Curls and Cocktais March 2017| ELEANOR J'ADORE

For someone who has officially been living in Johannesburg for the last 5 months I’ve found myself making quite a few trips south to Cape Town lately: The first one was for the Cape Town Natural Hair Fest in December 2016; the second one for a friend’s wedding in March and this last weekend for Curls & Cocktails – the first event for 2017 hosted by Cape Town Naturally, the collective I co-founded with four other natural haired beauties.

For the benefit of those of you reading my blog for the first time, Cape Town Naturally is a platform for individuals with natural hair to share ideas and tips and to support each other. It’s a place where we can build each other up and create a community of like minded people. Over the last coupled of years the demand for social events has increased so much that we successfully hosted our second Curls & Cocktails on Saturday 25 March. The first one was held early last year.

Imagine if you will, a room filled with 100 beautiful women and men, crowned in their natural kinks, waves and curls, all there to uplift and inspire each other. Queue our amazing guest speakers, Justine Josias, a model (pictured in the blue dress) and actress Kay Smith, (pictured in the orange dress) who shared a little about their personal hair journeys and the challenges and blessings they’ve both come face to face with in their personal as well as professional lives because of their choice to wear their hair naturally.

They both had in me tears as I was really moved by their stories and I found myself identifying with so much of what they said.

If you’ve ever been to Canal Walk in Century City then you would undoubtedly have noticed the hair salon Style Studio. They stock a range of natural hair products, especially some sought-after international ones, so we were very happy to have Grant Heynes,  Managing Director of Style Studio share a bit more about the business. In tow with him he also had the CEO of Urban Therapy Twisted Sista, Randy Zeno (pictured below) who shared a few inspiring words.

In my element

Just look at all these beauties who attended.

Of course we gave away loads of prizes!

We finally introduced everyone to our mascot and if you’ve not met her on social media yet, here she is. Meet Naturally Naledi, sponsored to us by Haus of Swag and created as a special once-off doll as part of their dollhaus project, which is a collection of one-of-a kind fashion dolls customized in Haus of Swag’s apparel brand with a remixed version of hair and style. Isn’t she just gorgeous?

Watch this video to see more of what transpired at the event.

Thank you so much to all our sponsors. This event would not have been the same without you.  Style Studio,  My Natural Hair, The Perfect Hair, Cantu Beauty Africa, Swimma Caps, Kafuinaturals,AKAN Organics, Design Essentials Southern Africa, True Love Mag, Femmes de karite, Haus of Swag , Curl Chemistry, Suki Suki Naturals, Naturally Good Traders cc , Lavish Atelier & MissAnke Jewels.

We honestly can’t wait to host you at the next Curls & Cocktails.

If you were there, let me know below what you thought. I’d love to hear from you!

Beautiful Little Fools| BOLU NOELLE

"Beautiful little fools, that's what us girls are destined for.."

These are lyrics from a song by young West Midlands-born babes Jorja Smith, inspired by the Great Gatsby in which Daisy implied that at best, that's what we girls could aim to be- beautiful little fools.

And with a society over taken by social media, obsessed with appearance and praising those who focus on their aesthetics, it seems that's what we're getting closer to.

Or

Maybe not. Maybe we were destined for something greater than being called "peng" or "sexy". Perhaps there's more in life we can achieve than just being a beauty.

From London to Warwick, I've been surrounded by so many gorgeous, smart women. Beautiful Little Intellects. Amongst them and beyond, I've seen the art of the most unique and creative ladies.. Beautiful Little Creatives.

Beautiful Little Artists, Psychologists, Historians, Politicians, Bloggers, Makeup Artists, Businesswomen, Hair Stylists, Waitresses, Receptionists, CEO's, Secretaries, Bankers, Stylists, Engineers...

All of them, all of us beautiful.

We are capable and we are entitled to be more than a pretty face.

And we can put on all our make up (God knows I will, girl-and I'll listen to trap music whilst doing so) but consider-

Applying a lipstick of compliments, a mascara that causes your vision not to judge based off what you see. Let your foundation encompass integrity and kindness.

And for all you girls that haven't mastered your winged liner or found the perfect match foundation- I promise you that people who judge your character based off your appearance do not matter.

Nope.

Not at all.

