Anyone who follows this site knows that I have no issue wearing a sew-in weave, especially now that we are moving away from unrealistic lace-front wigs. There is honestly nothing worse than a weave that doesn't move and has a ton of new growth and visible tracks. I will stop you in the streets to tell you about the atrocity off the top of your head. Have several seats!

Retinol

Vitamin C Serum

AHA/BHA Serum

Jennifer Lopez was so gracious enough to walk Vogue through her luminous makeup routine called "Lightbulb" contouring. Chile, watch the video and let us know in the comment section below if you would give it a go.

What Is Flaxseed?

The Benefits of Flaxseed for Hair

1. Repairs: Because flaxseed is good at binding moisture to the hair, this reduces breakage and split ends, notes Clay. Courtney agrees, explaining that flaxseed reverses damage by sealing the cuticle of the hair strand. Not only does this improve elasticity but it also prevents it from breaking further, she explains.
2. Strengthens: The fiber and omega-3 fatty acids in flaxseed are hair's besties. According to Clay, "Fiber aids in strengthening hair at its core. In the same way, the omega-3 fatty acids improve the health of your hair by making it stronger and improving the hair's elasticity."
3. Soothes: As an excellent plant-based source of anti-inflammatories alpha-linolenic acid or ALA, flaxseed supports overall scalp health and calms scalp irritations, especially when associated with eczema or psoriasis, explains Ziering. Courtney agrees, adding that it can even prevent dandruff, too.
4. May encourage hair growth: Clay cites lack of hair growth as one of the top three concerns of her clients—fortunately, flaxseed can help with that. Courtney says it can regrow damaged hair from the root. Ziering explains that by systemically reducing inflammation, flaxseed can promote healthier hair follicles,
5. Can postpone gray hair: Not ready to go gray just yet? Courtney notes that flaxseed can actually delay gray hair from forming.
6. Protects: Flaxseed oil is also rich in vitamin E, another antioxidant that our scalp loves. It can work to reduce the damaging effects of free radicals and help promote healthy hair follicles, says Ziering.

DIY Flaxseed Gel

Ingredients:

I wish you a healthy, prosperous, and loving 2023.

“The most disrespected person in America is the Black woman.

The most unprotected person in America is the Black woman. 

The most neglected person in America is the Black woman.”

—Malcolm X

The late Malcolm X is absolutely correct, and it's sad that not much has changed since he first uttered these profound words. Black women are constantly the butt of everyone's jokes all over the world - something we got to see firsthand during the most recent Oscars ceremony. 

Chris Rock, in a very ignorant moment, thought it would be really cool to make a careless joke about Mrs. Jada Pinkett-Smith, who is rocking a bald head due to her ongoing battle with a form of alopecia. Her husband, Will Smith, decided to handle the disrespect by literally knocking the dog mess out of Mr. Rock. 

Now everyone is stuck on the thunderous smack heard across the auditorium instead of PROTECTING BLACK WOMEN and educating the world on what alopecia is and how it affects the body. I will handle the subject of alopecia and I need BLACK MEN to do a better job at PROTECTING BLACK WOMEN!

What is Alopecia?

Alopecia is a medical umbrella term for hair loss. There are several kinds, and your treatment options depend on the type you have. Alopecia occurs in approximately one per thousand persons, affecting men and women equally. Most patients are below the age of 30 at the onset. Most cases resolve spontaneously, though recurrence is common.

Types of Alopecia & Treatments

Androgenic Alopecia

This is common for women and men. It’s also known as male- or female-pattern hair loss. If you’re a woman, it can thin your hair, but your hairline doesn’t recede and you’re unlikely to become totally bald. Women often notice a widening of their part. If you’re a man, the condition often leads to complete or partial baldness. Your genes and your environment seem to play roles in causing androgenic alopecia.

Treatments include:

• Minoxidil (Rogaine)
• Finasteride (Propecia)

Alopecia Areata

Alopecia areata is a type of autoimmune disease—your immune system attacks your hair follicles by mistake. This is also known as patchy baldness. The bald patches can show up anywhere on your body, but many people get oval or round patches on the scalp.

Your hair may grow back on its own without treatment. (If it does, it’s also possible for it to fall out again.) Your dermatologist might ask you to wait and see if your hair regrows before they prescribe treatment.

