Wearing your Natural Hair in the Workplace: Why is there a Debate?

Happy Monday lovelies; I hope your workweek is off to a great start!

Today’s blog topic is something that’s been on my mind for a while so I decided to share my stance on it.

Over the past few years there’s been debates and articles about whether natural hair is professional enough to wear at work and the answer is “YES!”, but some people disagree.

Just last year a black, female journalist and television reporter got fired for fighting back against her company because her boss considered her hair “unprofessional” for the news station’s viewers. This year, she is still fighting that battle against the company’s discrimation towards her.

Now that is just one situation, but I know that it’s not the only one out there. Natural hair is professional hair. Nobody should have to hide the hair that grows from their head to appear professional to someone else.

I have thick, type 4 hair and I’ve been natural for a little over 5 years. Luckily, I’ve been in the retail business for majority of that time so the company policies are heavily focused on freedom of expression and style.

I wear my fro majority of the time, but when my fro isn’t out I usually have my hair in braids, twists, or under a headwrap. I’m happy that some companies see natural hair as professional and is welcomed in the workplace, we just have to continue to work towards it becoming a norm everywhere.

My advice: wear your natural hair to work and don’t be ashamed to do so. Style it how you like and be proud of your unique look. If someone doesn’t understand it or considers it unnattractive or unprofessional, speak up about it, defend yourself and your hair. You have the right to wear your beautiful natural hair just like women of other races wear theirs as well. Stay strong sis!

And for Day 18 of Motivational March: Be proud of your differences, it’s what makes you unique. ❣

I hope this post inspired you today. Leave a comment below if it did and share with me your natural hair in the workplace experience.

Shrinkage 101

Hey everyone! Welcome to Shrinkage 101 class. Today’s lesson will teach you about what shrinkage is and how to manage it.

1) What is shrinkage?

When your wet hair starts to decrease in length as you hair dries. Your curls/kinks get tighter and usually more defined.

Dry hair

Wet hair

2) Is shrinkage good or bad?

Shrinkage shows how elastic and bouncy your hair is and shows how tough your hair is against breakage. So it’s a good thing!

3) How do i control shrinkage?

There are 2 main ways to control shrinkage: straigthening and stretching. The straightening method is when you use a blowdryer or flat iron to straighten your curls, which adds length to you hair. This usually requires heat to be applied to the hair, which I try to avoid.

That’s why I prefer the stretching method; which is elongating your hair by using a specific hairstyle or hair tool. Hair tools you can use are curlformers, rollersets, and flexirods which are all items that curls your kinky hair.

Hairstyles you can do include the pineapple method, which is similar to a ponytail and the twistout/braidout method in which you twist or braid you hair, when wet, to help elongate your curls. My twistout is shown below.

4) Enjoy your hair!

Do what works best for you and your hair. What works for one 4c chica may not work for you. Also, drink a lot of water to keep your body and hair nourished!

Hope this mini hair lesson was fun and informative. Have a great rest of your week lovelies!

Hair Spotlight: Marley Twists

Happy Friday!

Today I wanted to showcase my most recent hairstyle, Marley Twists!

I’ve been getting my hair braided/twisted by other people for the past few years and I realized that I save money by doing my own hair and it’s also a cool skill to have. After numerous youtube videos and attempts, I’ve begun to master doing protective styles on my own hair.

This is actually my first time twisting my hair, the other times before this I did box braids. The purpose of the twists is to be a protective style for my natural hair, meaning it gives my real hair a break. My hands aren’t constantly in my hair and my hair grows while it’s in the twists.

It took me almost 7 hours to do this marley twist style so if you are planning on learning how to do your own hair, make sure you set aside one of your days off to do it and have a few movies or tv shows to binge while doing it.

I would eventually love to do a video showcasing me doing my own hair. Stay tuned for that!

What protective styles do you like? Let me know in the comments below. Have a great weekend!

California Crop Top

Can you believe that September is almost over and in a few days it will be the first day of fall!? It’s crazy because in LA it still feels like summertime.

