Fancy Life Secrets: fancy free

Showing posts with label fancy free. Show all posts

Sunday, October 18, 2020

Winter Weather Styling

As the weather changes, so should the way you style your hair. I'm talking to my kinky curly girls. The summer humidity gives us a lot, even though it always ruins a good twist out and any curl definition you thought you were gonna have. LOL! The cooler weather gives us more flexibility with hair styles and they usually last longer with the cooler weather. Here are things to consider when styling your hair:

MOISTURE! MOISTURE! MOISTURE! There is less moisture in the air and if you live and/or work in a building that heats using "forced air" meaning the heat comes through vents, that air can be dry as well. You may want to consider co-washing, preferably using our Fancy Free Clay Wash, more often than using a clarifying, lathering shampoo - Fancy Free will be launching one soon, I promise. Deep condition. Especially when you're getting close to your scheduled trim time. Be sure to seal moisture into your hair while it's wet or damp with an oil, Fancy Free Castor Oil Blend or butter, Fancy Free Whipped Shea. If you need to moisturize in between wash days, try a water based moisturizer like Fancy Free Milk for Hair and Skin. Matter of fact, try the Fancy Free Hair Starter Kit to decide which product combination works best for you.
Protect your ends. The benefit of dryer air is that those twist outs and rod sets are going to be BOMB!!!! But if your hair is longer, be careful about how your rubs against your clothes. Even if you moisturize and keep your ends trimmed, friction with those winter fabrics can lead to damage and breakage. I have a few videos on YouTube on how to achieve a bomb twist out, as well as my favorite protective styles for longer hair. Or course, weave, wigs and braids work too. LOL!
Keep drinking water and eating whole, unprocessed foods. Your hair and skin are a direct result of what you put in your body as well as what you put on it. The winter holidays lead to drinking more cocktails, yummy ciders and comforting hot chocolate. Don't forget to get your daily quota of water in too. I use the "Drink Water" app on my phone to remind me to drink water. Keep the same thing in mind for fresh fruits and vegetables before you indulge in those baked goods. A daily multivitamin can help too.

Everyone's natural hair, lifestyle and hair goals require different kinds of care. It is important to figure out what your hair needs most. Once you find your routine, stick to it. Slight variations in your routine based on the weather and what you have going on in your life can make a huge difference. For me, I found that going longer than 3 weeks to shampoo my hair led to more breakage. I also tend to play in my hair when it gets close to time for a trim. I call myself untangling the fairy knots, those little single strand knots that signal it's time to trim those ends, but really I am causing more breakage than untangling. So, when my trim appointment approaches, I wear my hair in upstyles so I won't be tempted to touch my hair. That's just how I manage my thick, kinky hair. If you'd like some assistance figuring your hair out, book a Natural Hair Consultation. I'd be happy to work with you to meet your hair goals.

Shameless Plug Alert:

Fancy Free Hair & Skin manufactures quality products for hair and skin, as well as provides natural hair consults for women who would like assistance on their natural hair journey. Our motto is "Keeping you fancy and free of chemicals." Visit our website, www.fancyfreehairandskin.com, to see a full range of our products and services. Sign up for our mailing list to receive natural hair tips and stay up to date on sales and the latest happenings with Fancy Free.

Friday, May 22, 2020

Don't Knock It 'Til You Try It

There isn't a place on this earth that hasn't been impacted
by COVID-19

We're in the middle of a pandemic. I don't see it ending any time soon. Just assume that everything will remain closed for the rest of 2020. As an eCommerce business owner, I have experienced an increase in sales as more people are shopping online. However, not everyone is experiencing an increase. Millions have lost their jobs or had to shut down their businesses. Some shut downs were temporary, but as the death toll from the pandemic rises and prolongs the estimated date for "re-opening", these temporary shut downs are becoming permanent. How are people shifting? I've noticed that more people are becoming open to the idea of starting a multi-level marketing business. It's interesting to see the shift, especially for influencers and celebrities.

Nobody:

Me: You know that starting a direct sales business is what opened my eyes to living as an entrepreneur.

Award received at a
5Linx Convention

I started a direct sales business in 2013. I had success with it too. I made money, built and maintained a team. It wasn't about the money for me. I was doing well with my healthcare professional salary but I quickly realized that there were limits to where my career path could take me. Essentially, I had mastered my job and was getting bored. LOL! The biggest thing I gained from building a multi-level marketing team was a change in perspective. At the time, I was a youngin'. I was a "boss", or so I thought. I had a title. I was earning a decent salary. But at what cost? Direct sales put me at the same table with people who were earning my annual salary on a monthly basis, from their couches and by their backyard pool, no less. It definitely had me re-evaluating my life choices. I stopped caring about my title at work and took a good assessment of the way I was living.

Imagine sacrificing a lot of "wants" and being broke for 4 years after buying a house with a pool to only realize that you don't get to actually enjoy the pool because you're AT work earning money to pay for the house with a pool that you don't use. No one ever posed the question to me before direct sales. It was just a way of life that people had succumbed to. I decided that I did not want this to be my life for the rest of my life.

