Jessicurl Review, Vote & Giveaway

I am so happy to offer my readers a unique way to learn more about hair and body products.  I will begin offering reviews from a variety of people instead of just myself! I will continue to do reviews but I will also approach people on the street, followers on twitter & Facebook fans. 

My first attempt is a Giveaway/Contest! I approached 4 ladies about reviewing Jessicurl with honest & fair feedback, they agreed, I informed them that they also had the opportunity to win a prize for participating.  Jess from Jessicurl was kind enough  to provide samples, pamphlets & a chance to win Full size bottles of the Confidence Collection for the participants & for YOU!

How it works:


There are 4 participants with different hair types..

1.  Please watch all 4 videos and choice the participant you would like to vote for...it can be for the way they reviewed the product, the way you relate to them or because you like them :)
2. You must follow my blog, Like Jessicurl on FB and either like As the Wind Blows fan page on FB or follow me on twitter.
3. Leave a comment under this blog saying "enter me" and the participant you would like to voted for

Thats it! One vote per like/follow....There will be one Reader winner from the votes (chosen by random) and one winner for the participants (chosen by the most votes)


First up Shanita ..I chose her because she is a YouTube Vlogger that has experience reviewing products and her perpective would be interesting...

2nd we have Jessica one of my neighbors who never wears her hair down but is a naturally curly lady..i felt her view point could help those with a love/hate curl relationship..

3rd Miss Tamia..she was kind enough to step in when my previous participant dropped out..she is 12 years old and she loves her hair..i chose her because she normally wears her hair straight so this would be new showing her hair curly and she gives a youth perpective

4th and final is Precious a newly naturally curly lady that currently wants to explore products and find her "must haves"...she is very excited about being natural so she will give another view

Thank you for reading...Vote!! Contest will run 10/25/11- 11/2/11 @ midnight CST

****Contest is closed***************

Next up- Miss Tia

Introducing my only daughter,Tia! She loves all types of hairstyles, from kinky twists to sew ins. We talk about hair all the time and embracing our natural textures. Length is her biggest concerns so as long as the braids are at a minimum of bra-strap length she is fine. Many teens long to have hair hanging along their backs and Tia is one of them.  I haven't had the struggle with wanted straight hair, she has always liked curly hair but length is her love. Her natural length was always pretty long until a very bad experience with micro-braids.

In an attempt to provide Tia with a protective style for the summer that would give her the ability to enjoy all the water activities and her grandparents without concern for her hair, she lost 4-5 inches of her hair.  The micro-braids caused hair loss from her edges & sides and the stylist  (unknowingly i assume) cut 4 inches of her hair removing them . Needless to say she was devastated and I was furious. We gathered ourselves and I went on a mission to help Tia regain her healthy hair.

I began by messaging her hair line daily with a whipped Shea butter mixture, weekly hot oil treatments & monthly deep conditioning.  I would give her roller sets, two strand twists etc to allow her to have styles without heat and little manipulation during the week. Tia began to see great results on her edges but the length of her hair was still an area of concern for her.  To give her length I suggested braids again but to guarantee that the hair would not have a lot of tension I did them myself.

First I tried kinky twists, then cornrows and individual braids. She has experimented with a micro braid/sew in and although she loved the look the stress on her weak hair was too much.  We have decided to stick with a variety of cornrowed styles and individual braids until she has the length she wants. Tia loves my thick curly afros, twists and braid outs but doesn't want this styles for herself. Her hair is thinner and my hair has a kinkier pattern.  I feel she accepts her hair and embraces it but choices to make longer length a part of her persona..

I am proud that my daughter has chosen to live a chemically free lifestyle and that she leans towards ethnic styles but I would support her anyway.  I share with her my reasons for leaving the chemicals out of my hair and its one of the many ways we have to spend time together.  Tia is definitely more than her hair but I'm glad she can love it at a young age.

  How does your daughter wear her hair?  Share your stories & concerns....Thanks for your comments!!

Back to Basics- H20 & Hair Grease Challenge

I was checking out YouTube for some inspiring hair videos when I noticed a challenge from one the ladies I subscribe to.  It was the channel of CoilyHeadChick and she was challenging her viewers to go back to basics.  I was interested and watched the part 1 & 2 of her video of a water and hair grease challenge...Yes, Grease...petroleum, mineral oil containing GREASE!  There was no way her hair would avoid looking like a Hot Mess..so I thought????  Her hair was beautiful and she claimed it wasn't greasy at all.  CoilyHeadChick was calling for us to re-evaluate our product junkie status and go old school...Hmm..maybe i should try it but for some reason I was scared.  I decided to tweet: "I need to put my big girl panties on and give this water & grease twist out challenge a try" and to my surprise she replied "yes put them on"...so it was official, I had to give this challenge a try.

In CoilyHeadChick's challenge she used an old favorite of Royal Crown hair grease but I decided to use the green Ultra Sheen Soft Touch I had in my bathroom.

I washed my hair with Shea Moisture Curl Shampoo, I didn't condition but used the Koils by Nature leave in conditioner.  My hair was very wet and i applied about a finger tip of grease to the first section of hair.  I was nervous but soon found myself feeling comforted.  The smell of the hair grease had me instantly reminiscing about sitting on an old milk crate getting my hair pressed by my mother or grandmother.  I was smiling for a while but them I remembered the countless hot comb burns on my ear LOL, back to reality!                            
              I raked the grease in with my fingers and did two strand twists all over.

I was surprised that my twists didn't feel greasy...the Ultra Sheen had did a great job (so far) of sealing the water in and creating a lot of moisture. I decided to let my hair air dry over night with a satin bonnet on.