Treatments include:

• Medications that you put on your bald patches
• Steroid shots that your dermatologist gives you in the office
• Chemicals your dermatologist applies to your scalp for extensive hair loss (also called topical immunotherapy)

Alopecia Totalis

This is a form of alopecia aerata that makes you lose all the hair on your scalp. 

Treatments include:

• Medications that you put on your bald patches
• Steroid shots that your dermatologist gives you in the office
• Chemicals your dermatologist applies to your scalp for extensive hair loss (also called topical immunotherapy)
• Systemic immunosuppressive therapy such as methotrexate or prednisone

Traction Alopecia

This is caused by putting stress on hair through repeated pulling or stretching. You can develop this condition if you often wear your hair in a tight ponytail, buns, dreadlocks, hair extensions, weaves, or braids. Over time, continuous pulling can damage hair follicles. If the damage due to pulling persists, it can cause permanent hair loss. 

Treatments include:

• Switching over to less-damaging hairstyles and rotating hairstyles to reverse the damage. 
• Hair transplantation is the most common medical treatment for chronic cases.

Cicatricial Alopecia 

This is a “scarring” type of alopecia. It involves inflammation that destroys hair follicles. The destroyed follicles get replaced by scar tissue, resulting in permanent hair loss in the area. Sometimes the condition brings on symptoms like itching, pain, and a sensation of heat.

It isn’t clear exactly why people get cicatricial alopecia but the condition is associated with a history of tight hairstyles, especially in Black women, and is usually diagnosed with history, examination, and biopsy of the affected area.

Treatments Include:

• Oral, topical, or injected medicines  
• Hair transplant surgery or an operation to reduce bald spots is another option.

Black Americans say they are often treated unfairly at work and in schools because of their natural hair textures or protective styles like braids, knots, twists, and locs.

"There's the shift in policy and then there's a shift in culture," Ms. Asamoah said. 

 

"This is about confronting this Eurocentric standard of beauty, tackling anti-blackness, and lifting the natural African aesthetic. The diversity of Blackness is beautiful."

 

The CROWN Coalition partners with more than 85 organizations to pass statewide bans on hair discrimination, and advocate for the bill nationally. Just on Thursday, the Massachusetts House of Representatives unanimously voted to advance its bill to its state senate.

A third of black children in majority-white schools have faced race-based hair discrimination, according to a 2021 study by DOVE and the CROWN Coalition. The survey found 86% of children say they have experienced it by the age of 12.

Does the name Zulaikha Patel ring a bell, South Africa? Let me jog your memory...

When Chicago mother Ida Nelson was told her four-year-old son Jett's braids were prohibited by his pre-school, she says she thought administrators were joking.

But when the school told her the hairstyle must be removed for him to go to class, she decided to fight back.

After months of campaigning, Ms. Nelson was able to get the Jett Hawkins Act, which prohibits hair discrimination in schools, passed in Illinois.
.
She said Friday's move to advance the national Crown Act made her feel "vindicated".

"When we step into our power, epic things get done," she added.

 

"This was a collective effort from everyone from four-year-olds to senior citizens coming together to say, 'No, our hair and our ability to show up as our authentic selves is not negotiable'."

 

A statement from President Biden said he believed "no person should be denied the ability to obtain a job, succeed in school or the workplace, secure housing, or otherwise exercise their rights based on a hair texture or hairstyle".

Source 

What is a hijab and why is it worn?

Choose an appropriate hairstyle

Styling your hair right can help you tie your hijab properly and maintain your hair health. You want a hairstyle that keeps your hair secure all day without any escaping strands. However, tight buns can cause tension at the crown of your head, making it sensitive and sometimes painful to touch. This strain on your hair can even cause hair loss at the temples, which you want to avoid. Opt for a low bun or ponytail instead of high ones as these don’t pull on your hair as much. Other good ways to style your hair include the french braid, as this helps prevent tension and holds your hair in place, or a more simple braid, which creates less tension than a regular ponytail. If you are going to tie your hair up in a ponytail or bun, we’d recommend using scrunchies instead of elastic bands, as they reduce tension and are kinder to your hair. You can even use larger scrunchies, which can add more volume to your finished hijab style.

