Here’s a message that landed in my inbox a few weeks ago. I’m sure more of you have had this problem.

Monique wrote:

”…I have one quick question: I’ve been natural for about 5 years but the hair in the front of my head is still straight and will not grow or get thick no matter what I do. Do you know of anything that might help me? I usually do twists but when it comes to the front my hair usually looks like I haven’t done a thing to it the next day. Can’t wait to hear from you.”
Your up and coming all natural sister,
Mo

Hi Monique!

Everyone seems to have different textures of hair on their head. (Myself included, it drives me nuts!) It’s possible that past relaxers/hot pressing has changed the texture of your hair in that area.  I am not a certified hair dresser, but here’s what’s worked for me in the past:

Last week, Carolynn of the HoneyCee Blog emailed me about a blog post she did all about conditioners and natural hair. I thought it was REALLY informative and upon her request decided to repost part of it here.

Excerpt from “Conditioner: the Natural Girlz Creamy Crack!”:

“I was de-tangling my hair with my new found favorite conditioner and it occurred to me that conditioner is to a lot of natural women what relaxers are to chemically straightened women: CRACK! I mean lets be real about the situation, if there is one thing that most natural women can’t go without its conditioner. Whether it be a leave-in, moisturizer, or a rinse out we panic when we’re about to run out lol. So, I decided to do a little research on this product that we love so much and discover what it is really that makes this product beneficial to our hair.

Here is what I found:

Thank you so much to all of you who have made Savvy Brown a succes this year! As the blog turns 1 I am humbled by all that I have met and learned this year. Thank you to allof you who took the time to comment, email, follow me, friend me and guest post! This post is dedicated to you! I invite you to continue the journey again with me in 2011! I promise more how-tos, interview, giveaways and even a video or two! I wish you and your family a healthy, prosperous, green New Year! I leave you with two lovely emails I received from readers recently… HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!

This email came to me from Marisa:

I received this lovely tip on Facebook, from my Aunt Sexy* and decided to share it with the rest of the class.

Homemade Oatmeal Mask for Acne

“I suffer from Adult acne – so I did some research and came up with this mask”.

- Boil about 1/4 cup of oatmeal (organic can be used) in water

- Add in about 2 tablespoon of lemon juice and 2 tablespoon of aloe vera gel.

- Let cool to room temp.

- Apply to clean skin let mask dry on face

This question came from blog reader Marrissa who was curious about my makeup reggie.

Hey Savvy,

I have been reading the site for a while now.  You posted something on curly nikki in the forum and I came on over.  Here is my question for you–do you wear makeup? I assume you do not. Most ladies I see that are natural are still packing on make-up filled with all the harsh chemicals.  I guess they have not made the connection that your skin can be chemical free too. I stopped wearing make up when I started transitioning.  I started transitioning because of health reasons.  I decided to stop relaxing when watching black in america 2′s segment about triple negative cancer rates in black women.  So my sister and friends were excited to get all my mac products but did not want to hear the reason why.

- Marisa

Yes Marrissa! I absolutely wear makeup, but I chose to wear healthier versions of it. Many people think I don’t wear makeup, but I do. (I swear! See pics below). I just like a more natural look. My makeup is 99% free of parabens, sulfate, synthetic dyes, synthetic fragrance, mineral oil, petro-chemicals and phtalates. The only thing I don’t usually wear is blush because it makes me break out and I don’t wear eye shadow because I have NO CLUE how to apply it!

Here’s what I use almost every day:

Foundation – Bare Escentuals Bare Minerals Original Mineral Foundation 100% Pure mineral powder with an SPF of 15 $25

Color: Deep

I lightly brush this all over my face and it instantly evens out my skin tone. I have noticed, however, that I do have to re-apply before the end of the day if I’m goin out. )I’ve been told that topping off the foundation with BE Mineral Veil will give my makeup it more staying power, but I haven’t tried that yet. The titianium and zinc powders are what provide the sun protection. Positive: Great coverage, it comes in any color for any complexion and the stuff lasts forever. (You’ll need to replace your brush before you need to replace the powder) Negative: It’s messy. Because there are no parabens, it’s basically loose powder and it can get everywhere if you’re not careful. To find out what shade you are stop buy a makeup place like Sephora and they’ll help you find your color for free!

Ingredients:
Titanium Dioxide 12.6%, Zinc Oxide 21%. Inactive Ingredients: Bismuth Oxychloride, Mica, Iron Oxides, Zinc Oxide, Titanium Dioxide

Buy Bare Minerals SPF 15 Mineral Makeup at the Savvy Shop

This Meatless Monday contribution comes from subscriber Amanda. It’s a yummy soup that I think I will make tonight! (This should last most of the week!)

Green Lentil Soup Recipe

Ingredients
2 c Green lentils ( I buy in bulk from Whole Foods)
1 large bag spinach – try not to buy baby spinach, larger tougher leaves hold up better in the soup
8 oz sliced mushrooms – optional. I love mushrooms so I put them in EVERYTHING!!
32oz Vegetable Stock – I like Kitchen Basics, also available at WF
2C water
1 large finely chopped onion
4-5 stalks finely chopped celery
1 chopped carrot
2 bay leaves
1 lemon and/or 2-4Twhite wine or champagne vinegar
salt and pepper
olive oil

Directions

I don’t know about you, but here in New York, we’ve gone through about 3 seasons this week, and now it seems to be fall here again for some reason?! I thought it would be a perfect day to share this recipe straight from the mailbag! (Note: If you’re vegetarian just leave the chicken out of this one..)

This one comes from Andrea, who sent me this recipe for chicken soup with a twist. If you can’t find yucca where you live you can always substitute potatoes in this recipe.

This week’s mailbag post comes from artist and my Savvy Logo designer Akinseye Brown. No relation, but him, his wife and Sexy and I are all good friends. He shared this interesting story that was sent to him by a friend:

Akinseye writes…

The heating unit went out on my dryer! The gentleman that fixes things around the house for us told us that he wanted to show us something and he went over to the dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was clean. (I always clean the lint from the filter after every load of clothes.) He took the filter over to the sink and ran hot water over it. The lint filter is made of a mesh material. Well …. the hot water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn’t go through it at all! He told us that dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh – that’s what burns out the heating unit.

You can’t SEE the film, but it’s there. It’s what is in the dryer sheets to make your clothes soft and static free.

This email exchange is from reader mrs.cuunninham.07  about her doctor wanting to give her daughter a medicine with some ingredients she wasn’t comfortable with.
This  is an example of how you need to ask your doctor questions, and KEEP asking them…

mrs.cunningham.07
“… After having to take my 10 month old to her pediatrician for some intestinal issues (there a stomach bug spreading here in SC) I was given a Rx that has 2 parabens listed in the ingredients. Although both parabens are the last 2 ingredients it still scares me. What is the best way to handle such a dilemma? I know that Corigan needs to get better and this is what her Doctor has recommended to help the problem but my “Mommy instincts” tell me there has to be another way specifically a more natural way…”

savvy
I’m not a doctor… but I do question why your daughter is being given medication for just a “stomach bug”. I could see if she had some type of bacterial infection, but I would need more info. You should trust your “mommy instincts” and ask your doctor what the following…
- Is the medication specifically for your daughter’s particular ailment? Or is it just “preventing” the stomach bug that’s going around?
- You would feel more comfortable trying to solve this problem naturally first if possible, and then if that doesn’t work you’d be willing to try the medication. Is there anything else that you could give her to eat or drink that might work?