For this episode of “Roots & Culture: The Natural Hair Podcast”, I continue my conversation with Crystal Swain-Bates. (You can listen to part one of our interview with Crystal here.) Crystal is a native of Atlanta, GA, and holds a Master’s degree in International Affairs from Florida State University. She is an avid world traveler, author, and the owner of Goldest Karat Publishing.

In this segment, Crystal gives us an inside view at what it takes to successfully self-publish a book. She talks about the challenges and rewards of self-publishing. And she gives us some valuable tips on how to approach the process of self-publishing a book.

This show is going to be especially valuable for anyone who has ever thought about writing or publishing their own book. Listen and enjoy.

In part two of this three part show, Crystal shares with us:

* What was it like to write and publish her first book

* Why she chose to self-publish her books

* What are the benefits of self-publishing your own book

* What are some tasks that go into self-publishing a book

* What are the challenges of self-publishing a book 

* What does it take to successfully self-publish your first book

* And a whole lot more!

Crystal’s Goldest Karat Publishing is a boutique publisher of educational non-fiction titles and entertaining children’s books aimed at African-American audiences. Goldest Karat’s goal is to fill the diversity gap in traditional publishing by providing readers with high quality books featuring characters of African descent.

Crystal’s children’s books include Big Hair, Don’t Care, I’m a Pretty

Princess, Naturally Me!, Supermommy, The Colorful Adventures

of Zoe & Star, The Colorful Adventures of Cody & Jay, Black Fairy

Tales, and the natural hair inspired coloring book Color My Fro.

You can find Crystal online on:

* Twitter

* Instagram

* Facebook

Share with us in the comments section how you enjoyed the show. And please share this with someone else who you know would enjoy listening.

If you would like to be featured on our show, suggest someone you would like us to have on, or have ideas for future shows, please contact us here.

You can also connect with us on Twitter.

For this recording of “Roots & Culture: The Natural Hair Podcast”, I had the pleasure of chatting with Crystal Swain-Bates. Crystal is a native of Atlanta, GA, and holds a Master’s degree in International Affairs from Florida State University. She is an avid world traveler, author, and the owner of Goldest Karat Publishing.

Goldest Karat is a boutique publisher of educational non-fiction titles and entertaining children’s books aimed at African-American audiences. Goldest Karat’s goal is to fill the diversity gap in traditional publishing by providing readers with high quality books featuring characters of African descent. 

Crystal’s children’s books include Big Hair, Don’t Care, I’m a Pretty

Princess, Naturally Me!, Supermommy, The Colorful Adventures

of Zoe & Star, The Colorful Adventures of Cody & Jay, Black Fairy

Tales, and the natural hair inspired coloring book Color My Fro.

In part one of this three part show, Crystal shares with us:

* What inspired her to go natural

* Why she feels every woman should go natural at some point

* How she feels about hair typing

* What she feels are the positives and negatives of hair typing

* How she came to start writing children’s books

* What role the media plays in shaping a child’s self-esteem

* And a whole lot more!

You can find Crystal online on:

* Twitter

* Instagram

* Facebook

Share with us in the comments section how you enjoyed the show. And please share this with someone else who you know would enjoy listening.

If you would like to be featured on our show, suggest someone you would like us to have on, or have ideas for future shows, please contact us here.

You can also connect with us on Twitter.

For this episode of “Roots & Culture: The Natural Hair Show”, we continue our chat with Ijeoma Eboh, founder of KlassyKinks.com. Ijeoma is a natural hair and lifestyle blogger, world traveler, and PhD student. Ijeoma began her website, KlassyKinks.com, in 2013 with the mission to change perceptions of kinky textured hair around the world.

Her focus is on encouraging women to fully embrace their natural hair texture through proper maintenance, versatile styling, and self-love. She also writes on a myriad of topics centered around having a healthy, classy, and beautiful life.

Ijeoma shared with me a wealth of insightful information on blogging, natural hair, her creative process, how she stays balanced and productive, and a whole lot more. This is part of two of our conversation. You can listen to part one of her interview here. 

In part two of our conversation, Ijeoma shares with us:

* What she wants to accomplish with KlassyKinks.com

* How she found her writing voice for her blog 

* How she balances graduate school, work, and blogging (read her blog post here)

* Tips that anyone can use to grow their social media platform 

* What words of encouragement she has for those scared to go natural

* Her personal thoughts on what the term “natural hair journey” means to her

* And so much lot more!

CLICK THE AUDIO PLAYER ABOVE TO LISTEN TO THIS SHOW.

