Me and my hair have had a pretty intense relationship. Either I'm in love with it or I cut it all off. There is no in-between. I'm a sucker for bleach blonde curls (I blame Beyonce) and my hair has paid a pretty high price for my obsession.
Although I've always been reckless with my tresses, my last trip to the salon damaged my hair in more ways than I can imagine. My non-ethic hair stylist seemed to give no fucks about my curl pattern and left me with a head full of platinum blonde, gummy, mess that couldn't be reversed. While I could sit here and criticize my stylist for getting distracted and leaving the solution on for too long, the truth is, I knew exactly what I was getting into when she started.
When it comes to my hair, I can unapologetically confess to being a cold-hearted killer (of my cuticles, that is) and Tami Roman can totally relate. On a recent episode of Personal Injury Court, a defendant sued her stylist for $480K after a botched weave installation that left her with a bald patch, and Tami came through with a hair-related horror story of her own:
Tami Roman Joins Personal Injury Courtyoutu.be
"Ooooh chile, let me tell you. I've dyed my hair most of my life because I greyed early. So I went to my stylist and I said, 'I want you to take my hair to platinum blonde,' and he said, 'You know, it's going to be difficult.' I said, 'I still want it.'"
And with the flick of the wrist, Tami removed her wig and showed off her TWA that she was forced to embrace after all of her hair fell out. She continued:
"And six weeks later, all the hair fell out. I wanted what I wanted and now I'm bald."
Going blonde doesn't have to lead to baldness and proper hair health knowledge is essential to helping you retain length and elasticity, so we've compiled a list of products that will get your curl pattern all the way together:
Miss Jessie's Rapid Recovery Treatment
Miss Jessie's
This avocado-infused hair treatment is meant to be used once a week and is perfect for dry, brittle curls that have lost their luster after a color treatment.
Maui Moisture Strength & Anti-Breakage + Agave Nectar Conditioner
Amazon
I stumbled upon this gem at a local Walgreens, and although I only picked it up because it was on sale, this sweet-smelling conditioner has quickly become a part of my bi-weekly wash routine. For maximum results, combine with Maui Moisture Thicken & Restore + Bamboo Fiber Fortifying Mask Fortifying Mask.
Buritti Nectar Repair Hair Oil
Amazon
I discovered this accidental find in Sally's Beauty and although it was a little pricey for a hair oil (in my opinion), it was well-worth the money. It smells lovely and does a pretty good job at hydrating my normally low-porosity hair.
Design Essentials Natural Honey & Shea Edge Tamer Hair Gel
Amazon
Just because you're going through a dry patch (literally) with your tresses, doesn't mean you should neglect your edges. Next to Aunt Jackie's Tame My Edges Smoothing Gel, this is the only edge control I trust to hold my edges all the way down.
Curls Blueberry Bliss Reparative Leave In Conditioner
Amazon
This cult-favorite features a mix of blueberry extract, coconut oil, grapeseed oil, and mango butter that promises to repair and condition and prevent breakage of your chemically damaged coils.
Did you know that xoNecole has a new podcast? Join founder Necole Kane, and co-hosts Sheriden Chanel and Amer Woods, for conversations over cocktails each and every week by subscribing to xoNecole Happy Hour podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Featured image by Instagram/@TamiRoman.
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Skylar sees things differently. At the time, she was shooting content on her iPhone. Temi came into the picture with a new perspective, an understanding of tech, and, eventually, a camera. “He doesn't give himself enough credit,” Skylar says. “He wasn't just my tripod. He wasn't just standing behind the camera and going ‘click.’ He was giving advice. He was giving me insight to how I could look at things from a different perspective. And I was like, 'Oh, he’s an artist.' I think it was maybe a heartbeat of that kind of energy of like, ‘Baby, can you take this picture?’ And it turned so quickly into, we're partners. We can work together in a way where we're advancing each other's creative thinking.”
The pair often says they’re two sides of the same coin. Skylar is an Aquarius. She attended art school, paints, and loves poetry. She’s more than happy to let the couple’s management firm and agency, Kensington Grey, handle their admin work. And, she loves to sleep in. Temi, on the other hand, wakes up early. He’s a Virgo. He loves a to-do list and regularly checks in on the couple’s brand partnerships spreadsheet to make sure everything is on track.
