Hair Inspiration: Tracee Ellis Ross

Here we have the striking and lovely Tracee Ross, daughter of the fabulous Miss Diana Ross and Robert Ellis Silberstein. Interesting fun fact about Tracee - she attended the very posh Le Rosey school in Switzerland (where the 'Lear Jet-eratti' send their offspring!) and graduated from Ivy League college Brown in Theatre Studies!


You may know Tracee from the popular programme 'Girlfriends', a Kelsey Grammar produced sitcom about four African-American women in L.A, which ran for seven years; my husband teased me whenever he caught me watching it that I only tuned in to look at Tracee's hair! Well he was completely wrong on that - I tuned in to look at all of the girls' hair! And clothes!


But it was mostly Tracee and her cute curls that had me hooked!


Tracee's hair has a longer, looser s-shape than my own, (she's ha a mixture of type 3a and 3b, perhaps?); her fine textured, glossy hair positively gleams with health and good condition. Here is what she has said about her hair regimen in Black Hair and Braids Magazine in November 2005 :-


Q:Off set, how do you care for your hair?

A-Tracee: I wash my hair once a week. I use a couple different shampoos. Once a month, I use the Aveda Shampure and at the same time I'll also rinse with the Rene Furterer Vinegar Rinse. But if you don't want to spend that much you can use apple cider vinegar and cut it with water. Your hair will shine, but you can't use it all the time because it will dry your hair out. On a regular basis, I use the Gold Wells Conditioning Shampoo. On a weekly basis, one of my beauty secrets is that I steam. I go to one of the Korean day spas. I fill my hair up with Gold Well Kerasilk Conditioner-that conditioner is fantastic for conditioning hair under a heating cap, which I do if I can't get into a steam room. With the Kerasilk, your hair will not curl up. My hair gets so soft that it doesn't curl up, so I have to use another conditioner. The other is very expensive but you get a lot for your money. It's called Hair Mayonnaise. It is a growth enhancer. It's an organic company. It comes in a big tube. I's a really good deep conditioner. Then, when I want my best hair I'll use Denman D-4 brush or the salon industrial heavy brush. I am an advocate of Denman brushes. It is a rubber brush. The older it gets the better because it has gotten softer. I also use the Cherry Almond Burnt Conditioner by Aveda. I mix with a little of the Deep Penetrating Conditioning from Aveda for the smell. And, I seperate my hair into six sections in order to brush it out. So, I don't break my hair. And you start from the bottom. The way your mom taught you. I do this in the shower. I put more conditioner in my hair, shake my hair so my curls can find each other, and take my hair up with a big clip. Leave it in for a while, then, I turn off all the hot water and turn up the cold water. Put the cold water on low pressure because the high pressure will break up all the curls that just found each other. The low pressure cold water keeps it shiny and keeps the curl.

Q: What is the best hair care advise you've ever been given that you could share with our readrs?

A:Condition, Condition, and Condition! And stay away from alcohol-based products. It just dries your hair out.



Interesting! Tracee loves Aveda Products, she deep-steam conditions her hair, and shakes out her curls - cool!


Tracee has been flat-ironing her hair straight a lot more these days, and you can see in these pictures that her hair is in simply amazing condition, and is getting really long.

Personally I am a curl-gurl and I think her spiral hair is just adorable, but Tracee shows us all how versatile mixed race and diaspora hair can be, all without without the texturizer/relaxer/straightener (or to quote Chris Rock, the 'creamy crack') that my mum slapped on my head for so long as a child!


Tracee, you are an inspiration to us natural hair girls! Keep it coming!

My Hair Idol - Angela and Friends Sky1

Another quickie - my ultimate hair idol, Angela Griffin has bagged her own daily magazine-type show on Sky1 from 9.00 am. It is called 'Angela and Friends' - well done our Angela!!!


Angela is the presenter of this daytime series, where she and three of her friends will chat about he latest showbiz stories, lifestyle trends, viewer comments, features and special guests with lots of revealing, smart chat. The show, in full HD, will feature a daily lifestyle club looking at books, films, health and beauty, and fashion.

The promo's for this new morning show have been running for a couple of weeks now, and all I can think of when I see them is (a) Oh my gosh, her hair is so fantastic! and (b) oh my gosh, how young and pretty she looks! followed swiftly by (c) oh my gosh, I look so old and tired and my hair looks like rubbish, how I wish I was more like Angela Griffin!!

Angela has long been a huge fave of mine - please support her, tune in and make her programme a success. She is perfect for a slot like this as she is young, smartul and she really seems very friendly and genuine - plus, (of course!) she has GREAT hair!

