My First Taste of Qhemet Biologics and My QB Wishlist

Remember the giveaway by CurlyNikki I won from Qhemet Biologics? Well, it just arrived in the mail today, after less than ten days. If this speed speaks to their usual shipping abilities, I am impressed. The full name of the product I won is the Castor and Moringa Softening Serum. It is purported to restore softness, flexibility, and shine. The directions claim it can be used as a leave-in treatment, hot oil treatment, and even a cleansing oil rinse. The container is 2.5 ounces. I am excited to use this, but am concerned about the small size. If I love it and want to replenish the bottle, it will cost me $10 for a 2.5 oz container. When products run this small at such a price, I assume that a little goes a long way. Or at least it should.

Well, I am just thankful for the oil serum currently being in my possession. I have a long list of QB products on my wishlist. But what actually goes from my wishlist to my actual product rotation are two different things. I mainly interested in finding a great moisturizer/styler. I think the Shea Moisture and Oyin Handmade Brands make good moisturizers, but the styling abilities leave something to be desired. Well, I will soon be experimenting with QB, hopefully. And here is my wishlist:

• Moringa Tree Conditioning Ghee
• Cocoa Tree Detangling Ghee
• Burdock Root Butter Cream

I pulled these products from the recommendation chart they have for my hair type (natural, tightly coiled, dry, fine hair).

Argan Oil Review

Let's just get to it. I love argan oil! It seems argan oil has been all the rage as an ingredient in both all natural and not so all natural products. And then I have also read of the wonders of using the pure oil itself. To give you an idea of how stellar the reputation of argan oil is, it's nickname is liquid gold. The only other oil I own that I refer to as liquid gold, due to its color and quality, is jojoba oil.

I made an impulsive purchase of argan in a health food store one day. It was described as pure, cold-pressed, and organic. These are all things I like to have in any oil I use. I bought it and marveled at the fact that I had just spend about $7.50 per ounce of oil in the container. The oil is very, very light. I have been using it in one of two ways.

• I mixed about an ounce with an equal part castor oil to stretch it out and for use on my hair. Yesterday, on pre-stretched hair that had been moisturized with coconut oil and OH Hair Dew, I used just the argan/castor oil to finger detangle and dry two strand twist. It worked beautifully. The castor and argan are a winning combination. The castor oil, which is so thick, mixed with the argan, which is so light and thin, make a great consistency together.
• I have been using the remaing argan oil, straight out the bottle, to moisturize my skin. Move over jojoba oil, the new moisturizing oil of choice is argan oil. It moisturizes without leaving any kind of oily residue. It just seems to disappear/melt into the face leaving moisturized supple skin behind. A little goes a long way. Again, for face moisturizing, a little goes a long way. I love this stuff. Even if I bought a store brand moisturizer, which I only see doing for the benefits of sunscreen, I would add a few drops argan oil in it to give it more moisturizing power.

In essence, I love argan oil (aka Moroccan oil). I will be looking for a new, cheaper supplier, which will most likely be Butters-n-Bars.com. This will stay in stock in my oils rotation. So, for now, my oil rotation is the following: castor oil, jojoba oil, coconut oil, olive oil, argan oil, and tea tree essential oil.

Happy Hair Days to You!

I Won A CurlyNikki Giveaway!

 
I was so psyched to see my name, Auset Abena, as one of the five winners for a Curly Nikki giveaway this morning. I have entered quite a few CN giveaways, and this is the first one I've ever won. First, I called Miss Cee C. She couldn't believe it herself. Ironically, the product I won, which was Miss Cee C's first question, is a Qhemet Biologics Oil Serum. I have been eyeballing some of the QB products for some time, though I doubt I buy any anytime soon. Now I will be able to try a product for free without having to spend any money just yet. The oil serum has castor oil, which I love, and moringa oil, which I have never used but am excited to try. You all know how much I love oils, so this is just the giveaway prize I wanted. I will keep you posted about how I like the product. If I love it, I just may order some other QB products. I have been especially eyeing their Cocoa Tree Detangling Ghee.

