Oprah Winfrey has done a lot of things, but surprisingly there's atleast one thing that even she hasn't accomplished. To date, Oprah Winfrey has never made an appearance at Essence Fest, the nation's largest gathering of African American women. This weekend, history will be made as one of the most prominent entrepreneurs, journalists and philanthropists, not only in our community, but the world will make a very special appearance. According to Essence, Oprah is slated to make a guest appearance this Saturday at 4p.m. at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.
"Winfrey will join an impressive list of speakers, including T.D. Jakes, Ava DuVernay, Rev. Al Sharpton, Misty Copeland and Tyra Banks. Also taking the ESSENCE Empowerment Experience stage will be Phaedra Parks, Cookie Johnson, actress Patina Miller and the cast of The Real, among others." While there are little details available about what Oprah's appearance will intel, if you happen to be at Essence Fest this year, you can find additional information here.
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Mike "Orie" Mosley is a freelance writer/photographer and cultural advocate from St. Louis. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Arts, Entertainment & Media Management from Columbia College Chicago and a Masters in Higher Education Administration from LSU. He is also the co-founder of music and culture website http://ift.tt/1QXC23X. In his spare time, he's probably listening to hip hop & neo soul music, hitting up brunch or caught up in deep conversations about Black music. You can follow him on Twitter @mike_orie or on Instagram @mikeorie.
from Curly Nikki | Natural Hair Care http://ift.tt/299c8cQ
Black Girls Rock! founder Beverly Bond is publishing a book celebrating Black women. The book is titled, Black Girls Rock!: Celebrating the Power, Beauty and Brilliance of Black Women. According to a statement released by Bond,the book will “combine powerful photography with inspirational advice, original poetry, and affirmations to showcase the complexity, dynamism, achievements and diverse cultural traditions of Black women from around the world.” The book will be published with Atria Publishing Group's imprint, 37 INK and is expected to release in the Fall of 2017.
Bond founded Black Girls Rock! in 2006, and in 2010 debuted what has now become its annual signature event celebrating Black women. “This book will affirm, elevate, and celebrate the unique narratives and rich experiences of Black women and girls around the world for generations to come,” says Bond. At the age of 17 she moved to New York to pursue a career as a model, eventually working with brands such as Guess, Diesel Jeans, Nike and Nordstroms. Her passion for record collecting would land her a career as a DJ. She would start out DJing in local clubs but in just a year grow to become one of New York's hottest DJ's.
Black Girls Rock! still remains a very prominent force in the positive promotion, celebration and congregation of Black women in one space to acknowledge their accomplishments. In a time where Black women aren't appreciated to their fullness, Bond's platform offers a home. Earlier this year, Black Girls Rock! celebrated its 10th anniversary. We heard speeches from the likes of Rihanna, Amandla Stenberg, and several others as they poured their hearts out about their experiences. Beverly Bond has launched a platform that has affected millions around the world, and her book may do the same. "From millennials to baby boomers and beyond, her book is going to help our communities affirm and heal. I think of it as an I Dream A World for our time,"says 37 INK publisher Dawn Davis. Stay tuned for more info on the release.
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Mike "Orie" Mosley is a freelance writer/photographer and cultural advocate from St. Louis. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Arts, Entertainment & Media Management from Columbia College Chicago and a Masters in Higher Education Administration from LSU. He is also the co-founder of music and culture website http://ift.tt/1QXC23X. In his spare time, he's probably listening to hip hop & neo soul music, hitting up brunch or caught up in deep conversations about Black music. You can follow him on Twitter @mike_orie or on Instagram @mikeorie.
from Curly Nikki | Natural Hair Care http://ift.tt/29hevhl
After successful events in both LA and Chicago, the Can _____ Kick It? brand is headed to New Orleans for Essence Fest. The traveling day party is a celebration of Black millennials: from traditional 9-5ers to artists. Regardless or your background, education or income, their is no hierarchy, but rather a community of us. Can NOLA Kick It? will make its first appearance this Sunday, July 3rd at Handsome Willy's, closing out Essence Fest weekend.
While Chicago and LA have included bottomless mimosas, we've decided to switch it up in NOLA. If you've ever been to Handsome Willy's in New Orleans, you know them for their infamous Handsome Juice. The party starts at 4pm and goes until we get tired of dancing. Advanced tickets are $10 online and we've got $5 handsome juice, margaritas and $8 chicken & waffles. If you're still not sold, below is just a small taste of Chicago.
Mike "Orie" Mosley is a freelance writer/photographer and cultural advocate from St. Louis. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Arts, Entertainment & Media Management from Columbia College Chicago and a Masters in Higher Education Administration from LSU. He is also the co-founder of music and culture website http://ift.tt/1QXC23X. In his spare time, he's probably listening to hip hop & neo soul music, hitting up brunch or caught up in deep conversations about Black music. You can follow him on Twitter @mike_orie or on Instagram @mikeorie.
from Curly Nikki | Natural Hair Care http://ift.tt/29umdR9
So I was looking for a new simple yet fun hairstyle to wear for a couple days and after searching Instagram and Pinterest I ran across Goddess Braids.
Now there are so many different ways to rock the style in general and it pretty much seems that everyone has placed their own unique spin on it. Some people do flat twists while others do french braids. It just all depends on what the wearer prefers.
I chose to do 2 french braids with a slanted part.
Step 1: Parted my hair on a slant so that one side would have more hair than the other. Then I clamped one of the sections to keep it out of the way.
Step 2: Applied moisturizer to section and detangled thoroughly with denman brush.
Step 3: Opened pack of kanekalon hair. Took the entire pack of hair and while tightly holding my hand about about 6 inches from the very end of the bundle, I thenbegan to gently pull a couple strands at a time so that the end of the bundle was no longer blunt and equal in length but more frayed in appearance and pulled to various lengths.
Step 4: I detangled the braiding hair with brush.
Step 5: I parted a small section about 1 inch in width and length then split the bundle of hair into two parts. One part should be a 1/3 of the bundle and the other should be 2/3 of the bundle.
Step 6: Took the piece that was a 1/3 and looped it around the piece that was 2/3 then pulled tightly.
Step 7: Placed prepared extension hair underneath natural hair at the front of my head and began braiding like I was attaching a box braid.
Step 8: Once secure, continued braiding until I reached the nape of my neck and then clamped the braid so it wouldn’t unravel.
