Awareness

Are you Aware? Open Your Eyes…look at the facts, decide to make the change.

Did You Know?

•Over 30 tons of waste are produced for every one ton of product that reaches the consumer
•98% of those products that do reach the end consumer are thrown away within 6 months.
•It takes around 450 years for a plastic bottle to degrade.
•You absorb up to 60% of any substance applied to your skin, you could absorb up to 4.4 pounds of man made chemicals through your body every year- that's not healthy.
•For those curly girls still relaxing their hair...Sodium Hydroxide is the strongest type of principal chemical used in some chemical relaxers because it provides the most long lasting and dramatic effects. However, this same sodium hydroxide is found in drain cleaners, which well demonstrates the strength of this chemical.

for more information!



Read Carefully...there will be a QUIZ with a great prize!!

The 4 step Sustainable CURLS Campaign

Tomorrow we will be introducing the 1st step of the The 4 Step Sustainable CURLS™ Campaign, "Awareness"!!

The winner of the "Becoming Aware" contest will receive a full size Curlicious Curls Cleansing Cream!!

Curlicious Curls Cleansing Cream

Rachel True's Favorite! This creamy, sulfate free cleanser is gentle enough to use daily and moisturizing enough to use alone! Ideal cleanser for curly hair. Great for chemically altered and color treated hair. Perfect for active women on the go!

This rich and creamy sulfate free cleanser gently cleanses your curls, hydrates, and conditions the hair all in one step. Produces a mild, gentle lather, as it is sulfate (detergent) free. Infused with Carrot Seed oil, Horse Chestnut, Sage Leaf and Arnica Montana Flower Extract. Perfect cleanser for relaxed, chemically altered, and/or color treated hair.

Check out Curls at www.curls.biz

Great news from Curls!

Just In from CURLS
Curls ..great news for all "budget conscious curlies!" CURLS for Target (our sister line to the professional CURLS line - for salons only) hits over 300 stores 3/28!! Stay tuned for a complete listing of stores near you!

The products are available online now: http://www.target.com/gp/search/190-7593357-0257223?ie=UTF8&LID=114...01151&ref=tgt_...adv%5FXSGT0554&AFID=Google&field-keywords=curls%5Fproduct&LNM=curls%5Fproduct

Awesome news! I have had to privilege of reviewing and using Curls on my kiddos and Love their products!

Plats

When I want J's hair to be done but not really take a lot of time braiding I plat her hair.

I like to divide her hair in half from ear to ear. Then I divide the sections into whatever pattern I'm feeling like that day. I put on a black elastic then a ball pony-tails holder...wish I knew what they are called, I always refer to them as "hair balls" lol. I usually end my plats by wrapping the hair around a barrette and closing it but this time I decided to bead the ends and use little white elastics. It's simple....doesn't take long and can last her up to a week.

Braided Hairstyle at Issue in protests over dress code

http://www.nytimes.com/1987/09/23/garden/braided-hair-style-at-issue-in-protests-over-dress-codes.html?pagewanted=all


Braided Hair Style At Issue in Protests Over Dress Codes
By E. R. SHIPP

FOR the first two weeks that she wore her hair in tight braids swept into a pageboy silhouette, Cheryl Tatum, a restaurant cashier at a Hyatt hotel in suburban Washington, received compliments. Then a supervisor told her to pull the braids into a bun to comply with Hyatt's dress code.

She complied, but three weeks later the personnel director at the hotel -the Hyatt Regency Crystal City, near the National Airport - told her to unbraid her hair, saying that Hyatt policy barred ''extreme and unusual hair styles.'' Ms. Tatum, who is black, refused. She lost her job and is now pursuing a discrimination claim before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Sydney M. Boone, a black telephone operator at the Grand Hyatt Washington in the downtown section of the capital, wore a wig over her braids when told that her hair style violated company policy. She, too, has filed a discrimination complaint with the commission.

