Taking charge of what goes

TAKING CHARGE OF WHAT GOES ONTO YOUR HAIR

VERONA WHITE

is a celebrity hair stylist, professional wig technician, hair coach and CEO of Afro Hair Growth Challenge.

Over the past few years, we have seen an increase of dangerous, illegal ingredients going into our products, which are affecting our health and the environment. The label says one thing, and the products do another. We as a community of afro curly hair should take control of what is going onto our hair.

In the rural areas of the Caribbean and Africa, the women are not going to their high street cosmetic stores and buying the best products they can get their hands on. They are using the herbs and natural products available locally around them. If you notice, they do not have hair loss or problems with their hairline, because they are sticking to their natural plant-based products.

It seems quite daunting, with all the hundreds of products that are on the shelf, but I will give you a snippet of how simple it is to make your own product. My book, ‘20 DIY Recipes for Afro Curly Hair’ (available on Amazon), is packed full of recipes which are really good for your curls.

One method, which is very simple and will keep the moisture in your hair, is the Greenhouse Method, where you dampen your hair with water; add your favourite oil, eg. castor, olive, argan or jojoba oil, and then put on a shower cap, followed by a scarf or a warm hat. You can keep this on overnight or, if you have a few hours to spare, leave it on. When you take off the cap you will experience moisturised hair.

For those of you who still have relaxed hair or a Brazilian blow-dry, please make sure you keep up with your protein treatments. Let aloe vera be your best friend, as it is good in all stages of your hair treatment.

Ladies with weaves, wigs, braids and cornrows, please look after your hair while you are wearing a protective style. You can introduce your hair to organic products, by blending aloe vera, a carrier oil (like jojoba, olive and argan), and a few drops of essential oils (such as tea tree, lavender or sweet orange). Blend them all together, and transfer them into a bottle with a spray head. This is a great leave-in moisture spray to use while your hair is in a protective style. You will also have peace of mind knowing there are no dangerous ingredients going onto your scalp.

Christmas - my favourite time of year – is just around the corner, so treat yourself to AHGC satin pillowcases, satin wig liners and envelope scarves. Satin should be curly afro hair’s religion, because it keeps in the moisture and is much kinder to your hair and skin. If you do not want to wear a scarf, then rest your stresses on the satin pillowcase, which is designed to bring with you wherever you are. The satin wig liners come in four colours, and will protect your hairline and keep the moisture in at the same time. Our envelope scarves are very easy to wear, and can be worn anytime to protect your hair without causing friction, like cotton or other fabrics that drag the hair.

Make the most of the CHRISTmas season, and keep blessing your hair with the tender loving care it needs, with the organic ingredients that God designed for us.

www.slaythatwig.com

is where you can purchase all your satin accessories.

BUY YOUR COPY ON AMAZON!

STILL BY TOLA DOLL FISHER

STANDING 100 Lessons From An Unsuccessful Life

Tola Fisher has recently published a book of reflections, and writes why it is important for Christians to be real about their struggles and the role of faith in helping overcoming them

Eight years ago, I learned a hard and unwanted lesson in gratefulness. Looking back, I see I had very much been playing the role of ‘smug married’, with my tall, handsome husband and our ‘perfect’ life in the countryside. Then, in 2012, I gave birth to our daughter and shortly after birth, her lungs collapsed and she died. A few months after that, my then husband told me he wanted a divorce. And instantly, my world came shattering down around me.

Well-meaning friends told me not to worry; “You’ll meet someone else and have more children, and then you’ll forget all about this!” I understood where they were coming from. I know well the story of Joseph, who named his son Manasseh, meaning ‘God will cause to me to forget all my troubles’.

But I was angry, and this sent me on a bit of a journey, which, to be honest, began with me spiralling out of control and being queen of ‘out, out’. I often say I think I was drunk for about two years. It was like I was testing God: “OK, so You’ve let my daughter die, my husband has left me, and I’ve lost my home… Now what?” I blamed God for what had happened and I was angry, hurt and in pain. So much pain.

I could sense judgment from those around me; maybe they would have handled things differently. But the thing is, God knows us, more than we know ourselves. So it’s no use pretending you are fine, going through the motions and trying to be ‘good’ in a way that means we present ourselves as having no problems whatsoever – just because we are Christians. At no point in those two years did I consider myself no longer a Christian. But what it did, is it gave me an outlet for how I was feeling deep within. And, looking back, I know God protected me from situations, which could have turned out very differently.

At some point I remember feeling the Holy Spirit tell me gently: “Right, that’s enough”, and led me to do a course at church which helped us dig deep into our relationship with God and how we felt about Him. It helped me realise that I didn’t know Jesus - not really - and I didn’t believe God was good. I did a lot of crying during that course! It felt as though God was giving me a big hug and drawing me to Himself. I wouldn’t have been ready to do that course straight after two back-to-back life traumas, and God is so kind and patient with us. It reminds me of how we let toddlers play out their tantrums. We calmly wait for them to calm down, as they scream and pound the floor with their little fists, complaining about the unfairness of it all. And then we pick them up, give them a cuddle, and tell them that we love them. That it’s going to be OK. Bottling things up is no good; it will come out anyway, and it could be worse if you’ve left something to fester.

