Last Friday, Ouidad’s Frizz Fighting boxers hit the streets of NYC to bring her latest innovation to top Beauty Editors and curly girls in Times Square!

For more photos and up to the minute news on the launch of Ouidad’s brand new Climate Control Frizz & Flyaway Fighter follow us @Ouidad and search #FrizzFighters.

Brevity is not my strong point so hopefully my spiel doesn’t bore you. First off let me confess, there was a point in my life that I truly didn’t know my hair was curly. I mean honestly, as a child I was more focused on playing with my dolls than worrying about what was on top of my head. I had the prerequisite little girl hairstyle, two or three ponytails with little plastic baubles holding them into place.

Sounds easy enough, right?

It wasn’t until I turned twelve that I asked my mother for a relaxer (chemical straightening process). I wore my hair like so for six years. I remember trying to ‘make’ my hair curly in high school (mind you I was still relaxed) by buying some serum or another that promised to make your puffy hair turn curly.

So then I go to college, and the first week in I saw *gasp* my own peers walking around with natural hair; curls, braids, afros. You name it, I saw it. It was then that I asked myself, why am I relaxing my hair? Do I need to relax? It took me all of three seconds to decide never to use chemicals again. So with the lovely assistance of my niece whose skills in braiding far surpass anyone I know, I transitioned wearing lots of braided and corn rowed styles (think early Alicia Keys).

When my hair wasn’t braided I kept it flat ironed because I still didn’t know what to do with it. I attempted to wear my hair curly but little did I know that straightening it so often would lead to permanently straight pieces…and I boldly walked around wearing this larger than life half curly, hair straight massive Lion King sized head of hair. (Don’t judge me.)

FINALLY, a breakthrough. My first foray into the natural hair world included Nappturality.com, where I learned how to care and nurture my hair without the use of heat or chemicals. Then I found NaturallyCurly.com. And THEN I found YouTube…and made my first video, purely because a lot of people viewed my hair album (on fotki.com) and still had lots of questions. So I figured, hey instead of telling folks how about I show them?

Up went the first video in which I showed how I detangled my hair. To my surprise more ladies were requesting that I make more videos, most of which I did reviewing different hair products. (I’m a platinum card carrying member of Product Junkies Anonymous. Next meeting is at my house, 2pm. (Please bring cookies and punch)

Fast forward to now… I have over 200 videos up and I have met some of THESE most wonderful people!! Some of my videos have delved into book reviews, my attempts at going vegetarian, or whatever random thought I have for that day.

Of course I still get asked lots of questions about my hair and such. It doesn’t matter where I am: at work, at the supermarket holding a frozen bag of peas in my hand, I WILL stop to talk about hair if asked!! If I’m able to give a least one person advice and they come back to me and tell me that whatever I told them worked, then my job is done.

In the interest of keeping this short, I’ll stop here. As I said it’s easy for me to go on about curly hair because truly, I love everything about it!

Thank you Ouidad for letting me prattle on!

For my final Ouidad Blog I wanted to highlight my birthday with a celebration of self  and my hair. But this is a BIG birthday year for me and I’ve been very angsty and tense over its arrival. Check it out…Even my hair looked a little stressed out the night before The DAY!

But after some soul searching and meditation, I realized I needed to honor the years and welcome this new decade with open loving arms.

Haha I’m pumping up the good energy!!

Okay so this might be taking it a bit far considering the insane look on my face, but it worked and I ended up in a festive mood when my alarm starting singing at 6:45am on MY DAY. I spent the morning humming Nina Simone  “and I’m feeling gooooodddd!!” Yes!! I’m off to a good start despite my super buoyant bed hair.

Considering I still get carded, which gives me everlasting  joy every single time, age is truly nothing but a number. Ha!!

FYI it was an amazing birthday that I share with the effervescent Alicia Keys, the hilarious Jenifer Lewis and the late great Etta James! I’m in great company.

Cheers to another Beautiful, Adventurous & Wish Fulfilling Year!!

You don’t need to make it harder to refresh those delicate tresses by stretching and pulling them into a ponytail, or smothering them beneath a hot head wrap at the gym. You don’t have to sport a braided style or beg your stylist to cut it short just to keep your curls looking cute.  Do it the Ouidad way and toss those ponytail holders and head wraps – give way to the curls!

