I am not my hair analysis

I like to think about hair a lot. As a hairstylist, this should make sense, but sometimes I think hair might be taking up too much of my brain space. Lately, I’ve been noticing a lot of it in music, so I’ve decided to analyze a few that mention or talk about hair, in a short and simplified format just to put a little rock in your shoe. So that maybe next time you turn on your favourite Spotify playlist or absentmindedly turn the radio on in your car, or while you’re walking down the aisles at Safeway and you hear a song you know arbitrarily, you’ll stop and think a little bit more about the words.

I’m writing about the song “I am not my hair” by India.Arie featuring Akon. If you’ve never heard this song, I would suggest you stop reading now, go listen to it, and then come back. 

The song opens with rapper Akon taking us back to a time in his younger life, trying to get girls and trying to land a job, but having problems with both because his hair is deemed unattractive for one and inappropriate for the other. What would you do it this situation? Style your hair so you can land the girl? Cut it all off so you can nail that job interview and impress the big guys in suits? Either way you’re sort of forced to compromise what you really want right? He says so himself at the end of this verse; he didn’t see success, until after he cut it all off anyways.

Then bops in India Arie. She she gives us a timeline of hairstyles in her life from a young age up until adulthood, dealing with harmful hairstyles, harsh chemicals, and dealing with hair loss. All of these are very common scenarios for young black women with tight afro hair. And along with that comes, shame, embarrassment, sometimes bullying, all in an effort to conform to an image that other people want you to be. 

Later on in the song, India asks a very important question: does the state of her hair actually matter? And that question can be extended to us, and even beyond hair. Does our appearance inherently change our value as human beings at all? I think the easy and obvious answer is no. But if we all believed that as a society, songs like this wouldn’t be written, right? 

There are people who look different from us, who behave differently from us, who speak differently from us, and we judge them. I think all of us are born with prejudice towards others not like us, whether we like it or not. 

The answer to this question is given in the song specifically in the chorus as India sings: 

I am not my hair

I am not this skin

I am not your expectations, no 

I am not my hair

I am not this skin

I am the soul that lives within

One of my favourite things about this song is that the answer is in you. 

It’s 2024. We all know racism exists, that’s not a secret. If you pay attention to the news, you will know that there are still children in the U.S. that have been suspended from school because they refuse to change their hair to meet the standards of the school dress code. Standards that are inherently racist. You may know that we’ve come very far since this song has been released. There are laws that have been enacted so that people with different hair textures can’t be refused jobs based on their hair. (For more information on this, I highly recommend you Google “the Crown Act”). 

This song is almost 20 years old, and its message is still incredibly accurate to today’s society. But I think this song is really trying to get across the message that it’s about self acceptance first. It’s about the soul that lives within. It’s not about placing the blame on the people that create the expectations, or even making them change their perspective. It’s about you accepting you for who you are, knowing where you’re worth comes from, and that your hair has nothing to do with that.

Chanté 

💙🩵💙🩵💙🩵Happy Valentine’s Day💙🩵💙🩵💙🩵

The Fresh Perspective...

Get ready for it!

protect yourself

We’re here! We made it to June! As most of us know, Winnipeg is heading for a pure and certain heat wave. It’s looking like nothing but 30’s and up from here on out. I’m here for it because I love the heat! But even me, sun worshipper number 1, is aware of it’s dangers.

dehydration will set in…

Hydration is the name of the game here folks! For healthy hair, skin and nails, we need water first. *Consuming a proper amount of water daily will help keep your hair skin and nails balanced with moisture as well as keep you cool! I would call this the first step. Keep hydrated with water and you’re already doing more than you know

I use spf on my skin and I’m sure to apply cuticle oil to my nails as much as I can. I have a bottle in my office and one in my car. At red lights, my cuticles get some love! Honestly, if I don’t have a few bottles of cuticle oil kicking around, I would never use it! When it comes to my hair it’s a little bit tricky because I can’t always wear a hat. (sometimes the afro is really poppin off and nothing can hold it down) All of that to say, the best way to protect your hair from the sun is to cover it up. Wear a hat! If you can’t cover your head, opt for some heat protection products and serums to keep from dehydrating your mid-lengths and ends.

I love you

In store we have a great variety of heat protecting products that not only protect from your hot tools but the sun and her rays as well. Unfortunately we don’t sell hats yet, but I may be onto something. Stay tuned and stay cool! If you really want to make my day, subscribe below!

-peace

*there is a specific amount of water everyone needs, do what’s best for your body.

The Fresh Perspective...

Just shut up and clean already!

if all my supplies looked like this?

It’s Spring!  We must get ready! Everything will be fresh and new soon so let’s get prepared!  Ugh!  Like we don’t know?! Marketing ploys to get you in the season for more spending and purchasing and ‘buying’ into themes and concepts that make a difference? Really?  My cynicism is on fire this post!

Get your life together, throw out those old things.  Get your closet in shape, get ready to show your flesh! It’s all too much but yet, I can say that I look forward to all the “spring” marketing.  I love a new beginning and an excuse to make a to-do list.  What do you like?  Does this time of year make you want to be better and accomplish more?  Does it make you want to vomit? 

does this ‘spark joy’?

This is the time we take stalk of how much more we need to accomplish before the sun warms all things and we are in full on summer mode. It almost seems like we live for this? We live for the preparation of the seasons ahead. We are always looking for the next thing to motivate us. At least I am… Humans, we are the best, subscribe below!

-peace

The Fresh Perspective...

ARE YOU NICE?

