I'm not a chemist or a trichologist, but...

I can take a swing at how relaxers work. In my sophomore year, I'm taking Chemistry honors. Throughout this course I've learned a few things that have really got my gears turning.
1) There are bonds that are responsible for creating/holding together our curl pattern.
2)If you could break those bonds, then you could alter the curl pattern.

I can't wait until April 2010

Some of y'all probably already know but there is going to be a part two to Why Did I Get Married by Tyler perry. It goes a lil' somethin' like this .... "Four couples reunite for their annual vacation in order to socialize and to spend time analyzing their marriages. Their intimate week in the Bahamas is disrupted by the arrival of an ex-husband determined to win back his recently remarried wife. "-courtesy of www.imdb.com
But the trailer [http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1886061849/ ] ( which y'all should go check out...RIGHT NOW!!!!) has definitely got me wanting to go see it. Mr. Perry just doesn't stop!

Wait a minute...Let me explain....

I'm sooo sorry I have been neglecting y'all. I don't have an internet connection at home for the time being and that makes it harder for me to post more frequently. But right now I have a 3 part series in the works and I only have to do the last part and I will start posting on it. There are some completed pieces that I will begin posting in the coming two weeks. I love y'all for sticking by me and supporting me. When I first started this blog, it was just a joke and even though I don't have 600 + followers like curly nikki, I have happy with the 27 I have and I consider yall a blessing. Keep reading, because I will keep writing.

Good Hair: a Review

Okay, I understand what Mr.Rock (as in Chris Rock) was trying to do. But that movie really threw me for some loops. Some of the things that happened in the movie amazed me. All the health hazards of a relaxer and we are putting it in 1 1/2 year olds head? If I was a hair dresser, I wouldn't even do it;I'd say "No,I won't do it.She's too young." I agree with a lot of points that the natural sister from Law and Order made. Especially when she said, "Why is it that when I let my hair grow in its natural state, that is seen as being revolutionary?"

After seeing this, I want to make a movie called "Bad Hair: black hair from natural women's perspective." I would explore and explain the natural hair community on Youtube, the internet, annual natural hair conventions, and natural hair meetups. Honey chiiillle! That would be a movie to see!

Correction!!!!

Uuum.....Oprah HERSELF, said she does not have natural hair;its relaxed. She said it on the recent episode where Chris Rock was talking about his documentary, Good Hair.Not that I necessarily have a problem with that . I just wanted to set the record straight.

Ask Professah Monee: Transition Breakage

Recently, I had a fellow schoolmate/twitter-friend ask me a question about natural hair. She is in the process of transitioning to natural. The conversation went as follows....

• RaveeRae: "What I wanted to ask you about was hair breakage; my hair is starting to break at the place where my relaxed & natural hair meets, what do you suggest?" (photo courtesty of http://braids4grow.blogspot.com)


• Professah Monee: " That's natural when you're transitioning. Put your hair in styles where you do it once a week. Like flat twist,braids,french roll. Spray hair before you comb it."

I would have liked to tell her more, but these were text messages and you know how that goes. She later texted me that she was going to get her hair braided. I hope all goes well with her journey. If you all have any question for me, then click the "Email Me" link to the right. Chao bellas!

Just let me ask this lil' question...

Why is it called "African Pride" if it's a relaxer? Im thinking you don't have too much pride if you're relaxing your hair in the first place, am I right of am I wrong? That's an oxymoron for real!

Might I add, why did they put herbs in the perm? Talkin' about it nourishes the hair and what not. The sodium-hydroxide/calcium-hydroxide will burn all those properties out of the herbs before the box is even opened.And if it's not "dead" by then, it will most definitely be when they add that pink activator liquid and mix it up.

Po' Man's Regimen#2: Moisturizing Leave-in Conditioner

A lot of women like the Carol's daughter,Abba,and Qhemet biologics leave-in's ,but for sistahs on a budget,I have an alternative.

Recipe
*1 spray bottle, at least 20 oz. capacity
*1 part your favorite conditioner
*5 parts water(preferably distilled, but faucet does just fine;depending on where you live,lol)
*Shake up, and Voila!

Important Note(s):Make sure that the conditioner isn't a reconstructor,protein,or deep conditioner. This spray is designed for daily moisture,detangling,etc. You CANNOT use anything with protein in that nature, it will make the hair hard and cause the strands to snap.

My Way:

This is my homemade leave-in conditioner. I use 1 part of my favorite conditioner,below,and 5 parts water. I love the way this smells and so does everyone who comes into close proximity of me.