Step 9: Repeated on opposite side
Step 10: Joined the two braids together and began braiding into one big braid. ( If you want additional thickness you can add in more extension hair)
Step 11: Took a significant amount of gel and smoothed down sides leading up to each braid. Then secured with a silk scarf and allowed to dry.
Do you rock Goddess Braids? How do you do yours?
from Curly Nikki | Natural Hair Care http://ift.tt/1t4YMT7
Getting healthy. It’s an admirable, enviable endeavor, you think. In fact, it’s what you’ve wanted, maybe desperately, for a long time. And then you came across Primal. You’ve been convinced for a while now that it’s a good guideline for how to live—reading the blog, maybe trying a Primal-friendly meal now and then. You’ve even read a book (or cookbook)—or two. You have the knowledge. You have the interest. Maybe you even feel a fire lit under you by a recent diagnosis, an additional medication, or an added 10, 20, or 50 pounds. The next logical step would be to put a Primal plan into action, right? Take it on, make it happen. Change your life for the inconceivable better. But, for many of us, that’s where fear rushes in to gum up the whole process.
It isn’t that fear is an unnatural emotion. It’s one of the key primal instincts. What, after all, could be more steeped in clear evolutionary purpose? Fear is what’s enabled survival for eons. But no one is facing down a large-fanged predator here as they consider retooling their health. There’s no inter-band skirmishes to charge into, no earthquakes convulsing beneath one’s feet. There’s not even a precipitous cliff—at least not a literal one.
Regardless of the evidence, and all the positives to be gained, for some of us fear is still the loudest voice in the room. And it can immobilize us. It can keep us locked in a way of life and a condition of health in which we have no real interest in staying.
Sure, sometimes there are genuine logistical concerns that get in the way of pursuing our health goals. But when the legitimate considerations are covered to all reasonable extent, it’s time to look at the emotional phantoms straight on and put them in their place.
Many fears are the fears of endeavor—grounded in unsupported anxieties and false distinctions. These are the fears that we fumble to determine solutions for or simply ones that undermine our ability to be confident in our capabilities at all. Some tell us we’re somehow different than other people. Some raise specters of self-doubt, insecurity, or inadequacy. These are particularly slippery, and they’re often the fears people deal with when they envision taking on significant health and lifestyle change.
Let’s look at some of the most common fears that come into play when people of different bodies, ages and backgrounds move toward Primal-aligned health goals. And let me offer (and invite you to share your feedback on) some practical takeaways for overcoming situational fears as well as a few emotional insights for calling fear’s bluff.
“I feel like I’m too far along in life to make significant changes. What if I’m just too old or too steeped in chronic illness to make a real difference in my health?”
The body is a resilient organism, and it remains so into advanced age. And although more care is needed to shift or reverse interconnecting dysfunctions in the case of chronic illness, the body’s resiliency is nothing to be underestimated. I’ve knocked out 60 years and then some, and so have many others in this community. Even if you’re well past 60 or 70 and just starting major health change, know that the Primal Blueprint is as applicable to you as it is anyone else.
Research supports our ability to get into great shape and even be as fit as those decades younger than us. Yes, the body benefits from being in good health throughout life, but taking up an exercise program or shifting to a better diet in later years can still slow or reverse aging processes. The same can be said of mitigating or even reversing chronic illness. (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
Are you more inspired by personal accounts rather than research? Check out Faye’s success story. Even after a heart attack and years with diabetes, her choice to go Primal teaches what’s possible at 87-years-old.
“What if I can’t do this the way other people can? How can I live up to what other people in the Primal community do?”
You’d be surprised how often I hear this. It’s a case of comparison, which can at its best inspire us and at its worst can paralyze us.
Everyone is on their own path, and ours is intended to be entirely its own landscape.We come to the PB with unique histories, varying tastes, individual interests, and different emotional states. It pays to be patient with each of these and expect that they’ll all play a part in transitioning to a Primal way of living.
Because here’s what I’ve found. The people who take the mentality of undoing, of exchanging themselves for a “better” version, are the ones who ultimately struggle the most. On the other hand, those who move into the Primal Blueprint with a mindset of “intactness”—an assumption that who they are and what they enjoy will find a comfortable place in this lifestyle—tend to be much happier and more successful over the long term.
I promise you there are no Primal police that will be watching you. Everyone in this community does Primal their own way, and all of them I know have nothing but support and admiration for anyone looking to take up the lifestyle.
Read the stories and posts when they truly inspire, but give yourself space to grow into new practices. Focus on the beginner articles and forum threads for a while to let yourself be in the transition and feel encouraged there. This also applies if you’re a Primal veteran who’s hit some snags. It’s never a bad time to go back to the basics.
“I don’t know how I’ll be able to afford this way of eating.”
As significant and legitimate as this fear is, it’s thankfully one of the simpler anxieties to quash.
Let’s start with diet. There are the basics of primal eating, and then there are the ideals. The basics (e.g. low to moderate carb intake, ample protein and healthy fat intake) are what set the stage (supported by the non-dietary aspects) for a healthy metabolic profile and fat-burning default. The additional, “ideal” features of organic, pastured, grass-fed, etc. are preferred when possible. Few people can conform every day and definitely every meal to this standard. It’s never about perfection.
Over the decade this blog has been around, we’ve had many a post highlighting cost saving strategies for everything from low budget veggie ideas to cheap meat cuts. Likewise, we’ve talked sourcing with tips for hunting and gardening, purchasing direct for meat and produce shares, and most recently, benefiting from the bulk power of wholesale pricing and online retailers.
But I’d be remiss if I didn’t point you in the direction of the MDA Forum as well. Let me tell you, I learn something there every day. This community will take up any question you have about shopping and living well.
“How will I explain my lifestyle to people outside the Primal community? What will people think of me?”
I don’t profess to have sway over all the people you’ll come across. Probably a fair number of people will at some point have a question or be thrown by your aberrant shoes, food, sleep schedule, or other Primal quirks. Some will participate in an annoying chorus akin to “You’ll shoot your eye out.” Others will be intractably and personally offended at your rejection of conventional practice. (These are generally people who have a hard time separating choice from righteousness.) The good thing in life (and one of the upsides of living in large communities these days) is you can ignore what the vast majority of people think of you because you won’t see them that often.
