ItGirl In Motion: DonYé Taylor Asked Herself This Question When Creating Her Brainchild
"Being an 'ItGirl' is all about being yourself and taking all of the elements that make you who you are and displaying them at your highest capability," creative brainiac DonYé Taylor says in the introduction of the limited video series, "ItGirl In Motion."
In partnership with Hyundai, xoNecole has unveiled the limited series in conjunction with our inaugural ItGirl 100 list. The list boasts 100 Black women who not only innovate and take up space when it comes to putting on for their cities, but also as the driving force behind brands that create impact for the culture. ItGirl DonYé Taylor is one of the 100 featured ladies who put her purpose into action.
ITGIRL IN MOTION with DONYE TAYLORwww.youtube.com
As a marketing consultant, content creator, and CEO, a driving force behind DonYé's ambitions has been to show others how she sees the world by "creating art and doing things that shift perspective." In founding her brainchild, Nüclei, which is coincidentally also home to the ever-so-chic chrome brain piggybank, DonYé briefly touched on the inspiration behind the brand. "I was like, 'What would it look like if I were to be of service to myself?' And that's what made me create Nuclei," she said.
Watch the video above to take a peek into the life of the LA-based ItGirl, the importance of Black women receiving our "flowers" while we're here, and the three things she believes are absolutely essential to any ItGirl.
See our ItGirl 100 list in full here. Click through the gallery below for some BTS moments of DonYé and our partnership with Hyundai.
CREDITS
Director: Mikkoh @mikkoh
Production Company: @30inthemorning
AD/Gimbal Op: @jeffreyrattanong
DP: @jucelandrin_
Editor: @30inthemorning
1st AC: Bonnie Delgado @bonniebellevue
2nd AC: Liz Robles @lizfatimarobles
FPV Drone Op: Kai Kevin Goh @kaivertigoh
Gaffer: Nelson Nguyen @nelson_ftw
Key Grip: Ames Hoang @mangothemaker
SLT: Jamon Tolbert @jamon.tolbert
Sound Mixer: Deyo Forteza @introducingdeyo
PA: Breyona Holt @exquisite_eye
PA: Aminah Muhammad @aminahmuhamm
BTS: Marika Belamarich @marikarosegold
Featured image by Marika Belamarich for xoNecole
Laterras R. Whitfield On What He Wants In A 'Future Wifey' & Redefining Masculinity
In this week's episode of the xoMAN podcast, host Kiara Walker chopped it up with Laterras R. Whitfield, host of the Dear Future Wifey podcast, for a raw and revealing conversation about personal growth, faith, and the search for love in a way that resonates.
Laterras Whitfield Believes Men Should Pursue, Not Persuade
“Let me know you exist, and I’ll do the rest”
Whitfield is a big advocate of a man’s role in going confidently for the woman he wants. “Men should pursue, not persuade, and women should present, not pursue,” he said. He’s open to meeting women on social media but isn’t a fan of bold approaches. “Don’t shoot your shot at me. … Let me know you exist, and I’ll do the rest.”
His ideal woman?
“She has to be a woman of God… I judge a woman by how her friends see her… and most importantly, how she treats my kids.”
Infidelity, Redemption, and the Power of Self-Control
“Being disciplined is the most beautiful thing you can offer”
Once unfaithful in his previous marriage, Whitfield has since transformed his perspective on masculinity. “Being disciplined is the most beautiful thing you can offer. That’s what true masculinity is to me now.” He has also committed to abstinence, choosing self-control as a defining trait of manhood.
Whitfield’s journey is one of redemption, purpose, and faith—something that speaks to women who value emotional intelligence, accountability, and the power of transformation.