Change and wash your underscarf regularly

Underscarves are worn all day under your hijab, making them susceptible to collecting dust, dandruff, sweat, and the natural oils from your scarf. This can build up quickly, causing it to smell and even make your hair greasy. It’s important to regularly change out your underscarf and wash them between uses, ensuring they’re dried completely before using them.
Let your hair breathe

Keeping your hair tied up all day restricts it and doesn’t let it breathe. This prevents your scalp from getting the nutrients, moisture, and oxygen it needs. It’s important to let your hair and scalp breathe in the evenings. Take the time to give yourself a gentle scalp massage in the evenings, which helps stimulate blood circulation to boost hair growth. You can use hair oils for this to nourish your scalp. Ensuring you have a healthy scalp is the best way to guarantee healthy hair.

Wrap your hair while you sleep

While this counteracts the previous point about giving your hair room to breathe, wrapping it in a silk or satin scarf overnight will help control your hair sebum, especially if you have curly or coily hair. Sebum is a natural oil that helps sustain the quality of your hair, benefiting the texture and appearance. However, your scalp’s sebum can sometimes fall out of balance, especially due to sustained friction, making it appear greasy. If you have cotton sheets, you should consider wrapping your hair in a scarf or bonnet to protect your hair from the harsh cotton friction, which can cause your scalp to produce more natural oils while also causing hair breakage. If you don’t want to wrap your hair, you should use a silk pillowcase, which offers the same benefits.

What is Shadow Work?

The Benefits of Shadow Work

Wait! Have you watched Part 1 and Part 2? 

Before you watch this video, be sure to watch part 1 here.

It's no secret that we have an alarming number of women who are single mothers in South Africa by no choice of their own. For whatever reason, their former partners have chosen not to acknowledge their children, and in most cases, they don't bother to maintain the children financially. In these instances, some women put on their big girl panties and match their butts to maintenance court. That is exactly what Mandy Ndlangisa, creator of The Millennial Mom's YouTube Channel, decided to do and she was gracious enough to document the journey letting us into such a personal space. Watch part 3 of her maintenance court journey.

 The Millennial Mom's YouTube Channel  - Like, comment, and subscribe!

About The Millennial Mom's YouTube Channel

It's no secret that we have an alarming number of women who are single mothers in South Africa by no choice of their own. For whatever reason, their former partners have chosen not to acknowledge their children, and in most cases, they don't bother to maintain the children financially. In these instances, some women put on their big girl panties and match their butts to maintenance court. That is exactly what Mandy Ndlangisa, creator of The Millennial Mom's YouTube Channel, decided to do and she was gracious enough to document the journey letting us into such a personal space. Watch part 2 of her maintenance court journey.

 The Millennial Mom's YouTube Channel  - Like, comment, and subscribe!

About The Millennial Mom's YouTube Channel

What is Maskne?

How to Avoid Maskne?

1. Consider the type of mask you wear.

2. Streamline your skin care routine.

Many of us use too many beauty products anyway, so consider mask wearing a good excuse to adopt the most basic skin care routine: a gentle non-soap cleanser and a mild, fragrance-free moisturizer.


“Fewer ingredients is better than more,”  Eucerin, Avene and CeraVe. The moisturizer does double duty here. Besides, well, moisturizing the skin, it can protect it from mask friction, à la a runner’s chafing cream. Another reason for using fewer products: The mask will intensify product delivery to your skin. (You’ve seen this side effect of occlusion in action if you’ve ever, say, treated dry, cracked feet by applying Vaseline and wearing socks to bed.) But in the case of products with acids or retinols, which can be irritating, intensifying delivery is not likely to be a good thing.

 using products with actives only at night. If you’ve never used a retinol — dermatologists charmingly call this “naïve skin” — Dr. Kovarik said that “now is not the time to try one.” If you’re a seasoned user, you may need to reduce your usage.

3. Break up with makeup (at least temporarily).

If you put on makeup for a video call, consider taking it off when you go out. Dr. Heath gently chides patients who appear onscreen at tele-appointments wearing a full face of makeup.

“This is the time to really tone it down,” she said. For those who absolutely can’t break the habit, she suggests a tinted moisturizer with sunscreen.

If you sweat underneath your mask, Dr. Shari Marchbein, a dermatologist in New York, suggests using micellar water or a gentle cleanser to do a quick wash when you take it off. (Overwashing your face dries it out, tricking it into thinking it needs to produce more oil, which can give you more of the acne you’re trying to avoid.) Either apply moisturizer or, if it’s late enough in the day, whatever products you’d use at night, Dr. Marchbein said.

