Alvina Brooks The soul Tees & I love my fro Challenge, America's Next Natural Model fro, love, tees/, soulseed 0
Wow! I can’t believe that this was the last challenge of the competition. I am sad to see it all come to an end but I had so much fun along the way. Even though this challenge was the most difficult because there was so many different components to it, it was definitely my favorite one.
Soulseed Tees
Until now, I had yet to come across any t-shirts that accurately represent Black Women as well as Soulseed Tees do. What is especially great about these shirts is that each one speaks of a different chapter in the same book. It begins with Harriet Tubman and her significant impact on the underground railroad and then moves to a celebration of Black Nationalism. The story then portrays a break away from chemicals and a movement towards 100% organic hair and exemplifies fun and free colored girls accepting and loving themselves the way God has created them. Finally we see an revelation that all black women are beautiful no matter what their skin shade. Soulseed Tees takes you on a journey through black history.
Not only do these shirts represent positive moments in the history of black women, Soulseed tees strives to make each moment stand out. As black women, we must never forget the courage of Harriet Tubman, a slave woman who risked her life to help others escape to freedom using the underground railroad. Angela Davis and other Black Panthers who stood strong and tall flaunting their natural hair and fighting for equality. When I think of statue of liberation immediately Tommie Smith and John Carlos come to mind. These men held their fists high at the 1968 Olympic games in support of human equality and black pride. How scary it must have been to be natural when everyone else was immersed in the relaxer phenomenon. Chemical free hair was not the norm for black women, but rather the exception. Massive respect goes out to all of those able to be different when different was considered wrong. All colored girls; light skinned women, and dark skin women, are beautiful.
It is very important to wear clothing that represents who you are. As a people, we should never forget where we came from or how far we’ve come. With so many negative stereotypes attached to the black community today, it is especially important that we make valiant efforts to transform disadvantageous images to affirmative ones. How one dresses reflects not only on themselves but on a whole community. We need to actively represent who we are as black women to dissuade negativity and enforce positivity.
Tshirts
I chose to wear my hair in a high loose curly ponytail with a bandana for the Harriet Tubman shirt. Nowadays when someone refers to a ‘ride or die chick’ they are referring to someone that is tough, smart, and reliable. A ride or die chick will stay by your side through thick and thin, no matter what. That description accurately represents Harriet Tubman and in this picture I wanted to appear tough and confident, just like Harriet.
For the Statue of Liberation shirt, I wore my hair in an afro. I also wore black gloves to simulate Tommie Smith and John Carlos’s protest. Civil rights and Black Power movements are so influential not only to the black community but to the rest of the world. I wanted this picture to represent power and freedom.
I love everything organic, especially sweet mini bell peppers. I love the bright color of bell peppers and I thought they looked cute in my hair and went with the organic idea. My hair is a separated flexi-rod set with mini-bell pepper hair accessories. For the flexi-rod set I just washed and conditioned my hair and added some leave in. While my hair was still wet, I applied the flex-rods and slept with them overnight. My hair was still a little wet in the morning so I blow dried my roots a little bit.
For the colored girls shirt, I wore my hair in a high bun with a colorful bow in front. I love using big bows for natural hair accessories, they can make a simple bun look cute and fashionable. And finally for the light skin/dark skin shirt I wore my hair pinned to one side. I felt that this hairstyle showed the divide between light and dark women. Both sides of my hair look beautiful just as both light and dark skinned women are as well.
The second shot was photographed by Abbas Khalid and the rest were shot by Jennifer Siu. Jennifer has been my photographer this whole competition. She also attends the University of California, Berkeley with me. I think both of us have grown throughout this process. I, as a model, and her as my photographer. As much as I love her photography, I am also glad that I was able to collaborate with some different photographers for this weeks shoots.
I Love My Fro
Products
Yes, I do love my fro. I love wearing my hair out and big. However as natural women we know that as amazing as afros look, they are often hard to maintain because of the increased possibility of breakage and single-strand knots. But with I Love My Fro, you will be able to enjoy your fro without having to worry about these horrible issues.
First of all, when the products first arrived, they were packaged so nicely. I opened the box and behold! Cheetah print tissue paper with each product neatly wrapped inside! The label on these products is so fierce. It exemplifies a foxy natural woman who uses her confidence to work her fro, and that’s the look I was going for with my pictures.
