STAY TUNED

Hi Beautifuls!

Just FYI. Momma's got a 9-to-5 gig, so I'm having to adjust my schedule. On top of which my b'day is coming up so I figure I'll go ahead and make a little blogging vacay out of it. I'll be back to regularly scheduled blog posting next Tuesday, March 2nd.

In the meantime, still waiting to hear from KiNkYnEsT regarding the Hairveda Vatika Frosting winning. If I don't hear from KiNkYnEsT by this Friday, the 19th, I'll have to do another drawing with the new winner announced on March 2nd.

Peace and blessings to all,

Post Title → STAY TUNED

AND THE WINNER IS.....

KiNkYnEsT

Congratulations! You were destined to win. By the true random number generator you have won an 8oz jar of Hairveda Vatika Frosting.


Just email me your mailing address so that you can receive your bounty. =)

Thanks to all who participated in this giveaway. This was so much fun, as usual. There will be other opportunities to win some goodies. Just be on the lookout.


**I will attempt to post later on so be on the lookout for a review on 100% all natural Essential Balms Head to Toe Liquid Balm w/Shea Butter & Jojoba, Natural Oasis Herbal Hair & Scalp Conditioner and Carol's Daughter Hair Balm.

{{Hugs}},

Post Title → AND THE WINNER IS.....

NEW 'DO AND GIVEAWAY

Hi Gorgeous!

I'm finally getting around to sharing that I can put my twists in an up-do. I did this in early January and was elated that my hair was long enough to pull it off.

For this particular style, I pulled all of my twists back as if I were about to put them into a ponytail. I secured them in place with a banana clip. The ends were tucked under it with many bobby pins so that the banana clip was not visible. I was so happy about this not only because it signifies hair growth but also because I realized that I can do other styles. I'm getting a bit bored with my usual twists and am wanting to venture out with other styling options. Woo hoo!! Now I'll really be head-over-heals when I can pull all of my twists back into a low-pony. Don't know why that's so big on my list but it just is.

THE GIVEAWAY:

Not sure if you recall me mentioning that I may do a giveaway on a particular, unopened, still in the plastic bag, Hairveda Vatika Frosting. Well, it's on and poppin'!

According to Hairveda.com, this product is great for pretty much all hair types. Here are some suggested ways to take advantage of its natural goodness.

Vatika Frosting Usage

Vatika Oil Frosting has many uses. Here are the ways you can get the most out of this great oil:

Pre Shampoo:
Vatika Frosting is a great pre shampoo mix. Directions: Slather your hair with a good amount of Vatika Oil Frosting. Leave in 45 mins -Overnight. Shampoo or rinse out in the morning for beautiful, soft, shiny locks. It is best to apply oil and leave it for a day before washing.

Deep conditioning Recipe:
Mix 2 tbs. of Vatika Oil Frosting with 3 tbs of your favorite -cone free moisturizing conditioner. Leave in for 15 mins - 1 hour. Rinse or shampoo. You'll experience a high shine after this treatment.

Ends sealant:

After you have applied your hair moisturizer, seal your ends with Vatika Oil Frosting. You'll love how your ends feel. You should oil your hair at least 3x a week.

Scalp massage:
Keep your scalp and follicles in tact. Oil enriches your hair, protects it and the massaging stimulates better hair growth. Directions: Massage Vatika Oil Frosting into your scalp to stimulate circulation and help promote growth. The amla, & lemon extracts help keep your sebum quantity at bay promoting and aiding in constant growth.

Here's what ya gotta do to get a chance to have this baby in your hands. You must be a follower or subscriber. And yes, I will check. Lol. Next, leave a comment as to why you would love to receive this 8 oz jar of goodness. I'll use the Random Number whatchamacallit to pick the destined winner. You'll have until this Friday, Feb. 5th at 8pm EST to leave a comment. I'll announce the recipient on next Tuesday, Feb. 9th.

Wishing you all the best. =)

Post Title → NEW 'DO AND GIVEAWAY

THE GOODNESS OF HAIRVEDA'S VATIKA FROSTING

"How do I love thee? Let me count the ways." *sighs*

I am finally getting around to reviewing Hairveda’s Vatika Frosting.

You had me at “Hello”. *sighs* or better yet, that scent.

That undeniable scent of frosting on a freshly baked cupcake. The heat from the perfectly sized petite cake causing the scent of warmed vanilla frosting to invade my senses. *shakes myself back to my senses*

Okay, let me get to my review. Since you already know that I’m taken by the heavenly scent of this product, I’ll focus on its performance.

I have used this only as a pre-poo treatment and am extremely satisfied. This product, whose consistency is that of …well, frosting leaves my hair quite manageable. However, because it is an oil, please know that it melts in your hand …just like frosting in your mouth. Focus, CO! Focus! But I digress, with the addition of this to my regimen; I can feel a difference in my hairs moisture retention alongside its manageability during my washing regimen. I especially find it helpful when I do a henna treatment or another ayurvedic hair treatment since they can be a little drying during the process.

