Artist Madrid, Naturally

This is my dear friend Janice B. She is a sassy stylish expat who is rocking her natural hair journey in Ontario, Canada. Before going natural, she'd had relaxers since childhood along with lots of heat and weave styles. After relaxers, her mom would hot comb her hair and as Janice grew up she started flat ironing it herself. Janice started to consider going natural when she realized she was not immune to her family's hereditary female hair loss. In her twenties, she could see that her hair was starting to thin as well. By this time all of her friends were natural but she felt she couldn't pull of the afro-look. However, she knew she needed to make a change for the health of her hair.  "I needed to start taking care of my hair" . So she began doing tons of research which opened up a whole world of natural hair possibilities.  "Now Love is in the Hair because It Is Beautiful" -Mr. B (Janice's Hubby) Janice is absolutely in love with her na...

Melanie Raabe is an international best-selling, award-winning crime fiction writer.  The Trap  her debut novel is a fast-paced thriller about a recluse author who decides to solve the cold case of her sister’s murder on her own. It won the Stuttgart Crime Prize in 2015 and has been translated in more than eight languages. Her second novel,  The Stranger Upstairs , stayed on  Der Spiegel  Bestseller List (the most widely circulated weekly magazine in Europe) for nearly 6 months. Melanie Raabe grew up in Thuringia, Germany and now lives in Cologne with her family.  I had the privilege of meeting Melanie during a Book Talk at the Toronto International Author Festival last month. I was beyond thrilled when she took time out of her busy tour schedule to shed some light on the mysteries of naturally curly hair care. What products are you currently using in your hair care routine?  I really like organic hair products like Shea butter and c...

This is definitely a late post but for our 1 year anniversary Mr. Madrid and I took a stroll through time and landed in the 1940's . This was possibly my favorite photo shoot ever! And Our Photographer Lacie was absolutely amazing.  I just had to share! Dress   Make-up   Men's Hat   Photography  

Ingrid Agbato is owner of Coo-Mon: A ccessoires  et Cultures (A ccessories and Cultures) based in Montreal.  I had the privilege of wearing one of her Coo-Mon creations for a blog photo shoot recently.  Ms. Agbato's designs are sold in boutiques throughout Quebec and on  Etsy.com . She was a finalist for the  2016  RJCCQ's  Next Generation of Business in Quebec:  Immigrant Entrepreneur of the Year award   and has been featured in several magazines and journals including Quebec's  Journal les Affaires .  Along with being an entrepreneur and clothes designer, she successfully juggles the responsibilities of motherhood and caring for her daughter's naturally curly hair. I was so honored that Ingrid took some time out of her busy schedule to chat with me about the inspiration for her masterpieces and biggest motivation. What got you started selling your designs?  I left Benin for Canada, thanks to another ...

I am jetting off to Toronto, Canada for a long weekend! So look forward to international posts about hair, fashion, health and literature coming soon!

I CAN NOT BELIEVE IT HAS BEEN 7 YEARS... Since I had the the courage to embark on my adulthood natural hair journey. So much has happened, so many things have changed but my resolve has stayed constant. In celebration of my seventh Hairaversary, exciting things will be happening Here, including some international content. However, I don't want to let the cat of the bag just yet. Instead I leave you with a picture of me posing with our newly adopted furbaby, Maggie. Adoption Day October 2018

I just wanted to randomly share that last week I realized my hair is long enough to be worn in a single ponytail and I've been rocking one ever since lol.

乐Lola Most of you already know that I named my hair LeLola but I just wanted to take a second to explain the name. Le (乐) comes from the Chinese* word XǐLè (喜乐 pronounced: SheLuh), meaning Joy. Lola is derived from the Spanish name Dolores, meaning Sorrows. So, LeLola literally means "Joys and Sorrows", which explains my hair perfectly : ) *I have been studying Mandarin Chinese for five years. +This information came from  MDBG Chinese-English Dictionary  and  BabyNames.com .

First, let me say that I have been having so much fun with my Hairaversary that I have decided to extend it by a week or two ; ) Wow! I have been natural for two whole years. When straightened, my hair length is past my shoulders (it hasn’t been that long since when I first started getting relaxers).  Now, LeLola actually falls down (when I do a twist or flat twist –out) instead of the gravity-defying look I rocked for a year. I love that I my hair is always changing and the available styles keep growing.  Yes, there are times when I would rather clean the house then wash and style my hair lol. I admit I am not as obsessed with my hair as I used to be but that is perfectly fine. Wasn’t that my purpose all along?...To find balance in my life? I still love my hair and I am so happy that 2 ½ years ago I decided to go natural again. I have learned so much about what makes hair healthy. All before I felt like my hair was just an inconvenience. Now, I know my hair is one of m...

