Madame Noire Archives - Page 4 of 5

Wash Day for Natural Hair is a WHOLE DAY? Really?

November 27, 2013 By ARMOURELLE

Whether you’re newly natural or have been rocking your puffy halo for a while, wash day should be easy. And it shouldn’t be a chore. We should feel relieved that we can flip our ‘fros and twirl our twist outs. Natural hair should be fun, fluffy and fancy free. So what’s the point if you’re taking just as much time as going to the beauty shop to do your hair when you’re natural?

If you don’t know, the phrase “wash day” is the day, not to be confused with a day of rest, that is reserved for grooming. For some women who are natural, wash day is a dance of complicated steps involving multiple products and oils and conditioning caps in an effort to achieve the perfect balance or curl to the hair. To that I say, wash DAY? A whole day? Really? I don’t have time for that. Actually, I won’t even entertain pretending like I’m making time for that.

Read the rest on Madame Noire: http://madamenoire.com/327351/wash-day-struggle-washing-hair-takes-half-day-might-product-junkie/

Pink Hair in the Office? I say ‘YES!’

November 19, 2013 By ARMOURELLE

My Magenta Hair Gang Moment — Just one hue of my coif of many colors

Non-traditional hair colors are becoming more popular. (Forget those face-framing caramel highlights and rich chocolate browns.) I’ll admit it: I’m a fan. When it comes to the workplace, hair colors like hot pink, indigo blue and fire engine K. Michelle red can be workplace appropriate. It’s a matter of office culture, perception and styling, and color choice.

When we change our hair through styling methods, we feel better about ourselves because we control our image. If you consider yourself a cute hipster-adjacent professional, you’ll feel better when your hair, clothes and makeup match how you perceive yourself.

Office politics are a quiet, unspoken war we fight daily with our co-workers and boss. And we will all get judged in the workplace based on our appearance, which is a form of non-verbal communication.

– Read the rest on Madame Noire — http://madamenoire.com/323519/colorful-hair-workplace-cute-creative-hood-just-inappropriate/#sthash.dryYjqkx.dpuf

You’d Better Swang that Mermaid Hair, Guh!

November 16, 2013 By ARMOURELLE

Kiss giant hoop earrings like these goodbye–you’ve got your Kim K. wig.

So you just big chopped—hurrah!—and after prancing around for weeks letting the wind kiss your scalp and buying tons of new dangly earrings, you may feel the newness of your crop wearing off. You know what? That’s okay. You can buy wigs from your favorite beauty supply store.

Apparently, though, if you choose to wear a Kim K inspired wig and you’re natural, it’s a problem. If you don’t know what this type of wig looks like, it’s a long, layered hairstyle with loose, face-framing curls. Some people argue that if a woman, especially one with an afro, wears a long, straight wig, she’s not being ‘real,’ because if she were ‘real,’ she’d wear her Teeny Weeny Afro as it is, unashamed.

I don’t know about y’all, but I don’t see anything wrong with a little bump and shine, especially when it comes to changing hairstyles when you feel like it. Wigs are pretty awesome, and a way to give your natural hair a quick break when you’re feeling bored, or want to allow time for your hair to grow. Here are four reasons why going from close crop to wavy Rapunzel-like hair shouldn’t be a problem at all.