The products I received were Shea Butter Whip, Black Tea Leave-in, and Avocado Oil. I love every single one of these items. The Shea Butter Whip has most certainly become one of my new staples. My hair tends to be on the drier side and I find myself moisturizing multiple times a day, after I began using I Love My Fro’s Shea Butter Whip I noticed that I don’t have to moisturize as often as usual. This whip is light and fluffy and almost reminds me of a souffle. It literally melts in my hair and gets absorbed so easily. What’s great about this whip is that it is water based so it can be applied to wet or dry hair and still be effective either way. The Shea Butter Whip also comes in many different scents. Mine is orange-vanilla and it smells incredible. I find that putting this whip on my ends keeps them soft and moisturized and I have noticed a reduced amount of knots since I began using it. This whip can also be relieve dry patches on the skin.
Imagine, the luxury of a daily black tea rinse in the convenience of a spray bottle. Well with I Love My Fro’s Black Tea Leave-In you can have just that! The caffeine in black tea can stimulate hair growth, minimize shedding, and thicken hair. The natural dyes in tea can also bring out the natural highlights in hair. I love this leave-in. As with the Shea Butter Whip, it smells amazing and my hair always feels moisturized after. You can use this product in conjunction with the shea butter or simply on it’s own. Since I have been using this leave in, I have not had as many shed hairs which, makes me extremely happy. I use this product after I wash and condition my hair and whenever I feel my hair needs to be refreshed. It also is very useful when I am attempting to comb out my afro and my hair is tangled. I simply spray some of this leave-in and finger comb out the tangles.
Avocado oil is very beneficial to the skin and the hair. In my hair, I love to use it on my scalp to relieve itches or for scalp massages. I also use it on my skin after I shower. The oil is absorbed into my epidermis and leaves my skin feeling hydrated and smooth. I also apply this oil about a half an hour before I shampoo my hair and let it soak in. I notice my hair feels much softer after this pre-poo treatment.
All of these products are truly amazing. I have been using them so much that I am going to have to order more soon. The great thing about these products is that even if you are not convinced about my review you can order sample/travel sizes and try them for yourself. The sample sizes still have the same fierce labels and are the perfect size to take on trips.
Whether you get the full size or sample size, try these products, you won’t be disappointed.
Photos
For my shoot for I Love My Fro, I wanted to exhibit the same sexiness and confidence portrayed by the product label. I chose to shoot outside and in the studio to give different looks. In the shoots outside, my hair is combed out into an afro and for the ones inside my hair is an extremely separated flexi-rod set. With these two different hairstyles, I wanted to show that big hair can be created in different ways and that it is all beautiful.
The pictures outside are shot by Vanessa Karel. She is an amazing photographer and did an incredible job highlighting my hair and the products. She is an aspiring photographer from San Francisco and has a bright future ahead of her in the photography business. I loved the way her shots came out. The ones inside were shot by Jennifer Siu.
My Pictures
For the last five pictures, I really wanted to represent me. After completing this competition to the end I feel on top of the world which is represented by my pictures on the rooftop. The ones on the roof and with the pretty wallpaper were also shot by Vanessa Karel. It was amazing to shoot on top of a roof in San Francisco. It was a very liberating experience. In most of these photos I wore my hair in a combed out afro style.
The other photos were shot by Steve Babuljak. Steve is an established photographer who shoots in the Bay Area. He is an industrial and educational photographer who specializes in lifestyle pictures. Steve was such a pleasure to work with and I really hope I get a chance to do another shoot with him in the future. In these pictures, I wanted to represent my self for who I really am. A fun, loving, natural girl who loves to laugh and always has a smile on her face. I wanted to show the unstressed and free-spirited part of Jayme. In these pictures, I chose to wear my hair in day old wash-in-go. I find that after a day, my hair does not have as much shrinkage, making my curls appear fuller and longer. For the wash-in-go I used Going-Natural’s Curl Keeper Light.
I wanted to show my joy in being who I am, a natural black woman. I am not confined to societies standards of what is beautiful as exhibited in magazine’s or music videos. I am happy to be who I am and I love myself and my hair. No matter what happens in the future, I will continue to be naturally me.
Thank you!
Photographers
Jennifer Siu
http://www.facebook.com/jennnifersiu?fref=ts
Vanessa Karel
Abbas Khalid
Steve Babuljak
http://babuljak.com/index.html
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This challenge was sponsored by Soul Seed Tees where you can get the beautiful shirts and
I Love my Fro where you can get the Hair Products.
I Love my Fro where you can get the Hair Products.
