Tending My Daughters Crown The New York Times. I made a point of doing better by both Mari and her little sister, my baby, Lila, 1. This was no easy task in 1. Mari was born, there was plenty of info in parenting books on how to tend thin, silky white baby hair, but when it came to how to keep kinky baby Afros from drying out, getting knotty or falling victim to the judgment of aunties who preferred seeing little black girls with tame i. So with the intensity of Serena Williams in a Grand Slam match, I volleyed countless reasons my daughters hair should remain natural rather than conked Its pretty that way, and Its healthier in its natural state, and Because Im their mama and I said so, were consistent refrains. Teaching Mari to love her hair exactly as it grew from her head was an altogether different proposition. At age 3, Mari practically scalped herself with scissors fluffs of her curly Afro clumped like polka dots across our beige carpet to make room for the long blond hair her white classmate, Missy, wore. I considered a Drop Squad style indoctrination that involved putting Mari in a dark room with a single harsh light and a table full of natural sistas reading Happy to Be Nappy and I Love My Hair through a bullhorn until my daughter publicly swore off any delusions of silky, swinging, white girl hair. But I focused, instead, on whispering into Maris little ears as my fingers wove her hair into fantastic styles, telling her how beautiful her Afro was soft like cotton candy, strong enough to break a comb, black and shiny, like a new moon in a night sky, swirly and all awesome all the time. Shed shake her hair and giggle when the barrettes bounced against her little round face. And soon enough, I was satisfied that she was happy being exactly what she was A beautiful bundle of chocolate goodness with pretty black girl hair. For a while, my work was paying off. Inspired by her paternal grandmother and a few dear friends and their daughters, Mari decided that, like them, she wanted her hair styled into locs, a process in which hair is divided into small sections and left uncombed until it mats and coils and grows into itself. Within weeks of her pronouncement, she was on her locking journey, and within months of that, she was taking great pride in putting sparkly barrettes in her hair to accentuate her newly forming locs and admiring herself in the mirror. She loved her hair. Until she didnt. By ninth grade, Mari was attending a school here in Atlanta where black girls tended to wear weaves and wigs and false eyelashes, looking more like Love Hip Hop Atlanta castoffs than young black girls interested in just being themselves. I chalked up their choices to a mixture of teenage desire to experiment and a pop cultural pull to look more other than natural and black. But for my daughter, being one of only two girls in the school with locs was an epic disaster, worthy of teary wall slides, pronouncements that she looked like a boy, and a lot of begging. Please, Mommy, can I cut out my locsI understood the pull Its not easy to be different in a sea of cultural clones. We watched how to videos to find cute loc styles, and then added a few key pieces to her wardrobe to make her, a jock, look a little more girlie. I even let her wear eyeliner and lip gloss with a smidgen of color. Now, three years later, Im proud shes happy to be exactly who she is, in all the ways Ive poured into her since that fateful afternoon when she was 3 and trying to look like Becky with the Good Hair. Which is why I buttoned my lips and let Mari follow through on her decision to comb out her locs. She wanted, she said, to feel the texture of her own hair and love it fully in its most natural state, as an Afro that she could twist, braid, press or let stretch up and out toward the sky. Create your free blog with Blogger. Your blog is whatever you want it to be. I watch her at the mirror, the counter full of hair butters, oils and elixirs, experimenting with different hairstyles. Just a few days ago, she wanted to try out a new one, but she couldnt get the part right or make the flat twists look neat. Mommy, can you twist the front for me she asked, finally, exasperated. Dragon Age: Dawn Of The Seeker Online. Sure, I said, looking up from my computer, trying hard to contain my excitement with being invited to play in her hair and the tacit acknowledgment that when it comes to her thick, juicy mane, Mari still needs me. And there we were, me crouched over in my chair, her bent between my knees, holding up a jar of Soultanicals hair butter as I parted and combed and wove her hair into an intricate pattern of flat twists, enjoying our closeness. My Beautiful Girl, Mari Review' title='My Beautiful Girl, Mari Review' />I made a point of doing better by both Mari and her little sister, my baby, Lila, 14. This was no easy task in 1999, when Mari was born, there was plenty. Beautiful Goddess Galleries. Super Beauty Check out the brave, brilliant and beautiful women who are fighting for beauty at SuperBeauty. Org. Its cake versus ice cream for Splatoon 2s first Splatfest and were streaming all the fun live on our Twitch channel. Come and join the mayhem When friends hear that I get my hair straightened they shake their head in amazement. In their mind Im the one with straight hair so why would I want it straightenedContinue reading the main story. G/01/Hachette-Image/Headmistress.jpg' alt='My Beautiful Girl, Mari Review' title='My Beautiful Girl, Mari Review' />My Brazilian Blowout experience and review. When friends hear that I get my hair straightened they shake their head in amazement. In their mind Im the one with straight hair