Develop a healthier and more positive attitude about your hair and your hair in turn will work for you!

Other Tips:

• Weaves
  • If you wear wigs or weaves, refrain from using glue on your scalp.  Opt for a well done sew-in or quick weave.
  • Resort to full weaves that cover your whole head as opposed to half weaves where you are required to press your exposed hair to match the weave.
    
  • You can use a dry shampoo to manage in between washes, but for this challenge I encourage you not to rely on this method.
    
  • Invest in good quality human hair such as Indian hair or Brazilian hair.  This way you will be able to commit to the challenge and wash your hair regularly, as opposed to synthetic hair that will tangle or shed after a couple washes.
  • Use weaves as a styling option and not a replacement for your own hair.  Take some time out to work with and improve your own hair for this challenge!  You have a whole community of women here to support you.
    
• Braided Extensions
  • Always braid your hair with ample hair in your parted sections (never small sections).  You should never see little tiny white bulbs around your hairline or base of your braids--that means that your hair pulled out of your scalp possibly from braiding too tight... definitely NOT good.  Your scalp should not hurt when it's braided.
• Relaxed Hair
  • Make sure you or your stylist only retouches the natural newgrowth--NOT THE PREVIOUSLY RELAXED HAIR.   Also, protect the already relaxed hair by rubbing an oil or protective cream through it. Overlapping your relaxer can cause lots of damage which results in the thinning or breaking of your hair over time.  If your stylist disagrees with this, then you need to find a new stylist.  There are plenty of good stylists who would love to have your business.
  • ALWAYS base your scalp with an oil or protective cream to create a barrier between your scalp and the relaxer cream.
  • Stretch your relaxers to reduce the number of times you get a relaxer a year.  This reduces stress on your hair and scalp from the chemicals and allows your hair to grow in between relaxers.  There is plenty of information online on how to do this.  (Also check out my Natural Hairstyles)
• Hair Stylists & Hair Care Specialists
  • Try your best to find a good one!  I know this is difficult for many with natural hair, but there are some good ones out there.  Do our research and find someone who can do a good deep condition for you.  I've posted a few reviews and will be posting more.
    
• Environment
  • Keep yourself surrounded with positive women who will support you on your journey.
  • Invest in Black Hair or Natural Hair books & magazines.
  • Google pictures of women who have your type of hair and bookmark them as your 'hair inspiration.'
  • Join different online hair communities where you can get the support you need for your hair.   Even as a blogger myself I still have some that I've been with for many years.  Feel free to post any questions you might have.  I'd be more than happy to answer your questions
    

If you follow these tips religiously, I will guarantee that you will experience tremendous growth by January 1st!  If you've read this whole post and commit to it, you're definitely ready for the challenge!  Now let's get to it!

Depending on your preferred choice of social networking, you have several ways to get involved with this challenge:

On CoilyHair.com

1. RSVP for the event (to the right of this website).
2. Email your starting length photo to info @ coilyhair.com by Jan. 31st to guarantee your photo will be included in my first monthly progress posting by Feb. 1st.   If you're reading this past this date, don't worry!  Just join the challenge whenever you're ready, and hopefully that's soon  (read about the challenge)
3. Check the "2010 Challenge" tab for updates and related postings.

On Facebook:

1. RSVP for the event.
2. Upload your starting photo to the event page (recommended by Feb. 1st) to officially join the challenge.
3. You'll see the event listed under "Events" anytime you log into your Facebook account.  Check in for any updates!
4. If you're not already a fan of CoilyHair.com, become one today

On Twitter:

1. Tweet your related updates to the tag #scalphairchallenge2010
2. Follow the conversation on Twitter.com, HashTags.org, etc.
3. Follow the list @coilyhair/scalp-hair-challenge-2010 to be added

Lamya Cammon is a 7 year old first grade student who had her hair cut by her own teacher out of anger said to be stemmed from the stress of budget cuts. Image courtesy of Essence.com (click for video)

Many of you have seen the video, but how many of you are speaking out against it?  I've found that people take silence to mean indifference.  There is nothing wrong with stating your indifference about something, especially when it can help someone else.

