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The Swirl World

Celebrating and Elevating Black Women - mind, body, soul and spirit!


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#266| No Comparison

September 23, 2015 By Michelle Matthews-Calloway 5 Comments

shareasimageNO_COMPARISON

There’s only one you, so there’s no need to compare yourself to anyone.

Why?

Because there’s no comparison!

Join in the Fray: When do you feel your truest, best self?

 

The Swirl World Team is committed to sharing 365 days of inspiration in 2015. Our goal is to help you stay motivated and inspired by bringing you positive, uplifting images and corresponding thoughts.

We’d love to FEATURE YOU in one of our Inspiration Daily posts! If you’d like to be featured, please send a nice, clear photo to InspirationDaily@TheSwirlWorld.com.

Copyright ©2015 Michelle Matthews Calloway, ASwirlGirl™, The Swirl World™, The Swirl World Podcast™, The Swirl World Inspiration Daily™, Swirl Nation™, All rights reserved. Photo used with permission.

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Filed Under: Black Women Living Well, Fantastic Fans, Inspiration Daily 2015, Natural Hair Tagged With: Black women, life, living well, natural hair

#84| Write It Yourself!

March 25, 2015 By Michelle Matthews-Calloway Leave a Comment

shareasimageMechalRoe84M

Reading is one of my absolute favorite things to do, and writing is a close second.

I can think of few places I’d rather be than in a library or bookstore.

I’m especially proud of the fact that here in The Swirl World, we feature a number of authors who have decided to take Toni Morrison’s advice:

If there is a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, you must be the one to write it.

Mechal Renée Roe grew up as a child from a mixed shade family. She looked for a book that addressed some of the things she experienced with her hair – a book that celebrated the uniqueness of Black women’s hair in all its glory.

She couldn’t find the book she was looking for – and today, she’s the author and illustrator of Happy Hair!

To listen to her story and learn more about her book, click here.

So, what about you? What do you want to read? Have you been able to find it?

If not, why not write it yourself?

 

The Swirl World Team is committed to sharing 365 days of inspiration in 2015. Our goal is to help you stay motivated and inspired by bringing you positive, uplifting images and corresponding thoughts.

We’d love to FEATURE YOU in one of our Inspiration Daily posts! If you’d like to be featured, please send a nice, clear photo to InspirationDaily@TheSwirlWorld.com.

Copyright ©2015  Michelle Matthews Calloway, ASwirlGirl™, The Swirl World™, The Swirl World Podcast™, The Swirl World Inspiration Daily™, All rights reserved. Photo used with permission.

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Filed Under: Black Girls, Books We Love, Inspiration Daily 2015, Natural Hair, Uncategorized Tagged With: Black girls, Black women, books, bookstore, Happy Hair, library, Mechal Renee Roe, natural hair, reading, writers, Writing

Teaching Hair Love To Young Girls

July 21, 2014 By Michelle Matthews-Calloway Leave a Comment

 

SY8pRw91QkuVkgJQW_-OccKqkNyhky5J0bQs2IpqAmsIn this episode Adrienne and I interviewed the fun-filled Mechal Renée Roe, author of Happy Hair.

Raised in St. Louis by a single mother of three girls, Mechal has always been fascinated with art.

She often used the medium as a form of escape of an under-served community.

She has, fortunately, allowed these experiences to be a catalyst, rather than a hindrance, to all of her wildest dreams.

As an adult, Mechal used her experiences as a child from a mixed shade family to write and illustrate Happy Hair.

 

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Happy Hair is a call and response picture book that promotes positive self-esteem and hair love to girls of all ages. Happy Hair covers different shades and hair types all while being fun and fashionable!

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Her book is a celebration of the uniqueness of natural hair, and all of its styles.

This book is the foundation to building Happy Hair in young girls, thus enabling them to grow up into women who will fully embrace their unique beauty.

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In addition to discussing her book, Mechal (pronounced “McCall”) discusses cutting off her locs, her new ‘do, hair care products and Black women’s beauty and uniqueness – all the ingredients for an interesting, stimulating and thought provoking conversation!

You can also listen to the episode on Sound Cloud:

 

ERopwQdm39GusSB7C64StBRtdJp_weTlcYJCS6ys_5QPurchase copies of Happy Hair on Amazon or Barnes & Noble. For signed copies and special bulk pricing, email Mechal at HappyHairgirls@gmail.com.

