So would you actually go here for braids?

So ..... ummm yeah. Raise your hand if you would actually get your braids done here?

Exactly what I thought ... Chile, BYE! Place looks all kinds of sketch. How can I be sure you aren't going to use hair from a Cabbage Patch Doll in my head if there is no sign on the front door? 

Photo credit: Joel Kurth

Now, Oumy might be able to lay my braids down like nobody's business. She might be able to beat these edges down like the Gawds, but I will never find out, I swear

Braids on Eight Mile Road 

Oumy's is on Eight Mile Road near Kelly in Detroit. And as much of a born and raised Detroit homegirl as I am, this ain't happenin'. 

Some places you just don't go.

The only sign on the front of the building looks like it saw the wrong end of a blow torch. The sign on the side of the building isn't much better: Looks like somebody painted it using a Dollar store paint brush and leftover mistake paint from The Home Depot.

I cannot with you today, Oumy!

Now, I'm fully aware of the term 'hole in the wall.' But that does not mean that I would patronize such an establishment and trust it with my crown and glory! You know how much time I spent on this hair? 

No ma'am and no sir! 

Just why?
If it all goes left and you leave me #teamnoedges, I need to know how to ... ahem ... get recourse, if you will. How do I find you? Especially when the front door is boarded up with a piece of plywood and appears to be padlocked?

Curb appeal much? And just who is 'Oumy'? Is this a government name? Is the number even legit? Bye, Oumy, whomever you are! 

E'rybody can't play in your head

I'd rather have a crooked neck sitting at someone's kitchen table while they're doing my braids, with them eating Chinese, watching Judge Greg Mathis and Maury and running after their bad ass kids, than mess around with Oumy. Or have my head dangling under a kitchen faucet while getting my hair scrubbed with Dawn dish soap, than deal with Oumy's foolishness.

Because, you see, I know what to expect from the hood beautician. Hey, a girl's gotta save coins somehow. But Oumy? I am really not so sure about any of this. Braids and taxes are not exactly complimentary. 

Will be edges be snatched and my taxes done?
Can I pay for my Sengelese twists using my tax refund?

Must I give Oumy my W-2s to get some zillions?

IJS. These are all things you must know.

Hair Resolutions for 2014

By Tenisha Mercer
www.HairNista.Blogspot.com

What's on your hair resolutions list for 2014?

More deep conditioners?
Less trims?
Less heat?
More detangling?

What are your hair goals?

Natural Hair Pic of the Day

Moore at Hart Plaza at the Detroit River  Source

Source

This is Amber Renee Moore,  a dancer and graduate of the dance program at Wayne State University (ALUMNI, whoot!) in Detroit.  Moore, a Detroit native, has studied with Urban Bush Women and choreographer Sonya Tayeh, of So You Think You Can Dance? 

How Do You Handle Bad Natural Hair Days?

Bad Natural Hair Days?

There are days. And then there are bad natural hair days; we all have them.

Usually, though, they are more "worse" than we think they are: That twistout is a FAIL, you wake up with a damp braidout that is frizzy, or your curls just don't hang right for nothing. You know, those days that leave you thinking, WTF?!

You can usually chalk it up to a lot of things -- product failure, application failure, weather or sometimes a combination of all three.

I deal with my bad hair days by dressing fly, wearing my mandatory earrings and jewelry, make up and perhaps a fly hair accessory (bobby pins for a quick updo, a cute headband or a flower can work wonders).

A bad hair day doesn't have to stop you from feeling your best. Sure, you might be seething about your hair inside, but the whole world doesn't have to know! (Definitely sometimes easier said than done!) Rock your fly self on -- bad hair day and all.

How do you handle bad hair days?

Hair That Binds

Diana Ross Hair!

There are a lot of times when we get the "hair" questions -- usually from someone who isn't a person of color.

Usually, I'm cool with it, as long as it's not an offhanded put down and a genuine question. How do you learn if you don't ask? I figure that if you don't have friends with someone with hair that's different than yours, how do you really know each other's hair routines?

I was the hair whisperer the other day, when the convo drifted to my hair. My friend is Jewish. I wore a bangin' twist out and she called my hair Diana Ross hair. I'll take that as a compliment!

But ... I told her that I think Diana has a wig/weave; I like her daughter, Tracy's hair, a lot more, LOL!

She dished her hair routine -- wash every other day -- and I told her mine (co-washes, Black hair is often dryer, etc.).

Have you ever shared your hair routines with someone with hair different than yours?

What Will You Do in 2012?

2011 is almost an afterthought.

And, in that spirit, I thought we'd reminisce about the things we did in 2011 and our goals for the coming year. Some of these goals came about from good old fashioned experience (the best teacher), while others are new on the to-do list for the year.

I'm a big believer in writing what I want down, so the same rule applies with hair.

Goal: To wear my hair stretched more
Wearing curly hair is a lovely thing. What's not so lovely, though, are the massive tangles and mid-hair shaft knots I get whenever I wear it curly with gel -- especially in the crown -- for a long period of time.

My crown has suffered major trauma as a result. I'm not sure how to remedy that, with the exception of more stretched hair via blowouts, twist outs etc. On a good note, I finally got twist outs and flat twists right this year, though they are still hit-or-miss styles for me.

Goal: Henna
I used to be a henna head, but haven't touched the stuff in more than a year. Just haven't felt like dealing with the mess. But I need to get over that ish, real quick. When I think about my hair when I wore it, I had fewer problems with tangled hair. Perhaps because of the protein? Maybe it's time to revisit it.

Source

Goal: Growth
I'm not the obsessesed with growth type; I don't slap weird ish -- whale sperms, Monistat, Nizoral and anything else weird that pops up every so often on blogs and hairforums -- on my hair. I've always thought my hair grows relatively fast and, I even had some noticeable growth spurts this year.

For the record, the only thing I use is Chlorella (not for hair growth per se, but these pills keep my eczema in check). But, I do want to see what kind of lengths I can achieve this year. I've lost a little bit on the sides due to tangles, so let's see what happens on this length journey in 2012!

Goal: HairNista.com
This has nothing to do with hair, but I think it's just as important. In October, I launched HairNista.com. I've been pleasantly pleased, though there have been plenty of times I've wondered: 'Am I talking to only myself?'  Not a whole, whole lot of feedback.

Happened to see some stats for HairNista.com and I saw that it's gone international: After the U.S., Russia was the country with the most site visits (are there a lot of naturals in Russia? Who knew!), followed by the U.K, Germany, Canada, Latvia and finally, Denmark.

I've still got a lot of work to do on HairNista, but this kind of traffic has me grinning from ear to ear. So, my plans are to increase posting -- up from the 3 times a week I now post, and add more videos, product reviews, and more about the products I use.

Overall, though, I want to make HairNista more of a community for those who love hair and fashion, as well as add more fashion posts and vids/photos of my fashion.

There, I'm done with my goals. Let's do a mid-year check in about 4 month to see where I'm at, and then tweak as necessary. How about you? What are your goals for 2012?