I really had to "observe" nurses
administering transfusions, only
for nothing to be done if I wrote
incident reports for mistakes made

Being a Transfusion Medicine Specialist was really gratifying work. I really enjoyed it. HOWEVER, the bureaucracy, red tape, politics and lack of REAL concern for process improvement was weighing me down. Who was I really helping? Was I making an positive impact on the people who mattered the most to me? I couldn't really say that I was. A lot of those high earners in my direct sales company do amazing work in the community. They have a very flexible schedule with more free time than most as well as more income than most. I wanted to eventually be able to have the kind of impact they had. So I set out to "Fire My Boss", as they say in direct sales trainings.

I knew that I wanted to retire by 35 but I wasn't sure how I was going to be able to do it. I thought my direct sales business was going to be the path but Jehovah had something else in store for me. Even in 2014, I would have never thought that whipping shea would become my main gig. But here we are.

What Direct Sales Taught Me

Humble yourself and be coachable.
Monthly earnings can be as much as an average annual salary. People do it. Average people with no degrees, just a work effort.
You don't need a job, you just need money.
Have systems and automation in place so you can duplicate yourself without having to be there.
You're going to be rejected and laughed at, it's inevitable, keep working.
Build a re pore. Find out how what you can help relieve a potential customer's pain point. Sometimes you have the answer for sale, sometimes you give a referral that doesn't involved them buying from you....at that time. People respect that and usually come back to buy at some point.
Don't take it personally if your closest friends and family do not support you. Everyone is fighting their own battles. It's not about you.
There are reasons and then there are excuses. Be able to recognize when you are making excuses.
Move on. Just keep moving forward.
The Law Of Attraction is a thing but you still have to actively market your products. If no one knows about your great product, it's still trash.

While Fancy Free Hair & Skin started "accidentally", I will say that I wasn't completely new to running a business. I honed my technical laboratory skills while running a medical laboratory, but building a business...I got dat from direct sales. Team building, team engagement, professional/personal development, all from direct sales. I learned that entrepreneurship is a mind game and direct sales trained me to continuously adjust to "get my mind right".

Most people who have success with a direct sales company will be successful with almost any other business venture they touch. If you are NOT a business person but want to start a business, start a multi-level marketing business that sells something you like or are interested in. Make sure the team you're on has a good leader that hosts trainings and encourages personal development. If you're coachable, the training will have a lasting impact on your business life no matter where it takes you.

Don't knock it until you try it. If you don't want to join a team, support someone close to you who is building. You have no idea how gratifying it is to get one "yes" when all you've been getting is "no". LOL!

Shameless Plug Alert:

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Self Made Netflix Series: Fancy's Commentary

Let me just start by saying, I know that everything in this series was not true. Netflix kind of made that disclaimer when it was marketed as "based on her life" and not a "biopic". But whatever, I was entertained. As a woman. As a woman in business. As a woman in business in the beauty industry, I could relate to her struggles and triumphs. Here's my two cents...

People will deflect their own fears on to you

Poor C.J., the husband. He just didn't have the vision or the ambition. Our people are scared now, in 2020. I can only imagine how deeply entrenched the slave mindset was as the child of a former slave. He just wanted to get by and be comfortable. He meant well by encouraging his wife to take a job when things got tough. As a man, he probably didn't want to see his wife hurt. I can admit,

set backs can be discouraging and sometimes the feeling of defeat can be overwhelming. However, successful people get back up, assess the damage and learn from the mistakes. I can admit, had it been my husband trying to sway me from my dreams I wouldn't been irritated. Understanding but irritated.

Beyonce said it best...

It's MY shit! BOW DOWN, BITCHES!!! I've never been one to brag or talk a lot about what I've accomplished or the things that I have. However, it is super annoying when people assume that your lifestyle is because of your husband. The man always gets the credit. I am blessed that my husband actually gives me credit for my accomplishments and business acumen. While my husband helps me with heavy lifting, literally, he lifts the heavy stuff, and sales, he would NEVER try to take any credit for Fancy Free Hair & Skin. That's my baby. He helps and invests in me but it's mine. If I thought C.J. was weak for trying to encourage Madam to get a job, he was SUPER weak for trying to take credit and ownership for her company. Very annoying. Would not recommend.

Marketing makes a difference

There are sooooo many trash products out there that are successful because they have a great marketing team behind them. Madam C.J, may have stolen the formula for her "Magical Hair Grower" product but she had a story that sold which is why she is more prominent in the history books and not her mentor. I realized this early on in my business and hired a marketing team to help me tell my story in a way that is relatable and compelling. Watching this series made me realize that I I can do better with sales. I am no where near as aggressive as she was portrayed in the Self Made series. Her sales team was lit. Since hiring a sales force isn't quite in my budget yet, EYE gotta go harder myself. Noted.

You can get a $1 Million order and not make a dime

It seems that everyone who has a product wants to get placement in a big box store. I'm glad that this series showed that isn't the only route to success. I thought that's what I wanted early on. But then I got some mentors and learned the truth about those deals.

I'd have to make changes to my formulas. My customers are attracted to the natural ingredients of my products. However, natural products mean shorter shelf life. Which means, products should be used almost as soon as they are manufactured. Product placement in large stores almost always require longer shelf lives which means....adjusting the formulas and possibly adding a few more preservatives. I'm not necessarily interested in doing that.
Your product placement on shelves is at the whim of the store. If your products are placed anywhere other than eye level...forget about it. If they decide they don't want to carry your products anymore....forget about it. If stores are closed because of a pandemic or war....forget about it.
Filling that $1 million order is the first step but then you have market downs, charge backs and charged off goods, you might no make ANY money. Imagine doing a million dollars worth of work and going home with nothing. Heartbreaking.