I don't add any type of oil to the mixture. If I want oil in my hair, I add it to my hair before or after spraying. The reason being, I like for my mixture to be uniform,not needing to be shaken before each use. However,I will add vegetable glycerin or honey every now and then.

Monthly Off-the-subject:Black roles in Hollywood

Are black roles in Hollywood degrading,disrespectful,demeaning,and or stereotypical? When was the last time we had a movie that made us feel inspired or proud? I'm tired of watching black movies with the storylines such as, single mother with trifflin' baby-daddies, men in jail with families on the outside being threatened by former,fellow gangbangers, a prostitute that gets saved and off the corner, and a young girl finally making it out of the hood only to have her "man" get killed as they're packing up to leave.

Do me a favor,REALLLY look at the picture to the right. Study it. Do you see what I see? This picture embodied everything I just said above and more. Do you see that negro Red Grant? And who in the hell( yes I said Hell) named the movie The WATERMELON Heist? The Rev. Al Sharpton should have marched when this movie came out.


















I know y'all remember these great movies

Can we get a movie about a college professor of micro-cellular biology that goes back to the hood and helps inner-city kids make it out, no one gets shot or pregnant and messes up all their hardwork? What about a positive documentary on all the black doctors,scientist,engineers,pilots,and lawyers? Maybe a cinematic production on the talented black poets in America;the next Maya Angelou or Langston Hughes? In other words, can we get a movie with depth and meaning?

There may even be room for a Black horror movie? But who am I kidding? Black people are too cautious and attentive for there to be a black horror movie. We don't go exploring things! There will never be a movie about black people getting trapped in the Amazon ,after going on a hike, and being gobbled up by pitbulls with heads of anacondas and manes of lions.

Example: You're in a haunted house , you hear a ear-piercing scream and a loud bang.

• White woman reaction: Oh my! I'm going to go see what that was! My cat Scruffy is up there! Someone may need help!
• White woman's outcome: brutally mutilated with her cat licking the blood,leaking ligature marks of her neck.
• Black woman reaction: Oh sh*t! Let me get my purse and go! Forget that cat! I am not worried about whoever that might be upstairs! I gotta save myself, somebody has to live to tell the story.
• Black woman's outcome: on channel 14 news relaying all the details of her experience in the haunted house and if it wasn't for God, she never would've made it.<<<<>

Don't look too deep into this: leave the sensitivity and political correctness somewhere else.

Po' Man's Regimen #1: Curl Definition Products

Hey afrodites! This is the recession and even if it wasn't, it never hurts to save more money. So over the course of the next few weeks, I will be making post titled " Po' Man's Regimen#_. These will include product substitutions,recipes,and other helpful tidbits. Let see what we have this post!

Instead Of ...... at $29.99/16 ounce

Try This.... at $4.69/32 ounce ( this is at Sally's Beauty;also availiable at local beauty supply stores)

Word is that this Eco styler gel is not crunchy,dries faster than KCC, and is OBVIOUSLY cheaper than KCC.(I'm not trying to knock KCC's hustle, but I got'sta hock my sistahs up!)

Don't believe me? Too good to be true? Go to http://www.youtube.com/ and type in "Eco Styler Olive Oil Gel" and see what those natural sistahs are saying.

My Analysis of The Season Premiere of the Tyra Banks Show

Really! What was Tyra thinking? I loved last season, but so far I'm strongly disliking this season. All the natural ladies that saw the past episode I saw ,know what I'm talking about.Especially my natural hair girls that participated in the discussion on Twitter, as we were watching the episode. And I'm about to speak on it. Somebody has Tyra confused as to what the difference between "real" and "natural" hair is.



First of all,(aaaw son! You know she means business whenever she is saying "___ of all. It's about to go down!) I'm not going to talk about the enormity of Tyra's forehead when she first walked out on the stage. But I will ask, what was up with all the blow-drying,the curling irons,and the way Oscar was combing her hair. I'm very critical when it comes to the condition of hair,so y'all may not agree; I believe she needs to fire him.






Second of all, speaking on the girl in the audience that had natural hair. She straightens her hair so much,that her curl pattern is gone. It just has the "poofy" nature of natural hair.In other words, she mind as well perm it, because in the next year she will start having serious breakage.The only person who was truly natural, was the woman on staff that ran across the stage to help Tyra when she was about to knock over the cardboard cut-out of herself.

Third of all, what irritated me the most about this episode,was the fact that she is mis-educating so many people. The evidence being the home videos sent in by her television audience.



