I am so excited Curlies to introduce to you the subscription service spotlight this month. As I stated last month, I wanted to focus on the up and coming subscription services first. I want to give these up and comers a chance to introduce themselves and to let us know what we can expect from their service. I also wanted to give our Curlfriendz an avenue to learn about all the subscription services as many of us are unfamiliar with many of the up and coming services.
Well this month Curlfriendz we're shining the spotlight on another up and coming service. For March the spotlight is aimed at Brittney Marshall and My BrownBox.
My BrownBox premiered their first box in January of 2013 and if you were able to get on the list consider yourself lucky!! The premier box sold out in somewhere close to 30 minutes, while the box for this month sold out in around 6 minutes!! So needless to say, this box is HOTT!! Although I have not yet been able to get on the list for My BrownBox (believe me it's not for trying AND I will try each month until I get one =}), all of the reviews that I've seen praised the service.
I will tell you that the interaction that I've had with the staff at My BrownBox was stellar. When I reached out to Brittney, not only was she very professional but she was accessible as well. She responded to all my e-mails in a timely manner, and as a consumer of a subscription service these are great qualities to see in the founder of the company you are subscribed to. Makes me feel like if there is an issue with my subscription I can contact the service and have my issue resolved with out the rigamaro.
So.... without further delay, I present to you Brittney Marshall and My BrownBox!! | | " Far too often, I find that we are overlooked and underrepresented in the beauty and fashion industries." -Brittney Marshall | My Brown Box | Posh Curlfriendz: What is My BrownBox:
My BrownBox: My BrownBox is a subscription beauty service and eCommerce store for women of color. Each month we send our members a chic box containing 5-6 beauty and lifestyle products that complement their natural beauty and personal style. These goodies span categories of makeup, skincare, nail care, body care, fragrances, grooming tools and other lifestyle goods.
Our team spends a lot of time searching for products that have not yet been discovered by the masses. Vast amounts of our Brand Partners are minority owned businesses that specialize in all natural products; at the end of the day, we want our members to find products that truly enrich their life today, tomorrow, and forever. My BrownBox is more than a box, it's a lifestyle!
| Posh Curlfriendz: What led you to start My Brown Box?
My BrownBox: The personal experience that led to the birth of My BrownBox is me being a woman of color in the marketplace. Far too often, I find that we are overlooked and underrepresented in the beauty and fashion industries. Even to this day when I contact brands about offering their products to My BrownBox members, they lose interest because of our target market.
I wanted to create something that all women of color could identify with and relate to. My BrownBox has been a wonderful way to support minority owned businesses all while creating a community where women of color connect, inspire and inform one another.
| Posh Curlfriendz: How can we subscribe to My Brown Box and what is the price for the service?My BrownBox: My BrownBox memberships are currently sold on an exclusive, first come, first serve basis. We have a huge waiting list of BrownBeauties, so memberships tend to sell out very fast! Women who are interested in becoming a My BrownBox subscriber should visit www.mybrownbox.com to sign up for our mailing list. They will then be notified via email when we reopen our list of subscriptions. We also share the date and time that we will be opening our subscriptions on our Facebook page, Twitter and Instagram. We’re in the process of revamping our website so that subscribers can subscribe on an ongoing basis. I’m sure they don’t fancy waiting in line. So I’m extremely excited about our new website. | Take a look at behind the scene footage from My BrownBox: |
Each month we want to feature one of the many monthly subscription services, to allow us all to get more details and become more familiar with each of the services; and also to get a little background on each of the companies that offer the monthly subscriptions. The way we plan to do this each month is to do a "Monthly Subscription Spotlight".
This month our first "Monthly Subscription Spotlight" shines bright on Ayieta Crawford and the SwapSack.
I am really excited to feature Swapsack this month because February is the month that SwapSack will premier the very first sack. I figured what better way to debut our new site and the "Monthly Subscription Spotlight" than with the premier of the SwapSack!!