In the end, I was entertained and inspired. I think that's what the Madam would have wanted. That's all I have to say about that.

Shameless Plug Alert:

Thursday, March 26, 2020

Five Years of Fancy Free

I am a scientist. I am also a natural hairstylist. I grew up in a salon. I styled natural hair in my college dorm room while in undergrad and I worked as a natural hairstylist in a salon while in graduate school. I had a relaxer though. But in 2010, all of that changed. I decided to grow my relaxer out. And that is how Fancy Free Hair & Skin got started.

If you haven't heard the story, here ya go....

In 2011, I cut the last few inches of straight ends off of my hair and ran to Target to pick up a jar of Miss Jessie's Curly Pudding to the tune of $29.99. I hated it. It left my hair sticky and flaky. I returned it for a refund the next day. I spent the next few months trying different products and styling techniques until I figured out that a wet twist out was what worked for me. There was one problem, my hair would still feel dry and brittle using what was available to me. From my natural hairstylist experience, I knew I needed a heavy, shea butter based product. Not waxy, pure shea butter or beeswax. That was too difficult to work with. I also didn't want it to smell like Dax Hair Grease. I wanted to smell like juices and berries. LOL! In 2012, I ventured to a Natural Hair Expo and found a product made by a natural hairstylist out of North Carolina. The texture was perfect but the smell was overwhelming. And she took forever to ship. And it was kind of pricey. So, I looked at the ingredients and decided that the ingredients list was simple enough for me to make something similar. So, I started making my own "pomade" to use for my wet twist outs.

The Whip Technique

The only problem was that I was using a "melt and pour" manufacturing technique, which required a waiting period to allow the product to cool and solidify. This is only a problem when you live with a clutz who can accidentally spill your precious hair product all over the refrigerator and kitchen floor while looking for a snack. During a lunch time, husband bashing session at work, I told my work aunties about my husband wasting my hair product and my favorite work auntie said "Girl, I know. My daughter is 4 and makes messes too. Just whip it so you don't have to worry about melting and it's ready to use immediately." That was 2012. I've been whipped ever since. I whipped for me. I whipped for my newly natural sisters. I whipped for my close, close friends. All my peeps' hair and elbows were flourishing. The result, flourishing hair. I started getting a lot of questions about the products I was using and my styling techniques while out and about.

The Hair Consultant

Keep in mind that I am a scientist. At this time, I was spending about 6 hours/day in an office,
looking at paperwork and a computer, cultivating my inner introvert. I didn't need to talk to my staff much, so when random women would approach me asking really detailed questions about my hair routine, it made me uncomfortable. I wanted to help but I needed space and time to mentally prepare to shift into Natural Hairstylist mode. In 2014, Fancy Free Natural Hair Consults was born. I made business cards. I'd answer up to three questions while out and about. If they asked a 4th question, I'd give them a business card and suggest that they schedule an appointment for a consultation. Cuz ain't no free "pick your brain" sessions in the grocery store line. All jokes aside, Fancy Free Natural Hair Consults was not established to make money. I did not promote or market services. This concept was birthed to create boundaries for my introvert self and establish the value I had to offer.

I still offer consultations. We discuss hair routine, hair goals, hair care and hair products. In the early days, I'd give my clients a sample of my whipped shea butter concoction WITH THE RECIPE (I've since improved the recipe and manufacturing technique) and send them on their way. Except, my clients didn't want to make the product themselves, they wanted to buy it.

"Sell this" - Chezia, the fixer

February 2015, my girlfriend, who is like a sister, was at my house. We were getting dressed to go to a gala. She knew I was whipping shea butter but had never tried it. She saw me dipping my hands in this tupperware container and using the contents as body butter. So she did the same. Her response was "Sell this". If you have ever met Chezia, she is very even tempered. She doesn't get excited or emotional about anything. I interpreted "Sell this" as "This is good. Really good." So, I decided to make some samples to put in the swag bags for a gala we were planning for the next month, March 2015. I didn't know what sample containers were supposed to look like and ended up ordering jars that looked like pill bottles. I printed at work. No graphic designer, just the logo I was using for my umbrella company that housed my multi-level marketing business and some other ventures my husband and I were working on. Fancy Free Hair & Skin was up and running.

Unofficially Official

I was legit selling product in a clear tub

I didn't make any official announcement, have a launch party, or make a big reveal. I was just taking orders by phone and sending a PayPal invoice. If you know me, process improvement is my passion, so I swiftly made an improvement on that by launching an Etsy page for just the one product. That's all it took to be in business. A quality product and a platform to sell. No business plan. No huge start up team or investors. I never set out to start a business...it just happened. Now look at me.

In 2016, I took on my first private label manufacturing client and started the Product Development and Private Label Manufacturing division of Fancy Free Hair & Skin. I support other small businesses looking to create a product line. I am a firm believer in collaboration over competition. Black people have it hard enough. We don't need to be so hard on each other. But that's another blog for another day.

