#we had morning online consult and bc of that some of us have to leave the house later and some of us live 2 hours away from school

[jessicakehoe]

Texture Talk: 6 Local Women with Afro-Textured Hair Share Their Quarantine Hair Journeys

Welcome to Texture Talk, a new weekly column that celebrates and deep dives into the dynamic world of curly hair, from springy S-patterns to densely-packed coils — because curly hair is far from one big category. This week, we asked six Canadian women with Afro-textured hair to dish on how they’re each coping with their unique curl care routines now that stay-at-home orders have shuttered hair salons and many go-to beauty supply stores.

Gloria Alamrew, communications specialist and freelance writer

Courtesy of Gloria Alamrew

Pre-Covid hair rituals: “Pre-quarantine, I was a wash-and-go advocate through and through. I’ve always worn my curls natural and had never really been into protective styles much.”

Hair under quarantine: “For the first few weeks of quarantine, I really fell out of love with my hair. Anxiety was high for me with the news and adjusting to the WFH transition. My hair was honestly the last thing on my mind. And after a while, my curls caught up to me, and I was surprised at how much they had gotten me down! Now that I had neglected them, I was legitimately sad. Recently though, I’ve started pouring more love back into my curls by twisting my hair for the first time. They’re perfect for doing yourself at home because there’s virtually no skill involved: as long as you can section your hair and literally twist two strands together, you can do it. There is something about the routine of washing my hair, brushing it out, sectioning, applying product to each section and then twisting the strands that is so calming to me. I hate to sound cliché, but it really does feel like a sacred moment of self-care for myself. Quarantine has given me the time to actually come back to my hair, and the ritual of styling and protecting it feels so restorative. It has honestly helped with my mental health so much.”

Winy Bernard, entrepreneur and podcaster

Courtesy of Winy Bernard

Pre-Covid hair rituals: “My BC (before corona) hair life was wonderful: I saw my hairstylist every single week for a blowout, sometimes twice if I had an event. I loved my hair; I loved my weekly appointments.”

Hair under quarantine: “I had not done my own hair in maybe 30-35 years. I didn’t even have products for at-home haircare to wash or to take care of my natural hair. I am one of those people that was never, and will never be, an at-home, do-it-yourself person, so this has been extremely difficult and frustrating. I had to call my hairstylist and ask what products to buy at the drugstore, how to wash my hair and how to blow-dry my hair. The first time I washed my hair [on my own], I was very frustrated: It took over 3 hours, hair was everywhere in my washroom and the result didn’t even look good. It’s getting easier, though. I can’t say I’m very good at it, but I am doing my best. Now, my hair is always in a bun or slicked into a ponytail. I am so looking forward to getting back to some kind of normalcy that involves getting my hair done.”

Tasneem Nanji, artist, musician, writer and actor

Courtesy of Tasneem Nanji

Pre-Covid hair rituals: “I have a couple curl patterns going on and I love that. Before quarantine, my hair routine sort of went hand-in-hand with auditions, and I have always worn my hair natural for the most part. I have two [curly hair] looks: One I get with a hair dryer and product, and the other is a completely air-dried natural look.”

Hair under quarantine: “My hair has grown longer since I’ve been quarantined (it tends to grow pretty fast), and when it gets this long, it starts to get harder to manage. I gave myself a trim last week; the split ends were getting to me! I’m wearing a lot more buns and braids in this Covid era, which is new for me. I don’t feel like they’re as authentic of a look in terms of my personality, but I am also learning I am more than my hair. Lately, I keep thinking I should master how to cornrow my own coiff! I’ve been looking to icons, like Sade and Stevie Wonder, who have beautifully worn their hair pulled back and braided. I’m finding a lot of strength in knowing that hair like mine is versatile and can be worn a myriad of ways. Time to hop on a YouTube tutorial!”

Sandra Parker, corporate learning and development consultant

Courtesy of Sandra Parker

Pre-Covid hair rituals: “My hair has been relaxed for a very, very long time. Before quarantine, I had my hair relaxed at a salon by a stylist every six weeks. Between stylist visits, I washed my hair myself once per week. After washing, I blow-dried and then straightened my hair with a flatiron – basically doing everything my stylist does, but not nearly as well. Between home hair washes, I try and heat style as little as possible, so at night I wear a silk bonnet and sleep on a silk pillowcase. This really helps to hold my style so that I don’t have to use a flat iron each morning to fix it.”

