NBA star Baron Davis gets clowned for man curls

The Internet has no chill. None. And they will come for you, you hear me?

Folks are going in on ex-NBA star Baron Davis' for his man curls -- a heap of processed, Jherri curl looking, greasy, texturized wash and go tendrils -- that he sported last night while providing  commentary during the NBA finals. 

Forget the game. What about his hair?

Bringing the Jherri curl back?
Actually, I'm not exactly sure what the hairstyle is or how he got it .. regi, please! I need to know because I need to know what NOT to do. The Internet is all in its feelings ... and has produced many a meme.


Now, let me say this: I have no idea who Davis is; I am not a sports person. But I do know this is a HOT. ASS. MESS. And I recognize clowning and bad hairstyle when I see them. And this right here? This is some foolishness.

Why Baron Davis needs new friends


Who authorized this hairstyle?
Who approved this? Cause his stylist should be fired!

This must be rebuked in the name of all things holy, bound by a plastic Jherri Curl cap and Doo Rag,  and sprinkled with an S-Curl and holy water mix.

He must not have a friend in the NBA. Not nan. Eff Drake. He needs new friends. Because friends do not let friends go on national TV looking like this. He went from this:




To this:




I CANNOT!


Let me be the first to say that my wash and gos don't always look on point. My curls funny like that. But for a dude on national TV to rock this.... He's getting clowned because he wore what looks like a curly toupee that is cross between Darryl from Coming to America and Pinky from Friday.
 

Wait. Is this a man weave?


But, yeah. If the Jherri curl comes back, we all know who to blame. 

Natural Hair Pic of the Day

I LOVE this color! Source

Natural Hair Pic of the Day

Look at those curls! -- Source

Curl of View: Are We Obsessed with Curls and Natural Hair?

I saw this natural hair post written by Damn Salon on BGLHOnline and thought it was profound:

"Curls don't come in a jar."

Damn. They said THAT!

You wouldn't know it, though, based on the uber number of curl creams, puddings and gels that are coming on the market. Have you seen the curl aisle at Tarjay lately? It overfloweth with products promising curls. There are so many curl products that even I have a hard time keeping up. Every time I look up, there's another new  product.

Not that it's anyting wrong with that. Companies create products out of demand. We're a few years post- Miss Jessie's, and I can't knock the hustle. There's going to be a shake out of curl products and I'm sure that not everyone will come out on top  -- that's the nature of the hair beast.

But what are our expectations? No product, no matter what it promises or how much it costs, can create what's not already there. Those kinks, coils and naps? Our hair has a natural curl pattern of its own and some of us have textures that are more kinkier, coarser and fluffier than others that may or may not be more likely to curl.

My Curly Story
I've tried my fair share of hair curling products -- too many gels to count, Kinky Curly, Miss Jessie's, etc., all in the quest for the "perfect" curl that would stretch my tightly curled hair. That ain't never gonna happen, because water and my hair = shrinkage.

Haven't seen a curls product -- besides Trader Joe's Nourish & Spa conditoner, which eliminates a good bit of shrinkage in my hair with protective styling -- that could do the trick. And no, I can't use conditioner for wash and go curls. #epicfail.

A Curling Battle?
Maybe there's a product that will give my curls less shrinkage, but I haven't found it yet. And frankly, don't bother to spend the money to find out. But as more girls go natural, I worry that, like me, they'll be searching for that perfect curl product.

No product alone will do it. Puddings, creams, gels, etc. work with the curl you've already got. If your hair is curly, products will accentuate that. No product that I'm aware of can coax a curl that's not there. There was a young lady on YouTube who went through this hour-long ritual of using gel and a comb to get curls (couldn't find the vid). She smoothed, shingled and patted curls for a LOOOONg time in every freakin' section of her hair.

Chile, please! I was tired after watching that. I don't have the time or the patience to even think about doing any of that. Curly hair, for me, is slapping gel in and out the door in 5 minutes and hoping I get most of my hair with gel; no need for long, complicated routines.

Or, if like me, you've seen those "Before" and "After" pics on Miss Jessie's site and wished for the "After" hair. Maybe it happened for you and maybe it didn't, but we've got to love our hair regardless of whether we've got loose ringlets, shrunken curls or no curls at all!