2020 Vision

My life plan was to be the manage of a Blood Bank for 10-15 years and then get promoted to
Laboratory Administrator where I would retire. But Jehovah had other plans for me. Building a multi-level marketing company opened my eyes to lifestyles that I never considered. I became open minded on how I made money and wanted to get more out of my daily life than sit in an office. I started Fancy Free Hair & Skin on a whim and it grew 500% on it's own in the second year. I was shocked but I recognized the potential it had if I actually put effort into growing it. Earning potential and positive impact on my Fancy Friend's health. (I've researched the data on carcinogenic ingredients used at a higher percentage in personal care products marketed to African-American women compared to other groups.)

Each day, I get to do what I love. I took a leap of faith in 2017 and Jehovah has blessed me abundantly. I am in a space where I am creating the life I want to live everyday. There are challenges. I have good days and bad days. Some months I turn a profit, some months I don't. Every year, my company grows. I am able to provide employment opportunities to the Q-munity and live by example. If you show love to the hood, the hood will love you back.

These last five years have been the most challenging and invigorating five years of my life. Thank you for taking this ride with me.

Shameless Plug Alert:

Friday, February 28, 2020

I Stopped Eating Like A Fat @$$

Three Days After Giving Birth

Losing weight after having a baby is hard. Let me count the ways:

Losing weight starts in the kitchen, not the gym.
From the moment that I found out I was pregnant, I was eating ALL OF THE FOOD!
After close to 36 weeks of eating whatever, you spend another 12 months or so eating about 2000 calories each day to support your milk supply.
Losing weight may require restricting carbs but my breast milk supply dwindles without carbs. So I had to eat carbs.
I work at home, in the kitchen, where I live with 2 little mousies (husband and son) who like to snack and never put their snacks away after the partake. Of course, I'm gonna have a mini oreo or two or three before I put them back in the snack cabinet.

My Favorite Snack

You get my drift. The odds are not in my favor here at the Fancy Factory. So, how did I do it? I just decided. I decided that I was tired of not looking how I wanted to look in my clothes. I was tired of not feeling my best. I was tired of squeezing my brains out with spanx and seeing my FUPA anyway. I was tired. It's just like being an addict who needs to kick the habit. Only the addict can decide when it's time. I decided. I decided that I wasn't gonna eat like a fat ass no mo'.

Fitness

Working out has never been a problem for me. I've always had a regular fitness routine, even in college when my average weight was about 120 lbs. I just never had to really watch my diet. I ate pretty healthy but never felt like I had to restrain my sweet tooth. Give me ALL of the chocolate chip cookies, brownies with ice cream, molten chocolate cake, and sweet tea. LOL!

Felt Cute But Wasn't Excited
When I Look At This Picture

After having my first kid, I came home from the hospital weighing roughly 200 lbs. But he was a spring baby so I started walking 1 - 2 miles per day when he was about 3 weeks old. The weight dropped quickly but then I went back to work, sitting at a desk, I was stuck at about 175 lbs. Womp. At 9 months postpartum, I got serious and adapted the 21 Day Fix meal plan. I dropped 11 lbs in 21 days and kept going. The down side to that was my milk supply suffered so I ended up weaning my son at 10 months when I really wanted to nurse him for a year. I eased up on the dietary restrictions but was able to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight and maintain it. If you have a husband, you know how they can be haters sometimes. I got knocked up again. SMH

I weighed in at 215 lbs. before I delivered my daughter, the second child. I came home from the hospital weighing 198 lbs. This time I knew what to do, it was just a matter of doing it. What I didn't realize was, I wasn't as active as I was with my son. I was doing my little 25 - 30 minute Beach Body on Demand exercises but I was feeling like it wasn't enough. What was I missing? Aaaahhhhh, the walking. Since my daughter was born in November, getting outside to walk wasn't ideal and I had given my treadmill away to make room for Fancy Factory operations. Plus, having two kids takes a longer adjustment period. Shit. We're still adjusting 15 months later. LOL!

Once my daughter hit 8 months, I was over being fat. I got serious about my diet.....again. I had to be careful though because I didn't want my milk to dry up.

Food

Here's is what my daily menu looks like:

Drink 90 - 100 oz. of water with lemon slices per day (I refill my 24 oz. container 4-5 times/day and refresh the lemon slices daily)
Breakfast

Green Smoothie with protein: Handful of spinach, half a banana, scoop of Thrive protein, water (any kind of milk, including non-dairy, has a rack of carbs)
Accompanied with

Flax & Oats Oatmeal (for milk production, I stopped eating this after I stopped nursing. Oatmeal has a rack of carbs.) OR
Avocado toast with fried egg (Ezekiel toast, guacamole, fried egg on top) OR
One boiled egg

8 oz. of Coffee with flavored creamer only. No sugar.

Morning snack (cuz you've gotsta have a snack)

Celery with peanut butter OR
One serving of fruit

Lunch

4 oz./One chicken tenderloin (seasoned and frozen, cooked in the air fryer for 8 minutes at 380 degrees)
Salad

Afternoon snack

One serving of Fruit OR
Popcorn

Dinner

May 2019 vs. November 2019

Protein
Veggie
Glass of red wine (sometimes. Gimme a break. I have two toddlers that drive me crazy.)

Dessert (usually under 200 calories) This can get tricky but I keep dark chocolate around the house for those chocolate cravings. Dark chocolate is healthier for you than milk chocolate. Like red wine compared to white wine.

