Why and THE hell would you fight over who created this hairstyle?

By Tenisha Mercer
www.HairNista.Blogspot.com

Call it the battle of the doobies. Days after Rihanna rocked a doobie on national television at the 2013 American Music Awards, stylists are already "claiming" the "style."

Really? Even if it were true, can you really claim someone swagga jacked a style that isn't copyrighted? Is it the blinged out hairpins? It's so much hilariousness here that it's sickening. Rihanna's stylist, Ursula Stephen, posted a pic of her doing the style on Rihanna on her Instagram page.

Isn't this like someone saying they stole my weave? I'm not even going to repeat half the things this person's claims. Read it here.

UPDATE: Private school in Orlando says they won't expel girl with natural hair

By Tenisha Mercer
www.HairNista.Blogspot.com

Officials at an Orlando private school who reportedly told 12-year-old Vanessa VanDyke to cut her natural hair or be expelled, have reversed their ruling -- sort of. They say they won't expel the girl over her natural hair, but it still doesn't give the young student the ability to wear her hair unaltered.

Faith Christian Academy school administrators told an Orlando TV station on Tuesday, "we're not asking her to put products in her hair or cut her hair. We're asking her to style her hair within the guidelines according to the school handbook."

It's not time to applaud.

Report: Cut your natural hair or get expelled, private school in Orlando tells 12-year old girl

By Tenisha Mercer
www.HairNista.Blogspot.com

Here we go AGAIN ...

In yet another case of a school ban on natural hair, a private school in Orlando, Florida has reportedly given a child an ultimatum -- cut your natural hair off or get expelled.

Vanessa VanDyke sports a halo of shoulder length natural hair. So much so that, according to school officials at Faith Christian Academy, it is a "distraction" and they want to cut and shape her hair. They've given VanDyke, 12, one week to decie what to do.

So far, her mom has refused to cut or alter her hair.

2013 Black Friday Sales on Natural Hair Products

By Tenisha Mercer
www.HairNista.Blogspot.com

For those of you searching for Black Friday sales on natural hair care products, the search is over. Confessions of a Blog Vixen has done all of the hard work for you with this handy dandy list of Black Friday sales as well as Cyber Monday (the Monday after Black Friday). 

AaAmbrosia Hair
Sale Date: Nov 29 – Dec 3
Sale Details: Seasonal Winter Hair Sets $30. Free 2oz Radiant Curl Enhancing Gel’ee on $30+
Featured Product: Honeybush Replenishing Hair Milk

Alikay Naturals
Sale Date: Nov 21 – Dec 31
Sale Details: 15% OFF Sitewide (not valid on gift sets, kits, collections, or services)
Featured Product: Shea Yogurt Hair Moisturizer

All Things O’ Natural
Sale Date: Nov 28 – 29 (12pm EST) | Dec 1 – 2 (9am EST)
Sale Details: 30% OFF
Featured Product: Natty Butter

Rihanna and her wrap

By Tenisha Mercer
www.HairNista.Blogspot.com

Might this 90s hairstyle make a comeback?

Rihanna rocked a wrap (A.K.A. doobie) at the 2013 American Music Awards --- hair rolled round her head, highlighted with a few sparkly hair pins. I'll admit, that I did a doubletake. I thought it was a hat at first (because, why would Rihanna come out with a doobie, anyway) and I was all gaga over her dress (NOT the one pictured below, but this one)

But it wasn't until this article that I said, WTF, it IS a doobie? This has made hair history. Never before a doobie on the red carpet. While I'm typically thrilled when celebs wear their own hair, this is NOT the look I was waiting for.

It's a tad bit... ratchet, and I'm not a fan of wearing this anywhere else besides in the house.

VOTD: "Wash and go's don't work on nappy hair" FUNNY VIDEO!! (Drake - Started ...

Jay Z's line at Barneys isn't for the masses

By Tenisha Mercer
www.HairNista.Blogspot.com

I cheered Jay Z's decision to actively participate in the "shopping while black" investigation at Barneys, after young, African American shoppers at the upscale department store reported they were racially profiled.

Jay had a lot at stake -- his line, Jay Z's New York Holiday, was scheduled to debut. But is this what I've been cheering?

American Music Awards 2013

By Tenisha Mercer
www.HairNista.Blogspot.com

Top music industry celebs turned out for the 2013 American Music Awards in LA on Sunday. Here are a few of the red carpet looks we loved:

 

MC Lyte rules this look. Love her hair! And those shoes, tho!
Photo Credit: Jason Merritt/Getty Images

I love this J-Hud's color combo.

Photo Credit: Lester Cohen/WireImage

Photo Credit: Michael Kovac/AMA2013/Getty Images

I like this look from Ciara.

Photo Credit: Kevin Mazur/AMA2013/WireImage

Rihanna looking grown and sexy in this floor-length gown (have we ever seen her in a floor length ANYTHING?) with a navel bearing slit.

Photo Credit: Lester Cohen/WireImage

Photo Credit: Michael Kovac/AMA2013/Getty Images

 

Zendaya in this super sexy ensemble. She's turning into a beautiful woman.
Photo Credit: Michael Buckner/AMA2013/Getty Images for DC

I like this look from Nicole Richie.

