Luscious Lips

Ever wanted luscious, silky smooth lips?  Here's a simple recipe you can quickly concoct with natural ingredients right out of your kitchen cabinet. It's fast and easy, and your lips will be sure to thank you!

Ingredients:

Olive oil

Sugar

honey

Directions:

Take about a half  tsp of sugar and stir in a bit of honey  just to coat the sugar. Add a bit of olive oil- be careful, too much oil will dissolve the sugar ( if this does happen, just add more sugar!). Apply a small amount at a time to the lips while rubbing gently in a circular motion.  In no time you will have lightly exfoliated those dead skin cells and reveal irresistible, luscious lips :-)

Skin Care Products & Regimen

Here is a list of the Skin Care Products I use:

CVS Oil Free Acne Cleanser

Neutrogena Pink Grapefruit Acne Wash Foaming Scrub

Neutrogena Acne Stress Control Toner

Equate: Oil Free Sensitive Skin Moisturizer

Trader Joe's Organic Apple Cider Vinegar

Trader Joe's Organic Raw Honey

Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay

My Skin Care Regimen:

Wash face with Cleanser and warm water, close with cold water, pat dry

^Apply Toner with natural cotton pad

Apply moisturizer as needed , 1 pump

*Done every day and night

Face Mask:

1 tps or less of Aztec Indian Healing Clay

Add honey to cut down irritation

Mix in ACV

Stir until a smooth, pudding-like consistency is achieved

Apply thin layer, let sit for 20 mins

Remove w/ warm water

Wash face with Scrub, close with cold water

^ continue from here

*Done as needed or 3x per week

**  use plastic bowl and spoon ONLY**

♥♥♥Voila♥♥♥

Healthy, Radiant Skin!

This is MY skin care regimen and the results I get. Please free to try these products and routine for yourself.  Results May vary. 

Garnier Fruictis Leave-in Conditioning Cream

I've been mostly involved with using NATURAL hair care products, but once in a while I'm tempted to try something not so natural and a bit easier to get my hands on. As I've recently posted, I'm on a quest to find an  alternative to my awesome dutiful duo leave-ins. While at Walmart I found myself in the hair care isle  sniffing away (wow, how did that happen?). I'm big on scents and the Garnier Fructis Leave-in  Conditioning Cream really caught my nose. Its raw fruity scent is nice but a little too much for me. What makes me able to handle it is that it still is a pretty nice scent that does NOT linger. I mean, it definitely sticks around, but on a lighter note! I have tried this conditioning cream many years ago  and I was not pleased with it whatsoever. Now that my hair is in better shape ( and/or it could have been reformulated), while using this product it immediately moisturizes  and detangles my wet hair after a fresh cowash and works beautifully with my staple cocoveda hair oil without build up. My  hair was very soft after air drying. It's less than 5 bucks and can be found at almost any store. I'm very impressed by this product and happy that I decided to re-try it :-)

The Dutiful Duo: Leave-Ins

After finishing my hair washing process before my next texlax, I applied my leave-ins which consisted of the coco cream leave-in from shescentit and cocoveda oil from hennasooq. I am sitting here on the couch air drying and smoothing my hair and had a revelation- there is no better combination of leave-ins as these two together- and is it some coincidence that they both begin with 'coco' when they don’t even come from the same store???

For the past few months I have been trying different combinations of leave-ins. In using natural hair care lines that make their products in small batches to ensure freshness and to eliminate the use of chemical preservatives, I often find myself at the merciless end of an agonizing queue.  To prevent this wait I purchase my products in bulk, but I can’t overbuy or else they’ll go bad……this too often leads me towards dabbling in unnatural products that are more easily accessible. Nevertheless, THESE two products never fail me- they have always been available, there are always discounts when I purchase them, the customer service of both companies is fabulous, and, MOST importantly, they ALWAYS WORK!!!  Stay tuned for both product reviews!

~healthy Hair Blessings~

Hair Regimen & Products: Summer 2011

♥ Shampoo: Wednesdays: Wash or Clarify 1x/wk or PRN

*Organic Root Stimulator creamy aloe shampoo for clarifying

*Amala Cream Rinse-Gentle Hair & Body Cleanser from Hairveda 

*Grand Poo Bar- Succulent solid shampoo from Oyin Handmade

*Head-to-Toe Honey  Wash  Oyin Handmade

♥  Cowash: Friday/Sunday/Monday &/or PRN
*Moist Condition 24.7 Moisture Enhanced Conditoner  Hairveda
*Acai Berry Phyto-Biofunctional Restorative Conditioner Hairveda
*Moist Condition Pro- Daily Protein Enhanced Conditioner- too heavy for everyday use for me Hairveda

♥ Deep Conditioner: Wednesdays after wash & or PRN
*SitriNillah- Ultra Moisturizing Deep Conditioner from  Hairveda
*Methi Sativa System- Protein Botanical Hair Rejuvenator from  Hairveda
*Banana Brulee Moisturizing Conditioner from Shescentit 
- I add oils, honey, and or Vegetable Glycerin

♥ Pre-poo: Every time water touches my hair! OR I try to at least
*Nutiva Organic Extra-Virgin Coconut Oil
*Honey Cream Moisturizing Pre-poo from Beaux Cheveux Essentials

♥ ACV: Anytime water touches my hair just about
*2Tbs of Braggs Organic Apple Cider Vinegar to 1 Cup of Filtered Water or
* Hairveda pH 24/7 Balancing Rinse that has a better smell ( green apple!)