For the people you have to and want to see on a regular basis, understand that you’re under no obligation to explain yourself. Even if you feel following that will be hard, accept this truth and then decide if you want to respond to their questions or concerns. Viewing it through the lens of choice automatically lets you off the hook and opens up possibilities. Know, too, that you aren’t responsible for how others feel.
If you wish to say something about your decision to live and eat Primally, keep your explanation simple and personal. It’s an individual choice that makes you feel good and that has offered you benefits. Give yourself the freedom to not proselytize. Some people will be genuinely interested in hearing more and may want to try it themselves. In those situations, you can feel free to share your stories, but keep it simple and encouraging for those who are fearful or concerned. Finally, for the truly antagonistic, walk away when you can and set a clear “to each his/her own” boundary when you can’t. You answer to no one but yourself.
“Conventional wisdom seems so diametrically opposed to what the Primal Blueprint is all about. What if I make my health or weight issues worse?”
I understand this fear. I truly do. It feels risky to go out on that limb when you’ve heard contrary messages your whole life. If the health condition you’re in is already serious, it can feel scary to think about the prospect of making things worse.
I can give you every scrap of science here supporting the Primal method of taking charge of one’s metabolic health and greater well-being, but I have several books that would do a better job than a paragraph here. And in these cases, I think it’s more personal than taking my word for it or even science’s word for it. It’s a fear of losing control, of surrendering power over one’s health. Because in these circumstances, we already feel so disempowered.
More than anything else, I’d suggest you hold onto that self-authority. I’m not saying run back to CW. I’m saying try the Primal Blueprint for yourself on your own terms with full skepticism in play. Don’t come at the PB as truth. Come at it as a completely self-directed trial—a rational, strategic exercise in self-experimentation. That’s all. If you can even consider 21 days, that’s generally enough to give you a good view into what the PB can change for you when you approach it earnestly.
If you genuinely follow the Primal principles and get negative results, you’ll simply know something isn’t working for you. But for now, start it—knowing you can dump the whole thing whenever you want. You can always get your previous health and weight back with no questions asked.
But chances are (because I’ve seen it thousands of times again and again) you’ll see changes, feel changes, and suddenly start believing in change again. Having tasted the initial benefits, you’ll want more, and more time with the lifestyle. Experimenting your way to how it works best for you long-term will bring you more of those shifts, more of the vitality you’d given up on, more of the life you thought wouldn’t be yours to live.
In this as in all cases, let fear inspire an attentiveness and deliberateness for the path in which you seek out the answers, the support and the experimentation that will let you truly claim this plan as your own. Because there’s inconceivable potential to come if you just keep going.
Thanks for reading, everyone. What fears have you faced when going Primal, and what advice do you have for others in dealing with those fears along their Primal path?
I don’t know about you, but I’ve witnessed my fair share of women bashing other women, especially on the Internet. It seems we love hating on one another, ridiculing and criticizing each other’s bodies, lifestyle decisions, and looks, period. In a society that is constantly judging our appearance, it’s sad when women actively participate in the denigration of other women.
Which is why the LeanInTogether: Together Women Can campaign (established by LeanIn.org and AOL’s MAKERS) is so important and powerful. Geared towards the furthering of women by honoring and helping one another, Lean In is causing women to band together in triumph, instead of fighting against one another in the name of competition.
Read More “We are more powerful when we empower each other. We are allies, not rivals.”
In the campaign’s commercial, multiple celebrities, including Kerry Washington, Serena Williams, Selena Gomez, and Eva Longoria, honor the women who have supported them, both personally and professionally. Of Shonda Rhimes, Kerry Washington remarks, “She has so much power but she wields it so compassionately and responsibly.”
The commercial ends with this very fitting mantra:
“Together we can get to equality. Together we can raise our voices. Together we can stand up to anything and anyone. Together we can make the workplace a better place. Together we are funnier, smarter, more ambitious, braver, bolder, invincible, unstoppable. When women lean in together, we accomplish amazing things. Let’s lean in together. We are all on the same team.”
So let’s stop bashing and fighting one another. There is more than enough negativity coming from other avenues: we shouldn’t be throwing it at one another. Let’s value our differences, our uniqueness, and give one another credit for our successes.
Let’s all win—together.
from Curly Nikki | Natural Hair Care http://ift.tt/290qY38
Amidst all the debate over how saturated fat and PUFAs differentially affect our health, we often forget about monounsaturated fats, or MUFAs. These are almost universally tolerated, if not loved. No one really maligns them. Vegans and carnivores alike consume them on a regular basis. You find ’em in nuts and seeds alongside PUFAs. You find them in animal fats alongside saturated fats. In most healthy diets, whether alternative (Primal, keto) or conventional (Mediterranean, AHA), monounsaturated fats feature prominently. They can’t really be avoided.
But they’re an afterthought in hard core nutrition geek circles. Probably because no one really attacks them. Probably because they’re uncontroversial.
Let’s change that. Today, I’m going to explain why, in explicit detail, you should be eating more monounsaturated fat—if you aren’t already.
1. It’s surprisingly stable
Saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fats are defined by their molecular structure. When we talk about “oxidized fatty acids,” we’re talking about oxidation of the carbon atoms that lie between double bonds. PUFAs are highly unstable because they have two more double bonds; that’s two more weak spots vulnerable to oxidative damage. Saturated fats are highly stable because they have no double bonds, no weak spots. MUFAs, with their one double bond, are theoretically vulnerable to oxidation—but it rarely actually happens. The literature shows that MUFA-rich oils, like olive and avocado, are highly resistant to heat damage during cooking.
2. It makes mitochondria function better
Mitochondria are (almost) everything. Cellular power plants whose design we co-opted from parasitic bacteria billions of years ago, mitochondria provide ATP—the basic energy currency. They regulate both individual cellular metabolism and, since we’re just collections of cells, overall metabolism. The more mitochondria we have and the better they work, the more energy we’re able to consume, utilize, and produce. They’re quite essential.
They’re also sensitive to oxidative stress if they’re not built with the right materials. Mitochondria whose membranes contain high levels of PUFAs are less stable, more prone to oxidative damage, and function worse than mitochondria with MUFA-rich membranes. We need our mitochondria to work if we’re to enjoy good health and a strong metabolism, and MUFAs make that possible.