Rewriting the Narrative Around Black Masculinity
What masculinity, legacy, and healing mean to Whitfield today
“My dad taught me what not to be [as a man] and my mom taught me what she needed [in a man],” Whitfield said. While his father wasn’t abusive, he wasn’t emotionally or affectionately present. “Since I didn’t see it, I never got it either… I would look at my dad and say, ‘I want to be a better father.’ ”
Adoption had always been on his spirit, influenced by TV shows like Different Strokes and Punky Brewster. This mindset led him to take in his nephew as his son after a powerful dream confirmed what he already felt in his heart.
Want more real talk from xoMAN? Catch the full audio episodes every Tuesday on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and don’t miss the full video drops every Wednesday on YouTube. Hit follow, subscribe, and stay tapped in.
Featured image by xoNecole/YouTube
10 Women Dish On How To Have An Easier Sisterlocks Journey
Not too long ago, I decided to binge-watch the series A House Divided while it’s on Tubi — and now that I’ve finally checked out every episode, I have three immediate takeaways. One, I don’t know why someone had to die damn never every episode (literally — LOL). Two, Paula Jai Parker really should get more acting gigs, and, for some reason, I want to see her and Tisha Campbell in a series together. And three, Demetria McKinney and Taja V. Simpson really are some beautifully sexy women.
Also, when it comes to Demetria, specifically, she almost had me wanting to get some sisterlocks. Almost.
What Are Sisterlocks?
Between the financial commitment and time, I don’t think it’s something that I will be doing any time soon. That doesn’t mean that I don’t find sisterlocks to be pretty close to stunning, though, which is why I was inspired to pen this article because, it’s all about women who have sisterlocks and what, via their own personal experience, they would advise to those who may be wanting some…but have questions.
The Pros and Cons of Getting Sisterlocks, According to 10 Women
So, if sisterlocks is something that you’ve been strongly considering as of late, these 10 women (plus a pro-sisterlocks post from Demetria’s Instagram page, see above) are gonna share with you what you should ponder about ‘em — just so you can make that kind of move with as much ease and as little regret as possible.
*I always use middle names in pieces like these, so that people can speak freely*
1. Nariah. “Locked” for Six Months.
“PLEASE INTERVIEW NO LESS THAN THREE CONSULTANTS and Shellie, please put that in all-caps! Just like it takes a minute to find the right partner or right therapist, same thing goes for a loc consultant because, if the energy is off, if they don’t respect your wishes or they don’t care about the maintenance of your hair, it ain’t gonna be good. I messed up because I first went with someone who had nice looks on her Instagram page, but her attitude was so nasty that I ended up wasting money and time with my first installation. It almost kept me from getting them altogether! I took my time to find the right fit and my consultant now is like family. I look forward to my retightening appointments and my hair is longer than it has ever been.”
2. Devin. “Locked” for Two Years.
“Have a damn budget! I don’t regret my sisterlocks one bit, but I will admit that I seriously underestimated the cost for upkeep. My installation was $600 which I didn’t mind because installing is the foundation and you want to get your locks right. But it’s important to get your retightening done no more than every eight weeks and that runs me $200 per visit. Do the math and I’m spending around $1,200 a year just to upkeep my locs, so if your money is already tight, sisterlocks is something that you might want to put a pin in until another time.”
Shellie here: If you want to read up on various costs of sisterlocks per state and what you are actually paying for, you can do so by clicking here.
3. Rochelle. “Locked” for Five Years.
“What I wasn’t prepared for is how careful I had to be with my locs. I mean that damn near everything was clinging to my locs, especially lint, and that was aggravating because it didn’t just mean that I had to tie my hair up at night but, to an extent, I had to watch what I wore as my locs got longer too. Definitely wrap your hair up in silk or satin at night and be careful wearing a lot of outfits that create lint. Go easy on your hair products too. Lighter ones seem to prevent lint build-up. Oh, and you can brush your sisterlocks if you do see lint. I prefer to use a wide-tooth comb, personally.”
Shellie here: For tips on how to properly brush your sisterlocks, check out the YouTube channel Still Nia Bia’s post “Brushing Your Locs/Sisterlocks.”
