I’ve got some big news bellas! I’ve officially accepted an opportunity to be a part of the AOL Black Voices family. I’m going to be the new blogger for BV Hair Talk!

So what does this mean? It means I’m going to be a busy bella! I promise that Afrobella will continue as I’ve done for the past almost-three years — a celebration of natural hair and beauty, plus music, culture, travel, and whatever else is on my mind and in my heart. And BV Hair Talk will be entirely about hair.

Please understand, Afrobella will continue to be all about natural beauty for bellas all shades of beautiful! But on BV, I won’t just be focusing my attention on natural tresses — I’ll be expanding my focus to include info for bellas who choose to relax their hair, who rock weaves and wigs, who wear locs and sisterlocs, and who are just looking for the best products to keep their coifs healthy and strong. So bear that in mind.

Having announced this, I gotta ask — I know quite a few of you readers don’t wear a natural do, but because I write exclusively about natural hair over here, you may not comment often. I know, I know - I’ve gotten more than one e mail to that effect. So is there anything in particular you’d like to see addressed over at BV Hair Talk? Let me know in the comments, or drop me a line at afrobellaonaol@gmail.com, and I’ll see what I can do!

Wish me luck, bellas! I’m psyched about this new opportunity!

About a decade ago I was hair-color happy, blissfully experimenting with a veritable rainbow of semi-permanent shades and relaxing my hair bone straight all the while. Then I made the decision to go natural, and man oh man did I notice a difference in the health of my hair. Relaxer and regular coloring chemicals had ripped up my ends, shortened my hair growth, and left me with a tender, scabby, flaky scalp. It took years of hair rehab and lots of TLC to get my situation healthy and growing again.

Now it’s been a while… but I’m contemplating a change in hair color again. Something sunnier for summertime. I don’t even know what I want — a consultation with a professional will help, for starters. (Chicago natural hairstylists, anyone?)

But all of this brought me to a question for my bellas.

How do you define natural?

For me, natural means an unaltered hair texture. It means embracing your kinks and coils as they are, without using heat or chemicals to change the way your hair grows out of your head.

But what about color? Color has long been beloved by many bellas who would describe themselves as natural. And color can alter your hair’s texture, believe it or not. What about all of the beautiful women who wear locs, and color their locs in different tints and tones? And I know some bellas out there who say natural is just that — 100%. No color, no heat, and even using “curly hair” products can be frowned upon in some circles.

I respect everyone’s opinion, and I want to hear from you.

I had a fascinating discussion on Twitter which then led me to post this discussion on the Afrobella forum. And I got some brilliant responses from forum members and regular commenters, which I’m about to share with you.

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Her name and face might not be instantly recognizable to many, but no doubt Ola Hudson was a stunning afrobella of note in her day. Check out her style in that vintage Dewars ad. That hair, those earrings. Ola Hudson was a certified show stopper.

She was a popular costume designer who clothed John Lennon, Ringo Starr, Diana Ross, and David Bowie, specifically for The Man Who Fell To Earth. Ola had two sons — Saul and Albion Hudson. Albion’s nickname is Ash, and Saul… well, his nickname is Slash.

From this awesome Rolling Stone interview:

“Slash, whose real name is Saul Hudson, has been a resident of Los Angeles since his parents moved to America from England in the early Seventies. Slash’s mom, a professional costume designer named Ola Hudson, tailored outfits for such acts as John Lennon, Diana Ross and the Pointer Sisters, while his artist father, Anthony Hudson, created album covers for clients that included Neil Young and Joni Mitchell. Raised in the neo-hippie environs of Laurel Canyon — which he still calls home — young Saul’s own creative instincts were nurtured early on. He was an enthusiastic artist and even contributed a series of animal illustrations to The Bestiary, an unpublished book of verse written by Joni Mitchell, who was a neighbor.

“He was drawing from the time he could pick up a pencil,” says Ola Hudson, who adds that he was weaned on her Led Zeppelin albums and raised in a very loving household. “I’ve been shocked at a lot of things I’ve read where it sounds like I left him on somebody’s doorstep in a basket. They make it seem as if he never had a family and grew up on the streets like an urchin, but that’s not true. It’s just part of his image. He’s not all leather and tattoos.”