Photo Credit: Kevin Mazur/AMA2013/WireImage

Photo Credit: Kevin Mazur/AMA2013/WireImage

Photo Credit: Jason Merritt/Getty Images

Photo Credit: Michael Kovac/AMA2013/Getty Images

Photo Credit: Frazer Harrison/AMA2013/FilmMagic

Photo Credit: Michael Buckner/AMA2013/Getty Images for DCP

Natural Nazi song

They troll natural hair blogs, lurk in forums and generally are all up in your natural hair business with their opinions.

Now, glam fun has written a song about natural hair nazis.

Enjoy!

Jada Pinket Smith's Fashion Fail

By Tenisha Mercer
www.HairNista.Blogspot.com

We all make fashion mistakes from time-to-time  -- even celebs with stylists and Black cards who should know better. And as much as I usually love (most of) Jada Pinkett Smith's ensembles, I'm so not feeling this get up.

At 40+, she's trying too hard and she doesn't have to.

Not feeling the waist length box braids with the shaved sides (instead of making her appear younger, they actually age her at least 10 years). I can't say anything much positive about this look (I do like the leather leggings and the boots). The oversized zebra print chemise/shirt? is so big that it envelopes her small frame and leaves her shapeless.

The leather leggings should help, but they don't with the mid-calf boots (cute, but NOT with this outfit).

I know Jada's sings rock, but this entire look is just too "hard" for her and makes her appear much older. Not sure if that's the look she's going for, but it's all wrong.


What do you think?

What to Wear for Fall: Leather Trench

By Tenisha Mercer
www.HairNista.Blogspot.com

Bey's mulberry leather trench is EVERYTHING.

T Grant/Splash News

It's believed that Bey's rocking the trench in a video. I don't even want to think about the price tag. I've been eyeing leather trenches for a minute (long leather trenches aren't that practical with the warmish ATL winters and I wonder how much use I'd really get out of it) but I'm not dropping $5,000-6,000 for a Burberry one (I wish!).

Here are more affordable, budget-friendly options.

Less than $65 and there may be a 2 order minimum. Sadly, this is out of stock. But I'm stalking the site until it's replenished.

.

$136 -- The fur collar gives me LIFE

Holiday Hair

By Tenisha Mercer
www.HairNista.Blogspot.com

Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away.

What are you going to do with your natural hair? Whether you're just chilling with the fam, meeting your new boo's parents, or doing something formal, here are some easy styles that will get you through. After all, with turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and desert, who wants to fuss over complicated hair styles.

The styles featured in the videos below are gorgeous!

Sideswept Holiday Style

Alicia James always has gorgeous hair styles, and this sideswept do

Curlformers can be a bit trick and take a little work the night before, but they are perfect for more formal events.

 

 

I like this style too because you can accent it with flowers or holiday themed hair jewelry.

 

 

 

 

12 Years a Slave's Lupita Nyong'o

If you haven't seen 12 Years A Slave, please go. I won't spoil it for you, but it's an excellent movie.

The movie features a beautiful, new and upcoming actress -- Lupita Nyong'o.



Nyong'o at a GQ event - Essence Magazine

You know you're natural when ...

This piece from Huffington Post was hilarious. Can you relate?




Feeling like a human petting zoo whenever someone dares to touch your hair.

Or staring down the person who asks, "Your hair is HOW long when it's straight?"

Doing car stunts just to get to Target before all the other natural hair girls buy up every SheaMoisture, Miss Jessie's or Cantu Shea Butter hair product on sale.

When you get an email that the latest Curlbox has sold out.

Going days (and even weeks) without washing your hair… and still looking fly.

Smiling from ear to ear when you meet a guy who gets it.

Staying up late watching Taren916, Chescaleigh or MsVaughn's hair YouTube tutorials…

... and getting super jealous of Taren916's massive 'Fro, Chescaleigh's topknot or MsVaugh's curl definition.

Waiting for your two-strand twists to dry overnight.

Not going to bed before covering your hair with a satin scarf or bonnet.
Feeling like you've earned a Ph.D. in Natural Haircare because you can explain the difference between a pre-poo and co-wash without even blinking.

Doing the "Beyonce" when your Denman brush just glides through your curls after a deep conditioning treatment.

That moment when you can finally pull your TWA (aka teeny weeny Afro) into a puff hairstyle.

Standing outside in the rain or humidity and dreading the shrinkage that's about to happen.

Not having to give up swimming or working out because you're afraid that your hair will get messed up.

Being uninterested in length checks. As long as your hair is healthy, that's all that really matters, right?


Loving the versatility and freedom of wearing your natural hair however you choose and not having to explain it at all.

Be inspired:

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• Solange

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• Janelle Monae

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• Viola Davis

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• Alicia Keys

  
  

• Esperanza Spalding

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• Tracee Ellis Ross

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• Thandie Newton

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• Shingai Shoniwa

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• Sophie Okonedo

  AFP

• Yaya DaCosta

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• Raven-Symoné

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• Goapele

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• Kelis

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• Kim Coles

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• Jill Scott

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• Lisa Bonet

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• Ledisi

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• Corinne Bailey Rae

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• Diana Ross

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• India Arie

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• Erykah Badu

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• Chrisette Michele

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Lucky Magazine Responds to Criticism

By Tenisha Mercer
www.HairNista.Blogspot.com

Something went wrong -- very wrong -- at Lucky Magazine.