While no one knows how many similar instances have occurred, lawyers, hair stylists and others across the nation said in interviews that black women were increasingly being forced to choose between a job and African-influenced braided hair styles. Women and stylists contend that braids offer practical and healthful advantages, but some employers say that such styles do not fit their corporate images.


Read the rest of the article HERE

Black Enterprise Intern Forced to Cut Dreads

Check out this article!

http://www.blackpress.org/dreads.htm

Sides back, front to the side braids

This is braided back on the sides to the middle then the crown was braided to the side....used some black and gold beads and some gold hearts on the end

She has quite a few black and gold shirts to match this style :)

Braided Mo-hawk

I was about to take J's hair out today, these braids have been in about two weeks and are looking pretty fuzzy but I decided to snap some quick pics before taking them out.

J has been wearing al ot of 80's bright colors lately so I made her accessories bright! This is the same basic mohawk I did a few blogs back but instead of leaving the hair out I braided the top and put 10 clear beads on each braid.

And here's where I took her braids out to wash and get ready for her next style!!!

The politics of hair

I didn't realize that hair could be such a negative thing, until yesterday. My husband has been wanting a particular job for quite some time. He has a friend working at the particular place who said that he was pretty sure after his recommendation that he would get the job. We were very excited. Hubby dressed up for the interview in dress pants, button down shirt and dress shoes. He was looking sharp. I braided his hair in very small conservative, neat rows. No zig zags or anything crazy for the interview.

The interview seemed to go very well so imagine our surprise when they called Monday and told him he did not get the job. His buddy went and asked the person in charge of hiring why he didn't hire him. The man said he had a great interview but didn't get the job because of his braids. AHHH He knew he'd have to cut his hair if he was given the job but didn't figure he should have to cut his hair for a job he didn't even have yet.

I don't think it's right that he has to cut off his hair to get a job, as long as he keeps in neatly braided back, why do they care? Women at this job can have any length of hair. At the same time, we need income so if that's all he can find right now is a job that requires him to cut off his hair, he will. It's still a shame really!!! He loves his long hair, and I love caring for it.

Who made these rules of what everyone should look like?


Here is a piece of an interesting petition I found online concerning men with long hair:

http://www.petitiononline.com/hairlong/petition.html

Both the banking industry and the estate agency industry will not hire men with long hair and this is perfectly legal. Not only is it legal, there has been legal precedence set. In the case of Smith v Safeway 2000, a man who was dismissed from his job on the deli counter because his hair grew too long to be kept under his hat, took a claim of sex discrimination against his employer. The case reached the Court of Appeal who ruled that this did not constitute sex discrimination. They stated that an appearance code which applies 'conventional standards' will be seen to apply an even handed approach between the sexes and not to be discriminatory. In this case Mr Smith had argued that the appearance code was discriminatory because to impose a permanent change of hairstyle would mean he would also have to wear his hair short outside of work. The Court of Appeal held that a restriction which extends beyond the workplace is a factor to be taken into account in considering whether the rule treats one sex less favourably but is not conclusive by itself.

Why is the establishment so against long-hair, or protecting the HUMAN RIGHTS of men who have long-hair? There are that if the law was changed, then it would open up cases for men wishing to wear skirts, make-up, facial piercings, etc. This is incorrect. All of these things can be removed/changed for the course of the work day. If someone is forced to cut their hair, then they can't magically grow it back when the leave work. This affects the individual both inside and outside the work place.

Also, the term “conventional standards” is erroneous. Who sets the conventional standard. Who decides this. In young males today, both ear-rings and eyebrow piercings seem to be more and more commonplace. Could a young male demand that he be allowed to wear these whilst working for a bank? Perhaps he should... after all, it is a “conventional standard”. Do these institutions demand that women grow their hair. After all, isn't it “traditional” that men have short hair and women long hair?

Curly is Cuter

I was recently introduced to the website Curly is Cuter (Thanks Beads, Braids & Beyond ). This website has all kinds of beads and hair accessories, I'm loving it!!



Right now they are hosting several giveaways for bead packages like those above so head over and check it out!! CURLY IS CUTER