TFK

If Instagram stalking had an award, I am most certain I would place at LEAST 3rd and nothing less. This week on my daily stalk I stumbled upon Nikisha. Not only is her hair fly, but her style is beyond amazing. I’ll let you learn more about this beautiful queen for yourself below! Meet Nikisha…. My name is Nikisha Oliver known as kinkykurls_ on Instagram and YouTube. I’m a military wife and a mother of 2 daughters. I’m from a small town in South Carolina. I’m really passionate about natural hair and fashion. Actually I’m kind of obsessed I love everything about natural hair and fashion. I love how achieving a bomb twist out and getting all dressed up in a cute outfit makes a woman feel so confident. When and why did you decide to get rid of the creamy crack if you did?  I decided to return back to natural in 2014 reason being I was simply tired of sitting in hair salons for over 5 hours for a style that only last for 2 weeks. Before returning back to natural I wore my hair in braids and slick back pony tails so it was really no reason to relax my hair. I transitioned for 7 months and BIG CHOP February 7 2015 best decision I ever made. It is true that we are not our hair, or anyone else’s, but do you have any natural hair crushes? It’s very true that we are not our hair. I can definitely say that my hair is my crown and that I’m proud to be able to rock my natural hair with confidence. Of course I have natural hair crushes they are none other than the beautiful Erika Badu and Free from 106 and park. What are your inspirations in life and inspiration for your hair? My goal is to inspire my daughters and women to embrace their natural hair and personal style with confidence. My hair goals are to reach mid back Healthy hair. When you are going through your daily regimen what products do you reach for first and why?  My daily hair regimen is to spritz my hair with water and a light leave-in conditioner. I reach for anything that leaves my hair moisturized throughout the day. What is your go to style in the winter and the summer? My go to style is definitely a high puff in the summer and braids in the colder months. What is the most important thing you have learned on your natural hair journey? The most important thing I’ve learned is to keep my hair moisturized and to never get my hair bleach again “lol” What does it feel like owning your own business/blog with many other people owning larger business companies/blogs? Is it intimidating? It’s an amazing feeling running my own blog so that I can talk about and share pictures of the things that I’m passionate about. It’s many GIRL BOSSES out here with amazing blogs with huge a following. It doesn’t intimidate me it motivates to go hard because I know one day I will get there. What has been one of your biggest obstacles so far in your career and how did you face it? My biggest obstacle since starting my blogging career has been to keep pushing myself no matter if I get 2 views on YouTube or a couple likes on Instagram. What keeps you motivated (pertaining to balancing your life and your company/blog)? I stay motivated by having talks with myself and listening to motivational videos on YouTube.How would you describe your signature style and has it helped influence your designs? I would say my style is very girlie. I would say yeah it influences my design and style of choice.What was your support system like after you made your decision to go natural? My support system was youtube, hubby and me telling myself everyday ‘girl this natural hair looks good on you.’ Lol Where do you see your blog in the next five years? I see my movement being a big name in the natural hair community in the near future.Where can we find you on the net? You can find your girl over on Instagram @kinkykurls_ and Youtube kinkykurls_Any advice for your fellow natural hair folks? My advice for any girl /women is that you can do anything you put your mind to as long as you believe in yourself and God.