Image via Self.com

Quick Workout Tips for Curls:

1) Give your curls a post workout boost with Ouidad’s Botanical Boost. Designed to soften, moisturize, detangle and fight frizz, this is the perfect pick me up! Our 2.5 ounce travel size is great to leave in your gym bag.

2) To maximize your gym time, you can also multitask by conditioning your hair while you workout.  As you exercise, the heat from your scalp can help some conditioners, like Ouidad’s 12 Minute Deep Treatment, penetrate the hair shaft.  And the best part is the time you’ll save by getting your hair and body healthy at the same time!

Have a Healthy and Curly 2012!

At the Premiere of Braxton Family Values

I asked Tamar Braxton how she describes her hair and she boisterously answered “It’s the Tamar boo!!” Each sister after that rang in with, “mine is the Towanda, mine’s the Tracie and even Mama Braxton proclaimed it out loud with a lil hair flip.” After years of describing mine as just funky and free, it never dawned on me to simply call my style by my name. From here on out, let it be known I’m rocking The Tanika!!! Dot.com!!! Chatting with the ladies confirmed yet again that Hair is just the beginning of Designing Your Life Out Loud!

Hair is a great place to start though because it’s ultimately a statement of who we are. You can tell what a person is all about  just by the silhouette of their hair. Think of Vogue’s Fashion Queen Anna Wintour, whose hair is perfectly bobbed and precisely styled to a T. It’s pretty clear she’s a woman who’s super organized, discerning & fiercely walking through life.

On the other hand, a woman with long wavy locks that cascade seductively over her shoulders definitely approaches life with her sexuality up front. I’ve even switched it up on VH1′s “Beverly Hills Fabulous” when Elgin Charles gave me a flirty shag. With that weave, I played peekaboo with everyone that passed me by. Super fun fantasy hair that definitely pulled out a friskier side of me.

We women are obsessed with how we wear our hair because we can convey so much about ourselves simply with the choice of texture, color and style. It’s an immediate intro into our inner selves. I meet women all the time who gush over my curly hair then complain with “but I’m not sure I could pull off that style” and I say forget what anybody else has to say. Be true to you! There is so much power in expressing yourself exactly as you are. If in doubt just refer to all your favorite role models, movie stars, singers and heroes. They are designing their lives out loud and as fabulous as they want to be…why aren’t you?

Though successfully styling your hair and putting together a kick ass wardrobe is a good chunk of the pie, Designing Your Life Out Loud expands to your home too. = There is a very intimate connection between you and the space where you lay your head & dream at night. Your sanctuary should be a favorite place to reconnect with self with all the pictures, furniture and colors you absolutely LOVE!!!!!!

My lil sanctuary-bright, eclectic and totally me!!!

Design every aspect of your life to represent exactly who you are.

I’m designing my 2012 to be the best year yet…keep you posted!!!

Tanika

Ouidad Creative Director, Morgan

When caring for hair with texture or curl, there are some very important rules to follow. Everyone has their own daily hair regimen. What you may not realize is that some of these daily habits can cause more harm to the hair. If you follow my advice and eliminate those “bad hair habits”, you will start repairing your hair leaving it healthy, shiny, and frizz free. Minimal steps can give consistency in the way your hair looks and feels. Lets make the “Bad Hair Day” a phrase of the past. 2012 is the year of “Minimalism”. Embrace your texture/curl pattern and take the natural approach to maintaining the health of your hair. Easy hair, is healthy hair!

Treat your hair to healthy habits!

1. Excessively Shampooing

I am often asked, “How often should I shampoo my hair?” I personally think that it comes down to you as an individual. Everyone’s scalp produces a different amount of oils. The oil that our scalp produces is what conditions our hair naturally.

If your hair’s texture is medium-coarse/tight texture, you should shampoo your hair less frequently (1-2 times a week or less). If your texture is a fine/wavy pattern, then you may shampoo more often (2-3 times a week or more).

If you are someone that shampoos more frequently, I recommend that you use a non-sulfate shampoo like our Climate Control Defrizzing Shampoo. Shampoos with little or no sulfates are designed to cleanse the hair gently without removing the scalp’s natural oil.