Winter is coming to an end and we all know what comes up next, SPRINGTIME! For some of us, this is our jam! For others, it’s another change that is dreaded. Puddles, rain, remnants left from the various snowfalls hardly seem springish but in Manitoba, you know how it is. When stages end and new ones begin, it’s hard not to look back and see where you were. Life hasn’t been easy as of late…

what a nice smile

so nice!

I haven’t been that nice actually. For real, somewhere during the turmoil of 2022 I began to stop being nice.

I was annoyed 9/10 times everyday. Folks weren’t kind, folks weren’t nice and it drove me crazy! I began to realize that I too was part of the problem! I would focus on whatever task I was into and wouldn’t look up to engage anyone or anything. If I was on a run, I would never look at the oncoming runner. Walks too! My eyes just face forward. NOT NICE.

There were a few times I smiled at a face and was met with nothing. Even at times I would say ‘hello’ and not an answer at all! Nothing! I think that’s when I became less nice. Tired of people being tired, I too started slipping and I started being unkind or rather, out of touch and out of connection.

This entry is reminding me that I actually like being nice and I like engaging humans in real life. I do. Sometimes though, it’s easy to forget. Be nice and subscribe to this blog. Hehehehe 😉

-peace

freshfood

DON’T CALL IT A COMEBACK, I’VE BEEN HERE FOR YEARS

This is my time, again.  I have said many times that writing was something I would like to work on and maintain.  For those of you who have been here from the beginning, you may have remembered freshfood as a Saturday blog post about literally, whatever.

remember those loooong nails?!

My mind is an open field of thoughts, dreams, questions, ideas and ideals.  I can’t stop it from trying to discover, learn and understand (I’d love suggestions on how to slow down your brain).  I think that freshfood was sort of a creative outlet for me and I didn’t even know it!

In a world of ‘likes’ and digital glory, it’s hard to know if you’re really doing it right.  I wrote every week for a few years and our followers might have been around 5-15 people (who probably felt bad for me honestly).  Compared to other blogs I’ve read or how online products grow, freshfood was/is developing at a snail’s pace.  As long as the 5-15 of you care to peek inside my mind, I hope to bring you nothing but pure entertainment if no education or knowledge is gleaned from my ramblings.  The goal is to stay consistent and hopefully some folks will be into my words.

…my future’s so bright!

So yeah, here we go, the first of a few/many.  I’m hoping to get some things off my chest and also ask some serious questions (i’m very intrigued by perspectives that are different from mine so this could be interesting). Since the pandemic and the death of George Floyd, I have myself experienced a sort of renaissance and freshfood (even though it’s old) is really a by-product of my “newness”.

I’m back at it and I’m ready for anything!  Don’t forget to subscribe! 😬

-peace

*lyrics from mama said knock you out- LL COOL J

It's a new dawn, a new day, and a new life?

We are about to embark into the coldest season of the year, and even though it’s been a rough year (pandemic, everything) I’m looking forward to all the newness that fall brings. It’s been hard navigating the current standards of our culture as a business owner, AND a mother! Can I just say that I have never been in so many ‘emotional’ situations in my life! From the changing business standards and our changing social standards, I’m learning, growing and developing more and more each day!

if you don’t succeed…

While changes in my life are inevitable, I’m looking forward to the changes here, at the shop! The pandemic has forced us to re-evaluate how we currently run the business and how we HAVE BEEN running the business until the shut downs of 2019. This time we are challenged with how to stay open in spite of our stylists being unreliable because of illnesses. At first, we noticed that clients were cancelling and now, it’s the stylists! These cancellations and closures have slowly made us aware of how inconsistent and slightly unreliable a service industry can be. What to do? How do we solve this issue?

so many rules, so many changes

Full disclosure, I’m not sure what all the answers are, but I am here, ready and willing to find out! This day and age, online businesses are truly taking off! Our hair salon has not yet evolved to doing haircuts online but hey, maybe one day?

We can really feel the power of online sales when we deliberately make posts to move our followers to our site. E-commerce is a new area for me to learn about but like I said, new things are now my jam? We are hoping to develop a little more on this platform by offering unique items that are sustainably made/sourced and that will make your life easier, while staying local and close.

Our body wash and lotion have been exclusively used by all the Okwumabuas in my house! I prefer body wash over bar soap because I find the bar soap really dries my skin out. Freshwash (body wash) DOES NOT. It is almost like a cowash for your skin! It’s moisturizing AND cleansing at once! I love how it makes my skin feel during the shower and afterwards as well. The lotion is pretty great too, but I double up with shea in the cooler months as Freshbody (body lotion) is quite light. It’s great for the summer or if you need a light layer of moisture.

We have some other products available for a subscription services so that you don’t have to think about coming in to get your hair products or lifestyle products. You can sign up to have them automatically ordered and set up for delivery or pick up at your own convenience! We’re here to help you, help us, help you! 😉

just one step at a time buddy

As the year continues to unfold, we are hoping that some small changes will help keep our doors open for as long as possible. We are chnaging our salon software and will also be making changes here, to our website, in order to capture more sales. While cutting, coloring and styling hair is my main focus and the shops main source of revenue, this NEW way has made it almost impossible to see the future without more “digital” services.

The online store is open 24 hours a day and while my chair is not available all day everyday, freshairboutique.ca is. It’s seems like this is the number one way that we can make some financial progress without relying or depending on service providers. It makes me sad that folks are seeming less dependable these days, but that’s just how things are now. The sooner we accept the changes, the sooner we can move on.

remember the time?

Thanks to all who support us! You might be sitting in our chairs, or only shopping online, but either way helps and either way supports. Now that we are in the last quarter of the year, we really hope that all of you consider our online store while you’re shopping for back to school items or holiday gifts or whatever your heart desires. We are always open!

-p