Our Natural Kids Celebrates 3 Years!!

Happy 3rd Anniversary to Our Natural Kids!!!

Since 2010 Our Natural Kids has done its part to promote natural hair health style and maintenance kids online!  We have done this by providing a safe and private social networking platform where like minded parents can share information regarding natural hair care for children.  Since 2010 our membership has grown to 1900+ members!  We have gained two very knowledgeable professional contributors:  Jamesha Bazemore of Natural Hair Care for Children and Keianna Johnson of Chi Chi Sophistication.  We have also partnered with Afro Puffs & Ponytails - A wonderful organization that celebrates black girls.  We have received sponsorship from the following companies: JessiCurl, OBI Natural Hair Care, Beauty & Glory by Tarece, Pura Body Naturals, SofNfree, Mixed Chicks, Dr. Kari Williams and Pretty Brown Girl
Our Natural Kids has also been included as sponsors for: Chocolate Chat Atlanta III and I Love Me Naturally Fall 2012. We now have members in EVERY state and in 10 Countries!

Speaking about Our Natural Kids at Chocolate Chat III

                 The LittleChick and I giving away a prize at 
                             I Love Me Naturally Fall 2012

We have worked very hard to bring the natural hair community what it needs and we appreciate each and every one of our members.  We are so excited about 2013 and have already embarked on some new endeavors with more to come.  We are pleased to be working with Julia Davis of TruChatOnline.com for the next "I Love Me..." Event (02/28/2013).  Stay tuned as we GROW!!  For more on Our Natural Kids please join us today at www.OurNaturalKids.ning.com We would LOVE to have you!!

Thanks for your support and thanks for reading!

Peace

Gorgeous Atlanta Natural (GAN) Swap N Shop

Our last meet up (5/15/10) was a Product Swap and I had such a great time! Got to hang out with my Fav Natural Sistahs PerfectlyPretty, Jinx, Monicajoi aka Knapsgirl. I also got to see Mahoganyknots and various other GORGEOUS ATLANTA NATURALS. It was a blast and I hope that everyone had as much fun as I did! This was my 1st Product Swap so I was unsure how it would work. Fortunately for us, Jinx had everything under control. For each item that you brought you got a ticket, when your ticket # is called you get to go SHOPPING! And by that i mean shopping for products. I would say there were about 30-35 Naturals in attendance, everyone came with armloads of stuff so this gave us a LOT to choose from. I came in with various items from my stash. Not things that i necessarily hated, but things that I either have in abundance or that just did not work for me.

Included in what I brought was Mixed Chicks Shampoo & Leave In Conditioner, Kinky Curly Curling Custard, Biolage By Matrix Shampoo & Conditioner, CoolAulin Conditioner by Lush to name a few.

Here is what I came out with after the Swap!

BRAND NEW Unopened jar of Taliah Waajid's Kinky Wavy Natural Herbal Style & Shine.

BRAND NEW Unopened jar of Carol's Daughter Mimosa Hair Honey.

....Very Gently Used Items

GioVanni Smooth As Silk Deeper Moisture Conditioner
Taliah Waajid's Crinkles & Curls
Carol's Daughter Hair Balm

Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Anti Humidity Smoothing Milk
Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Leave In Conditioning Cream

Darcy's Botanical Coconut & Cupuacu Butter
Darcy's Botanical Herbal Tea Leave In Spritz

PLUS Heaping Spoonfuls of Raw Unrefined Shea Butter that PerfectlyPretty shared with me (Thanks Sis!)

There were also vendors at this event!

KnapsGirl.Com was there. I STOCKED UP on Lil Better Butter. Don't think that I am playing when I say I love this stuff, cause I AM Not playin! This is the BEST butter that I have found for hair AND body. It is used by my entire family. Its subtly fragrant, perfectly blended, not too oily and full of natural ingredients. I LOVE this stuff! http://www.etsy.com/shop/knapsgirl


She also had the cutest little hairpins with her precious "Knaps" characters on them. This one sits neatly in my LittleChicks hair.