One Chocolate Peanut Butter Bite (Using dark chocolate chips instead of milk chocolate chips) OR
A little sliver of cake OR
One or two squares of dark chocolate OR
One fresh baked chocolate chip cookie OR
One or Two Mini Oreos OR
Brush my teeth and go to bed. (When I've had a bad day and couldn't stick to the meal plan)

Dassit! The weekend can get pretty sketchy. If you get a stomach virus or flu, that helps. I'm laughing but serious. I have started doing a quarterly 2 day juice cleanse. The juice cleanse is a healthy substitute for a stomach virus or the flu. Hahahahahaha!!! I also drink some Smooth Move tea each night just to get the waste moving out, ya know. If you are holding onto waste, you are holding on to weight. Let it out! The tea is very helpful when I didn't quite drink enough water the previous day.

Document! Document! Document! Just like with anything, what gets measured is what gets done. I use an app to document everything. My Fitness Pal is a great app that tracks, documents, charts, and reminds you to eat, workout or whatever you need help with. I use it to document my meals to monitor my calories and nutrient portions, water intake, daily weight, waist measurements, and daily steps.

I eat the same things everyday. This works for me. I eliminate decision fatique and it's easy for me to pack my lunch and snack when I'm in deez streets. Packing my lunch and snacks prevents me from eating out....sometimes.

Fitness

If we are friends on social media, you probably get tired of seeing my work out pictures #MorningsAreForMoms. While I know that I don't have to workout everyday to be healthy, I NEED that time to myself. Going to the gym is really the only time of the day that I get to myself. I'm not interrupted by phone calls, emails, staff calling my name, kids crawling all over me, a husband asking me questions. Just me and my music or audio book. I COULD work out at home but husbands and kids can be haters. It's the best $10 I could spend on myself. I post my daily workout to hold myself accountable and to encourage my Fancy Friends. It's amazing how showing that you're working on yourself can encourage someone to work on themselves as well. I see improvement in my stamina and strength everyday. I feel better about my day when I've worked out in the morning. I know that if my whole day goes to shit and I don't get anything done as planned, at least I exercised. I got ONE win for the day.

I hope this helps someone who is feeling discouraged. Some days are easier than others. PMS is the hardest for food. Getting to the gym is hardest when I'm on my cycle. But I give myself grace and rest when my body gives me signs that I need to rest. However, I don't let rest day turn into rest week, so I even workout on vacation. I don't let one bad food choice turn into a bad food week. I take it day by day. I get excited for the small wins because the small wins add up to losing. Losing weight.

Shameless Plug Alert:

Thursday, December 5, 2019

Why I Don't Participate In Holiday Charity

Yes! I am in the retail business and I offer holiday specials and gift sets because who am I to deny my Fancy Friends that want to bless their loved one with the awesomeness of Fancy Free Hair & Skin. I also do a little something special for my Fancy Free team at the end of the year for dealing with my crap over the past 365 days. However, something in my soul doesn't sit right with holiday toy drives. I don't just. I just don't support because it's not in line with what I believe. Now that I've gotten that out of the way.....

I'm just going to jump right in there and state the unpopular truth. Christmas is a holiday that has
been deliberately marketed directly to children with all of the lights, decorations and most importantly....gifts. Once retailers realized how far people were willing to go for their children they increased the marketing appeal to children so that consumers would increase spending at the end of the year and they could potentially make up for revenue losses before the end of the year. with this one holiday. There. I said it. I am a scientist, I have done the research. If you do your research, you will find that all of the data agree with the statement.

2017 Christmas Eve crab feast. Where is this selfie stick anyway?

However, I am not anti-Christmas. I really enjoy being with my family. I am a generous person. I like to give. I love to see the joy on a recipient's face when they receive a gift from me. I love the good food and sweet treats. It warms my heart to see people going the extra mile to do something nice for someone during the "holidays". After doing our research, my husband made an informed decision that we would no longer celebrate "Christmas" by buying gifts for our loved ones.

While we are blessed and have abundant resources, there are many who blessed differently and do not have money for extra things, like Christmas gifts. Aside from loved ones not being around for the holiday season, not having money to buy gifts sends a lot of people into depression. Or worse, robbing, stealing and scamming so that they have something to give. I love the giving spirit but I hate that it has this effect on some people. I'd rather people not feel bad for what they don't have. I prefer for people to feel like they can give what they can afford and not out of obligation. Now, on to the receiving part...

If you know me, you know I do not encourage any activity that encourages or reinforces a sense of entitlement. There are no "participation" trophies. You get what you deserve. You earn you keep. You reap what you sow. You do not get an A for just showing up. You get the point. I feel like Christmas encourages a sense of entitlement in children. Most of our children are well behaved and do well in school, so we want to reward them. Why wait until Christmas? Why not do it year round? Because the calendar says buy gifts?

We want kids to feel good about themselves. We don't want them to be sad or traumatized because of a situation they didn't create but have to deal with. We pull together to give to the less fortunate so they will "have something to open" on Christmas morning. Ok. Now what? Does that actually help their circumstances? Some children may learn that there is someone who cares about them. I feel like most are actually learning that they should give gifts because it's a holiday. I feel like we are teaching

We started with the envelope system.
It worked wonders.

them that they are entitled to receive something because it's a holiday. Is that really helping them?