If you don’t shampoo often, you may want to use a specialty clarifying shampoo like Water Works. When not regularly cleansing, you may experience build-up. When this occurs, hair can visually appear dull and weighed down. A clarifying shampoo will remove the build up and hard water the remains on the hair.

Overall, you need to listen to your hair. If it feels and looks dry, skip shampoos and condition more.

No matter what hair type you have, shampooing everyday will dry out the hair. If you need to wet your hair daily, try alternating every other day with shampooing and Condition the hair between shampoos.

2. Brushing Textured/Curly Hair

You NEVER want to brush curly/ textured hair. When using a tool that contains a lot of teeth like a brush, or even some combs the hair tends to expand causing the curls to separate and dry looking frizz and unhealthy. The only time you would detangle the hair would be in the shower with a conditioner. I recommend using our Wide Tooth Comb or Double Detangler.

The wide set teeth allow the curls to separate into large uniformed curls formation. This will allow the curls to dry with a smooth, shiny, frizz-free finish. When detangling curly hair, if not done correctly with a wide set comb, it can result in breakage and damage the quality of the hair.

3. Chemically Over-Processing

When processing hair with texture, keep in mind that textured/curly hair tends to be on the dry side. Chemically processing can add to its dryness. The more you process the hair the more work it is to keep the hair at it’s optimum health.

Curly/Textured hair absorbs color more because of it naturally being more on the dry side. Try using Demi-Permanent color. It’s ammonia free and peroxide free which is less drying on the hair. If you are coloring your hair for grey purposes, always opt for ammonia free color. Avoid stripping your color and try to stay close to what’s natural. Color looks best when hair is shiny and healthy!

4. “NOT” making Deep Treatment a part of your regimen

Deep Treatments are a “multi-vitamin” for hair. Hair with texture/curls tend to lack moisture. The protein and moisturizers in a heat activated Deep Treatment penetrates the hair shaft, repairing the hair internally. This keeps the hair healthy and strong while also keeping curls defined and frizz free. I recommend doing Deep Treatment 1-2 times per month to maintain the consistency of frizz free, shiny and healthy hair.

5. “NOT” trimming hair because of the desire for growth

A high percentage of people with curly hair have the desire for long, cascading hair. Because of this, they don’t regularly cut their hair and wait long periods of time, which causes breakage! Once hair starts breaking, the ends become weak and hair become shorter.

The truth is, hair with texture/curls lacks moisture. The ends become dry and brittle. Regular trims help the hair grow longer and healthier. I recommend a small trim (1/2 inch) every 3-4 months. In between your trims, nourish the ends by doing regular protein based treatments like Deep Treatment. This will give the hair strength to withhold the weight of the length.

Here’s to Happy Curls in 2012!

Morgan

From my days with a short Curly Shag on Extra…

To experimenting with a Smooth Wet Set on HGTV’s DesignStar…

Magazine articles and Blogs about me and my TV career, ultimately conclude with the focus on my Hair….

Don’t get me wrong the hair celebration is awesome but certainly not something I orchestrated or really welcomed initially. In college I was hated on for not “doing SOMETHING with that hair” which I’m sure led to some of my hair insecurities. Yep we all have them and I’m certainly not exempt. Let’s be really honest… I’m over all those obnoxious messages on tv commercials and ads about how our curly hair is a DON”T.  “They” practically demand that we do everything in our power to change “our unfortunate hair” by destroying its very essence in order to gain those celebrated long straight locks. Boo and Boooo!!

Don’t let them get you girls!!! That’s why I love that we continue to be a part of a community that celebrates each other thru our Hair adventures…Let’s keep it that way…because when I have one of those fickle and insecure moments, I cherish how YOU help me bounce back like the perfect curl.

In case you ever need a lil pick me up, I wanted to share my absolute fav ways to celebrate our curly hair:

1. Oh my blessed Tweeps!!! @twitter can be a curly girls best friend and the quickest pick me up. Much love to all my #naturalcurlygirls, #naturalsistas #curlygirlies  Your tweets about “Loving My Hair” empower me and help validate my decision to continue wearing my hair wild and free. #rightbackatcha!!

2. I like to check in with some of the flyest Bloggistas in the curly hair game like CurlyNikki, Afrobella, and NaturallyJunky. They help me remember that a woman who proudly wears her hair curly is a woman with Swag!! Enough Said!!