The following is straight from the Hairveda.com:

Vatika Frosting-Enhanced Coconut with a Sweet Twist!
Vatika in Hindu means garden. In India, coconut oil is widely used in Ayurveda health remedies. This special blend of coconut oil, henna, lemon & Amla provides natural nourishment to your hair.
The blend gives the hair body and radiance, taking care of the critical balance of nutrients. Our pure coconut oil is blended with henna and Amla with lemon to strengthen each strand of hair from within.
When used 1 day before washing, Vatika Frosting provides a protective coating promoting shine and health. A scalp massage with Vatika Frosting also promotes hair growth. To maintain the oil and moisture balance of your hair, remember to do a conditioning treatment with oil at least three times a week.
________________________________________
Ingredients include: Pure unrefined Coconut oil, Amla extract, Henna extract, Lemon extract, Fragrance.

Among being a pre-poo treatment, you can also use Hairveda Vatika Frosting after final conditioning, then rinse with warm water (oil rinse). You can use it as a sealant. Or you can mix it with conditioner and leave it on your wet or dry hair for an hour before rinsing out.
An 8 oz jar costs $10, but I happen to catch it on its $5 sell. Bought two, so I’m contemplating doing a giveaway but this scent has me a little greedy. ;)

This is staying in my hair care regimen for life! Loves this stuff.

Post Title → THE GOODNESS OF HAIRVEDA'S VATIKA FROSTING

BACK TO HENNA

Hi Gorgeous,

On last Friday, I finally hennaed my hair after it seemed like ages. In reality is was only a month or so. Henna is another type of ayurvedic herb. Henna, also known as Lawsonia inermis, which comes from a plant is a green powder that have a red-orange dye molecule. It stains the hair red-orange but it is a translucent stain that combines with your natural hair color. Body art quality henna , which I use, has a much higher dye content than the henna sold for hair. I personally prefer Yemen henna as it is touted as having the highest concentration of natural dye in it. Aside from the fact that henna is a natural colorant, it's also an awesome conditioner. For more information on the henna dying process, click here.

So let me get back to what I did.


I pre-pooed overnight with that fabulous Hairveda Vatika Frosting. I'm so gonna have to dedicate a post to "the Frosting". Loves this stuff. Anyhoo, I cleaned my hair with some of a sample of Mixed Chicks Shampoo that I had. It was a little harsh on my hair so I only used a drop w/a lot of water on each quadrant of hair. Note: I do wash/condition my hair using the quadrant sectioning method. It's simply dividing your hair into the four quadrants on your head. Front right, back right, back left and front left. It makes handling my hair so much easier.

After the cleaning, I applied the henna to my hair. CurlyNikki has a great and simple pictorial on henna. I used a mix of Chamomile tea and Green tea to make mine w/a lot of honey. Similiar to how a relaxer is applied to the hair, my application started from the back and moved to the front. I basically smooshed/stroked it into sections of hair from the root to the ends. After all sections were done, I put a plastic cap on to cover my hair. Actually, I used two caps cause it definitely can be messy. Then I used my heatcap for about an hour and a half. After that, I was out and about with chores and errands. What?! But of course, I broke out the tam to cover up all that. Lol. Btw, I've generally purchased my henna from Mehandi.com or Mehndiskinart.com. If I'm in a pinch then I'll hit up the local Indian grocery or an Indian salon.

After about 5 hours or so, I washed the henna out. First, I literally dunked my head into a water-filled bucket. Yes, I did. Then I continued washing the rest out with my fave henna rinse-out condish, V05 Moisture Milks. I may have used close to a full bottle to get all of the henna which is okay because it's very cheap. They typically run around a dollar a bottle. After all the henna was rinsed out, I did a 30 minute deep steam treatment with Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose Moisturizing condish topped with Laquita's Bobeam Oil that she sent me to try. Woo Hoo!!

The next step was to cool rinse the conditioner out. I finished with a final cool tea rinse. Another something I hadn't done in ages. My tea du jour consisted of equal parts of rosemary leaf, horsetail, burdock root, chamomile, lavender and half of Tablespoon of ACV. You can check out the goodness of ACV or Apple Cider Vinegar at Zainab1's blog Au Naturale. Zainab1 has a really straight-forward informative blog. You should check it out. You can also find some info on ACV over at another fav blog of mine, Mane and Chic. Oh, back to my hair tea. I used about 20 oz of distilled water with maybe a T of each herb. A very small amount of ACV and 5 drops each of lavender essential oil & lemongrass essential oil.

My leave-in of choice was MOP leave-in conditioner. I then twisted my hair with Jane Carter Solutions Twist and Lock while sealing my ends with her Nourish and Shine. I know it sounds like a lot but keep in mind that I still enjoy playing with my hair. And yes, it was a hair day. I guess I did a hair spa day, like Fleurtzy over at Texture Playground.

