New Reviews Are Coming...

Just to let you know,  I haven't been slacking on reviews. They were slacking on me. Apparently, I will need to check my Tomoson Account every now and then to make sure it's intact. After a few weeks of not hearing back on products I'd applied to review, I went over and noticed that most of my social network accounts had just disconnected from Tomoson. ~shrug~

Anyway, once I fixed the connections, I started getting accepted for products to review. The best thing to come out of that bit of inconvenience is that I discovered another site where I can find things to review. I will tell you guys more about that in another post. For now, I wanted to give you a peek at what I have coming up soon...

• Grapefruit E.O.
• Peach Kernel Oil
• A "Greek Remedy" oil
• Clove Leaf E.O.
• An E. O. blend for anxiety & stress relief
• An E.O. diffuser/humidier
• Another brand of Blackstrap Molasses
• A home gym exerciser 

I'm excited about all these, and especially the oils (because you guys know I have a thing for those!). I'm trying to find some different kinds of E.O.s to review since we hear quite a lot about the usual suspects. The diffuser/humidifier has been fun to try out, and I'm looking forward to the exerciser - which is supposed to be a simple and easy to use product. 

As always, I am looking around for other products to review. I've got my Wish List as far as the hair and beauty stuff goes. As far as the E.O.s, I'm thinking Black Pepper, Bergamot, Sage, etc. I'm pretty interested in another oil I've been hearing so much about (called Kukui Nut Oil). Will have to keep looking around for availability.

I really want to start doing some reviews for various cosmetics. I have trouble finding good (and affordable) makeup, and bet I'm not alone... 

The last time I found a foundation I loved, I was so busy doing other things that I never really gave the product a decent review. So... Maybe I will dedicate one post a month to a lipstick, foundation, eyeliner - something. 

In the meantime, I have turned a lot of my friends and family on to the molasses ever since I reviewed the Plantation brand. The red palm oil is another product most of my relatives had not heard of. 

Can't wait to get going on these products so I can get the reviews out there. If anyone knows of something that I should take a look at, please do let me know.

Peace

--Free

**REVIEW** Plantation Brand Blackstrap Molasses

Let me start this by pasting in what I shared on Google Plus back on the 18th of February:

The fatigue has been serious for a few weeks now. The ferrous sulfate docs give me causes constipation (yeah, sorry). 
Today, while at the infusion center, another patient (older lady visiting from Georgia) reminded me of an old remedy for "tired blood". 
Her: Where are you from, baby? Me: Texas, but raised here in Alaska. Her: Your mother from Texas and you never heard of using 'strap? Me: (Thinking of whoopings I got) Yes, ma'am. Strap, switch, belt... Her: No, honey. Blackstrap Molasses! 
And then I did remember! And I_hated_ that ' strap as much as I hated whoopings. I have learned in the past few years how to mask the taste of things that are good for me. 
I dragged my behind to the store after treatment and picked up some 'strap! 
I swear this is the same slavery time brand my mother used! 😲
I got home and slept for 4 hours, woke up and made some coffee and added a spoon of the 'strap (and I'm always going to call it that!) 
Still dog tired, but I'm going to keep adding 'strap to my coffee and see if it helps.

I'm drinking some in black tea now. After this, bed. 😴😴😴

#fatigue#chronicdisease#sarcoidosis #lifeisstillbeautiful#iamblessed#iamjoyful#nothingsgoingtobreakmystride#naturalhealthremedy#workedformymama #plantationblackmolasses #plantationseriously#evenauntjemimagotamakeover


Yes, it was like that. Here is the brand of molasses I'm talking about:

Okay, aside from my jabbing at the brand's name, I have to tell you what an impact this product has made on my life.