Tesa & Catrese were there with their custom Hair accesories. I got 2 lovely hair flowers.




Another vendor, whose name I didnt get, had some hot-to-death jewelry. I got 2 pairs of earrings.

...And a funky ring that I already adore!

Swap N Shops are a FANTASTIC way to try new products without spending a lot of cash. It is also a fun way to get together with like minded sistahs. If you havent had one yet in your area you definately should.

Gorgeous Atlanta Natural Meet Ups are always a blast! Check them out on FaceBook for more info.

Thanks for reading :-)

The Bronner Bros 2010 Mid Winter International Hair & Beauty Show - Atlanta

I had a GREAT time at this event!! This is the 1st hairshow that I have ever attended and I couldnt have picked a better place to lose my hairshow virginity than the The Bronner Bros 2010 Mid Winter International Hair & Beauty Show. It was very crowded so it's good that everything was super organized. This show runs from February 20th - February 23rd. If you are into hair and in ATL this weekend you might want to check it out. I chose the $40 1 day Exhibit Hall Pass. (There are many other pricing options available, including 3 day VIP passes. See the website for details http://bit.ly/dfigm4 ) The Exhibit Hall Pass gives you access to over 300 displays of the best (or worst) that Black Hair Care has to offer. Being a Natural Chick, a lot of it did not pertain to me, but it was still fun to look & listen. I loved the many mini productions that took place from aisle to aisle. The lights, the action, the drama... it was good fun.

Even though this show did not cater to Naturals, I was able to bump into a few well known Natural Hair Product Vendors such as:

Wendy & Kim, the creators of Mixed Chicks. These 2 Chicks were super cool. It was a pleasure to meet them. It was even more cool that Kim knew who I was when I got there! (These girls really do watch our YouTube videos regarding their products!) It blew me away that she was just as excited to meet me as I was to meet her!

I spent some time @ The Taliah Waajid booth, and got a fantastic deal on some 32 oz bulk size products that I use already and some that I have yet to try. These sizes were being sold 2 for $30. I have been a fan of the TW Products for awhile, so this made me very happy and I stocked up. I got 2 of the 32 oz Herbal Condish, 1 - 32 oz Protective Mist Bodifier and 1 - 32 oz Total Body Shampoo. I have never tried the Protective Mist Bodifier before so looking forward to that. I also learned about TW's New Kinky, Wavy, Natural Kids line. (info regarding this line coming soon to Our Natural Kids - join today so you wont miss it! http://ournaturalkids.ning.com/ ) The folks running this booth were very informative and gave so many compliments regarding my natural hair, that i wanted to stay with them and never leave. Check out my review of TW Products http://bit.ly/6bEzKG

I got the deal of the century @ The Jane Carter Solution Booth. I have been wanting to try these products for awhile, so being able to get the full size 8 oz bottles for $5 bucks a piece motivates me :-) Stay tuned to my YouTube Channel for a review ( http://bit.ly/5NZLg1 ) Here is what I got:

4 oz Nourish & Shine
8 oz Revitalizing Leave In Condish
8 oz Hydrating Invigorating Shampoo - (SLS FREE) **New
8 oz Nutrient Replenishing Conditioner

I really liked the fact that Clairol used this beautiful Natural haired model during the exhibition for their Beautiful Collection.

Unfortunately I could not find any White Shea butter, every vendor that I saw only had the yellow kind.

These really cool earrings caught my eye... Thank you Earring Lady http://www.myspace.com/robynsearrings

It was a great way to spend a few hours, and I'd say it was worth it. Shouts out to my hubby for going with me and carrying all of my stuff :-) If you went tell me what you thought of it.

Can't wait to attend the Natural Hair Show in April 2010!!

Thanks for reading!!

Peace,
The SistahChick

The SistahChick's YouTube Channel!