From Headwraps to Crochet Hats

When I had locs, Miss Cee C made me a few crochet hats that I would rock a lot, especially in the winter time. As my locs got longer, I requested a bigger hat, and Miss Cee C obliged. How nice of her? Well, I have not worn a crochet slouchy hat in a while, but guess who has me missing my slouchy hat days. Curly Nikki herself. She recently posted her Fall Regimen, and the first pic in the post has her wearing this uber cute beanie hat with her hair twisted underneath. So Cute!

It had me thinking. One of my favorite ways to wear my hair lately is in two strands twists covered with a headwrap. But a slouchy hat will have it's benefits. Mainly:

• I won't have to wrap it into a style. I can just throw it on my head and go.
• It will be less likely to cause my hair to lock up underneath. (Remember that problem I was trying to remedy)
• Like a headwrap, I won't have to worry about "styling" my twists. 

So, since Fall/Winter cold is fast approaching, and I could use some head wear to protect my hair and scalp from dry cold wind, I am weighing my beanie hat options. I could order from the same Etsy Shop Curly Nikki gets her hat, get Miss Cee C to make me a new slouchy hat like the one pictured above, or (are you ready) make my own. I actually know how to crochet, but have never finished a project. (I did knit my own scarf once, so I believe in my needlework abilities).

The Simplicity of Henna

You don't usually hear/see the words henna and simple (or any derivation of the word) in the same sentence. Most henna treatments for hair conjure up images of complexity. So many times when I read about people trying henna, it is in the sense of finally trying after much nervousness. I am not alone, then. Henna makes me nervous for some reasons, too. The main concerns are (1) curl loosening (2) final color and (3) the rinsing process. I will address all three of these concerns when I discuss below just how simple henna can be.

When using a henna paste to color and/or condition the hair, you really only need two ingredients. That's right two. The first is the henna powder itself, of course. When in the market for a henna powder, always use body art quality (BAQ) henna. Further considerations include a fine sift (for easier rinsing) and an organic crop. I myself plan to invest in an organic fine sift. I most dread the idea of rinsing for ages and ages. So fine sift is the must have henna powder for me. The second ingredient is an acid, and by acid I mean any number of things that can do, but you only need one. The acid ingredient ensures dye release. The same chemical (lawsone) in the henna that colors the hair is also what conditions it. And really, those are the only two things you need. Henna powder and acid. Simple, right? Not quite. With options, can come confusion. Which acid should I use and why? What are the benefits of each? Here are my considerations.

• Lemon (or Orange) Juice - lemon juice is definitely acidic, but can be very drying to the hair. So this option is a no-no for me or any other curly avoiding any product that could dry the hair.
• Apple Cider Vinegar - a cheap option. I definitely always have it in stock since I ACV rinse (sporadically). But this too can be a bit drying on the hair. On to the next. 
• Green Tea - Hmm. I also always have this in stock and have read that it can make for a less drying henna paste. Definitely less drying than lemon juice. This option stays in the contender pool.
• Coconut Milk - I love ALL things coconut for my hair, and coconut milk makes for easy, breezy rinsing. So I have read, but this makes sense since coconut milk is very runny. I know from experience. This acidic liquid also stays in the contender pool. 
• Amla - Although not a liquid, amla powder and water can be added for dye release. Amla tones down the red color and also recommended for those curlies concerned about curl loosening. 

With me, the top two contenders are green tea and coconut milk. Green tea seems a good all around acid to add. Coconut milk sounds quite tempting, mainly for the easier rinsing it most likely will guarantee. But one thing should be noted about coconut milk. Coconut milk itself can loosen the curl pattern. For that reason, I'm thinking henna powder and coconut milk could be a one-two punch of major curl loosening. If you want that, fine. But if, like me, it makes you nervous, then henna'er beware. In the end, I will most likely go with green tea. If my first experience with henna leaves me with a curl loosening that I hate (after all, the curl loosening is not guaranteed, only probable), then I will start using amla. If I notice no curl loosening, or not enough to make me care, then I will consider using coconut milk for easier rinsing. And there you have it. Another thing, you have to make green tea. With coconut milk, all you have to do is pop open a can and stir it up.