When my husband finished residency we were all set to ball out of control. When we were making the most money, we were spending the most, which means we were broke. It wasn't until we sat down and got disciplined about our finances that we were able to break the paycheck to paycheck cycle. We had to set a budget and stick to it. Which meant, no more frivolous spending. We had to tell people no. Most importantly, we had to tell ourselves no. It was hard for our egos because we were the big time doctor and laboratory manager. How is it possible that we can't afford to buy certain things and go certain places? Listen. It happens if you don't get control over your spending habits and establish a healthy relationship with money.

I strongly believe that African-Americans have a hard time establishing generational wealth because we have not established a healthy relationship with money. Our community encourages giving when we don't have it to give and buying when we can't afford. Christmas is no exception. I can't tell you what a relief it was when we stopped buying our loved ones gifts for Christmas. We explained why and our family understood. We still give to our family but when it's in the budget. The gifts are even more appreciated because they come at an unexpected time. We call them "any day gifts". By doing this, we set an example for budgeting and fiscal responsibility. If the hot shot doctor and his wife can say "That's more than we budgeted for." and "We can't afford that right now.", there's no reason that everyone else can't do the same.

Because I don't feel that toy drives and holiday gift donations are in line with my personal views about finance and entitlement, I shy away from them. I do support plenty of charities and non-profits that focus more on experiences than giving material possessions for the sake of giving. Hit me up for the school supplies, field trips, professional attire, book drives, etc. I definitely love the kids. I'm just not buying toys cuz it's Christmas time.

Shameless Plug Alert:

Friday, August 23, 2019

Why Is My Hair Dry?

The most common question I get about hair is how to combat dryness. It's no secret, kinky hair is known to be dry. Let's go back to the evolution. People who have kinky hair are of African descent. Kinky hair is designed to protect the head from UV rays of the hot African sun. Our ancestors had resources to care for their hair in our natural habitat. But then...there was this thing called the Trans-Atlantic Slave trade and everything that came along with that. A lot of grooming practices were lost and we also did not have access to resources to care for our hair like shea nut butter, palm oil, and other oils. But what did we do? We improvised. Like we always do, using lard and other cooking greases as moisturizers.

Namibia, Himba grooming hair

Prior to the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, African women took great pride in their hair. Hair grooming was communal, used as bonding time among women in the tribe. They took great care to style and adorn each other's kinky tresses. Fast forward, those traditions are still a huge part of our culture. The hair salon is a place women go to, not only, care for their hair but to spend time with other women. What's the difference? The products we use given to use in our hair are made in a laboratory instead of coming from the earth.

As a student of the industry, I've found that hair products are not designed with the needs of African-Americans. They are marketed to us. They may have our faces on the packaging but what's in the bottle is not for us. Trust me. It was developed with the needs of straight hair in mind. Kinky hair tends to dry out when it is time to shampoo while straighter hair gets oily when it's time to shampoo. With that in mind, shampoos are meant to remove the oils and build up from the hair as well as the scalp....leaving kinky hair feeling dry. Then we are searching for a product to replenish all of the oils we stripped from our hair during the shampooing process. EXHAUSTING!

The lather is designed to take the oil away with the dirt

I've been making hair products to counter the drying effects of shampoo for about 5 years. It wasn't until the past 2 years that I had my "Ah ha!" moment. IT'S THE SHAMPOO!! My hair was much more manageable when I used a moisturizing shampoo or no shampoo at all. So, I started doing the research. How can I cleanse the oil and build up from my scalp and hair without stripping my hair of the moisture it needs? After trying many shampoos, conditioners, co-washes and other apple cider vinegar concoctions, I came across a clay wash.

When I first heard about clay wash, I had my concerns but I had no doubts that I had found "the one" after the first use. My hair was soft and manageable. My scalp was clean and free of "I work out 4 days/week" build up. You don't need to focus on deep conditioning, hot oil treatments, leave in conditioners, LOC method and all of these other post shampooing methods of moisturizing if your shampoo doesn't strip your hair in the first place. Although, there are times when you may still need them. Now don't beat me up, I know there are times that your hair needs a clarifying shampoo but if you are experiencing extremely dry hair, I wouldn't suggest clarifying shampoo for every wash day.

Granted. There are lots of reasons, aside from products, that can cause kinky hair to be dry:

Dehydration
Undernourishment
Medication
Split Ends
Color/Chemical Procession

I ask a lot of questions before I make product recommendations for dry hair. Once all of the other factors are ruled out, it's probably the shampoo that's drying your hair out. Most definitely. If you're willing to do a little experiment, I can guarantee that you will agree with me.

Is Shampoo Making My Hair Dry?

Discontinue using any shampoo
On your next wash day

Do an Apple Cider Vinegar rinse on your scalp
Use a conditioner that you already have like a shampoo

Style your hair as usual

What do you think? Hair less dry? Hair more manageable? I figured. Now try Fancy Free's Clay Wash. Wet your hair. Massage the clay wash on to your scalp and length of your hair. The clay wash does not lather. The clay and apple cider vinegar lifts residue from the scalp and hair follicles allowing it to be rinsed away. Detangle. Rinse and repeat. Let the clay wash sit for 2-5 minutes. Rinse. Style as usual. Even my hair stylist liked that it didn't require an extra step of conditioning.

