Two Years and Two Months Rainy Day Check-in

Hi Everyone: I have been walking in the "light to moderate" rainfall today.  The type that is not enough to use your umbrella, but it's enough to cause your curls to drop.

Well, it's official - I'm at two years and  two months Loc-versary.  Today almost slipped by without a mobile phone snapshot.  So here I am - I think that I have finally arrived at the phase of nothing but gaining length going down versus branching out. I have a lot more confidence with my locs at all times now.  So with that confidence, I have been able to focus on other cosmetic makeup options.

Well, I just turned age 44 and I have always felt that my lips were gigantic. So I always would try to minimize them using lip liner, and sticking with a neutral lip gloss.  Well, I had a makeup artist (man) who loved the size of my lips.  He said that big lips were in.  I had to laugh because I was obviously ahead of time when it came to my lips.  So he put a loud pink color on my lips, and I felt like I looked like I had lip injections.  I kept the color on to see how other strangers in the mall would see me.  If people were going to stare or do a double take, then I would know that I was out of my league.  Well, surprisingly, no one really paid any attention. Wow!

Okay, the pink color does not look that loud because of the shadow from the lighting and camera angle,  but I have some nice full lips right?  Well, although, I decided not to stick with the lip color the makeup artist picked for me, but I did decide that I am going to start wearing more color on my lips.  I am still going to minimize my lips with my lip liner, but I agree that brighter colors give me a more youthful appearance.

You may be wondering what does lip color have to do with my hair?  What does cosmetic makeup have to do with hair?  Well, I am happy that you asked.  For most of my life, my hair has consumed so much of my time that I did NOT any energy left to experiment with cosmetic application.  Also, if you don't have "slamming hair" then it throws off your whole fashion image.

So you can have "drag queen gorgeous" makeup application and your hair is a hot mess, then you still look overall like a "hot mess" despite the extra care that you put in your makeup and clothes.  So the shackles are loosed, and I finally feel like I am free.  I feel more comfortable in allowing other beauty professionals to offer makeup and fashion tips that actually work for me.  Before I felt that tips offered were not becoming to me.

People judge you by many things - car, shoes, watch, purse, clothes, skin, nails, and hair.  However, you can be a runaway slave with gorgeous hair - someone will finish shining you up.  It is weird to feel that locs equal gorgeous hair, but in my world, my locs have started to put an extra pep in my step.  That makes them gorgeous in their own right.  From the wind lightly blowing them to the shake they make as I slightly tilt my head.  I am loving them phenomenally.  Phenomenal hair.

In Case of Rain: What would you do?

Track practice is over. You are the only Black girl with relaxed hair on the team.  Everyone's waiting for their parents to come pick them up so you and your teammates are having "girl talk."  You start to feel raindrops.  Your next hair appointment is a few days away.  You have an umbrella tucked in your backpack.  You feel more and more rain drops, but no one else is attempting to pull out their umbrella. What do you do?

a) Continue to blend in with your teammates by not using your umbrella and not worrying about your hair getting wet.

b) Pull out your umbrella and hope that you do not distract the "conversation" being the only one in the circle holding an umbrella.

c) Pull out your umbrella and hope that some of the other teammates will gather underneath your umbrella as an act of acceptance.

d) Announce that you felt raindrops and see how your teammates respond.  If they blow it off, then you "blow it off."  If they suggest seeking shelter, then follow them to shelter. You just want to fit in.

e) Explain to your classmates that your hair appointment is a few days away, and you have to get your umbrella out.

What's the best way to handle to this situation?  

As more and more parents are sending their children to private schools.  These type of dynamics are being encountered. It is important that parents install confidence in their children's heritage so that even if they are in the minority, they can make informed decisions.