Reader Question: Where Can I Find A Good Salon for Locs in ATL?

UPDATE: Many folks probably want to know where good natural hair salons are in their area. If you have not already seen this site, check out Black Girl With Long Hair's Salon directory of tried and BGLH-approved salons. I personally cannot endorse or recommend any of them because I have not been to any salons. But, this might be a nice starting point to get you going. Good luck!

Photo Credit
Got another reader question that I am throwing at you! I am not in ATL but I know many of you are. If you know somewhere good please help this lovely reader out!

Found your website as i was reading about products. Great site btw :) curious if you know any recommendations for natural hair salons in Atlanta just moved here from Virginia and other than a few male friends that's pretty much it (and they are all bald :) although i'm the only one that has touched my locs for the past 3 years it would be nice to go somewhere to get my hair washed and scrubbed hard..you know how they do in the shops that's pretty much all i really miss about letting someone else do my hair.

any recommendations would be appreciated

thanks..peace...

So if you have a spot or person in mind, leave the info in the comments section. Thanks guys!

Reader Question: Mixed Kids, Unequal Treatment? Help one reader decide.

I got the following question under the comments section of this post about Heidi and Seal's newest little baby girl.

Anonymous said...

I am black and my husband is white we have two children my son has very thick curly hair and brown eyes while by daughter has very loose curls and blue eyes. I find myself telling him how beautiful he is and how much I love his hair, my husband thinks I will give my daughter issues. What do you think?

This is an excellent question and I imagine that it is tough for this mom. I wanted to open this up to everyone to give some tips. What do you think? Should this reader continue what she's doing or should she take a different route with her kids? Everybody feels differently about how to raise their children so please post respectfully!

Happy Happy Birthday!!!!

Good morning everyone! Today is the big 2-8 and I just wanted to say thank you to everyone here who takes the time to read, comment, participate and just visit this blog. Over the past year and a half it has grown far beyond my wildest expectations. I never imagined so many cool people would even read what I had to say about hair or anything. But you do and you're here and you're awfully supportive to boot! So I am sharing my birthday with all of you and saying thank you so much, you are all sincerely appreciated! I plan to eat cake so even if it is not your birthday, I say go ahead and have cake too! I love you guys!

Have You Ever Been Straight Up LAUGHED At in Public...

*** See Update Below***

...because of your hair??? I have. It happened today as I was driving down the highway. And I must admit, it kinda hurt. I was surprised at just how much, actually, and I immediately told myself that some people only see big afro hair atop the heads of silly painted clowns. Or, they must think I'm single-handedly trying to "bring back the 70s". Either way, the look on the faces of the two guys in the pick-up next to me was shock and awe, and not in a good way. This happened to me another time in Wal-Mart. I had just walked into Wally World, approached the cart section to get a cart, and I just happened to look up and catch a glimpse of some guys and a lady sitting in the McDonalds immediately in front of me. They were looking dead at me, in the face, and were laughing. I thought at first that maybe I caught them in the middle of a joke or something but then one of the guys had the woman next to him turn around to gawk at me too and I knew it was the hair.

On both occasions, I was wearing my hair out and huge, probably standing up on my head, not down in a controlled, twist-out, curly look. Usually when I leave the house looking like that, I am the only one I see with such big hair. So I get that it is something to look at if you're not used to seeing massive fros. But I would never dream of laughing in someone's face. Like they're not even human! It made me think of all the times I have seen overweight people on tv talk about how people laugh at them in their face as they walk through the mall or get on the bus. It is really sad how we can treat each other, not realizing that everybody has feelings and wants to be treated nicely.

So, that was just something that happened to me today that I thought I would share. Have any of you experienced something similar with your hair or otherwise? How did you handle it? Did it impact how you feel about yourself at all or lead you to question/change your look?

***Update***

I just wanted to say thank you to all of you for your comments and support. You better believe that I have NO intentions to change or tamp down the big hair for a few naysayers! It just never fails to surprise me how people can be so silly and thoughtless. Too bad for them!

So, one commenter asked to see pics of what my hair looked like. I did not take any from yesterday but these below are pretty much identical to how it was. These pics are from the DC cherry blossom festival from a few months ago. I think it was an old twist out that blew up in the humid air! Not bad I thought.

Sign Up with Hairizon!

And get free stuff! How cool is that? Remember a few posts back I introduced you to Hairizon, a blossoming online one-stop-shop for all your natural hair care needs? Well now they are making it even sweeter for you to subscribe to their site.

5 Reasons to Join Hairizon Rewards:
You get free products
No membership fee
You get 10% off all purchases
Your family, friends and anyone who uses your code gets 10% off
You get to choose your own free product rewards
Once you earn 25 points you will receive a sample gift bag


Get FREE products with Hairizon Rewards. Fill out the form below to get your code. Every time you place an order and use your code, you will get 10% off. Give this code to your friends and family and they receive 10% off too. Every time you or someone uses your code, you get 1 point for every dollar spent. Points are calculated by rounding to the nearest dollar amount.

Find Your Inner (& Outer) Goddess!

Happy Friday ladies and gents! I wanted to leave this vid from naturalnana with you to inspire you as we enter the weekend. Whatever you choose to do or wear or however you choose to style yourself, remember that you are a magnificent being and you deserve happiness...happiness that comes from within and does not depend on anything or anybody else. It is so powerful to realize that no matter what is going on around you or who you encounter, your happiness is in YOUR hands.

I hope these images inspire!

Acting White

Image from racialicious.com

So I was reading this article about the phenomenon of acting white on Racialicious.com and it brought me right back to middle school! I remember growing up as a kid, all throughout elementary school, most of the people around me didn't look like me. That is to say, I went to a majority white, middle class school where there were only a handful of black kids. I never really gave it much thought in elementary school and we were all friends.