The next day I was pleasantly surprised, my curls were the bomb! My curl pattern was amazingly defined and full of sheen. Touching my hair there was a slight amount of glistening on my hands but not enough to classify it as greasy. I was impressed.

CoilyHeadChick is doing the challenge for 30 days but I decided 3 days would be my assessment.  The first night I covered my hair with my satin bonnet without re-twisting and my hair was just as curly in the morning.  Night 2 I re-twisted and Night 3 I mist again with water and added grease only to the back of my hair. My hair had all the same curls and definition I had on Day 1.

When it comes to the appearance and results of the twist out with grease and water I will say Thumbs Up, however for the overall health and growth from continuous use I will have to stay tune to my YouTube friend, the jury is still out...I think this is a challenge worth watching, with hair care products being so costly, we need to have all the options we can.  I am a product junkie and love giving different products a try but I need to make sure I'm not falling for hype! 

Thanks for reading & please leave a comment! Check out CoilyHeadChick on YouTube and see if this is a challenge you would like to try...

My son Jalen's Loc Journey

My journey back to my natural hair has been amazing and taking my children along with me has been even better.  My two younger children, Jalen 11 & Tia 12, have encountered struggles and opinions about their natural hair but have found a way to love themselves and set their opinions above others. My children and I have leaned on the support of  our YouTube family & fellow bloggers who have provide education, support & a sense of community.  I hope to encourage other mothers to support their children in this journey by sharing our experiences.  I will feature my children in a two part blog post & share their natural hair journey.  Let's begin with Jalen....

My 11 year old son, Jalen, made the decision to grow locs on his own.  It was a combination of loving longer hair and hating to get a haircut.  He is also extremely tenderheaded, like myself, and the thought of little maintenance was appealing.  Locs were foreign to me, I didn't know how to start grow them out, maintain them or what to expect.  My money was very tight so paying to have them done was out of the question.  I decided to enroll in the University of DIY, YouTube.  I found a video showing how to palm roll locs and we began our journey. I was surprised to see the results and Jalen was in love. (he had worn cornrows so his hair had length)   When we first began the journey, most of the prejudice surprisingly was from our family.  They began with the typical stereotypes that people would judge him, they weren't clean & he was ruining his future....Wow at 7 it was over? Constantly family members would ask him when he plan to cut his hair, made faces & tried to reduce his self esteem.  Luckily for Jalen he had a mother that taught him that when making decisions there will be people who don't agree but it doesn't make the decision incorrect. He has been wearing locs now for four years and is very confident with them.  Jalen has embraced his locs and except for  the occasional mistake of people thinking  he's as a girl, which puberty is quicker than I like solving, he has not experienced any adverse effects.  His peers have accepted his locs as part of him and many parents commend him on his commitment.
I believe his ability to deal with the occasional stare or question is due in part to  the continuous support he receives from his immediate family and his self confidence. Beginning the journey at a younger age may have helped him and it makes me wonder how the experience would be if he started the journey at an older age.  Would the peer pressure would be a stronger factor if he was maybe 15 when it began?  What do you think? 

How do you feel about locs on young men & young ladies? Would you support your kids wearing locs? Let me know how you feel. I love reading your comments!

What a Community!

I am so in love with the natural hair community. My experience at Fro Fashion Week cemented those feelings. The city of Atlanta was the perfect stage, a place where every small business made a genuine effort to promote and support the other. Trust me, this wasn't just about networking, it was a passion to make their community successful and let everyone have a place to shine. I have never experienced this before and I like it. I come from a place where if you have a business your family doesn't faithfully support you and if they do they expect a discount. It was beautiful to see very successful black businesses receive support from other black people and black businesses.

I would like to support some small businesses that I have encountered that have a flair, strong sense of community and pride. Many of these businesses without representation have shaped my love of natural hair, natural self and passion of entrepreneurship.  Here are a few of them and why I think they stand out for me:

Afrodelik Designs... I first saw one of her funky designs on twitter when Afrobella tweeted a pic with her wearing a shirt.  I immediately went to her facebook page to check them out. I knew I wanted one. During my trip to Fro Fashion Week I encountered Pamela Jenkins, owner of Koils by Nature, rocking one of Afrodeliks fabulous tees! The owner Desiree Marshall from my favorite place in Canada, Toronto,  has gone out of her way to try and  accommodate me being plus size & I appreciate the customer service. (Support without Representation)

 ALS... I encounter this fabulous person and her jewelry on twitter.  She would tweet pics of her items for purchase but she also makes great YouTube vids showing how you can make anything from headbands to earrings on your own.  Alexandra is also part of the natural hair community and shares her passion with others also as a blogger. (Sharing success)

                                                     Tomokas Twists..I love her accessories and her personality.  I also follow her on twitter but I wanted to spotlight her because she takes a lot of time to spotlight other businesses.  Her work is completely original and functional.  (Building success for others)

iamherappareal...What can I say but this clothing line is full of FLAVOR! One of my favorites Kim Coles, rocks their gear and I am excited to rock it too. They have fashion tees sure to represent your au natural flavor. (Fab & Full of success)

                                          The last business for this post is Koils by Nature...because I love love love her spirit, passion & of course her products.  I meet Pamela at a the Fashion runway at Fro Fashion Week. I spoke with her for about 15 minutes about my hair and not once did she "sell" me her product instead she examined my hair, suggested at home ways to improve it and samples to try.  It was not a selling tactic it was a true passion for natural hair! (Passion for business & community)

These are just a few of the great businesses I have encountered. Check out their sites and support them because they are passionate about supporting and providing us with great products.  One last special shout out to Tarin Boone of  Naturally Me Media, for supporting and giving small business a daily forum to shine & Fro Fashion Week a must experience event...Now go buy!!!

Let me know what businesses you love..Please leave your comments they make my day!