Stop it.

And don't go thinking that girls who do have their liner fleeking and their hair done 24/7 have their lives together- don't go putting people on pedestals and putting yourself down. We are all babygirls who need love and support from each other, not side eye and shade. Like, do you know how powerful we'd be if we uplifted each other? Let's try that.

Love and light,

Bolu Noelle

xoxo

my love is very special, lol bye

DETANGLING CURLS| ELEANOR J'ADORE

For the last six months I have been fixated with a very cute and compact palm-sized detangling brush, so much so that I can’t believe I haven’t written about it sooner. Be that it as it may, it has made such an impact on my detangling process that I’ve practically ditched my wide-tooth comb and I honestly don’t even know where it is at this stage. This comes somewhat as a shock even to me, seeing as I’ve been a proponent of the wide-tooth comb for detangling curly hair for years now. And every time I saw or heard anything about these tiny detangling brushes I would pretty much scoff it off with a “Pffft, that will never work on all my curls.”
That is until I was sent the original Tangle Teezer in November last year. I remember it sitting on my bathroom cabinet for weeks before I finally decided to pick it up and give it a go. Unbelievably, once I started using it, it literally cut my detangling time in half people. In half. Every natural knows that detangling can be a real pain in the bum, but I’ve honestly found my solution to my detangling woes and I’m going to honest: It’s going to be difficult for me to go back to detangling with a comb only.
Here’s why I love it so much:

• It’s suitable for all hair types, so it will work on your hair whether it’s kinky, curly, wavy or straight.
• When I detangle on my wet hair loaded with deep conditioner, it now takes me about 10 minutes in the shower. That’s a far cry from the 20 – 25 minute sessions I used to have.
• I’m pretty sure that I end up losing less hair after detangling.
• The brush has a “two-tiered system technology”, which basically means that it has long teeth that detangle and short teeth that smooth the hair cuticle.
• It fits snugly into the palm of my hand. Like I mentioned before, it’s really cute and compact.
• It leaves my hair feeling super smooth and soft afterwards, presumably because it smooths the cuticle as I detangle.

The Compact Styler

If you have a look on the Tangle Teezer website you’ll notice that they have quite a few different designs, from The Original to the Salon Elite to the Magic Flowerpot.  Just last week I was sent the Compact Styler, which is a hand-bag friendly design. It’s smaller than the rest and comes with a little back cover to protect the teeth while it’s floating around in your handbag.
What makes this one so unique is that it comes in this funky glittery lip print, a collaboration with quirky London designer, Markus Lupfer. I absolutely love it.
The Original

This is the brush I was sent originally. As you can see, it’s a little bit bigger than the Compact Styler, but still quite small and completely comfortable to use. If you have a close look at the teeth you’ll notice that some of them are a bit bent out of shape because I have been using it that much!
The Compact Styler retails for R290 and is now available online from takealot. It will be available in Clicks from May 2017.
The Original retails for R240 online at RetailBox
Have you ever used one of these tiny detangling brushes before? If you have, let me know how effective they’ve been for you?

Faux Locs; YAY OR NAY? | BOLU NOELLE

HEY HEY HEYYYYYY

I'm BACK, BY POPULAR DEMAND.

Okay I'm done. Anyway, I've been doing faux locs for a while as a style I absolutely LOVE.

It still hasn't gone out of fashion (I don't think it ever will), so I decided to write a blog telling you tips and tricks you can use when doing them and also the pros and cons of faux locs.

