Luv ♥ My ♥ Kynxx: Pura Body Naturals Review: "A few weeks ago I responded to a post on Facebook asking if anyone was interested in being a product tester for a company called Pura Body ..."
Naturally You
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Monday, October 25, 2010
Is "Nappy Headed" offensive??
First let me start by saying I don't use nappy to describe my hair or the hair of anyone else. Personally I think it's not the proper way to refer to our hair. My reasoning dates back to the etymology of the word. Nap is a fuzzy surface layer on yarn or cloth Late in the 18th century Americans in the South began to refer to slaves as nappy heads, comparing the tightly coiled negroid hair to the nap on some cloth and fur. The word was definitely not used as a compliment.
I compare "nappy headed" to the n-word, which was used to demean slaves as well. It appears throughout history we've attempt to take hurtful words and use them in a positive way, if that's possible. My question is simple - Can we take these negative hurtful words and make something positive of them? Can we take the word nappy, which was used to mortify the physical features of a whole race of people, and feel as though we are using it in an uplifting manner? Or is the word offensive and negative no matter how you use it or no matter who says it?
I can truly understand why people are offended by it, but I wonder what would happen if we started demanding more respect in other ways. What if we stopped using the word because we give it more power when we use it and make it acceptable. What if we started using this power that we have to unify in numbers against music and other sectors of society that degrade women of all races instead of lifting them up. Maybe we can actually use this as a way of educating others about the use of the word and the hurt that comes along with it. Just some thoughts, what do you think?
Naturally You
I compare "nappy headed" to the n-word, which was used to demean slaves as well. It appears throughout history we've attempt to take hurtful words and use them in a positive way, if that's possible. My question is simple - Can we take these negative hurtful words and make something positive of them? Can we take the word nappy, which was used to mortify the physical features of a whole race of people, and feel as though we are using it in an uplifting manner? Or is the word offensive and negative no matter how you use it or no matter who says it?
I can truly understand why people are offended by it, but I wonder what would happen if we started demanding more respect in other ways. What if we stopped using the word because we give it more power when we use it and make it acceptable. What if we started using this power that we have to unify in numbers against music and other sectors of society that degrade women of all races instead of lifting them up. Maybe we can actually use this as a way of educating others about the use of the word and the hurt that comes along with it. Just some thoughts, what do you think?
Naturally You
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Natural Hair and Skin Assessment - Have you taken the time to understand what your hair and skin needs?
It can be a merry go round finding the right products to suit you skin and hair needs. The important thing to remember is you can make a better decision when you're informed about what your hair and skin likes and needs. In order to make an informed decision about anything in life requires you to have knowledge and educate yourself as much as possible. I compare it to teaching my students in class each day. When they enter my class I assess them to understand what they're lacking so I can attempt to close the achievement gap. In order to do this I have to know the problem and have the understanding of what is needed to fix it, but step number one is identifying the problem. It's impossible to fix a problem that hasn't been identified. Step number two is using my current knowledge to correct the situation or further educate myself because I don't have enough knowledge to fix this problem.
Now lets apply this to hair and skin. For example, you know your hair is dry so the obvious solution is to fix it, sounds easy enough. The real issue is do you have enough education or knowledge to solve the problem. Sometimes we think we know but as it turns out many of us don't. For example, many people have asked me if they can use oil to moisturize their hair because they don't like for their hair to be wet. I used to think this was a silly question because we all know water equates to moisture (so I thought). After being asked this question on more than one occasion I realized some haven't educated themselves enough about the ingredients used on hair or what their hair needs. When I reply that oil is an emollient, they ask what is an emollient and this is where the learning begins.
We take assessments of things everyday whether it relates to life, job or personal events. The biggest step is finding a solution to the things we want to fix as a result of the assessment. Stay tuned in for the Let's Talk Ingredients series to learn more ingredients used to treat various hair and skin issues.
**this information is intended to inform, not treat or diagnose any condition**
Naturally You
Now lets apply this to hair and skin. For example, you know your hair is dry so the obvious solution is to fix it, sounds easy enough. The real issue is do you have enough education or knowledge to solve the problem. Sometimes we think we know but as it turns out many of us don't. For example, many people have asked me if they can use oil to moisturize their hair because they don't like for their hair to be wet. I used to think this was a silly question because we all know water equates to moisture (so I thought). After being asked this question on more than one occasion I realized some haven't educated themselves enough about the ingredients used on hair or what their hair needs. When I reply that oil is an emollient, they ask what is an emollient and this is where the learning begins.
We take assessments of things everyday whether it relates to life, job or personal events. The biggest step is finding a solution to the things we want to fix as a result of the assessment. Stay tuned in for the Let's Talk Ingredients series to learn more ingredients used to treat various hair and skin issues.
**this information is intended to inform, not treat or diagnose any condition**
Naturally You
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)