Because his storytelling was steeped in his love of technology, he didn’t always think of himself as a creative person. “Where I [am] the dreamer who wants to pluck things out of the sky and spend all day with my head in the clouds, Temi [is] so good at grounding me and helping me figure out how to make things make sense on paper. We just work together in such a complimentary way,” Skylar says.
It’s been more than six years since Brooklyn-based couple Temi and Skylar started dating, and nearly four since they cemented their working relationship. On TikTok and Instagram, the couple’s travel, fashion, and home content regularly rack up hundreds of thousands of views. They’ve worked with brands such as Coach, Aesop, Away, and Liquid IV, bringing their vibrant perspectives to every campaign they execute. Still, nearly two years since both Temi and Skylar committed to full-time content creation and creative directing, the couple says their romantic connection remains their priority.
“We told each other we would much rather go back to full-time jobs and preserve our relationship than to be full-time freelancers, barely getting a night's rest [and] barely kissing each other because we're so busy shooting,” Skylar says.
Working from home can make it hard to separate work from personal life for any entrepreneur. It can be even more challenging when your business partner is also your lover. Temi and Skylar had already used couples therapy as a tool to help them effectively communicate with one another. When they ran into challenges while working together, their therapist helped them set physical boundaries to help combat the issues.
"We told each other we would much rather go back to full-time jobs and preserve our relationship than to be full-time freelancers, barely getting a night's rest [and] barely kissing each other because we're so busy shooting."
“It actually took us doing very specific physical things to create boundaries between work and play in our relationship,” Skylar says. “So, for instance, we will only have conversations about work when we're out of bed or we're at the table or in the office. Initially, when we started, we had to light a candle to say that, 'Okay, this is a space where we're connecting, we’re not talking about work.' We needed really hard boundaries at the top. And then it became a little bit more organic.”
The boundaries have been crucial to implement, especially because the couple began working together so naturally. When the pair first met, Skylar was NY-based a social strategist for BuzzFeed and was using content creation to drive business to her lingerie company. She was shooting her own content. Temi was working for Microsoft in D.C. He’d recently traded in his DJing equipment for a camera. “I've always loved taking pictures,” he says. “Even when I was a kid, my African mother would wake me up at 3:00 a.m. [during a] party, and be like, 'Come take the family picture.'”
Growing up, Temi says he watched his parents support each other and be the true definition of partners. He knew he wanted the same for his own relationship. But, the couple also wanted to make sure they were being financially responsible. The pair didn’t quit their traditional jobs until they’d saved up two years' worth of their cost of living. And, Temi received his Master of Business Administration from New York University with the knowledge that it could either help him advance in his corporate career or be applicable to his business with Skylar.
Temi and SkylarCj Hart @hartbreakToday, they say their working relationship is more of a “quiet dance.” They still implement some of the boundaries they learned in therapy, but they also lean into their natural strengths and deep love for one another. When we speak, Temi has planned a date for the couple to see Princess Mononoke in 4K IMAX and added it to their Notion so they can factor it into their busy schedules. “I fully plan to date for the rest of my life,” he says.
Skylar says the couple doesn’t just wait for date nights to check in with one another, though. This often happens in the mornings, after Temi has made her peppermint tea and poured himself a cup of coffee. When they ask each other how they slept, she says, it’s not just a “nicety.” It’s a genuine question meant to foster connection.
“A lot of it happens during the day in the midst of work. We'll stop and we'll hug. Or we’ll slow dance in the kitchen,” she says. “Sometimes it's hard to set a whole date night when you have 7,000 things going on. So, we must grasp these moments and check in when we can. And I think it's become so organic to us that I actually didn't even realize how often we do it. But all day long, we're like, 'Are you good? I felt like your energy shifted,' because we're best friends, we just know. We just feel it happen.”
What’s better than being in love? Building wealth while doing it. Watch Making Cents here for real stories of couples who make money moves together.
Featured image by Cj Hart @hartbreak