Afro

Category: #focus#

  • Living each moment as it comes

    When this year began, nobody expected it to be the way it has. When you think of 2020 it should represent perfect vision, this is the time when all you had been hoping for, would come to pass. However, what happens when plans must change and you must take another direction? It’s just like our afro hair sometimes. You want it a certain way you saw it but it just doesn’t want to act that way. This year has been a very revealing year socially, firstly hygiene has not been so spoken of like it has this year. You would think that washing hands is something that people would do, and not take for granted, however it can help in minimizing the spread of germs. But instead of focusing on all the things that have gone wrong, how about focus on all the things that have gone well.

    Family

    This year, I have spent more quality time with family than I have ever done at any other time in my life. It has made me appreciate them even more. Do they get annoying, yes they do but the focus should be on the quality and the little quirks that you get to discover on a daily basis

    Working from home

    There are those that are fortunate to work from home, that means less time commuting to the office and more time getting specific projects completed. It been a time to really assess do I really love what I do?

    Less is more

    Now this is one which will make more sense as I write. More individuals this year have saved more money because they are not buying unnecessary items. Additionally, some are even getting rid of some items that they have. What are you doing with those funds, are you using it to assist others or gaining some investments?

    Appreciate your surrounding

    During the days of the normal hustle and bustle when you only spent time sleeping in your house, you realize that you did not spend much time appreciating your surroundings. It could be a park that you never really spent much time going to, or the pictures that you took a while back when social distancing was not on your mind. It’s just appreciating the little things you may have taken for granted back in those times.

    More patience

    This year I can say that I have learnt patience, waiting in line and not complaining about that. Life is so fragile that a 20-min wait means nothing if you still have a privilege to be alive in this time. I am a lot more understanding of my son although now he get’s me to hurry up and not the other way round.

    More focus

    You can’t deny that 2020 has really got many people thinking, some about what they want to do with their life. Others, want to change their lives hastily and this year has really brought that change for individuals into perspective.

    More time

    I cannot forget the fact that this year has actually given me a little more time to do other things that can help me improve. Since the beginning of this year I actually decided to focus on really looking after my hair, making sure that it was well moisturized, now that I have a little more time. Less manipulation and heat. More water and a healthier diet. It had been great to have that time not to try to please others by presenting yourself often.

    Discover

    It has been a time of discovery, what am I really doing, working on free courses, just like I did this year. It was completely unexpected and it was something I was not really worried about. It also helped me reevaluate my goals. Is this where I want to be? Additionally, I had many other projects in mind but now I get to focus on one thing at a time.

    Time to plan

    This it a time to plan and prepare yourself, what are you feeding yourself with. Are you constantly on social media and watching things that don’t really improve your life? Even though this year I have had to be less social physically, I have learnt to be more intentional with my social media. I actually allot a time to view it and once that time is over, I continue to do other things. I actually also realized that I had many incomplete projects because I was constantly starting new ones without seeing one through. It has really been an eye-opener for me.

    Time to get more spiritual

    Now for me, prayer is extremely important in my life and when this pandemic hit, I asked myself many questions, am I ready for any future uncertainties? it got me on a moment of pure reflection and urgency to read my bible and ensure that I was actually doing what God wants me to do. I had to change quite a few things in my life and I am still working on other things.

    Fitness time

    I can’t emphasize this enough, but when you take time to look after your body, you will also look after your health and productivity. Do not neglect a walk on a daily basis. I have some light weights in the house that I use, every second day and it has actually been very useful. Don’t be afraid of the sweat you can always shower. When I first cut off the chemical from my hair, many years ago, I was a lot more relaxed about activities in the water. The only thing that I did not like was when say for example you have just blow-dried your hair and someone comes and says, “hey let’s go swimming” there’s nothing as bad as that and you can’t even get a swimming cap that will help you.

    Helping time

    Even though you make time to look after yourself, this is a great opportunity to help others. We cannot afford to look the other way when we see a brother or a sister struggle. It’s also a time to be selfless and help where you can.

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    Despite the sad news what has been at least one good thing this year, it does not have to do with goal setting it could be a little thing even doing some cooking from scratch it can be anything? would love to hear from you.

  • Making money doing something you love

    In this day and age, technology has helped in providing information in easier ways. It has certainly come with it’s advantages and disadvantages as well. However I would like to begin with the good things technology has done to improve the lives of people.

    Technology Advantages

    Over the last 10 years, many things have changed, some for the better and some worse. At this moment in time in the information age, a lot of people can take advantage of the fortunes that can be found online, that does not mean that it will be easy, you just have to learn to be consistent and know what it is that you want for your life.

    A few months ago, I came across a platform known as Wealthy Affiliate(WA). I was clueless as to what it was all about, however I joined it for free to see what it was all about. My curiosity piqued because I realised that the site was to teach me how to do Affiliate Marketing, something that I heard about but never quite had an idea how to go about it.