One more thing. Even though the only things you NEED are henna powder and an acid, I know many henna mixes include honey and oils. Most likely for more moisture and easier rinsing. I myself will use honey and oils in my  henna, added after the powder and acid paste have been allowed time to dye release. The oils will most likely be castor and/or olive. But who knows for sure. With that being said, my first henna mix, without measurements, appears to be the following recipe:

1. Organic, Fine Sift Henna Powder
2. Green Tea
3. Honey
4. Castor and/or Olive Oil

Another thing to note. I have NO PLANS of sleeping with my henna in my hair overnight. I am a wild sleeper, and I dread the idea of waking up with henna all over the covers. Talk about a disaster. 

Concerned about color. Some henna vendors describe what kind of color you can expect. Also, mixing henna with other powder such as indigo, cocoa powder, or cassia can tone down the color significantly. The results are too numerous to describe, so research for yourself. I would recommend the Mehandi website.

Butters-N-Bars Wishlist

 

I have been drooling over the organic offerings of all natural beauty products at Butters-n-Bars.com for quite some time. I have finally compiled my wishlist of products, so that when I do order from them I won't go crazy. They have a wide array of henna products, organic raw butters, carrier oils, black soap and other goodies. Here is my wishlist:

• Organic Raw Shea Butter, Fair Trade
• Organic Cocoa Butter, Fair Trade 
• Raw African Black Soap
• Organic Red Egyptian Henna
• Dabur Vatika Hair Oil
• Virgin Organic Argan Oil
• Reusable Plastic Containers (8oz and 16oz sizes)
• Rhassoul Clay

How great is it that all these goodies are offered in one place at great affordable prices. With the butters, I can start making my own whipped creams and puddings. With the black soap, I can start the HeyFranHey Skin Care Challenge. I can finally see what the hype is all about concerning Vatika Oil (I decided to get over that it has milk in it. It was either that or make my own vatika oil, and I went for buying the Dabur brand). Also, I can purchase highly affordable argan oil. The argan oil at Butters-n-Bars.com is only $10.99 for a 4oz. That may not sound cheap, but recently I purchased some for almost three times the price for the same size at a health food store. When I say I almost kicked myself after seeing the price on Butters-n-Bars, you can just about imagine. Well, from now on B-n-B will be my supplier of organic virgin argan oil.

In other news, I am loving the argan oil and will be making a full review soon. It will definitely be staying in my oils cabinet. (I don't really have an oils cabinet, but I like the way that sounds).

Finally Tried Yoga

Well, well, well. I have been wanting to try yoga for quite some time now. Let's say, since middle school. My lessons have been few and sporadic. Luckily for me, at my internship the staff includes a trained yoga teacher (yogini) who was more than willing to give me a few lessons. We met up for two mornings now and did some invigorating yoga sessions. She taught me two variations of the sun salutation, some standing poses, some forward bends, and a run through of the moon salutation. So far, I love yoga. It is very relaxing, easy on the body but still a challenge, good for flexibility, and does not require any special equipment (except a good yoga mat and maybe a yoga block to help with certain poses). That makes it economical, no gym membership required. This is definitely a habit I want to keep. Although I am slim, my flexibility leaves much to be desired. I can touch my toes, luckily, but would like to increase my flexibility to be able to touch the floor flat with the palms of my hands when doing a forward bend. My spine is also very tight, as noticed when I did some forward bends this morning.

One thing I don't like about yoga, or perhaps a specific yoga practice, is that it can be very capitalist and expensive. Classes in yoga can be quite a splurge, and I myself am seeking to find the yoga popular education style model. How much yoga can I learn and how much can it benefit my life without breaking my bank? The only investments I am willing to make include a yoga mat and yoga block. Maybe, an illustrated book/guide. We'll see how it goes.

Head Wraps and Itchy Scalp: Remedied the Situation

A while back, I posted that while I love wearing head wraps, my scalp was quite itchy on some days, especially when covered with a headwrap. I didn't intially know what the deal was, but after a bit of experimenting, I realized it came down to two culprits:

1. Oiling the Scalp/Hair Immediately Before Wearing the Head Wrap: A close friend actually got me privy to this. The morning when I would oil my scalp or hair then immediately don a wrap were the days when my scalp would itchy like crazy. 
2. Not Wearing a Satin Scarf Underneath the Wrap: The four wraps I own are beautiful and I love the look. The material leaves a bit to be desired. My favorite has some sequins on it, which I think contributed to quite an itchy scalp. I am now wearing a satin scarf underneath the wrap at all times. 

