Hey everyone! I got the opportunity to try out some products from a new natural hair product line called Beautè Organics. This line of products is brand spanking new and I want you to not only learn about new natural hair products that are out there, but I want you to know about the faces behind them as well. The owner of Beautè Organics is a young lady by the name of Erica Rivers. I got the chance to interview Erica and here's how it went.
Tell me a little bit about your self.
I was born in Selma, Alabama. However, due to my mother's military career I moved all over the US. I believe this is what caused me to really appreciate life, being able to see such diverse cultures in this country. I then ended up staying at her last duty station in Louisiana where I now call home. I completed my B.S. in Chemistry and moved to New Orleans where Beautè Organics came to life. I am a natural and have been natural going on 3 years with a few haircuts in between.
Tell me a little bit about your product line. (How did it come into the existence? What motivated you to create the products?)
Beautè Organics was inspired by my love of chemistry and all things beauty related! Initially my haircare products were something I did as a craft on the side while working as a Chemist, but friends and family encouraged me to make this into a brand. This was a huge transition, but I went full force at it and now Beautè Organics is here!
How did you come up with the name Beautè Organics?
The name Beautè Organics seemed to come to me like it was a calling. I thought about what I wanted the company to represent and now here she is!
Your product line is relatively new. What are you guessing will be your best sellers?
I believe the best sellers will be the leave in creme, conditioner and styling butter! So far that is more so what people have gravitated towards.
Are there any products in your line that you would recommend for women with
kinky, type 4 hair?
The thick styling butter is definitely the product I would recommend. I have type 4 hair and to be honest, this has to be one of the best butters I have used! Type 4 hair loves butters and moisture and this product provides both! Twist outs, braid outs, bantu knots etc!
What are 3 hair styling tips or tricks that you can offer to promote
healthy hair and hair growth in addition to the use of Beautè Organics products?
1) Don't skimp on deep conditioning! This process really allows your hair to be refreshed and revitalized. Once a week or twice a month just depending on the state of your hair.
2) When styling your hair, always remember to add the water back into it during the week as a refresher. You can do this with a water based leave in or a light mist spray of water! This will ensure your hair is hydrated.
3) Less is more! With products we use i believe "less is more" is definitely one of the biggest tips I could give!
Where do you see Beautè Organics in a few years from now?
I see Beautè Organics being one of the go to all-natural haircare brands out there. The thing about this line is it can be used on all hair types and the styling butter is a perk for people with curly hair! I also see Beautè Organics as a community builder. I aspire to have a lab where college students are taught proper laboratory skills and are given a chance to showcase their talent. I also want to encourage more children to work in the science field through out-reach programs. To me, Beautè Organics is more than a brand its encouragement to our fellow neighbors to have growth and prosperity.
How can we stay in the know with the latest news about Beautè Organics?
You can follow us on Instagram and Twitter @beauteorganics or join or newsletter by submitting your email on the website.
Check out my review of the Beautè Organics line HERE.
Purchase your very own Beautè Organics products HERE.
With thick, kinky hair, the challenge does not lie in obtaining curl definition but in keeping that curl definition for a long time. Naturalistas have spent so many time twisting and twisting their hair to achieve curl definition only for that definition to be gone with the wind within a couple days. I have seen all my hard work at twisting count for absolutely nothing by the end of Twist-out Day 1. Finally I am completely satisfied with the longevity of my twist-outs, that I can share some tips and tricks for my 4c hair (kinky hair for that matter) sistas that want long-lasting twist-outs. Here they are!
Try smaller twists. Ok. You twisted out your hair, your definition is on point, but then you have a huge, puffed up mess only a couple hours (if that) into your day. I learned that in most cases where that happened, the size of my twists were medium to larger. Try twisting your hair in smaller twists. If they are larger they may hold the definition for a day or two, but will lose definition shortly thereafter due to humidity, sweat, and other variables.
The longer the better. The longer
you leave your twists in the longer the definition you achieve will
last. In my opinion, the minimum amount of time to leave your twists in
should be 1 day. This ensures that they set & dry really well. I
have done the overnight twist-out and achieved great definition. However,
that definition was short lived, due to humidity and the fact that the
hair hasn't really set long enough.