How to Treat It if You Get It

If you do end up with maskne, keep in mind that acne treatments can be irritating and you still need to contend with the continued irritation of the mask.


“You can just go gangbusters on regular acne,” Dr. Gohara said. “With maskne you have to be really careful.”

She recommends using an over-the-counter benzoyl peroxide treatment only on the spots, and starting with a 2.5 or 5 percent concentration, not 10 percent. If you use retinol, apply that product one night and the spot treatment the next.

If you have black or brown skin and develop hyperpigmentation from the acne, Dr. Heath recommends a topical with glycolic acid, which can treat both the blemishes and the darkening of the skin. She cautions against long-term use of a skin lightening agent without the advice of a dermatologist.

Dr. Gohara, who like Dr. Heath specializes in treating skin of color, reminds patients with hyperpigmentation to wear sunscreen even indoors, because blue light from devices can make the problem worse.


If what’s on your face looks like more of a rash or “makes you want to scratch your face off,” as Dr. Gohara put it, it’s possible your issue isn’t actually acne. You may have contact dermatitis, which she sees patients get from metal or rubber parts of masks, and some fabrics (which, when washed, may release formaldehyde, an irritant) and dyes.


Hydrocortisone cream can help, though you’ll want to see a dermatologist for proper diagnosis and treatment. 

Ultimately, if we stay home as much as possible, we can avoid the frequency of which we need to wear these masks.

If you’ve tried all of the above and your acne persists, you may want to look at two other causes of acne: stress and diet. Dr. Bowe wrote: “If I see a tender cyst on the chin, there’s no way to say whether it popped up because of the mask, because of that sleepless night or because of those comfort foods they reached for over the weekend.”

You can’t buy stress release in a jar, but there is increasing evidence, including a large epidemiological study published last week in JAMA Dermatology, that chocolate and other high-glycemic (sugary) foods and dairy cause adult acne.

You could, as Dr. Bowe advises, avoid processed snacks and bring on the coconut or macadamia nut milks. If that’s too far to go, take comfort that a mask at least hides the problem.

It's no secret that we have an alarming number of women who are single mothers in South Africa by no choice of their own. For whatever reason, their former partners have chosen not to acknowledge their children, and in most cases, they don't bother to maintain the children financially. In these instances, some women put on their big girl panties and match their butts to maintenance court. That is exactly what Mandy Ndlangisa, creator of The Millennial Mom's YouTube Channel, decided to do and she was gracious enough to document the journey letting us into such a personal space. Watch part 1 of her maintenance court journey.

 The Millennial Mom's YouTube Channel  - Like, comment, and subscribe!

About The Millennial Mom's YouTube Channel

I came across the Maximum Hydration Method browsing through various hair boards where women were complaining about extremely dry hair that wasn't responding to regular washing and deep conditioning. 

I have to warn you that this method is not for the lazy natural. This method takes time, but the results have been phenomenal for many women.

What Is The Maximum Hydration Method?

The Maximum Hydration Method is a hair care regimen, typically comprised of five steps, designed to increase moisture levels in the hair until max hydration is reached. 

Recipe:

2 cups Greek yogurt

2 tbsp baking soda

2 tbsp organic apple cider vinegar

2 tbsp raw coconut amino acids or regular amino acids 

1/2 tbsp raw honey

1 tbsp unsulfured molasses

1/2 an overripe banana

3/4 tbsp avocado

1 egg (optional)

Directions:

Step 1: Apply Mixture

Apply to dry, detangled hair, saturating it from root to tip. Once each strand is evenly coated, put your hair up into a shower cap and leave on for an hour. Rinse thoroughly with warm water.

Step 2: Clarify

Apple Cider Vinegar Mix: Add 1 part water to 1 part apple cider vinegar to a spray bottle and apply to hair. Leave the mixture on for 30 minutes and rinse thoroughly.

Step 3: Co-Wash

Step 4: Bentonite Clay Rinse

Recipe: 

1 cup bentonite clay

1.5 cups of warm water

1 tbsp of honey

1 tbsp of olive oil

Apply this mixture in small sections and leave on for 10 minutes. Rinse with warm water thoroughly.

Step 5: Appy Your Styling Products 

How Often Should I Use The MHM?

I believe you should listen to the needs of your own hair. Try this treatment as frequently or infrequently as necessary.