I was exchanging emails with a friend of mine today and he mentioned that he recently bought a pair of UGG’s. What?? Do they make UGG’s for men now? Since when? I had to investigate… Well, my UGGs are atrocious and between my atrocity (aka snow boots) & our conversation — I went to the UGG website and behold this natural beauty!
Here is a picture of the young lady from the UGG website.
This really came as a surprise to me because UGG is an Australian company and Australia doesn’t have the best reputation for celebrating diversity. However, the country has made some improvements by electing Aboriginal people to its Parliament and recognizing the injustices done to the native Aboriginal people. An UGG ad, does not compare to an Aboriginal person being elected to the Australian Parliament — however, it does say that the company is attempting to be diverse and inclusive. I hope that the country will continue to move toward racial equity — Media and advertising are definite steps.
…. or at the very least yoga helps to prevent hair loss. Stress can wreak havoc on your hair. It can not only STOP your hair growth but it can also make your hair fall out!
According to Mayo Clinic psychiatrist
Daniel K. Hall-Flavin, M.D. there are 3 types of hair loss that are associated with high stress levels:
* Alopecia areata. A variety of factors are thought to cause alopecia areata, possibly including severe stress. With alopecia areata, white blood cells attack the hair follicle, stopping hair growth and making hair fall out.
* Telogen effluvium. In this condition, emotional or physical stress pushes large numbers of growing hairs into a resting phase. Within a few months, the affected hairs may fall out suddenly when simply combing or washing your hair.
* Trichotillomania. Trichotillomania (trik-oh-til-oh-MAY-nee-uh) is an irresistible urge to pull out hair from your scalp, eyebrows or other areas of your body. Hair pulling can be a way of dealing with negative or uncomfortable feelings, such as stress, anxiety, tension, loneliness, fatigue or frustration.
Always assess your stress levels, not just for your hair but for your heart and mental health. When in doubt, exercise.
Yoga, is an exercise that I’ve always incorporated into my regimen. It requires intense mental and physical strength (beginners don’t fret, just take your time!). You are literally forced to focus on the moment right now. Nothing else matters except following the breath and counting down the time until you get out of the downward dog pose! I love how yoga begins with a physically intense set of poses and then slows down into a meditative cool down relaxation.
Afterward a session of yoga, I’m calm and relaxed — I actually sleep better!
Yoga can help you overcome stress, anxiety, and poor blood circulation in the head. These are all issues that contribute to hair loss. Remember that stress and hair loss don’t have to be permanent. If you make the effort to get your stress under control, your hair may grow back. However, if you are eating better, less stressed and exercising but don’t notice your normal hair growth — it is probably time to see your doctor.
There are many products on the market that claim to “grow hair” but most of these don’t work! I’ve NEVER found a topical product to “grow hair.” IMO the only way to have a healthy head of hair is through a healthy diet, exercise and a vitamin supplement.
My favorite yoga guru is Steve Ross on INHALE Yoga on Oxygen. You can get a preview of his class here
I always appreciate companies that recognize diversity. What I appreciate most is when a company appreciates diversity and is honest in their representation of that diversity. Martin Luther King would shake his head in today’s society IMO. Since his time racial and wealth disparities have grown further and further apart. Poor people in this country, especially children, continue to slip through the cracks in society.
Poverty has enabled a destructive society. A society where our young people find themselves in gangs, illiterate, without healthcare, HIV+, depressed, racially profiled, underemployed, unemployed — the list goes on. Yes, some of us have come a long way — but truly how far when a group of Harvard grads can find themselves likened to gang bangers in Boston.
It is important to focus on the positive accomplishments from people in our community like Ursula Barnes the chairman and chief executive officer of Xerox Corporation. However, we must recognize that there is still much work to be done. Read Read Read!
There are a few cute things that you can pick up from her site. The sale ends January 17th. However, I’m waiting for the Emerald Isle Kollete Skirt and the Polka Dot Jillian Dress to go on sale 🙂
That was the question asked by a single black male and then it was discussed by natural hair girls around America. I even posted the question to a few friends of mine on Facebook and we came up with this. One of my girls (lying) said that she doesn’t get hit on anymore LOL Lies!! She recently went back to wearing her curly hair, but she’s been natural like forever. The consensus is really that our audience tends to be more diverse when we wear our natural hair. IMO (b/c I don’t want to misquote anyone 🙂 its like asking the question, do I get hit on more when I look like a bum? Yes. Why? It’s because you’re more approachable, when you look too high-maintenance men tend to be more intimidated and look the other way.
Honestly, what seems to make a difference is my mood. If I’m in a happy light hearted mood, I am approached easily. However, if I’m projecting a negative angry (grr) energy, I don’t get approached. People can sense energy. Even though the article is true, you would never expect anything less from Jill Scott, India Irie, NEW! Chrisette Michelle, Corrine Bailey Rae etc to sing anything else but honest, empowering music that touches you in an emotional feel good way. You also don’t see them stripped down to their panties, bent over touching their ankles….. in their videos. But you also don’t see every weave wearing, permed hair black woman performing a strip show on tv.
Natural hair women have a lot to face when it comes to acceptance from others. Some people can’t appreciate it, don’t understand it, don’t want it — but that doesn’t matter. The ONLY thing that matters is how you feel about yourself. If a guy is going to go for the “easy win” as the author suggests — you don’t want his tired ass anyway! Who wants a lame?! Who wants a guy who will settle for 2nd best? If he settles for 2nd best in his womanen he will most certainly settle in many other ways in his life.
