THE NATURAL HAVEN

No I cannot read a page long email

2013-05-22T11:15:00.003+01:00

One of the perks of being a blogger is that I always get new ideas for new research from comments or emails. I appreciate your emails even though I don't always respond in person. I do want to really say though, seriously I cannot read a page long email. I know some of you really need help and have specific questions and conditions, I will try and see what I can do about setting up a quick Q&A on the blog.

In the meantime, please do not write a page long email. I feel really bad when deleting it without reading because I know when it was written it was done with a need for help. Please, if you are really in need of advice, keep your question brief and to the point, it is really possible that I can simply email you a link to a previous discussion or think about a post in due time to answer your question.

Friday Fun: Wash and Go's don't work on 4c natural hair?

2013-05-17T21:35:00.003+01:00

A little bit of self deprecating humour for you. It was rib splitting and after singing it all evening, I managed to infect my husband too :). In all seriousness, her hair is just like mine and I have tried and got the same mess several years back. If your hair does not naturally clump, forget about gel. For a wash and go with better results, braid the hair and let it dry before opening and fluffing it out. Forget about trying to get curls and instead minimize shrinkage going for the afro textured look.

Daily moisture may not be for you

2013-05-14T11:09:00.002+01:00

I wrote this article for BGLH and for those who did not catch it there, here it is again. Many naturals preach about the virtues of daily moisture, some even advocate for moisturising hair twice daily. The idea is that moisturised hair is less susceptible to breakage and is easier to handle. However, what if your hair is not in that category?

1.Does your hair shrink to a third or less of its full length when wet?
If your hair is 6 inches long but when wet and allowed to shrink with no restriction goes to 2 inches or less, you are in the category of high shrinkage. Hair with high shrinkage will tend not to form clumped up curls and instead each individual hair coiling down has a tendency to tangle and intertwine with other strands.

2. How does moisture affect high shrinkage hair?
If hair is in a free and open style, this type of shrinkage will encourage complex knots where several strands interlock when moisture (water or a water containing product) is applied and the hair is subsequently manipulated with fingers, a comb or brush into a style. These complex knots are entirely preventable but when they do form, they can be difficult to undo and need to be cut off hence stunting progress.

3. What if hair is not free but in a protective style?
In a braided or twisted situation, hair will still shrink although in a more controlled manner therefore for example 6 inches may shrink to 4 inches instead of 2. There is however a potential shrinkage related problem, a term called meshing where several strands within the twist or braid intertwine. This is the reason why some people can detangle hair and braid or twist it but after leaving the style for a few weeks, the hair requires quite a lot of detangling during the takedown. If the style is left in place for long, matting is also a possibility.

4. Should you completely avoid moisture on high shrinkage hair?
No, it is not the case that you should avoid using water but rather you may benefit greatly from spreading out the sessions. If you can moisturise once a week or once every 3-4 days, you will be able to keep your hair in a more stretched out style with minimal shrinkage which is beneficial for people with high shrinkage hair who want to grow it out longer.

5. How will hair get moisture if you are only moisturising once a week?
The purpose of moisture is to help hair be more flexible and this is most important during manipulation. If your hair is generally in a protective style, you are not manipulating the individual strands on a daily basis but your hair does need to moisturised when you are taking down or putting in the style. Finding a good leave in conditioner and routine based on your needs is also key e.g some people advocate for heavy cream moisturisers and light oils or light water/glycerine mixes with heavy castor oil or indeed a variation of these combinations.

6. Who will benefit most and who will benefit least from not moisturising daily?
If your hair clumps up naturally, daily moisture is not a problem, you will encourage clumping and reduce tangling by using water based products frequently. Avoiding water based products can cause your hair to frizz and tangle, so water is really for you. If your hair feels dry and brittle because water causes it to shrink up tightly, you are in the class who may benefit from not using daily moisture. Avoiding this complete, tight shrinkage is the key to preventing unnecessary tangling and breakage.

The object of this article is not to be controversial but rather to again encourage every reader to think of their hair individually and not follow rules that may not suit your hair. It is not written with the intent of making people gather a complex about water or indeed have people ducking out of the rain, but rather to encourage a different way of thinking for those who need it.