Below is my short letter to the Milwaukee Public Schools (and thank you to "Black Girl With Long Hair," Tia Shauntee, and even Essence.com for talking about it):

To: 116@mail.milwaukee.k12.wi.us

Subject: "Justice for Lamya Cammon"

Dear Superintendent William G. Andrekopoulos,

I was not happy at all to hear about the incident involving Lamya Cammon nor was I satisfied about the solution that was offered--to fine the teacher and allow her to continue teaching her class.  Lamya should not have had to leave her own class, but rather the teacher should have been taken out of that class and either given a psychological evaluation to determine if she is fit to teach, placed in another class where she will be dealing with much older students who aren't 7 year olds, or fired.  Clearly, she is unfit to teach young children if she doesn't know how to properly deal with a 7 year old child playing with her hair, let alone teach at all.  There are much more deserving teachers who would love her job.

My primary concern is how a teacher can come to violating a child by  cutting her hair off in front of her classmates.  It baffles me what kind of mind this teacher has to go to such lengths as to think of picking up a scissors and cutting off her students hair--out of frustration? If you claim that it is "stress" that induced such behavior, God forbid what if the teacher had a knife or a gun in her purse? Or is this too hard to believe? If you asked me, I find this incident hard to believe--but it happened none the less. As a teacher, I am sure there had to be some kind of training on how to deal with stress. Even at the most basic level of dealing with stress, you never put your hands on someone. We also know that you never direct your anger at someone who has nothing to do with your personal issues (in this case, a reduced budget?). Lamya definitely was not the cause of this teacher's stress but instead a victim of it. Clearly, Lamya was obedient enough to come to her teacher when called for her punishment and was also obedient in that she stood still while the teacher took her scissors to cut off her lock of hair.  So to say that Lamya pushed this teacher over the edge is not only false but covering up a much larger issue with this teacher--whose name we still don't know--and even the lack of quality in personnel working at Congress Elementary School.  When will enough be enough?

You are setting a terrible example for the rest of these kids.  As far as Lamya's classmates are concerned, the students in this classroom will go on to believe that Lamya was the "problem" and the teacher was justified in what she did.  The students laughed at her when this happened--is this what we're supposed to do when someone is being wrongfully violated?  Is that what you want to teach these children? Lamya went back to her chair and wept--she didn't attack the teacher, she didn't shout at her laughing classmates, she sat and cried. Is this what your school district is teaching our next generation? That they are unworthy of proper fair treatment?

I will be following this story to see that something more meaningful is done.  I will not only like a response to this letter but also the name of the teacher and the address for Lamya Cammon's family so that I can mail Lamya a gift for Christmas to let her know just how special she is.

Thank you,

Bessie Kaine

I encourage everyone to write your own letter of disapproval because I know that I would never want this to happen to my own child.   I hope this encourages you to also speak out against Lamya's treatment.

The 1st Annual Wooli Me Natural Hair Expo presented by Estelle for Humanity took place on Saturday, December 5, 2009 from 11am to 8pm in the Museum of African American Art, located on the 3rd floor of MACY*S Baldwin Hills Plaza.  The event included a natural hair show, product demonstrations, celebrities, giveaways and presentations.  I attended this event for a few hous and I must say I was pleased with the event.  I walked away with a better understanding of what a truly natural lifestyle entails--it doesn't just stop with natural hair.

I think the most memorable experience for me was listening to Dr. Eve Allen's lecture about natural living and how to live a toxin-free life.  She spoke about how our beauty regimens such as nail polish, makeup, and hair/body products can make us sick.  She spoke about how to remain beautiful without relying on toxic products.  Needless to say, I learned a lot.  If you weren't able to attend the event, I recorded her presentation for all to watch and enjoy (coming soon).