So there you have it — Slash’s mom was all kinds of awesome, and her style directly influenced rock n roll as we know it. Ola Hudson passed away, succumbing to lung cancer on Friday at age 62. On his Twitter page, Slash confessed that he’s back in the studio, but having trouble concentrating. Thoughts and commiserations to the whole Hudson family. RIP, Ola Hudson.

Click here for one of my favorite G&R videos, Don’t Cry. It seemed fitting to end this post with one of Slash’s most poignant solos, even if YouTube won’t let me embed the video.

I gotta admit — I’ve been kind of ambivalent about Ciara’s new direction. I dug her style when she was singing about keeping her Goodies in the jar, but now she’s adopted a hypersexed alternative persona and some of her latest moves have left this bella a bit cold.

So when I saw these pretty photos of Ciara over on Concrete Loop, I was pleasantly surprised. I love it! The commenters on Concrete Loop don’t seem to agree… but I wasn’t the only one digging her hairstyle. Lady Kinnks caught Ciara’s performance on Jimmy Kimmel and is feeling it too!

First Tyra on her Good Hair episode, now Ciara. Are cornrows coming back for the summer? I sure hope so. Please note — both Tyra and Ciara worked the look with strong, smoky eye makeup and a nude lip. Love it! I hope Ciara continues to bring cornrows back — she looks classy, elegant, and it’s refreshing to see! I love the hair. I think Ciara’s a beautiful woman and a talented entertainer, so I’m hoping the whole Super C thing is just a phase. But I’m also hoping the hair isn’t. (edited at 2 am - just found out via Twitter, Ciara’s hair was done by Crystal Oliver, hairstylist to the stars.

What do you think, bellas? Are you a Ciara fan? What do you think about the hair?

Click here to get Ciara’s latest album, Fantasy Ride.

I’m so overwhelmed, I haven’t had a chance to watch it. But I did get a chance to peep the comments over at Necole Bitchie and I’ll admit, my expectations aren’t high. (** Youtube removed the original clip, so I feature this clip courtesy of Dime Wars).

From what I understand, the natural spokesbella quotient was low. And that’s a shame. But like I said, I’m in the middle of a crazy move, just got back from a trip… I haven’t watched it yet. Have you? What did you think? Should I watch, or will this episode of the Tyra show just raise my blood pressure?

I’m not sure what rock I’ve been under that allowed me to somehow miss the rare beauty that is Chantal Biya, First Lady of Cameroon. But please believe me, following her recent appearance at the Leadership for Health Summit in Los Angeles, I’m sitting up and taking notice now.

Wow. All I can do is quote Tim Gunn. “That’s a lot of look!”

AfricanLoft phrases it more charitably - “Her fashion sense is very bold.” Yes indeed. I’ll go a step further and say her fashion sense is straight outta Dynasty. Most makeup artists will advise clients to choose a strong lip or a strong eye. Not both. Chantal Biya says to hell with those silly rules — her look can be described as opera diva. You can spot her a mile away.

Bold eyes. Bright lips. Blush like “blaow” on her cheekbones, and eyebrows that are calling out for Damone Roberts’ expert hand. It’s like she’s been shot with Homer Simpson’s makeup gun.

And then there’s the hair. Goodness gracious, then there’s the hair.

Drink it all in with the Telegraph’s 17-image slideshow of the First Lady. Boston Globe style writer Christopher Muther has called her “a saint of style,” and added “you can tell that the Pontiff was thinking “How can I grow my eyebrows like that” through the entire encounter,” during her meeting with the Pope.

Now here at Afrobella I strive for positive vibrations and constructive criticism, so I’ll just say — less is more. There’s no denying that Chantal Biya is a beautiful woman, but I think she manages to hide that by taking her look into a clownlike stratosphere. Just imagine what a makeunder would do — soften those unnatural brows, bring her hair two decades forward, and give her a subtler makeup look. She’d be a show stopper — in a much different way than she is now. But that’s just my opinion.

What do you think, bellas? Any style advice for Chantal Biya, or do you applaud her passion for fashion?