Embrace your beauty

 “You are altogether beautiful my love; there is no flaw in you.”

Song of Solomon 4:7

Society dictates beauty norms through marketing and trends often determined by the television, movie, and fashion industry.  Social media then reinforces these false messages and attempts to control a false message of a lifestyle that dictates what is beautiful and desirable in our society.  In turn, a lot of money is spent by individuals that are trying to fit in so that the individual feels that s/he is worthy.  What is sad about this whole fruitless cycle is that individuals are negatively affected by a created product instead of embracing their own beauty and gifts that they have been given by God, the perfect designer.

My niece is a senior in high school.  She is very beautiful and a Christian.  She has challenges though as she participates daily in her last year of high school while maintaining   her values.  An area of frustration for her has been her hair.  She went through a period of time that she wanted to straighten her hair in order for her to feel that it looked good.  She now embraces her curls, especially now that she knows how to take care of her hair.

Having curly hair is a very personal experience.  Curly hair comes in all forms from gently curly to very tight curls-from thin/fine strands to thick course strands.  No matter what type of hair that you have you must research and find out what works best for you.  On the "curly hair rating scale patterns" my niece is a 3C.  After much trial and error and research, she has come up with a satisfactory system for caring for her hair.  These are her pearls of wisdom.

• She uses Renpure Advanced refreshing moisture shampoo, extra strength with Tree Tea & Lemon Sage.  Put the shampoo directly on your scalp and massage/lather your scalp.  Then slowly work your way to the ends so that minimal shampoo is on the end in order not to dry them out.  Rinse out thoroughly. 
• They also make a conditioner that she uses.  She applies a large amount to the ends of her hair and then slowly works it up to her scalp so that the scalp has minimal exposure to the conditioner.  She leaves the conditioner in while she showers and then rinses it out after about five minutes.  
• Then she scrunches her hair with a cotton tee shirt to dry it.  While her hair is damp, she sprays her hair with Carol & Daughter Black Vanilla (moisture and shine) leave-in conditioner.  She uses her fingers and a wide toothed comb to detangle her hair.  
• She then puts a dab the size of a quarter into the palm of her hand of Curls Crème Brule whipping curl cream.  She rubs her hands together and works the product evenly through her hair.
• Garnier Fructus Nourishing Treat 1-minute hair mask and coconut extract is then used.  She puts a quarter size scoop into the palm of her hand.  She rubs her hands together and then works the hair mask through her hair.  This treatment is very nourishing to the hair and scalp.  It is a vegan formula and is a 94% biodegradable formula.  
•  The last step to this process before styling, she uses Curls Blueberry Bliss Curl Control Jelly.  While the hair is still wet, she scrunches it into her hair section by section.  Then she styles her hair.

Since she has been practicing this hair regime, her hair is healthier and easier to style.  

Psalm 139:14 “I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”