3. It’s a primary constituent of many healthy foods
We eat foods, not nutrients, remember. And by choosing foods high in monounsaturated fat, in a roundabout way you’ll be choosing foods high in many important nutrients.
Consider the mac nut. Buttery, sweet, associated with many health benefits. A favorite treat of mine is salted, dry-roasted mac nuts in Greek yogurt with a drizzle of raw honey. “Salted”? Yep. Try it.
Consider the avocado. Everyone’s favorite “healthy fat.” A rich source of potassium, half an avocado can reduce the postprandial inflammatory load of a big meal. I don’t mean to use scare quotes in a negative way—I love avocados. That everyone but Ray Peat embraces it amuses me, is all.
Consider the almond. A surprising source of prebiotic fiber and repository for vital minerals, the almond is mostly known as a “bag of linoleic acid.” It has PUFAs, sure, but MUFAs are still the primary fatty acid present in the almond. Didn’t know that, did you? We forget.
Consider the olive, whose MUFA-rich oil reduces inflammation in heart disease patients.
Consider the egg yolk. Easiest/tastiest source of choline around. Great source for folate, selenium, B12, complete protein, dietary cholesterol (yes, it’s important). Go pastured and it gets even better. Did you realize that MUFA is the predominant fatty acid in your average egg yolk? It is.
Consider grass-fed beef. Who doesn’t love it? It’s higher in nutrients, lower in cruelty. Even vegans will begrudgingly admit it’s “better” and “slightly less murderous” than conventional beef. Turns out that the grass-fed stuff is higher in MUFAs (and stearic acid, a type of saturated fat that desaturates to MUFA in the body).
4. It supports immune function
Research has established the pivotal role of oleic acid in immune function: it improves wound healing, increases the elimination of pathogens, and is associated with protection against autoimmune diseases.
5. It protects against diabetes
Several lines of evidence point to a protective effect.
Observational studies consistently show an inverse relationship between MUFA consumption and diabetes (and diabetes-related complications, like kidney damage).
Controlled trials find that MUFA-rich diets improve glycemic control and lipid profiles in type 1 diabetics. In type 2 diabetics, they reduce insulin resistance (especially compared to PUFA-rich diets).
Animal trials show that MUFA reverses the tendency of inflammatory cytokines to depress insulin production, making it vital for type 1 diabetics for whom depressed insulin production is a major issue.
Even as controversy over the importance of the lipid profile rages across the nutritional world, one thing remains certain: whatever stance you take, monounsaturated fat has a neutral or positive effect. It increases HDL and reduces LDL. It reduces triglycerides and increases the all-important HDL:Total ratio. It does this in healthy people and diabetics, in the overweight and the heart disease-stricken. It does this without increasing LDL’s propensity to oxidize, as happens in high-PUFA diets.
We like to flout conventional wisdom, but it’s important to only do that when it’s actually wrong. Sometimes conventional wisdom is correct. And when everyone agrees on something, take a closer look before discarding it.
It turns out that the pro-MUFA stance is not based on fluff or propaganda. Real legitimate science shows that MUFAs are beneficial. The kind of science that your average vegan, paleo, and conventional cardiologist would all cite and find credible.
10. It’s found in the best mayo on the planet
Now, I have no idea what pure oleic acid tastes like. Not much, I’d imagine. But think about olives, bacon, beef, brie, and, oh, avocados. Foods that contain it tend to be delicious.
This is why I chose avocado oil as the foundation for most of our Primal Kitchen products. Whether it’s mayo (chipotle lime or regular), dressing (Greek vinaigrette or honey mustard), or straight up avocado oil, MUFAs as they appear in the wild taste as good as they are good for you.
Oleic acid, the primary MUFA, isn’t magic. It’s not a “superfood.” It’s the work horse of the fatty acids. It’s the foundation. It’s the one constant amidst all healthy diets. Meat eaters get tons of it through animal fat. Lacto-ovo vegetarians get it through dairy and eggs. Vegans get it through nuts and oils. We all carry a lot of it in our adipose tissues, if not by weight then by percentage. Our bodies even convert certain saturated fats, like stearic acid, into oleic acid; that’s how much our bodies need it.
It’s time we pay closer attention to MUFAs. Don’t you agree?
What did I miss? What other health benefits do oleic acid and other MUFAs offer? What’s your favorite way to obtain them?
Black Girls Code is moving into the Google offices in New York. Tomorrow, the non-profit organization will set-up shop inside a 3,000 sq. foot space which will be used as a classroom as well as a base for its East Coast programming.
Black Girls CODE is a non-profit organization dedicated to teaching girls of color ages 7-17 about computer programming and digital technology. Their mission is to empower and mentor young women of color by highlighting the achievement of women in technology and thereby encourage them to embrace the current tech marketplace as builders and content creators. In 2014, they won the Shorty Award in Science. Since launching in 2011, they have hosted events all around the country in cities such as LA, Miami, Chicago, Oakland and DC teaching classes in areas such as building a webpage in one day. Founder, Kimberly Bryant, created this platform after feeling isolated as a woman of color pursuing a career in the STEM field. On BGC's page she describes her experience. "I also recall, as I perused my studies, feeling culturally isolated: few of my classmates looked like me. While we shared similar aspirations and many good times, there's much to be said for making any challenging journey with people of the same cultural background."
As a non-profit, Black Girls Code teaches black girls and other girls of color everything from one-day seminars to 12-week programs. According to Fast Company, tomorrow's launch event will feature a list of speakers including New York City's Chief Technology Officer Minerva Tantoco, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, and Dominique Sharpton of National Action Network, as well as Black Girls CODE CEO Kimberly Bryant and Google’s Vice President for Partnership Sales Bonita Stewart.
What makes this partnership so unique is that this will directly help increase the lack of diversity of women of color in the tech industry. This partnerships will not only provide them direct access to some of Google's resources, but also allow young girls of color to be at the pulse of what's going on at one of the leaders in the tech industry.
from Curly Nikki | Natural Hair Care http://ift.tt/291Vjlb
"I LOVE the faux locs look and always wanted to get some for myself. However, I could not justify the money I would have to pay to get them installed. After watching several Youtube tutorials I felt encouraged to try it out myself. Traditionally, you would twist your natural hair with some synthetic kanekalon hair and then wrap more kanekalon/marley hair around the twists for that loc effect. Seems pretty straight forward right? Only thing is I cannot havana twist! So I tried a different technique and I must say I was quite impressed with the results. No need to twist beforehand. Simply start wrapping tightly to get the same look. This means using less hair (cost effective), less installation time and reduced bulk to carry on your head. I just added a new protective style to my repertoire and cannot wait to perfect my technique. Check out the tutorial to get started on beautiful locs."