Hair Moisture Secrets: Curl Activator

2013-05-07T09:40:00.003+01:00

I am back and settled in UK again! As always I want to share something that I have discovered, or in this case rediscovered!

Initially 10ish years ago when I first went natural, curl activator was great for short hair. My hair does not form ordered clumped up curls, so this is not what I used it for; it was a moisturiser and styler for me.

However when my hair got longer, it was a real hindrance because the high glycerin content and water made my hair shrink and this did not help in styling or handling hair.

Fast forward to 2013 and I have rediscovered that all I need to do is use less and spreading well. Borrowing my own tip of the coconut oil fingertip tip (haha how many times can you say tip in a sentence), I have found that I can use curl activator without it causing my hair to shrink.

The softness is incredible and it lasts for days! I think if you are struggling for a moisturiser or if you have previously used glycerin and didn't like it, try out the fingertip tip!

For more information on glycerin (the active ingredient in curl activator), see this previous post.

Still here, no internet :)

2013-04-16T12:18:00.000+01:00

Lack of internet is one of the major foibles of moving house! I did decide to glide past here though and let you know that I am very much still around. Sorry I cannot get through the comments at this time but I did just find out that BGLH has a new youtube channel! Top quality stuff as usual!

I'm moving back to UK

2013-03-30T22:37:00.000Z

The little Dutch foray is over and I am moving back to UK! I noticed just now that I never changed my location (did I forget or was that a Freudian slip?)

Anyway, there will be sporadic posts now in the next few weeks before we resume the normal Friday's post, hopefully you will all be patient with me :)

Does conditioner or oil really need to penetrate hair?

2013-03-16T17:53:00.000Z

Oops I forgot to post this yesterday but here it is now! The question about whether oil or conditioner NEEDS to penetrate hair arises time and time again in the comments section and therefore I thought it deserved its own post.

Short Answer
No, the effectiveness of a hair conditioner or an oil is not based on whether it penetrates hair or not.

Long Answer
Different ingredients have different purposes, some work most effectively outside hair while others perform their best function inside hair. We also have to bear in mind that hair is individual, someone with bleached hair may require different ingredients than someone without it. Someone who regularly straightens their hair will require different ingredients too compared to someone who is heat free. Someone whose hair is drier and more prone to breakage, again will have different requirements to someone who really never experiences breakage.

Penetrating vs Non-Penetrating Ingredients
NON-PENETRATING INGREDIENTS
Ingredient	Situation	Reason why it does not need to penetrate
Surfactants e.g behentrimonium chloride, behentrimonium methosulfate, stearalkonium chloride, cetrimonium chloride, dicetyldimonium chloride	Used in a hair conditioner - rinse out or deep conditioner	These ingredients act on the surface of the cuticle to help smooth it down (remember that the negative charge in shampoo can raise the cuticle). They also soften the cuticle layer and when co-washing, these are the same ingredients needed to clean the surface of hair.
Hair softeners e.g the surfactants listed above, cetyl alcohol, stearyl alcohol, cetearyl alcohol, some polyquaterniums	Used in hair conditioner - rinse out, deep conditioner or a leave in	These ingredients again deposit on the surface of hair and soften the outside of hair..
Water	During a wash or for moisture	Water does not always have to penetrate hair. When cleaning hair, some water is necessary to wash extra product off. It can also help with creating slip for detangling when on the outer surface of hair. For proper moisture, some water needs to remain outside of the hair shaft to create a humidity barrier.
Silicones	In a hair shampoo or conditioner - rinse out, deep conditioner or a leave in	Silicones in shampoo counteract the cuticle raising of the negatively charge surfactants. This leads to less damage and breakage to hair while shampooing. In hair conditioner they add slip to the outer surface of hair allowing easier combing. They need to stay on the outside surface of hair to be effective for these purposes
Mineral oil	In a leave in	Mineral oil is known not to penetrate hair. It is useful as a barrier from humidity after hair has been appropriately moisturised with water, humectants and/or a leave in conditioner.
Hydrolysed protein	In a hair conditoner	Protein can act to patch breaks, flaws and chips in the cuticle. For this purpose, the protein should stay on the outside of the surface.
Humectants e.g aloe vera, glycerin, honey Oil or butter e.g olive oil, jojoba oil, coconut oil, shea butter, castor oil etc	As as leave-in	Both of these products when applied to the outside of hair help to create a humidity barrier and keep hair moisturised.
PENETRATING INGREDIENTS
Ingredient	Situation	Reason why it needs to penetrate
Penetrating oils e.g coconut oil	As a pre-wash treatment on dry hair	Given sufficient time, coconut oil can penetrate hair and prevent it from expanding too much when soaked in water during a wash - (use the search button, tons of great info on coconut oil)
Water	During a wash, in a hair conditioner or when moisturising (dampening hair)	When water penetrates hair it softens it. This can help when detangling hair, provided detangling is done with care. Trapping the water inside the hair is also the key to having moisturised hair.
Hydrolysed protein	In a hair conditioner - rinse out, deep or leave in	Protein of the right size can penetrate hair and help to strengthen it.
Ceramides	In a hair shampoo or conditioner - rinse out, deep conditioner or a leave in	Ceramides can penetrate hair in a shallow way, normally underneath the cuticle and just a little bit into the cortex. They act to replace the cuticle cement (a fatty acid complex that holds the multiple cuticle layers). In general hair that is relaxed or bleached benefits the most from ceramides as normal washing of hair in general does not greatly deplete the cuticle cement but some naturals do still like ceramides.