    From the first day that I started working on it, I enjoyed the lessons so much I decided to join it as a premium member just because I realised that there would be an advantage to myself and my family.

    As soon as I joined them, I realised I had a lot of work to do, to get somewhere as in life there are no shortcuts, everything takes time. If something sounds too good to be true there’s always a catch and at this time in our lives, we have to be careful what we go for.

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    The reasons I joined

    Well, like most people, you want to be financially stable and in order to get there, passive income is useful in assisting you reach those goals. The other reason was I have a family and want to be there for them, the hustle of commuting to and from work was something I thought was too cumbersome for me. I have been working on my site for the past 6 months, however when I first began, I had another job so I never quite made time for it as much as I should have.

    When my contract from work ran out, during the quiet periods, I did spend time working on my passion which has always been afro hair and also working on getting myself financial independence. You don’t know when you will have to look after someone in your family and you don’t want to wait until it’s too late. Life is hard enough as it is and anyone can work on their life to have a vision on where they want to be. Five years from now I know what my personal goals should be and no organisation should dictate that for me.

    You see a few years back, I looked at my life and I have been lucky to have some great jobs, but it has always been a challenge trying to climb up the corporate ladder. For me I always asked myself, is it worth it? Do I have to go through all this politics just so that I can get the money? Should I step over someone’s head and be ruthless about where I want to go? Should I wait to be promoted or can I promote myself? Well when WA came up I was like, why should I wait when I can take advantage of this wonderful community where I can utilise my skills online and provide information to others on how they too can improve their lives. This is when my journey began and I have not looked back since.

    Technology problems

    Now although technology is great, privacy is becoming a matter of concern all around the world and you have to be extremely careful with who you provide your details to. The great thing about WA, you can have all your information kept secure. Additionally, technology especially the social aspect of it is quite addictive. People have become glued to technology that the value of face to face is getting a little lost with people constantly looking at their phones and not socialising. The art of speaking to those around us is starting to get lost in the sea of technology and the human presence is being taken for granted. Sometimes I wonder if an individual from the past would come back to this world, how would their reaction be because I think it would tell alot about where we are headed as human-beings.

    We can record events that have happened but do we just record and do nothing about it or do we step in to help victims? Therefore although technology has been amazing for us, it has also brought another set of problems we all need to work on.

    What can we do

    Take the time to value those around you, your parents, kids, friends and anyone. Step away from technology sometimes even a week off from the digital to the human expereince. Learn to appreciate those around you. The main reason I wanted to provide this information was to assist anyone out there that wanted to create something online and was not sure how to go about it. This is a simple gift that can change your life and create some opportunities that you may not have considered. In a world full of hopelessness I am trying to reach out and help an individual that wants more out of life. If that is you, there is nothing to lose and you won’t waste your time with this.

    I am still a work in progress, however that will not stop me from working diligently until I fulfill my purpose and goal on this earth. If this is the type of opportunity you want, feel free to write and let me know where you are, what do you want to accomplish in the next year. 2019 is about to end and 2020 is just around the corner, do you still want to be in the same place as 2019 or do you want to grow?  This is a challenge not just for me but everyone that want to improve their life.

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  • Best protective styles for natural hair

    This document will be about the different types of protective styles are and how they can assist you in looking after your curly hair. I was fortunate that when I was a lot younger, since I have an interest in hair dressing I was able to learn how to put my hair in a protective style. I will also briefly cover what the benefits of some of the styles.

    Easy styles

    The easiest protective styles that anyone can put on their head is twists or braids with your own hair. Now after I realised how damaging the blow dryer can be, I stopped using it, I was not quite sure what to do with my hair. Since I wash my hair often I found it easy to put them in twists. Now everyone has a different opinion on them in terms of presentation but if it is a bother to you, there are lots of quality wigs nowadays that you can use, therefore it’s not too hard to put them on your head. The advantage of twists and braids on your head is that it can be quite easy to maintain and you can easily moisturise every night. The other great thing is that it promotes hair growth.

    Braids with extensions

    Braids with extension can be another style to have on your head. They are great because your hair will look presentable always and you can choose any length you want. In terms of maintenance, they tend to be a little tricky as if you don’t moisturise, your hair will definitely dry out. Secondly, there tends to be build up especially if you are trying to moisturise as often as possible. A few tricks to combat this problem is to either use some spirit to clean around your scalp area to reduce itchiness. Additionally you can add some light oil to avoid your hair drying out. Braids, have a time period and when they start looking messy, it’s definitely time to take them off. If you can get the front part redone, you should do that, however it’s best to remove once they are messy. You will minimise breakage. It also promotes hair growth.

