Summer Hair Struggles

Color and highlights still popping

My Fancy hair has been growing like weeds. The wet twist out, using Fancy Free Pomade for Hair & Skin, is my signature hairstyle. But this summer is different. I have been struggling with my hair. Let me count the ways....

1. I have hair color. 
2. I have less time to deal with my hair than ever before.
3. It's been so hot and humid.
4. I don't have real motivation to look "fly"
5. My husband always has to have input on my hair.

The Bleached Hair Struggle

I have kinky hair. Kinky hair has a propensity to require more moisture than heavier hair. Lighten it and you've added another level of dryness to your already dry hair. Of course, my hairstylist is one of the best colorist in the city. She uses quality product and techniques to prevent damage. She also recommended products for me to use at home. However, after a year, I'm finding that the dryness is effecting how long my wet twist outs maintain the curl pattern. So, I'm spending more money going in for conditioning treatments which can get expensive. Ugh!

All I got in me is 2 braids

The Ain't Nobody Got Time Fah Dat Struggle

I thought I'd have more time to do what I wanted to do when I left healthcare. WRONG!! I forgot about the whole active little one year old part. I also didn't factor in that my business would be growing. I mean....of course, it's going to grow, I work on growing it daily but I just didn't think about it. Setting aside dedicated hair time has become more and more difficult.

Started with a braid out now we're here.

The Humidity Is A Hater Struggle

On top of making sure my hair is moisturized because of the color, I'm dealing with the hot, steamy, east coast summer climate. I'll be damned if I sacrifice 2-3 hours fooling with my hair for it to only look like something for 4-5 days because of humidity. I need to get 1.5 weeks out of it, at the very least. And forget an up-do

The I Ain't Got Nowhere To Be Struggle

Storyville Time

Let's face it. My reality is I'm whipping it up in the kitchen, playing with my son, laundry, errands, computer work, phone calls, etc. I leave home to drop my boy off at daycare and go to the grocery store. Who am I looking cute for? I know I should look cute for my husband but we've been together since 2003, he knows I'm fly when I need to be. I make sure my workout gear is cute. However, I can't commit to cute hair too.

$186 Vacation Hair

The My Husband Is Picky About My Hair Struggle
When I decided to grow my relaxer out, it was a family decision. It's our hair. My husband doesn't like weave or individual braids/plaits. He deals with my quirks so I oblige him when it comes to my hair. He liked my waist length vacation cornrows but they only last 3 weeks, are expensive, and take a lot of time - See Struggle #2. I twisted my hair in small two-strand twists that I could style as if it is braids. He said it looks cute but I can tell he's not impressed. He prefers faux locs. Heavy, expensive, take forever to install faux locs. I just can't commit.  

Fancy "FREE" Twists

So, what's the moral? Even the Natural Hair Consultant has hair struggles. You are not alone. As we grow and evolve, so does our hair routine. Right now I'm trying different conditioning treatments for colored hair, water, and Fancy Free Milk for Hair & Skin as a moisturizer I can use frequently. 

Fall will come. My color will grow out. I will hire a few more employees. My son will start school. And all will be right with Fancy's world and hair....until it's not. LOL!

Shameless Plug Alert:

Fancy Free, LLC. is the manufacturer of quality products for hair and skin. Our motto is "Keeping you chemical free." Visit our website, www.fancyfreellc.com, to see a full range of our products and services. Sign up for our mailing list to receive natural hair tips and stay up to date on sales and the latest happenings with Fancy Free.

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The Emotional Roller Coaster of Entrepreneurship

One of my loves, who is actually the reason why I started blogging again after taking a couple years hiatus, started a meet up for black women entrepreneurs. I was very picky about how I spent my time because, well, I didn't have much to spare. However, since taking my jump, I'm more open to opportunities to network and get out of the house. I'm oucheah! Cuz ain't nobody gonna know about my product if I don't get out in deez streetz and tell them.

Anyway, the meet up was such a blessing. It was a protected space where we, black women, who always have to be strong and look like we have it together, could be vulnerable and express our needs. A few key takeaways were that:

• Entrepreneurship is lonely
• It is scientifically proven that human beings are designed to operate in a team

Let's start with the loneliness of it all, as I sit in my living room alone writing this blog. Yeah. It seems cool to have the freedom during the day to schedule things as I please. I don't have the constant interruptions of office mates and colleagues asking me dumb questions. However, that can backfire because I am alone with my thoughts, which leads to the next take a way.....