Chicoro is on Youtube

2013-03-10T22:23:00.002Z

Have you always wondered how to pronounce her name? Well now you can find out on her new youtube channel. I noticed these videos were put up just 4 hours ago, but I already found them lol! Spread the word, she is a great author with a great giving spirit!

P/S I know I owe you a post from last Friday, it is coming I promise!

Junk Science: Opening the Hair's Cuticle for Better Deep Conditioning

2013-03-01T16:17:00.000Z

I have read plenty of articles and seen many videos where people write and talk about 'opening'* the cuticle to allow ingredients in hair conditioner to penetrate. This is supposed to be a key principle as to why you should pick a product labelled as a deep conditioner and also a reason to use increased heat when conditioning (wrapping conditioner soaked hair with a towel or using a hair dryer). Let me explain why the concept of 'opening' the cuticle is junk science.

1. It is damaging to cycle between raised and smooth cuticles (or open and closed)

Scientists have observed that when a lock of hair is cut and preserved in a jar, it simply does not suffer the same wear and tear that hair which is on your head suffers. This is because it avoids being washed and the subsequent swelling that can impact the cuticles and cause them to chip away. The strands also are not brushed or combed, again preserving the cuticle.

Raised hair cuticles are common in relaxed or bleached hair and are in part the reason why these processes can make hair more fragile and susceptible to damage (Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, pp 180-185, 2003).

I would never regard a raised cuticle or 'open cuticle' as a positive. It is necessary and unavoidable for example you may need to wet your hair to moisturise it or you may use shampoo to cleanse your hair. Both of these actions do slightly swell and raise the hair cuticle . However, this is the reason why hair conditioner exists, to fix this problem (and it is a problem) of raised cuticles. This is also the reason why coconut oil as a prewash can help you have less damage.

2. The first action of hair conditioner is to smooth ('close') the cuticle.

Human hair naturally has a slight negative charge and this increases further when hair is shampooed as shampoo contains surfactants with a negative charge. This has the effect of raising the cuticle slightly. Hair conditioner immediately acts to counteract this because it contains positively charged (cationic) surfactants. This action happens rapidly within seconds.

Therefore, your hair will not be seating out there with raised cuticles waiting for substances to penetrate. Substances that can penetrate hair (see this post), do so because they have the right chemistry, i.e size, shape, charge and/or flexibility, to be able to get underneath the tiny space of a smooth cuticle. They do not require an 'open' cuticle to penetrate.