Loving Our Hair
My hair curls easily. But it curls too tight, IMO, because I don't like 90% shrinkage. Now if had nary a curl? I'd probably want curls. It's always like that: One person's challenge is another person's wish. I once had a person who struggled with their wash and gos tell me that they couldn't understand why I liked twist outs so much, because my hair was "naturally curly" and I could do wash and gos with no problem.

Huh?

We all want what we can't have, including when it comes to hair. Some want loose ringlets; other wan't tighter curls. They are all OK!

Does that mean I love my hair any less? Like anything, it's about self acceptance and embrancing what we have. I know what my hair will do and won't do. I know that wearing my hair out in 80 degree, humid temps in GA is asking for frizz. That's my hair, and asking it to do otherwise is like putting a round peg into a square hole; ain't gonna happen. Hell, my hair frizzes in winter here in Georgia!

Unfortunately, I had to Put. Down. The. Gel.  Now, if texture is the look you are going for, there are plenty of options like twist outs, braid outs and bantu knotswhich, quite frankly, suit kinkier, fluffier hair better than finer hair IMO. Kinky, fluffy hair can hold a twistout like nobody's business -- much longer than our finer-haired sisters. The point: Curls aren't our only options.

We can wish, fight, plead and pray. At some point, though, the hair will do what it do; it always wins!

What do you think about the explosion of curl products? Do you think that there are unrealistic expectations about what hair can and cannot achieve?

HairSpiration: Esperanza Spalding

 

 



Esperanza without her fro at a recent CD promotion



 

Esperanza Spalding emerged onto the music scene a few years ago with her trademark fro -- and we've been in hair love ever since!

A Grammy nominated bassist, Spalding is known as much for her beautiful fluffy coils as for her music -- which she's played for the Obamas at the White House. She has flaunted a variety of natural hairstyles -- her mile-high fro at the Academy Awards, a chic updo at the Academy Awards last year, pinned back styles and dense, curly fros.

Now, I'm not one to tell people what styles they should wear with their own hair, but Spalding was recently sported wearing what looks like a wash-and-go. I like it, but I like her fro better! Since her big, fluffy cloud of curls is her trademark, I'm not used to seeing her without them.

This look is going to take some getting used to.

 



Esperanza with her fro at the Academy Awards



What do you think? Fro or no?












CurlCrush

Love her curls!


What products, techniques or methods do you use for curl definition?

The Battle of Shrinkage

Dry twist and curl on damp hair with Dax

HairNistas, it's been a week of record 80 degrees in ATL -- in March!

Those warm temps, combined with the good bit of rain/humidity, have wrecked havoc on my hair regimen. I know, I'm in the South, but we jumped right from a mild winter to a hot spring -- and my hair hasn't gotten the chance to catch up! I had hoped to wear my hair straight for a while, but now I'm really not sure if that's going to happen --- though I desperately need my ends trimmed.

I did a light blow dry and wore my hair in dry twist and curls for a few weeks, with good results. That style looked good -- until I put glycerine on it (a mistake) and spent one too many day in rainy weather. Natural or not, my hair still shrinks in rain and especially in humid conditions. My shoulder/collar bone length hair when fully stretched shrank to frizzy ear length hair and I'd had enough!

Back to the Wash and Go, I Go

Wash and go on previously flat ironed hair. Can I get this hair back, please?

Went back to my old standby -- the wash and go. Been wearing a wash and go for a week, even tried the Curly Girl method with a "Mixed Chicks" version of leave-in from Sally's that I had lying around for a while. #fail. This is why I remembered I didn't like it: It was cute when wet, but flaked, shrunk, tangled and just didn't act right in my hair once it dried.

If this is what my hair is going to look like this spring, I may have to make some changes. ATL has its share of humid temps -- not dry heat that plays well with straighter styles. And I've got an entire spring/summer to get through. Then, I think, what's wrong with shrinkage? Why don't I like it?

Embracing My Shrinkage

Maybe if my hair was waist length and shrank to shoulder length, that wouldn't be as much of an issue for me. But I'm not there yet, and it's going to take a few years of aggressive growth for me to get shrinkage results like that. 

Even my wash and gos shrink, more than they used to, IMO. I had APL hair during my last flat iron in December and neck length hair when wet products are applied.) Clearly, I've got some self reflection to do and maybe I should just embrace the shrinkage and work with my hair, not against it.

Giving the CG Method a Second, Third, Fourth Chance

I'd really, really like to make the curly girl method my go-to style this spring, but I'm not sure if it's going to work. Maybe it's the conditioner I'm using, so I've got Tresemme Naturals and Trader Joe condish on my shopping list for this weekend.