(For Dry Hair) Set with Water. If you're not working with freshly washed,damp hair, spritz it with water. When your hair has been twisted and water is introduced, your hair will experience some shrinkage and dry in the twisted form it is in, thus locking the curl pattern in place.
Use One Hair Styling Product. Now is no the time to play "hair product mixologist". Shhh, I'm guilty of this too. Find one good moisturizing styling product to use to apply to your hair when twisting. Too many products in the hair can weigh it down, increase your hair drying time, and produce results that you just weren't looking for. Carol's Daughter's Marula Curl Therapy Diffusing & Styling Lotion, ORS Smooth n' Hold Pudding, & Alikay Natural's Shea Yogurt have all worked great in my hair. Plain water has too!
Retwist in chunkier twists. The
Pineapple Method is not for everybody! Trust me I know. I re-twist my
hair in chunky twists to avoid looking like Sideshow Bob the following
morning. When i get home from work, I simply re-moisturize my hair using
the LOC (liquid,oil,cream) method and twist my hair in chunky twists.
It's important that you do not run your fingers through your hair or do
any type of detangling to disturb your curl definition. Check out the
video below to see how I re-twist my hair for longer lasting twist outs.
Love your hair for what it does. I have thrown many twistouts up into a bun instead simply because my curls didn't come out like how other naturals' curls came out. It wasn't a product or twisting method problem, it was a self acceptance problem. The sooner we learn to accept and work with the hair texture we have, the sooner you will appreciate the uniqueness about your hair and how your twist outs turn out. What is the longest time your twist out has lasted? Comment below!
With the everchanging steps, sub-steps, and sub-substeps to the entire wash day process, you can easily over do it when it comes to detangling your hair. As a 4c hair natural of 27 years, one thing I did learn is that there is such a thing as detangling too much. Trust me the frequency in which you detangle your hair can determine whether or not you'll look like Angelica's doll, Cynthia, within a few years.
Here are 5 easy tips to detangling your hair without over doing it!
1. ACCEPT THAT YOUR HAIR WILL STILL HAVE TANGLES. You know the saying, "the 1st step to recovery is admitting that you have a problem"? Well that saying can also relate to how we maintain our kinky hair. FACT: Kinky hair is highly prone to tangling. You can denman brush that hair for as long as your arm can take it (but keep in mind Cynthia's picture) and it will still have a tangles here and there. The sooner you accept that fact the sooner you'll be okay with the fact that your hair does not behave the same way as looser hair textures.
My raw, shrunken 4c hair!
2. ONE GOOD DETANGLING SESSION IS ENOUGH! With the previous kinky hair fact in mind, it's best to keep detangling to a minimum. Detangling before you wash your hair, while you wash your hair, while you're conditioning your hair, and again when you're actually styling your hair is definitely overkilll, especially with kinky hair. I was totally guilty of this in my younger years of trying to maintain my own hair. I felt like my hair had to hang down and be manageable like everyone else's before I even began the process of washing my hair. So I use to comb out my hair before I washed it.
3. SLIDE, SLIDE, SLIP, & SLIDE. "SLIP" is the most important word of the latter four. Products with slip are a kinky haired girl's best friend! A conditioner with awesome slip can mean the difference between detangling for what seems like hours or just a couple minutes per section. Most conditioners that provide awesome slip contain silicones which could be a no-no if you're super ingredient conscious. However there are also natural alternatives. Conditioners containing ingredients like marshmallow root and slippery elm are almost a sure bet to have the slip you're looking for. My favorite silicone containing conditioner is Tresseme's Curl Hydration Conditioner. My favorite natural conditioner is NaturelleGrow's Mango & Coconut Water Deep Conditioner. With both products, my wide tooth comb passes through my hair like a hot knife through butter.
