From the category archives:

Hair Tools/Other

A few days ago, I posted about this cool new phone app called GoNappturale. Well, one of the creators, Danesha, agreed to be interviewed for Newly Natural! Let’s find out more about the mind behind one of the few phone applications out there that cater to African American women!

The Lady

Kcurly: How long have you been natural?

Danesha: I have been natural for 6 months. I didn’t get a relaxer until I joined the military, which was around age 19. I am from California and I had always gotten my hair pressed..right into adulthood. When I was stationed in VA I went to get a press and the stylist pulled out a flat iron. I was like “What in the world are you going to do with that?” She told me they didn’t press hair in VA. She would flat iron it and try to get it as straight as she could.

Pressed hair in a chinese bob during high school graduation

I already knew that was not going to work and because I lived in barracks there was no way that I would be able to use the pressing comb that I had. So the following week after walking around with a huge mushroom, I let her relax it. I hated my hair after that. My hair had always been shiny, bouncy, and seemed like the relaxer had stripped all of that away and then to add insult to injury I started slowly watching my hair break off, which was devastating. This was hair I had grown for close to 20 years.

Kcurly: What is your regimen at this time?

Danesha: I co-wash only. Its funny, I have always Co-washed because shampoos were always to harsh on my hair. I clarify my hair with vinegar to remove residue. I use a coconut oil or minute amount of shea butter as a leave in.

"Accidental" asymmetrical bob due to breakage

Kcurly: Do you ever face any opposition to your natural hair? If so, how do you handle it?

Danesha: Hmmm not sure if I have faced anything blatant. I honestly don’t pay attention to what others feel when it comes to my appearance. As long as I am comfy thats all that matters. That is something that was ingrained as a child, succumbing to peer pressure was never an option. My mother has always told us, “Peer pressure is non-existent, you did it because you wanted to”. So I have always kept that in the back of my mind. I do it, because I want to.

Kcurly: What do you love most about your hair?

Danesha: The thing I love most about my hair is being free. No more sleeping with a crook in my neck to preserve a hairstyle.

Natural hair-micros "I have been wearing braids to protect my hair, and during the summer because me and my daughter love the pool"

Kcurly: What has been the hardest part of being natural?

Danesha: Its actually been really easy for me. One day, I was just over it. Went to my moms house and I let her take clippers to my head and just shaved it all off. I think my daughter was more in shock than anybody. LoL She cried because she thought that I looked like a boy. I explained to her that “mommy wants healthy long hair like you” and that made her feel batter. She immediately asked if we were going to be twins and I told her yes.

Kcurly: Do you have any advice for the newly natural ladies out there?

Danesha: Do it when you’re absolutely ready, that way it will not matter what anybody says to convince you otherwise. I feel like this, should you decide to go natural, hair is like that man that you are finally fed up with and you are just SO done and he can do all of the begging and pleading that he wants but nothing is going to change your mind…thats how it should be. When you are beyond the point of feeling bad about making a decision thats right for you, thats when you need to take that step. If you do it before, you will question your decision and might be convinced to back peddle. You have to be strong willed in order to go against the grain of societies idea of beauty.

The “Bidness”

Kcurly: So, you’re an African American female developer. I know that can be rare  in some places. How did you get started in this field?

Danesha: As I mentioned earlier I was in the military, the navy to be exact and about a year before getting out I enrolled in school in a C.I.S (Computer and Information Science) program and have been going ever since. Even at that time, I was the only African-american female in all of my classes. I loved technology and the endless opportunity. I have always loved math and science, so technology was a natural progression for me.

Kcurly: What, if any, other apps have you developed besides GoNappturale?

Danesha: We currently have 3 apps in the making. With another geared towards the ladies but also the gentlemen. We have an entertainment site coming out as well, that I think people will love. I cant give too much away because we have NDA’s floating around and we are still in development. All of these products will be out before the end of the year. I will keep everyone informed via twitter ((@matriarcmedia)) and my website www.matriarcmedia.com. As we update products we will add them to the site display. I will continue to create resources that compliment our lives and make our day to day, more convenient.

Kcurly: What prompted you to start developing apps for African American women?

Danesha: Wow, it just seems like when it comes to the Tech industry we aren’t well represented. Just perusing the app stores and products in general it was weird to see how other demos are targeted with black women not being one of their main focuses. We spend money and a lot of it and they need to earn our dollar just as they work hard for anyone else’s.

Maybe they don’t know how to do it, but I think its more about not wanting to put the effort in. They want a guaranteed formula for how to capture the interest of the woman of color, well its not that easy, you have to pay attention and take notes. We are dynamic, changing everyday. I know this and I am a black woman, so I looked at the products that I wanted to see and I asked girlfriends and relatives. We want what everybody else wants: convenience, reliability and quality. I feel as women, regardless of ethnicity, there are things that we like and enjoy. As women of color, you can take it a step further. Culturally, there are things that we gravitate towards and beauty (more specifically our hair) is one of them. So it was a no brainer for me that GoNappturale would be the first app to drop.