Now Curlfriendz, let me start off by saying that SwapSack is a service that I am actually subscribed to. I met Ayieta after joining her SwapSack product swap group of Facebook. I love the swap group because it allows you to swap products that you bought and don't like for something else that you might like to try. With me being the product junkie I am (any of you that follow us on Posh Curlfriendz have seen my stash =/), this group was right up my alley! Ayieta runs the group very professional and respectfully, so when she announced that she would be offering this service - I was all in!! I cannot wait for my first sack, which is set to be shipped on February 11th.... Now, i'm gonna stop talking (or writing -lol) and allow Ayieta to give you the details about her service - The SwapSack. SwapSack
| | “Wouldn’t it be great if I could swap it with someone for something else I wanted?” ~Ayieta Crawford
| How did it begin? I’ll try to keep it short and sweet. I genuinely enjoy helping people. Ask any of my family and friends, they will say that I am the one they look to make things happen – to solve a problem. So I guess it starts with that…
I don’t want to delve too much more into my background. I’ve helped develop a few companies – Shea Essentials, which is now Duafe Naturals (www.duafenaturals.com) after merging with my sister’s company. For them I developed all of the finished product recipes and now my sister runs that entire operation. I also founded Crunchy Crate (www.CrunchCrate.com) based on the natural lifestyle research I was doing and sparked by an idea from my sister to create a monthly subscription service.
Along with my health issues, I had a horrible experience with a relaxer, my hair started to break off so badly that I spent a few months transitioning and it got so bad, even though I was afraid of what I would look like, I BC’ed last July. Thus my research expanded. I subscribed to a couple of natural hair care subscription services to help me with learning to maintain my new hair texture. After a few months, I did find a few products I liked, but I also had amassed twice as many that I did not. They sat there in my bathroom, I felt as if they were laughing at me, cracking jokes behind my back. I had to do something, but if I just threw them away, they would have the last laugh; I spent money on them and got nothing in return…
The idea came to me, “Wouldn’t it be great if I could swap it with someone for something else I wanted?” No waste – the money I spent would provide me with some level of satisfaction. Those products in my bathroom fell silent…
I created a group on Facebook and in a week we had a hundred members. Many of us found the process of swapping thrilling I must say this group of SwapSistas is one of the best groups of curlies I’ve had the pleasure of interacting with. They remain respectful and helpful to one another. Most of them send beautiful thank you cards and additional gifts with their swaps. It is a beautiful thing to see – ladies of color actually loving, helping, sharing and caring for one another. Soon though, people ran out of things to swap. There was a post from a member stating she was having so much fun, she was tempted to go out and buy some products just to have something else to swap. So I asked if the group would be interested in such a service and SwapSack was born.
| With SwapSack, I wanted to take my experience with other subscription services and merge it with that of the others in the group to develop a subscription that truly listened to what the swap group members wanted. Since formulating this concept, I have constantly communicated with the swap group and asked their input. SwapSack will be different because it will always be connected to the SwapSistas in this group. It will remain grounded and I always will, as I always have, take their opinions, comments and critiques into consideration with the subscription service.
Now, I know that I will not be able to make everyone happy, there are some things that aren’t feasible. But what I will do is maintain an open and honest dialog between SwapSack and its subscribers.There are several distinct differences in SwapSack’s service and other subscription services, and I’ll let Rorri go over those in more detail – I don’t want to completely take over her article, but one thing I am passionate about is featuring emerging brands. As a small product maker myself, I reached out to the major subscription boxes to see how to feature my products. I was told the minimum number of products I would need to give them was 500 and that they would prefer 2000 or more. That just wasn’t in the budget. But I am a true believer that some of these smaller brands create some of the best products. So part of my goal with SwapSack is to work with emerging brand to get them the exposure they deserve. For these brands, I am available to assist in other areas – if they need help with a formulation, setting up a website, or packaging idea, I am there to assist if I can.
| About the Service
1. SwapSack is focused on the products - the sacks will contain only products. No tissue paper, no magazines, no business cards.
2. The monthly membership is $15, which makes SwapSack one of the most affordable monthly subscription sample service for natural
hair and skin care products.
3. Unlike other subscription services where every member receives the exact same products, each
SwapSack subscriber will receive a unique but equitable combination of products. Which gives members more products for swapping. We also encourage members who subscribe to other monthly subscription services to swap
the products they receive in those boxes in their swap community.
4. Unlike other subscription services, SwapSack allows you to choose from several preferences for your SwapSack. This means there is less of a chance that you'll receive a
product that you won't use. For more info on the SwapSack visit:
http://www.swap-sack.com
http://www.facebook.com/groups/NCLProductSwap/
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| In the natural hair community the topic of “POO”ing (or shampooing) is a topic that is highly debated. On nearly any natural hair site, Facebook fan page or natural hair blog you can find the topic of “POO”ing being discussed. To poo - or not to poo… Does anyone pre poo?? What is pre “poo”ing? For many naturalistas this topic can be overwhelming and confusing. This topic has proven to be very controversial; and the answer varies depending on who you ask. No matter what side of the debate you are on, you will find naturalistas willing to support your opinion.