4. SECTION YOUR SECTIONS. I think it's established throughout the natural hair community that it's best to detangle your hair in sections and I totally agree. Find the amount of sections you need in your hair to get through the detangling process faster with as little breakage as possible. If your hair is immensly dense, the detangling process may be easier if you have more than four sections in your hair. The more hair that's being fed into your detangling tool, the harder it will be to detangle the hair. The lesser the better!
5. DETANGLING TOOL JUNKIE! Speaking of detangling tools, you do not need every detangling tool under the sun that you see your favorite naturalista's trying out. Sometimes it's just best to keep it simple. I get by fine with just my wide toothed comb and my fingers. Yes, your fingers are a detangling tool too! Detangling brushes (Denman's, Tangle Teezers, etc.) seem to be great tools for easy twist out separation, but using it to achieve every single style is not necessary.
I hope these tips help you out and at least make you question whether or not you're detangling too much!
What is your detangling routine? How often do you detangle? Sound off in the comments.
The main question of the discussion is "Does it (hair typing) empower or alienate us?" I will be participating in the discussion through the comments section of the video link along with everyone else, but I wanted to get my thoughts out before then.
For everyone who is new to the natural hair community, hair typing is the categorization of hair according to its curl pattern, coil pattern, or lack there of. The process of determining ones hair type is made easy with visual charts like the chart displayed below. Whether it's squiggly lines representing various curl patterns or actual pictures of naturals with varying hair textures, the concept is the same.
There are typically four hair groups (1,2,3, and 4) with 1 representing straight hair, 2 representing wavy hair , 3 representing wavy and/ or curly hair, and 4 representing kinky and/or a blend of kinky and curly hair.
Each hair group is typically divided into subgroups a, b, and c which
represents the degree to which a natural has the wave,curl, or coil
pattern in their respective group. So in my case I have kinky hair which automatically puts me in the type 4 range. My hair strands definitely resemble the strands in the "c" group. Hence my hair type is 4c.
The answer to the question is not "black and white" so I'll just get right into it. I think that the ultimate objective of hair typing is to empower. The methods of hair care (washing, deep conditioning, detangling, combing,etc.) is dependent on the texture of a person's hair. How is a natural suppose to care for their hair properly if they have nothing to relate to? Being able to identify what type your hair texture falls under or closely resembles is a starting point for new naturals and naturals trying to learn how to improve the care of their own hair.
I do believe in playing devil's advocate for the purpose of seeing all sides to a discussion. With that said, hair typing can be seen as alienating, but it is not the real culprit for the feeling of being alienated. Alienation comes into play when a community of a certain hair type feels less celebrated or acknowledged by the entire natural hair community. It leads back to a discussion that was brought up (very eloquently I must add) by fellow 4c hair chick Jouelzy in her "So Over the Natural Hair Community & Texture Discrimination" video. I agree with most of the points that she brought to light. However, I feel the reason why naturals with kinkier textures aren't getting as much props is because of the public's perception of "good", "pretty" hair.
If women with type 4 textures were celebrated and receiving as much traffic as our type 3 sisters then hair companies would market their products for women in the type 4 group. There's not enough of us (type 4 chicks) supporting each other to the levels that make the "big heads" of various hair companies say "Hey there's a significant audience here. There's a demand specifically for naturals with kinky textures. Let's adjust our marketing strategies towards them." There are so many Instagram accounts and Facebook pages dedicated to natural hair. However, most hardly feature ladies with the nappy, thick goodness that us type 4 ladies have. Even when they do feature type 4 naturals, the amount of likes are significantly less in comparison to the likes that ladies with baby soft curls are getting.
I also believe that we have the European standard of beauty to thank for our perception of "pretty" and "good" hair. Although we have a natural hair community, we give the most attention and support to naturals with hair that is long past their shoulders and easier to manage. My mind keeps going back to Chris Rock trying to sell type 4 hair in his documentary "Good Hair". Everyone preferred hair that was as close to the European standard as they could get.
Regardless of the current reality that type 4 naturals are not as celebrated as naturals with "good" hair, some thoughts remain clear in my mind. We all need to love our hair for what it is. We need to find strength and feel empowered in the fact that there are others with our hair texture that we can relate to. The promotion of naturals of a less celebrated hair type should be a priority if you have that hair type also. I'm not saying that you should not enjoy the content of naturals from other hair types, but an effort should be made to support type 4 naturals.
