Category Archives: SELF LOVE

BEAUTY, NATURAL HAIR, SELF LOVE

Behind My Face Transformation

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My husband has always said that he loves my smile, that my face completely transforms when the sides of my mouth curve up. Frankly, I never really knew what to make of that. Did that mean that my every day “I’m just chillin” kinda face isn’t as appealing. Women have a tendency to overthink things and there’s no doubt that this has been one of those overthought topics for me.

Needless to say, I’ve spent a lot of time comparing numerous smiling photos to non smiling photos trying to figure it out. Maybe it’s my eyes. I’ve always had big eyes and they tend to appear smaller when I smile. Maybe it’s the subtle hint of dimples that occur when I smile, or the nearly perfect teeth that spent 3 years in braces. Maybe it’s that.

After going through all of the major and minor differences I finally realized that the true appeal in my smile is found in what lives behind it. Not just the simple feeling of being happy. Don’t get me wrong, happiness is great. But, happiness is only predicated on what happens. It’s more than that. It’s joy. And joy only comes from one entity. Holy Spirit. So now, I do my best to smile a little bit more each day in hopes of sharing The Comforter with someone else who may truly need comforting. In case you happen to be that someone today, this smile is for you.

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BEAUTY, FASHION, NATURAL HAIR, SELF LOVE

Pushing the Corporate Envelope

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I LOVE pushing the envelope when it comes to wearing my natural hair at work.  I’m in a corporate environment Monday – Friday 7:30 to 4:30 so every day I do my hair in the morning I’m thinking of yet another way that I can do something a little more outstanding than the day before.  Being one of 3 african american individuals on the floor I work on, blending in isn’t really an option.  And I am truly thankful for that!  Outside of the fact that the Book calls me the salt of the earth, intended to offer a bit of spiritual flavor to an otherwise bland atmosphere, I love the idea of contradicting a corporately correct fit with a curly fro or super high mega bun.  I love being different.  My natural hair affords me the opportunity to be different every single day.  Holy Spirit lives in me and my every day goal is to change the atmosphere he puts me in.  Some love me and others love to hate me.  At the end of the day the only thing that matters is that I love me.

Don’t be afraid of wearing your natural hair styles at work. Don’t fear that they could potentially hold you back from advancement. God is your source, your job, is just a resource. Love yourself. Be yourself. And the next time you think about wearing that style you’re just not sure is ok for work…go for it. And don’t just wear it, OWN IT!

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BEAUTY, FASHION, NATURAL HAIR, SELF LOVE

Curly Support

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I partnered with an incredible woman tonight who owns a fabulous fashion mobile boutique.  White Tent Runway  is leading the mobile boutique revolution in the Tampa Bay area and stays on the cutting edge of fashion trends.

I had the opportunity to talk to several ladies who are either natural or currently transitioning at the boutique’s first Friday event, Style Studio.  As I encouraged them on their journey’s and offered various natural hair tips based on my experiences I couldn’t help but think about the importance of that kind of interaction when you are in the midst of such a significant change as transitioning.

You may not realize it initially, but not everyone is going to be supportive of your decision.  Unless you are fully committed to your natural hair journey there is a good probability that you will not make it to the point of truly being able to enjoy your natural hair.   During your transition or post big chop people will look at you sideways and make rude remarks, and unless you are confident, know who you are and love yourself completely, you could easily be persuaded to give up on your journey and revert back to your relaxed hair. If you’re going to do this, you’re going to need curly support!

Staying encouraged by surrounding yourself with people who are supportive of your decision to embrace your natural hair texture is critical!  Find inspiration and motivation to stay committed to your journey through other naturals.  Visit YouTube and find channels that keep you positive.  I encourage you to check out my channel here.  Talk to other naturals that you know and trade products and tips.  Keep it fun.  This is an exciting time in your life.  Don’t let people who are  unsupportive bring you down.  The quote below sums it up  It’s only a matter of time before they start asking you how you achieved such gorgeous hair so don’t give up!

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BEAUTY, NATURAL HAIR, SELF LOVE

Feeling Myself

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So, my growth challenge has got me really feeling myself!  Feeling incredibly encouraged and excited about my potential to reach my waist length goal, not necessarily within 6 months but perhaps in 12.  It’s amazing to me how one small initiative like a hair growth challenge can inspire you and build up your confidence.