Watch as Ijeoma shows you how to achieve her signature curly fro: 

Watch as Ijeoma goes from kinky to strait hair at Madu Salon in San Francisco:

You can contact Ijeoma online at:

* Twitter

* Pinterest

* YouTube

* Instagram

* Facebook

Please contact us here if you would like to be featured on our show, suggest someone for us to interview, or have an idea for a future shows.

For this recording of “Roots & Culture: The Natural Hair Podcast”, I had the opportunity to chat with Ijeoma Eboh, founder of KlassyKinks.com. Ijeoma is a natural hair and lifestyle blogger, world traveler, and PhD student. Ijeoma began her website, KlassyKinks.com, in 2013 with the mission to change perceptions of kinky textured hair around the world.

While her focus is on encouraging women to fully embrace their natural hair texture through proper maintenance, versatile styling, and self-love, Ijeoma also writes on a myriad of topics that center around having a healthy, classy, and beautiful life.

Ijeoma shared with me a wealth of insightful information on blogging, natural hair, her creative process, how she stays balanced and productive, and a whole lot more. Our conversation is divided into two shows, with part one being featured above.

In part one of our conversation, Ijeoma shares with us:

* What influenced her decision to wear her natural hair

* Why she doesn’t believe in “hair typing” and has NO use for it

* How she deals with negative comments on her blog and social media

* Why she chooses to be so open with sharing her life with her audience 

* How she uses authenticity to connect with her readers

* How her blog has grown and evolved over time

* And a whole lot more!

Click the audio player above to listen to this show.

Watch Ijeoma’s first Perm Rod Set tutorial below: 

Watch below as Ijeoma shows you how to do an easy 5 minute natural hair Updo:

You can contact Ijeoma online at:

* Twitter

* Pinterest

* YouTube

* Instagram

* Facebook

If you would like to be featured on our show, suggest someone you would like us to have on, or have ideas for future shows, please contact us here.

This show of “Roots & Culture: The Natural Hair Podcast”, is part two of the interview that I had with Ariane Williams. Ariane is the Editor in Chief at BlackNaps.org. (You can listen to part one of Ariane’s interview here.)

Since 2010, Ariane has been providing natural hair tips, style tutorials and advice for women with Type 4 kinky curly hair. Her work has been featured on Huffington Post, Total Beauty, Madame Noire, Black Girl Long Hair, Clutch Magazine, Curly Nikki, Publishers Weekly and, she is a regular contributor for Natural Hair Rules.

In part two of this show, Ariane shares with us:

* Whether hair “type” should determine who a woman follows on social media

* What are the strategies she used to build her successful blog?

* What inspired her to write her children’s book? (Visit her book’s website here.)

* What are the secrets to running a successful Kickstarter campaign?

* What she wants to contribute to the natural hair community?

* What the term “natural hair journey” means to her

* What advice would she give to someone who wants to write a book?

Ariane’s children’s book, “Jamie Loves Her Natural Hair”

You can find Ariane online on:

* Twitter

* Pinterest

* Google+

* Instagram

* Facebook

Watch the video below and see Ariane share with you how to specifically keep 4b and 4c hair from drying of thirst.

NEW!!! Ariane has an upcoming course called, “Be Your Own Boss: How to Make Money Blogging“. Watch the video below to see how you can learn from her how to be your own boss and make money blogging.

Contact her about her new course here.

  

Did you enjoy the show? Let us know in the comments below. Would like to be featured on our show or, have ideas for future shows, please contact us here.

 

Are you on Twitter? Let’s connect and we’ll keep you updated on new shows.

For this recording of “Roots & Culture: The Natural Hair Podcast”, I had the pleasure of chatting with Ariane Williams. Ariane is the editor in chief at BlackNaps.org. Since 2010, Ariane has been providing natural hair tips, style tutorials and advice for women with Type 4 kinky curly hair. Her work has been featured on Huffington Post, Total Beauty, Madame Noire, Black Girl Long Hair, Clutch Magazine, Curly Nikki, Publishers Weekly and, she is a regular contributor for Natural Hair Rules.

Ariane shared so many insights that touched on blogging, living your dreams, the correlation between “hair typing” and colorism, what makes her happy and fulfilled, and a whole lot more. It was a pleasure to have Ariane on the show and, I truly thank her for sharing her time with me.

In part one of this show, Ariane shared with us:

* How she started her “natural hair journey“.

* What she believes is the biggest misconception about natural hair?

* What inspired her to start her natural hair blog?

* Who was her inspiration to turn her blog into a business?

* How BlackNaps grew from a hobby into a full-time business?