And Angela, if you ever read this (which I doubt!) and you need an older, tired-looking mum to 'make-over' for a beauty spot, or to provide some natural hair care, diaspora/mixed-race hair advice, please drop me an email - I'll be there like a shot!

You go girlfriend!!

OMG! Shea Butter - best product ever!

Just a short one today.

Because my hair is so very dry, nay - positively arid - in nature, I tend to need a tiny touch-up of something softening on the ends of my hair on the days in between washings.

I searched my locals ethnic shops for a pure shea butter product, but so far I have had no luck. The only shea butter hair product I could find is called 'Organics Shea Butter Plus', and although it is not 100% pure shea butter, it is amazing. When I use it after washing it leaves my rusty, dry hair really silky and smooth in texture - it really is fabulous. My ends are breaking much less as well - (you all know how much I hate seeing those little, broken-off fragments of hair in the shower)!

Feeling somewhat emboldened by this, I now smooth a small amount into all my hair after washing , and add a teeny bit to my ends on non-wash days. My hair feels silky and lustrous and the curls are almost shiny!! Me with shiny hair (lol)!

I really should have figured out the mega-brilliance of shea butter before now, seeing as one of my trusty and stalwart hair products was 'Kids Organics Shea Butter Hair Lotion'; the only reason I don't use this anymore is the fact that it seems to leave grey marks on my white T-shirts and blouses. Staining - not good!).

I am still on the hunt for pure shea butter, but for the moment I am trialing Palmers Shea Butter with Vitamin E - yes, I know this is a skin product, but shea butter is good for skin and hair (and pretty much anything it seems!). The only problem with this white, solid product is that it has strange little beads of harder matter in it, which means you have to rub the cream vigorously in your hands to get an even, melted consistency. This is good in a way as I only apply a minimal amount at a time, which stops me overloading on product (something us dry-haired gals do tend to do).


So to avoid breakage and to keep hair smooth and baby-soft, try Shea Butter Now!!!! Pure Shea butter is available at SheaByNature.Co.Uk and when I finished playing aroun with with my Palmers skin cream I shall certainly be giving them a call!

Question forwarded from 'HairMyStory'

Lovely LeAnne who runs the excellent site 'HairMyStory' (do visit - it is chock full of great beauty info!) sent me a question that made me pause for a bit.

Now I am a natural hair activist. Kinky, curly, coiled, frizzy (hey - my own hair contains all of the above!) I love it and I want y'all to grow it with me. I may not be militant, but I am vocal, (lol!). And I want the world to accept that my coily mop is non-threatening, cute and simply a much-loved part of me. Spread the love.

Yet the cry for help from the mum of a biracial girl resonated within me. I understand where the mum is coming from (and I really understand where the teen is coming from).

At my school, Sally had a European mum who couldn't cope with her mixed-race hair at all. From the age of about eight Sally did her own hair and what a mess she looked. My hair was almost identical to Sally's, but my Mum cared for it, conditioned it and combed it until I had two massively long plaits. At twelve Sally straightened her hair, and month by month it all broke off. Dear oh dear - one teacher described her as looking 'as if she had been dragged through a hedge backwards' to the whole class. Not good.

So this is advice for the mums who have tried to make life easier for their teen with relaxer, and who are now confronted with the ultimate evil - BREAKAGE. Mums, please read my site and those that I link to - I hope that you will really consider transitioning your teen to natural hair one day.




Hello, I have a bi-racial daughter and we just stated relaxing her hair because that is the only way she will wear it down. It was long then she wanted it cut, is breaking big time that it scares me. What product line should we use to help it and which products in that line. It breaking, dry and thin? it just keeps getting shorter? No more ponytails we told her!!! she washes it once a week and flat ions it. Plese help with a play by play on how to take care of it. Thanks you in advance.


Mixiepixie says:-

I am biracial too, with very dry, spiral Type 3 b and c curls but I haven’t worn my hair straight for years now. Anyone who visits my blog (Marvelous Mixed Race Hair) will know that my philosophy to cherish, grow and love the texture of hair God gives them! I preach natural hair – and loudly! But I do understand what it is like to be a teen who just wants long hair like everyone else because I was one too, a long time ago. And hey, we are all free to choose how we want to be, which is what makes life so fun.

My mum first straightened my hair when I was eight, but I would strongly advise parents to hold off straightening hair until your girl is a teenager, as the chemicals used are really much too harsh to put on the scalp of a little kid. Not good at all – please don’t do it.

Although the relaxer went on my own head when I was little, Mum looked after my hair brilliantly; my hair was thick, healthy, and very long - down past my shoulders. It is not hard to have long hair even if strong chemicals are involved, but it requires extremely gentle treatment and a lot of commitment; your daughter will really need your help, as even grown-ups find it hard to give their hair the high level of TLC required – I certainly did!

