This is going to be quite a zinger.
At least twenty people have approached me in the past few months to start a blog to address some very quirky things that are taking place in this “natural hair community” I spent a lot of time on Twitter in late 2009, all of 2010 & 2011 trying to smooth relations between those who are branding for personal gratification versus those who have an established business (with services or wares) that they are exposing to the public. I am not ANTI Blogger! for I have several good friends (new and old) who have taken on this task and have had the integrity to cite their sources! THIS IS HOW RESPONSIBLE journalist handle their business. What i am, is ANTI-POSER. Do not pose as an expert if you aren’t one.
I have no respect for those who attempt to advertise or “brand” themselves as experts, unless there are observable credentials that can attest to that fact. Let it be said that if I find myself in an educational panel or natural hair event with someone who is perpetrating a fraud, I will make sure that it is exposed. My fellow professionals and I have spent years, if not decades, collecting education and experience to present to natural hair wearers. Do people really think they can google something that has been assembled over the course of a career and think people will fall for that? Evidently so. Noire Salon Blog is here to change all of that.

The information that you will see here will be a culmination of experiences. Some of mine, some of my staff, some that is of some professional stylist friends of mine. I have always felt as though black hair needs to be a strong business in black hands, first and foremost. I am an avid supporter of several friends with products businesses run out of their homes. I also support of products that exercise good & balanced chemical formulations. I am not anti chemical. All things natural do not belong in hair and all things chemical are not bad. People have begun to fear Latin-derived chemical names…merely out of ignorance for what these things are or what their meaning is within a product. This will be a place of education. You may never have pro-level understanding, but you will know enough to be able to step into any salon and understand what is happening to you.

Here are some absolutes….

I am a licensed Cosmetologist.

I have over a decade of experience (13 years to the date of this post) behind the chair with natural hair.

I have been managing my brand since 2004

I have been the owner of not one but TWO brick & mortar businesses: Hair Salons

I will make these promises and you are more than welcome to hold me to them. I wont be surprised if I see this italic sentence in quotes or comments in the future. I have already seen, down the road, that this will be a topic i revisit with certain frequency.

Here at Noire Salon Blog….

· YOU WILL get accurate information here at Noire Salon Blog

· YOU WILL NOT see step-by-step tutorials of our more elaborate hair styles (because that would belittle those whom i have trained as professionals in my salon and those who pay quite a pretty penny for us to take care of their hair!)

· YOU WILL see some easy videos on basic care. I believe in an educated consumer. The more information you have, the better home hair care will be, opening the door up for you to become your own stylist–when the need arises.

· YOU WILL HAVE TO contact me at cerobbins365@gmail.com to set up both consultations and hair appointments.

Lastly, THERE WILL BE NO BATTLE-RAPPING HERE. All of that fussing that happens on other peoples blogs, in the comments of videos, on Twitter and Facebook…is not happening up in here. Respect yourself, respect your sistren or delete yourself.

Those who follow me on Twitter and Facebook know that I uphold the concept of community. In order for a community to truly thrive, everyone must play their part. Our people have been cut off and disenfranchised for a very long time and now is the time for natural hair (and its supporting businesses) to thrive. I believe that people of color should grow and thrive right along with it. This is important to me. Its why i take pen to pad, fingers to keyboard, hands to hair and money to education.

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