Kcurly: What has been the response to GoNapptural?

Danesha: The response has been overwhelming, but thats a good thing. I think this is something that we need. We need products made for us, by us. I have even had non African-american websites review the app and I think that is great! The larger the response the better because it allows us to keep creating. When it comes to technology you can get with it or get left behind. Its constantly changing and improving and we need to stay ahead of the curve.

Kcurly: Are there any upgrades or changes you have planned for GoNappturale?

Danesha: Yes, yes and yes! One of the main components of putting out a product or service is that you will receive reviews and suggestions to make the product better. The one consensus was a rating system. Customer service is imperative to guarantee the success of a business and reviews bring in new business and help it flourish while allowing the customer to make an educated and informed decision on whether or not to spend their money there. It is extremely important to give women these tools. It will weed out those not providing quality service.

{ 3 comments }

Well, well, well…natural hair is coming into its own in the technological world. I was contacted recently about a new phone application that launched at the end of July. It’s called GoNappturale. Here’s the deal:

  • it’s an urban salon finder
  • locates black full service and natural hair salons
  • provides contact information for the salons
  • provides step by step directions (via turn by turn or maps using Google maps)
I have to say, it’s pretty neat. Of course, living in the sticks, I wasn’t surprised that I could find no natural hair salons in my area. I did test out the app while looking for other black hair salons.
I think this app might be especially useful to those who travel a lot or just moved to a new city. The cost? It’s .99 cents in the Iphone store. The app is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iPhone OS 3.0 or later. It’s also available with the Blackberry.
Thoughts? Opinions?

{ 4 comments }

Hydra Cap Review

by kcurly on July 29, 2010

in Hair Tools/Other

*Sigh*

Once again, Sally’s Beauty Supply has proven to be my downfall. As I was minding my own business purchasing a new vat of deep conditioner, my  product junkie peripheral vision picked up these little gems:

The Hydra Cap

The Hydra Cap is, for all intents and purposes, a conditioning cap that shrink wraps to your head with the application of heat from a blow dryer.  Its benefits (allegedly) include: less mess, conditioner penetrating  better, traps heat more efficiently . Here…you can learn more from this comparison.

See? There is nothing but misery without the Hydracap and then…once you get it…yay! Bliss!

I kid, I kid…before and after pictures are always so funny, no matter if it’s related to hair or weight loss.

So anyway, even though I plan to stick to my plastic bags, I thought this would be fun to try out. The cost was $3.99 and there were  4 in the pack.   Here’s what they look like fresh out of the bag.

I figured that the lady in the picture had more than likely wrapped her hair around her head. Easy enough to do if you are relaxed…a little more work intensive for us naturals (this is probably a lot easier if you have shorter natural hair). I ended up doing what I usually do, which is placing my conditioner soaked tresses in big “plaits”. I then pinned them flat against my head (or as flat as it gets for me).

Conditioner soaked hair before applying cap

I then put the cap on. It wasn’t easy to slip on (though it might be because of my big head) like the regular plastic caps which at least have the elastic around the edges. I got it on shortly, so no biggie.

Ta Da!

Ok so here’s where I screwed up. I didn’t place the cap over my ears. If I’d watched the video (scroll to the bottom), I would’ve seen that the lady placed hers over her ears as well. So I think that’s why I didn’t get a good seal, as you can see below.

Edges left out...bleh

So I realized this after I started blowdrying. It starts collapsing pretty quickly once it’s blowdried, so it took me less than five minutes to get it all done. I started with the edges first, as the packaging suggests. I left it on for one hour.

So, how did it hold up? Pretty well! I felt dripping after about 15 minutes around the ear areas, but not nearly as much as I would from a regular bag. The areas that were flat against my neck did not leak at all.  Did it condition better than with a regular bag? Honestly, not really. Did it trap heat better? A little, but not by much.

All in all, it was nice to visit, but I could not see myself buying these on a regular basis. I don’t know if it would be worth the trouble of digging up the old hair dryer everytime I DC. Also, shelling out the money, however little, would hurt my pride. If you hate the messiness of DCing, this might interest you…or you could get a towel, like I do and wrap it over your head after applying the plastic.

But that’s just me :)

{ 10 comments }

I know we are all on the lookout for natural tees with some style and uniqueness. Well, I recently stumbled across Dirty Artist- Urban Tees. These designs are incredibly trendy and clever. Check em out! That lady drop kicking the woman trying to touch her hair is the one I’m ordering :D

Natural hair tees aren’t the only thing they have for sell. They also have quite a few shirts that are just plain cool. Even for the man in your life! (A kids’s line is apparently in the works!)

{ 6 comments }

Someone mentioned this device in a post on LHCF. I was flabbergasted…it looks like magic!! Check out the videos:

Holy moly! I was curious about what lengths this device would work on. I emailed the company and they replied:

Thank you for your interest and your time as well. Nudred has been most successful on hair 1/8-1.5 inches long, however it has worked on hair up to five inches long as well depending on the texture of ones hair. We have done demos on those with longer hair and watched their eyes light up with amazement. Usually with longer hair the style becomes an edgy kinda loose twist.