The very next day (after taking that first dose of 'strap), I put another 1/2 tablespoon in my morning coffee. Even though I felt much better than I usually do after an infusion, I knew I was going to have to find another way to get my 'strap dosage. It was not bad in coffee, but made it a little heavy tasting. Later, while looking up more information about molasses, I ran across a more delicious way to get my daily dose:

Tablespoon of the molasses in bottom of a coffee cup
Couple of drops of hot water to cover the molasses (to soften/thin it)
Stir the water and molasses
Add 8 ounces (or more) of your choice of cold dairy or soy (I use vanilla soy)
Stir well and enjoy
(Of course, I modified the recipe and will sometimes drop in a frozen cube of coconut milk! )

To me, the taste is like chocolate. Like I said, I have added a cube of coconut mile, but I also enjoy this as a warm drink before bed. At any rate, mixed with the soy, the molasses takes on a whole new (better) flavor. I bet parents could probably get their kids to drink it. Check with your doctor first!

The best thing about getting my energy from the molasses is that I don't get the constipation that iron pills cause. I thought it might be because of the added dairy/soy, but I found that BSM is used as constipation reliever. Also, it's just nice not to have one more pill to deal with.

Even if you're not concerned with fatigue, there are lots of uses for 'strap (I kind of knew about baked beans, but forgot all about BBQ sauces!):

• Considered an affordable "superfood"
• Uses of, varieties of, and other info on BSM
• 11 ways to use blackstrap (BBQ sauce included here)
• Cookie and bread recipes
• Light vs Dark molasses. Some info for cooking.
• Using for hair. Unsulphered vs sulphered molasses
• A recipe using cocoa powder.
• Blackstrap is vegan, apparently.
• Some vegan recipes (including a BSM one)
• As a remedy for acne (stroll down)

The brand that was available at my local health food store was Plantation (yeah), but I did find a more affordable brand (with slightly different nutrient levels) on Amazon. As far as I can tell, 'strap will "keep" for  up to 4 months or more without losing quality.

Plantation label

Golden Barrel label

Since there are several brands, I am going to be making future purchases based on nutrition labels (I've order the Golden Barrel brand), taste, and price. Availability here in Anchorage is limited to our health food stores (as far as I know) but, depending on where you live, you might be able to find it in grocery stores. I'm pretty sure my mother and grandmothers living in Texas weren't hitting Whole Foods in the '60s and '70s!

If you know of more information about 'strap, let me know.

Peace

--Free

Chop Chop

So...

Between my meds and either that temp straightening and an overdosage of supplements, my hair was a mess. Thicker at the root (yay), but ragged at the ends (boo).

I know how to let go of stuff.go. So I just chopped all my hair off. Well, not all. I did leave about and inch and a half. And I only left that much so that I could put in place my new plan for regrowing a healthy head of hair.

I tried to find my other pictures - you know the ones we keep of our younger and better looking selves? I remember having the healthiest head of hair ever. I could wear it straight, curly, wet, pony-tailed, bunned... I could actually just shake my fingers through it and walk out of the house and attract positive attention.

Not missing my younger years as much as I am not having to work so hard to have healthy hair.

Anyway.

My PLAN is this: I've chopped off my hair and I'm going to baby it like a rented Ferrari. I'm fine with very short hair. I've learned how to wear hair scarves and other accessories to feel nice about my appearance. However, I know that I'm going to want some versatility so I'm going to occasionally wear clip-in extensions. I chose human hair in the kinky/curly set. My niece actually walked me through choosing the hair, the clips, and instructions. 

Oh PAUSE! First I have to mention a particular store (other than Sally's Beauty) where I used to love shopping at for hair care supplies. It's called Queen's Beauty Supply in our local Northway Mall and is the sister store of one called King's Beauty Supply. I've been going in there off and on for over a year. When I went to pick out the supplies I needed to do these clips, I chose a bag of 14-inch hair that was $10 more expensive than the 10-inch hair I could have used. I didn't realize this until I walked out of the store, got five feet away and my niece (still on the phone) mentioned it. So, I turned around and walked back into the store and asked about doing an exchange. The response: "No cash refund. Just store credit." He didn't even try to be nice about it. Basically, he pointed to a sign tacked at KNEE LEVEL - seriously, it was that low down on the wall. (BTW, I had paid with a debit card.)

Now, my niece said that I overreacted when I told her I would never shop there again. Maybe. Maybe not. At any rate, I think it was short of good customer service. I can always order via Amazon now that I know which brand stuff to buy.

