Falling in and out of love with my hair....

Hello everyone, i know that it's been a while so let me give you the short version of it all. I got back from my short lived Tampa, FL experience and was in sort of a slump with my hair. for whatever reason i just felt like i wasn't retaining any length anymore and i didn't really want to deal with it that much. Let me just give you all a word of advice; when you get to this point please make sure that you find a natural buddy you have and cling on to her, you can even get on YouTube and get some inspiration from those ladies, but the last thing you want to do is what i did which was slap some micro braids in it from a random person. FIRST OFF, this young lady was....well she was nice, she was intelligent, a little older and more friendly than other "random" people i had dealt with in the past, so i figured let me give her a try. I live further away from where i used to live in Maryland so i was being lazy and i didn't want to drive to my regular girls i go to. Let me just say BIG MISTAKE. The braids in the back were waaaaayyyy too tight and it was a week before they even felt like they loosened up a bit. I even had a few little bumps and i can't ever remember that EVER happening to me. Needless to say i don't think i will ever get micros again, or at least no time in the next two or three years....lol.

But that is just one of my challenges as of lately. I have been so up and down with my hair, i am not sure if it is the products that i have been using which is not much, or maybe my diet, i do protective styles when i can....when people see me they say it's growing nicely but i guess i just can't see it. I think going natural is the best decision i have ever made in life but the hardest thing about it is remaining positve and focused on what is important. The health of my hair. If i had to choose health or length of course health would be it.....but length plays a big part of what "US Naturals" are striving for also, correct me if i am wrong.

If anyone has any advice or a story that want to share please do.....thanks for listening and be blessed.

Mesha

"Dancing with the Stars and Hair Update....

Hello all and anyone who is listening!!! I am in such a great mood today. Last night i had the best time i have had in a long time and i can't tel you enough how happy i was. I go to a dance studio here in Tampa, FL named Arthur Murray. Every year they have a Summer Ball where their students showcase their talents and a few things that they have learned. I had the privilege to dance with my instructor named Alex to the Latin dance Salsa and it was amazing. I can't tell you the last time i have been so nervous about something, LOL. He put me at ease when it was our turn and i had such a wonderful time. If you all ever get a chance to take any type of ballroom dance classes please do it. You might think it's silly and not for you but people let me tell you, you will truly enjoy it. :) I will never forget my dance instructor and my times here dancing with him in Florida i have learned so much. A picture of me and him are to the left.

Alright sooooooooo, I just wanted to post a few new quick pics of my hair because i am getting ready to have it away for a while. For the first time in two years i have some weave. WOW. I was scared that the young lady i choose wouldn't do a good job but i was pleasantly surprised...I love it. She was a sweetheart and she also contributed to the wonderful night i had. I will be posting a pic of that tomorrow also. :) To my Military sisters listening, tell me what you think...i wear there styles to work a lot. Would this fly with yalls' bosses?? One of them is my favorite style to wear, i call it my Wilma Flintstone dew, lol. I will let you decide which one you think it is. Take care and be blessed.

Mesha

Hard to handle....

Hello all once again! Sorry that i have been gone for a while i have had a lot going on and i think my hair is starting to show it. Work is always trying and for whatever reason i have a tendency to take that stress from work out on my hair. Not really doing it that much, not really tending to it like i should you know. I had got really un-motivated and that is mostly the reason why i hadn't been on here like that. Another reason why which is really silly, i haven't been focused enough. As an ex of mine put it "worrying about things that i can't control". Nonetheless, i took control the situation because it was starting to control me.

Anyway, back to the important stuff. Being in the Military and being a natural lady can be very hard at times. Sometimes you want to do new and fun things to your hair and you can't really do them because someone is going to look at you wrong or say your hair is "faddish". I struggle with that daily. Also just being natural period can be hard at times. I just recently experienced being really discouraged. But i guess i am writing this post to just tell you ladies to continue to stay encouraged and uplifted. One thing that always always helps me is a young lady that is always on point to me in all of her videos; Miss *Kimmaytube from YouTube. She has some of the best and most informative videos on natural hair to me. I just rencently watched her natural journery video again and was inspired all over again. Also i have a really good friend that makes me realize why i am doing what i am doing. For women that want to know but don't know what to do. She makes me realize that this natural thing is not just something to do, it is a lifestyle. It is so much more than "a cute do". I thank God for all of the natural women i know and the ones i don't because they keep me focused. Watching the young sistah *Fadiah and her hair journey was another straw to the camels back. It is so good to see other Military women sharing their different techniques and tips to help other naturals. Until the next post people.....God Bless...

Mesha

Why i went Natural.....

I am not sure why this is but, when a woman is going through something or there's something in her life that makes her uneasy or she let me say...."wants a change" the first we do is switch up our hair. It's kind of like some of us feel like our hair has some type of connection with our emotional state. But in a way ladies it does. Think about it-when your hair looks good you FEEL good, lol. Well at least i do. This brings me to the topic of my post. The reason why i went Natural.