4. Kerenne. “Locked” for Four Years.
“You shouldn’t be out here styling your locs on your own by going ham with the shears or dyeing them without talking to your consultant first. I do recommend dusting your locs in between retightening appointments, though. Just because your hair is loc’d, that doesn’t mean you won’t have fairy knots and tangles and dusting your ends yourself can help to prevent both of those things.”
5. Ashley. “Locked” for Three Years.
“Sisterlocks aren’t like braids where you can just find someone who does them for fun and trust that your hair will look like you want it to. You really need to go to a certified consultant — someone who has been professionally trained. Girl, I tried to let a friend who does twists start mine and it was a hot ass mess! There is a special technique that comes with creating them, so find someone who knows how — and has a portfolio to show you before you get in their chair.”
Shellie here: You can find a professional sisterlocks consultant in your area by checking out the Sisterlocks website and going here.
6. Kristian. “Locked” for a Year.
“I have always been a product junkie. You can’t do that with sisterlocks, not in the beginning anyway, because if your hair stuff has a lot of oil in it, that can cause your locs to unravel. You also need to watch how much stuff you put on your scalp. You need to keep your scalp and hair moisturized but you need to avoid build-up too.”
Shellie here: A woman by the name of Latoya Jackson has a YouTube page with a post that’s all about what she does to properly moisturize her sisterlocks. You can check it out here. Oh and if, for whatever the reason, coconut oil isn’t your thing, Alisha Richard is another sisterlocks YouTuber who has some product recommendations for you here.
7. Oriah. “Locked” for Seven Years.
“Even though your locs will have you thinking that your hair is single strands, it’s not. If you just wash your hair like it was when you had relaxer, you are gonna get your feelings hurt. ‘Braiding and branding’ is the method that really is best because you need to keep your locs from slippage [coming apart] and you need to avoid tangles as much as possible too.”
Shellie here: If you’re like me and you’re more of a visual learner, check out the YouTuber Ifeyinwa and her post on how she washes what she calls her “microlocs” here.
8. Zeeyanne. “Locked” for a Year.
“When it’s time to freshen up my hair, I like to interlock. If you don’t know what that means, it’s when you use a tool to retie — or retighten — your locs. Since I do the edges of my hair on my own, interlocking gives me the results that I want. Just a tip in case you need some time in between appointments to stack your paper up.”
Shellie here: Although I personally think that it really is best to get your sisterlocks professionally done, there are women who are doing pretty well with going the DIY route. An example of someone who interlocks her own hair is a YouTuber whose channel is Life. Love. Locs. You can watch how she does it here. A few examples of interlocking tools that are available are located here, here and here.
9. Nykah. “Locked” for Six Years.
“I wish someone had prepped me for the initial six months. The installment took forever. I didn’t like how it looked on me for about three months because I had to adjust to all of the tiny parts [on my scalp] and there wasn’t a ton of length. I had to make financial sacrifices because once you start sisterlocks, you can’t really skimp on your retightening appointments — especially at the beginning. It’s almost like you need a therapist or life coach, just for sisterlocks…and I’m not exaggerating. I have no regrets now, but the adjustment period takes A LOT of adjusting.”
10. Paulette. “Locked” for 10 Years.
“Unless you are using extensions in your sisterlocks, your own hair is creating the style which means that you can weaken your locs by over-styling them. My hair is past my butt at this point and I directly connect that to consistent retightening appointments and leaving my locs alone. Find a couple of styles that you like and try not to switch them up more than a few times in between your appointments. If you want your sisterlocks to really flourish — keep your hands out of them! Do that and you’ll probably have longer hair than you’ve ever had before in your entire life!” Beautiful, sis. BEAUTIFUL.
Let’s make things inbox official! Sign up for the xoNecole newsletter for love, wellness, career, and exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox.
Featured image by Image Press Agency/NurPhoto/Shutterstock