* As a general note for those who are new to the blog, I do not like to use the term open and closed cuticles although these are terms widely used in the natural hair world and I am certain many of you understand what they mean. The cuticle really does not open, what it does do is raise itself from the surface. In place of open and closed, I use the terms raised and smooth.

Conclusion: You do not need to and do not want to 'open' your hair cuticles by force. It is unavoidable if you wet your hair or use shampoo. Hair conditioner will 'close' the cuticles and protect the hair from damage. Using heat is beneficial not for increasing swelling of hair or 'opening' cuticles but rather for allowing more conditioner to stick on the surface of hair (aDsorb) - see this post

For advanced learners:
1. Technically not all shampoo will cause the cuticle to be raised. Shampoo with non-ionic or zwitterionic surfactants do not have this effect (Mild Shampoo list, In detail - charge and shampoo)

2. If you are wondering, here are examples of cationic sufactants found in hair conditioner: stearalkonium chloride, cetrimonium chloride, dicetyldimonium chloride, behentrimonium methosulfate, behentrimonium chloride, stearamidopropyl dimethylamine, etc.

Next Friday: Does penetration of an ingredient in hair conditioneractually make it more effective?

Heat and Hair - A Video Lesson

2013-02-22T14:11:00.001Z

On my youtube trawls I found this video where a girl used a curling iron and her hair literally melted off! Honestly I have never seen anything like this, even when my hair was double processed and pretty brittle (relaxed and coloured), it could still withstand heat and further more since my hair was said to be super extra kinky, it would be heat abuse with at least 30s to 1 minute holds.

I am guessing that her hair may be bleached and/or colour treated which is why it really could not take the heat. A second lesson is that you should really know how hot the curling irons or flat irons are. A final tip is that when using heat, your hair should not get so hot that you cannot touch it.

I know some people out there are laughing at this poor girl but I was really sad for her, she looked beyond shocked and could not comprehend what was happening. Lucky for her that it was just the first section and she can hide that part while it grows back. I am glad that she posted the video, honestly people need to learn to respect heat tools and there is nothing like this video to understand responsible use. Normally heat damage will happen exactly like this but will take several weeks or months, seeing it in one flash is really sobering.

Clear Castor Oil or Black Castor Oil - What is the Difference?

2013-02-15T08:01:00.001Z

I know many of you are fans of castor oil and a common question that you ask me is if there is a difference between the clear store bought castor oil and black castor oil/ Jamaican black castor oil (JBCO). I finally have an answer for you!

1. Natural Castor Oil is Yellow

Natural castor oil is actually pale yellow when cold pressed. Cold pressing means there is no heat involved, castor beans are just squeezed at high pressure to extract when pressed out of the seed. The advantage of cold pressing is that you do not degrade any of the oil using heat.

The clear castor oil that you find in some shops is a result of filtering this natural yellow crude castor oil to further lower the iodine content which makes it yellow (Sains Malaysiana,pp 379-382, 2008). The higher the purity of the castor oil the lighter the colour it will be.

Do note that cold pressing is not the only technique used to extract oil though, industrially some chemical solvents can be used, and the advantage of that is that it is less time consuming. The disadavantage is that with more people looking for more natural products, the idea that a chemical was used to produce the oil is not that attractive.

2. Black Castor Oil - Impurities are added

Many people believe that Jamaican black castor oil is more natural and the black colour is related to it being less processed, but this is not true. The process of getting the dark colour involves adding ash from roasted castor beans into the oil (Bioresource Technology, pp 1086–1091, 2006). This is the description from Sunny Isle JBCO

'Our Organic seeds are roasted and ground by a manual Grinder and then the crushed beans are boiled to extract the 100% pure, dark brown, organic oil. Compared to other brands it is the darkest Jamaican Black Castor Oil because we roast our beans longer which produces more Ash Content in our oil than any other oil on the market.'

I referred to the ash as an impurity because it is an addition to the oil rather than just the pure oil. Does this mean that JBCO is not good? No, it just means that it is not pure castor oil. Is the addition of ash beneficial? This is not known scientifically, it is definitely what the manufacturers claim.