I am sure that I have made reference to my YouTube Channel before, but please allow me to formerly introduce it to you. In April 2009, I decided that I would like to chronicle my Natural hair journey among other things in a way that documented as well as expressed the real me, doin what I do best and thats running my mouth! LOL. So I set up a YouTube Channel and the rest is history. By joining all of the very knowledgeable ladies of the YouTube Natural Hair Movement not only have i made some really cool friends, but I have also gotten and given some truly wonderful advice. Even though I decided to go Natural and BC'd back in 2006, I had never actually gotten to know my tresses very well, and was limited to simple Puff with Headband styles. I knew nothing about properly moisturizing, curl defining, conditioning...none of that. It was through YouTube that I learned how to properly care for, style and pamper my gorgeous 4a- 4b hair. I continue to learn daily and share knowledge as I go. As you will see, I have gotten my entire family involved in my journey and we are having lots of fun. Its been especially exciting for me and my little girl who is affectionately referred to as "The LittleChick". My decision to go Natural has opened up the door to so many things, and even led me to quit smoking! (I have been nicotene free, since June 19, 2009!!! - Check out the Freedom Series below!) Well enough with the intro... see for yourself :-) Below are several links. I hope you enjoy!

This link will take you directly to my channel, The SistahChick's Spot. Here you can view all of my videos, playlists, favorites, and also check out my friends & subscribers lists plus other need to know info!
http://bit.ly/5NZLg1

I have taken the care to categorize some of the videos that I have made into playlists (videos grouped together by topic)

Fierce 'Do's' & Smokin Hot HairStyles
Here you will see a variety of seriously HOT Natural hairstyles!!
http://bit.ly/8MccLv

Methods & Techniques
Here are some tried and true Methods and Techniques!!
http://bit.ly/4Lctvs

Natural HairCare - Product Reviews
I have tried many products during my journey and will try many more, this link will play a list of the video reviews for some of my favs!
(Remember, I am not a professional, so all of the opinions given are specific to my own personal experiences!!)
http://bit.ly/8BRqm9

Freedom - Journey to Be Smoke Free
My Freedom Series!! Nicotine Addiction is serious and quitting smoking is not easy. Follow my journey to be SmokeFree!
http://bit.ly/6wXunt

LittleChick Hair Maintenance
This is our newest series. It chronicles my daughters haircare & maintenance
http://bit.ly/5KH2MN

There are several other videos posted for your viewing pleasure. Please, check them out & let me know what you think. I also take requests, so if you have a question or an idea that you would like to see as it pertains to Natural Hair Care, etc. Please feel free to send me an e-mail to: TheSistahCafe@gmail.com. All ideas will be considered.

I plan to really expand my horizons in 2010 with vids demonstrating the preparations of some of my fav recipes and also on ideas for redecorating on a budget. Please subscribe & Stay Tuned

I appreciate, as always, that you took the time to read this :-)

Peace,
The SistahChick

It's 2010... HapPy New Year!!

What A Year!! Can I give you some keywords to sum up my 2009? (How is that for proving that I spend way too much time on the Internet?)

The SistahChicks 2009 KeyWords

KIDS, Family, Home, Obama, Barack & Michelle, Michael Jackson, SmokeFree, The SistahChick, YouTube, Natural Hair, Tiger Woods, Carols Daughter, Mixed Chicks, Twitter, Marriage, Shea Butter, Oyin Handmade, HealthCare, OHIO, The Colts, Student Loans, OPRAH, Paula Deen, Success, The Neelys, Finances, Dreams, Admiration, goals, Positivity, PEACE

I'd say that '09 was a good year. I am not one to make resolutions, besides who ever keeps them anyway? I will try, as always, to exercize more. I will attempt to explore my spirituality more. Thats it. I started this blog about a year ago to learn to express more freely through my writing. I wouldnt say that I was 100% effective in doing so, but I will try more in the upcoming year. Click the link below my Afro below to see 2009 - A Year Review. Please enjoy the Montage!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcvRJv0xFek

Thanks for Reading and HapPy 2010!!