NOTE: If you have a lot of scalp build up, try an Apple Cider Vinegar Rinse prior to using the Clay Wash. This will assist with cleansing the scalp thoroughly.

We recommend applying Fancy Free Milk for Hair & Skin to help with further detangling before styling. For styling wet hair (twist outs, braid outs, etc.), comb a little Fancy Free Whipped Shea for Hair & Skin concentrating on the ends. You will probably need less product after using the clay wash because....your hair isn't being dried out at the shampoo stage.

Clay Wash has been a game changer in our household. My son's cornrows last longer, my daughter's wash and go isn't as frizzy, my husband has noticed less dandruff, and my twist outs have been flourishing. We tested 16 different trials of this formula before offering it to our Fancy Friends. Give Clay Wash a chance. Let us know what you think.

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Tuesday, July 2, 2019

Iontrustit

I started making Fancy Free Hair & Skin's signature product, Whipped Shea for Hair & Skin, back in 2012 because there weren't many options for my thick, kinky hair. The list was short. Miss Jessie's 😕 Kinky Kurly 😝 And Ashea 😐 I called headquarters of Miss Jessie's to ask about the mineral oil listed as the first ingredient (meaning that was the main ingredient) and they assured me that they only use the finest of organic mineral oil. 😦 As a scientist, I was appalled by this response because mineral oil is a by product of petroleum. How can you have organic vaseline? BYE MISS JESSIE'S!!! The Kinky Kurly clumped my curls nicely but left my hair sticky and sometimes flaky. The ingredients of the Ashea was what I needed but it was waxy and I had to microwave a little so it would be soft and not leave clumps of product in my hair. I eventually said "Forget this" and started whipping my own. The rest is history.

So before I get into what I don't trust, let's get into some data because....well....I'm a scientist and I like numbers and data. African-American women spend 9 times more than any other group on haircare products. Relaxer sales have dropped almost 40% between 2012-2017. The natural haircare industry is valued at $2.54 billion. That does not include extensions and other haircare products. Let that sink in. Forty percent of the group that spends the most on haircare products are no longer spending their money with companies that sell products for relaxed hair. That leaves the door wide open for small, apothecary businesses like Fancy Free Hair & Skin.

Most businesses assess sales and revenues to adjust marketing as needed. So what do you think those fortune 500 companies who were selling trash products to the largest consumer of haircare products noticed? You've got it. A decline in sales. So they made changes to their products added "natural hair" product lines. A few claimed to hire some African-American cosmetologists to their research and development teams. At the very least, they changed the labeling and packaging to be more in line with what "naturals" are attracted to. Don't be fooled. Fancy doesn't trust it and neither should you. Here is my assessment of the whole ordeal.

THEY DON'T CARE ABOUT US, OUR HAIR, OR OUR HEALTH! ONLY OUR MONEY!!! They've been knowingly using carcinogenic ingredients and chemicals in our products for decades and only claim to have made changes recently. Let's take a closer look, shall we.

Here are the ingredients for Suave's for Natural Hair Moisturizing Curl Conditioner.

Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Cetearyl Alcohol, Petrolatum, Dimethicone, Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine, Behentrimonium Chloride, Glycerin, Fragrance (Parfum), Hydroxyethylcellulose, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Dipropylene Glycol, Lactic Acid, Amodimethicone, Potassium Chloride, Disodium EDTA, PEG-7 Propylheptyl Ether, Cetrimonium Chloride, PEG-180M, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, Hexyl Cinnamal, Linalool

Petrolatum is the third ingredient. Look how far down on the list coconut oil and shea butter are. That essentially means they threw a little bit in there so they could say it's in there but nothing significant. A lot of products use petrolatum and mineral oil because it's cheap and effective. But let's call it what it is. Water, vaseline, 3 drops of coconut oil, one teaspoon of shea butter, emulsifier to hold it together and some preservatives. There aren't any huge changes to the formula. How else can they sell this for $5 with a shelf life of however many years?

I'm not going to get into the hazards of a couple of these ingredients, just know that they're in there.....still. Marketed to us. Black women. We're just trying to maintain our black girl magical hair and health. DASSIT. Fancy Free Hair & Skin puts a lot of thoughts and love into our formulas to offer the highest quality ingredients that are effective and low cost because we care. THEY just want your money. That's why iontrustit.

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Monday, June 3, 2019

"Take A Knee"

Sometimes you have "a day". What is "a day"? "A day" is when everything that can go wrong, goes wrong. Simple tasks that should take less than 5 minutes, drag on for hours. Information seeking conversations do not yield any information. It's so frustrating. Productivity can be delayed. Not just because of the extra time require but because you cannot get your mind right to move on to the next task. You find yourself wanted to scream and ask WHHHYYYY?!?! But that wouldn't be productive, would it?

I had a day last week. I was very annoyed. I knew I couldn't get back to work feeling that way. What do you do in those moments? You "Take a knee".

