No matter how you wear your hair, health should always be the watchword. It’s become more and more of a beauty concern. Finally, some brands are getting the message and delivering the goods. Here are some of the latest products on the shelves, that promise to nourish your tresses.

Carol’s Daughter has billed their latest products as The Ultimate Hair Detox. And now they are available to the public! The Rosemary Mint Purifying Duo are a shampoo and conditioner TKO. Work the shampoo deep into your roots and rub it on your scalp with the pads of your fingers — the rosemary extract will deliver antioxidants, the marine extracts impart hydration, and the peppermint oil gives a refreshing tingling sensation. The conditioner leaves the hair shiny and moist thanks to jojoba oil. The combination is $28.50.

Miss Jessie’s Super Sweetback Treatment is now available for sale (scroll up to see it on that link), and it promises to be “the essential treatment for growing out naturally curly, kinky, and wavy hair.” This super rich softening treatment is loaded with shea butter and centella extract, which is regarded as a growth stimulant. At 16 oz for $48 this isn’t a cheap product, but if you’re a fan of the Miss Jessie’s brand, this could be what you’re looking for.

Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil for Hair Treatment is a dense, unrefined coconut oil that can be used as a pre-shampoo treatment, an overnight hair indulgence, or as a supplement to conditioner, to add slip when detangling. How does this stuff differ from the kind of coconut oil you’d use for cooking in your kitchen? It doesn’t, really. It’s a bit thicker, and contains more coconut solids — which means more protein for your hair. A 16 oz jar costs $19.95.

Macadamia Natural Oil Healing Oil Treatment offers to your hair, what the macadamia nut offers to your body — nutrition and moisture. You only need a few drops of this oil for shine and weightless moisture. Macadamia Nut Oil also promises natural UV protection, so if you’re out in the sun a lot this could be the hair protection you’ve needed. A 4.2 oz bottle comes with a free wide tooth comb and costs $36.

Which sounds most intriguing to you? Reviews coming soon, bellas!

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I interviewed Measha back in 2007 when she was touring with the Cleveland Orchestra. It was such a pleasure to see her on NBC, singing before an audience of 3.2 BILLION people!!

In case you missed her performance, click here to see the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics, and to hear Measha’s Olympic hymn. Her hair, her makeup, her dress — all looked AMAZING. Click here to visit her official website, and click here to read my interview from 2007!

Measha, you continue to make Afrobellas everywhere very proud! Keep shining!

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That photo above is from the Washington Post, from a photo gallery titled The Roots Of It. But it could easily have been me, 25 years ago. Or any one of you bellas reading this, I am sure.

This weekend’s Washington Post included an absolutely lovely article on the traditions (and trials) of braiding a little black girl’s hair. Click here to read Balm: By styling her daughters’ hair each morning, she was attending to something deeper than a beauty ritual, by Lonnae O’Neal Parker. This riveting personal essay reveals how hair styling is so much more than just tending to the superficial exterior, in black culture. Please read it, it’s SO good.

“Back then, when I craved only sleep, my children’s tears — because there is an unassailable physical hurt to the pulling and detangling of black girl hair — often left me unmoved or impatient, or sometimes mingled with my own tired tears. Because, like my mother before me, I had so many other things to attend to.

I begin at the nape of Savannah’s neck and make my first row of two-strand twists small and precise. The style is much like the one that first daughter 11-year-old Malia Obama wore last year on her first day of school in Washington, and this summer in Rome and at Martha’s Vineyard. For us, children favored by the sun, whose natural kinks want nothing more than to stand at attention all over our heads, this hair thing between mothers and daughters goes back to the beginning, and I wonder if Malia’s momma washes and twists her hair on Sunday afternoons, too. Or if the first lady knows how quickly this time with our girls slips away. Probably not. When our oldests are still young, we think they’ll stay that way forever.”

So beautifully written, it makes my heart ache. And it makes me wonder how things will be when I have a little bella of my own, who will sit at my feet waiting for me to comb her hair, as mine was once combed. Will she feel as miserable as I did?