Sandra Rose said,"I don’t recall Tyra saying she was going natural. All she said was she would reveal her real hair, hence the title 'Real Hair Day.'" However, throughout the episode Tyra did erroneously use the terms"real" hair and "natural" hair interchangeably.

Tyra can't plead ignorance because knows better. I know she does ,because she is familiar with so many natural hair celebrities and she did an entire episode on "good/bad" hair. So don't teeeeelll me she didn't know. If she knew,then why did she do this episode that way? The bigger question being, "Is Tyra selling out on the truth?"

I don't know what was going through Tyra's mind.What I DO know is that I will not be tuning in if her show continues down the path of mediocrity.









In case you were wondering,

• Real Hair: hair that grows from the follicle of any person. It can be natural or chemically-processed. It is not a weave, track,or anything that has been attached.
• Example: This is Beyonce's real hair.She is not wearing a weave,track,or wig. It is not natural because it is chemically-processed with a relaxer.( This may not be her actual hair, but you get the point.)

Natural Hair: hair that grows from the follicle of any person, but is NEVER chemically-processed in any way. Natural hair can belong to anyone cross the racial spectrum. Although the term is used predominantly among women of African-descent across the six continents(not seven because Antartica doesn't count,LOL).

Example: This is Solange's real hair. It has not been chemically-processed in anyway.

Note: Please be informed, there is no haterism ivolved;this is just opinion and an effort to clarify this mess that Tyra has made.

Sorrry!

I am so sorry that I have been M.I.A for so long. Between summer and my school studies, I been so busy. Trust and believe that I will be posting more often, now that I have gotten into the swing of things. Chao bellas!

Monthly Off the Subject: Seabreeze! Oh yess...

This stuff does it for me everytime! My face has no bumps,no more flaky skin,no more oily complexion,and my face feels so smooth and soft. I know yall are skeptical, but hear me out for a second. It can be used on the face,the neck,and chin. I say it's better than Proactiv; no joke! Some people use it to clean their scalps, when they're in the stage where it's not good to wash their locs. Everyone I know, including myself has at least three bottles in their bathroom cabinets. SOoooo, pleeeease try it out. You can find it in the cosmetic/personal care aisle in most drug stores, where all the facial washes are. I've only used the blue on, to the left. Not taking any chances with the other versions.

How I use it

1. Wash face, then pat dry.



2. Apply Seabreeze astrigent to cotton pad.



3. Wipe face thoroughly with cotton pad,rubbing in upward circles.



4. Do this at the most three times.



5. Repeat with the neck and chin area.

Note: I do this morning and night. The worst thing about it is the sting, but after awhile you get used to it. Even if you don't I can tell you....IT IS WORTH IT!!!!! Just fan your face when you can't endure it anymore. Trust me, it isn't that bad.

Take-this-Journey Challenge!

I have created a challenge where everyone who participates must pledge to convince 3 people to go natural by July 2010. I'm giving yall a year. I'm almost there with two people. My mom and my lil' bro. My bestie has guaranteed me that she will go natural when she graduates high school....yeah. Won't get my hopes too high on that one.( If you're reading this Kay, don't get angry.) Soooo...yall do yall's best to bring some sistahs and brothas over to the "other side".

P.S: For additional support, refer them to my blog, especially my "Journey before the Journey" post.

Product Showcase:Organic Root Stimulator Lock and Twist Gel

This gel is great for twist and locs. I use it for my twist and on my father for his locs. It has great hold and makes the parts of my hair that are loosely-curled stay twisted. When I take the twist down , it gives me a wonderful twist out. As for dreds, it keeps them looking fresh,clean,and sharp! Trust me I know from experience.

It can be found at Wal-greens, Wal-Mart,and many beauty supply stores.

Naturally Handsome Spotlight

We are going to change it up a bit. Instead of a female spotlight, let's do a male spotlight. My lil' bro! Cory has been "natural" for 3 months.He's loc'ing up at the age of 6. I will continue to give you all updates on his hair every four months.

Dr.Miracle's Ad's: Am I the only one that's offended by them?

For many reasons, some of them vague;Dr.Miracle's ads offend some. When the women in the commercials let out that blood-curdling scream and have this clown-contorted facial expression,it comes off as buffoonery.The producers and editors of these advertisements, should think about the people who are actually viewing them. It doesn't matter who their targeted audience is.There are little black girls and boys, along with people of other races seeing these commercials.

When little black girls see how these women act, it may affect their self-image.They may begin to feel as if whenever anything goes wrong with their hair, they need to run to the chemicals. And if their relaxed hair looks this bad at times, then they wouldn't dare wear their hair natural!