The purpose of shampoo is to cleanse the hair by stripping it of dirt and oils that are present, and some experts will argue that once the oils are removed the scalp responds by producing more oil in response which would make it necessary to shampoo more. Others will argue that shampoo’s strip the hair of its natural oils and cause the hair to be dry and brittle and opt to co wash (wash hair with conditioner) instead of poo. Who’s is correct?
| The truth is both are correct. For some shampoo is needed, some naturalistas need shampoo to remove buildup from products left behind during styling. Shampooing may work in their hair. For some shampooing may damage the hair by drying it out. These women may choose to cowash or use other methods to cleanse. Then fact is the decision of whether or not to wash is a matter of preference. What works for on curly may not work for another.
| Personally, I poo… I choose to do it because I experiment with a lot of product. Shampooing works for me to keep the buildup at bay. I generally shampoo once a week for a good cleaning and I refresh once a week with a co-wash After each shampoo I take extra care to moisturize to offset the damage from the stripping that occurred due to using the shampoo.
Shampooing does not have to be a bad thing, as long as you are mindful of parabens and other harsh chemicals and keep your hair moisturized; pooing can actually be beneficial to your regimen
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 Photo taken afer my last relaxer Hey Curlfriendz!! Welcome to the Posh Curlfriendz site!! My name is Rorri and it
is my hope that you allow me to be one of your new curl gurlz and walk with me
as we take this journey through natural together! I will be here to share my
experiences thus far, provide stories and information relevant to our journey as
well as to give you tips, answer questions and research any topics that you send
my way. I’m going to take a few minutes to tell you a little about me – and I
can’t wait to get to know each of you!
My name is Rorri Blackwell. I am 35 year old wife and mother of three. I live in
Bedford Hts. Ohio. I know for many of you the decision to take the journey to
natural is one that is researched and pondered sometimes for months prior to
actually taking that first step, but this was not the case for me. My journey to
natural began unexpectedly in July of 2011, and after transitioning for close to
11 months, I decided to big chop on May 29, 2012. I just kind of realized one
day that I had begun my transition. Although it was not initially my intent
to do so, I’m glad that I did. It didn’t take long for me to fully embrace my
journey and as my friends would say, I jumped all in.
I was faithful to my relaxer, it was all I knew. Growing up, I was taught that I had to relax my hair to look nice, it needed to be straight to be managed. I believed that in order to look good I needed to have a bone straight wrap. It was what my mother did and it was what all of my friends were doing as well. Twice every month for twenty five years I sat in a salon and wasted an entire day to “get beautiful”. I endured the burning scalp and I oiled scabs, but all of that was overlooked as long as my hair looked good which was all that mattered. Never mind the horrible dandruff I suffered due to the irritation to
my scalp and the damage to my hairline, I had to do it or else I would be “nappy headed”. Not only was what I had been taught, but it is what I taught my oldest daughter. I didn’t know any other way and I was fine with it because society had
me believe this is what my beauty was tied to.
 Last month of my transition. May 2012 I was completely committed to relaxer until a medical issue in the summer of 2011 made it difficult for me to get to the salon for my standing appointments. My stylist had a huge clientele, so it was difficult to schedule random appointments, while in the midst of waiting to get in for an appointment all of a sudden I looked up and the cold weather had hit. I realized that it had been four months since I had a relaxer. Although I was a little upset that I no longer had the wrap I was used to, I was thrilled that my scalp was no longer dry since even my dermatologist couldn’t get my scalp issues under control. I also noticed that I was still getting compliments on my hair even though it was no longer bone straight. The more styles I tried the more I fell in love with my big hair, and it was then that I decided that I would embrace my natural coils.
 Day of my BC May 29, 2012 Having always had long hair the TWA stage petrified me. Even though I was beginning to embrace my hair in its natural state, I still had my hang up about the length, so I decided to transition. Learning to deal with the two different textures proved frustrating so in my 9thmonth of transition I decided to “protective” style by way of a sew in. The protective style gone wrong left me no other choice than to big chop.
While my road from relaxed to natural was stumbled upon, I regret that I didn’t find it
sooner. I have learned that I am NOT my hair and to love myself the way God made
me. It has definitely been a journey and I am still trying products and techniques to figure out what my hair loves. My current staple product – actually my only staple product is Mrs. Calvis’ Crisco Mix, this is the only product that I have found to make my hair soft. I use it no matter what! Learning what my hair likes doesn’t bother me, I love researching and finding what works. I believe that this journey has taught me to truly love me for me
NAPturally, beautifully –the way God made me.
 High Puff |  Twistout Fro |  3 Days post BC |
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