That’s me at age 3, getting my hair done. And as I wrote in the original post back in 2007, “already my little face is drawn and my eyes are troubled at having to wear rollers and get my hair done.”

My hair issues started early – I hated the ritual, hated having to be “neat” and therefore “presentable” and I rebelled against it from day one. I would sabotage my own hairstyles — I distinctly remember waiting till the hairdresser wasn’t looking to turn the time dial on my dryer, just so I could get out of there faster. I read Lonnae O’Neal Parker’s piece with great interest and curiosity. I wonder how her little bellas will grow up to feel about their hair. They have such beautiful natural styles now! Will they grow up loving their natural hair and wanting to maintain it that way? Or will rebellion lead them to chemical relaxers?

We pass down our feelings about our hair to our little ones, and most often we pass them down just as they sit at our feet, waiting to be styled, waiting to be made “presentable.” During this Black History Month it’s worth thinking about how we continue to live our own history. What lessons are we passing down?

What are your childhood memories of hair combing? Were they pleasant? Or were they torturous? How did your childhood hair experiences shape your feelings about hair today?

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I must be honest — it’s difficult writing about hair care and beauty products at a time like this, when thousands upon thousands are suffering in Haiti right now. But good news from the world of hair and beauty — some very charitable companies have stepped forward to give support to our brothers and sisters in Haiti, just as they need it most.

Every donation to Wyclef Jean’s Yele Haiti organization that is made through Karen’s Body Beautiful will be matched by the company. Also, KBB is sending products directly to Haiti. Click here to visit Karen’s Body Beautiful, and click here to go straight to the donation page.

Super fly jewelry designer Camille Peace of Peace Images will be donating a percentage of all her proceeds this week to Yele Haiti. Click here for details, and click here to visit her Etsy store. Her loc chains are gorgeous!

Sarah, designer of hair accessories line Sarenzo Beads, will be donating 20% of every sale that uses the word Haiti at checkout. Click here for details, and click here to visit her web store.

If you know of another business that is legitimately donating funds to Haiti, please let me know in the comments below. Our hearts go out to Haiti at this time of unbelievable tragedy.

With every news report, with every wretched photograph or dire update on social media, my heart goes out to Haitian people suffering in Port au Prince and those relatives and friends around the world who are desperate with worry for their loved ones. I keep thinking of David Rudder’s classic calypso, written so long ago, but so poignant today.

Haiti, we’re sorry.

Have you donated money? Clothes? Canned goods? If you’ve done something to help the situation in Haiti today, please tell me in the comments below.

If you know of another business that is legitimately donating funds to Haiti, please let me know in the comments below. Our hearts go out to Haiti at this time of unbelievable tragedy.

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First category: HAIR!

1. Karen’s Body Beautiful. I was lucky enough to review several products from this Brooklyn-based hair and body care line, and I fell in love with just about everything I tried from their line. The soap and body lotion are incredibly moisturizing, but their hair products were what really blew me away. Try the shampoo and conditioner. They treat my hair as gently as it deserves.

2. HPO Simply Curly. I wish this product was around when I was first transitioning. It is everything I’d been looking for. Creamy and light, beautifully fragranced, and made from the ingredients my hair craves. I just can’t get enough!

3. Curls Curl Gel-les’c. I’m not a fan of hair gel in general, but the creator of Curls came up with something so unique and special, she’s got me rethinking my feelings about gel-type products. Gel-les’c is part serum, part gel, all incredible. It converts my frizzy hair into perfect coils, and doesn’t have that crunch factor I hate in so many other gels.

4. Leonor Greyl Huile de Palme. Thank you, Leonor Greyl! Without you, my hair wouldn’t last through the weather transitions I experienced in November and December. Going from the tropical heat of the Dominican Republic back to the snowy chill of Chicago wasn’t easy, but thanks to this detangling, protective oil, my tresses stayed attractive throughout. Love!