So there you have it, the reason why JBCO is black! Oh and I found this video of cold pressing castor beans to make castor oil!

Kenyans with Natural Hair

2013-02-13T20:55:00.004Z

I just found this little gem! The girls over at Kurly Kichana made a video! It is your basic welcome to natural hair, this is my regimen video and it is so lovely to see natural hair spread beyond US (this blog's main readers) and UK (my home away from home) and Europe. Great job girls!

Getting to Know the Kurly Kichana Girls 1 from Kurly Kichana on Vimeo.

Coming up: Jamaican Black Castor Oil

2013-02-13T20:26:00.001Z

I just realised that I have not blogged in ages! I promise that I am still here, life outside of this world is really super busy and exciting. I am firmly committing myself to one blog every Friday because I love this place and the interaction with you.

This week you will read about Jamaican black castor oil - why is it black? is it really better than processed clear castor oil?

Stay Tuned!

Drink Water for Stronger Hair

2013-01-22T21:48:00.002Z

In my post on my 2012, I referenced that drinking water can increase the strength of your hair. I actually blogged about it initially over on BGLH but as some of you missed that, here is that little bit for you here!

Silicon (without an e) occurs naturally in a form known as orthosilicic acid. It is actually present in almost all tissues of the human body including skin and nails.

A recent small study found that dietary intake of orthosilicic acid could increase elasticity and strength of hair ( Arch Dermatol Res, pp 499-505, 2007).

This is actually one of the first studies to link mineral supplements with a measurable positive result on hair. This mineral is present in drinking water and water based drinks such as beer. It can also be sold as a supplement.

So - who is currently pouring out a glass of water?

Junk Science - Hair Porosity Tests / Float or Sink

2013-01-09T09:27:00.000Z

Ok so many of you write to me about porosity tests. These are the suggestions that you can test to see how porous your hair is by placing a few strands in water, wait for 10 minutes and see if the hair floats or sinks.

I have often said that I do believe that these type of tests are really very poor and very unscientific. Let me explain why:

1. Hair in general will almost always float in water.

Many of you doing this test will note that your hair will float for ages and it may take some prodding to make it sink if it does at all. This is because hair is generally covered in oil. This oil is naturally produced sebum and any extra that you may use in your hair care routine will have an added impact. Now oil will always float on water, so your hair floating does not mean that it has low porosity. It does mean that your hair is light (which it is) and has a coating of oil that repels water (which it does).

2. What would happen if you washed off the oil on hair using shampoo then performed the test?

If you chose to do the test with hair that is freshly washed but not conditioned then that is really an artificial test because you would normally apply conditioner after a shampoo (Of course if you only shampoo then this test is not artificial for you). For most people hair will still float because there is usually still some residual oil.

3. Warm water or cold water?

Some say the temperature of the water does not matter but on a scientific level this is probably not true. The reason for this is

- Hair has a thin oil coating (warm/hot water removes oil to some extent)
- Hair is protein (most proteins will have small changes in structure if temperature changes)

However, the most likely observation that most people will have with a single strand of hair is that it will float.

4. If hair sinks, is this because it has taken up water?

If you place hair strands in water they are going to take up water, this is a fact and this is normal. The more your hair takes up water, the heavier it will get but it may still float because of the oil coating. Hair could indeed sink and many relate this to damage (bleaching or relaxing hair for example makes the cuticle more porous) but it could also be that your hair is naturally dense (i.e naturally weighs more).

So is there a scientific test to know how porous hair is?

Yes, there is and much like the proven tests to see if oil penetrates hair, it is a lab based test that is generally not an easy or cheap method to do. It is called gas sorption and involves detecting the flow of a gas (or air) through hair. It has been used to show that bleaching and UV damage do both indeed greatly change the porosity of hair ( Journal of cosmetic science 59.4 (2008): 303)

Is there a home - test for porosity?

There is no single test that I would say is reliable. Many people think that hair repelling water is a bad thing but it really is not, it is excellent. It means your hair has its oil coating and is working well. The oil coating cannot fully block out water coming in or out, it is a permeable barrier.