    Hair with extensions

    Crochet Braids

    Trends are changing and gone are the days of long hours at the salon. When I first discovered Crocheting, it changed my life in ways you cannot imagine. I love this style. it’s so versatile and easy. Additionally, there is a lot less breakage on your scalp. When I do crochet, I don’t have to worry about much as most of the time it looks so natural whatever hair type I want. It does not take long and you can do braids, locks, afro’s or open hair. It normally last for about 4 – 6 weeks depending on how you look after it and I find that it can be a little tricky to maintain depending on what type of style you have. I think making sure that you use a deep treatment method will help in adding moisture to the hair after you take off your crotchet braids.

    Weaves

    People used weaves quite a bit back in the day and I think nowadays with the newer styles weaves are used only for certain sections of the head or to add a little body to the hair if necessary.  Weaves would be used a lot more for special occasions such as graduations, weddings and other types of events. Weaves tend to be the trickiest to maintain as if you do wash it, you must blow dry your roots, otherwise they will smell. It’s also wise to use a leave in conditioner before you braid your hair down to minimise any breakage as well.

    LOCKS

    Locks are quite common nowadays and if maintained appropriately, they look amazing. The beauty of locks is that you can style them in any way you want and they make your hair grow really fast. The trick with locks though is that when you wash them. You have to make sure that you dry them extremely well. Another thing with locks is that they grow quite fast, so you have to keep getting your root’s re-twisted almost every week which can be time consuming. Locks can be braided if you want a different look and can be styled in any other way if you want.

    Conclusion

    All these protective styles make afro hair so versatile and therefore even though you get knots and tangles, having the protective styles means minimising the trouble of taking knots out of the curly hair. The other things beneficial to curly hair is that if it’s left on it’s own without much disturbance it tends to grow quite a lot. I think that every individual with curly hair does have a preference for a specific protective style in general. Although we were born with curly hair, we don’t have to be limited to having it in the curly state all the time and that’s one thing I love about curly hair.

    What do I think is the best style, well for me I actually like the crotchet the best, when I consider all other styles, it’s the most convenient and easiest style to put on your scalp and maintain. However everyone has a look that they like. What about you, what look do you like?

  • About Keri – The story behind the afro hair

    Welcome to Keri’s world where we will talk about all things’ Afro and the maintenance of hair that is curly and frizzy. Before the trend of natural hair, I had been rocking my Afro for well over 2 years. Honestly the struggle was real, preparing for washing, making sure that it is well moisturized and not frizzy. The worst thing was I had moved to a place where there was no-one to help me maintain my hair so I had to figure out things’ on my own.

    At that particular time, there were not so many products for natural hair like there are nowadays and not many people really had Afros’s then.

    YOUR STORY

    Over 10 years ago, I embarked on the natural hair journey which honestly is a struggle for many women of color. Why did I transition to natural when its easy to relax your hair and have it straight? well for me I think it was the fact that I had to look after my hair on my own.

    When I first started my University degree, I used to have relaxed hair. I would get assistance to maintain it from time to time, but when I did not I would do it myself.

    One day during the process of relaxer, I believe I may have put it in my hair for too long and when I was washing off the chemical, I had a clump of hair fall into my hands. From that specific time onward, I have never attempted to relax my hair again and every time I think about it, I just reflect on what I did in the past. I could very well have seemed a professional after that period, however I seriously had to ask myself what I was applying on my body.


    WHY YOU WANT TO HELP PEOPLE

    I really struggled to maintain my hair for a long time and I totally understand individuals that have thicker hair who would not want to have their hair in the natural state. Everyone is entitled to their style and this blog is mainly for individuals looking to have their hair natural and well moisturized. I am not perfect, however everyday I am learning how to keep my hair in tip-top condition especially now that I know how to look after it.

    Another thing that really helps is the fact that there are so many people that have YouTube sites talking about natural hair. However, it has to be stated that not everything works for everyone. You need to understand your own hair and how to maintain it in whatever condition it is. I can attest to growing my Afro quite long, however that is not the point of this blog. The point is ensuring that your hair is well maintained no matter how long or short your hair is.

    This blog is set up to provide tips on how individuals can maintain their hair and ensure that it is at its best condition.

     

    THE GOAL OF YOUR SITE

    The main purpose for this blog was to help people appreciate themselves more and know how to look after themselves. There are many products out there, however you don’t have to use all of them to know what works for you. I know that if you are on a budget, some things’ cannot be done, however if you know what to do, you can save yourself lots of money and still be happy with the results.

    I am more than happy to hear from anyone that finds a specific technique works, however this is for those people that are time poor, however they need to make sure that their hair is looking great for certain occasions.

    If you ever need a hand or have any questions, feel free to leave them below and I will be more than happy to help you out.

    All the best,

    Keri

    afro-queen.com