I'm even thinking about buying some Kinky Kurly Knot Today leave-in and mixing it with some aloe vera juice and oils using the KimmayTube method. One thing's clear: I've got some experimenting to do this weekend.

Hairnistas, who live in humid climates, what do you? What styles do you plan to wear this summer/spring?

HairNista Challenge: No Gel 7-Day Challenge

Gel insecurity? Not sure if I'm feeling this? I thought it looked cute.

My name is Tenisha. And I am addicted to hair gel.

Gel is my creamy, err, goey crack? It's just something about how my hair hangs with gel.I've never got the knack of the tightly curly method of just using conditioner. I NEED something more in my hair than just conditioner to make it hang right.

I use conditioner (lately, Cantu Shea Butter) + Doo Gro under it, but I also use gel. Typically, I'm not able to get 3-4 day hair, either, so I at least have to wet it every morning. I'm so bad with it that my friend says I use WAY too much of it, LOL.

Unless my hair is flat ironed, it's rare for me to go two weeks without using gel -- usually EcoStyler with Argan oil, but before that it was Sallys Proclaim Activator gel. My hair just don't feel right unless I add just a teeny, tiny bit, at least to the front.

All of this worked fine until this summer, when my hair really began to thicken up -- especially the crown. EcoStyler started tangling my hear. I swore it off and began using Proclaim again. But I couldn't stand the feel of Proclaim in my hands, so back to EcoStyler we went.

Sigh. I just don't know if this recent thickness and length will allow me to wear a wash and go. I swore off Wash and Gos not even a few weeks ago, but they are my go-to style that I KNOW will turn out  halfway decent (my twist outs are often a #fail).

Curls, Curls, Curls
I think I have a curl obsession, no? I know. I know. In previous posts, I said I would stop using gel, because of knots. Well, I backslid... and started using it again. This week, I slapped a pound of it on the back of my hair. And let's not even talk about my damaged crown (found a few more tangles there, too).

Wouldn't you know it that some of the back of my hair, where the length is, has tangled. Can you say setback? I don't have patience to remove masses of tangled knots, so I snipped snipped two knots out this morning. I think I lost a good 3 inches, and I don't want to think about how long it took me to grow that -- nor how long it will take to grow back!

Major setback, HairNistas, or at least I feel like it's a major setback. My crown is noticeably shorter, and now the same issues are affecting my length.

That's why I'm committing to not using gel. I'm starting small -- one week, no gel. Let's be real. I'll probably have to replace it. Thinking about using Shea Moisture's Curl Milk or an old fave -- Hawaiian Silky 6 in 1 or Carefree Gold activator. Something, anything that won't tangle my hair, AND that's not made with gel.

Can I do it?

Yesterday, I put gel on it, but it was in an updo and slightly stretched. This morning, I fluffed my wash and go and got rare second day hair. Tonight, I think I'm going to detangle it and set it on curl formers for a Corinne Bailey Rae inspired curly do or blow it out because I'm tired of knots. Other than avoiding gel like the plague, I think I'm also going to up my detangling routine.

Lovin' this updo, but why do I ALWAYS cut by head off in pics?

Admittedly, I'd gotten away from it, after reading one too many blog posts about naturals who finger comb or don't detangle at all. I thinks my hair can still manage fingers, but I definitely need a comb!

What non-gel products do you think I should use for a wash and go? Does gel tangle your hair? Has this happened to you?

It's My Birthday!

It's my birthday, HairNistas! *singing Happy Birthday Stevie Wonder style*

Today, I'm gonna get my shop on!

My hair? Umm, yeah. It's back in a wash and go. Sigh.

What can I say? It's my go-to style. I'm taking a break from the wig, after I noticed my hear thinning at the top and the sides where the wig clips are. After a tangling setback -- I lost length on the sides after I had to cut out some strands with mid-hair tangles and tangles on the end on sides and in the thicker crown of my hair.

I can attribute that largely to the Silicon Mix with protein deep conditioner. Something told me not to get it, but my regular non-protein mix was sold-out. Made my hair tangle something fierce. May get it pressed out professionally this weekend, for a birthday treat.

The Hair Goes On ...

After a few weeks of wearing the La Jay wig, I'm back to wearing, *drum roll, please* my own hair.

