Orange Is The New Black

This is my first time mentioning it the blog, and to be honest, the reason this blog post is up several weeks late, is because I was unsure about whether I was gona mention it on here yet.
Well here we go...

I could put this a number of ways, but I'm sure you can guess. Yep! I'm expecting!
Yaay!

As a result, my body started changing this Summer, but it's taken me some getting used to.
I've always dreamed of being a "perfect 10" but the reality is I'm usually a size 6.

However being pregnant has changed my whole shopping experience, so I thought I'd share some of the new looks I'm currently experimenting with.

Under the influence of Summer I found myself really drawn to bold splashes of colour. These River Island trousers (with elasticated waistband) are probably the best pair of trousers I've bought this year. 

(River Island: Orange Soft Tie Waist Tapered Trousers - Sale £15)

I like the colour combination of orange and blue, but until now the only blue tops I owned were either skin tight or cropped. So I treated myself to this new one, from the H&M sale.
It's long enough and loose enough to comfortably cover the bump (for now), and the crochet pattern gives a bit more life to what I'd consider quite a conservative cut.
 

(H&M: Blue crochet top - Sale £7)

 (Necklace: Terracles.com - €15)

 (Necklace: Stradivarius - gift)

Well, now the news is out, I'll be back very soon with a few other looks that got me through this Summer.

4 Downsides To Being Natural

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm getting back on YouTube
(so head over and subscribe >here<)
and a couple of weeks ago I posted a video titled:

4 Downsides To Being Natural
 >> Click Here To Watch << 

I posted it in a few Facebook groups and had some great responses.
However, I did find it interesting to notice that a few people got on a slight defensive about it. (I'm pretty sure those were the people who read the title without watching the video, but heyho.)

For those of you who aren't really YouTube users, here's a brief rundown of my thoughts...

Downside #1: LAZINESS
I've been natural now for about 6years and in that time I've become comfortable and familiar. In a way, this is wonderful because it means I've learned to love and accept my hair in a way that I never thought possible when I wore weaves.

The reason I class it as a "downside" is because my comfortable-ness has tipped the balance into complacency. Where I once had an almost religious approach to my hair care, I now cut a whole lot of corners; and when it comes to styling, it's back in a basic, boring, bun at least 80% of the time.

My desire to prove the versatility and acceptability of my hair, declined hugely in the last 2 years.
I've just been happily getting on, without over-thinking or thinking too deeply about my hair. On the one hand, more power to me, because this is how it should be; on the other hand, I think it's time to try and do this crown some justice by celebrating it with a bit more creativity, and better hair care.

Downside #2: LOOSING PEOPLE
Since going natural and witnessing the UK scene growing, I've come across a lot of bloggers and businesses that have come and gone.
As I mentioned in the video, this isn't always a bad thing.
As a blogger, optimistic individuals constantly alert me to new business ventures. However, the difficult truth is that the majority (maybe 7 out of every 10) are less than impressive.
But then there are the standout brands like Be Unique Hair care, MMM Hair, and Rosebox for example. Independent brands that I've seen coming up from the start, whose products were exceptionally great, but for various reasons were unable to keep going.

When you've struggled through the trial and error that goes with finding your perfect products, it's almost painful when you discover they've been discontinued.

In addition to this, there's an extra special pride and desire I have to support other sisters who've worked hard to develop a dream. It's inspirational and has the added bonus of being beneficial if the reality of their dream also benefits you.
Consequently if they close down it's doubly disappointing.


Downside #3: POLITICS

*Insert Kermit Meme here!*
I'm gona keep this one brief because otherwise there is too much that could be said.
I don't think it's good when there are all kinds of public beef and aggression within our relatively small community of naturals.
Personally, I believe it's vital that we voice our opinions, and express our thoughts, but I also think communication is key to progress, therefore sometimes it's important to think about how, what and why we're saying the things we say.

The sad things is, I think a lot of the fallouts that occur are the result of unrealistic expectations, possibly the most damaging expectation being, the idea that because we're all natural we're all going to get along. Sometimes I wonder if we'd do better to be a bit more accepting of each other's differences instead of being too quick to criticise and condemn.


Downside 4: EXPECTIONS
This one probably relates more to bloggers, and again I'd say it actually stems from a good place, but the more people watching your hair journey, the more you can feel a responsibility or obligation to cater to people's expectations. This can sometimes feel quite restricting.

Also, I think there's still something to be said for the problem of curl envy, and debate surrounding "desirable" curls. This can lead to people having unrealistic expectations of their own hair; or aspiring away from their own hair in favour of more popular, and let's be real, often more celebrated on social media, looser curl patterns.

ANYTHING TO ADD?

I recommend checking out the video and also listening to what other Natural Hair Bloggers, +Queen Teshna & +natural belle had to add to my list of downsides.
As usual, I'd love to hear what your opinions are, so please feel free to comment.

SUPREMELY SIMPLE STYLE TRIAL

It's been an actual AGE since I last vlogged on Youtube!
But, that's about to change so I'm giving you a notification now to head over to my channel and subscribe to Crystal Afro on Youtube >here<.

Look out for the video tutorial of this style. 

If you know, or you're practicing how to flat twist, it's genuinely a quick and easy style.

(Not like when experienced bloggers say "It's soo quick and easy to do.")

1.)
Start by sectioning off some hair in the front for your flat twists.
Pull the rest of the hair back into a bun.

2.)
Once you've done your 2 chunky flat twist in the front, then go back and neaten the bun. I used a soft brush and my favourite holding product ECO STYLER GEL, to smooth the hair into a bun. 

3.)
Divide the hair in the bun into 2 sections and twist each one. 

4.)
Finish off by using bobby pins to secure the twists in the bun underneath themselves.
Finish by pinning the flat twists off to the back.

This style looks much neater if, unlike me, you use a comb to do your partings.

There's a few reasons I like this style:

It's good for medium length hair. 

It's a good protective style as it keeps the ends safely tucked away. 

It's very quick to create and can be done on wet or dry hair. 

It looks great on any hair texture (no need to do a twistout for texture first)
I went out to the club with this style but I think it's a great professional style to.

If you decide to try it out, let me know how you get on.

Let me know what you think. Would you wear this style?