Then, I moved on to middle school and boy was I in for a surprise! Not only was the school bigger and more diverse, it was significantly populated with black students. It also had students from diverse socio-economic backgrounds. I remember the shock to my system as slowly but surely I was singled out by my new black peers. I was one of only two kids in the advanced classes and I can just remember all the white kids trying to set us up together. It seemed so obvious to me that the only reason they thought we should be together was because of our similar hues.

But it wasn't until I moved to my second middle school that I can remember being accused of "acting white". I never really felt this coming from black guys, it was usually the girls that wanted to point out how I talked or dressed or who I hung out with. I became so self-conscious that I changed how I dressed and was very aware of how I talked. It was torture!

So, now that I am an adult and I work in the public schools, it is sad to see that this trend continues. It is disheartening to see black children feeling the need to prove their "blackness", however you are supposed to do that. It is even sadder what some kids think being black means.

Take a moment and check out the article then come back to share. What were your experiences growing up? Were you ever teased for "acting white"? Or, were you part of the crowd doing the teasing?! No worries, we won't judge here. I am just interested to hear about your experiences and how you dealt with them. Hit me back!

Reader Question: A Guy's Quest for the "Lenny" Look

I love when the male readers of Naturally Leslie write in with a question! It's always cool to get a guy's perspective. Here is a message I received from D requesting help to get the Lenny Kravitz look and my response follows below.

Hello,

So I stumbled across your website looking for hair styles for black men. I was happy to see your piece on natural hairstyles, particularly the afros. I'm looking to grow my hair out this summer and was looking for some advice seeing as how I've always kept my hair short. Looking to change things up a bit and saw some really interesting styles I would like to try out but am not entirely sure how to go about executing them properly. I've attached a a couple of photos, how my hair looks now and how I would like it to look (Kravits). Thanks so much for all your help and I look forward to your reply.

Warm Regards,

D.

Hi D!

Thanks for your email. I am glad that you stumbled on my site and I hope you find it helpful. I think it is cool that you are trying something new for the summer, what better time?! So, it looks like your hair is currently quite short. To get the Lenny look your first step is to continue growing your hair out all over. To maintain a somewhat neat look, you could continue to edge up around the front hairline, the sideburns, and the nape of your neck. While you are growing out your hair, you will need to invest in some haircare products to keep your hair healthy. What kind of shampoo/conditioner do you currently use? I don't like to make assumptions but many guys I know just use whatever they find lying around! If that is not the case for you, I would get these basics:

1) A sulfate free shampoo of any kind (you can get these at most health food stores and at some places like CVS, Wal Mart, Target, etc)
2) A moisturizing conditioner (my faves are Herbal Essences Hello Hydration [Target, Wal Mart, any retailer], Pantene, etc.
3) A Leave In/Moisturizer- Carol's Daughter Hair milk is a good one that is light and moisturizes without leaving your hair greasy, Cantu Shea Butter Leave In
4) A light natural oil/butter- I use a small bit of raw shea butter that I emulsify in my hands. I also like jojoba oil or olive oil. You can get these at a health food store or the grocery store.

I would shampoo no more than once a week but you can do steps 2-4 as often as you like. This will keep your hair and scalp healthy as your hair grows out over the next few months.

Now, once you reach the desired length of hair, you can style it in many different ways. You can simply run your hands through it or massage the curls with your fingers to get the piecey look that Lenny has. If you want a more defined coil pattern, you can make small coils with your fingers when your hair is wet, allow it to dry, then separate. That will give you a more chunky, defined look.

I hope these tips help and please let me know if you have any more questions. I get many questions from women but it is always nice to hear from the men who visit the site too!

Take care,

Leslie

If you have any tips for D, add them to comments below!

Jilly at the Essence Music Festival

Images from Essence.com

Product Review: Suave Professionals Almond & Shea Butter Conditioner

Image from Suave.com

Product Description:

Salon quality shampoo and conditioner system proven to moisturize your hair as well as Aveda Dry Remedy shampoo and conditioner. This moisturizing shampoo is infused with 100% natural almond & shea butter, which are known for their rich emollients. It replenishes lost moisture leaving your hair well-nourished and beautiful.

Product Ingredients:

Water (Aqua), Cetearyl Alcohol, Cyclopentasiloxane, Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice [Aloe Vera], Cymbopogon Schoenanthus Oil [Lemongrass], Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Oil, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower/Leaf Extract, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Flower Extract, Dimethiconol, Behentrimonium Chloride, Fragrance (Parfum), Dipropylene Glycol, Potassium Chloride, Lactic Acd, Disodium EDTA, TEA-Dodecylbenzenesulfonate, PEG-150 Distearate, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone.

Where to Buy:

I purchased mine from Wal Mart but it is surely available at most retailers (CVS, Target, Walgreens, etc.) You can also purchase online at amazon.com if you like to buy in bulk.

My Take:

I love this stuff. Hands down it is one of the best cheap conditioners that I like to use as a leave in. It moisturized my hair both times I have used it. Combined with a bit of oil on damp twists, my hair was smooth and lightly frangranced for days. It has a very fruity smell, very fresh. It also works nicely as a cowash conditioner if you like to skip shampoo. I was able to detangle my hair pretty quickly with my wide tooth comb and my denman bush. It is not the most slippery conditioner I have ever used, I will probably reserve major detangling sessions for my Herbal Essences. But, it still got the job done and was a great leave-in/styler for my twists. Once dry, there were no flakes or visible buildup. Overall a keeper for the rotation.

Have a Frotastic Fourth of July!

Don't forget to rock your Fros on the 4th! Tomorrow is Afro Independence Day so if you've got it, rock it!