Wash, condition, and do a protein treatment the night before.
Twist your hair into jumbo twists to air dry and stretch overnight.
Moisturize your hair strand by strand with your favorite moisturizer.
Add a little bit of gel to the strand to smooth it and reduce flyaways.
Take your Marley hair and fold it at the top so you can work with the shorter end.
Hold the hair between your thumb and index finger, and start wrapping the shorter end of the Marley hair around your own strand.
Wrap it around about 2-3 times.
Join the natural hair with the longer strand of Marley hair, and start wrapping the Marley hair around the natural hair.
Wrap it all the way down.
To push out any gaps, push upwards and continue wrapping. Do this continuously.
Once you reach your desired length, you want to bend the strand that you were using to wrap upwards.
Then with the other strand, you're going to start wrapping it around the strand that you previously bent to cover it. Start from the base and make your way upward.
Traditionally, you burn the end to secure your loc in place. But I prefer to wrap it with a tiny clear rubber band.
Watch How I Do It!
Be sure to take your time with this process. You want to make sure you're wrapping well so your hair doesn't unwrap mid-week. Also - be sure and invest in good quality hair so that you can re-use it if you wish. And that's it!
Have you worn faux locs before? What's your experience?
from Curly Nikki | Natural Hair Care http://ift.tt/1EwYxEf
Ladies it’s not every week we’re in the mood to do our natural hair and sometimes we want a break from it. Protective styling allows us to take a break and retain our length, however it can be costly to implement because the hair and the labor cost can be horribly expensive.
No one wants to break the bank on a new weave even though they want the utmost care for their hair. So this article speaks to saving money on protective styling such as braids, weaves or even wigs.
DIY - Do It Yourself Natural!
If it’s too costly to go to the hairstylist, search on YouTube where there are thousands of videos instructing ladies on how to do box braids, weaves, or even creating your very own wig. You’ll learn from the YouTube gurus who have perfected the style and you get to learn it in different ways.
In addition, this benefits you because no one knows you’re hair like you do. You’ll be able to install the style without the hairdresser telling you you’re tender-headed or trying to up-sale your visit.
Synthetic Wigs
Yes I know what you’re thinking... if this is actually GOOD for your hair. We all know the danger of synthetic wigs not keeping our natural hair properly moisturized. Some days you just don’t feel like styling your hair so just put on the cheap wig and rock it for the day. They may not last as long or stand up to wear and tear like the authentic ones will, but they are easy alternatives for a lazy hair day. Don’t knock it till you try it, so rock that cheap wig like a boss!
Hit Up Cosmetology Schools
You can go to cosmetology schools in your area for the students there who are eager to do your hair. It’s completely free of cost to you and you’ll get a banging protective style to wear for a while. Although the students are new to hair styling, their supervisors are right there with them making sure no harm is done to your hair.
Shop Online
You really need to consider buying hair online. Your local Beauty Supply Shop may not be as big as some of these hair warehouses that have amazing prices because they buy in massive amounts. Also, you can buy hair just about anywhere with very reasonable prices so opt for shopping around but do take heed to reviews (not the ones on their sites) to see how well the quality of the hair is and check on their customer service. Call A Friend
If you have a really good friend or your friend knows someone who can do protective styles really well, call them up and ask for a favor. They may end up doing it cheaper than a salon or free and you can tip them if you wish. (Tip them well so they won't mind doing it again!)
Hope these tips helped you and that you’ll take them into consideration for the next time you decided to protective style.
from Curly Nikki | Natural Hair Care http://ift.tt/2994PFD
While transitioning from relaxed hair to wearing your natural hair, it can be difficult finding styles that blend your straight hair with the newly growing textured hair. The tighter your curl pattern, the more obvious the point of demarcation (the point where your straight hair ends and your textured hair begins). When I was transitioning, it got to a point where it just looked like I wasn’t doing my hair at all, which wasn’t a good look.
There are some styles that give transitioning hair a blended look, and here are a few that are quick and easy to do. These style will help you look cute as you transition. Continue!>>>
Twist and Curl or Flat Twist and Curl. By two strand twisting or flat twisting the textured hair closest to the roots, and curling any straight ends, you can really camouflage the difference in hair textures. Once the style is set, there is very little manipulation needed to maintain the style, which can also help you avoid breakage during the transition period.
Flat twist and bun. This style is great at disguising and blending transitioning hair around the face, which is where most people eyes are focused. And it also tucks in the hair in the back in a cute bun, or you can even add hair extensions to cover the relaxed ends even further.
Flexi rod sets. Because the hair is stretched around the flexi rods, this helps the textured hair match more closely and blend with relaxed hair. In the end, it will all take the shape of the rod. And again, once the style is set, there is very little manipulation needed to maintain the style.
When I was transitioning, I wish I would’ve thought about using these style to give my hair a blended look. Instead, I attempted to just put my hair in a bun. No bueno. These style definitely would’ve helped me transition much longer.
Have you tried any of these styles during your transition?
from Curly Nikki | Natural Hair Care http://ift.tt/298ZGgP
If you follow health news, you might be thinking exercise doesn’t matter when you’re trying to lose weight. Vox just published a big piece showing how useless exercise alone is for weight loss. The NY Times says “eating less” is way more effective than “exercising more.” Obesity researchers like Gary Taubes and Yoni Freedhoff—who don’t agree on much else—both think using exercise to fix obesity is futile. I’ve always said that 80% of your body composition is determined by your diet, not how you exercise. And everyone knows it’s really hard, bordering on impossible, to out exercise a bad diet. You might be able to out exercise a bad diet if all you care about is abs and race times and make it your job, but eventually your poor health will catch up with you.
That doesn’t mean exercise doesn’t matter for weight loss, though. It does.
What is true? The value of exercise doesn’t depend on its caloric burn. The studies cited in the media pieces make it clear that energy expenditure through exercise has very little effect on weight loss. To focus on that and discard the effectiveness of exercise in general is misleading, though. And wrong, because fat loss isn’t just about mechanistically burning calories.
