NeoRoots- New Awareness

Before I went natural my hair was so unhealthy and I hardly knew what it looked or felt to wear it au naturale. I had a hard time seeing the beauty in my hair, sad but true, however that was my reality growing up. My hair always never left in its natural state long enough for me to appreciate it. And I don't blame my mom for that because she didn't know any better. 

I came across natural hair journey videos on YouTube of beautiful women who nurtured their beautiful kinks and curls, and wore it proudly and I was instantly inspired. 

Now I know that my inability to see the beauty in my hair stems from lack of knowledge and that's why it was easier to chemically treat it and keep it hidden. I came to realize that when I learn to nurture it, I inevitably start to love and appreciate my kinky and nappy roots. I'm definitely embracing this new awareness I have gained about my roots.

The video below features Kathleen Cleaver of the Black Panther Party explaining why they chose to wear their hair in its natural state. Although the Black Panthers were a political party, there were no political intent behind wearing afros except to promote natural beauty among black people. I feel like her words definitely hits home amongst the growing number of black women who are naturalistas.

Stay tuned for more, I have some exciting news coming by the end of this week. You don't want to miss it!

Love Always,

Yaya

I couldn't take it anymore..

My ends were a Hot. Mess. Split ends and single strand knots everywhere. I couldn't take it anymore, so I cut it all of!!

Okay not all of it, I did get kinda scissor happy and cut about 3-4 cm (1 1/2 inch) and about 6 cm in the back. I went from almost shoulder length to right under my ears. 

I washed and deep conditioned my hair the night before and then braided my hair in cornrows. The day after I blow dried my hair on low heat and then continued to trim my horrible ends.

I just had to get rid of that dead weight, start fresh and I'm LOVING it. It looks and feels so healthy again. I've done this before when I've avoided trimming because I wanted to retain length but that didn't help because my hair kept breaking off. I'm gonna start trimming probably every 2-3 months, stick to my hair regim and hopefully I'll see some length and thickness by summertime.

It feels great running my fingers through my hair!! 

Stay tuned for more!

Love Always,

Yaya

I just wanna say...

A big THANK YOU to all my new and old readers!! I'm sending all you lots of love and appreciation because even though I haven't posted in a while, you still check in on me and I appreciate it. I see y'all!! :-) And don't forget to write me a comment, I would love to hear from you :-)

I needed some time off to just reflect on this past year and my goals for the future. I definitely plan to step it up a notch when it comes to my blog so I hope you'll stick around. 

Hope you all are off to a great start this year and I wish much success moving forward!

            2014, I'm ready for you...

Stay tuned for more.

Love Always,

Yaya

"Your hair looks weird..."

I work at a daycare with amazingly smart and sweet children, between the ages of 1 to 4 years old right outside of Stockholm. I haven't seen many black people in that area, I'm almost positive that I'm the first black person the kids encountered on a daily basis and formed a relationship with.

Fast forward to about 2 weeks ago, I decided to rock my Afro to work. It's the complete opposite from long, straight hair, and, completely different from what the kids (and even some of my colleagues) have seen up close. I was definitely met with curious  stares that day and comments like "why is your hair like that?" and "it looks weird". (LOL)

Now I've already explained to kids why I have dark skin and that I'm from Africa but the hair was something they couldn't quite figure out. I tried to explain to them that just like people have different skin-, eye- and hair color, people also have different hair textures but, in essence, we are all the same. (Cliché maybe but it worked!)

Once they understood that it's just hair, they couldn't keep their little hands off of it. (Oh boy..) 

Stay tuned for more

Love Always,

Yaya

How I styled: Box Braids

I did waist length box braids on myself in August and just loved them! Well, not so much in the beginning because they were super heavy and I got a tiny head. (Bad combo!) 

Oh well, here is a style I did when I went to naming ceremony. I braided it into one snake like braid. I loved it and it just became my go-to-style.

Stay tuned for more!

Love Always,

Yaya

Protective styles

Whenever I change my hairstyle, I'm like "shoot, can't nobody tell me nothin'" and I walk like the world is my runway! *insert Usher- Bad Girl* I  believe a change of hairstyle can really revamp someone's style and boost confidence. Don't believe me? Just look at Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Beyoncé for instance. One thing I have in common with these ladies is that I like to re-invent my look every now and then. Hair is really just an accessory to me. It's like getting a new winter coat or some nice boots and I think a lot ladies would agree. It's just something about a fresh weave, wig or braids that just gives you some that extra umph! 

Don't get me wrong though. I truly believe that natural hair is equally as diverse. 

I'm one of those naturalistas that wear braids, wigs and weaves on a regular basis. The reasons why I do that is, first off, to protect my own hair from manipulation. My hair likes to be nurtured with oils, leave-in conditioners and co-washes. It's so coily and breaks easily with too much combing, therefore it grows longer when it's braided. Second, the Swedish climate literally strips all the moisture in my hair so it's better for me to wear protective styles.

Here are some styles I've worn over the years

I wonder what my next hairstyle will be...

Stay tuned for more!

Love Always,

Yaya