Patricia Gaines

Facing Our Demons - The Shaming of Black Hair

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by Patricia Gaines

Sunday, 04 August 2024

Real Talk

Keeping our hands off other sisters' edges

I have written, spoken and posted about this for over 20 years now. About how we Black women are taught to hate our natural hair. But not only hate for OUR OWN natural hair, but other women and girls' natural hair. We can't seem to stop looking at our sisters' hair and reacting negatively. It's like when we see natural hair, we ...

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Relaxer Damage Info

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by Patricia Gaines

Tuesday, 16 July 2024

Real Talk

Nappturality does not recommend the use of chemical relaxers. The caustic nature of these chemicals burn and destroy hair. These chemicals are damaging, dangerous and in some cases, carcinogenic. Your edges will be the first to leave you. We understand that there will be those who continue to chemically relax and we have some advice for you. I...

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Nappturality Blog Real Talk Member Blog

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"Coating" Your Natural Hair

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by Patricia Gaines

Saturday, 13 July 2024

Dee's Blogs & Reviews

Can a coating of Shea butter be as beneficial to hair as for skin? It sure can! Coating your natural hair with product gets too much of a bad wrap. The truth is, natural afro type hair is not the same a caucasian hair, which gets weighed down and oily when too much of a rich product like shea butter are used...

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Nappturality Blog Real Talk Shea Butter

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Chebe Butters & Oils

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by Patricia Gaines

Tuesday, 02 July 2024

Real Talk

Variety of nuts for grinding

There are lots of nuts that you can grind to create healthy oils and butters, from walnuts to shea nuts to apricot kernels. Nappturality has tried and recommends this rich, all around hair nut butter/oil for hair growth retention and protection: Chebe. I was having so much trouble with dry, thinning hair due to medication and hyperthyroid issues (p...

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Changing Names of Ingredients

by Patricia Gaines

Sunday, 03 July 2022

Real Talk

Do you check the ingredients when you are looking for hair products? You should. I have already written several articles about the dangers of certain chemicals and ingredients used in creating Black hair care products and which to avoid. You can find one here and another one here. Always check the ingredients Watch out, some companies ar...

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Nappturality Blog Real Talk Member Blog

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Sisterlocks on SCOTUS -- Representation Matters

by Patricia Gaines

Tuesday, 12 April 2022

Real Talk

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson swears Oath at Senate Confirmation Hearings

First, I got goosebumps first, then the tears came. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson has made history. Her induction to the highest court in the United States brings with it the aspirations and dreams of Black women throughout the country. Not only from those of us who aspire to achieve greatness in the legal professions, but all of us. From the young w...

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8733 Hits

Musty Loc Syndrome- Freshen up your Scalp

by Patricia Gaines

Wednesday, 25 August 2021

Real Talk

Funky sour musty danky sticky loc scalp. You best get onto that before it gets out of hand. Not enough thorough cleansing of your scalp is going to cause this problem –but it's a mistake that can be fixed yourself, if you catch it early enough. I know I have written about scalp issues a lot. Like here, and here. But it's im...

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Nappturality Blog Real Talk Member Blog

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The Diluted Natural Hair Sisterhood

by Patricia Gaines

Tuesday, 22 June 2021

Blogs, Stories and More

I want to say something about the current iteration of the "natural hair community" and I am going to be blunt. Fractured -- that term came to mind because of all the splits into tribal factions on Facebook and other platforms. Maybe it's more diluted than fractured - or maybe a combo of both. Everything changes and evolves, sometime...

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Tackling Congested Scalp and Hair

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by Patricia Gaines

Monday, 21 June 2021

Blogs, Stories and More

First, I need to explain what I mean by this term. It's not a medical term – nor something I found on the internet. Congested Scalp and Hair (CSH) is a condition I have found that happens with my own natural hair, and can cause all types of problems. But it can be reversed and prevented if you know how to do it. Remember back in the days of Bl...

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Nappy: The Word Debate

by Patricia Gaines

Wednesday, 26 August 2020

Blogs, Stories and More

A couple of times a year, this subject come around. Like a comet, it blasts through natural hair groups, discussion forums and social media. Is the word "nappy" good or bad? Should we use it or not? 20+ years ago it was unheard of to call yourself nappy. The word was that bad a connotation for hair. Also, 20 years ago it was rare to see a Bla...