5. Drops of Nature Revive Nutritive Sheen Serum. This is one of few products that I currently use, that I know would also be equally loved by my sister, my mom, and my aunties. Argon and amla oil, rosemary, sunflower, and grapeseed oil. Pure and perfect. Leaves my hair looking shiny, smelling lovely, and feeling strong enough to withstand the elements.

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Zahara and the rest of the Jolie-Pitt family went to see Mary Poppins on Broadway. I couldn’t help but notice that Baby Z — excuse me, little mama is five years old now! — Zahara has more noticeable curl definition, her hair looks moisturized and shines in the light, and the purple barrette is setting it all off just right. Tres adorable!

Will this photo help to silence the Zahara hair police? Only time will tell. What do you think of Miss Z’s new ‘do? I think she’s kicking off 2010 in style!

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Back when I was fresh and green on the blog scene, I was interviewed by an author working on a book. That author was Chris Tia Donaldson. And her book, Thank God I’m Natural, has become a phenomenon this year! Insightful, in depth, and inspiring — even if you read the web’s best hair blogs and fancy yourself a natural hair expert, you’ll learn something new and amazing in TGIN. Chris Tia also now has a great blog, and she’s out on the road promoting her book regularly, so keep your eyes peeled — the TGIN train could be coming to a stop near you! Click here to buy her book. US Shipping is free until Christmas!

Goddess Zuri is a brand I’ve been loving since way back when, and just in time for the holidays, they’ve got some inspiring tees with pro-natural hair messages on sale. I love the I’m a Natural long sleeved tee. $30, and super cool. (But unfortunately, not in plus sizes. Yet.) And while you’re browsing, don’t forget Goddess Zuri’s earrings. I’d rock those Zari hoops in gold, silver, and bronze! Too fly!

Also in the I-wish-this-came-in-plus-size department, my amiga Andrea — you know, of those super fly I Love My Hair prints has come out with a spectacular teeshirt! The Only Regret tee is $36, and features a message I truly love: “The only regret I have with going natural is that I didn’t do it sooner.” Amen!

If art is what you’re after, you need to know about the amazing Dawn Okoro. Her work is vibrant, beautiful, and very pro-afro. I’ve been an admirer for a while, and I’m SO honored — next February, Dawn and I will be guest speakers at the University of Notre Dame together. Dawn’s work is so inspiring, and if you can’t afford an original — prints of her work are available right here. Hey husband — hint hint — I think Diamonds in the Back would look AMAZING in our apartment!

And last but not least — teeshirts here! Getcha Afrobella teeshirts here! I started a Zazzle store a long time back because I had SO many of you asking me when I’d be offering Afrobella merchandise! But I had to cut back on the teeshirt sales while the necessary legal courses of action took place. Well, good news! Just in time for the holidays, I’m back in the clear. And so you can click here to get Afrobella teeshirts, magnets, bags, and even Keds. Yep, Keds. I’m going to add some fun new items, so let me know what you may be looking for!

Seen anything afrobella-tastic while you’ve been shopping lately? Let a bella know!

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First up, the renowned Jane Carter Solution. Specifically formulated for dry, multitextured hair, the brand prides itself on using ingredients derived from nature, natural butters, and certified organic essential oils. I’ve tried quite a few products from the brand — the Travel Kit is a great place to start for JCS newbies! Jane Carter’s Nutrient Replenishing Conditioner helped my hair make the climate change from cold Chicago to sweltering Punta Cana. Now that I’m back, I’m loving the Hair Nourishing Serum. It’s 1 oz for $10, so if you’re used to big bottles of product for your big hair, it may confuse you. But a little goes a long way. It’s a light blend of pure essential oils — lemon, ylang ylang, grapefruit, tangerine, rosemary, geranium, and vitamins A,D,E. It smells delicious and makes my hair feel super soft. I’ve been using it at night, after me and my hair have braved the elements — it’s like a night cream for my hair before I lay my head down on my satin pillowcase.