My husband and I always use that phrase when talking about having to deal with a stressful situation. There was this movie called After Earth, starring Will Smith and his son, Jaden Smith. Will's character, Cypher, a leader in a peace keeping organization on a planet that humans escaped to after having to abandon Earth. Cypher became a legend because he was able to defeat an alien weapon, Ursa, on this new planet that could detect fear in it's opponents. The plot of the movie is "meh", not worth me trying to explain. The movie received horrible ratings and didn't do so well in the box office. However, a pivotal moment in the movie is when Cypher's son, Kitai, played by Jaden Smith, had to face the Ursa alone, in order to save his own life and ultimately his father's. In typical dramatic fashion, Kitai was at a point in the battle when he felt defeated and he heard his father's instruction, "Take a knee". When Kitai took a knee, he was able to refocus and re-evaluate his situation, which eliminated the fear and the Ursa could not detect him. He won the battle. The ending was happy. Blah. Blah. Blah. Even though we aren't battling Ursas. The internal battles we fight can be just as scary as Ursas. Especially resisting the urge to spazz out and "knock all the crap over".🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Being frustrated. Angry. Annoyed. Flipping the table over. Yelling at people. It doesn't accomplish anything. It actually makes you look unprofessional and out of control, probably deterring people who may want to work with you or help you out. Press the pause button. Get out of your emotions and start looking for solutions. One thing that I've learned in therapy is that it's ok to acknowledge our emotions but living in our emotions is not productive. When you feel yourself bubbling over with emotion, take a knee, refocus, realign, gather yourself and get back to business.

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Wednesday, May 8, 2019

"Delete All Dis Ish, Piggy!"

If you're just joining me on this journey, I am the founder of Fancy Free Hair & Skin, a personal care manufacturing company. I did not set out to start a business. It happened accidentally. I don't know much about marketing product. I am an expert at developing and manufacturing products because I spent 7 years running a laboratory.

Now that we've got that out of the way, I am always looking at my products, website, social media, pictures, etc. trying to figure out how they can be improved. Last year, I felt like I hit a plateau but wasn't sure what I could do to take my business to the next level. So, I decided to hire a new marketing company to give me a fresh perspective on the things I look at everyday.

The graphic designer I use for my labels and other marketing material has been with me since the beginning. THEE VERY BEGINNING. She was the one who sent me a message saying "Girl. You are too fancy for this janky label you have. Let me fix it." The rest is history. My product labels have gone through a few

adjustments over the past 3 years but no real overhaul. Last year, I finally decided to create individual labels for the 5 different scents of shea for hair and skin instead of continuing to use one standard label with separate scent labels. Sounds simple, right? That's because "you did not do your math" *Erykah Badu vc*. Let us add up the cost for ONE product's labeling:

(2 labels per jar + 2 different sizes) x 5 different scents = 20 rolls of labels
Each roll of labels (minimum 250 labels) costs about $80 per roll with my customer loyalty discount
That's 20 x $80 to upgrade my labels for ONE product.
$1600 for just the labels

The labels for one product. I have 9 different products. My graphic designer and I went back and forth about a few things with the labels for this one product. So when I required new labels for another product, I was kind of over it. Plus I was on a time crunch because I had made promises on when the new packaging would be available.

Fast forward, I meet with the marketing company to really dive deep into what Fancy Free Hair & Skin is all about and who I am as a founder. One of the first things they comment on is my packaging and labeling. AAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!! I got that anxious feeling in the pit of my stomach because.... well, see the calculations above. By the end of the "deep dive" session, we had shifted our focus to other aspect of Fancy Free that could be improved and did not mention the labels again. Then I started working on labels for the Clay Wash and Castor Oil blend (Available sometime this summer. Continue reading if you want to know about what's taking so long). The marketing company asked to see the labels that my graphic designer came up with, the designer who has been with me since day one. The one who I trusted with a major part of my branding. I gave her the go ahead to use more color and to keep in mind that I approve changing the label design to be more "Fancy". The labels she designed for my new products were in line with all of my other product labels. I understood that she wanted them to be cohesive with my existing products but my marketing company had something different in mind. Whole time, I'm confused and unsure, so guess what I did. Nothing. I put the new product release on the shelf and started working on shampoo bar, soap, shampoo and body wash. SMH.

About two weeks after "Label Gate", I go to the grand opening of the Made In Baltimore Pop-Up Store, since my products are being sold there. Fancy Free was set up in a display in the middle of the table with about eight other handmade personal care products. My sister, who is my creative director, and I were looking at my products among the others like "Something isn't right here." I didn't like the way my products looked next to others. I felt like mine looked amateur. I felt like Fancy Free products didn't measure up. Which I know isn't true but just looking at them next to other products made me feel that way. It hit me like a ton of bricks. The marketing company was right. I need to do something about these labels. *hears money flushing down the toilet*

Moral: Sometimes you have to throw everything away and start over.

I know this. I do it all the time during product development. I would make a change in the formula, just to see how it would turn out. The results....TRASH! As duly noted in my lab notebook.

This same theory applies to my labeling. While my current labeling isn't "trash", I realized that they need to be improved in order to give my brand the image it needs to take Fancy Free Hair & Skin to the next level. And while it will cost me money to make changes, it will cost me more in the future if I leave them as they are. After all, marketing and branding are not my ministry, this is why I paid the marketing company to fix my life. Seems counterproductive to hire an expert and then not take the expert's advice.

I spent 2018 putting systems in place, hire and training staff, and building relationships so that I could spend 2019 growing my business. This realization can definitely be filed in the "growing pains" category but Fancy Free and I will be better for it.
Ok. Now that I've told the story. Let me swallow my pride and order these new labels.

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