NuDred

More info from the website:
  • Cheapest package is $29.95 and includes the device along with Nu-Potion
  • 15 percent of profits are donated to African organizations to assist with clean water, shelter, and more.
  • Takes 3-20 minutes to twist hair, depending on length
  • No pain or pulling
Obviously, I won’t be trying this, but I’m curious to see if any of you ladies have. If it works, it seems that it would be perfect for those with TWAs who want to do more than just wash n go.

{ 9 comments }

Post image for Turbie Twist-Review

Turbie Twist-Review

by kcurly on November 7, 2009

in Hair Tools/Other,Product Reviews

Here’s the website, if you want to read more about it.


The Turbie Twist has been around a long time, but I’ve never bought one. I think I considered buying it when I was doing a lot of wash n go’s, but when I found it wasn’t microfiber, I kind of put it out of my mind.I went on eBay and found a microfiber turban towel. That worked great while my hair was shorter, though I usually did have to end up putting another towel around it because it was thin.

Flash forward: I’m in the Sally’s buying perm rods and a new satin pillowcase. Since I can’t find any product worth buying, I have to buy something else ;) I spot the Turbie Twist and put it in my basket.

Here’s the thing. My hair’s too big to stuff into that turban towel anymore.

Old turban towel vs Turbie Twist

Old turban towel vs Turbie Twist

On the left, old and busted…on the right, the new hotness!

Seriously, I like the Turbie twist much better. I initially thought that it was made of microfiber too, but the packaging says it’s made of terry. It doesn’t feel like your average towel though. It holds a lot more of my hair and doesn’t get soaking wet as fast. I won’t be using this when I’m doing a wash n go, because of frizz factors, but I’m going to be using it after I wash my hair for other styles.

It’s not bulky at all and it’s got a nice little elastic loop at the back that holds it tight. It stays on securely, even when you bend down to pick up your three year old! I think I left it on for up to 30 minutes and it only got saturated on the sides. This towel is also not a bad price at around 5 bucks.

I also see that they are available in two packs, though I’ve yet to come across this in the store.

Just a side note: I’ll try to post pictures of my rodset tomorrow. I’m also behind on emails again but I’m working this weekend so I’ll have to get to them Monday or so.

{ 6 comments }

Satin Sakks Review

August 9, 2009

See my original post here. These are available in either long or short. I tried out both, though my hair does not completely fill out the long one. I liked these a lot, as did my husband when I asked him his thoughts. They are very silky feeling on the inside, not as much on [...]

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Aveda Paddle Brush Review and Yesterday’s Hair

May 14, 2009

Awhile back I mentioned that I was going to try the Aveda Paddle Brush. A lot of kinky/curly headed folks love this brush and I wanted to see why. Now I have fallen in love! Yes, I do love the Aveda Paddle Brush for styling. I will still continue my love affair with the Denman [...]

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Maxiglide Review

May 5, 2009

Price:~$80.00 Product Claim: “MAXIglide is the revolutionary styling tool that makes traditional flat irons irrelevant. It is the result of almost seven years of R & D – and over one thousand prototypes! Its unique design creates smooth, shiny, straight hair up to five times faster, without the need to blow dry your hair smooth [...]

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Curls Like Us cloths- The Review

February 16, 2009

As I posted not too long ago, I’ve had my Curls like Us cloth for awhile and have used it a couple of times, but I wanted to make sure that I’d tried it enough to give a proper review. Overall, I liked it. It’s pretty, simply put. I love to see it hanging up [...]

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My latest buy

January 24, 2009

So I know this looks like a natural hair nightmare, but I’ve heard good things from other naturals about this comb. This is the Denman 12 comb. I first saw it mentioned on LHCF and then again on NaturallyCurly in the 4a section, so I went ahead and bought it. I was only about 2 [...]

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Microfiber Turban Towel

October 7, 2008

I prefer to use a turban towel, but any microfiber towel is a great way to keep the frizzies away if you’re doing a wash n go. If you’re out for curl definition, you probably already have tried to “drip dry” method and loved the results except for the wet mess running down the back [...]

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Denman Styling Brush

September 23, 2008

From the Denman Website: Denman Classic Styling brushes are available in a variety of sizes to suit all hair lengths and types. The famous Denman anti-static rubber pad provides maximum grip and control during blowdrying for smoothing, shaping and polishing the hair. The Denman brush is a holy grail product for a lot of naturals. [...]

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Having trouble keeping your hair protected at night?

August 30, 2008

It’s 3am. Do you know where your hair scarf is? As you search the covers in the dark of night, you wonder how long your precious mane has been vulnerable to thirsty cotton of your sheets. There are several things that I’ve found to be handy solutions to this problem: Stay on Satin caps and [...]

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