Human beings are designed to operate in a team. We are not meant to do things alone. It leads to the dreaded emotional roller coaster that comes with entrepreneurship. There are days when you feel like you can take over the world and get it all done. There are other days where it is all too much and you just wanna take a nap. Then there are the days that you feel like you aren't doing enough, that you are a complete loser, and you start to rethink your life choices. All because you're by yourself. I mean, look at some stories of people being stranded after some kind of accident. A group of people is more likely to survive than a single person in the exact same circumstances. Let that sink in.

So, even though I know all of that, I had a bad day this week. I did it too myself. It was not warranted. I started comparing my progress to someone else's. I wondered if I could make it happen. I wondered when my growth would reach it's tipping point. I wondered what I was doing wrong. Then I snapped out of it and gave myself some kudos, like my therapist taught me. After that, I had a conversation with a sister friend about being emotional. She reminded me of who I am and also reminded me of the source of those emotions *whispers* cuz she knows my real life. Then said "You'll be alright. Just keep swimming." She was right. I snapped out of it.

But then I had to talk about that roller coaster moment with someone who was at the meet up with me. My cousin, who is also my attorney. I hit her up and said "cousin confessions". LOL! I told her about my emotional roller coaster and what triggered it. We laughed at me for being "crazy" then we started talking about strategy and timelines. We had a few "ah ha" moments and felt good about Fancy Free when we ended the conversation.

The point is, who knows how long I would've been in that funk had I not reached out to my team to at

 least talk about it. Entrepreneurship is not easy. It takes a lot of mental tenacity to make it through each day with the growth, set backs, highs, and lows. Any success story has a team of people pushing the main character through. Your team does not have to be in the same industry, it's just important to have a safe place where you can be vulnerable and receive encouragement. 

In the end, I know that I made the right decision. My father and husband always remind me that the tough choice is usually the best choice and that nothing worth having will be easy to come by. 

Shameless Plug Alert:

Fancy Free, LLC. is the manufacturer of quality products for hair and skin. Our motto is "Keeping you chemical free." Visit our website, www.fancyfreellc.com, to see a full range of our products and services. Sine up for our mailing list to receive natural hair tips and stay up to date on sales and the latest happenings with Fancy Free.

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Desires of the Heart

Soooooo, I used to have time to blog regularly. Then I started a business. Then I had a baby. Then I went back to work. Then business started picking up. Life became crazy but the whole time, I was working on myself. Not just growing my business but growing as a person. Improving how I manage my time. Improving my relationships. Loving myself more. Not being so hard on myself. Reading more. Meditating. Eating better. I also began to grow out of things. Outgrow relationships. Outgrow activities. You get the point.

Fast forward to today. I have finally fully retired from healthcare to pursue my passion. And, also, allowing what has been chasing me my entire life to catch up to me. You see, I grew up in a salon. I feel like every woman in my family has a cosmetology license, including my mother. I even worked in a salon while in grad school and apprenticed under my mother but never took the exam. What some may see is a woman who started small, business picked up, opportunities are presenting, so I decided to go for it. What people don't know is that this was written. Business is picking up, so I need more space to manufacture. What will that space look like? Eventually, it will be a beauty salon. That's the 2 year plan. All that running from cosmetology has come full circle. LOL!

In college, even though my career path was not clear, I knew I did not want to work beyond the age of 35. At the time, I thought I would work a little bit and then my husband would take care of me. LOL! I mean, my mother is a stay at home mom, why can't I be one too? No one knew this. I never shared it with my husband. Why? Well, life happens. Reality hits you. I assumed that we could not sustain our lifestyle on one salary, so my intention was to stay in healthcare until I was retirement age. While I had reached my career goals by the age of 30, I thought I'd develop new ones for healthcare related advancement in my career. Nope. That's not what happened. Once I mastered my job function, I was looking for a new challenge. This was right around the time when I began my journey in multilevel marketing.

