Cherish My Daughter

Hey Mocha Family, I hope these Hair Talk videos will develop over time into a series we really enjoy.  So far the response has been great.  This particular video was inspired by a video I watched by YouTubers MAZELEE.  I love their "cinevlogs" and have been captivated for months by their style of story telling.  This particular video was a family vlog about their new baby with only a snippet of the mom talking to her girls about what hair cuts they would try next.  Though the conversation was only a small part of the video, the comments section exploded with people admonishing the mom about cutting her daughters' hair and asking her to please not cut it anymore. My immediate response was, how ridiculous!!! Later, I kept thinking about it and wondering what it means for us as moms and for me as a black mom. Do we still believe that black hair doesn't grow? Is there still a fear that is we cut our daughter's hair, beyond a trim, it will never grow back...

Hey Mocha Family, Who would ever want to watch paint dry?  Any volunteers? Probably not. I need to stop staring at my locks in the mirror so much.  It's about as constructive as watching paint dry. A watched pot never boils... I could go on, but I'll stop here. I know my locks will develop, grow and thrive to be a lush head of hair.  This process is a mind game and to win I must let myself be. Is should be easier the second time around, shouldn't it? Be blessed!

Hey Mocha Family, Out of all the styles I can teach my girls, I find small twists to be the most practical towards independence.  If you redo them often enough, they are easy in and easy out.  This particular set has braided roots to minimize matting when the girls wet their hair on wash and swim days.  The braided roots make it a little trickier to master.  I find that my girls are able to twist like pros before they can braid like pros. I had to help my 11 year old,  Mocha Girl 3, by braiding the roots for her and allowing her to finish off the twists.  She makes her braids are still a little too loose to do the job of trapping the shed hair.  She will master the technique with a little bit of practice.  Your girl was so proud! Be blessed!

Hey Mocha Family, God talks to me in the most unexpected ways if I stay open.  I've shared with you guys before about how emotional the process of launching my son Kaleb has been, and two years are flying by so that Head Mocha Girl's turn is coming like lightening.  My feelings are a mixed bag. A wonderful perk of the kids getting older is the ability to get away for the weekend with my husband with relative ease.  I was really happy on a recent trip and when we decided to pop into Busch Gardens, I never imagined I'd be getting an answer to the restless stirrings in my soul about my purpose. Check out the video and let me know your thoughts. Be blessed!

Hey Mocha Family, I may not be a product junkie but I will typically watch any video promoting a product to help with detangling.  For me, this is the most challenging aspect of managing our natural hair.  I am so happy I watched a recent review of Aunt jackie's Knot Havin' it.  I bought bought the girl version and the adult version but as far as I can tell the main difference is the scent.  I would describe the girls' version as a more of a candy scent.  My girls love both products. Be advised that this is a very light moisturizer.  I am accustomed to using much heavier products, particularly my shea butter mix when I put in long term styles like twists and braids.  Knot Havin' it melts in the hair completely with a feel of almost no residue.  I wanted to try the product alone so I did not layer oils and butters over it.  By the time we were finished styling I was very pleased with the softness of the girl's hair.  There was als...

Hey Mocha Family, I'm so proud of my son Kaleb!  He managed to release his first album while maintaining such good grades in college to continually stay on the dean's list.  We are so blessed by his faithfulness and happy to see him live his dream. I love Kaleb's idea of sharing the story behind the music on his website.  How enjoyable it is to follow the creator's story while listening to the music!  As I shared in the video, Kaleb has been drawing emotion from me with his music for years.  This album is a unique glimpse into his imagination. Please check out his album and make the purchase if you like.  We really appreciate it. Purchase Kaleb's Album LEGEND Companion Website Be blessed!

Hey Mocha Family, Hubby and I had such a great time on our trip.  My hair was of no concern.  It is so funny to me what an issue I thought it would be when we were planning our get away.  The set I did in the video took away too much volume from my locks.  Nope.  Fail. Have you ever heard that sea water helps hair lock faster? I took the opportunity to test this myth while we were on our trip by rinsing my locks with sea water.  They did tighten up, but once I rinsed the sea water out, my locks were the same as ever.  Since I am not about to walk around with salty locks, I'll leave that one alone. Be blessed!

Hey Mocha Family, I can't tell you how many strange looks I get when people find out that I actually fast food instead of something like media.  At the very least, the expectation is that I am having some sort of juice.  Turns out that water fasting is quite healthy and not as uncommon as you might expect. I was really amazed to find so much information on water fasting online.  My family and I have been doing a 21 day progressive fast for more than a decade now.  We drop one meal the first week, two meals the second, and the last seven days is a water fast. This was my first year making it all the way through the seven days on just water.  Previously, I have reverted to one meal a day to make it through after a few days on the water fast.  It was largely a mental feat. Once I believed I could actually succeed, I did. Every year I lose weight but this was my first time tracking it.  I lost 21 pounds in 21 days!  I have regained 8 pound...