Moving along.

The reason I chose using clip-ins is because I recently learned that they can be used in protective styling. I'd stayed away from anything to do with sewing and glue because I don't want to damage my hair. That's the opposite of my goal. (I've used a glue-in weave once. Loved wearing it. Hated the mess of getting it out. And it did a bit of tearing.)

There are several online resources that mention using clip-ins as a protective styling method. Black Hair Information shares tips and tricks for blending the extensions into your own. Black Naps also looks at some pros and cons. Black Girl Long Hair offers links to products. 

This is going to be my planned routine:

• Wearing lots of oils and leave-in treatments at night. (Coconut Oil, Jojoba Oil, etc.)
• Shampooing once a week (with mild, moisturizing and low-protein shampoos).
• Deep conditioning (meaning with a cap or with heat) once a week.
• Trimming once a week. (Something I don't do often enough)
• Taking regular vitamins daily (including my 1 Tbl of molasses.
• Trying to rest more.
• Cutting back on coffee.

My niece walked me through choosing the right hair and supplies, but she's not hear to walk me through the actual process of making the finished product. Thank goodness for YouTube and, in particular, the Mayvenn videos. 

This is the video I am going to be using as my reference when I get started.

                                             

I will try to come back often to post on my progress. Once I actually cut off my hair, I had that moment of panic (I always have that moment) and thought, "Oh crap! WHAT did I do???" But you know what? When DJ saw my hair (or lack of) all he cared about was whether or not he and I were going to play with his cars or G.I. Joes. Long hair, short hair, that baby don't care!

Here's to the journey..

Peace
--Free

**REVIEW** Red Palm Oil

I've mainly stuck to the more common oils and butters when it comes to using them for my hair and skin. Coconut oil has been a favorite, and I've got argan, marula, avocado, and a little bit of raw shea butter in my little beauty chest. I haven't ever really heard much mention of red palm oil though.

I can't remember what put my attention on this particular oil. I think it was something I read about caring for extremely dry hair. Not sure now, but am I glad I found out about it.

This is the brand I picked up at a local health food store:

on sale for $4 and change.
Normally $6 something

The texture reminds me of coconut oil. It's very thick and slightly hard until it gets any kind of warmth. The color is not so much red as a sort of "brick orange" and, boy oh boy, you have to be careful not to stain your fabrics. I did stain an old towel that I use just for messy jobs. I will see what happens on wash day...

The first thing I did with this was risk staining something by slathering it on right before taking a shower. I wanted to do a light body scrub with the oil and my rice powder. Every now and then I like using rice powder or baking soda mixed with oil to do some all-over exfoliation. I usually use either refined or fractionated coconut oil, but this was my chance to try something different. Since I was experimenting, I went ahead and massaged some of the oil (minus the ricee powder) into my hair along with some coconut milk.

The palm oil goes on really nice. I can tell that it feels more moisturizing than coconut oil. It also feels a bit heavier on the skin. When I exfoliate with oil and powder, I always use my hands. (Ladies, since massaging in a scrub takes more time than just showering, this is a great time to do the self-exam of your breasts. Because cancer sucks!)

The palm oil rinsed off nicely with my liquid soap and, no, it didn't stain the tub, thank God. The softening effects were amazing. My skin felt like silk. As for my hair, I have to say that the palm oil is going to be a great pre-poo treatment. I did shampoo the oil out, but I think that next time I might just try rinsing with very warm water. I love that the moisture lasted longer than it does with a coconut oil conditioning.

Now, don't get me wrong - I am not ditching my coconut oil. For one thing, the palm oil doesn't have the fragrance and deliciousness of coconut oil. I do know that I will be keeping palm oil in my regimen. I like how it made my hair and skin feel, and I love that it makes a more effective lip balm than coconut oil. (By the way, try doing a oil and baking soda or rice powder lip scrub to fight chapping.)

So, I loved the red palm oil. I'm not crazy about the staining. One thing I tested was rubbing the palm oil into my skin really well, letting it 'set' for a couple of minutes, then seeing if it would stain my sheet. It did not. Hmmm.