Notice what I wrote: fat loss.
We’re not trying to burn bone, or dissolve muscle, or shave a few pounds off our internal organs. All those things will reduce your weight but also your health, performance, and lifespan. We’re trying to burn fat. To take a couple notches off the belt. To look good naked. That’s what nearly everyone means when they say “lose weight.” So even if exercise doesn’t lead to a significant net loss of weight on its own, it can help us preferentially remove body fat while retaining lean mass.
So let’s see how exercise can help weight loss, both directly and indirectly. By the end of today’s post, you’ll be itching to go lift something or run really fast up a hill.
Exercise empties glycogen
If your glycogen stores are full, any extra carbs that aren’t immediately burned for energy will be shunted to your liver for conversion into fat, aka de novo lipogenesis. If you exercise hard enough to empty those glycogen stores, you’ve just cleared space for the carbs you eat. They’ll refill glycogen stores. Conversion into glycogen is a desirable metabolic fate for carbs. Carbs locked into muscle glycogen stores will not contribute toward fat stores. Instead, they’ll contribute toward high-intensity physical activity that aids fat loss.
One study found that depleting glycogen stores with exercise reduced postprandial de novo lipogenesis in subjects fed a carb-rich meal. Compared to the non-exercising control group, the exercisers experienced three-fold higher postprandial muscle glycogen synthesis (more dietary glucose became muscle glycogen) and a 40% reduction in hepatic triglyceride synthesis (less liver fat produced).
Exercise improves blood glucose control
Although the scientific community debates the etiology of “hangry,” I think it usually stems from reactive hypoglycemia. Consider the sugar-burner whose blood sugar spikes after a meal then drops lower than it was before the meal. He won’t be able to access body fat for energy. His body wants the only kind of energy it knows—sugar—and it’s just not there. He’s going to eat something sugary and right away.
Now consider the fat-burning beast with low blood sugar. Is he going to freak out and binge because no energy’s available, or does he have the metabolic machinery necessary to take advantage of all that animal fat hanging around?
Who’s hungrier? Who eats more? Who gains more weight?
The best type of exercise that improves blood glucose control without inducing hypoglycemia in its own right is probably low-rep, high-weight strength training, walking, and short sprints (and I mean really short, like 5-8 second bursts).
Exercise improves sleep
Sleep is where fat loss actually occurs, because when you sleep, you experience the biggest spike in fat-mobilizing growth hormone. When you don’t sleep, cortisol increases to compensate for the groggy headspace and muddy thinking. Chronic levels of stress hormones, from chronic bad sleep, lead to fat retention, especially in the belly.
When you exercise can affect your sleep negatively, of course. Don’t train at 11 PM in a fluorescent light-lit gym with blaring pop music. Don’t settle for 5 hours a night because you want to wake up at 5:30 for a workout.
Exercise beiges white fat
What are those words you just wrote, Sisson? “Beige” isn’t a verb.
One cool thing about certain types of exercise is that it can make white adipose tissue behave more like brown adipose tissue. Hence, “beige.” It does this by reducing the size of fat cells, reducing the lipid content of said fat cells, and building more energy-consuming-and-ATP-producing mitochondria within the fat. Transplanting exercise-induced beige fat cells into sedentary controls improves their body-wide metabolic homeostasis and increases their muscles’ uptake of glycogen. This beigeing of white fat improves body-wide metabolic homeostasis and increases the uptake of glycogen by your muscles. It helps nutrients go where they’re useful.
(To make sure your exercise is working, remove a dime-sized pat of butt fat with a grapefruit spoon and observe the color. If it’s beige, you’re on the right track!)
(Please disregard the previous parenthetical.)
Exercise increases our resistance to stress
People respond to stress in many different ways. Some stay awake at night, endlessly ruminating on the hundreds of outstanding responsibilities. Some freeze up, unable to progress. Some go hungry, refusing even their typical favorite foods. But perhaps the most common response to psychosocial stress is binge eating junk food (PDF). This is especially common among women (PDF), who tend to focus on salty, sweet, and fatty snack foods. Stress eating is a major risk factor for weight gain; anything that reduces stress will probably increase fat loss.
Exercise blunts our stress response. When we’re physically fit, or we’ve just come off a tough 30 minute lifting session, stressors that’d fell a sedentary person just roll off the back. Training doesn’t just make our muscles stronger and our cardiovascular system more efficient. It trains our psyche, too.
Exercise makes movement fun again
It won’t always do this. But in my experience, when people get fitter, stronger, faster, and more confident in their own bodies, they enjoy their own bodies again. They start moving for the sake of moving. They’ll go for hikes because they enjoy it, not because they’re trying to work out. They’ll play sports again, and start walking when they would have driven. Movement becomes an integral part of their lifestyle. And once non-exercise activity thermogenesis—energy expenditure through daily movement, not formal exercise—increases, fat loss often follows.
Exercise increases your calorie sink
Exercise gives you a little wiggle room. It lets you eat enough to be satiated. It allows you to eat enough food to get the micronutrients you need. A full-on calorie restriction weight loss diet without exercise is rough; you must micromanage your entire day just to ensure you’re obtaining the vitamins and minerals your body needs while battling constant hunger. When you throw in exercise, you can eat a bit more. You don’t have to plug everything into a nutrition calculator. You can have an extra helping of potatoes to get more potassium, resistant starch, and magnesium. You can add another half cup of full fat yogurt with a blueberries to get your calcium and phytonutrients. Fat loss diets get easier when you train.
“Exercise” doesn’t tell us much, of course. There are many ways to exercise, and some are better than others for improving body composition and burning fat.
Much has been made of the studies showing that people training for a marathon fail to improve body comp. Over the course of 18 months of hardcore marathon training, males lost just 2.4 kg of fat and women didn’t lose any. That’s 18 months of pounding the pavement, and weight barely budged (and not at all in women). Everyone knows by now that endurance training isn’t great for body comp.
The overall most effective way for your average overweight to obese person starting from square one to lose fat and retain lean mass is resistance training combined with a low-carb Primal way of eating.