I guess it took me a while to write this one because i had to really think about it-hard. Back in 2007 i had a friend that was going to this girl to get her hair done and ladies she was hooking it up! My buddys' hair was so nice. It was just a really nice wrap but it seemed to be growing nicely and because my friend knew how to maintain her hair it looked really healthy. I actually just went to the girl because i had one of the "emergency days" and i just needed someone to fix my hair. So she does her thing but i noticed that the particular relaxer she was using was a little stronger than i have used before AND another thing i had never used this one. Needless to say when i got home all i had to do was touch my hair and it would come out. Shedding like crazy, it looked lymph and lifeless. I was so upset. When i talked to the girl about it she kept trying to convince me that the hair was shedding like that because it was cold outside (now what the hell, lol). So I decided to just leave my hair alone for a while and get some braids so that i could just let the hair go ahead a break and do it's thing. I was getting braids and weaves like crazy yall, i didn't wear my hair until mid in 2008. By this time in my life i was really sad. I had a lot going on and i said to myself "MAN I NEED A CHANGE". I think this was about where i was making my decision to become natural. I was seeing someone at the time that made it seem like he was supportive but he wasn't. He used to rank on other women with their hair natural and he never really saw my hair outside of braids and weaves. Like i said before i am not sure why but it means a lot to us if our men like our hair. Needless to say me and him aren't together anymore but anyway, lol. Back to my story. Guys, i went through so much ridicule from friends and family for making this decision it was a mess! When you are doing what i was, which is called TRANSITIONING, you have to go through a few days of looking kind of bad because your hair isn't used to what you are doing you know. It's used to getting that relaxer so you are weaning it off of it.

It's crazy how you would think the people that mean the most to you would support you. Even now i get from some people "so how long our you gonna have your hair like that"? or "How do you do it"? "Why don't you flat iron it"? My thing is if i wanted straight hair then i would have kept my dang relaxer! It's cool though because some people really don't know and understand and they DO just have to ask the question. To you it may sound silly but you can't look at it that way. I had a very good friend of mine point that out to me. So.....in Jan of 2009 i cut all the relaxer off my hair and hadn't looked back since. I love it so much you guys. I mean i still sometimes deal with the "OLD ME" wanting to see how it looks straight and maybe one day i will but as for right now i am just fine with the way that God intended it to be.

At the end of this blog i will post three pics of the big chop, then six months, then how it is now. Thank you for reading and be blessed ladies.

Mesha

Come and talk to me.....

Hello world it's me again Mesha and i just have one question, where in the world did this whole social networking thing come from? Whatever happened to people actually going over each other's house? Ask yourself, when was the last time you sat down and wrote someone a letter. Where does thing end!!??? You can basically find out a whole person's life by simply clicking a few things on a page of there's you know. Now don't' get me wrong, i am not bashing these guys or anything i just want to know when and where this whole text me this e-mail me that phase is going to slow up a little. We even have E-cards now. C'mon people, where is personable side of people going when you can't pick up the phone and say i love you anymore, you have to text me now. I had someone even break up with me over a text once and he justified by saying "c'mon baby, this is the age of electronics". Really man?? Really? lol. I don't know why i am so upset about this right now but i just felt like releasing i guess. If anyone else feels what i am saying please chime in and let me know. Thanks again for listening and be blessed.

Mesha

**hair tips to follow

Give your hair a rest....

Hello everyone! Just wanted to share something with you really quick that i have going on with my hair. For the past three months i have been doing a lot of different styles to my hair. With that being said it was just time to give my hair a rest for a while--cornrows, cornrows, cornrows ladies, lol!!! *You have to leave your hair alone for a while because honestly, that is one of the ways you maintain length and promote growth. This style has always been one of my favorite even before i went natural. It is easy to work with and it is really sexy and fun. Another thing about being in the military is that we work out and are really active so this is an ideal style for me. I am sure some of you other sisters in the military know about the regulation and how it says how your hair can't be "faddish" so just be mindful of that also when getting your styles. *One other thing you want to remember with this ladies is even though your hair is put away, you still have to moisturize and tie your hair up at night so you can keep a fresh look. *I put Jojoba oil all around the edges of my head because it helps in the growth of that particular hair. The edges are sooo sensitive ladies please remember to do this. I will try to post a pic at the end of this post so that you guys can see hwo they look. Thanks for reading, i hope this helped. I will talk a little more about some protective styles i have done in the past, as well as post some more pics. Until then, be blessed.

*little tip:)
Mesha

So your natural and your in the military now what??

Hello everyone! This is so so new for me and i never thought that i would be doing anything like this but here goes. Just wanted to talk to a few of my natural sisters out there that are in some form of the military and want to know how and what to do with your hair. I feel that for the natural sisters there is so much versatility in regards to our hair! The main reason i wanted to start doing this blog is to help anyone out that struggled like me in the beggining of my journey and help her to know that she should keep on doing what you are you doing. Also i wanted to share a few tips that i have been using and a few styles that i do during the week that are within the Air Force's regulation. More to come so stay tuned!! Until then stay blessed!

Mesha