* What it takes to rank high and, get noticed on Google.

* What she believes are the positives and negatives of “hair typing“.

You can find Ariane online on:

* Website

* Twitter

* Pinterest

* Google+

* Instagram

* Facebook

Watch the video below and see Ariane share with you how to specifically keep 4b and 4c hair from drying of thirst.

Did you enjoy the show? Let us know in the comments below. And if you would like to be featured on our show or, have ideas for future shows, please contact us here.

(Are you on Twitter? Let’s connect and we’ll keep you updated on new shows. )

For this recording of “Roots & Culture: The Natural Hair Podcast”, I had the opportunity to speak with Aisha and Chad Bobcombe, two of the founders of Loux (www.myloux.com). Loux is an online retailer that specializes in the ethnic hair care market. Loux’s mission is “to celebrate the ethnic woman by providing a unique, unmatched and personalized online shopping experience for her hair care product needs.”

Aisha and Chad shared a wealth of insightful information on their company, the natural hair community and it’s potential for growth, their personal challenges as entrepreneurs, and a whole lot more. You can listen to part one here. Part two is featured above.

On part two of this show, Aisha and Chad share with us:

* What is the “Loux Experience”

* What made them want to become entrepreneurs?

* What are their goals for transforming online shopping?

* What accomplishments are they most proud as entrepreneurs?

* How they balance family and work as two aspiring entrepreneurs?

* What is the importance of black women accepting their natural beauty?

* What do they want their legacy to be?

* And a whole lot more!

Bonus: Here are pictures from the Loux’s inaugural event, “The Loux Experience”, that was held on April 25th at Negril Village in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photographs by Oscar Spearman Photography / Oscar Camejo. You can see more pictures from The Loux Experience event at their Facebook page here.)

Aisha and Chad are open to new business partnerships and you can contact Loux online at:

* Twitter 

* Pinterest

* Google+

* Instagram

* Facebook

If you would like to be featured on our show or, have ideas for future shows, please contact us here.

For this recording of “Roots & Culture: The Natural Hair Podcast”, I had the opportunity to speak with Aisha and Chad Bobcombe, two of the founders of Loux (www.myloux.com). Loux is an online retailer that specializes in the ethnic hair care market. Loux’s mission is “to celebrate the ethnic woman by providing a unique, unmatched and personalized online shopping experience for her hair care product needs.”

Their website is like an upscale boutique where you can find hundreds of different hair and beauty products; both your favorites and, newer or maybe unfamiliar ones.

Aisha and Chad shared a wealth of insightful information on their company, the natural hair community and it’s potential for growth, their personal challenges as entrepreneurs, and a whole lot more. Our interview is broken down into two parts and, part one is featured above.

On part one of this show, Aisha and Chad share with us:

* Where did the inspiration for Loux come from?

* What separates Loux from “big-box” brick and mortar retailers?

* Why some retailers neglect the ethnic hair care market?

* What are some of the challenges they faced as entrepreneurs?

* How Loux seeks to meet the hair care needs of women of color.

* How it feels to work with a spouse as business partner.

* What opportunities do they see in the natural hair community?

Aisha and Chad are open to new business partnerships and you can contact Loux online at:

* Twitter 

* Pinterest

* Google+

* Instagram

* Facebook

If you would like to be featured on our show or, have ideas for future shows, please contact us here.

Victoria Sallie is the publisher of the Talk Tresses blog (www.talktresses.com) and, Public Relations Coordinator for hair care e-tailer, Loux (www.myloux.com). Her infectious smile, positive energy, and social media acumen is helping her to distinguish herself in the natural hair community.

For our first recording of “Roots & Culture: The Natural Hair Podcast“, I had a lively conversation with Victoria about a broad range of topics. We talked about natural hair, her own natural hair journey, social media, and a lot more.

It was a pleasure to have Victoria on the show! She was a great guest and I sincerely hope you will enjoy listening.

Special Update: We would like to give a special congratulations to Victoria for her recent graduation from St. Johns University! You did it! All the best to you and, may all your dreams come true!

A few questions I ask Victoria:

* What influenced her to go natural?

* How hard was it for her to go natural in a foreign country?

* What she feels is the biggest misconception about natural hair?

* How did she start blogging?

* What does she want to contribute to the natural hair community?

* What has been her proudest accomplishment up to this point?

* Where does she see the natural hair movement going next?

 

Find Victoria online at:

* Her blog

* Instagram

* Twitter

* YouTube

Watch Victoria’s “How to Make a Crochet Wig”

 If you would like to be featured on our show or, have ideas for future shows, please contact us here.