Essential Balms Organic African Black Soap

Hi Beautiful Ones!

After a few months of using, I've decided to share on my experience with Essential Balms Aromatherapy Head to Toe Organic African Black Soap. Whew! That's a  looooonnnng name.  Lol. The description on the back of the bottle states, "organic african black soap liquid shampooing balm." So for the sake of keeping this post a short length, I'll refer to it as Essential Balms African Black Soap.

Some months ago, I won the full line of Natural Oasis & Essential Balms hair and body products. I, along with my family, are enjoying using their items. Today, I want to talk about the Essential Balms Black soap. Now I've heard alot of positive talk about African black soap on hairboards, blogs & sites. I've even had my mother tell me about it but I'd never tried it for myself. I can't exactly tell you why I'd been hesitant. Maybe it was the idea of something that looked like mud (the stuff you're usually trying to clean off of you) cleaning me. Idk.

Anyhoo, since I won it, I decided to give it a try. I was initially using it to wash my hair whenever I needed a shampoo. I actually love it. My hair feels very clean. Never stripped. After awhile, I decided to take it up on its offer of being a "head to toe" soap and started using it in the shower as a body wash. Winning!

Here are some known *benefits of using black soap:

Cleansing

As with any soap, the primary benefit of using black soap is cleansing. Black soap is a multi-purpose cleanser which can be used by children as well as adults. Black soap can also be used to remove makeup. Charcoal in soap may help absorb bacteria and body odors, providing more thorough cleansing.

Acne

Black soap can help reduce acne outbreaks by reducing oiliness and killing bacteria which cause acne. Charcoal is known for its absorbent properties. Some proponents say using black soap reduces the appearance of acne scars.

Soothing

Users of black soap report that it leaves their skin soothed, reducing irritation from rashes and skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis. The ashes used in black soap have been used as a traditional folk treatment for skin irritation. Some black soap formulas contain honey, also known for its healing properties. Black soap can be used by people with sensitive skin.

Exfoliation

The ash in African black soap provides gentle exfoliation. This gentle exfoliation may help reduce the appearance of fine lines and discolorations and reduce razor bumps, according to Kristin Underwood of TreeHugger.

Ingredients (per back of the bottle)
Distilled water, shea butter, virgin palm kernel oil, plantain leaf ashes, essential oils, herbal extracts & all natural fragrance.

Right now, I laugh about it taking me so long to get hip to using this stuff. Its natural. Its organic. And it gets the job done. I definitely plan on purchasing this item in the future.


*Benefit Information from http://www.livestrong.com/  

Post Title → Essential Balms Organic African Black Soap

MY WONDERFUL DC MIX

The stars of my current heavenly deep conditioning mix.

Hola Beautiful Ones!


Had to share my wonderful...heavenly, deep conditioning mix. I mix equal parts of Aubrey Organics GPB (glycogen protein balancing) conditioner & Komaza Care Intense Moisture Therapy. Maybe a Tablespoon of each. I really eyeball it. Then I add, about 1 to 1.5 teaspoon of honey to the mix. Maybe more. Again, I totally eyeball it. And yes, it is protein rich, given the fact that both GPB and Komaza's IMT both contain protein. But with the honey comes added moisture and my hair is so lo-ving it.

Anyhoo, I slather it on my hair, while mainly concentrating on the ends. Throw on a plastic conditioning cap and then slip my heat cap on. I usually leave it on my head for at least 15 minutes. If a show is on, then it stays on until I'm done watching it. Then I do a cold rinse. And when I say “cold rinse”, I mean a bring-your-portable-heater-in-the-bathroom cold rinse. Seriously. I get the water as cold as I can stand it. I believe in making sure my cuticles lay down.

And, of course, when rinsing my hair of the conditioner, I’m smoothing my hair from root to end. After I’ve made sure that I’ve rinsed all the conditioner out, I quickly turn the cold-ass water off (lol) and hop out the shower. By this time, my hair is feeling great. I then put my fav leave-in on, Mop leave-In Conditioner. I love this stuff! It is so good to my hair. And viola! My hair is in heaven and feelin’ pretty awesome. Yay!


Do you have any mixes that work for your hair? Do share.

Post Title → MY WONDERFUL DC MIX

NATURALLY CURLY DOES IT AGAIN!!

Hola Beautifuls!

Just had to let you know that Naturallycurly.com is doing it again. Yes!  Another major giveaway! Whoo Hoo!!
Here are the deets.........


The weather is changing and frizz season is creeping up on us. Whether you wear your hair curly or straight, frizz control is always a priority!



In its quest to help curly girls find solutions, NaturallyCurly is launching 31 Days to Fight Frizz during the month of May—prime frizz weather. Each day, readers can enter to win products from some of the top frizz-fighting brands, including Ouidad, Ojon, John Frieda, Curly Hair Solutions, Carol’s Daughter and CURLS. One grand-prize winner will also receive a $1,000 gift card.