A recent study found that the most effective method for weight loss in the severely obese was diet+resistance training. Compared to endurance training+diet or endurance training combined with resistance training+diet, simply focusing on strength training and diet produced the best results for the severely obese. The most effective kind of strength training was whole body exercises using free weights. There was some evidence that if you wanted to add “cardio” training to your lifting, high-intensity interval training/sprinting was the only one that really worked. Typical endurance training was ineffective. This makes sense. It’s high-acute stress (your workouts are really tough but end quickly) and low-chronic stress (which few people, least of all sedentary obese people, are equipped to handle).
For people who are close to their ideal body composition but want to shed the last 10-12 pounds of body fat, sprinting has to be considered. This is the simplest (yet most intense) way to lean out those last few pounds.
For everyone else: lift, walk lots, and sprint if you’re able.
But honestly? Almost everything works. No matter what exercise modality you study, they’ll all generally improve your metabolic health, increase your muscles’ capacity for glycogen, increase your strength, improve whole-body glucose control, help you sleep better, and make your body fat a little more metabolically active. They can easily get out of hand—I’m looking at you, endurance athletes, 5-6x weekly CrossFitters—but nothing has to.
Combine your exercise with a Primal way of eating and you’ll be on your way to easy, sustainable fat loss. I’m biased, of course, but for good reason: this stuff works. A recent study of the paleo diet in middle aged type 2 diabetics found that while diet alone works (especially if it’s something like paleo) really well, it works even better when you throw in some exercise.
Over the course of 12 weeks, paleo diet-only subjects told to follow standard exercise recommendations (moderate cardio for 45 minutes to an hour three times a week) lost 5.7 kilos of body fat. Those who participated in supervised aerobic and resistance exercise lost 6.7 kilos.
Diet-only subjects lost 2.6 kg of lean mass, paleo exercisers only lost 1.2 kg of lean mass.
Leptin, the pro-metabolism hormone that increases satiety and energy expenditure, dropped by 62% in the diet-only group. In the exercisers, leptin only dropped by 42%. Higher leptin means higher energy expenditure and lower appetite—both important for weight loss.
All in all, paleo dieters who exercised lost more body fat, retained more muscle, and had stronger metabolisms than those who didn’t. Sounds familiar, eh?
To sum up, training and diet work synergistically. You need both, and stalls in weight loss can often be countered by doing whichever one you aren’t. For most of you reading this, you’ve got the diet down pat. You’re eating well, you’re monitoring what you consume. But you might not be training. Today, right now, that stops. You have the tools you train effectively. You have the justification to train. You now know how imperative it is for your health, your performance, and, yes, your body fat levels that you move your body consistently.
Directly using exercise to incinerate calories and shift your energy balance isn’t sustainable. Eventually, you’ll burn out, or start bingeing on junk, or the health consequences will surpass the benefits.
Using smart exercise—lifting heavy things, running really fast once in awhile, running longer distances without lapsing into chronic cardio,walking, hiking, biking, climbing, playing, and generally just moving—to supplement a healthy diet is the only way to do it.
If exercise aids fat loss, it does so indirectly. It builds lean mass that consumes more energy and perpetuates more exercise. It clears glycogen stores, ensuring the carbs you do eat go to a good cause. It improves blood sugar control, limiting the peaks and valleys that cause many people to snack. It improves your mental health, self-confidence, and resistance to stress, deterring the types of destructive, depressive behaviors that often lead to binging and gorging and weight gain. It even seems to improve our sleep habits.
But it still does it.
What do you think, folks? What’s been your experience with exercise as a tool for fat loss? Has it worked? Has it not? Let me know down below!
Although the commercials promised it would be “lit,” I really wasn’t expecting much from the BET awards. A couple cray outfits to show up on the blogs, a few performances for us to roast on Black Twitter, some wilding out on the red carpet, and as always, MC Lyte.
But this year, BET surprised us all by not only putting together a series of epic tributes to Prince’s legacy, but also demanding that we stay woke. The revolution was televised, and it started off with Bey and Kendrick killing “Freedom.” Stomping through the water, they lit a fire under the audience.
Throughout the night, presenters and celebs encouraged us to use our right to vote and make change in our country, but Jesse Williams’ passionate speech moved us all. Accepting the Humanitarian Award, #wokebae spit knowledge that had the entire audience on their feet.
After thanking BET, his wife, and his parents, they Grey’s Anatomy star launched the greatest acceptance speech Black Entertainment Television has ever seen. “This award is not for me,” he said. “This is for the real organizers all over the country, the activist, the civil rights attorneys, the struggling parents, the families, the teachers, the students that are realizing that a system built to divide and impoverish and destroy us cannot stand if we do.”
He celebrated and gave props to Black women, saying, “This award is also for the black women in particular who have spent their lives nurturing everyone before themselves -- we can and will do better for you.”
And then, he schooled us all on the system that strives to keep our people down and our freedom chained. “But freedom is always conditional here. ‘You’re free!’ they keeping telling us. ‘But she would be alive if she hadn’t acted so… free.’ Now, freedom is always coming in the hereafter, but the hereafter is a hustle: We want it now.” “We’ve been floating this country on credit for centuries,” he continued. “And we’re done watching and waiting while this invention called whiteness uses and abuses us, burying black people out of sight and out of mind while extracting our culture, our dollars, our entertainment like oil -- black gold! -- ghettoizing and demeaning our creations and stealing them, gentrifying our genius and then trying us on like costumes before discarding our bodies like rinds of strange fruit.”
“Just because we’re magic doesn’t mean we’re not real.”
The only thing that could have made this speech any better would have been a mic drop at the end.
Tiffani Greenway is the wife and mom behind MyMommyVents, a New York city parenting blog. Her tips have been seen on Yahoo Parenting, Mommy Noire, and Fit Pregnancy. Find more of Tiffani's work at mymommyvents.com.
For today’s edition of Dear Mark, I’m answering two reader questions. First, I answer a very specific question about blackstrap molasses, that nutrient-dense sweetener with the distinctive taste. How can a person who hates molasses work it into their diet? Next, I address concerns surrounding a set of healthy whole grain studies that I’m sure you’ve been hearing about. Are whole grains really healthy? Will they make you live long and prosper? Is there something unique to whole grains we’re missing out on?
Let’s go:
Hey Mark? Could you do something about how to incorporate blackstrap molasses into the diet? Everything I try is disgusting.
If you do dairy, mixing a tablespoon into a cup of milk is probably the most palatable. It’s downright delicious.