Quarantine routine: “Like everyone else – I have no stylist. I’m totally on my own. My last salon relaxer was in mid-February, so twice the time between my regular touch-ups has elapsed. Hair washes now take longer, since my hair is more delicate with the new growth. I’m leaving conditioner in my hair longer and using a deep conditioning mask more often, too. I bought a boxed relaxer kit at the drugstore a few weeks ago. It’s been a million years since I’ve done my own hair, but things were getting out of hand. I bought it hoping I wouldn’t have to use it, but that day came a few days ago. My last few hair washes were really frustrating and my hair was much harder to manage. I watched a million YouTube videos on DIY hair relaxing; I didn’t trust the instructions that came with the kit. I then summoned all of the bravery I had and I relaxed my own hair. Thankfully, it turned out OK and my hair didn’t fall off. Hopefully the restrictions on salons will end soon so that I can have my hair professionally done again.”

Collette “Coco” Murray, university education administrator by day, dance educator, mentor and performer by night

Courtesy of Collette Murray

Pre-Covid hair rituals: “I’ve had dreadlocks for over 20 years. Before quarantine, I would go to my loctician three times a year for a treatment, cut and to wear various petal-loc styles, twists and updos. I have yet to see my stylist this year, so thank goodness I don’t have any highlights or hair colour to treat.”

Hair under quarantine: “With the abrupt shift of working remotely and quarantine life, I was frustrated because I failed to stock up on products. My locs were stressed and lacklustre at the beginning due to dehydration. I needed some advice as I structured my new home routine, so I reached out to my loctician to check in on how my hair was doing and expressed my worry. Finding products that work for locs can be a challenge. I needed tea tree shampoo, castor oil and a shea butter scalp conditioner. He recommended where I could order stuff online (something I don’t normally do), and I also had to be strategic in finding a store close to home that sold products for Black hair: On my social media feed, some Black women share tips on local West Indian or African grocery stores that carry suitable products. Currently, I’ve been setting my hair in loose curls using rollers and I moisturize my scalp and locs every couple days with a shea butter conditioner. I wear them up in a bun, an updo or a ponytail most of the day, but allow them to flow freely, especially for most Zoom meetings. I’m not wearing any new hairstyles yet, but I may rock some Bantu knots over Zoom one day! Quarantine hair has been a bonding experience. Instead of constantly being on the go, I’m now forced to stop and take a few hours of self-care. A good TV binge-watch while I go through my hours of washing, deep conditioning, re-twisting and styling at home is worth it. I love my locs, my cultural ways and the freedom I feel wearing my hair this way is how I cope with my upkeep.”

Bunmi Adeoye, publicist

Courtesy of Bunmi Adeoye

Pre-Covid hair rituals: “Just before lockdown, I decided to be adventurous and do my once-a-year blowout and also put in a colour, which I feel wasn’t the best thing for my hair (I’m now experiencing lots of shedding and maybe heat damage). I don’t know, though, because I haven’t been able to go to a salon and get someone to look at it and assess!”

Hair under quarantine: “Being left with the aftermath of potential heat damage from the blowout and colour (that I don’t love), I’m figuring out how to rehab my hair and get it back to good health. I’ve been doing more protective styles: twists to twist-outs, braids to braid-outs, intense detangling, protein treatments (twice so far in lockdown) and weekly deep conditioning. My immediate work team has now seen my hair in twists, twist-outs and space buns over Zoom meetings, and I get a lot of Slack messages, like: “OMG, your hair looks ah-mazing!” It makes me smile. Someone recently said that I change my hair every day. There was one time, though, I had to leave the camera off because I didn’t have enough time to rinse out the deep conditioner and my hair was under a plastic shower cap. People don’t need to see that JUST yet!”

The post Texture Talk: 6 Local Women with Afro-Textured Hair Share Their Quarantine Hair Journeys appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

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[seki-2019program]

Update (finally) (1/3)

3 weeks have passed since the last update and am I not slapping myself in the face. Should have foreseen this...

Okay folks, here’s the plan. Picture uploads would happen when I’m back in the US, bc there’re so many of them right now that I can’t handle transferring them all from one device to the other which takes potentially 6 hours. Despite that, I’ll write short descriptions of the key events happened during these 3 weeks here. 