About the Contest


Readers are encouraged to take part in our frizz fighter giveaway of various hair products and styling tools from our 15 sponsors: Curly Hair Solutions, Syntonics, Design Essentials, Hair Rules, Blended Beauty, Carol’s Daughter, Alikay Naturals, Original Moxie, Keralyze, Ouidad, Twisted Sista, John Frieda, Ojon, Use Me and CURLS. In addition to the fabulous giveaways, each entrant will qualify for a chance to win $1000 to complete a frizz-free look!




How to Enter


Participants must enter 31 Days To Fight Frizz Giveaway by registering at www.naturallycurly.com/fight-frizz to be eligible. The giveaway begins May 1, 2011, at 12:00 a.m. CST and ends May 31, 2011, at 11:59 p.m. CST. Only online entries will be accepted. No purchase is necessary to enter or win.


Learn how to fight, reduce and eliminate frizz for your natural hair with frizz tips, articles, styling tips, product reviews, salons and more by visiting http://www.naturallycurly.com/.


Wishing you all the best!

Post Title → NATURALLY CURLY DOES IT AGAIN!!

OH, I'M GETTIN' THAT ITCH AGAIN......

Hi Lovelies!

Seems like the warmer it gets the more diva's I see rockin' their baldies & low-cuts and it is so givin' me that itch again. I mean, I made it through last summer after watching many bloggers, like Fleurzty of Texture Playground, bc (bigchop) again. Then recently, Laquita had to go and do another big chop.  Then I see that Youtube's Tarin916 has also BC'd. Btw, these ladies are working it.

Now please here me on this. I've been feeling another BC coming on for year or so. I made it thru last summer. And I'm trying to make it thru this summer so that I can be aligned with my original plan to do my 2nd big chop in summer of 2012. Why? I dunno. Well, hells-bells on that! If it hits me this summer, then I'll certainly go for it this summer. If not, then I won't. No biggie.

Now don't get me wrong. My hesitation has nothing to do with any fear of it. I loved my first bc.


BC - Aug. '07

 I loved the freedom of easy, tangle-free wash-n-go's.  And not having to put so much time into my hair while still looking fab. But at that time, I was on a mission to grow it out. To 1. prove that my afro-textured hair can grow and grow long. And 2., just because I wanted to see what it would do and what I could do with it.

Well, 3.5 years down the line, I am beyond satisfied with the length. As a matter of fact, just about over it. And I've done just about everything that I've desired to with it from comb coils to blow-outs, braids-outs, braids, twists & twist-outs, rod sets and so on. That is, everything outside of color it which I so desperately want but cannot do due to so many henna treatments. So yes, that's adds to my desire to BC again. But for the most part, I just wanna do the the damn thing again just cause I want to. Lol.

Another hot coal that's been & being added to my bigchop "itch-fire" is seeing so many fabulous women rocking their baldies & low-cuts so fiercely. For instance, on this past Easter Sunday, I saw many beautiful ladies working their bald heads. I was so tempted to ask one of them if I could take her picture because she was seriously workin' it from her smooth head all the way down to her haute shoes. Then I figured it might not be quite right to ask for a pic since we all were waiting to get into a packed church service that had already started. Lol.

So yes, its a strong possibility that I could go for it this year. As a matter of fact, I plan to "chop" it lower than the first time just because I find low-cuts & baldies hella beautiful.

Have your doubts?... Well check these ladies out.

Miss Tanzania (Flaviana Matata) 2007



source



Rachel Stewart of Rachel Stewart Jewelry
Btw, this is how low I plan on going. Excited!!




source



Youtube's Sunshine of SunshineLovesPeace

model at Lakme Fashion week. Photo by Rafiq Maqbool, AP



TabbytheGreat
Love the color!




source
Love' this dress!



source
Love this outfit!



source

 
For more pics of beautiful baldies, click here.
 
Peace out.

Post Title → OH, I'M GETTIN' THAT ITCH AGAIN......

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING

Hola Beautiful Ones!

I decided to drop a hair post only because its been ages and felt like I needed to just put an update out there. As you will see, from the following pictures, I have been up to absolutely nothing when it comes to my hair. In between race training, a cold and just sheer laziness; my hair has been in a twist-out for almost 2 weeks. I keep meaning (and needing) to wash it but the suckey cold drained that outta me. I'm feel much better now. My sense of smell is still a bit faint but I can tell I'm improving. Hopefully, I'll syke myself up enough to run some water thru it no later than tomorrow.

So here goes, if you've been wondering:

I'm trying my best to conjure up some type of "I'm good" look. Although my brows are in need of attending and my poor nose bears the marks of way too much blowing, I can thankfully breathe through it now.