Say what you want about multilevel marketing, but for me, it was an eye opener. I was open minded
and I realized how powerful I really am. I learned about myself. I realized that sitting in a windowless office, tucked away in the corner of a blood bank was not what Jehovah intended for me. I thought that multilevel marketing would be my ticket to a Fancy Free life but it didn't work out that way. Turned out that Fancy Free was my ticket. It had been right under my nose for about 2 years. I started selling the hair product. More and more women were scheduling natural hair consults. Fancy Free business was picking up. 500% growth in my second year of business. Those numbers happened during a year where I was working on a HUGE project at work, pregnant, oh yeah, and had a baby. This all got me thinking. If I grew this much with wishy washy, inconsistent marketing, imagine what I could do if I focused all of my energy on Fancy Free. Endless possibilities. No limits.

So there it was, staring me in my face, my destiny. But how was I going to transition? Our household

budget included my, now half time, salary. Simple. Get out of debt. If we paid off all of our credit cards, we could afford to live off of my husband's salary. Simple. Not easy though. LOL! So we got to work. Scaled back on splurging. We were chopping that debt down, big time. The whole time, my work environment was becoming more miserable. Once my focus shifted from being a Specialist in Blood Bank to growing as a CEO, I no longer wanted to spend time blood banking. I wanted to be building Fancy Free. So EVERYTHING irritated me. It was time to go.

Once we set a date, that's when the magic began. You see, when you begin to walk in your purpose,
the flood gates open and everything works toward helping you receive the desires of your heart. Things lined up in a way that I couldn't have even imagined for myself. I never told my husband I wanted to retire by 35. I kept it close to my heart. Between Jehovah and I. But I was open and flexible. The silence while meditating let Him speak to me. I just listened. Now, here I am at 36 years old and retired. Only one year behind schedule. I mean, the Jews wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, so 1 year isn't so bad.

No, all of our debt isn't completely paid off but we're on our way. No, I don't have a building yet. But the reality is, all of your ducks are never going to line up the way you want them to before you take the "jump". Jehovah wants you to rely on Him and not your own understanding. When we humble ourselves, accept that there a lot of things that we just don't know, and actively seek guidance, things happen, BIG things happen.

What are the desires of your heart? Go after them with all you've got. There is nothing you can't do once you've made up your mind.

Shameless plug alert:
Fancy Free, LLC. is the manufacturer of quality products for hair and skin. Our motto is "Keeping you chemical free." Visit our website, www.fancyfreellc.com, to see a full range of our products and services. Sine up for our mailing list to receive natural hair tips and stay up to date on sales and the latest happenings with Fancy Free.

Subscribe to our mailing list

How Fancy Free Came To Be

Growing My Relaxer Out

I grew up in a salon, my great aunt's salon. A blue magic, press and curl, Marcel irons salon. My whole family grew up with long, healthy, relaxed hair. So, when I told my mother I wanted to grow my relaxer out
Since big hair was attainable with relaxed hair, I kept relaxing my hair for about 10 more years. After 3 degrees, a husband, and reaching my career goals, I was now more focused on my health. I was working out, making sure my food was organic and trying to eat right. I say "trying" cuz I love sweet and cakes and pies. One day, I asked myself why I was cautious about what I was putting in my body but still putting that crap ON my body. So, I had a talk with my husband, since my hair is his hair, and we decided no more relaxers. I would grow my relaxer out and finally have the big hair I wanted 10 years before.
Transitioning was tough for me, even though I knew how to take care of and style hair. Something about the 2 different textures made it difficult. But I saw it through and about 6 months into my transition, I was able to cut the last 2 inches of relaxed hair off and be totally "free" from chemicals.

at 20 y.o., her first question to me was "Why?" At 20, I ain't have no real answer other than that I wanted big hair. LOL! Which was a legit answer. She told me to rod my hair, pluck it out, and I'd have big hair. Hahahahahhahaha!!!

Fancy Free Natural Hair Consults

Not relaxing my hair has been a journey for me. I have had to experiment with styles and products. About 7 months in, I was able to get into my groove. That's when the questions started when I'd go out. And not just "Is that a twist out?", I'm talking they wanted step by step instructions for the entire process while I was walking out off my office building, running late for an appointment. This would happen to me all the time.

