Painted Faces (part 1)

I think I have mentioned this before... if not, let me say this again. We are slaves to the Cosmetic industry from before most of us can remember.

Barbie taught little girls that to be beautiful, your hair needed to be straight; you needed to wear make up and be really really skinny with big pointy boobs and long legs. Preteen and Teenage girl magazines showed us pictures of models who were in their 20's dressing their age (or little girls imitating them, with WAY too much makeup on).

For centuries, women (and... um... men) have relied on makeup to keep them looking like they have beautiful skin... sexy lush lips... drop dead gorgeous eyes... and a desirable body.

But didn't you ever wonder...

What the hell am I putting on my body?

Well let me tell you...



"WARNING! If you would like to choose to NOT know what is in your daily hygenie products... please ignore the following reports, below this warning. This list may cause readers to be grossed out and/or offended at the Cosmetic Industry. It is also possible that you may not want to wear your favorite makeup, face care products, etc, ever again..."



This part of the article has been developed from a series of different references...



1. This has been quoted from "Beauty. The New Basics" By Rona Berg

• Human Placenta: The protein-rich lining of the womb, expelled after birth, was first used in cosmetics in the 1940s. Because of its hormone content, manufacturers claimed that placental material would stimulate tissue growth and eradicate wrinkles. When the FDA challenged these claims, manufacturers changed their pitch, but still claimed that placenta was an aid to aging skin.

• Animal Amniotic Liquid: The fluid that surrounds and protects the cow or ox fetus, touted as a valuable source of protein and vitamins, is used in moisturizers and shampoos (some of those big scientific name no one can pronounce)

• Fish Scale: Used in some glittery eye shadow

• 'Live' sheep cells: used in anti aging skin treatments

• Beetle Carapace: the shell of a beetle is the source of 'carmine', a common ingredient in red lipstick

• Cattle, Ox, or swine brain cells: Used in moisturizers"

***

2. The following, more surprising items, have been quoted from a CNN article by Adrienne Crezo, called:

9 Weird ingredients in make up

• Sodium chloride (table salt) ~ used in many 'foamy' products
  

• Oleoresin Capsicum (pepper spray) ~ in lipstick
  

• Diatomaceous Earth (a component in dynamite) ~ found in natural toothpastes, deodorant, absorbent powders, cuticle cream, and in mild-exfoliation products due to its gentle abrasiveness
  

• Simethicone (gas relief drops) ~ used in cosmetics during the manufacturing process to reduce the surface tension of air or gas bubbles, causing them to collect and rise upward
  

• Urea (formerly extracted from urine) ~ widely used in all manner of cosmetics as a skin-softener and humectant

[end of part 1]

GASP... don't forget to breathe

Q&A: Curly Afro (Part 2)

Q: thanks a lot for the suggestions. I think I am going to keep
twisting. But I did have a question. How do you make your own hair
products?

~ Holly

A: Your very welcome, and...

I developed my own recipes from researching into herbology and basic
'homemade' body care product recipes. From looking at the results of the
recipes and tweaked it to my own standards.

*Example:



A basic shampoo recipe is:

~1/2 cup of organic castile soap
~ 10 drops of essential oils (your choice)
~ 1 cup of water.

I looked at that recipe and realized that it wouldn't have enough base
or body for my kind of hair. So I researched into different types of
plants that would give my hair nutrients, body, and keep it
moisturized.


A great research starting point is...

"Beauty By Nature" by Brigitte Mars

She teaches you details about how your body works and techniques on how
to care for it. She also analyzes different herbs that are good for herbalist beginners (like, general herbs that you can find in grocery stores, local herb shops, etc). And shares some basic recipes.


The best hair care products that you could ever use, are ones that you make yourself from your own sun-infusing kitchen. Everyone has their own expectations on what a hair or body care product should do.

But here is another basic recipe:

* Hair food:
3/4 cup shea butter
10 drops of your choice of essential oils
add a cup of herbs (of your choice) to infuse into the oil mix. (then drain them before placing mixture in a container.

(Melt butter on the lowest heat, until butter is liquefied. Add in
essential oil. Then place mix in a container, put in fridge to harden)



At this time, I am not going to post up my recipes that I have been developing. But if you ever have any more questions, feel free to ask.

** Another tip, is to keep your products vegan and chemical-free for better results.


On a slightly other note...

If you are in the Seattle Area, in September. There's a Natural Hair Meet Up Group getting together
on the 20th. I'll be there and I will be giving a
presentation on things that I found out... if you want to come along, you can
holla at me

My AOL name is:
Pinky White01


P.S.

and another good book is " the herbal spa" by Breedlove

Hope that I helped.

Latoya

Natural and Nappy

Q&A: Curly Afro (Part 1)

Hello.
My name is Holly and I was browsing the internet looking for ways to
get a curly fro..thats not a lot of maintenance, and i stumbled across
your blog. I currently spend hours twisting my hair but it tends to
lock up on me and takes a long time to redo. Ive been told to go to a
salon and have them fro it for me but id rather do it myself. Do you
have any suggestions?

thanks
holly.

A: Hmmm... This is a tough one

One way, is the method that I think your already using. Which is double
twisting your hair, when its slightly damp (applying hair food to your
hair as you go). When your hair fully dries, gently untwist the hair
leaving your hair looking like cute curly ques, that are both soft and
moisturized.

Another method, is by using the straw affect, which is typically used on
women with relaxed hair (which I find ironic, since it mimics the whole
Afro look).

In the case of nappy type hair, you could use a wooden skewer stick
(the flat end) and wrap each section of dry and oiled hair around it
tightly (works better with tiny sections, and shorter hair) . Gently
pull out the skewer stick... your hair should naturally stay in the
curl, no fritz needed...


Avoid using beauty supply beeswax, real beeswax, or black hair care
store bought products on your hair for this. The chemicals will most
likely make your hair frizz, later. The beeswax will clump your hair.
All you need is an organic batch of shea butter (or even your own
organic homemade hair food recipe) to keep your hair staying
moisturized.


Hmmm, you could try doing the double twist effect, again. But using a
blow dryer or hair dryer to evaporate to excess moisture, and keeping
the hair curled.


Sadly, I don't think there's a hair style that can naturally last for a
long time... other than the usual cornrows, braids and twists. If well
kept, your curly Afro should last for about 2 days.

If you desperately want it to last longer than that...

You would probably have to resort to using a hair spray... which might
damage and strip your hair later... leaving your hair yucky frizzy at
the end of the night.

If you decide to go to a hair salon, mostly likely they will put your
hair into a "cold curl" (aka Jerry Curl) or relax your hair then do the
straw effect or put some sort of chemical texturizer in your hair. But
don't take my word for it, ask around... observe what they say FIRST
then go on your way and then, research maintenance and technique, BEFORE
you let them touch your hair.


I prefer the double twist method, because I like having a day look (with
twists) and a night look (my curly Afro)

Another tip, might be when you take your twists out. Gently wash your
hair with a homemade organic shampoo, rinse, then towel dry until lightly
damp. Add a light hair oil (an almond oil blend works nicely or even
Shea butter oil) for conditioning, after the wash/rinse.

I found that my hair became tightly curled/ wavyish... quite cute, if I
say so myself.


All and all, having nappy hair requires a bit more patience. Changing
your schedule around to better maintain your hair regularly, might be
the best thing.

Latoya