I've done nothing with my hair, outside of moisturizing on an mostly daily basis.

Oh! Let me start at the beginning. I wash/deep conditioned and then plaited (braided) it up to allow it to mostly dry while stretching. Then I twisted it up with Uncle Funky's Daughter's Curly Magic. This product was nice. Just kind of shrunk it back some because it is a curl enhancing gel. I'm okay with that though. Trying to use up the products I have before making another purchase. I'm sure I'll go back to using Jane Carter Twist & Lock, Darcy's Botanicals Vanilla Madigascar styling creme or something like it.

I keep wanting to try other brands. I'm sure it's out of boredom. Which makes me wonder if I'll make it through this summer without bc'ing (big chopping) again. Lol. I know its coming. I'm trying to wait til summer 2012 but I don't know. On top of which, I really want to color my hair. And I can't do it at this time because of all the henna I've applied to it.

So back to what I've been moisturizing with. I've pretty much been sticking to Jane Carter's Revitalizing conditioner. I either top that with Bee Mine's Deja's Hair Milk or Essential Balms Organic Shea butter. And of course, seal it with an oil like Essential Balms Indian Hemp Head to Toe Balm. Lovin' the Essential Balms products.  Will work on some reviews on the new products that I've tried.

Well, that's all for know, Lovelies. Not sure when I'll do another hair post but I will definitely post on any changes I may make.


Tootles!

Post Title → ABSOLUTELY NOTHING

AN UPDO THAT I'M FEELIN'

March 2011 Twist-Out Updo
What a funny angle. I discovered that I need an extra piece to my tripod so these photos are a result of me taking pics with one hand. Not fun. But I got it done.

Just sharing a simple twist-out updo that I've been wearing for about a week now. Working on mostly wearing protective styles to take better care of my ends.

It's not a perfect updo but I do like it. And by not perfect, I mean not every strand is in place. No. It's more of a "let's throw something together and see what comes of it as we go" updo. Either way, I like it.

earrings by Daisy Fuentes;Kohls

On top of which, its been going back and forth between warm & borderline hot and I hate having hair on my neck when it feels like that.

Note: I have several bobby pins, hair pins and two mini-combs (which you probably see 1 peeping out) to hold all of this together.


Hope the rest of your day is smart & lovely,
{{Hugs}},

Post Title → AN UPDO THAT I'M FEELIN'

NATURAL OASIS & ESSENTIAL BALMS PRODUCTS




Natural Oasis & Essential Balms products

 

Wow. Talk about words coming to life. Remember when I mentioned Natural Oasis & Essential Balms products in a previous post. And how I would like to try this product line again. Er, maybe I thought that moreso than mentioned it. Well, how about I got a major surprise.

I come home one day and find this package on my doorstep. Of course, I'm going thru my head thinking who it might be from. Had placed some orders and was actually expecting other stuff. Lo and behold, it was a package filled with their entire organic hair and skincare line. Whooooaa. *Big grin.

I had gone onto their website and, of course, filled out info for updates & offers and apparently won a giveaway. Talk about totally unexpected. Woot woot!!

Now bear in mind that my hair is still straight from being blown/flat-ironed/& trimmed a couple of weeks ago. But I can assure you that I was soooo tempted to wash, condition & style my hair with their products right then and there. =)

But I decided to be patient. Well, actually I'm enjoying wearing my hair straight. But believe me, in about a week, kinks, coils & curls will be back on (...and poppin') ;). Yes I went in the way-back machine and said that. Lol. I'll definitely be twisting it up since my daughter has a cheer competition in Florida. And I'm not even gonna try and play with that humidity down there.

Oh! And speaking of straightened hair, I am totally challenged to take better care of my ends. When I got it trimmed, my stylists kept saying how dry my hair was which was why it was splitting & breaking some. Which resulted in her having to cut about 2 inches off. I wasn't upset about the amount of hair having to be trimmed but for some odd reason I was a pissy about it needing to be trimmed at all. Does that make sense?  And not pissy at her but at my hair. Yes, I know how this sounds. But it really  felt like a challenge. Me against my hair to keep my ends. She thought I was gonna be bummed about losing 2 inches of length. Hell no. I got more than enough hair to manage on my head. I think what really miffs me is that, after 3.5 years, I feel like I should have a top-notch handle on successfully managing my hair. So in some ways, I took the 2 inch trim as somewhat of a failure. I know it may sound silly but that's just how I felt about it. If my hair is getting a cut or a trim, I want it to be because I want it not because I need it.

So I shared all that to say that my future hair plans have changed.  Well, somewhat changed. Since I'm focused on taking better care of my ends, i.e. keeping them moisturized, I'll be doing protective styles a bit longer and putting the "Tightly Curly" method on the shelf. I'm still getting the braids this spring but I've decided to extend my protective styling through the summer. At least until my next trim, which will probably be this fall. If not, I'll do what I've been doing and wait to trim next February. For me, success is not having to get more than a dusting (1/2 inch, maybe 3/4 inch) trimmed.  Either way, my fight to keep my ends healthy & strong is on.