Almost every where I went. When my accountant suggested we start a home based business, I hadn't been introduced to direct sales yet, so....I ordered business cards and set a new gmail account. Voila! "Fancy Free Natural Hair Consults" was born. My marketing strategy? I would answer 3 questions about my hair, if there was a 4th question, I'd hand them a business card to set up a time for the interested party have a consultation. That didn't really start popping off until the product came around.

Fancy Free Shea Pomade

I have thick, kinky hair. Kinky hair tends to get dry. In experimenting, I found that I needed a heavy, shea based product to seal the moisture in and hold my twists. I tried a few products off the shelf but the texture was too waxy and difficult to work with or I didn't like the smell. I never thought about making my own. I went to a natural hair expo on a mission and I found a product made by a natural hair stylist, based in North Carolina. It smelled great and was easy to work with. However, the cost of shipping and time it took for me to get what I needed was just too much. So, one day I decided I could make it myself. I got me a recipe from the interwebs, picked up the ingredients and got cooking.

The first batch was a disaster. After making a mess in the kitchen, my husband spilled my shea all in the refrigerator and on the floor. *sigh* I was laugh-crying about it at work and one of my colleagues told me to whip it instead of melting it. It's less work, doesn't separate, and doesn't make that big of a mess. She was right! I whipped my own hair product for about a year before I started using it on my skin too. 

I kept that product a family secret for about 2 years. Only my sisters and I were using it. LOL! Then one of my master public relations girlfriends was getting dressed at my house for an event and used some of it. She said "This product is bomb! Start selling this ASAP!" So, I did and the rest is history.

NOW, my Natural Hair Consults include a 2 oz. Fancy Free Shea Pomade, a 3 day supply of awesome sauce nutritional supplements, that I use myself, and a customized hair care plan. I also sell the whipped shea by itself. With lots of support and word of mouth testimonials, Fancy Free Shea Pomade has grown leaps and bounds in just 9 months. As we continue to grow and try to fit the needs of every curly hair texture, stay tuned for more products in the Fancy Free line.

Just know that it is our goal to have everyone fall in love with their natural tresses and keep skin glowing and moisturized. 

Visit our website at www.fancyfreellc.com/hair for more about me and sign up get email updates about products and sales.  

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Big Hair Problems

Big Hair is all fun and games until.....

1. You close your hair in your car door.
When my hair was long and straight, I thought getting my hair caught under my purse or bookbag straps was a nuisance. Nope. Closing my car door and turning to look for my phone in my purse, only to get yanked back cuz my hair is still outside. SMH

Yes. This is an actual bug that I
found in my hair. :-(

2. Wash day
I've got a pretty simple and effective routine but....you still have to mentally prepare. No one ever feels like tackling that alladat hair. Even the shampoo girl at the salon rolls her eyes when I walk in the door. Sorry. Not sorry.

3. Finding bugs in your hair.
You finally get yo mind right to comb your hair only to feel something crunchy in the back of your head. You think "No. My fairy knots are towards my ends. Is that popcorn? We haven't had popcorn. No. Wait! It's a bug!" Aaaahhhhh!!!
Big hair is no different than "grass" to bugs. You have been warned.

4. You can't be cute at the pool.

Pool day swag. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care.

I mean you can be cute. But be prepared for the "post swimming" detangling struggle, which is way worse than the regular "wash day" detangling struggle. I'd rather not. So, I detangle and plait before hitting the pool. I look ugly but my post swimming life is way more convenient.

5. You gotta master the duck and move Matrix type back bend.
For whatever reason, people are fascinated with big hair. They want to touch it. They wanna feel if it's soft. They wanna feel if it's a weave. But no. Get yo nassey hands away from my hair. This is not a petting zoo. I do not want to hurt you by doing the karate chop hand block, so I duck and move like the Matrix to avoid the scalp assault.

On a serious note, I love my hair. The good. The bad. The ugly. We work well together. LOL! At Fancy Free Natural Consults, I specialize in helping women get through their big hair struggles and embrace it, the way I have. Check out our Fancy Free Shea Pomade for Hair & Skin at www.fancyfreehair.com.

