About a month ago, an acquaintance rescued me from my fast swelling natural hair as we enjoyed a free outdoor concert with our fellow local naturals. She has dreads down to her arse and I have free flowing kinky curly shoulder length hair. So, how did she rescue me? She took off her Tomoka's hair twist and tied it around my hair. Now, you're probably wondering how a hair accessory that could hold dreads almost as tall as me could also secure about a three-quarters less hair. It's the ultra flexible copper wire! Not only does the flexibility make these a feasible option for almost any hair length and thickness, they won't damage natural hair. I do have to be careful with the tiny hooked ends of the wire to avoid snagging my hair, but this is a minor issue. So, far I've worn it as a headband and loved it. It's so lightweight and non-headache inducing unlike traditional headbands. The hair twists can be worn in almost any style imaginable, from headband to ponytail holder. Mimi Fleming, the owner and designer of Tomoka's Twists, has crafted such a nice variety of hair accessories that you'll find one for any and every occasion. 

Ms. Fleming is also a gracious business woman. After a couple of visits to the website and discovering her shop was still out of stock of the design I was most interested in, she took the time to find out exactly what I wanted and contacted me when it was available. Small business owners take note of excellent customer service. And I'm not mad at her for having such an in demand product. Even in a recession, I find her prices fairly reasonable. Considering the amount of ponytail holders I go through annually and that I could wear my "curly girl" hair twist EVERY.DAY, the $16 price tag was worth it. 

So, all my natural hair havin', dread lock wearin', curly 'fro pickin' beauties, click over to Tomoka's Twists and support a brown girl and handcrafting artisan. 

This is a meme featuring links to some of the more thoughtful posts around the brown blogosphere. Tired of all the fluff on many blogs? BrownGirl is helping you sift through the bullsh*t and find the posts doing some real talk. Check 'em out and reply with equally thoughtful comments.

* This blog post isn't by a blogger of color but the subject matter is relevant. The question "Is my character 'black enough'?" is very significant in this time where there's a new, steady flux of white written black stories. The question itself conjures the erroneous notion of a monolithic black experience.

* Author Nnedi Okorafor defends her right to write about "female genital cutting" without demonizing the practice in her newest speculative fiction novel Who Fears Death.

follow her on twitter @Nnedi

* Natalie Wilson of the Professor, What If... blog has not self-identified as being a person of color, but hell, I'm giving her an honorary pass if she's not. Check her about page and you'll know why. Her provocative posts like the one discussing the gender backlash and sexism surrounding female fans of Twilight are always enlightening. Do I care about that series, not so much, but I do care about how the backlash can be applied to any form of media perceived as  "geared towards women."

follow her on twitter @professorwhatif

No new blog discoveries because school has had me in it. But enjoy the sweeps!