Organized by: Columbia Curly Girls Hosted by: Curls Natural Hair Care Products Panelists: Tracey - Lovely Products, Inc. (in the natural hair care business for 40 years) spokesperson Chasity Shipman -Owner of Nappyology 101 ( 619 Lady St, Columbia, SC 29201 ) Wilbur - Hair repair & texture specialist at Nappyology 101(the science of hair) Keisha (not pictured)- Locs specialist at Nappyology 101 The overall theme of the night was definitely how to get and maintain healthy hair through the science of natural hair. Hair Care Tips & Facts: ·         Hair should be trimmed every 8 to 10 weeks, 3 months at most ·         When your hair goes through different stages, it needs different things ·         It needs to be washed once a week: "Each head of hair is a work of art; your canvas must be cleaned" ·...

Neem oil is a wonderful asset to your hair and skin. It comes from the neem tree, which is found in many parts of India. The neem tree has antiviral, antihistamine, antiseptic, antifungal and antibacterial properties.  No wonder the United Nations has declared it the “Tree of the 21st Century”.  Personally, I love neem oil. I use it in my deep conditioning mix , as a pre-poo, and sometimes I even use a neem shampoo (when my hair needs extra TLC). Note: Because of its pungent smell, I would not recommend using it daily by itself. For the first 6 months of going natural, I used it to treat my severe dandruff (which is no longer a problem). The night before wash day, I would massage the oil into my scalp and put a plastic cap on my head. Then in the morning, wash as usual. It’s said that neem oil also stimulates the scalp, promoting hair growth. Neem oil has even helped me with my eczema when I am unable to get my prescribed cream refilled. So where can you can you get this “mi...

Look how time has flown by. Artist Madrid, Naturally is celebrating its first anniversary and what a year it has been. Starting this blog is up there with those life-altering decisions of going natural and getting healthy. Coming here and writing about my missteps and my progress has been like therapy for me. And I hope you have enjoyed following me on my journey as well. So much has changed in my life. I am glad that I have been able to share it with you; from going gluten-free to completely my first 5k to falling out and then back in love with LeLola (my hair). I look in the mirror and I see a new person. I am stronger because I have learned how to fight cravings and how to push myself further. I am wiser because I now know what I should put in my body and how I should treat it. I am bolder because I have learned how to let my hair down (literally), as well as my protective walls. I am happier because I have finally learned to accept and love myself. I have shared a lot with you. Tha...

Since this my Hairaversary, I decided to go way back (May) into the archives and do a post on how I did my hair when I went out of town for a Bible assembly. Because it was going to be a 13 hour drive both ways, I didn't want to be bothered with having to do my hair when we got there. Finally, I decided on the style below. My mom (the Braiding Queen) started off flat-twisting (for the edges) and then switched to corn rolling (so they would stay longer) my hair with Marley Kinky hair. At the top she did sort of a twisted bun or as I affectionally call it "the  Triceratops bun" lol . I loved it! And it was super easy to keep up : )

Alright, I am going to tell you this true story and I give you full permission to laugh at will. In March, a group of friends and I were invited to a Formal. I was really excited because I found a reason to wear one of my old bridesmaid dresses and I would get to do something different with my hair. Since it was out of town, we decided to go up the day of and then get pretty at a friend's house. Now, there are three things you should know:  1) I get extremely nervous before a big event  2) With this group of friends, we never get anywhere on time 3) I am so hairy that sometimes I wonder if I am a werewolf So, we are running behind and I am about to have a mini panic attack because there is so much work I have to do and we haven't even reach the friend's place yet. When I get the bright idea: "I can start getting ready in the car!" At this point, my friends are in a store looking for shawls, clutches etc. Ok, remember how I said I am extremely hairy, so...

NaturallyLazy started her natural hair journey over 3 years ago. Within that time, she has learned a thing or two about hair , transitioning and herself . You may know NaturallyLazy as a Guest Blogger here on this blog.  She recently took some time out of her whirlwind traveling schedule to sit down with me to share some of these insights.  How did you go natural? Did you transition long-term or just did the Big Chop? I sort-of did a short-term transition from August to April. Then Big Chopped after 8 months. Do you think you went natural for the right reasons? Yes. The real reason was I was going to study abroad and I didn't want strangers in my head. I didn't do it for political or empowerment reasons. Those wouldn't have been the right reason. While transitioning, were there times when you wanted to give up and go back to the creamy-crack?  Probably but I can't really remember now. What kept you motivated during your journey? Curiosity, wantin...

First, let me say I know I have completely been slacking with my hair posts. I would like to apologize. Natural hair is why I started this blog in the first place. I am truly sorry to have neglected the topic. Because of this: I decided to have a Hairaversary!!!  AM, what is a Hairaversary?  Well, it is commemorating the anniversary of a natural hair goal or event.  Alright but what is ArtistMadrid's Hairaversary all about? Good question. The end of October will be my 2nd anniversary of me being completely natural. Also November will be the first anniversary of this blog. So I thought why not combine the anniversaries and make one big Hairaversary!  What will this Hairaversary involve and why is this post written in question and answer format? To tell you the truth, I am warming up my interviewing skills because this month I will be interviewing some fabulous Naturalites and posting them here! I will also have great natural hair tips and products re...