TIPS AND TRICKS

• If you're doing single faux locs the traditional way, you must know that it is a full day (maybe even a 2 day) job. One great way of saving time is by not covering your head with full single braids.
  A lot of people waste time by installing full length Box Braids all over their head before wrapping to form locs. Instead, just do pick and drop. This is where you section the hair as though you are doing box braids, add extensions but only braid for one or two inches down the hair to secure it in place before wrapping.
• Use Kanekelon Hair to braid and Marley Hair to wrap.
  Along with the time taken for faux locs, the price can start to weigh on your wallet if you use pricey hair. My 2nd tip is to use cheap Kanekelon Hair for the pick and drop underneath, and use Kinky Hair for the wrapping. I'm not too sure about the States, but here in London at least, kinkier textures cost at least double if not triple the price of Kanekelon hair. Alternatively, you coulkd use Kanekelon Hair (such as Xpressions) all over the hair.
• Another reason to use Kinky Hair to wrap is that it holds together better than the smoother texture of Kanekelon Hair. All 4 times I have done faux locs on myself, I used Kanekelon hair to braid underneath AND to wrap.  I like the look as the locs look silky. Some people may not prefer this as it doesn't look as natural.
  However, when I do the style on clients, I normally use Kinky Hair for wrapping.
• Two Styles at Once: Two out of 4 times when I did faux locs, I wore box braids as a style for 2/3 weeks before wrapping them to become faux locs! What's great is that when you loc the hair it looks fresh, as it you've just got it done from scratch. Also, by doing each style individually, you save time.

PROS:

-Once they grow out, the don't look raggedy like twists and braids, they look even more natural! (DISCLAIMER: Please don't keep your hair in for 6 months and say it looks cute. It doesn't. Flies are laying eggs. Stop it.)

-They are a great protective style as they actually conceal your hair all the way round. Twists and braids leaves bits of your hair exposed, but the wrapping of the braid ensures that your hair is really protected.

-You WILL get called Queen. Or Empress. Maybe even Goddess. Throw a few prints into your outfit, lol.

CONS:

-Time taken to install

-The strain on your NECK. LISTEN TO ME.

HOWEVER>>>> These 2 cons can be solved by doing crotchet locs. Search the hashtag on Instagram or Pinterest to see some more examples! You can buy packs of premade locs at most beauty shops.

The only potential negative is that, depending on the braiding pattern underneath the crotchets, your styling options may be limited e.g you may not be able to do certain parting or wear your hair half up half down if cornrows will be exposed. But there are many intricate braiding patterns wonderful women have come up with to maximise styling options.

I hope you slay like Santa and his reindeer and don't forget to hashtag #CurlsAunaturel when you upload your faux loc selfies!

Love and light & MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Bolu Noelle
x

Hold Onto Your Roots | NATALIE PURSUE:INSPIRE

I love Ghana. I love the aspects of community and culture. I love our beautiful, bright bold Kente which is like no other material in the world, and I love the sun kissed land. 

I’m a British born Ghanaian and when I was younger I spoke a quite a lot of Twi (one of the languages in Ghana) and used to dance traditionally with a friend of mine, her sister and an auntie. Now I am older, I miss it all. I began to lose my fluency in Twi when I started Primary School so for a while went to Twi school in Brixton to re-learn and also learn how to write in the language. I remember on the drive to class, we’d listen to Ghanaian music, two songs I think I remember being “Aben Wo Aha” by Daddy Lumba and Kojo Antwi “Bomi Nkomo De” (not that I know all the words lol).

I think I got to a point where before I knew it I wasn’t speaking Twi, but as I understood it I thought that was enough. Now at 28 I listen to my friends who are able to speak fluently and quite frankly, I’ve felt jealous and guilty for not keeping my roots internally. It’s so easy to wear the clothes and say “I’m proud to be Ghanaian” but there’s so much more than just occasional attire. What about remembering the history? Not that I was the best dancer (probably the worst at times haha) but I look at some of my girls now and they are just amazing when it comes to our traditional dances and sometimes I just think to myself “If only I kept going...”

I could really go down “what if” lane but there’s no point. It’s good to acknowledge the past, but it’s equally as important not to get stuck in it. I am where I am now and all I can do is move forward. I’m sure there are quite a few people from different countries who have had similar experiences of losing some aspects of culture and would love to get back into the swing of things. The problem is where to start! Well, who can you ask to help you relearn your native tongue/family dialect? What software/apps can you use? Which reliable websites can you browse to keep up to date with news back home? One of the ways I’m keeping my brain active in understanding Twi is listening to Ghanaian Gospel songs and trying to sing along with them. They have been such a great help! I’ve also found 2 apps that I can use to learn basic phrases so I can at least keep a conversation for now.

I urge you, especially if you’re still relatively young, to be proud of where you come from. Speak the languages, Learn some of the traditions. Make the food. Keep informed. Embrace your heritage. Don’t let time pass you by. 

Hold onto your roots.

Natalie @pursueinspire