3.  One of my most exhilarating boost is driving on an open road with the windows down. It’s an instant “Weeeee” moment.  I just had this mini vacay myself over the holidays driving up the coast that made me feel like I was flying, with my hair dancing in the wind to its own rhythym. When the ride was over my hair had grown 3xs it’s size but I LOVED IT. Give it a whirl!!

4. Appreciate a good “Hair Drive By”! I have met the most amazing women in airports, restaurants and every where in between in this Curly Hair Crusade and each one exhibits a strong independent adventurous spirit. As we connect and share hair tips & secrets I’m reminded I’m in great company. Whether it’s admiring the adorable lil X-Factor angel Rachel Crow’s hair or celebrating the fantastic images of Chaka Khan belting out “I feel for you” we help each other stand tall, curly and free!

So if YOU are having one of those “what the hell am I gonna do with my hair” days remember steps 1-4 and Rock that Fabulous Hair!!!

One of my New Years Resolutions is to start documenting these random meetings by featuring them in my new website/blog, TanikaRay.com.

Stay tuned you’re all invited!!

Here are our favorites

Ouidad Creative Director Morgan’s Tip for Rich, Glossy curls:

“Ouidad Clear Control Pomade aids to smooth and hold curls for beautiful definition.  Finish the look with the Ouidad Shine Glaze Serum to give curls that polished sheen without a weighty or sticky feel.”

Check out these curl friendly styles from around the web that we are loving this season.

Reach your destination in style with your curls still defined…

What styles work best for your hair in the winter? Share your finds with us too!

For the Fashionista: Bianca Wool Hat via NastyGal.com

A Curl Friendly Classic: The Wool Beret via AmericanApparel.net

Cute and Casual: The Shearing Trapper hat via OldNavy.com

Snow Bunny Chic: Cable Knit Pom Pom via Macys.com

For the body…Find your nearest Zumba class!! So much fun.

For the Hair, it’s always a work in progress. But I did win this past year when the constant travel for my job between different cities and climates proclaimed war against my hair!

This year I lived in:

Los Angeles, CA – dry air and “summery”

Denver, CO – cold, dry with high altitudes

New York , NY - really cold and wet

Salt Lake City, UT – dry and cool

Park City, UT – cool with high altitudes

and my grandest foe, what I like to call

HOTSTIN (Austin, TX)! ‘Cause it was HOTTTT!!

You see for two months back in August, I lived in one of the hottest, humid places on US soil… AUSTIN, TX. Those two months almost became,  “My Frizzy Hot Summer in Texas!”  Every single day topped 100+degree temperatures before noon. Now for an L.A. raised girl this swelter zone was follically challenging!

What’s a girl to do?

Well I held my frazzled Tina Turner ‘fro high, and dove into my scientific side like I was one of the fierce girls out to solve the hair mysteries on CSI Austin.

First order of business? FIND A MIRACLE!!

So I lunged for the products that would typically pull me out of a hair frazzled bind in the past, but this hair-tastrophe was beyond.

My hair choking on the limp dryness in my car on the way to set. So sad!

My mane was crying for help as I went through every Curly Girl’s weapon in my Bag of Tricks.  But my typical potions seemed to lack the hold leaving my curls wimpy, lackluster and still…DRY! But the search was over when my stylist Candace shared a small tester sized “perfect lil remedy” I had never tried. Ouidad’s MOISTURE LOCK LEAVE IN CONDITIONER…(cartwheels and backflips)!! I could practically hear my hair slurping up the product.

Second order of business? FIND THE PERFECT ROUTINE!!

After trial and error I nailed the perfect routine.  Turns out, for my hair in devastating heat, 2.5 dollops applied one dollop at a time thoroughly coating the entire head root to tip-did the trick! Then I would scrunch the hair into the perfect poof centered at the top of my dome. I let my hair marinate in this little conditioning nest during my drive to location, throughout my good morning “Hi’s” to the crew and all the way to the end of my makeup routine with Candace. By this time the stage manager is ready for me on set, which is my cue to let my hair down to finish air drying completely. This would leave my hair practically invincible from the elements. And voila!!!

There is a Hair God!!

-Tanika Ray

With David Bromstad- Happy hair on set!