We care about your big hair. You should too. 

Fancy's Hair Horror Story

Yes. Me and my perfect hair have horror stories. LOL! I'm being dramatic but I was kind of traumatized. Let's start from the beginning.

Bantu Knots

I did not do the big chop. I transitioned. Like straight transition with no weave or anything. My philosophy is that you should enjoy your hair at each phase of growth and naturalness. When I first cut the last inch of my relaxed hair off, I mostly wore my hair as a wash and go. My Go-To product at the time was Kinky Curly. As my hair grew, the twist out became my style of choice. Stay with me, I'm going somewhere with this.

Bantu Knot Out

Like I said before, I don't do much to my hair but I take care of it and make sure it's healthy. Healthy hair grows.....like weeds. So, now I'm experimenting with different styles for my even longer hair. Well, I have to because a wet twist out, that used to last for about 2-3 weeks, now only lasts for about 1 week. I can push it to 2 weeks but it gets dry really fast and dry hair leads to breakage. And Fancy hair is healthy hair. Lately, I have been blow drying it and styling it in an up do. Here is where the Horror Story begins.....

Sticky Flexi Rod Set

I decided I wanted to try flexirods on my natural hair. Only problem is, I gave my flexirods to my mother and then my sisters lost them. So, here I am all ready to rock and roll with the rods. I had watched the videos, figured out what kind of product I needed. I was ready. Since I didn't have my rods, I decided I would do a bantu knot out. The YouTube girl used flax seed gel and I ain't feel like making that so I looked in my product stock to see what I already had that I could use. Low and behold, I had some Shea Moisture Gel Curling Souffle from when I was experimenting with replacements for Kinky Curly. I was sold when I saw it had flax seed oil in it. Flax seed gel, gel with flax seed oil in it....same thing to me. I whip it out and get to bantu knotting.

Stick Nasty Flexi Rod Set
After 2 days in
Tampa Humidity

The bantu knots are perfect. And I let them out and they LOOKED perfect. However, they felt damp and sticky even though I didn't use that much product. *sigh* We all know that damp and sticky natural hair will never end well. You have 2 choices, push through and deal with it or shampoo it out. I decided to push through. My knot out fell and started to swell as soon as it got a little
warm in the party we went to. I tried to  one more time before I gave in and just bought some flexirods. I didn't add anymore product, just sprayed with a little water. Flexirods looked great. My hair still felt a little sticky but not as sticky as the first day.

Then......we went to Tampa, FL. It was all down hill from there.

After my emergency shampoo
and blow dry.

It was so humid. I could feel my hair swelling as soon as we got off the plane. We had to stand outside to wait for the rental car shuttle. It got bigger. So big that my husband looked
at me and asked if I packed my hair stuff with me. Got to the hotel room. It was just as humid in the hotel room as it was outside. So I whipped out my flexirods, spray bottle, and another archived hair product, Design Essential Defining Creme Gel. I kept my rods in my hair for the car ride to the convention center. It was so humid in the hotel room and outside that my hair was STILL WET when I took my rods out. I got compliments on my hair but I was not happy when I thought about how my hair looked before we arrived in Tampa. So that night, I did the same thing. Rods, spray bottle, product. But this time, I was getting this nasty dirt gunk on my hands while I was rolling it. I was so disgusted. I started plotting how I was gonna shampoo my hair with no hair products or tools.

Finally got it right!
Flexi rods with Shea Moisture
Curl & Style Milk

The next day, I didn't have any form to my style. It was a full on bush. I loves me a bush but it was a sticky, dirty bush. No go. So, I got on google and found me a natural hair stylist. Confirmed my walk-in appointment and go that guck outta my hair. She did a great job with my shampoo and blow dry. Was even open to my instructions when it came
time to style it. Thanks Ms. Nancy!

Moral to the story: Even Fancy has bad hair days. Natural hair is trial and error. Don't be scared. You're not gonna die because you had crazy looking hair. Having a bad hair day, or two, is not the end of the world. Make light of it, wash it, and try again.

Don't be afraid to do something different with your Fancy hair. That's what the Fancy Life is all about, taking chances.

Text WOODS to 55469 to schedule your consultation with Fancy Free Hair
Consults.

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