so why would I want it straightened Its true that basically I do have straight hair but that doesnt mean its the way I want it. My wants are to not have to worry about frizz, to not worry about silly kinks in my hair, and to wake up and brush my hair and be done most days. As we age our hair changes too so what is in their mind from my 2. I have in my older age. Gray or white hair grows in coarser than brown hair and that coarseness can bring with it a curl or kink that wasnt there. This is why I recently went for a Brazilian Blowout at my beauty salon. Brazilian Blowout before and after, similar to my hair. This is probably the 6th time Ive done a keratin process. Ive had the Coppola Keratin done at least 3 times. I had something called Keratin Express done once and I had the original Brazilian Blowout done. All worked pretty well for the process but there were negatives with them all. The Coppola Keratin was actually terrific but it was three days of torture afterwards. You cant get your hair wet or damp at all. That means no showers, no exercise, making sure you arent in the rain plus NEVER EVER pull your hair back or clip it. By the end of the third day my skin was crawling to get into a shower and wash it. Granted, it lasted well for approximately 5 6 months on my shoulder length hair, but the idea of going through this was again was torture. The Keratin Express was a shorter process. You can wash it out the same day but my hairstylist recommended leaving it in at least 2. Some process as above but you can wash it and leave if you want. But my hair wasnt AS straight and it didnt last that long. Enter the Brazilian Blowout. Now if you are know anything about the process youve heard some pretty awful things in the past. I was surprised when my stylist told me thats what shes using from now on. But I trust her completely so when she told me about the classes she took to learn how to do it properly and about her certification I decided to go along with her recommendation. In the past there was some controversy that Brazilian Blowout contained formaldehyde. It was really a big deal in the news and in the beauty world. Brazilian Blowout made sure their products passed all the standards and tests available to counteract the negative press they were given. The process itself takes 9. I did have my hair tinted on the same day so I was in the salon longer. The basic steps done by my stylist are as follows  Wash the hair very thoroughly with a clarifying shampoo. My hair was washed 3 times to make sure that it was perfectly free of color and any products so it would accept the treatment well. Blow dry the hair until its at least 23 dry. It can be slightly damp without a problem. The stylist now applies the product in layers combing the keratin through thoroughly. This takes the most time since just a small amount of hair is done at a time. Once your hair is covered with the Brazilian Blowout formula the stylist then blows it totally dry using a very hot hairdryer. Next shehe uses a 4. The hair is then washed twice. I waited a few minutes and then the Acai Masque was applied and I waited a few minutes for that to set. Last is another wash Im not sure if this was with or without shampoo and a blow dry using the BB Acai Serum or Balm. Thats it. Done. official steps are HERE My hair was not only perfectly straight but it was as shiny as could be. I didnt have any need to even wash it for the next 3 days though I was able to stick it up in a ponytail and put on a shower cap to take a shower. I had my hair in a ponytail often for the next few days afterwards too since thats how I wear my hair when Im taking care of my grandson. Hed leave and Id take out the elastic and my hair would fall back straight and shiny. Now Im washing it every few days using Brazilian Blowout Aai Styling Products. Once a week its recommended that instead of using the Aai conditioner  that you use the Aai Masque and leave it on for 5 minutes and then wash it out. Ive continued using my current argan oils but Im considering buying the Aai Protective Thermal Straightening Balm to use instead. The Acai products add more keratin to your hair making the bond stronger and longer lasting. Now for the cost Im sure this varies all over the country and in each salon. I paid 3. 50 for the process which also included three full size Brazilian Blowout Acai products shampoo, conditioner and masque. If you live in the Detroit, Michigan area I highly recommend my stylist and salon R Place Salon on 1. Mile Road in Farmington Hills, MI. The phone number is 2. My stylist is named Rima and Ive sent people to her for a few years now with absolute confidence in her skills. The other stylists in the salon have also been trained to do the process too. I received no compensation or discount for this process by the way. The day I had the Brazilian Blowout done it was absolutely pouring out. It made no difference at all. I was out all evening so I was in and out of the rain though I was wearing a raincoat. As Im writing this Ive recently come in from being in a light rain and my hair is perfect. I love how my hair looks since its shiny and silky. Its so easy to take care of. I wake up and brush my hair and thats itIm done. Shiny, swingy hair. I know too that it will last me at least 4 months and probably 6. Would I recommend this A resounding YESMarcia. For more information and the Frequently Asked Questions please read the Brazilian Blowout website. Heres some additional information I just learned if you have blonde hair ask for Brazilian Blowout Free. It is a better formula for those of you with blonde hair since it wont interfere with your color at all.