This past October at the Essence Empowerment Conference here in Chicago, there were beautiful natural haired bellas everywhere! It was truly inspiring to be in such great company. I got to meet the creator of HPO Spa Company, one of the brands I first had a chance to review back in 2006! She gave me a brand new HPO product to try — Simply Curly. Judging from her own glorious natural mane, I knew I was in for something good. The more I use Simply Curly, the more I love it.

It’s a light, whipped, creamy hair styling product made with amazing ingredients. Honey, wheat protein, vitamins, glycerine, acocado, aloe vera, and HPO’s essential oil and herb blend. This is GREAT for those of us who wash and go — it’s moisturizing, nourishing, and super easy to use. If you’ve been looking for something new to enhance your natural curl without being too heavy or drying, this could be it! $17.50 for an 8 oz tub. I’m dying to hear what you bellas think!

If you’re into all-natural products and exotic oils for your hair — you need to have Drops Of Nature on your radar. This boutique beauty company is truly committed to purity, and their Revive Nutritive Sheen Serum is one of the best oil-based serums I’ve tried. For any of you who may have discovered dryness after using the uber popular Moroccan Oil or other such heavily hyped oils, Drops of Nature could be what you’ve been seeking. Apply from root to tip for sheen and sass, or use with a steam cap for 30 minutes for a restorative treatment. Ingredients include rice bran oil, sunflower oil, argon oil, amla extract, rosemary, grapeseed, and jojoba seed oil. $15 a bottle, and thanks to the dropper you really don’t need much product to make an impact.

Last but certainly not least, The Hairoine, a UK based company on the come up. Specializing in hair and skin products made from shea and mango butter, their Growth Formula Hair Oil is chock full of the kinds of oils and herbs that are traditionally linked to strong, healthy tresses. Lavender, rosemary, thyme, and cedar wood, plus apricot, jojoba, sweet almond, olive and The Hairoine’s Egyptian oil blend, all in a potent little spray bottle. It costs £12, for my bellas across the pond looking to nourish their naturals!

Have you tried anything new and amazing for your hair lately? Let me know – you know I’m always on the hunt for the next big thing!

Drops of Nature

The Hairoine

Thank God I’m Natural

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This sparked an internal guilt trip that I won’t recount in great detail, but I want to let you all know that I’m gonna try my bestest to do better. It’s hard out here for a full time blogger, y’all. I’m trying my best to keep all the plates spinning and sometimes I lose track of my main focus. It’s extra challenging now that I’m the main hair blogger for AOL Black Voices, and contributing posts about ethnic beauty for The Fairest — I may be assigned a certain topic, or need to do a product review there ASAP, and then I forget to post it here on Afrobella as well. Or sometimes (to be really real with you), I just get burned out on writing about hair all the time and then I’ll switch it up to keep my passions burning.

Either way, mea maxima culpa and I’m gonna do better! Here are some of my recent reviews:

I love, love, love the hair products of Karen’s Body Beautiful. On my cruise, I took products from two hair care brands with me — Jane Carter Solution (review to come!) and KBB. The Hair Butter kept my hair frizz free and pretty from Chicago’s coolness to South Florida’s heat. Click here to read my whole review.

I recently did a review on luxury hair products — click here to read details on such high end brands as Leonor Greyl, Phyto, and Oribe. I’m gonna work on a longer, more detailed how-it-really-works-on-natural-hair post for y’all soon. But trust me, don’t sleep on Leonor Greyl!

And finally — let’s talk makeup!

Over on Who’s The Fairest, I break down the prospects now that Prescriptives is about to shuffle off this mortal coil. Clicky click for breakdowns of my favorite products by expected giants like MAC, Make Up For Ever, and Three Custom, as well as some unexpected recent faves like Black Opal and Fashion Fair. Yes that’s right, I said Fashion Fair! More to come on that historied cosmetics brand soon!

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My Twitter homie (and incredible DJ) DJ Stylus, shared this awesome Crate and Barrel ad with me. I love it! Mother and daughter natural hair love. Reminded me of Andrea’s I Love My Hair sentiment: “I went natural for me and my daughter. I wanted to be an example of self love.”

Awww! Warm, fuzzy. Do you love it?

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