Does this sound unrealistic? Realistic? What are your thoughts on this....

Post Title → NATURAL OASIS & ESSENTIAL BALMS PRODUCTS

ANOTHER HAIRSTYLE WIN

Wanna know how I got here?....

 I gave myself a left-side part and flat-twisted my hair.

Then set the ends on some flexi-rods.

 And this is how it came out. I wasn't sure if it would look nice, but ended up being pleased.



As far as products, I used Jane Carter Solutions Revitalizing Leave-In conditioner, my nearly empty jar of Qhemet Biologics Burdock Root Buttercream and drum-roll please.....

Natural Oasis Hair & Scalp Conditioner

Remember the unknown "somebody's grease" that I mentioned in  my "Turning Lemons Into Lemonade" post. Well, I was reading Natural Urbanista’s blog and she mentioned using a product by “Natural Oasis”. As soon as I read the company’s name a light went off. And I recalled that this is the same company that I got my "unknown grease", which is actually known as Natural Oasis Hair & Scalp Conditioner from. Woo hoo! I was so happy to (1) get this revelation and (2) know that they are still in business. I remembered receiving the sample products from them and loving them. And seeing as I’m trying to simplify my hair product stash, this revelation is quite timely. ;) You can visit the company's webstore here.

Ttyl,

Post Title → ANOTHER HAIRSTYLE WIN

BACK TO BEING BUN-ERIFIC

Hi Beautifuls!

Just a quick pic post on the bun I did. On last week after finally, washing, deep conditioning and hennaing my hair I decided to just do a side-bun. The pics that I'm posting were a last minute attempt to get some photos of it. I'm trying to stay on top of taking photos of my different hairstyles. Especially if I like them. Just this particular day, I almost forgot about it, hence the hair photos via car.

Anyhoo, I did a wet set bun. After partially cool-rinsing the condish out, I set my hair into the side-bun. After putting it into the ponytail holder, I parted my hair into 3 sections. For each section, I applied Qhemet Biologics Burdock Root Butter Cream and then made two-strand twists. I sealed each twist with the "unknown" grease that smells so good. Lol. Then alternately placed them around the central ponytail, tucking the ends underneath the twists and securing them with a bobby pin.

For the top portion of my hair, I used a little Hairveda Whipped Gelly to lay down the edges and stray hairs. Then I covered it with a scarf and topped that with a bonnet and went to bed. Oh yes! I almost forgot. I did get under the dryer for about 30 minutes to get rid of the drips and most of the water.

OMG! Once I get my Nikon D "fill-in-the-blank", I'll do more & better photos. Including ones of dishes I prepare and try amongst other things.


Ttyl,

Post Title → BACK TO BEING BUN-ERIFIC

14 DAYS OF CURLY LOVE FROM NATURALLYCURLY.COM

NaturallyCurly.com is showing us some love during the month of February. My favorite month of them all. ;)   Check out their announcement below.

Announcing NaturallyCurly's

 

14 Days of Curly Love Giveaway

Win $10,000 worth of prizes!

Enter every day to win over $10,000 in fantastic prizes from your favorite curly brands.

Each entry will be eligible for our Grand Prize drawing. One lucky participant will receive a $1,000 American Express gift card to use on spa treatments, products or anything your heart desires.

 

 
Woo hoo!! I just love giveaways!
Believe me, they are real. I've one quite a few wonderful items from various sites.

So click on over to NaturallyCurly.com for your chance to win and win big.

Best Wishes!

Post Title → 14 DAYS OF CURLY LOVE FROM NATURALLYCURLY.COM

A 10-DAY OLD TWIST-OUT

Hola Beautiful Ones!

I hope that all is well with everyone. I seem to have caught a blame cold. Phooey!! Anyhoo, I've been meaning to wash/henna/dc my hair since Saturday but between things to do and not feeling like it, it just hasn't happened yet. And given the way I feel and my schedule, it probably won't go down until this Thursday. The good news is that I received my order of Terressentials Organic Pure Earth Hair Wash. So I'll be using that on Thursday to wash my hair.

Wanna see what a 10-day old twist-out looks like?....

I'm a bit surprised that its lasted this long. Even with me, off & on, retwisting it at night it still hanging in there. Which is working out for me seeing as I haven't gotten to washing it yet. After my washing session, I may retwist it the same way or flat-twist it. I haven't done a flat-twist in ages. But if I do that, I'll probably rod the ends.

Alright peeps.... I've gotta get some more tea in me and knock this blame cold out the park.

What's going on with you all?....

Post Title → A 10-DAY OLD TWIST-OUT