And no, this is not about hair products.

This is about dolls. Dolls and little girls. If you follow me on Twitter, you may have read some of this story already.

I was in the store letting my son spend his birthday money. I was able to drag him away from the Lego section long enough to look over the dolls, just out of curiosity. My best friend had told me it was hard for her to find African American dolls in the stores she’d gone to. Considering she lives near an area that is almost 60 percent black, I was incredibly surprised.

During my search, I found quite a few more than I’d expected….most of them with straight hair. These beauties caught my eye.

I never had a Cabbage Patch doll when I was a kid but these are fantastic!! Oh my gosh! Granted, I wish they had some AA dolls with differing hair types but to see some that actually have curly fros is a big improvement from what I remember.

Anyway, this was not the disturbing part. My son found something on the opposite side of the aisle that caught his attention (goodness knows what, that aisle was an explosion of pink) when a little AA girl walked up with her mom.

I’d heard the mom tell the little girl that she needed to pick a black doll. The little girl already had a black doll with straight hair in one hand and put it on the floor when she spotted the Cabbage Patch dolls I posted above. She picked up one of the dolls and looked at it for a long time.

Then, as she put it back on the shelf, she said “I don’t want her, her hair is too nappy”. She picked up the straight haired doll and they left.

I know this was not my child and this was not my business, but I was devastated!

A lot of moms are big into picking dolls of color for their children because (I’m assuming) you want the child to have a doll that looks like them. But is it any better when you are picking a doll with skin like an African American but not hair like an African American?

Perhaps I am reading too much into it. Perhaps I should just be happy that the little girl picked a black doll. Perhaps she already has some kinky/curly haired dolls at home and wanted some variety with a straight haired doll.

Perhaps I just need to stay out of the doll aisle until my little girl reaches an age where she cares about dolls at all.

Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps…

I hope everyone is having a great Labor Day.  We are safe and happy but not far from Tropical Storm Lee, so we have been  getting a ton of rain all weekend. It was my son’s birthday weekend and he got a new bike. Of course, he wanted to ride this bike outside.

Luckily, my in laws have a large covered area that he was able to ride under. Unfortunately, the rain and wind still managed to attack my hair! I’d just taken my twists out (yes, the ones that have been in forever!). I could feel that it was going to be a detangling nightmare as some of the back twists started locing at the roots, but decided to wear the twistout for one or two days…then this happened!

Here’s the before:

Before

Before

And the aftermath of Lee:

The devastation!

I’m kidding really, it looks kind of cute, just not as defined. I was just amazed at how fast it happened. My hair is usually pretty resistant to humidity and rain but the wind was the killer.

My main complaints are (1) after I slept on it, it was REALLY jacked and (2) I can totally see this being a bad wash day tonight.

Since I always like for my readers to see the good and the bad of my hair, here’s my hair today. IT IS HORRIBLE.

You have been warned.

Anyway, there it is…! All tangled  up…sigh.

Coming up this week:

• My review on Celestial Comforters shower caps
• Your pick of the new guest product reviewer
• A giveaway!

And, if you do/did happen to be in the path of Lee, please be careful with the flooding!

I received my loc holder and just in time for these freshly done twists (done on dry hair).I absolutely love it and can’t wait to play around with it a bit more. The metal is very malleable so I was able to open it up and then mold it around my hair easily. It’s not too tight and holds all my hair securely. It’s also very beautiful.

Because I love them so much (and because they were kind enough to send me some extra!) I am going to offer you ladies a chance to win one. To enter, post below a comment below! Current subscribers (either through Feedburner or Google Friends) only may enter.

You have until tomorrow July 14th at noon CST to enter. Two winners will be chosen randomly. Only one entry per person. Please view the disclaimer section.

CONTEST IS OVER. THANKS FOR THE ENTRIES.

I decided to flat iron my hair for the last time until the fall. It felt like I’d been retaining length from all the bunning I’ve done, so I decided to see my full length. Even though it’s hot as the devil outside.