I'm quite pleased with how my hair feels and looks. As I stated in a previous post, my shed hairs are down to small numbers and I haven't had much of an issue, if any, with tangles. I'm still contemplating getting my hair blown straight before spring just for a check-up trim. Not sure on that one yet.

Any of you had a "hair day" lately? Do share...

Post Title → BACK TO HENNA

AYURVEDIC HERBS SIMPLIFIED

Hola Beautifuls!

I’m posting this to help simplify ayurvedic powders (I hope) and their uses on the hair, also skin. But my main focus is on using the powders to make paste to condition, cleanse and treat the hair. I know I've mentioned them before here and here. So I'm attempting to simplify them a bit more in this post.

Here’s a listing of a few of them:

Amla
The herb is an astringent, helps dye uptake, a conditioner and is mildly acidic (high in Vitamin C). It is said to penetrate the scalp and strengthen hair at its root, to stop and reverse abnormal hair loss and to promote stronger, healthier new growth. It is also an excellent conditioning herb.


Aritha(Soapnut)
Cleansing, can leave hair a bit stiff. Aritha - can be used whole, fresh or dried, boiled then let stand of a night, as a shampoo on their own. It can also be used as a gentle fabric detergent. Some recommend it for use with shikakai and amla. I would not put it with shikakai for use on the hair since, as a cleanser, both can be drying.

Brahmi
Used for skin diseases. When used as a paste promotes growth and is anti dandruff. Similar to the oil.

Bringraj (MAKA)
Aids in hair growth. Used for prevention of premature balding, and helps with sun damaged and color treated hair. Bhringraj is an ancient remedy for hair loss, premature graying, skin allergies, and devitalized skin and hair. Bringraj herb and oil have similar properties. Conditioning. Moisturizing.

Hibiscus Petal Powder
Mild cleansing agent, promotes hair growth, softens and conditions. Hibiscus - possibility of it staining light porous hair a slight red. Hibiscus petals, also known as jaswand, were used in Ayurvedic medicine to stimulate thicker hair growth and to prevent premature graying, hair loss and scalp disorders. The petals act as a natural, emollient hair conditioner.

Kalpitone Powder
Used to get Dark, Dandruff Free hair. Kalpi Tone Powder has the following advantages: Gives a dark tinge to the hair. Strengthens hair roots and promotes hair growth.

Neem
Anti fungal, anti bacterial herb. Can have an unpleasant smell if infused in oil. The herb itself has a neutral smell. It works in killing of and protection against lice, fungal caused dandruff, and any infection caused skin conditions. Helps treat eczema. Natural insecticide and fungicide.

Shikakai
Cleansing agent. Can be drying. Use with oils or a conditioning herb.

I would definitely recommend doing a pre-poo with oil at least an hour before doing any ayurvedic treatment. Especially if you're using any of the powders with "cleansing" properties as they can be drying to the hair. You can use basically any oil or oil mix to pre-poo with. I plan on doing a henna (another ayurvedic herb) treatment this weekend and will oil pre-poo several hours in advance with that wonderful and delicious smelling Hairveda Vatika Frosting. Loves this stuff!

I had never considered Hisbiscus Powder to be an ayurvedic herb but indeed it is. It is very moisturizing and can help balance out the cleansing herbs, Aritha and Shikakai, cause they can dry the heck outta your hair.
A recommendation for mixing ratios is to do a 2:1 mix of moisturizing to cleansing powders.
I would also add a small amount of oil to whatever mix you choose to try.

My next batch will consist of 2 Tablespoons of Amla, 2 Tablespoons of Brahmi, 1 Tablespoon of Maka, just enough warmish water to make it pasty, and a little bit of oil of choice. I may even add a Tablespoon of Shikakai. Either way, I’ll keep you all posted on it, especially if I add the Shikakai to the mix.

Check out From Nature With Love for more info. on ayurvedic herbs and possible mixes.


Speaking of Hisbiscus Powder, Laquita of All Naptural was kind enough to send me some products that she made from the Herb Giveaway winnings from this blog. I’m especially lovin’ the moisturizing hair oil which contains some of the herb in which I speak. I’ve been using it the oil for my steam oil treatments and I must say my hair feels quite lovely after rinsing it out. Laquita also has an etsy shop where she sells her products. You can check it out here. I must say, I am so proud of her and all the other ladies out there making it do what it do. I also am in anticipation for Fleurtzy from Texture Playground to debut her products. You can catch wind of her “in the makings” at Newly Natural. More natural, organic and holistic entrepreneurs on the rise. Lovin’ it!

I do hope that this helps for the ladies out there interested in and those who maybe a little apprehensive about using ayurvedic herbs.

Much Luv,

Post Title → AYURVEDIC HERBS SIMPLIFIED