When I used the oil on my face (pre-makeup), I noticed only the slightest possible tinge of it's color. Of course, I have dark skin. What I wonder is if the oil would be a nice addition to lighter skin tones. Maybe in place of tanning? I don't know and I'm going to have to experiment on one of my friends to see what this would look like.

Okay. I love this for my skin and hair. Definetely. So, what about using it for cooking? I tried that out.

I had some ground veal that I've been meaning to defrost as soon as I had a recipe. I never did look up anything I liked so I just mixed the veal with some tumeric, red pepper (yes, me), a little salt, some onions, garlic and chopped spinach and sauteed it in some of this palm oil. After I drained the meat, I ate it over some thin noodles.

The oil certainly added a nice color to the bland veal. The flavor was very, very nice. With the seasonings I used, I couldn't really pinpoint the oil, but I really liked the results. For that quarter pound of veal, I used about a half tablespoon of oil. That was plenty. I cooked it on medium-low heat and had no problems with smoking or anything.

Just like with coconut oil, I understand that there are different ways to incorporate the palm oil into the daily diet. That's great when you have multiple uses for a product. I did a side-by-side shot of nutrituion labels (RPO on left) to show a comparism with coconut oil. With my coconut oil, I add it to my coffee and smoothies, plus I like to spread it on toast. For the palm oil, I think I might add it to meats and veggies with I'm baking them because I don't fry food that often anymore. I love the color.

Here are some sources I checked out for more information:

• Livestrong on the hair & skin benefits of RPO
• Naturally Curly's take on using RPO for hair growth
• The Boah talks on the (hair & skin) healing properties of RPO
• Probably the most objective of the 3 sources is here

Of course, just because something is natural, that doesn't mean we don't have to be careful with it.  Make sure you do your research and watch how your hair and skin reacts. As far as ingesting something, well - use your common sense.

Peace
-Free

P.S.:
My niece told me about this video and I just have to share it. This post seems the perfect spot.

Stop hiding them dang butters!!!

**REVIEW** Quench Absolute (from Dove Advanced Hair Care Series)

Since like all 'naturalistas', I must keep this kinky/curly hair of mine sufficiently moisturized, I am always reviewing various products made for that purpose.

The first thing I look for is effectiveness. Next thing: affordability. Other things play a part, such as availability and brand identity. (BTW, I mainly consider brand because I think the bigger the brand, the more true their hype should be. Also, I like to see lesser known brands get the attention they should.)

Dove is a huge brand. I like most Dove products (hair, bath, and hygiene) because the brand is generally very truthful in their claims. They don't tend to overstate things  in their ads. I was happy to see that, like so many other big brands, Dove was getting deeper into the  natural & kinky/curly hair game. I think that this might have been around a while before I noticed:

That's Quench Absolut from Dove Advanced Hair Care Series.

I'm so used to seeing the familiar Dove logo on store shelves that I almost ignored the product. That it was not a shampoo or washout conditioner make me stop to check it out. Then I spotted this on the label:

Heck yeah! Right?

The price was very nice (under $6 for the 3.3oz container) especially for Alaska. What I wanted to test was how well it was going to do on my dry hair. Since I got this at Target, I know that I could do an easy return if I was disappointed.

I am not disappointed. Well, I am a little, but that's because I only recently spent waaaay more money on about 4 other products that (best case) work equally as well as the Dove, or (depressingly) don't work half as well. Keep the price of this product in mind. 6 bucks...