Anyhoo, here is what I did:

• Washed hair in sections with diluted castile soap
• Deep conditioned and dentangled with Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Deep Treatment for 2 hours
• Rinsed
• Applied KBB Ambrosia Leave In (review incoming)
• Let hair airdry with a few big rollers. I wouldn’t call it a rollerset because I was just trying to stretch it out some and took absolutely no care whatsoever in smoothing it out.
• Applied GVP heat protectant
• Blowdried each small section with comb attachment on high heat
• Flat ironed on medium heat
• Applied coconut oil immediately after flat ironing

As usual, it didn’t get super straight, but it was enough to see my length. I then had my best friend trim off about an inch from the bottom layer to even it out. Honestly, it’s getting almost to the point where it will be too long for me, so I wasn’t that concerned about losing the inch. It was very uneven and, though I don’t wear it straight much, I just wanted to see what more blunt ends would look like.

Mostly I’ve been wearing it in buns because, as I said, it’s too durn hot!

Hair after blowdrying

Front section flat ironed

Done flat ironing. My friend trimmed about an inch off the bottom to make it even. The yellow line is what I consider to be waist length.

Ponytail

Low Bun

I’ll be washing this out in a few days and then it’s back to twisting for healthier hair!

Of course, I’ve been in my precious twists the last few weeks.  I’ve worn them in a bun like this.

Two days ago I took my twists out and have been wearing my hair down some for a change. I have been re-moisturizing with KBB’s Ambrosia which I have never tried before (full review incoming once I’ve tried it out fully). I like it so far though.

I will probably wear my twist out down one more day and then back to buns! I do feel like buns are helping my hair retain a bit more length and I’m also noticing less split ends. I will do an official length check in about a month or so.

You were born to win, naturaldancer (aka Candice)! Naturaldancer was chosen via random.org. Send your mailing information to kcurly@newlynatural.com as soon as you can Congrats!

Thanks to all of the other ladies who entered! You all have fab hair!

(If you don’t see your picture up that means you either entered after the contest deadline was over or your picture was too small for me to see what was going on OR you requested me not to post your picture. The last two situations still warranted entry into the contest. )

Lisa 13 months natural 2 strand twist out

Vonnie "..I've been natural 2 years and this is my epic frohawk"

Angelina "My hair is styled in a stretched twist-out, and it was a great hair day because my hair was moisturized, had tons of shine, and looked healthy. I have been natural for 2 years and I love my hair more and more every day."

Shones " I did a twist out on this day using SheaMoisture's Deep Treatment Masque. This was also shortly after I had it shaped into a tapered-style afro (longer on top, shorter in the back). I must say, it was hard to decide on my actual best hair day, because I have *years* of pics from which to choose. I've been natural since 1997 -- 14 years!"

Tequila "Here's my entry for the Mothers day giveaway, I'm transitioning so i have 2-3 different textures going on, so i CO-wash and twist out and put my hair up and back. "

Jeannine "I guess this is a Shingled Wash and Go ) I have been natural since 1994/95 (can't remember exactly when I BCed, but it was in college) I kept a TWA for about 4-5 years, then started to let it grow out to now. On this day I went with friends of mine to NYC to see Prince in concert. It is definitely not an ultra glam style, but the hair gods aligned just right this day/night and the length fell right, the body was nice and full, and the curls were diamond shiny and poppin'. Best Hair Day!"

Karla "The style in these pictures (all the same) was done on a freshly washed set of hair. I co-washed on Sunday evening before I went over my bf's house. I had planned to twist my hair there with Shea Moisture's deep treatment mask, but I accidentally left it at home. So instead I just put a little olive oil, detangled with my jibere comb (I used the tangle teezer on my roots because they tend to become matted) and twisted into about 22 twists. For the rest of the week I pinned my twists back in an updo (for work) or wore a slouchy hat (school). Friday morning (day of the photo shoot), I slathered castor oil on my twists, hopped in the shower to let the steam it them and wake them up, and took the twists out one by one. Honestly, this was the best twist-out I've even done! No fluffing needed My last relaxer was January 17, 2008 and I did a long term transition. I've been completely natural since March 2010. "

Tina "Here's my best hair day picture... it's my best hair day because it's the Biggest Ponytail I've Ever Had!! It's done with a banana clip after a light flatiron and soft rollers on the ends. I've been all-natural since April 2, 2010, so a year, a month and 2 days."