1. Firstly, the relaxer/perm treatment that you use must be MILD only. My Mum used ‘TCB No Base Crème Hair Relaxer with Protein and DNA’ on me with great results. Use as infrequently as possible (every four months in my case) and relax the new hair growth only – do not apply to the already straightened hair. (The instructions will say to reapply every 4 to 6 weeks – ignore! Every three to four months is what we did.)

After the hair is relaxed (finer hair will take less time than coarse hair to become straight) wash out the relaxer thoroughly with a neutralising shampoo to counteract the chemicals in the straightener. Wash and wash again – it is vital that all relaxer is removed from the hair. Then wash with a mild shampoo, then apply a deep conditioner (see recommendations below).

2. Wash once a week with a MILD shampoo – apply shampoo twice to prevent build-up of product. Try ‘Dark & Lovely Moisture Seal 3-in-1 shampoo’ or ‘Nexxus Therappe Moisturising Shampoo’; after washing apply a highly moisturising conditioner like ‘Nexxus Humectress Ultimate Moisturising Conditioner’. Every four weeks use a 30 minute deep conditioning treatment (apply to wet hair, cover with a plastic bag or shower cap and wrap this all up in a towel for the 30 minute duration - try using ‘Nexxus Emergencee’).

3. After washing (and during daily grooming) comb hair VERY GENTLY through with a wide toothed comb (COMB – do NOT brush – brushes cause damage to straightened hair). I know your daughter (like most girls) wants to wear her hair out, but the heat from blow-drying and flat-ironing are VERY damaging to tightly coiled/curly hair. Dry hair = broken hair, and African Diaspora hair is very dry. Biracial hair must be kept as moisturised as possible to stop breakage from happening.

4. I would advise your daughter to gently pull her damp hair back into a loosely plaited ponytail, a bun, or even two plaits, if this isn’t too babyish for her; and let the hair dry naturally. Blow-drying/flat-ironing should only be used to style hair for a party or some special occasion. Not even celebrities flat iron their hair everyday!

5. As her hair grows and becomes stronger and healthier, she can wear her daily ponytail open and loose. However, to prevent breakage and keep the moisture in please plait the hair at night and consider wearing a scarf to bed, so that hair does not rub (and break) on the pillow when sleeping.

6. Use cloth ‘scrunchies’ or plastic ‘bobbles’ to hold the hair in place; many hair accessories ‘tear’ at the hair and cause breakage if removed carelessly – once again, be GENTLE.

7. Our hair gets dry around the hairline and especially at the ends – be sure to apply a small amount of and emollient like ‘Africa’s Best Shea Butter PLUS Conditioner’ or ‘Dark and Lovely Rich and Natural Hair Dress’ as needed.

This may sound like an awful lot of stuff to do, but it isn’t really – the key is extra-gentle treatment of her hair at ALL times. After a while it becomes second nature, and your daughter’s hair will soon be longer and more importantly healthy and undamaged!

But I must preach a little; natural hair is easiest, healthiest and best in my opinion. Please do think about it.

Natural diaspora hair - not 'professional' and still not acceptable.

Renee Ferguson, who retired last year as an investigative reporter at NBC's WMAQ-TV in Chicago writes about , discusses how her television employers told her to stop wearing an afro, because it would intimidate white viewers.

Also have a look here (on the Maynard Institute website) to see how natural hair is regarded on the TV news in America (and remember that there are NO black women news readers with natural hair on our screens here in the UK).

You know what? This state of affairs depresseses me - sometimes the refusal of the non-black world to accept my hair and 'me' - 'our' hair and 'us' - seems as as indestructible as it was in the Seventies when I was a child.

But I'm just going to keep plugging on, one step at a time, working to redefine the accepted, caucasian 'norms' of hair beauty that are imposed on me. 'White' hair is beautiful AND my hair is beautiful. I am an educated, (fairly!) intelligent professional and my kinky, curly, natural hair does not bear any relevance to my class, intellect, and excellence at my job.

In the face of this entrenched and sustained rejection of something as small and as simple as the texture of our hair, it is really important that the African diaspora community (with all the myriad types of hair curl and texture that we own) work together, first to accept each other and then to fight this insidious form of racism whever we go.

Curly Headed, Mop-Top Boys

Whatever the texture of our hair, straight, wavy, coiled or curly, we girlies are always checking out each others luscious locks. We all have our favourite hair idols whom we admire, and whose look, style and swagger we try to emulate.

Well, today it's the boys turn!

Ladies (and gentlemen!) I present to you Corbin Bleu (of High School Musical fame)! Yup - male or no, he is definitely one of my hair idols because he has beautiful natural hair, bouncing with health and boy does it suit him. Corbin is an 'early adopter', in that he is one of the first chaps to sport his natural tightly curly hair in this way, and he does it so darn well! It is not untidy, it is not damaged and he looks great.

