My natural hair journey has been long but satisfying. I love trying new things but I stay away from any and everything lye-based. It has been 5+ years that started in Afghanistan. I spent a year working in Kabul, Afghanistan and the work was very meaningful but my hair suffered greatly. The water was hard and my lightened strands to a serious beating. So, I did what I always do and turned to the Internet and researched a solution. I came across and advert for The Damn Salon and instantly knew that I found my solution. I booked an appointment with the salon’s touring team that comes to Washington D.C every three months for a marathon hair session and found my happy place. The styles that I wore were wild and free and represented my personality perfectly. The styles that I wore were wild and free and represented my personality perfectly.
I met the salon’s creator, Mushiya Tshikuka and we bonded instantly over the natural hair movement. I gave my hair health to Mushiya and The Damn Salon for two years and was rewarded with hair that was free of chemicals and growing like a weed. …..And that was 5 years ago and our friendship is as strong as ever! I have never met a woman that cares as much about women’s emotional health and how it is tied to our confidence. She wants every woman to look and feel good. Mushiya went on to become a featured cast member of ‘Cutting it in the ATL’, a reality show that followed the business practices and lives of a few elite Black hair salon owners in Atlanta, Ga.
Mushiya has given me looks that give me life! Here are a few of my favorites!
So that is the ‘Damn’ back story! LOL! Mushiya has unleashed my inner hair diva and I haven’t looked back. When I have been Damn’d my confidence is through the roof. I am a bit shy normally but I do not have confidence issues. But, I get an extra boost when I leave the loving, creative atmosphere that The Damn Salon brings to every city they visit. We talk, laugh and boost each other up. Mushiya is an accomplished chef and we eat well….I am guilty of bringing the wine on a few occasions. We share success stories, wishes and fears. I even learned a few Congolese dance moves that I am going to bust out one day when I want to dance like no one is watching….I was with these ladies when I received news that I was accepted to grad school with a scholarship so it was with joy that I returned with the news that I’d graduated with my Master’s degree in Emerging Media Studies from Loyola University Maryland. We laugh, we cry and we love!
Along with the love and sisterhood come the products….YASSSSSSSSS! I left with a shiny pink bag chock full of products that Mushiya has developed for natural hair and the people that love STUFF! 
When I came home from Afghanistan with damaged, bleached hair with balding spots that were down to the scalp in places I couldn’t see. It was these products that brought my hair back to its natural state. I massaged the shea butter-based hair butter into my thirsty scalp once a week and in a few short months my hair grew back in the balding spots. A few months after that I had a headful of healthy hair to deal with.
It has been a week since I got my hair done and I am still enamored with the Urban Twists that Mushiya chose for me along with the honey and platinum color that she knew would compliment my skin.
Damn! I am summer ready and off to my next adventure…stay tuned!
Spring is a time of rebirth! Flowers are blooming, the weather is cooperating and we have shed the heavy layers. Spring is a time to celebrate yourself! Beauty trends and the latest fashions are amazing ways to express your self but at its core beauty starts within. Take the time to preserve your inner light. I take the time to celebrate my thoughts and the things that make me happy through travel, photography and writing. Cultivate your inner beauty along with your physical representation and you will shine this season. When you smile and laugh your inner peace resonates and everyone around you reaps the benefits. I have kept a journal or diary since I was a young girl, capturing my thought and feelings while documenting people and places that brought me joy. Many of my blog posts start out in longhand and transfer to my site once I have settled in for the night.
The 
notebooks have resumed their travels, providing an indispensable counterpart to the new and portable technology of today. Capturing reality in movement, glimpsing and recording details, inscribing the unique nature of experience on paper: the 
A chance trip to a Crate and Barrel store gave me a new favorite and I balance my love for journals between the two styles. The French-inspired 
Last but not least is my 
I love to talk about natural beauty and health but I truly believe that beauty starts from the inside out. You can buy the best make up and beauty products but nothing can replace WATER! I can’t stress hydration enough! Flipping through an old copy of 
Water helps your body flush out toxins more efficiently, leaving your skin looking fresh and more radiant as a result. Drink an 8oz glass in the morning before brushing to get kickstart your liver and kidneys from a long night of sleep. I also keep a bottle on my nightstand to give my body a chance to rejuvenate during the night.
ew the art, video and photo exhibits, there is so much to see. A wave of emotion hit me as I realized that I was a member of an exclusive club where the requirements are bravery, courage and dedication to our nation. I didn’t realize that a silent group of women were watching me and they approached and hugged me like a long-lost sister. They were museum docents, the women who volunteer their time to keeping the museum alive. They were women who’d served in the military as nurses, doctors, and in recent more direct combat roles, understand my sacrifice and my tears.
to get the museum project off the ground because the costs would exceed 22 million dollars and require 2.5 million dollars in yearly operating costs. Despite the fundraising efforts of a determined group of women World War II veterans the memorial is in danger of closing due to rising financial concerns. In an interview with NBC News, retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Wilma Vaught, a Vietnam veteran and president of the board of directors of the Women in Military Service Foundation, described the financial situation as ‘iffy’. The memorial remained afloat thanks to a $1.6 million congressional appropriation and a special fundraising drive that’s brought in $250,000. But paying bills remains a challenge, Vaught said. “You’re constantly wondering if you’re going to get enough money to pay for the rent, pay for the electricity for the building, pay for the people that work,”
The original supporters of the memorial are dying off with many of them in their mid-eighties. It is time for the generation of women that have served to step up and participate in the efforts to preserve our history. REGISTER, DONATE, PARTICIPATE it is time for us to tell our story. There have been too many instances where women in service have been overlooked because we have not used our voice. The day I visited the memorial I told my story and it is now forever preserved. Women suffer the same it is not necessary to suffer in silence.
Adventures of an Awkward Artist 