It’s Friday and I am finally back to featuring my lovely curled up fearless ladies! This week’s feature is a friend I have spoken highly about in my past posts. To check out my first mention of Ericka and my self care post take a peek here. Now let’s meet Ericka!… My name is Ericka, I am from Hamden, CT not far from New Haven. I love all things that pertain to God, family, self care, fashion, spoken word, music and mental health/wellbeing. In my free time I can be found writing and reading. In my not-so-free time I can be found mothering two little brown boys, and working as a pediatric nurse. When and why did you decide to get rid of the creamy crack if you did? I’ve never had a relaxer, but my hair was heat trained the majority of my life. What was your support system like after you made your decision to go natural? After I big chopped I relied heavily on YouTube for guidance. I didn’t really know what I was doing. So inspirations like @simplyounique were a huge help in the beginning of my journey. It is true that we are not our hair, or anyone else’s, but do you have any natural hair crushes? Ohhhh yes I do! Right now my hair crush is MiniMarley and Mahoganycurls. What are your inspirations in life and inspiration for your hair? My life inspirations revolve around Christ and his walk and ministry. His views of the world and the social issues that he faced in his times are very encouraging for where I am in my life. My hair inspirations come from a variety of YouTube channels, and celebrities. When you are going through your daily regimen what products do you reach for first and why? Agua! I neeeeeeeed water. If my hair is not soaking wet it’s an automatic failure. After I wet my hair I use Cantu or Creme of Nature leave in conditioner, then creme of nature’s twirling custard, followed by jojoba oil or black castor oil. What is your go to style in the winter and the summer? During the winter I love buns, twists, and tuck and pin styles. I’m the summer I love wash n gos (More like wash n waits ) and Marley twists. What is the most important thing you have learned on your natural hair journey? The most important thing I’ve learned is self-pacing. Everything grows in its own timing. What does it feel like owning your own business/blog with many other people owning larger business companies/blogs? Is it intimidating? It’s very exciting and also very challenging. I have to be honest, I never thought anyone would read my blog. So when I see views, I’m blown away. But it has also opened my eyes to how large of and industry blogging is. It can be intimidating but it helps me work on what I have and strive for better. What has been one of your biggest obstacles so far in your career and how did you face it? One of the biggest obstacles I’ve faced is censorship. I feel like I don’t allow my creative mind to flow because of fear of what people may say. I’m still working on that. What keeps you motivated (pertaining to balancing your life and your company/blog)? Prayer and family time. How would you describe your signature style and has it helped influence your designs? I would say my style of writing is transparent. I aim to be honest and keep the emotions of my writing as authentic as possible. I believe this helps both myself and my readers tremendously. Where do you see your business/blog in the next five years? I would love to see myself working for a health magazine, particularly their mental health column.Where can we find you on the net? Enduretoend.blog Any advice for your fellow natural hair folks? Be you, and don’t apologize for it. Encourage yourself. Be your own hair goal. Be your own inspiration. In all things, love yourself. Every hurt, every accomplishment, every victory, every pain, every length check has a root. Explore your roots and anticipate growth. I hope you all enjoyed meeting Ericka. After reading this you have no choice but to love her as much as I do! For your chance to be featured shoot an email to inquire@nearlyhair.com

I had the pleasure of discovering a young budding entrepreneur via Instagram. What caught me the most while glancing at her photos was the vivid imagery and personality she had illuminate through  her fashion and attire. It’s always refreshing to see young women creating a brand for themselves on the internet and in local towns. So without further ado meet Jodi-Kay. ______________________________________________________________________________ My name is Jodi-Kay Edwards I was born in Kingston, Jamaica. My name falls under the life path number of 3. Personality traits are said to be, creative and self expressive which makes sense because my hobbies all involve some form of creativity in one way or another. I’m a fashion and fitness blogger, content creator, dancer and I like to dabble in the piano from time to time.  When and why did you decide to get rid of the creamy crack if you did? My first decision to go natural was June 21st 2014. I was going through some trying times in my life and I took a good long look at myself in the mirror. I didn’t like what I saw and wanted to change that perception of myself. I wanted to know the real me underneath it all. Going natural for me was so uplifting, I let go of so much that day and I’ve never been happier. What was your support system like after you made your decision to go natural?  My mum from time to time would say things like, “I can help you relax your hair” or “Have you straightened your hair lately?’ She always meant well but it did hurt me a little because I was thinking why, she knows where I stand on my decision so why is she asking me. In today’s society I understand some of her concerns but I am making my own life choices. I used to be so worried about how I would be viewed in the corporate world, to my friends, family and peers. I have had a few nasty comments from strangers but I would say about 85% of the time people are kind, slightly confused but they are kind and have questions.  It is true that we are not our hair, or anyone else’s, but do you have any natural hair crushes? I believe that a queens crown is her hair so however she feels confident she should rock that! I wasn’t feeling confident altering my hair to “fit in” and the fact that I even had that perspective of my hair and myself meant that I was long over due for a change. Taking care of my natural hair is a bit of work but it has become a lot easier than my previous relaxers, weave and wig lifestyle. I wish this war on hair typing would end because to me hair is hair no matter what curl pattern, no matter if it’s scalp grown of store bought, long or short. Who are we to say someone should wear their hair natural or someone should relax their hair. We should come together and celebrate life and how beautiful it is and how beautiful each and everyone of us are with our unique differences. Speaking of which, I think Ella Eyre is stunning and her hair is just wow.  What are your inspirations in life and inspiration for your hair? My inspiration for life is to be happy and healthy I wish the same for my hair. Oh yeah and we both could stay hydrated a little more. 🙂 When you are going through your daily regimen what products do you reach for first and why?  A good Shea butter always gives my hair life, I have my handy dandy spray bottle that I fill with water and some type of oil, it changes from time to time. Water, oil and a Shea butter are my daily go to’s. What is your go to style in the winter and the summer?  My go to style in the winter is a top knot, the weather can be so harsh on our hair and skin, so a bun keeps my hair protected from rogue zippers and tugging from scarves. During the summer time I am a big fan of the ol wash and go, I wash my hair about 1-2 times a week so there is just a lot of maintaining that needs to get done during the week.    What is the most important thing you have learned on your natural hair journey?  I have learned the importance of self appreciation and self love. Whenever I find myself comparing my journey to others I take a step back and say, wait a minute girl your hair is on fleek too. Then I do the hair flip emoji and just like that the fro and I go back to living our lives.  What does it feel like owning your own business with many other people owning larger business companies? Is it intimidating?  I have always been an entrepreneur at heart, it started with seeing a book on my mums bookshelf when I was younger, she explained the definition of entrepreneur to me and I said I want to be that. I want to be self sufficient, I want to work hard to make my own dreams come true not someone else’s. There are so many other bloggers and Youtubers out there who are far more successful than I, but I look at how far I’ve come already and that keeps me motivated. No one really intimidates me anymore, I’m a big fan of networking and collaborating, so when someone with a great idea reaches out to me and vice versa, I see opportunity.  What has been one of your biggest obstacles so far in your career and how did you face it?  I have long legs so I jump right over that stuff. Haha, no but really I think the hardest part about going into business for yourself is getting people interested in your brand and in my case my brand is myself. I want to inspire, grow and connect with people who are just as positive and soul searching as I am, it’s

Previously posted 10/01/10. This is a re-featured post! Memory LaneWhat kind of person would I be if I never gave credit where credit is due??!! Before I got caught up in this head action game of mine… before i knew what no-poo or co-wash meant… What I did know was Courtney(more like who i did know)! Anyway this “think & grow” chick really opened my eyes to the natural community and what best got me was her love to be self proclaimed! She gave me inspiration to explore the world at wits ends. I had no other choice but to interview her! Hands Down…Tell us about you.Well, I’m a young, vivacious 20-something Marketing student that loves to share her ideas about about Natural Hair, personal finance, entrepreneurship, and overall personal development. I’m originally from Detroit, but I currently attend school in Washington, DC.When did you decide to throw the relaxer out (if you did)? I decided to go natural at the tender age of 15. I had long hair all throughout my childhood with nothing more than a routine of blue magic grease and an old-fashioned pressing comb. I finally wore my mother down for a relaxer when I was 13 and boy…I thought I was the flyest girl in the 8th grade! I thought i was so fly in fact, that I would hurry home to restyle my hair with heat appliances everyday. Add that to the fact that my mom was taking me to an unlicensed hairdresser who would deliberate overlap the relaxer to get my hair “bone” straight, and you knew I was brewing