LaTia "This was a really great hair day for me! It was a chunky twist out on dry hair. It was defined had some frizz but it bounced and I loved it! "

rhoality "I have been natural for 10 years now. I had locs for five years and I safely removed them with no damage. I recently had a bad haircut experience with a braider two years ago. My hair is finally on its way back to a great length. I enjoy doing my hair and experimenting with others occasionally. I love your blog and wish you continued success. In this pic is a 4 day old twist out on banded hair. "

Sharon "I've been natural for about ten years plus, but within those 10 years I big chopped about 3 times. But in the last 3 years I have been letting it grow so here I go. I love this picture one it was taken on my birthday 2/19 and two it is my favorite style a twist out."

Chandra "I have been natural 19 months, and I've attached a picture of my best hair day! It is a two strand twist out, that was soft moisturizing and defined resulting from twists being in my hair for 2 days. I loved the definition, fullness, and hang. At 19 mos my hair is finally getting to where I can do even more with it. "

Chinyere "It is flat-twists into an up-do. I have been natural since 2000 but I am currently recovering from some major breakage due to a weave that was too tight which caused hair loss in the crown area.Then the twists were set on perm rods.

Zee" Greetings I am a 25 Month and 19 days Natural!!! "

Christa "I'm about 6 months natural. My hair is pinned on one side. "

Makeupvixen "In this picture I'm rocking my very first curly puff today. I used qb amla and olive heavy cream last night, sealed with jbco, this morning I wet it and applied ufd curly magic and a little bit of afiya4you healthy hair butter. Earring by mllecafeaulait on etsy."

Tiffany "So I'm rockin a side hawk with flat twists. I've been natural for almost 3 years and I LOVE IT!! I feel like it really fits me and peopl always compliment me on my hair no matter if I feel like it looks like crap.."

After wearing my anniversary fro, I decided to stretch it out for the next day with big braids overnight. I tried to put it in a loose puff, but it was sticking up at awkward angles so I thought an bun was in order. I kept the puff, and pinned it under to make a “U” shape with my hair. Here was the result.

Now, my edges have always been on the thin side. But lately they have really been terrible. I am shedding like a mother! As I mentioned in another post,  I shed a lot anyway…but lately it’s gone to a whole new level. Unfortunately, all of this shedding causes tons of tangles and knots.

Therefore, until it slows down, I’m resigning myself to detangling once a week to prevent the buildup of shed hair. Going 2-3 weeks appears to be too long at my current rate of shedding.

I’m back in twists today as I plan to do some swimming soon. My hairline will be receiving some tender loving care with a lot of massaging and moisture. And no more tight buns for awhile.

Yikes, where have I been? Time is flying right about now, so I didn’t even really notice I hadn’t updated in awhile. Gosh!

Anyway, here my last few styles since I haven’t done a “Today’s Hair” Post in a while.

As I mentioned, I did straighten my hair. How did I mostly wear it? In a bun of course

Straight Bun. I decided to do this one low and to the side, just for a change.

A bun seemed like the best option. For some reason all that hair on my neck and shoulders was irritating me. Must be a pregnancy thing?

So I washed my hair and decided to wear my hair out for awhile. I did a puff, not really focusing on curl definition. After DCing and oil rinsing, I applied Darcy’s Botanicals Transitioning Creme and that was it. I have to admit, that I missed my puff.

I used Hairveda Almond Glaze on my edges

Closeup of my Tomoka's Twists

I wore the puff for a few days before going back to my true love…twists! I’ve been wearing them back in a pony or bun for the most part.

I used a long silk scarf to make the ponytail

So that’s about it! I did the twists with a product line called Zenzele. I will start posting reviews tomorrow!

Um, my hair that is.

I rarely do the wash n go thing anymore and I certainly don’t let my hair dry very often without being stretched or a moisturizing product on it. However, I decided to just let my hair dry naked to see how it looks. I DC’d, detangled with my Aveda Paddle Brush and rinsed. It’s about 85 percent dry in these pictures. My roots are still a bit damp.

Using Random.org, Abeni’s twistout pictures were chosen! The rest of you ladies will be posted tomorrow, thanks so much for entering!

Congrats, girl! Send me your info to kcurly@newlynatural.com and I’ll get your prize out to you next week!

Hello my name is Abeni (kinkyhairedlady.blogspot.com) and here are a couple of pics of my best twist out.  The twist out is my staple product come rain or sunshine.  I just love the big-ness of it and how overwhelming it can be to others.

Abeni

Abeni