♥ Black Tea Rinse: Every shampoo- 2bgs each of reg. black tea & flavored tea to 1 cup of filtered water
*Regular black tea, caffeinated or decaffeinated, doesn't matter or
*Celestial Seasonings Herb Tea, Bengal Spice or Chai Spice

♥ Baggy: As needed

♥ Hot Oil Tx: After any rinse and PRN
*Nutiva Organic Extra-Virgin Coconut Oil
*Cocoveda Oil from Henna sooq
*Jojoba oil
*Argan oil from Henna sooq
*Monoi oil 

♥ Henna Tx: Every 2-wks
*Godrej Nupur Henna
- From Henna sooq
* Moroccan
*Rajasthani
*Jamila

♥ Kalpi tone Tx: 1 wk after henna Tx

♥ Rhassoul Clay Hair Mask: 1x/ month from Anita Grant

♥ Leave- ins
*Moringa Tree Detangling Ghee from Qhemet Biologics
*Coco creme Leave-in Condition Shescentit 
*Honey Hemp Conditioner Oyin Handmade
*Almond glaze on edges every from Hairveda
* Taliah Waajid Protective Mist Bodifier

***This is MY regimen and the products that I use, which are not limited to the ones that are listed. I am a  product junky trying to manage a healthy, mostly natural hair care lifestyle on a BUDGET, so I often dabble in less expensive, unnatural products as well. This is what works for ME. Feel free to use my regimen and products to assist you in your journey while using your discretion and common sense. This page will be updated as needed. Thanks for dropping by and feel free to leave a message :-)***


~Healthy Hair Blessings~

Godrej Nupur Mehendi Powder 9 Herbs Blend: 2nd time around

Last Thursday I really wanted to do a henna treatment. I had left over Godrej Nupur henna that I used for the first time about 3 weeks ago. I wanted to take pictures of my entire henna process, but I own a nikkon with only a long lens, meaning I need to be at a far enough distance for my camera to process a picture- It was basically impossible to take a picture of the contents inside my henna bowl without having someone there to hold it up at an angle.  I once owned a smaller camera whose battery door unfortunately broke and, although I tried to hold  it together with tape, the darn thing kept reformatting my SD card which would erase all the pictures that were just taken, SMH! The battery kept falling out and the date and time continuously had to be reset- what a pain!!! I definitely have  to purchase a new lens for the Nikon and a smaller, hand-held camera :-/

For my henna process, I had to strategize when to mix it and apply it. To my advantage, my 2 yr old slept in considerably late and I  gave my newborn a bit of formula in addition to nursing him to keep his belly fuller which would allow him to sleep through my henna process-what a hot mess!

To reconstitute the henna that was thickened by the freezing process, I allowed the plastic container it was in to sit in a hot water bath. I had to reheat the bath several times before the henna began to melt.

 Previously, I mixed the henna in with coconut milk and let it sit for 4 hours. Right before applying it I added coconut oil. Forgive me for not measuring anything-  NOT measuring is why I had left overs in the first place. I usually measure my henna, and being that this was the very  first time using this particular brand, measuring it would have been wise. I poured warm  filtered water into it and stirred it until I achieved  a pudding- like  consistency.

 I know I haven't even began to talk about any of the other hennas, but I already feel like this is definitely going to be a staple. Stay tuned for more in depth reviews of henna, my hair regimen, and other randomness. Thanks!

***UPDATE*** Beaux Cheveux Essentials Honey Cream Moisturizing Pre-Poo

So it's been at least 5x that I've used the beaux cheveux pre-poo. The first time my hair was mega dirty and I wondered if this had anything to do with the results which weren't that noticeable. My hair usually isn't that dirty so I wanted to give it  a few more tries on my hair as it normally is. 

This time around I used it the 3rd day after a co wash, and then a week after no washing  to compare the difference. My results were pretty nice. My hair was left a lot stronger and moisturized, especially in this cold dry weather.

The greatest part is that this concoction is very cost effective. My hair isn't that long or thick, but  this product spreads wonderfully, leaving so much left in the container. I've used it a total of 5 times at least and about 1/4 of the jar is gone. 

Since I am a mixtress I feel as though I can duplicate this cream with some time, but with a small child and a baby on the way, it is very cheap to just repurchase this! It actually is a pretty good buy at $9.95- it's filled with a tone of awesome ingredients in an 8 oz jar.  

The fragrance it very light, herbally, and powdery and is very easy on a pregnant woman's nose. I am definitely going to repurchase this. I plan on trying the moisturizing spritz and essential leave in conditioner which are in, and hopefully the banana pudding which is coming soon.

If you are looking to minimize the amount of  products you use and are using a lot of oils to pre poo, this might be for you-this leaves my hair just as strong as when I use my avocado/ olive/ coconut oil mix to prepoo!  can be purchased here.

Thanks Beaux Cheveux!