My daughter, Annie, would have been seven last September. And for the first time, I decided to go to the cemetery where her ashes were scattered, and I felt God speak to me and say that my grieving period was over. We think of seven as the number of completion, and I felt a real sense of peace about it. Two months ago, when her anniversary came round again, I barely even acknowledged it! The healing in my heart was complete, and though I will never forget her, I will no longer mourn her in the same way.

I wrote my book, Still Standing, because I noticed people don’t often talk about dealing with difficult seasons – at least not until they are out of them, and then it’s on reflection. But things often (almost always) look different in hindsight, and I wanted to be honest about every part of my Christian walk -not just the bits that would get me lots of likes on Instagram (such as a new baby or an engagement ring). For me, life and loss have gone very much hand in hand, and the joy now is not seeing that my life has turned around, as my friend said – with new husband and family – but in seeing that despite everything, God has used my life to bring beauty from ashes. And that’s the wonderful God we serve.

Tola Doll Fisher is a writer, editor and author. Her first book, Still Standing – 100 Lessons From An Unsuccessful Life, was published by SPCK in June 2020.

WALK THE WAY

CALLING RADICAL FOLLOWERS OF JESUS TO HAVE NEW ADVENTURES ON ANCIENT PATHS

Jesus said - Go into all the world…

Faith in the countryside is in crises. Ancient buildings, too few people, too little money.

In Walk the Way we stand with our rural brothers and sisters in faith, bringing them new hope working with them to continuing to speak the Good News of Jesus in our countryside.

Loosely following the ancient Via Beata path from Lowestoft to St David’s, teams of up to 10 ordinary Christians will walk the path of the saints to meet, speak and share the gospel with people they encounter along the way, supported by teams of prayer warriors from home.

We believe that as we step out in faith, God will open hearts for the gospel and doors for provision. We trust that He will find places for us to stay, and food for us to eat.

Will you join us as a Team Member? Or as a Prayer Warrior? This is going to be tough, stretching and completely out of your comfort zone. Leave technology behind. Expect to finish the walk a transformed person.

The deal is closed-what’s next?

VANESSA GROSSETT

www.theauthorscare.co.uk

Congratulations! You have now received a publishing contract. Your manuscript will finally be in print, and in the public eye. Now you have the contract, you can just leave that manuscript behind you, and move onto the next one, right? Well, not exactly. Technically, while you are waiting for a decision concerning your manuscript, you should be writing your next book. I always say to authors not to waste the days waiting for a response; continue to write the next book.

Once you are happy you have understood all the details in the contract, and you have signed it, the journey to becoming a published author has begun.

And just when you thought you had finished with the manuscript, you will need to visit it again, as it will need to go through edits. Yes, more edits. This can sometimes be frustrating to the author as, in his or her mind the manuscript is complete. They simply want to move on to the next book, and get this one out into the market. However, editors might spot issues in the story that you are not aware of. Remember, the aim of the publishing house is to sell books, and to make sure your manuscript is so intriguing to the reader, they will come back for more. So you will have to revisit the story numerous times until it is polished enough to proceed onto the production stages.

Once you have signed the contract, it is important for you to stick to the deadlines. If you don’t stick to deadlines within the contracted timeframe, the publisher has the right to terminate the contract. This is why it is important, when you are writing a book, to give yourself a goal of when you will finish it by – even before you receive a contract. That way, you get used to the habit of sticking to deadlines and not procrastinating.

Keep in mind that, once you have signed the contract, you have limited control over the book. For example, you might disagree on changing the title, but if the publisher thinks that their title is more marketable, that’s the one they will go with. They have invested in your product and, yes, they want to see a return on that investment, so they will go with what sells.

Once your book is finally out on the market, it would be nice to say that your work on this particular manuscript is done. However, now you will need to get involved in the marketing: so get used to doing interviews, putting the book out there on social media and building your readership. If you need to do a course or research on marketing, I would advise you to do that before the book is out. I know some people can be introverted but, as an author, you need to get out of your introverted shell, and learn to interact with people - especially your readers. Show them some love; they are the ones who will be buying your product.

I would also suggest that you don’t become obsessed with reading the reviews once your book is out on the market. I remember once a client did that, and I had to tell them to stop and work on their next book! At the end of the day, people will have different opinions. Not everyone is going to take to your story, but you will have people that will love it. What matters is that you believe in yourself as a writer.

Once a contract is signed, this truly is when the real work begins, but it will be rewarding to see your God-given dream and talent come to fruition, and you will now be walking in your purpose.

Happy writing Vanessa