- Long-weekend break: I went to Tokyo by myself and met with my senpai! Spent two days and one night there and the whole trip was amazing. To anyone who’s travelling to Tokyo from any other Japanese city and worries about the cost of Shinkansen, please consider 夜行バス (night bus that departs in the evening and arrives next morning) as it could potentially save you about 10000 yen. To purchase the ticket you can consult with a travel agent and book your seats (though you’d have to have cash ready and book in advance quite a bit, some places only offer the service if you book it a month before the departure date), or you can go online to book it with a credit card or anything else they accept. I did it online since it was already Friday and I need to set off Sunday, which means the travel agent couldn’t help me anymore, but the online process went really smooth and worked out really well. You can also compare the price and the type of bus online without struggling to figure out what the travel agent says to you in Keigo, except you would have to know how to read in Japanese. 

I don’t recommend children or senior citizens to ride the night bus since it does have limited space and usually has a number of stops in between where people get on and off the bus that could easily wake people up, but I personally had no problem as a 19-year-old. It arrives on time, cost only 6600 yen in total, and the bus stops are easy to find. The only thing was that it arrives so early in the morning that basically nowhere had opened yet and I had to wait two hours to start shopping or do anything other than having breakfast at a random cafe. The fun part was that since I don’t have internet, I had to rely on screenshots of maps or real-time GPS to locate where I am and where I want to go, but since these places all open very late, I ended up walking with the crowds across the street and back several rounds. 

Seriously though, the second I got off at Shinjuku Station I know this is Tokyo. Geez, the buildings and the department stores! To top half of some of the buildings are buried in the fog (insert imaginary picture that’s still on my phone), which reminds me of my smoggy days in Beijing. The weather was not so charming (it didn’t rain as much as I expected but it was indeed cloudy and foggy all the time), and the temperature was not the most comfortable either, but I got to go to Kinokuniya and that was what MATTERS. As you could already guess, I FINALLY GOT「千年図書館」! Other than that I also bought「先生、大事なものが盗まれました」and「ハサミ男」, with a regret of not getting more from the shelves... but I only brought one suitcase here and it was already half-full, so I had to force myself to make sacrifices. 

Meeting with Senpai! We had お茶漬け (ice soaked in Japanese broth) for dinner and went to Animate the first day. I got コウペンちゃんand陽炎 (aka カゲロウ) goods, which was also something I’ve been eyeing since last year. This day was the 夢を叶える日.

The second day we went to Sky Tree, and because of the weather, we didn’t bother purchasing the ticket to climb it. We instead went to プラネタリウム and watch the star show ( the one with 斉藤壮馬さん’s narration). Did I understand every line? Nope. Was it worth it? Definitely. 

We then went to Sunshine Aquarium in Ikebukuro and we saw penguins (of course there were other types of creatures but penguin matters the most)! My only thrown was that the weather was still not so charming and there was no Sunshine... Sigh. 

After shopping here and there, senpai brought me to the dreamest cafe I’ve ever seen for dinner and WOWOW everything is astronomy-themed! To be more specific I would say the majority of it was star-themed, but there were just so many details that had a little bit of everything. I ordered their Omelette Rice and Parfait, which both ended up to be very delicious and sophisticated in design. And honestly, it’s not expensive compared to other restaurants in Tokyo...!

We then found out that there was still time until my bus would leave, so we squeezed in Karaoke! I still had trouble singing every kana correctly but it was fun as heck. Senpai, as always, killed all the songs. So much respect. 

WIth my original backpack and tons of souvenirs, I got on the night bus again, arrived at Kanazawa station, and went straight to the classroom. And that was the end of my 中休み.

[yourlittlestarlight-blog]

Seriously - What Is A Brand?

Seriously - What Is A Brand?

Last summer was extremely busy for me. Richard Carey and I team up once again at Right Management teaching branding workshops to executives in transition. In other words, we were showing middle managers and C-Suite executives the basics of branding themselves using today's online technology. Web 2.0 open source sites are free and allow even a techno novice the ability to build their online credibility with sites such as WordPress, EzineArticles, Blogger, Flickr etc …

We based most of our work on an article that appeared in Fast Company magazine: A Brand Called You. by Tom Peters. The implication was that personal brands would become the hot new wave for talented individuals to start branding themselves for greater employment and consulting opportunities. Using our own entrepreneurial experiences, and the fact that Richard and I launched some very successful online brands, we were the obvious experts to teach the seminars.