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Natural-Haired Job Applicants at a Disadvantage - New Study Shows

by Patricia Gaines

Friday, 21 August 2020

Blogs, Stories and More

A new study conducted by Ashleigh Shelby Rosette, a management professor and a senior associate dean who conducted the research at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business, has been released with not-so-shocking findings: Black women with natural afro hair are less likely to be offered job interviews. This study detected bias against Black women ...

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The Toxicity of Hair Shaming

by Patricia Gaines

Monday, 17 August 2020

Blogs, Stories and More

You know, people have ALWAYS been up in Black women's business when it comes to our bodies, our hair. Too skinny, too fat, short, too nappy, too whatever. And you know what? Leave us alone. There is a trend emerging in this *new* nappy hair movement. Yeah, another one. And it seems to be coming from OUTSIDE our regular women-space. It's coming from...

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Understand Shea Butter

by Patricia Gaines

Tuesday, 16 June 2020

Blogs, Stories and More

We all have heard the benefits of African Shea Butter for decades. Centuries. And it has rightfully earned its place at the apex of nut butters. But what is it, where does it come from and is it for everyone? What is Shea Butter? Shea butter is the fat that has been extracted from the nuts of the Shea Nut tree which is native to Africa and sp...

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Curl Definition on Afro Hair

by Patricia Gaines

Saturday, 30 May 2020

Blogs, Stories and More

Challenges of Texture Definition

Curl definition really isn't the right term for use with actual afro hair. Afro hair is more tightly coiled that curly. Curls are a loose pattern. Afro coils are a tight pattern. So, I am going to refer to this as coil definition. STEP ONE: DETERMINE YOUR HAIR TEXTURE First, you need to HAVE coils for them to pop. Some of us don't have co...

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3 Natural Hair Bloggers Reminisce About The Early Days Of The Movement

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by Patricia Gaines

Thursday, 06 February 2020

Blogs, Stories and More

These hair bloggers shaped the discourse around Black hair and beauty.

by Tatiana Pile, On Assignment For HuffPost02/03/2020 09:00 am ET What started as conversations on hair care forums evolved into a full-fledged online community over the last 20 years. Twenty years ago, Patricia Gaines had a terrible hair experience with a chemical relaxer and was left with extremely short hair. For decades, she'd used ...

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Going Natural with Afro Hair is a Big Deal

by Patricia Gaines

Thursday, 16 January 2020

Blogs, Stories and More

Afro natural hair

This natural hair revolution has meant different things to different women. For some it changed their lives by giving them a reason to stop destroying their hair. For others it didn't play a big part but created a little sense of more freedom and acceptance. For me as Nappturality's founder – it became my life's work to help empower Black women by ...

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Smelly Scalp Syndrome

by Patricia Gaines

Sunday, 08 December 2019

Blogs, Stories and More

You are in the car and lean over to grab something. When you lean back to your seat, you get a whiff of something, and it's not pleasant. It's like a musty, sweaty or sharp smell. Where is it coming from? What just happened? Repeat the motion, same result and now it hits you. It's coming from your hair! Or more likely, from your scalp. Smelly Scalp...

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It's Not so Scary to Cut it Short. The TWA

by Patricia Gaines

Saturday, 12 October 2019

Blogs, Stories and More

Nothing, and I mean nothing – is as fierce as a cool, sharp and on-point teeny-weeny-afro. And I mean that. I have worn almost every style out there on my natural hair. And the one that gave me the most power, was my TWA. Choosing to keep it short has its challenges but if you can manage it, the TWA can turn out to be your best friend. But.... "I h...

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Does Going Natural Stop with Just Hair?

by Patricia Gaines

Thursday, 19 September 2019

EPIC Topics From The Vault

For those of you who have been chemical free for years (or your entire lives), did at some point you transition to a more natural lifestyle like maybe switching to organic products or being vegetarian? Transitioners and newly naturals, do you plan on striving for a more natural lifestyle? I was just thinking about this today as I was washing my hai...

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The Newest Face of L'Oreal - Viola Davis

by Patricia Gaines

Wednesday, 11 September 2019

Blogs, Stories and More

Back when I wrote this article about Viola Davis and her big beautiful afro at the Golden Globes, I was super excited. No one had dared to wear their natural hair so OUT and so BIG before, and she absolutely stole the show. It shouldn't be a big deal, but because it was so rare to see, it was. And not just for me, for everyone there. Now Viola Davi...

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