I felt that the whole event was well organized, and the vendors had a lot to contribute to the whole experience.  To be honest, when I initially walked in, I thought I would only spend a few minutes to get the whole experience, an hour tops.  But as I made my way around talking with the vendors, asking questions, taking pictures, and listening to the presenters, I think I easily spent 3+ hours there--and I wish I could have spent more! 

In the below pictures, I left comments and later I will post videos of what I was able to record during my time spent at the event.  Feel free to leave your own comments or questions!

"Wooli Me" Vendors:

1 2 Living
411 Cafe Newsletter
Bev's Original
Blessed More Caribbean Entertainment
BOBSA
Charles Cambell
Chazz
Chef Marilyn
Divine Gifts
Dr. Eve Allen
Dr. Tony Llaneau
Elegant Chic Purse
James
Genuine HoBo Body-Sense International
Godswill
Intercoast College Life Well Institute
Jewel Diamond Taylor
Keepers of the Krown
Kreative AfRaKan Designs
Kwanzaa People of Color
Mozenna Independent Representative
My Soul Designs
Nehemiah Boaz Covenant Ministries Itl.
Oran Z
Party Lite Independent Consultant
Patricia B. Hall
Quiet Warrior Publishing
Rych McCain
Sables Images
Sensual Shea
Sparkletts Water
The American Dream
The Honor Thy Father Award
The Sister Marketplace
Tona Rensen-Body Magic
Yendi Collections
You-niquely Yours
Wooli Me

(More information in the photo gallery)

Please vote for Angela for the Miss Africa USA 2009 title!

Click here to vote!

Hey all!  I'm super excited to hear that my twists extensions protégé, and current Miss Kenya 2009, Angela Wambui Muiruri is in the running for the Miss Africa USA 2009 title!

I knew her back when she was still an undergrad at Pepperdine University.  I did her twists back when she was first starting her life of pageantry with  the 2006 Miss Malibu, CA.  She had a love for natural hair and African culture. Please help support her in her efforts to win the Miss Africa USA 2009 title, she will do us proud!  Can I call on my natural hair family to help her out?

Angela Muiruri posting for Miss Malibu 2007 (I did twist extensions on her)

Click here to vote!

I made my first twist video!  This video is a composition of  my digital camera clips and photos of me twisting dried natural hair. Twists are a very common hairstyle usually performed on naturally coily hair. They give your hair a much needed break from damaging hairstyling methods that usually involve the use of direct heat. It may be hard to do twists on your own hair at first, but with practice they become second nature. Twisting dry hair usually takes longer than twisting wet hair.  In this video, I try to emphasize how to detangle hair with a comb or with fingers, how I part hair, and how I twist the hair (I pass the hair strands from "right" to "left".

I am showing just one of many ways to twist hair... the best thing is to develop your own technique that you feel the most comfortable with.  Through these videos, my goal is to show people how versatile and different twists will look depending on what kind of hair texture you have.  Twists on naturally coily hair will look different on twists done on relaxed hair (and yes, relaxed girls can sport natural hairstyles as well).

Model: Nigerian model & jewelry maker, Bunmi Ayo.

Here's the YouTube link... feel free to comment and rate there as well:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akvPpLvl1Vk

The best time to shop for supplies is during the holidays, and one of the best shopping days in the U.S. is Black Friday, where most to all stores will put on the most ridiculously lowered prices on items for sale.  However, since I feel shopping in stores is soooo overrated, I thought I'd post a few deals happening online.