a recipe for disaster. In less than a year, by bra-strap length hair had broken off to the back of my collar bone.As a heartbroken teenager, I began to research online for ways to “grow black hair long”. The first two sites I came across were Motowngirl.com and Longhaircareforum.com. Both websites were instrumental in showing me that having a relaxer was not a permanent state of being for black women. It literally never occurred to me that I didn’t have to have a relaxer until I started viewing those websites. The next day, I told my mom I didn’t want a relaxer, she laughed and said, “Okay, we’ll see how long this last” and I’ve been natural every since. Once I got into the heart of my hair journey, it was less about hair length and more about just having healthy, natural hair.What was your support system like once you went natural? My support system was pretty much nonexistent. Natural hair websites (and there weren’t many at the time) were my support system. My whole family thought I was crazy. Now everyone comes to me for advice about going natural, so it’s funny how things turn around.How would you describe your hair journey so far? So far, I’d say it’s pretty great. I feel like now I’m in that stage of exploring all of my hair’s possibilities—I’m really checking out just what my natural hair can do right now. I’m also refining my hair regimen to combat some of the intense dryness and snags that I’m finding on the ends of my hair now that it’s getting longer.You seem to be such a success business wise, what advice would you give someone trying to travel in your footsteps? Oh, wow, that is a huge compliment. Any of the limited success I’ve received in accomplishing my goals is because (1) because of God and (2) because I always try to keep a clear vision of what I want in life. And when I say clear, I mean crystal clear. If you asked me where I wanted to be in 10 years, I could paint the picture for you down to where I’d be living and the name of my future dog. This is not to say that everything has to turn out exactly as you plan, but if you have a consistent view of where you want to go in life, you are more likely to get there because you know which way to go and the steps you need to take to get there. My other advice would be to research other people. That is another thing I’m very good at, I can research the mess out of an individual I admire. There is always something to learn from other people who have “made it”…no need to reinvent the wheel.What has been one of your biggest obstacles so far in your career and how did you face it? My biggest career challenge was definitely in school when I new I needed to change my major and university because it made the most sense personally and financially. I was incurring all sorts of debt at an expensive university in a major I had no interest in, all because I didn’t want to “let others down”. When I finally realized that no one could live my life for me and that I had to do what was best for my dreams and aspiration, I made the switch which was a very big deal and very scary at the time. Luckily, I had the support of my boyfriend and father, and I stuck with my decision even when I wasn’t sure that I made the right one. Less than a month after making all of the changes, so many opportunities came my way that I new I had done the right thing. When it comes to your hair, what do you find most challenging? Hands down, it is a trip trying to keep this sucker from drying out. Sometimes I literally feel like I have the driest hair/scalp in the world. It can be frustrating sometimes because often the only solution is to simply co-wash/re-wet my hair, but lately I’ve been wearing my hair in two-strand twists throughout the week, so re-wetting is really easy.As it’s gotten longer, I’ve also notices that it’s more and more difficult to keep snags and single-strand knots off the ends of

I first noticed Lalisse on a featured instagram post for her “How to wrap a scarf” post (will be posted soon). From there I did a little insta-stalking on her page and realized that her personality is beautiful! With that being said, Lalisse is my Tales from the Kinks feature this week! Natural hair interview Hi! My name is Lalisse (leh-LEE-say). I’m South African and Ethiopian, though I was born in the states and have lived most of my life in Maryland. I loveeee God. I love music—all things neo-soul and acoustic. I love natural hair—all things kinky, curly, and nappy. And I love food—all things edible. Lol. I am also big into traveling and plan to live abroad as SOON as I finish grad school. When and why did you decide to get rid of the creamy crack if you did? The creamy crack and I parted ways around winter of 2006. At that point I was 16 years old and had been getting perms since I was 5 or 6.  