I do absolutely advocate for people to reject or accept products based on how they work. If a product leads your hair to be constantly dry, leave it. If a product makes your hair too mushy, stop using it. Find products that work by trusting yourself and your hair.

Are you doing the sink/float porosity test? Did you find that you were low or high porosity? How did it help you? After reading this article would you reconsider?

Happy New Year!

2013-01-02T11:15:00.002Z

Hello wonderful people!

I hope you all have had a nice rest and are back at work like I am! I just thought I would kick of 2013 with a little hello.......so hello :)

I will get to clearing my inbox and moderating comments in a minute!

Welcome to 2013!

The Best of Natural Hair in 2012

2012-12-18T11:02:00.004Z

- I miss Happy Girl Hair!

- I hated some celebrities showcasing poorly maintained natural hair / suspect natural hair (specifically Toya Carter and Nicki Minaj)

- My vote for most beautiful natural hair worn on TV goes to Tempestt Bledsoe currently acting in Guys with Kids

- I learnt that drinking more water could impact your hair strength (orthosilicic acid in water!)

- I loved doing the pH series!

- I loved Nadine's method of African threading (currently wearing my hair this way!) - see it here

- I learnt that manufacturers are really not honest about preservatives and the fact that products do need to be preserved in order to last more than a week outside a fridge - see it here

- My readers discovered and informed me about a rather harsh SLS free ingredient olefin sulfonate - see it here

- I loved using my microscope and investigating mid shaft splits! More here

- I revisited deep conditioning again with more investigation into time, temperature and adsorption (with a D!) - more here

What was your favourite piece or pieces of 2012 on this blog or on another blog?

Image Credit
Tempestt Bledsoe's images from NBC

Overnight Conditioning - Your Questions

2012-12-17T09:52:00.002Z

I have read many comments regarding this previous post where I described what can penetrate into hair. Some of you were not clear on the time required for penetration and thought that I had said that overnight conditioning is best for protein penetration.

The statement was:

'Hydrolysed Wheat Protein (J Cosmet Sci pp 193-203, 2000)

Time required for penetration: 30 minutes at 35°C for initial detection, 16 hours (overnight simulation) for maximum detection'

Let me clarify:

Science Lesson: Quantity and Quality

In science there are two key observations that you have to pay attention to

Quantity - This is where you can measure an amount reliably. For example, with hair conditioning and deep conditioning, you can reliably find that after 20-30 minutes, hair simply does not deposit anything further onto its surface and after 20-30 minutes no further penetration is taking place either. This is a measured result where you can quantify how much of the conditioner is stuck on to the surface of hair firmly enough not to be washed off. Equally no more conditioner is being taken up by the hair.

Quality - This is not a measurable quantity. It is purely an observation. For example with protein conditioning, after 30 minutes you find most of the protein on the surface. At 16 hours, it is distributed further into the hair shaft. Now this does not mean more time allows more conditioner to penetrate. This is not supported by the previous quantifiable result. It is more likely meaning that the conditioner gets redistributed and penetrates further depending on how damaged the hair is (more pores, more entry).

Protein conditioning and time : Note that there is no more uptake after 30 min, just a redistribution

For budding scientists, look up quantitative and qualitative results. Coming up Next - What goes in must come out.

I'm Here

2012-12-12T18:41:00.001Z

Currently swamped with work but working on some responses for you on overnight conditioning (an explanation on intensity of penetration) and jamaican black castor oil (if the black castor oil is different from clear castor oil)

I also can see that many of you have been reading the historic posts and I have lots of comments to moderate!

Hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving (if you celebrate it) and are looking forward to Christmas holidays!

Hair Idols - Links allowed

2012-11-23T11:24:00.001Z

Ok this is a fun one. There are three questions to this

1. Whose hair do you like, admire or aspire to?
2. Why do you like that person's hair?
3. Does your own hair look that person's hair in terms of curl size/kink/shrinkage/volume or thickness (hair length is not included!)?