I’ve been taking my all natural vitamins twice a day, playing with protective styles and trying to be more active. The big challenge this week has been drinking more water. Gotta find a way to get it in!

I did get a few new products that I’m really excited to try:  Cantu Grow Strong Strengthening Treatment, Bioinfusion Curl Cream, Motions Define My Curls Creme, and Motions  Hydrate My Curls Hair Pudding. Super excited about trying these products!

Check out my YouTube video below to find out more about my growth challenge as well as these products and how I plan to use them.

Well…one thing is for sure, my self-love is definitely on overtime!  I suppose the natural Be You Beauty thing to do to maintain  such a healthy level of confidence like this would be to find more positive, healthy initiatives to take on.  Who knows…this could be the beginning of something Be-You-tiful!

BEAUTY, NATURAL HAIR, SELF LOVE

Challenge!

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I seem to be in the beginnings of my usual seasonal go to of FALLing for straight hair.  Although I typically embrace my curly hair throughout the year I do enjoy spending some time wearing my straight hair when fall comes around since this is one of the few times of year that the Florida weather permits it.  After recently straightening my hair to trim my ends I thought it might be a great idea to start a 6 month growth challenge.  My 3 year natural hair anniversary is on April 3rd and I’m really curious to see what kind of hair growth I can achieve from now to then.

I’ve been researching various growth challenges that others have done to get an idea of some solid parameters I might be interested in.  I found a great 2-Year Waist Length Healthy Hair Challenge on Facebook with some rules that appealed to me and since this is my natural hair length goal I thought it was perfect.  What I love most about this challenge is that it includes so many other healthy elements that I could totally stand to make habits out of.   With that being said, there are also some parameters  here that will serve as extreme challenges  for me, all which I’ve notated below.  So,  I’ve decided to do my very best to adhere to these rules for the next 6 months.  I’ll do monthly updates on my progress.  Here’s a look at my starting point. I’m right around bra strap length.  Wish me luck!

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  • Wash/Cleanse your hair 1x per week
  • Always Deep Condition after every Wash & Hot Oil treatment followed by a Leave In Conditioner
  • Blot hair with a t-shirt & Air dry the hair 99% of the time
  • No heat (blow drying, flat iron, curling iron, etc.) until you’ve been in the challenge for at least 2 months, after that you’re allowed only one (1) Heat pass per month (Going to be tough since I love straight hair during the fall but, gonna do my best!)
  • Remain FAITHFUL to Moisturizing & Sealing your ends at least 3x a week to prevent breakage & split ends
  • Wear protective or low manipulation styles 3-5x a week (I LOVE trying new things with my hair so this will be tough!)
  • Take a hair growth aide or multivitamin if you choose to benefit the health & growth of your hair & body (Discuss this with your physician to see if this is appropriate for you & your health)
  • ALWAYS protect your hair at night with a silk/satin scarf and/or bonnet. Sleeping with a satin pillowcase will be beneficial as well.
  • Eat a healthy diet, eliminating fast food and as many processed foods as possible (I totally need to do this anyway! Will do my best HOWEVER Thanksgiving and Christmas are off limits! lol!)
  • Exercise at least 2-3x a week, whether it’s walking, running, jogging, aerobics, etc. Do something that will get your heart pumping & get your blood flow circulating. (Yep! Totally need to do this more consistently too!)
  • Drink PLENTY of water (Another one!)
  • Keep your hands OUT of your hair when you’re not styling or massaging it (Challenge!)
  • Every day, look in the mirror at yourself & say a positive affirmation about yourself to motivate yourself. (Critical for embracing my Be You Beauty!)
  • Take a picture of your hair before starting this challenge. At the end of every other month, take a picture and do a length check to track how your hair is coming along. Post a picture to the Wall whenever you are making progress for your encouragement and others encouragement & inspiration as well.
  • Periodically post how much growth you’ve had.

Anyone want to join me??!!  What would be your goal for a 6 month growth challenge?

BEAUTY, FASHION, NATURAL HAIR, SELF LOVE

Mad Morning Essentials

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It’s hard not to feel good about yourself when you’ve had an opportunity to genuinely apply yourself in the morning. You’ve paired a perfect outfit for the season, created a new hairstyle sure to turn heads and finished it off with a sensational face beat. Unfortunately our realities don’t typically run this smooth. So, how can we assure self confidence in our appearances on those days when we can’t find anything to wear, our hair doesn’t cooperate and we struggle to find time to even apply foundation? Here are my essentials, especially for days like this:

1. Self love on point: this is where loving who you are really comes into play. Recognizing my natural beauty allows me to be confident even on days like this.

