I Like A Long Haired, Thick Red Bone: My First Braiding Experience

 Today I went through the long and semi-painful process of getting my hair professionally braided for the first time.  I went to a new shop in Augusta called Hair Garden owned by Melissa, a beautician I met via Twitter. I had asked her last year about getting braids and never contacted her after that first tweet.  This year I said I would do it and I did.  So I bought 5 packs of kanekalon hair, some money, and my A Belle In Brooklyn by Demetria Lucas (Essence Magazine relationship editor) to make the process happen.  Melissa washed my hair and in true beautician fashion put me to shame when it came to how easy she detangled it.  After blow drying and separating my hair into four parts she and her assistant Cassie (we were friends in high school so I was shocked and glad to see her after four years) went to work.  From 11:39 A.M. to 5:09 P.M. I had two beauticians braiding my hair...at the same damn time.  Whenever Melissa began twisting my edges I thought I was going to break her chair from how hard I was pressing against the foot rest on it.  Honestly, when I felt her parting a small section of hair on my edges I felt like a child who knew they were about to get the worst whipping from their parent ever, no Creflo Dollar.  Yes, that is how I felt.  Anyways after what I believe was 6.5-7 packs (the other 1.5-2 packs were courtesy of Melissa) of type 2 kanekalon, a few hair rods, and 5.5 hours my hair was completed.  My first reaction before seeing it was, "OMG this is heavy!"  I felt like I had a whole new person on my head as odd as that sounds.  I concluded that this is how white tourist feel when they get their hair braided in the Bahamas as young girls call out to them, "You want your hair braided lady?"  

I've never had THIS much hair on my head so it will take some time getting use to it.

I have horrible posture! 

When Melissa told me her assistant was a white girl she said, "Don't worry, she can braid some hair."  She told the truth and the most interesting thing is her assistant and I went to high school together.  If I had known she could braid back then I would have been asking her to braid my hair all the time.

She recommended that when it came to the upkeep to massage some shampoo (I'll dilute it with water) onto my scalp, but not vigorously rub it.  I should be able to wash it once a week she told me.  She said I need to put a light oil on it, coconut oil for me, every other night as my scalp is exposed a lot more than usual.  I'd like to keep these in at least six weeks and look up some wash to style them when I'm not at work.  If you are in the Augusta, GA or CSRA area you can find Melissa's shop at 138 8th Street downtown.  Her Facebook page can be found here.

Beauty's Only Skin Deep: The Interesting Beauty

Have you ever looked at yourself and questioned your beauty?  That has been a constant thing for me since I was about 11.  You see, I am one of those people who suffer from a little thing called self-esteem issues. *gasp*  "What?  You have self-esteem issues?!"  Um yes, but everyone has that issue one way or the other.  Ever since I was like 9 or 10 I can remember one of my Dad's old coworkers seeing me saying, "Is this your son?"  From that point on I have always felt I was boy-ish looking.  Because of that I've always second guessed my looks.   I'm not one of those people who looks at themselves and thinks, "Damn I'm ugly."  I did feel that way from about 7th grade until the second half of 11th grade, but those were the years when acne was a b*tch and I got huge boobs (for a small frame) out of nowhere.  No, I look at myself and think "You're an interesting type of beauty."  There are some people that we look at first glance and the general consensus is, "OMG she's so pretty!"  Some celebrities that go in this category include Beyonce, Chanel Iman, and  Rihanna.  Awkward pretty on the other hand are those that have certain characteristics that help enhance their look.  No, I'm not sitting here saying I look like a beast but I know that Ford Modeling Agency isn't about to call me up after seeing my Facebook pictures and want to sign me for a contract neither is Victoria's Secret.

 Interesting beauties to me are Grace Jones (she looks man-ish to me) and Michelle Obama (while she gorgeous to me most think that she's all right at the best).  You see, when it comes to these two women there are certain aspects of them that make people want to double take and reconsider speaking to them.  Grace Jones from what I have seen and heard about her doing her reign as a super model was her androgynous look that included her hair cut and her dominating looks helped also.  Michelle Obama, whose only flaw to me is her slightly buck teeth, was called a "not so great beauty" by former supermodel Iman who also said she would get better with age...like a wine.  The reason why so many people admire Michelle Obama is because of her grace and intelligence.  I mean she's a Black girl from the South side of Chicago who went to Princeton and Harvard Law.  How can one NOT find her interesting even a little bit?  Myself?  I've always thought my "feisty" attitude has added something to me that many find intriguing and some strongly dislike, but what can I say?  Anyone that I have ever dated has always found that to be a fascinating thing about me.  I have been told that I am a "mystery" because despite my Say-Anything-I-Want-attitude  Am I calling myself ugly?  No.  I think everyone knows at least one "interesting beauty" in their life even if its themselves.

The Glamourous: Burt's Bees Honey Lip Balm

Price:  $2.99 (excluding tax)

Place to Purchase:  Walmart, Target, Burt's Bees Official Website

I fell in love with Burt's Bees lip balms (chapstick) two summers ago when my boyfriend pulled some out on one of our dates.  I had been using regular ol' Chapstick Moisturizer lip balm before to keep my lips from being dry and cracked, plus it was reasonably priced.  It did a wonderful job, but I just had to try the Rolls Royce of lip balms to see.  So one day while in Target I decided to splurge on the original tube of lip balm they were selling at the time and I haven't looked back since.  I believe it was Burt's Bees Beeswax or whatever they had before they came out with the mango, pomegranate, acai berry, and such.  My lips felt wonderful.  Since then I've tried the pomegranate (GREAT...just leaves a red stain on things like a lipstick does.) and the acai berry (BY FAR MY FAVORITE!!!  My lips always feel wonderful and everyone always talks about how great it smells whenever I open the tube.)  I think I've tried the mango also, but can't fully recall.