My answers

1. Mwedzi
2. It is undeniably type 4 hair that is really beautiful in all aspects from texture, colour, length and volume. I love that you can see her hair in all forms - shrunken, curled, bunned, twisted and straightened.
3. Yes my hair is identical except for thickness. I think her hair is much thicker (both individual strands and overall volume). The shrinkage I have is possibly more dramatic!

Now it is your turn, name and link someone's hair that you think is adorable!

Friday Shout Out : Tia Shauntee

2012-11-16T22:59:00.001Z

I found Tia Shauntee on youtube with her gorgeous video on curlformers and she actually helped me decide on the best technique with them (the power of twitter!). She also has a blog! I realised I have not shouted out some of my favourite blogs recently so here I am giving a big shout out to Tia - discover her this weekend - go click now!

Black Peter or Zwarte Piet - Netherlands and Racism

2012-11-14T15:24:00.001Z

I nearly had a minor heart attack in the supermarket (side story why is there only one major supermarket in Netherlands?). Anyway back to my heart attack, this was because a small group of children entered the supermarket in blackface! I could not believe my eyes! I actually thought I was in a twilight zone.

Apparently during Christmas it is perfectly acceptable and a tradition to dress up as 'Black Peter' or Zwarte Piet - here is the wiki page. This means wearing dark make up, an afro wig and dark red exaggerated lips. In essence the typical 'golliwog'. I plainly call it racist and quite shocking in this day and age by a country as progressive as Netherlands.

One Dutch man tried to tell me that it was ok because the character 'Zwarte Piet' is actually only darker skinned because of falling through a chimney. I asked then why the afro? ' Oh, it is just a tradition in Netherlands, don't be so sensitive.'

This is my response : I rarely care for debates about what is racist and what isn't. I do think there is a problem when people think it is ok to dress their children in black face. I am not stupid, painting your skin black, wearing an afro and painting on red lips is not what you do to look like you have fallen out of a chimney. I do think there is a problem when people defend things that are plainly inappropriate for this day and age. There is a difference between not knowing any better and choosing not to know better.

All that said, Netherlands is a very racially progressive country. Having lived in several places I rank Netherlands quite high in terms of progression, second only to London, Birmingham, Manchester and Nottingham. It is light years ahead of places like Glasgow, Wales or Taunton. My hope is that the silly childishness of wanting to defend racist imagery as a tradition will end.

I know some of you are in Netherlands - what do you think about Zwarte Piet? Would you actually dress your child in blackface?

Ps - I was going to link an image with this article but it is offensive to my sensibilities and so it is not here:)

Reader Survey : Your Help

2012-11-12T20:56:00.004Z

Hi lovely readers,

I am doing a little bit of information gathering so that I can know my audience better and make sure that the topics and information that I put up is relevant for you too. Generally I put up whatever I find interesting and hope you will like it :).

Please take a minute to click on the THREE polls (polls in plural!) to the right.

Thank you!!

Be Right Back

2012-11-07T20:59:00.001Z

Oh dear! I asked for your help and you lovely ladies answered! My inbox is a little flooded so give me a couple of days to get some new blogs going for you :)

Thanks!

Natural Bloom Contributions: Work Hair, Holiday Hair, Shrinkage

2012-11-01T22:45:00.001Z

I am now taking Natural Bloom magazine contributions. If you would like to write or submit an article for the series of magazines next year, send me an email (thenaturalhaven@gmail.com) with the subject 'Natural Bloom'.

Current Hot Topics

1. Natural Hair and Life
Pictures and style tutorials on wearing natural hair in different areas of life (e.g at work, for a formal party, for an active holiday, for a beach holiday, for a wedding, for graduation etc).

2. Shrinkage Style Files
I am also keen to do a continuing series on different shrinkage (i.e showing your hair at full shrinkage and at full stretch)

3. Cover Girls wanted!
If you would like to be a cover girl.........give me a shout (you need to have natural curly, kinky or kinky curly hair!). An interview about you will be carried in the magazine (great for new bloggers!).

For all 3 topics, I need high quality pictures (real camera as opposed to camera phone, preferably taken with natural light outside or if indoors then very well lit and with a non-busy background)

Thank you, Thank you - Tell a friend, spread the word!