Follow Mechal on Twitter @HappyHairGirls and on Instagram. To “Like” the Happy Hair Facebook page, click here.

Want to be a guest on the podcast, or know someone who should? Send an email to Podcast@TheSwirlWorld.com. Be sure to “Like” The Swirl World on Facebook and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes. You can also follow us on Sound Cloud and listen to the show on Stitcher Radio! 

Copyright © 2014  Michelle Matthews Calloway, ASwirlGirl™, The Swirl World™, The Swirl World Podcast™,  All rights reserved. Photos and images used with permission. Post contains the author’s affiliate links.

 

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Filed Under: Books We Love, Podcast, Uncategorized Tagged With: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Black women, Happy Hair, interracial, interracial dating, interracial marriage, interracial romance, Mechal Renee Roe, natural hair, podcast, swirl, swirling, White men

Podcast Episode 012: Kaye Flewellen – “The Hair Maven”

July 7, 2014 By Michelle Matthews-Calloway 4 Comments

Kaye Flewellen - "The Hair Maven"

Kaye Flewellen – “The Hair Maven”

Whether your hair is natural or relaxed, curly, straight, wavy or a combination of all three, if you’re like most women, you care about the state of your hair.

Have you ever wondered if “hair” vitamins were worth buying – or wondered to what extent genetics determines how fast your hair grows or how thick it can become?

Well, Adrienne and me chatted it up with Kaye Flewellen of Dallas, TX, and tapped into her 20+ years of hair styling expertise to learn the answers to these and other questions.

Kaye holds a degree in Communications/Public Relations from Baylor University. She is a Salon Owner, Celebrity Stylist, Image Consultant, Community Activist and Adjunct Professor at Navarro College of Cosmetology.

She has served as an educator for McBride Research Labs/Design Essentials, an industry leader in hair care and Farouk Systems/CHI Hair Salon.

The Hair Maven has created styles for Grammy award-winning gospel artist CeCe Winans, Angie, Debbie, and “Mom” Winans, Solange Knowles, Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson, and a host of civic and business leaders. The Hair Maven has made several trips to the White House – she is continually on the move!

Kaye Flewellen and First Lady Michelle Obama

Kaye Flewellen and First Lady Michelle Obama

Not only that, Kaye recently added Author to her list of accomplishments!

Her book, A Mane Attraction, is “a go-to guide for everything you need to nurture a healthy and attractive mane.”

A Mane Attraction

Whether you wear your hair natural, permed, weaved or braided, Kaye drops knowledge concerning how to enjoy a healthy mane. Listen and learn!

P.S. At the end of the broadcast, Kaye discusses Swirling. Fun, fun, fun!

If you’re receiving this in an email and you can’t see the iTunes player, you can listen to the show on Sound Cloud:

You can also listen on Stitcher Radio.

SONY DSCTo visit Kaye’s website, click here. Follow Kaye on Twitter @JustAskKaye. To follow her on Instagram (and see some amazing hairstyles!), click here. If you’re on Facebook, you can receive daily doses of interesting information on all things hair, beauty, fashion and empowerment by going to her page, Just Ask Kaye.

Want to be a guest on the podcast, or know someone who should? Send an email to Podcast@TheSwirlWorld.com. Be sure to “Like” The Swirl World on Facebook and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes. You can also follow us on Sound Cloud and listen to the show on Stitcher Radio!

Copyright © 2014  Michelle Matthews Calloway, ASwirlGirl™, The Swirl World™, The Swirl World Podcast™,  All rights reserved. Photos used with permission. Post contains affiliate links.

 

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Filed Under: Podcast, Special, Uncategorized Tagged With: Baylor University, Black women, Black. White, communications, Dallas, degree, graduate, hair, hair salon, hair style, hair stylist, interracial, interracial dating, interracial marriage, interracial relationships, JustAskKaye, Kaye Flewellen, maven, natural hair, podcast, relaxed hair, salon owner, swirling, The Hair Maven, TX, weave, weaved hair, White House

The Hair Thing (Part 2)

April 8, 2011 By Michelle Matthews-Calloway 2 Comments

So in my last blog I discussed the cultural differences in men’s preferences in sporting facial hair. In American Men and Identity: Contemporary African-American and Latino Style López-Gydosh and Hancock (2009) stress the importance of hair, beards, and mustaches to men in both African American and Latino cultures. SM was willing to grow a mustache and beard to let me see what he looked like (GOR-GEOUS!!!!). He didn’t mind growing it, but beards and mustaches are not conducive to his professional environment. Even though I totally understood, I was a little bummed that he’d have to cut his beard at a moment’s notice.