That's my 2 cents on this question. I'm really interested to hear your thoughts this topic.
I love my natural hair, but there are some days,most days actually, that I don't want to do to much to it. There are days when i don't want to get up a half hour or more early just to make sure that twist out comes out right. For those lazy days, I put my hair up in a bun because they are so easy to whip up. I got home from work and decided to take some pics of the steps to make two buns that I sport regularly.
Hair condition: My hair is medium length and has been stretched from being in buns.
Supplies
Water in a Spray Bottle
Hair Oil (Jojoba, Argan, Coconut, or any mixture)
Hair Gel (I use EcoStyler Gel)
Soft Bristle Brush
Bobby Pins
Goody Ouchless Headband
For both styles you need to lightly spray your hair with water to refresh it with some moisture if it's dry. Seal that moisture in with an oil of your choosing. Take a small amount of hair gel, rub it in your hands, and smooth it in an upward motion around the edges of your hairline. Lightly brush all of your hair in an upward motion to where your bun will be. Finally secure your hair in a pony tail puff.
Now you're ready to turn that puff into a bun!
THE BOW BUN
Separate your puff into two sections, one on the left and one on the right.
Loosely twist the very ends of each section. You should end up looking like you have two natural hair helicopter blades on your head.
Pin the end of each twist to the center and back part of your bun with bobby pins (or simply tuck the ends under the Goody hairband! .
That's It! You can easily do this style on old twist outs to get a bow with a bit more texture.
THE TWISTED CROWN BUN
Separate your puff into four sections. I'm sorry it'll look even more like a helicopter than the first bun for a bit.
Two-strand twist each section from beginning to end.
Pin the end of each twist under the the beginning of the twist next to it. It took me a couple minutes to try to describe how I pin it so I hope the visual below helps.
That's it! For a more voluminous bun you can also try this style without twisting the sections.
See how easy that was! Perfect lazy day buns for those days when you don't want to be in the mirror forever playing with your hair, but still look put together.
If you try these buns in your hair or any other buns please feel free to share them on my LuvMika87 Facebook Page, @luvmika87 on Instagram, @luvmika87 on Twitter. You can also pin any of the photos you see here onto your Pinterest boards.
Art is something that I constantly find inspiration and motivation from to pursue my own interests and dreams. usually I admire an artist or person of interest from a spectator's standpoint and leave it at that...but not anymore.
I've taken a personal challenge to step outside of my comfort zone and actually reach out to artist or people that interest me in some way.
The 1st person that I'd like to feature is Sharee Miller, a V.I. born artist and author residing in Brooklyn, NY.
Sharee Miller's self portrait sketch (left) and the artist herself (right)
She is the founder of the Facebook Page Coily and Cute where she features her many illustrations.
The focus of her illustrations are on African American women and girls with natural hair. I got the opportunity to ask Sharee some questions of interest and here's how it went down.
1.) How long have you been illustrating?
I
have been illustrating since I was little. I've always loved stories... telling them and drawing them. My sisters were also both very
artistic and I started drawing because of them. Then I grew to love it
on my own. If I couldn't draw I don't know what I would do.
2.) Why did you start Coily and Cute?
I
was looking for an outlet to draw every day and at the same time I was
getting into the natural hair community and learning about that. I
noticed there wasn't much for kids growing up in this newly
reclaimed community. As their mothers grew to accept their hair I wanted
them to grow up loving their hair. I know everyone loves to see
themselves in art and growing up I never saw me and it makes me happy
when people say "thats me!" when they look at my art. That is what Coily
and Cute is for.
3.) Did you have any fears/hesitation about sharing your art with the world? If so, how did you get past those fears?
It's always scary to share your art
with the world. What if people don't like it? What if someone steals it
and claims it as their own? There are a lot of risks when sharing your
art online. But then I realize I am my biggest critic and most people
appreciate my work. Its usually my own voice that makes me pause. And
even if no one liked it I would keep doing it because I can't stop. Even
if I wanted to.