Our approach was simple. Start with your resume. Take out everything that did not support your core competency, get focused on exactly which category you fit in, get your elevator speech down pat, and launch from there. Graphic design 101 was part of the seminar including migration to the online universe. We used the same techniques as major corporations.

It was a simple set of instructions. A few hours each night could build one's online resume, an archive of articles, or a small diary of web logs. Why create such online content? With Google becoming the dominant search engine tool, employers are turning to its capabilities more and more to weed out the bad apples. Many a student complained that they were Googled as soon as they left the office. This makes online credibility paramount to managing where your resume lands. Either at the top of the heap or in the circular file. "Do not call us, we'll call you" can be turned into "Can you come in for a second interview" with just a few hours each night. Creating your online dossier is easy.

That's why I asked myself why no one was doing it?

Everyone who took our suspects filled out their feedback form with glowing recommendations for us. But no one was running out to take action on what we just showed them. And then it dawned on me: in every seminar, the branding part seemed to leave most just nodding their heads in agreement. They understood that their business card, resume and online presence had to have the same look and feel, but was it possible that no one really knew what a brand was? Had I done my job well enough in explaining a brand? Perhaps not …

My writing is not so much to pontificate, but to give practical steps for entrepreneurs who may be launching their own companies or executives who need one piece of wisdom to complete their knowledge base. Since I speak only from experience, keep what you like and discard the rest. So the purpose of this article is to go back to basics and explore what a brand is and what branding is all about.

The best definition of a brand I could find is … "A distinguishing symbol, mark, logo, name, word, sentence, or a combination of these items that companies use to distinguish their product from others in the market."

This definition is only half of the story. The reality is a brand is much more than a symbol – it is the experience one gets from using a product or service. How does this help you? To understand some more, let's walk through a little bit of history.

Brands themselves can be traced back to their modern use in the Old West. Cattle ranchers as well as horse traders needed to mark their animals permanently with a symbol that determined ownership. They had blacksmiths design intricate logos that represented each rancher's initials or company insignia.

Burning their emblem into the flesh of the animal determined ownership. Sometimes over time some brands of livestock become more popular than others. So, when a particular rancher bought in his beef for sale, his reputation came with it. Lesser brands could not get the price for their livestock that the better brands could command. The buyers paid on repeat business and reputation.

It was the first use of brand recognition. The power of the symbol represented the reputation of the brand.

Since stealing horses was a felony punishable by death, brands were taken very seriously. Ranchers fiercely protected their brand so others could not copy the design. Copyright infringement law did not really exist in the western territories yet, so keeping their branding irons locked up and out of sight became the norm.

But branding goes back even further. The history of modern brands reads like a Dan Brown novel, but, you probably would not recognize them as brands. A golden sun symbol in Iran from 1400 BC was revitalized again in Rome, representing the sun-god Mithra. Occasionally Emperor Constantine would fuse the sun god's symbol of Mithra (of which he was the grand master) with the Christian cross to create his brand. The golden sun with a cross in the center on a blazing red shield became a symbol to fear during the Byzantine period of European history.

Or even earlier, Pythia was the high priestess presiding over the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi. Or regardless the worship of Isis, Baal or any number of cults in the ancient world. Unfortunately branding animals as well as human beings were not new. A mark determined ones status as a slave, a request of war, or worse, marked for death. Either way, it mean ownership.

The formula for religious cults was simple; create a temple with an image, get people to gather around it and give out the Gospel, then get the followers to spread the word. The ancient Greeks called this phenomenon, this worship of a holy word or symbol, Logos, (Used as both a noun and a verb). We use the same theories in today's marketing and branding techniques with out driving our followers over a cliff of course, but the theories are the same.

As the human race evolved, those brands meant less about ownership and more about who one was aligned with. Flags, hats, and special clothes are a form of branding. It is a quick and easy way for individuals to comprehend and choose sides. "The Red Coats are coming" was about the British Empire and what it meant to live under the "brand" of British rule. No one wanted to be owned by royalty anymore.

Usually, branding spread from cattle to retail products. One hundred fifty years ago when a man wanted to buy a new razor for his son, he went to a store like Macy's, looked at the display of razors, picked what he wanted and was promptly handed a package wrapped in brown paper and string. Modern packaging did not exist … partly because printing techniques needed to catch up. People evolved in their sophistication and therefore so did branding. Today we can not imagine buying a product without it's slick packaging enticing us to buy it.