So, how do mums and older kiddies look after their biracial, mixed race or simply mega-curly hair?

It's pretty simple really - most boys keep their hair reasonably short, so the maintenance and ultra-conditioning that go hand in hand with sport and swimming do not pose much of a problem. It goes something like this:-


1. Washing

For spiral curls and tight curls my routine (as described below) works very well - and as the hair is shorter there is no real need to pin up separate sections. Just alternate washing with extra gentle shampoo twice a month with a good co-wash - ('conditioner wash') in between.

2. Conditioning

Rinse out the shampoo and condition with a good, rich conditioner (or skip a step to combing on a co-wash day). While the conditioner is on your head, comb the hair through GENTLY with a wide-toothed comb or use the ever-reliable Denman brush. This will help to define the natural curl. Rinse out the conditioning product.

3. Grooming

When my own hair was shorter I simply shook all the water out like a sheep dog! This also helped keep my curls curly - but saner folk can wrap a towel round the head for a very short time to absorb excess water. As stated before, curl maintenance requires water - the hair must stay very damp when adding your leave-in conditioner/moisturizing product.

Knowing that most boys (small and large) don't want to spend all day doing their hair, you can simply apply said leave-in conditioner/moisturizer in LARGE quantities to the damp hair and smooth it with your hands to make the curls, or you can dollop the product on and 'comb' through with your Denman brush as I do - it just depends on the type of hair and the curl definition required.

There - curly boy wash day is done! Time to go out and do regular boy stuff!

Another, smaller but equally handsome curly cutie is Perri Luc Kiely; doesn't he have the sweetest, little face? Perri is a member of the talented dance troupe 'Diversity'; they won the third series of 'Britain's Got Talent' 30/09/2009). You can check out their moves here.

Anyhoo - here he is ready for school - he wants to be a scientist (even more adorable). Once again, his hair is natural, normal, healthy, God-given hair, and it is lovely. What a handsome (and talented) child! Gorgeous hair.

But is it OK for school? Is biracial, mixed race, mega curly, Type 2, 3 and 4 hair, worn as-it-grows, natural and curly (as opposed to shorn off close to the scalp) acceptable at school? Or in the work place?

As always the question of our hair being 'wild', untidy - non-professional rears it's ugly head. This is something that I with my tightly curled, shock of hair have always had to deal with - I was a lawyer and I worked for a top 10 law firm - but my hair was always scraped back into a tight, bun so that I could 'conform' to the status quo.

My personal viewpoint is easy to guess - love me, love my hair! This is how mega curly hair is, this is my hair, and this is how I am. I am utterly acceptable and so is my gosh-darned, natural hair!!! Just because my hair tends to grow up and out doesn't mean it is untidy!

Well, until all our natural hair blogs change the world, we still have to deal with schools and institutions that are, shall we say, 'conservative. My sons private boys school is very formal; hair must be neat and tidy and above the collar for everyone.

So many mixed race and curly haired boys wear their hair in corn-rows (neat and tidy like singer Lemar Obika), and one or two pull their hair into a very small bun. Back in the day, even this would have been deemed unacceptable, so this sign of acceptance of natural hair is very welcome to me.

My preference for curly boys hair is this; a reasonably short 'afro' or curly do is perfectly neat and tidy - it is natural and it looks great. A slightly older Corbin Bleu is rocking a shorter look in this pic - I think this looks fab. And totally 'acceptable' (grrrr).

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Corbin and Perri I salute you - Curly Boys Rule!!

Naturally beautiful - Shingai Shoniwa of the Noisettes

So I was killing myself on the treadmill at the gym, bored out of my mind, when out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of English Indie band, the Noisettes, singing their Spring 2009 hit 'Don't Upset The Rythym (Go Baby Go'). The video is funky, catchy and cool.


Even an old bird like myself can rock out to indie music so, at some risk to myself, I wrenched my headphone dohickey thing out of my pink Ipod Shuffle (while nimbly continuing to run at 11 kpm) and crammed it into the socket on the treadmil, just in time to catch the tune. The lead singer (and bassist) of the Noisettes is the incredibly beautiful Shingai (pronounced 'Shing-guy' Shoniwa). She sings like an angel, has a figure to die for and is amazingly pretty, but more than that her tightly coiled, type 4 hair is utterly natural, and gorgeous, and sooo cool. This girl is really rocking the hell out of her natural! (to steal a phrase from my blog pal Ayanna!).

The photo above was taken at the fundraiser for the Teenage Cancer Trust. Shingai, you and the
Noisettes totally rock!