Being natural is also like a 2nd enlightenment and it’s true many of us have made a distinct truthful choice to really start appreciating ourselves for who we are. At the end of the day sometimes, it’s just hair, damn! But it’s really true, we are sometimes a more militant & enlightened group & we don’t & won’t play that foolery. We know that money isn’t everything and it surely can’t buy you love. We expect you to go hard or go home. We know what we want, we go for it, and we get it!
Remember Tempestt Bledsoe who played Vanessa on the Cosby’s? Oh she looks absolutely amazing & never mind her hair — it is spectacularly fabulous. I couldn’t resist snatching this picture up from IMDB! Looks like she did a twist out and perhaps uses natural henna on her hair, to give it that rich deep black color.
So here are a few sales & what not to get you going. Really, you should never never never ever pay retail — UNLESS it just something that you know is not going to go on sale and/or it’s fine craftsmanship. Sometimes we must pay a premium for superb quality. BUT even Jimmy Choo has sales!!
PIPERLIME
This company is part of the Gap, Banana Republic, Althea brand. They offer really awesome products in a wide range of prices. Also, I do love that Rachel Zoe is part of the company and offers her style picks on a regular basis.
There are a ton of items right now to pick from, that I just can’t even really concentrate– but maybe it’s that sweater or those skinny jeans? Why not get an EXTRA 20% off? The sale lasts 4 whole days!! That’s pretty cool! This could be a good time for some accessory shopping 🙂
I’ve always been kind of jealous of the way iphone users were so in love with their phone — why? Because, I’d been stuck with a Blackberry and a Dell! I have to tell you that in 2010 I made the huge leap and chucked my old problematic, virus run, battery failing, non support service — unless you’d like to be routed to India, Dell computer. I hated it. I also hated the blackberry that I’d had. You know, the silver one that didn’t have a camera (who makes a phone w/o a camera??). But that was my fault because I should have checked, I mean I never really realized that it didn’t have one, until I wanted to use it. So I upgraded to the Storm, better camera, hard to type, hard to use, bulky and few apps. What’s really sad is that Windows still comes with the same “PAINT” (you can’t even crop in PAINT) that it came with about 10 years ago… So in the scheme of things PAINT or PIXELMATOR? Is there really a decision to make?
Well, once I started talking about owning a Macbook Pro, I was shocked to find out how many friends and colleagues owned one too. They also hated PC’s but most were forced to use them at work. I still stuck to my blackberry — but dropped my Verizon contract and headed over to Sprint (way better service & price) to get the Blackberry Bold. There’s something great about having a key pad.
Anyway, I still have my ipod but always wanted to put apps on it. Well Hallelujah apps are here for Mac!! I’m totally excited. You can get great apps for your Mac with the touch of a button in the iTunes store. They’ll be easy to install and transferable from Mac to Mac. Which is great, unlike movie rentals — you have to watch on the computer you downloaded it from or the iPod or iPhone you downloaded it to. It’s not Apple’s fault.
I’m really looking forward to the image & artistic apps to see how they compare to Photoshop 5 — that I’ve been working with.
Pixelmator
Stunning Images Made Simple
Sketchbook Pro
There's an artist in everyone.
Pages
You have a beautiful way with words.
Keynote
Crowd Pleaser
iMovie ’11
Starring Hollywood-style movie trailers.
The captions are Apple’s very own. Apple really gives you the power to create exactly what’s in your imagination & make life & memories that much more vibrant and fun!
Coming from Iowa to New York was already a big deal for me. I never realized how much travel outside of the country would change my life. I’ve already gotten a few stamps on my passport — Mexico, Denmark, Jamaica and I’m looking forward to filling it up by 2015. They say, better late than never. I suppose I’m getting the opportunity to travel, because this is just the right time in my life. The time when I have the most but balanced obligations — the time when I can uberappreciate a vacation, days and days away from work– totally appreciating being on the other side of the world.
Sure, we American workers get punished when we take vacations, b/c we have to come back. We come back to a collapsing office (esp. if you work in Administration like I do), mounds of emails, bbm’s (which I don’t care to check either while away), conference calls, meetings and so on and so forth. The best thing about coming back is that for a short time you are still in vacation mode and you can still take your time slowly to complete tasks. There’s no more (I’m almost going to have an anxiety attack) forced response to so-called crises that will get fixed one way or another.
In 2011 I’m destination Paris, Jamaica & Thailand — Copenhagen if I’m lucky. This will be my first time to Paris & to Thailand. I just can’t wait to see the sights, taste the food, speak drunken (but perfect) French to the locals, sip coffee and take elephant rides — oh and the Thai massages, DEFINITE can’t wait!
In Paris, I’m really looking forward to the shopping and just the sheer enjoyment of fulfilling a dream that has been years in the making. I’ve had this special obsession with Paris for a few years now and I’m taking an empty suitcase so that it can be filled with little trinkets & souvenirs from the flea market. Also, I’m looking for a classic French beret, leather heels, and a few great dresses & baubles. How could I forget? I MUST take a trip on their train & then compare it to this MTA service that we have here in NYC. I hope to remember to write up a full report — who knows, I may not want to return!
My home will always be in Jamaica & I’m looking forward to white sands, red snapper, festival, reggae music and Devon’s House ice cream (the best!).
Natural Hair Don't Care 