Add it to coffee, but only if you also add cream. Make sure not to add too much. Aim for slight sweetness. Once you start using blackstrap molasses to make foods taste sweet, you’re overdoing it. It gets gross fast.
A buddy of mine swears by a molasses smoothie: raw milk, molasses, crushed ice, instant coffee. He also agrees that you shouldn’t add so much molasses that it gets sweet, because that’s how you know you’ve gone too far.
Blackstrap goes well with winter squashes, highlighting the subtle nutty sweetness of a butternut, a delicata, an acorn. Drizzle thin ribbons, follow with salted butter, and you’re good to go.
This sounds weird, but trust me. Next time you have a handful of mixed nuts, add a little drizzle of blackstrap on top. It helps if the nuts are salted.
I’ll sometimes mix a tablespoon of blackstrap with a tablespoon of cider vinegar in a cup, fill it with ice, and add sparkling water. Quite refreshing and rejuvenating after a long hot hike or game of Ultimate.
Molasses ganache is nice. Melt 85% dark chocolate with a tablespoon of molasses in some heavy cream. Maybe a pinch of cayenne.
You might just have to tough it out, pour a tablespoon, and take it directly. Tell yourself that you’re getting 25% of the magnesium, 20% of the calcium, and 13% of the potassium you need for the day in that one tablespoon. You can handle having something gross in your mouth for few short moments.
Hi Mark:
I’m assuming that you are already planning on responding to this, but just in case, I’d love to see what you think about this recommendation – 90 grams of grains a day?!
Just like all the others, these findings and recommendations are based on observational studies: research which tracks correlations, not interventions.
And like all the others, it can’t make accurate recommendations. The same problems apply:
Lack of true control. We’re comparing whole grain eaters to refined grain eaters. Everyone who’s “normal” eats grains. As much as this movement has taken off, the vast majority of the population eats refined, not whole grains. “Across all age groups…the public exceeds recommendation intakes of refined grains.” Does the analysis include a “Primal” group of people avoiding all grains—refined and whole—but eating tubers, vegetables, and fruit? The increase in mortality among the folks eating refined grains may be relevant for the folks eating refined grains, but that’s not you. That’s not my readership. I’d love to see that group pitted against healthy whole grain consumers.
Healthy user bias. “Everyone knows” whole grains are healthy. You’d imagine that people who choose whole grains are going to be following other healthy lifestyle and diet practices, right? Well, the authors of the study came to the same conclusion, admitting that “people with a high intake of whole grains might have different lifestyles, diets, or socioeconomic status than those with a low intake.”
The most believable explanation—and the only potential causal mechanism they explore in depth—is that the fiber grains provide has a beneficial effect on the gut biome, producing short chain fatty acids and reducing inflammation. I buy this, actually. For instance, most Americans get the majority of their paltry intake of resistant starch via whole grains, because for most Americans, eating green bananas and plantains, cooking and cooling potatoes, and making potato starch smoothies are rare behaviors (it is a little weird when you stop and think). If soluble, fermentable fibers like inulin and resistant starch are behind the supposed benefits of whole grains, shouldn’t the soluble, fermentable fibers found in non-grain, totally Primal foods work just as well?
The fact is that if you’re gonna eat grains, whole ones are healthier. If you’re going to obtain a large portion of your energy intake from grains, eating the ones with more micronutrients is better than eating the ones with none. That’s what this study says. It can’t say much about your Primal way of eating, though. We need direct comparisons to do that.
Don’t lose sleep over this one. If you’ve got a family member eating whole grains, and they appear to be healthy, they’re probably going to be okay.
That’s about it for today, folks. I hope these answers helped, and if you have anything to add (or ask), do so down below!
If you’re reading this, you may know that I wrote a book three years ago. And thanks to you, it became an instant classic, selling tens of thousands of copies in its first weeks, making both Publisher’s Weekly and The Washington Post Best-Seller’s Lists, and receiving an NAACP Image Award nomination for “Best Debut Author”. #CuzWeDoReadBoo #LoveYallForThat #SuperSquad
Continue!>>> My first book was actually inspired by my work as a psychotherapist. Many of my clients were young Black women that lived in low-income housing. These women had many serious challenges in their lives, but when we weren’t dealing with that, seemingly mundane topics like hair and self image would come up more often than you’d think. I would’ve simply referred them to the blog but many of them didn’t have reliable access to the internet. So I compiled all the natural hair info in one very organized place, within arm’s reach of anyone with a public library card. Better Than Good Hair was about access and empowerment.
Three years hence and ‘natural hair is the new yaki #5’. I still get thousands of emails, but the questions have changed. Rather than empowerment and emotional support, women are looking for quick fixes, tips and tricks. To respond to all those emails would be instant carpal tunnel syndrome and I’m pretty sure I am just one detangling session from already being there.
Due to the success of the first book, Harper Collins generously offered to publish the second book. Which was great, but I had this crazy idea. So I ran off on the plug and called my friends at Dark and Lovely and have partnered with them to bring you my new book for free! Please consider When Good Hair Goes Bad my gift to you. Its' production has been a labor of love and I offer it to you, for $free.99, in that same loving spirit.
The book will be available for download starting July 1st at Darkandlovely.com. If you want to meet me and get a signed hard copy, catch me at Essence Fest on July 1st, at the Dark and Lovely booth, where I’ll be making one of my rare unicorn like appearances.
Later Gator,
Nik
from Curly Nikki | Natural Hair Care http://ift.tt/294yVtN
Getting healthy. It’s an admirable, enviable endeavor, you think. In fact, it’s what you’ve wanted, maybe desperately, for a long time. And then you came across Primal. You’ve been convinced for a while now that it’s a good guideline for how to live—reading the blog, maybe trying a 
Amidst all the debate over how saturated fat and PUFAs differentially affect our health, we often forget about monounsaturated fats, or MUFAs. These are almost universally tolerated, if not loved. No one really maligns them. Vegans and carnivores alike consume them on a regular basis. You find ’em in nuts and seeds alongside PUFAs. You find them in animal fats alongside saturated fats. In most healthy diets, whether alternative (Primal, keto) or conventional (Mediterranean, AHA), monounsaturated fats feature prominently. They can’t really be avoided.
If you follow health news, you might be thinking exercise doesn’t matter when you’re trying to lose weight. Vox just 
For today’s edition of 
