More Papers for The Journey: Hair Story - the inside look!

In my search for answers about why I'm so in love with my fabulous kinky tresses, I read a book entitled: The Hair Story (Untangling the roots of black hair in America) by Ayana D. Byrd and Lori L. Tharps. I LOVED this book! It really grounded me to why the emphasis on hair is so pronounced in black culture.  Head hair is a HUGE part of how we identify ourselves and can expose so many interesting things about who we are as human beings.

Come with me as I share the origin of MY hair love.  Let's start in a West African village where hair can tell the marital status, mourning stage, age, level of wealth, religion, rank and ethnic identity of a person.  You thought Patti LaBelle's towering razor blade styles of the eighties was intricate! Pah! Patti didn't have nothing on those women in the village! Braids, twists, beads, dyes, decorating with woven fabric..... the creativity in those hairdresser's fingertips was never ending.  Any of these techniques sound familiar? Single source oils were used such as shea butter and coconut oils.  Combs were fashioned out of wood and it would take hours or days to complete certain styles.  Sound familiar?  The role of the village hairdresser was one of honor.  Because most tribes believed a person's spirit resided in their hair, these women held a special place in society. They were considered to be the most trustworthy.  Sound familiar?

Once on the slave ship, all identity was stripped by cutting off the captive's hair.  The occupation as a slave determined how the hair was worn. Women and men who worked in the field had unkempt hair and would only think about "fixing" it when Sunday rolled around. Most days it was covered with a rag.  Slaves that worked in the house as maids, cooks, barbers, etc had styles more like their White owners.  Styles at this time were a combination of African traditions, European influence and Native American practices.  This is when the brainwashing began.  Kinks and coils were considered ugly and black people began to use means to change their hair texture to be more like the mainstream.  Sound familiar? 

A certain level of brainwashing is still going on today!  The good part is that we are more empowered to release our natural curls into the atmosphere.  By relishing in the kinks and capitalizing on the versatility of styles we can express our freedom and love for who we are!!

I have more to share because the story is no where near being over! I hope you are as enlightened as I was! My hair roots are intricate.  My hair speaks for who I am as an individual and represents my community.  My hair routines originate from my African roots.  I am astounded that even though my ancestor's identities were compromised and traditions were lost, the hair roots stayed in the ground.

Stay tuned for the rest of the Story!


Peace and love,

More papers put together for the Journey: Say What??

I started reading a book called: "Words that Hurt, Words that Heal" by Carole Mayhall.

Awesome book!

If you are trying to improve the relationships around you,  inside you and above you (God) this book is an eye opener.  It's all about communication and how powerful our tongues are.  Our speech can build up or break down people around us...even if we are un-aware of the impact.  This books calls you to examine the root of your words and encourages improvement for relationship sake. 

The tongue can be like a sword! It can cut people up!

So far I've read about: complaining, bragging/boasting,  encouraging speech, and having pop off lips i.e. talking out the side of your neck or not thinking before you speak.

I have not finished the book yet, but I wanted to share the knowledge.  So far, I'm enjoying it. 

I tend to have a quick, sassy  tongue.  I don't always think before I speak....so tonight at church I was internally "challenged" to not make a sassy retort to someone.  I was given a weird look and I had to explain that I was reading this book and trying to turn the negative behaviors into uplifting ones....I got no love...just jokes....but it's cool!

I have hurt those I cherish by what has come out of my mouth (and vice versa). So I know the despair hurtful words can bring.  Joking and shucking and jiving is one thing.  Hurtful words and behavior is another.

I also confess to being a Complaining Carrie when things did not meet my expectations. 

But I will press forward and work on filtering my sauciness to ensure I don't hurt anyone. Words are powerful!

Let's speak life, kindness, encouragement, and blessings upon each other.  Let's act in compassion and mercy.  That will go much further than deceitful speech, gossiping, degrading each other and complaining. 

I want my life to be a blessing to those around me...not a hindrance of any kind. I know this journey will get me there.

Are you hurting or healing with your words??




 

A bunch of papers put together for the Journey......

I'm a reader.  I love to read for relaxation purposes.  My mother read to us from a very early age...so reading is ingrained in my psyche. 

After the birth of my son, I began to read for more than just pleasure. 

Once I was aware of the journey I was on I began to explore every kind of book on health you can imagine.  I've run across some awesome books that I want to share so you can take them along on your journey:

1.  The Science of Black Hair - Audrey Davis -Sivasothy                            

This is an awesome book that breaks down what our hair is actually composed of and how to better care for it by knowing the structure, pH (acid/base), regeneration timeline and chemistry of hair care products.  For instance, did you know that our hair was acidic?  It has a pH of 4.0 - 5.5.  That means it likes products with a similar pH.  Relaxers and colorants are very basic (pH or 10 - 13) and incompatible with our hair.  That's why extra care should be taken to moisturize properly when using chemical treatments...if not you'll have dry, brittle, weak hair. 

Also...all those scalps that were greased back in the day probably did more damage than good.  Our hair has a natural moisturizer (sebum) that wants to do it's thing.  When we grease our scalp with greases filled with chemicals we throw off the natural balance creating scalp issues.  That's what I was doing for years without knowing...I would wash my hair, grease it down..and have itchy dry scalp the next day.  A single oil like olive, almond or jojoba does the job just fine. 

One more thing: the only thing that can truly moisturize our hair (not scalp) is water.  everything else should be used to seal or lock in the moisture.....things to think about.............


2. Digestive Wellness - Elizabeth Lipski Ph.D, CCN, CHN
    

This book blew my mind...broke down the digestive system in such a simple powerful way that I didn't need to consult a medical journal to follow along.  Gut health is key to having a healthy body (inside and out).  Most of our immune system is in our digestive tract.  If your digestion is off, more than likely you will have a low immune response, fatigue, headaches, skin problems and a host of other ailments you wouldn't think were connected to your digestion.  Most of the remedies she presents for various situations are: eat right (veggies, herbs, fruit, whole grains, organic)! drink right (water, water, and more water)! live right (de-stress, love, laugh)!  Most of us anit living right in one area or another.  I have not read Digestive wellness for Children, but it is next on my list.


3. Going Raw - Judita Wignail


This book was straightforward and had tons of great recipes and methods to employ for those who are starting the raw journey.  I am so excited to try some of these techniques and recipes!  And for those of you who LOVE sweets....you know who you are...there are tons of ways to satisfy your sweet tooth and not spin your body into the abyss of sweet danger.

More to come!

Peace and blessings!