It’s been consistently in the 80’s or high 70’s these days. That’s why the outfit shown below is perfect for a sunny, September day.

I wore a blue crop top with the word California on it, adorbly decorated with flowers and butterflies. I paired my crop top with denim cut-off shorts and yellow Vans to accent the flowers in my top.

My top is $15 from Topshop, my shorts were $20 from Forever 21 and my Vans were a gift!

I recently realized that I don’t smile often in my pictures, so I made the decision to smile during every photosession from now on. I can have more serious photos taken as well, but I want to make sure I get a few smiling shots in the mix since it is outside of my comfort zone.

I love my smile, but for some reason I just don’t feel like I photograph well when I’m smiling, so I want to break down that wall I have on myself and challenge myself to embrace my smile more in pictures.

I posted the pictures featured in this post on IG @coralbuttons, so if you follow me you saw my caption saying: “Smile more, #lifeisgood” and it’s true so smile and make the most out of your day everybody!

Is there something you want to improve on when it comes to your style or your photos? Let me know in the comments below!

First birthday living in Los Angeles!

My big goal for 2017 has finally been revealed on Coral Buttons…moving to Los Angeles!

Moving to LA has been the “big goal of 2017” I’ve hinted at on the blog many times before. I’ve been living in LA for almost a month now and I felt that my first birthday celebration here would be a great post to start my weekly posts again with.

I turned 23 yesterday and I went to the movies and out to eat with my boyfriend, Shawn then relaxed for the rest of the day. I wore a sparkly corset back dress with velvet teal (my fave color) heels!

Yesterday, I also thought about all the goals and tasks I accomplished in just 23 years. Sometimes it is easy to get discouraged and compare yourself to others who may seem like they are doing better than you financially, career-wise, etc.

You have to take a step back and look at everything you’ve done and you will realize you are doing a better than you think.

So thats what I did, so here is a top 5 list of accomplishments I should be proud to have achieved in 23 years:

1) Traveled to Kauai, Hawaii and Seoul, South Korea

2) Been in a happy and healthy relationship for almost 6 years

3) Graduated high school and college (a semester early)

4) Big chopped and now have healthy natural hair

5) Moved to Los Angeles of course!

Now it’s your turn! Take a look back over the years and write a list of what you are proud of yourself for achieving. This will boost your confidence and help you realize you are on the right track.

I’m already excited for my next birthday to see what I achieved in one year! Happy Sunday lovelies.

Outfit details: Dress from Windsor and Shoes from Macys!

Hair Spotlight: Lemonade Braids

Happy Hump Day lovelies!!!

Today, I am showcasing a new protective style perfect for when your natural hair needs a break!

Side braids, also know as lemonade braids (thanks to Queen Bey), are a simple, but fierce style. Lemonade braids add a touch of sophistication and edge to any look.

Depending on whichever side is your “good side” or how you are use to wearing your hair, let that determine which side is slicked back and which side the braids will fall on. I am right handed and consider my right side my “good side,” so that’s the way I wanted my braids to fall.

Upkeep for the braids are simple; wrap them up in a scarf or bonnet at night and unwrap in the morning. Piece of cake!..Which I kind of want a piece of now after mentioning it 🙂

I unfortunately felt stuck with my natural hair so to get out of my hair funk, I tried this look and loved it!

It is okay to not be in love with your hair every moment, just make sure you take care of it and it will flourish. Sometimes all you need is a new look to make you appreciate the hair God blessed you with.

Having natural hair requires a lot of trial and error. Some products may work for your mom and best friend, but does absolutely nothing for your hair and that’s okay because you will find something that definitely works for you.

My “hair funks” or feeling stuck and powerless because I am not sure what to do with my hair usually goes away pretty quickly. I’ve been natural for going on 4 years and it is still a learning process.

But do I regret going natural or want to go back to the creamy crack, never!! Being natural is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. So love your short fro, long curly hair, kinky bush, or long lemonade braids. Embrace it baby ❤

P.S. This is my favorite picture out of the group…super dramatic super edgy

Talk to you all again soon!!!

Love,

Tati