Once I began investigating and recognizing the intrinsic influence culture wields on an individual’s thinking and preferences, I better understood why I thought a man’s facial hair made him more desirable or even sexy. Lesson learned. SM and I are now more attuned to what we call “culturalisms.” We’re having fun learning even more about each other (and ourselves) as we discover and identify the culturalisms that influence our thinking.

So, on to the million-dollar question:

What does SM think of my hair???

Well, fortunately for SM (and me) I have no facial hair!

[Sidebar: I am FDLOL! Come on, you should have known that was coming! Corny? Of course!]

For those readers who may be unaware, natural hair is undergoing a renaissance among Black women. A Black woman’s hair is considered “natural” when she adds no chemicals to change the texture. In other words, she leaves it the way it grows out of her scalp  – be it fine, thick, kinky, coiled, curly, dense – you name it. Generally speaking, White women use a “perm” to make their straight hair curly. Conversely, Black women use a “perm” to make their curly or kinky hair straight.

Now, when it comes to a Black woman, wearing your hair natural doesn’t necessarily mean you have to sport an afro. Au contraire! Those same fine, thick, kinky, coiled, curly, dense textures provide us a vast range of hair styles we can wear based on an equally vast range of styling techniques. Braid-outs, twist-outs, knot-outs, puffs, coils, curls, and locs abound – and those are just a FEW of the available styles!

In other words, I can wear my fine, naturally curly, shoulder length hair blown out and flat-ironed one day, and in a curly twist-out the next day. When I asked SM what he liked and even preferred, he said,

“Oh, I like your hair straight, but I really like your hair curly.”

[Sidebar: Yes, he put special emphasis on the “really.”]

SM smirking

SM not only likes the way it looks, more important, he says he likes the way I act and seem to feel when I wear my hair in its natural, curly state. He says that I seem more relaxed and carefree. He says he also notices changes in my clothes, jewelry, and makeup.

[Really???]

According to SM, when I wear my hair curly I also use very minimal makeup (except for bright lipstick) and wear brighter colored clothing coupled with bolder, funkier pieces of jewelry.

“When your hair is curly you have more ‘swag,’” he says. “And I LOVE it!”

[More “swag?” Really????]

I thought about what he said, and came to the conclusion that he’s right. I know I have a more “take me as I am” attitude when I’m in my natural, curly glory. (And it helps that I don’t have to worry about the humidity level or whether it’s raining outside – the more moisture in the air, the curlier I get).  Wearing my hair curly also makes me feel a bit more “Afrocentirc,” if you will, hence the bolder, funkier jewelry and brighter colors. Is this a result of cultural influences? Perhaps. I think mainly it’s more a sense of feeling freer to be myself and express my personality.

I also believe when I say “more Afrocentric” what I really mean is more “me-centric.” Hence, what I learned from the whole Part 1/Part 2 hair thing is that SM and I each enjoy each other’s looks in surprising ways and for different reasons. Ultimately, we support each other in the expression of our cultures and who we are individually, whether we’re mustached or clean-shaven, straight or curly. Our hair thing works in our favor – and that’s what counts.

Reference

López-Gydosh, D., & Hancock, J. (2009). American men and identity: Contemporary African-American and Latino style. The Journal of American Culture, 32(1), 16+. Retrieved from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5035416077

Join in the fray:

Curly or straight? Tell me about your hairy situation!

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: afro, afro puffs, Black. White, braid out, coils, culture, curly, ethnic, interracial, kinky, knot out, knots, men, mustache, natural hair, twist out, women

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I’m Michelle Matthews-Calloway, and I’m A Swirl Girl! Greetings to you from The Swirl World. We encourage Black women to expand their relationship options by dating and marrying interracially. Our overarching mission is to see Black Women live their best life. Come Swirl with us in The Swirl World™, where we celebrate Black women and the diverse men who love us!™

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