I started to notice that my hair was thinning and more prone to breakage than it had been in the past. After several failed attempts at restoring my hair, I decided that perms were the source of my problems and I wanted to see what would happen if I stopped relaxing my hair. What was your support system like after you made your decision to go natural? I didn’t really have a support system of any sorts. I didn’t know anything about being natural and I didn’t consider it to be a big deal. I told my mom that I was going to stop getting perms and she didn’t seem to think anything of it. But once I started mentioning it to others, I surprisingly received opposition. My hair stylist at the time was completely against it. She told me that she would no longer do my hair if I went natural and that my only choice was to “chop your hair off or keep it braided and never look at it again.” Sooo…I found a new hairstylist, needless to say. My new hairstylist really didn’t know much about maintaining natural hair, but she was willing to do my hair nonetheless. I transitioned by keeping my hair straightened (every two weeks…that’s a lot of heat) and I would get braids/twists on occasion. After I had been transitioning for about 8 or 9 months, I told a couple friends. I received responses like “ew”, “your hair is gonna break off”, and “it’s gonna look nappy”. Little did they know, I was already pretty much natural and my hair hadn’t broken off at all (whether or not it was “nappy” is another story, lol). When I popped up at school a month later with my new afro puff, those same friends were the ones who were in love with my hair. It is true that we are not our hair, or anyone else’s, but do you have any natural hair crushes? We are definitely not our hair. I do think it’s extremely important that we value our hair in its natural state. By no means does that mean we should equate our worth and sense of self with what our hair looks like though. I think what matters is that we become comfortable with ourselves in our most stripped down state—no make-up, no weaves/extensions, heck, even no clothes (in the privacy of your home, of course). It’s important to be confident in the woman that you see looking back at you in the mirror. If you truly love yourself, that confidence will shine through any hairstyle, any layer of makeup, and any style of dress. My natural hair celebrity crushes would be Erykah Badu, Yaya DaCosta and Solange. My Instagram natural hair crushes would be @simplycyn and @xodvf. What are your inspirations in life and inspiration for your hair? My inspirations in life often come from music, poetry, and sermons. The messages I hear through them often push me to grow in all facets of my life–creatively, emotionally, and spiritually. My inspiration for my hair is boldness. I love the boldness of a close cut, of a huge fro, and of long dreadlocks. When you are going through your daily regimen what products do you reach for first and why? I’m all about pure oils and have castor oil or coconut oil in reach at all times. I make concoctions on a regular basis and will moisturize my hair with a mix of water, aloe vera juice, olive oil, and tea tree oil. After wetting my hair with that, I will seal with a small amount of castor oil. For as long as I’ve been natural, you would think I’ve found a brand that I stand by…but I do a little too much product hopping. A few brands that I do support are Kinky Curly, Tropical Isle, Belle Butters and Qhemet Biologics. What is your go to style in the winter and the summer? Last year I chopped my hair off, so the close cut and TWA had been my only style for awhile. I recently got some Marley braids installed and I love them (but I secretly want my TWA back). With my fro, I generally tend to have braided or twisted extensions throughout the colder months and my natural hair through the summer. I’m a bantu knot-out fanatic. And through all seasons, I’m avid head-wrap wearer regardless of if I’m wearing weaves, braids, or my natural hair. What is the most important thing you have learned on your natural hair journey? The most important thing I have learned is to embrace myself and my hair every stage. It took a while for me to stop lusting after other people’s hair. I had to learn to accept my curl pattern and my length and to just be patient. I’ve also learned to stop fighting shrinkage! I used to put so much effort into stretching my hair out and would feel insecure with how my hair looked in its

Boy oh boy oh boy! Let me tell “yaul”, I have stumbled upon a blog, and its not any old blog. It is a blog that holds content and truth for the reader seeking a better life. If you want to learn more just keep reading! What exactly is Lexi’s Green Guide? Lexi’s Green Guide is an eco-glam guide to beauty, health, and fitness. I blog about recipes, fitness, beauty, hair, and skin. Everything eco-friendly!   What do you believe is the most interesting blog post you have? My most popular and interesting post is the “Maca Root For A Bigger Booty” Yes, the plant maca will enhance the booty!     What motivated you to join the blogging world? It was time to share my passion with the world. There is something amazing about being your beautiful, natural self while looking and feeling your best. Transitioning to an organic lifestyle has allowed me to be the healthiest and happiest I have ever been.Why not share my knowledge and happiness with everyone?     What are your favorite blogs to read? Fashion Bomb Daily, Curly Nikki, Black Girl Long Hair, Urban Bush Babes, Party Over Hair, and Nearly Hair.   When someone reads your blog what do you hope they retrieve from your reading? I want the reader to gain new insights on natural living. Whether it’s a beauty tip or a recipe I want the reader to be able use the information on the blog to help transition in to a more natural lifestyle. I want my readers to be healthy and beautiful from the inside out.   Now I would tell you all more, but I want you guys to check out the blog yourself! Just click here.