I have a few hunches, but I'm not sure if it was after the shutters of the photographer's camera or at layout (I suspect it was Photoshop gone mad) but the cover of Kerry Washington turned out a frosty pink mess. It was more like, WHO is that?

Complaints flew on the Internet -- and for good reason.

The beautiful women most high fashion magazines never talk about

By Tenisha Mercer
www.HairNista.Blogspot.com

There are days when I want most fashion mags to go to hell.

As much as I crave haute couture fashion, the pages of most fashion magazines are just too whitewashed for me --- devoid of color and ethnicity. In short, I don't see models who look like anything like me, or the tons of 'real people' whom I admire for their beauty.

Source: Refinery29

Oh, a few beautiful folks do slip through the cracks (Naomi and Tyra, for example and even Cindy Crawford with her trademark mole and maybe even a model or two with a gap-toothed smile) with their imperfections or unconventional beauty. But there are overwhelmingly few.

What a nice surprise, then, when I ran across this Refinery29 article that highlights folks most other mags would shun -- the beautiful Albino model Diandra Forrest, who is signed to modeling agencies in France and Berlin; Sarah Gerard's scarred skin from a horrific accident; and Telisha Gibson, whose brown-skinned arms are blotched with flesh white patches of vitiligo.

Kerry Washington on Lucky Magazine Cover -- FAIL!

By Tenisha Mercer
www.HairNista.Blogspot.com

Y'all know I rep #TeamOlivia, err, Kerry Washington. I'm a Gladiator!

I'm glued to the tube, watching Scandal at 10 p.m. on Thursday nights. And I love Washington's classic, feminine yet sexy red carpet ready, always on the money, effortless --  though not styled to death -- looks.

Usually, she gets it right. Every magazine cover or red carpet photo I've seen of her is absolutely flawless. So much so that People Magazine named the 36-year old Emmy-nominated actress the world's "Best-Dressed Woman" in 2013.

So imagine my surprise when I saw Washington on the cover of Lucky Magazine looking a hot, scary mess!

Search for the perfect bun continues

By Tenisha Mercer
Www.HairNista.Blogspot.com

My search for the perfect bun for natural hair ended up a FAIL. I swear my bun -- modeled after Nicole's Natural Hair Top Knot -- was cute on Saturday morning. But by the time my teenagers saw it that afternoon, they said it looked "ratchet."

My thin bun still looked and felt pitiful -- nothing like the lush thick buns I love.

My sickly bun -- look at the gray hair sticking out!

I like the tutorial below, but it's still for straightened hair (I don't have a problem with bunning straightened hair, it's natural hair that I have a problem with).



Front Donut Bun

Best Man Holiday Red Carpet Premiere

By Tenisha Mercer
www.HairNista.Blogspot.com

The red carpet premiere of Best Man Holiday in LA is only the beginning of what is expected to be oen of the most highly-anticipated holiday films -- at least around my way. I love how the actresses who were in the original movie when it debuted in 1999 wore grown and sexy apparel for the star-studded event.

I can't wait until the movie comes out Nov. 15.

Monica Calhoun -- She is STUNNING with natural hair!

Sanaa Lathan

Rachel Aytes

Terence Howard

 

 

 

Regina Hall

Morris Chestnut

Melissa De Sousa

Harold Perrineau and his wife, Brittany

 

 

The Politics of Hair

By Tenisha Mercer
www.HairNista.Blogspot.com

Usually, politics and natural hair don't mix. I mean, political analysts are quick to recommend hairstyles that will supposedly reach a larger audience base. And on-camera or photo hair must be neat, trim and prim. Read: safe.

Natural hair, for the most part, is none f those things, though not always by choice. Well, thank God those "rules" no longer apply after the inauguration party of NYC mayor elect Bill de Blasio on Tuesday night. In fact, natural hair styles were on full display; not a straight hair in sight, unless, if you count Bill's hair.

NYC Mayor Elect Bill de Blasio and his family
Source: Washington Post

Brazilian Blowouts: Would you get one?

By Tenisha Mercer
www.HairNista.Blogspot.com

A lot of naturals were on that Brazilian Blowout  -- a chemical hair straightening process  --bandwagon a few years ago. It offered a naturals' dream -- sleek, straight, not quite natural hair that gradually washed away over time and wasn't permanent.

I even checked out the process on popular natural hair forums and hair boards. Ultimately, I decided against it for a few reasons.

HairSpiration: Updos on Natural Hair

By Tenisha Mercer
www.HairNista.Blogspot.co

These days, I'm all about the updos. Some bobby pins, a good brush, gel or holding liqud of your choice and you're done.

Saw these pics and I just had to share. So FLY!

 

 

 

 

 

ME and my sideswept updo! #BoutThatUpdoLife