The one thing that I notice is that the list might not be as "natural" as some people would like. I'm all for products being as natural as I like my hair, but I do want my hair to feel as good as it looks. So, you know, what can I say? Here is the list of ingredients in Quench Absolute:

Water (Aqua)
Cetearyl Alcohol
Dimethicone
Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine
Behentrimonium Chloride
Fragrance (Parfum)
Glycerin,
Dipropylene Glycol
Lactic Acid, Amodimethicone
Potassium Chloride
Disodium Edta, Gluconolactone
Trehalose
Propylene Glycol
DMDM Hydantoin
Peg-7 Propylheptyl Ether
Cetrimonium Chloride
Arginine
Lysine HCL
Mauritia Flexuosa Fruit Oil
Sodium Sulfate
C10-40 Isoalkylamidopropylethyldimonium Ethosulfate
Hydrolyzed Keratin
Methlchloroisothiazolinone
Methylisothiazolinone
Yellow 5 (CL 19140), Red 33 (CL 17200), Blue 1 (CL 42090)

As far as how this works on my hair, I can say that the relief from dryness is instant. Also, I love that I can apply this and not lose styling. You know how some products, when applied during the day, will weight down or just throw off the style that you worked so hard on.

Before using the Quench, I went through my evening routine. I moisturized my scalp (using a product that I will review tomorrow) and about a quarter inch of my roots. Next, I sprayed my hair with a mixture of water and black castor oil, then I did about 6 rows of  2-strand twists down the sides and back of my head. Before I tied up my hair for the night, I sprayed on some StaSofFro. (BTW, my water/oil mix is in an 8 oz bottle. 8 oz water/6 drops of oil added, then shaken often as I use it.)

Next morning, my hair was still well-moisturized so I just took out the twists and styled my hair into a curly/coily 'fro. As usual, my scalp was fine but, after about 5 or 6 hours, I started noticing some dryness in hair. Perfect chance to put Quench to the test.

This is what the product looks like, by the way.

It's pretty thick - a lot like a heavy lotion - and I was worried that my hair would be weighed down or that I would lose some curl definition.  (If you can see from the photo, I actually rubbed a little around on my palm to give you an idea of the initial wetness it leaves.)

I find that I can either rub it between my palms, then pat it onto my hair or (and this is my fave way) I can rub some between my thumb and fingers and dab it on in dry spots. I only needed to use it once on the first day. The second day, I wanted to apply more a few hours after the first application, but something dawned on me. To save product, I got my water bottle out, set the spray to the finest mist possible, then sprayed over my head to absorb some mist without getting my hair too wet. That is going to be my method from now on. No use re-applying product when I can just amp up what's already there.

The day after using it the first time, I checked to see if there was any flaking or buildup. There was not. This is Day 4 and I didn't have to apply more product. I did the water mist trick and notice the softness came back and stayed even when the water dampness was gone.

Remember what I said about this being thick like a heavy lotion? Well, I have been thinking about how my cousins and I used to use actual lotion on our hair when we were younger. Not to take anything away from Dove, but I think their product is a lot like lotion that has been tweaked in the lab to make it more hair friendly. I mean, other than buildup problems, using regular lotion might work just as well. I'm just saying...

So, yeah, this is one of those products that I will be ranting about. The price looks even better when you realize that you don't have to use so much from day to day (even without my little water trick!).

Last of all, in case anyone was wondering, I don't think that people with straighter hair would be able to use this with good results. The lotion-y texture would be too much for finer, straighter textures. I guess if someone was going to be wearing their hair pulled back and tucked, they could use this as a protective product. Not a bad idea if you're trying to nourish and baby damaged hair - no matter the texture or type.

Now I have to go and check out the rest of Dove's Advanced Hair Care Series.
Peace
--Free

***NOTE ABOUT (MY) DRY HAIR***

I want to mention something I recently learned about dry hair. An overload of protein can cause that dry, straw-like feeling I sometimes get with my hair. I didn't know about this - which is why I have done egg treatments more often that I should. I checked some of my hair care products and noticed that, yep, the ones that are protein-free (or even mostly so) are the ones I get best results from.

When I did figure this out (thanks, Google), I immediately looked for a source to help keep me straight on ingredients. Once again, it's Curly Nikki to the rescue! She has a list up to identify ingredients that are proteins or humectants. Lifesaver!!! Once I checked the list, I realized just why it is that my hair will crave something like Aussie Moist - especially when I'm dealing with certain hair issues.

So, go and check out that list on Curly Nikki. Matter of fact, bookmark the site.  I rely heavily on C.N. for discovering new stuff and learning about hair care. You will want to go back time and time again, trust me.