It's not just the relaxer commercial that may bother a strong,black,and educated woman. With all the products, do the women have to have such strong reactions to their "mishaps"? A little black girl might look at this reaction and think "Do black women look that bad?" "Is that how I look?" "What do I have to do be beautiful?" "_____ women ( take your pick from across the racial spectrum) don't look like that." "They're not ugly. They don't have to put the "burning cream" in their hair , like mommy does me."

In one of the commercials, a black woman is in horrified-shock at how her hair looks, then her "man" or husband walks in and begins to tease her about her hair. What does this show little black boys? That whenever a little black girl has a bad hair day, it's okay to taunt and berate her? He may also develop a mental complex that women of other races look or are better than black women;because they don't have to carry out all of these complex rituals on themselves. This black boy will affect the aesthetic standards for black girls. If the black boys are not attracted to dark skin/4a-4c hair type, what does that mean for some little black girls? It means she will do whatever it takes to feel desired and accepted. She may use chemicals,bleaching creams,have surgery,and deny her cultural background.

As for how these advertisements depict black people to other races,it's embarassing. Black people might feel degraded when they watch them.So there is no telling what people of other races are thinking.It's highly probable, that they are amused and confused. Amused at the buffoonery of the actors. Confused at how black people beautify themselves,why would our hair be that tangled and matted in the first place if it's supposed to be straight,and is hair that important to them that they have to scream and cry over it? At times one may feel like it's a minstrel show all over again.

There are three posibilities about the unknowns that wrote,directed,produced, edited,and approved the commercial for broadcast. 1) They're oblivious to what some are seeing and feeling and it is all innocent. 2) They had no control over the situation and had to do what they were told. 3)They are fully aware of all the negative sentiments and stereotypes that could stem from their advertisment, but do not care; they just want their money.

In the end , some may see these advertisements as degrading and embarassing; and may not be purchasing anything from them until they are satisfied by future actions, as in changes.

Product Showcase: Aphogee 2-Minute Keratin Reconstructor Treatment

Every now and again, we all need a protein treatment. I use this when my hair feels weak and malliable.The best type of protein is keratin, since that is what most of our integumental tissues are made up;as in hair,nails,and skin. My purpose for using protein treatments is to strengthen my hair.The secret behind protein treatments is timing. Leave it in too long and your hair will become hard and brittle, causing breakage. Don't leave it in long enough, and your hair won't benefit from it. The directions say two minutes, but for my hair, I leave it in for 3 minutes. Sometimes, I sit under a hooded dryer set on low, after it has been on high for a while to become warm. I find it at most beauty supply stores, but most definetely at Sally's. It's sold in 8-12oz bottles ,but I buy the cut-and-open package.

Ask Professah Monee: How Do I define my curls?

This is my first reader question ever, and I'm so excited! Answering my blog reader's questions has always been a desire of mine , because 1) I like to help people and 2) I would like to post your questions and their answers ,because other women might have the same question. So please feel free to email me. You will see " Email Me" to the right of my blog right around the "Followers" button. If you want to remain anonymous, please notify me of this in your message.

• Empress Seduction:Hello I found your blog online and noticed how nice your natural hair looks. I went natural last fall and have struggled to find a way to create my natural curl formation. I try to avoid all chemicals etc. Yet nothing seems to work. Do you have any helpful suggestions? Take care and thanks for any help!



• Professah Monee ( me) 1) wash your hair , detangle it with a wide tooth comb and your favorite conditioner, then apply Ic fantasia gel ( the clear one with the white top) rub it in like a moisturizer until your hair becomes slick , but not drippy and slimy. Then shake your hair ( like a wet dog lol) to separate the curls. Style as desired. 2) Co-wash hair, put hair in medium-sized two strand twist, on each twist section apply thick leave-in moisturizing cream, comb through section then twist. When hair completely dries, take twist a loose and finger comb until desired texture is obtained. If none of this works, send me another email .

10 Affirmations for the Natural Woman

1. I am blessed and highly-textured.
2. They hate my hair because they love it so much.
3. My hair has the potential to be long,thick, and healthy.
4. I love my hair, no matter what I've been taught.




5. If the comb breaks,it's not my hair's fault.




6. Anything worth having is worth fighting for.




7. I'm beautifully different from other women across the racial spectrum.




8. My hair is appropiate for the work place.




9. Being natural is good for my health, in every way.




10. My natural beauty is someone's inspiration.