2. Mandatory JC check in: usually on days like this I’ve gotten off to a rough start which can have a negative impact on the rest of my day which shows! Getting some prayer/devotional time in during the morning and sporadically throughout the day helps to keep me positive and peaceful.

3. BREAKfast: Even if my rough morning has caused me to run late I always make sure to eat breakfast. A hungry tummy will only contribute to any festering negativity.

3. GLOSS: it’s amazing what a little lipgloss can do. On days when I don’t have time for a complete face beat I rely on my lipgloss. I find that it keeps me looking fresh throughout the day even when the rest of my face is naked.

That’s about it! Those are my mad morning essentials. The next time you’re facing a mad morning of your own try some of these ideas and see if they don’t help get you back on track

Be you beauties!

BEAUTY, SELF LOVE

You’re beautiful

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Holy Spirit told me to tell you that, you look beautiful. Change your focus from trying to look perfect to being you. You don’t have to do nearly as much as you think to enhance your natural beauty. It’s one thing to do it for a creative outlet or fun but quite another to do it to feel fulfilled and beautiful. BE YOU! Your beauty is inevitable.

BEAUTY, NATURAL HAIR, SELF LOVE

Done Fearing the Fro

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After being natural for going on 3 years now, I’ve FINALLY started to embrace my hair in its fullest state.  I know a lot of women who are transitioning and terrified of the fro, feeling like it’s a style that they just couldn’t wear and look good.  I felt the same way for a long time.  In addition to not thinking I could pull it off, I was under the impression that the fro hadn’t been in style since the 70s.  I honestly thought, “Who really wears fros anymore?”  Little did I know there was an entire movement of naturalistas fiercely rocking their Be You Beauty.  To my defense, when your hair has been relaxed for more than half your life this is the kind of mentality you can be subject to.  So even after I decided to take the leap and “somewhat” embrace my natural hair I’d always make sure it was prepped so that it had some type of curl definition whether it was in a braid out, twist out, or defining my natural curl pattern with gel.  Well, I am proud to say that the days of feeling the need to do that are gone!  I have officially embraced my fro, adding yet another liberating experience to the book of my natural hair journey.

I have to admit there are some key products that have played a big roll in me embracing and loving my fro.  The Cantu Leave-in Conditioner and Cantu’s new Hair Lotion have made my fro experience incredible. I am loving these products and have gotten tons of positive feedback on my results.  Now, whether it’s actually the look of my fierce fro or the new level of Be You Beauty confidence I’ve achieved that’s bringing this feedback is undetermined and frankly irrelevant.  The point is…I feel fearless rocking my fro!

Fo details on how I achieve this fro, check out my YouTube video below.  Be You Beauties!

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SELF LOVE

Go get pampered woman!

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“When was the last time you pampered yourself?”  I asked myself this question and completely ran a blank. Between my 9 to 5 and home life I have not really taken any time for myself.  Good old meaningful self love me time.  Time that I can just relax my body and mind. Time to get pampered.  I’d have to say that I am overdo.  Am I floating lonely or is any body else in this same boat?  I spend 10 hours of my days on a marketing grind at work, thinking up strategies, putting out fires, trying to execute against ridiculous time lines…blah, blah, blah.  Then for AT LEAST 3 hours of the day I’m answering the same timeless sweet call “Mommy!”. Love my baby boy to pieces but omgeee! Then I’m trying to get in some genuine QT family time, followed by hubby time and then…it’s repeat time. Oh, and of course there are my few quick 10 minute breaks I use to chat it up with Jesus or escape into my next blog or YouTube concept.

Yep!  That’s my life. Pretty awesome actually.  But it’s definitely time for some pampering, after all…you can’t take care of anything or anyone else if you don’t take care of yourself first right?

Pampering yourself is a big part of self-care that easily gets lost in between being a mom, wife and building a career.  Most women do these three things on overtime, pretty much all the time.  So, something has to be done.  I have got to schedule some time to love on myself.  A massage, facial, spa treatment….something! So, this is my official mental note….it’s time to get pampered woman!  And if you’re overdo too…that also goes for you!  Do what you need to do in order to keep BEING YOU.