4.) Name some artists or anyone that inspires you to keep doing what you're doing.
I am
inspired by many artists that don't necessarily do what I do, but they do
what they love and I find that inspiring. My favorite right now is
Geninne. She is a Mexican artist that draws birds and nature but I am
inspired by her patterns and anything she wants to make she just makes.
Pottery, embroidery, even bread her life is just simple and inspiring. I
love her art.
5.)What was your inspiration for producing your current series of illustrations (the "I Can Be" series)?
I
was looking for something special to do for black history month and an
illustrator friend gave me the idea to show kids what they could be.
I
started with drawing about two and everyone liked it so much I am
thinking of making as many as I can think of and putting them into a
book. I think as a kid it would be nice to look in a book and see all
the things I could be.
6.) Where do you see yourself in 5 to 10 years from now with your artistic talents?
Wow. I hope to be self employed by
then. Working from home and raising my kids while working on children's
books that are professionally published. Hopefully my work will
be licensed as well and you will be able to find it everywhere and have
it in your homes on books and calendars and curtains and dishes.
7.) How long have you been natural and why did you decide to go natural?
I
have been natural since 2012, and it will be two years this month!
(March) I had been thinking about it for a long time because my hair
had been damaged for a long time and one day I just cut it off. Now I
don't really like how I look with straight hair. I love my curls. (when
they cooperate)
8.)How
can you be contacted (contact info)? How can we (the public) get access
to your art (social media links, purchase sites, etc.)?
Before I go any further into posting hair tutorials or anything related to natural hair, I figured I'd show you guys what my natural hair looks like in its natural state.
This is my hair without any products . I went to the beach yesterday, came home rinsed out the salt water, tied a scarf around it, and this is the result.
My Hair Type?
According to the hair chart below, I have 4C hair. Sometimes it feels like I have 4Z hair!
How long have you been natural?
I've been natural for 27 years (all my life). Of those 27 years I've only been taking care of my own hair for the last 5 years. Up until 5 years ago I had no clue about sulfate free shampoos, parabens (any of the para-s in fact), hair stretching, or twist outs! The world of YouTube and YouTubers like BlackOnyxx, Naptural85, African Export is what really opened up my eyes as to how I should be taking care of my hair.
Have you ever wanted to relax your hair?
I first wanted to straight (St.Thomian word for relaxing hair) my hair once I reached the 9th grade. I didn't see too many girls with natural hair. The majority of my female classmates had their hair straighted and if they didn't their hair type was some were in the 3a-3c range. I constantly asked my parents to straight my hair, but my dad made it clear that that was not happening until I decided too once I turned 18.
Why didn't you relax your hair?
My 18th birthday came and went and I still had my natural hair. By then I realized that nothing was wrong with my hair and that I didn't care to be regularly visiting the hair salon like a "Creamy Crackhead". Besides a lot of women that I knew were relaxed, yet ironically they were rocking natural hair looks with extensions and drawstring puffs! To me it didn't make sense for me to straight my hair and then go to the salon to make my hair look like it was natural.
What products do you use in your hair?
Shampoos: I try my hardest to use sulfate free shampoos. My favorites are the Organix shampoos and Loreal's Sulfate Free Ever Curl shampoo. If I don't go sulfate free, I just use the cheap Suave shampoos.
Conditioners: My hair needs a lot of conditioner so most times I use the Suave Daily Clarifying Conditioner because I can get more for my money. It's really good for detangling.
Oils: Shea butter, Jojoba, Argan, Grape Seed , Coconut. I use whatever I can get my hands on.
What do you not like about your hair?
The only thing that I don't like about my hair is it's length. 4C hair is most prone to breakage and my hair is no different. With hair prone to breakage, it's very difficult to retain length.
What do you love about your hair?
I love my hair's versatility. I can get in so many different styles. I also love that it is stiff because there's no need for wax or holding spray to keep it in place. My hair can be whatever I want it to be.
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