No particular reason, just wanted a change. That, and I missed the feel of my own hair. The reactions to my wig have been great. Got lots of, "I like your hair," "awesome hair," and "love your hair like that," but it still took some getting used to.

My hair was so "big" that a lot of times, it would get stuck in branches and other stuff because since it wasn't my hair, I don't think I really knew how big it was. Was almost like it was another object slapped on top of my head. One day last week on a crowded elevator a white dude said, "Wow, that is some hair!" Wasn't sure what the hell he meant by that, but I took it as a compliment and said, "Yes, it is, thank you! and kept it moving.

Meh.

Went clubbin' with the hubs to celebrate our 16th anniversary and he told me the next morning that I kept hitting him all night with my hair, LOL! Girls were laughing at us, but I was having a good time and didn't notice, nor did I care.

Today, I did a new wash-and-go technique and I'm proud to say I achieved 2nd day hair for, like, the first time EVA!

Here's what I did:

1. Co-washed with Herbal Essence Hydration
2. Sealed wet hair with Dax (yes, I said, Dax, HairNistas!)
3. Applied Eco Styler with Argan oil
4. At night, I put my hair in five or six stretchable hair bands and twisted with no product.
5. Fluffed the next morning

This is big for me, because I've never, ever had 2nd day wash and gos. The Dax made my hair super soft and moisturized, an idea I got after reading it on CurlyNikki.com. I've used Vaseline to seal before, but I'm heavy handed at times and my hair can look dull if I'm not careful and apply too much.

Overall, I like it. Seems like the Dax stretched my hair a bit and I got less shrinkage. This morning. doing my hair was easy. I put a little gel on my bang, since I like it curly, fluffed, and I was done in less than 5 minutes.

I've never used Dax on my hair, so I was a bit skeptical. As a kid, my grandmother always used Ultra Sheen and Bergamont grease. My favorite conditioner is Silicon Mix -- which is chock full of mineral oil. And it does wonders on my hair. I figure my hair will tell me if grease is bad -- despite the doomsday warnings about crispy, dry, crunch hair from those in the anti-grease movement.

The real test will be using it on my daughters' hair, because it's only been a few years since I completely stopped using grease on their hair, in favor of moisturizers. You know, I'm all all about doing me and doing what works for me.

So far, so good. Think I'll see how many days I can wear it like this.

Oh, and about the wig. I'll probably still wear it _- heck, I may put it on tomorrow if it's a bad hair day -- but I'll probably only wear it for a week or so at a time. I'm due for a trim, so I'll probably get it professionally straightened in the next week or so.

Am I the only one who's scared to let a stylist go near my hair? I don't have a regular stylist, and to be quite honest with you, the only person who I trust 100% with my strands is the woman who did my hair for 15 years, since I was 12, back at home in Detroit. Unfortunately, I lost touch with her and don't know if she's even still in the business.

If you're out there, Dorothy, I miss you. She labored with me through all my hair iterations -- relaxed, natural, damaged from relaxers, cried with me when I lost a good 4-5 inches of hair when I didn't detangle it and wore it in a gelled ponytail for months when my kids were babies, refused to cut all of my hair off when I wanted to wear it short, asked me what the hell I was doing when I tried to get the curly look by wearing Creme of Nature shampoo (don't ask, but I didn't know about co-washing in the early 1990s, LOL)... You get the idea.

You were a "natural" stylist before natural stylists were in.

So, What is HairNista.com?

Do a quick search of "Natural Black Hair" or "Black Hair" on Google and you'll unearth thousands of sites -- everything from those hawking vitamin supplements purported to grow black hair quickly to Internet stalwarts such as CurlyNikki.com and LongHairCareForum.com (My blog idols, and I want this blog to be like theirs when it grows up)!

Enter HairNista.com -- where hair and fashion meet. It's my hope that we'll be a community and a resource to the hair community -- a place where everyone of every hair texture is welcome. Hair and fashion are my two passions, and I decided that it was time that I quit talking about the types of blogs and I wanted to see and start my own.

A bit about me: I'm a professional blogger who's written lots of blogs for others -- everything from urologists, retail and apartment communities to DNA research companies. And, while I had written plenty of stuff for others, I hadn't written a whole lot about my passions - save for a few blogs that lost steam over the years, but that's another story!

Sit back, enjoy and of course, comment on my blogs. I'd love to hear what you think of HairNista.com!