To say branding has become a science is an understatement. Just look around your house and you will see brands everywhere. From the SONY television you bought to the Gillette razor you used this morning. From the Amerige perfume you just can not live without to those Jimmy Choo's your husband bought for your birthday, you and I and everyone in America is a branded consumer. Ironically, each brand has a logo for us to worship and it is getting harder to resist.

Every brand you buy has an emotional reason why you buy it. Why did you buy that Mercedes? It was not because you were looking for an economy car. Or how about that new suit? Hugo Boss says you spent a little bit extra to stand out. Paul Mitchell hair care products? What dental care system are you using? Are you brushing like a dentist or are you brushing like everyone else? You have to pay to get this kind of brushing technology. We can not let it fall into the hands of the British.

Great companies remember their name is more than a logo on a napkin, a jpeg on a website, or a neon sign calling out from interstate 95. It is the relationship you've had with them. This collection of experiences forms an opinion in the consumer's mind that rarely changes. Let me repeat that: your experiences with a brand form an opinion in your mind. Which means it may not be based on truth. It is based on perception. Every great brand knows this and does not mess with it until they get into trouble.

Since you are beginning to understand that a brand is more about the experience of using a product than the logo on it, then it stands to reason that creating the experience becomes paramount as people begin to trust their association with your company.

Branding is a huge part of your sales paradigm. Your reputation proceeds you, so why not work hard at creating a great perception?

Starbucks worked hard at developing each store. The leisure environment that invites you to sit down and relax. How about the customized service? You can order their products in over 80,000 different combinations. Everything about the Starbucks experience says you've earned the best cup of coffee in the world. Does Starbucks make the best cup of coffee in the world? Probably not, but you sure as hell feel like it is, and perception is 90% of the sale.

Starbucks also focuses on coffee and coffee finger foods. All cakes, muffins and donuts are at eye level for a quick sale. Anything else is in a case below your waste – Sandwiches, fruit and cheese, bottled water. In other words, Starbucks is focused on one thing: Coffee! Anything that does not support coffee never makes it inside the store.

In marketing this is called brand focus and has made the difference for many a company struggling to define what they are. If you are known for many things, your brand may fail. Dropping all services that interfere with your core competency will give your brand a major boost. Companies who do this statistically lose 25% of their clients. But, by focusing the brand companies can increase revenue by 75%!

So get as focused on one category as quickly as possible. After all, do you want to have a jack of all trades or a master of one? Would you go to a doctor who is a generalist or a specialist? I am guessing your answer is the specialist.

If you are confused by categories try this: What is FedEx known for? What is Gillette known for? What is McDonald's known for? Each answer is a simple sentence that tells you what category these brands dominate. Interestingly as well, these three companies are the leader in their categories. They were also the first.

If you are the last to enter a particular market, invent a category. Apple could not compete with IBM as a computer company, so they positioned themselves as the personal computer for everyone else. They not only dominate that market, they forced the other manufacturers to follow their lead.

As you launch your new brand, ask yourself these questions:

What experience does the consumer get from interacting with my brand?

How can I make that experience better?

Is the perception true?

Do I own my category?

Can I create a new category?

Is my logo reflective of my product / service?

Should my company be separate from my brand?

Does my brand reflect thematic consistency in my signage, website, and collateral?

Once the consumer has formed an opinion in their minds collectively, it is almost impossible to change it. So be very careful when launching a new product or service. This is why marketing firms get paid so well. They spend months interviewing tens of thousands of people on your new brand and where to position it. Positioning is important, but that is for another article.

Depending on the size of your company I would hire a brand manager who knows all the techniques to create a mega brand. Scott Bedbury comes to mind. He was in charge of a couple of brands you might have heard of; Nike, (he was responsible for the Just Do It! Tag line) and Starbucks. His big coup was to increase Starbucks store base from 350 stores to several thousand stores world wide. That's the power of a top tier brand and marketing manager.

Sometimes I get so used to marketing and branding that I see them as one and the same. But if you want to learn more about how to market your brand, I suggest The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing: Violate Them at Your Own Risk! by Al Ries & Jack Trout. It will help you to understand the science behind building and maintaining a strong brand. I would not start a project until my clients read it from cover to cover. It's an easy read and can be devoured in a weekend. Enjoy!

Ata Rehman