On the following websites, you'll see something similar to this:  "Order intake will be suspended from 11/4-11/26 to ship existing orders and prepare for our Black Friday Sale! All products will appear as "out of stock" until 11/27!"  Now how exciting is that!

http://www.qhemetbiologics.com

http://www.afroveda.com

http://hairveda.com

http://www.brownbutterbeauty.com

http://darcysbotanicals.com

http://www.shescentit.com

http://www.folica.com <-- this sale is going on NOW!

http://www.anitagrant.com <-- the code at checkout is "yummy"

http://www.missjessies.com/

http://www.janecartersolution.com/haircareguru/?p=195

http://www.curljunkie.com/New-Products-s/3.htm

Many of you may have already seen this video, but "A Girl Like Me", by Kiri Davis, is a short documentary filmed in 2005 about beauty standards and biases amongst African American females.

I remember seeing this video years ago (and luckily I bookmarked it)... I felt so sad watching the young children in the experiment exhibiting the same results as a similar experiment performed decades ago--the Kenneth and Mamie Clark's study of color preferences among young black children.  I remember feeling like we had not come a long way at all.   When I see young girls, I go out of my way to tell them how adorable they are or how pretty their hair looks.  In doing so, I have always been blessed with a smile, and sometimes a blush, from them.  I, too, am careful how I present myself to them.  You'll never catch me spouting negative words or phrases such as "I wish I was skinnier..." because they scream "low self esteem" and indirectly would teach them to be just as self conscious.  And when it comes to my naturally coily hair, I wear it proudly so they see that there are "girls" who are "older than them" who have hair that looks like theirs.  They see me in my business attire and some in my workplace setting so they know they never have to limit themselves with how they look or wear their hair when they grow up and enter the professional world.

In this season of giving thanks, we must remind ourselves to never forget how beautiful we are!  Self love will always be deeper than what your hair looks like or what shade your skin color is.  Think about giving the youngster(s) in your life a gift that will empower them and make them feel worthy.  If you don't have self love, nothing you do to yourself will ever be good enough.

• My original video reference
• Learn more about Kiri Davis
• Get Involved!
• Rate this blog post or comment! (below)

Here's Goapele's newest look on the October 09 cover of Diablo magazine.   Funky!  She is definitely not new to the natural hairstyling scene and really I just love all the stops she pulls with her unique and creative looks.

Goapele, who is often known for her hit song "Closer" has released her latest single entitled "Milk & Honey".   Check out her magazine cover photo shoot and her newest music video!

Check out more of Goapele's music at http://www.goapele.com.

Tina's "Twists With Style" & Color Job

Close up of Tina's Twist Style

I wanted to save time and treat myself by getting my hair done by a professional hair stylist.  I decided to visit Tina Trammell @ Rehab Hair Salon in Los Angeles for a good wash, deep condition, and style.  I allowed her to do as she pleased and to  say the least I really loved the style she did on me.

She did two-stranded twists with a half circle of flat twists on my right side.  She also did a permanent color job on two to three rows of my hair since I wanted to play with color.  You can see a few streaks of a lighter brown color throughout my hair.

Overall, I was pleased with my experience.  I appreciated how fast she was--everything was done within 3 hrs.  I appreciate that she is flexible to what time and date that you need her services.  The twists were a bit pricey compared to what I've paid in the past, but considering her salon location and experience and skill working with natural hair, I can understand it.  The things I wasn't too happy with were 1) hair moisturizer that she chose to use while twisting my hair, and 2) how much hair she cut.  I prefer natural products.  The creme she used did not dry completely (it dried white and sticky) and I felt like washing my hair, but that would have messed up the style.  Instead, I opted to scrape some of it off in the morning using a liquid leave-in.  I will most likely bring my own products in next time.   She cut my hair instead of trimming, and therefore I lost a lot of length.  * The plus side to that she got rid of a lot of damaged hair that I'm still slowly growing out (from my last press) so I can also understand why she cut so much.  I'm just not a fan of cuts, I am comfortable with trims.

Tina can be reached at 323-270-9454, or at e-mail.tinatrammell1019@yahoo.com (I am not sure about the "e-mail." part, but take it out if your message bounces back).

So, what do you think?

Please feel free to comment on the individual pictures!