Well, now that itchy scalp is no more, there is another problem. I have noticed that when wearing a headwrap in a bun style for several days with my hair twisted underneath has made for some of the twists in the back start locking. NOT what I want. On to finding a remedy for that situation. I'll keep you posted.

Natural Hair Veteran....Negativity Newbie

Some things you just dont get used to. One of them for me is the negativity associated with my natural hair. I have not straightened my hair since middle school. Been natural so long, many people who know me have never seen me with straight hair. Natural/kinky hair is so second to my nature. Anyway, the more I have grown, the more I have come to accept every part of me. That includes my hair, my personality, my desires, my fears, my strengths, my "weaknesses" or areas of growth. As I love myself more, it always behooves me to find that people aren't as head over heels about me, or certain things about me, as I am.

Recently, I washed and deep conditioned (with coconut milk) my hair. I went to the back room of this Intern House I have been staying in and proceeded to comb my hair. My purpose was to detangle/remove shed hairs. When I came back to the front of the house, one of the guests staying with me for a short time, a brother from Equatorial Guinea, asked when I was going to comb my hair. Then, he kept asking. I finally told him that I had actually finished combing my hair and did not live to please him. It was all in fun. I am known for having a somewhat defensive naturre at times. Again, acceptance. It had been so long since I had received an openly negative comment about my hair, it shocked me a bit. Am I so naive that I thought I was immune? Maybe. But what I can say is that this time around, I was not as hurt as I would have been in the past. The middle school Auset, after growing out a bad perm, would have been very sensitive and ready to cry if someone said something mean about my hair. The new is so in love with my hair, that it shocks me others don't find it as fly as I do. And when they don't? Oh well, on to the next.

My Hair Hearts Milks and Creams/Product Wars



Ever since I started using the Chicoro Three Step Moisture System, my hair has thanked me tremendously. When wearing my hair out, I now moisturize on three levels. I've mentioned them before, but here they are again:

• Water/Aloe Based Level - Homemade Mixture of Aloe Vera Juice and Distilled Water with Several Drops Tea Tree Essential Oil to Preserve (optional: a few drops of jojoba oil)
• Oil Based Level - Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Jojoba Oil, Jojoba/Castor Oil Mix 1:1 ratio (There are other oils, but these are my favorites
• Cream Based Level - Oyin Handmade Hair Dew OR Shea Moisture Coconut and Hibiscus Curl and Style Milk

So, let's talk the cream based level. Both products come from two of my favorite brands (Oyin Handmade and Shea Moisture) and both are great performers. Both leave my hair feeling soft and hydrated throughout the day. In my quest to pair down my products, I have been trying to figure which one works better. In my indecisive way, here is what I concluded:

• Shea Moisture's Milk is a better styler, IMO, than the Oyin Handmade Hair Dew
• OH Hair Dew has a better scent than the Shea Moisture Milk, though the SM Milk does not smell bad at all.
• Though both have great ingredients, the OH Hair Dew has simpler ingredients, which makes me feel it is superior in that regard.
• The OH Hair Dew comes is a couple of sizes, an 8oz and 16oz. The SM Milk comes only in an 8oz. But let's get to nitty, gritty...MONEY AND AVAILABILITY.
• As with most OH products, there is an allotted time in which the product must be used. No such allotted time exists for SM products.
• The SM Coconut and Hibiscus Curl and Style Milk costs $9.99 for 8oz and can be found at Brick and Mortar locations (Target, Walgreens). The OH Hair Dew costs $16.00 for 8oz and is available at select vendors. Otherwise, it must be ordered online from either CurlMart.com or OyinHandmade.com. Although I recently purchased some Shea Moisture online from Walgreen's, my shipping and handling was free because the order was over $25. OH rarely offers free S-n-H.

All that being said, I love OH and will continue to purchase from them in the future. (Specifically, I will be repurchasing the Honey Hemp Conditioner and other products). But this particular product wars, Shea Moisture is the clearer winner. The price is better, the availability is better, and the product performs quite well. When it comes to cream based moisturizers, Shea Moisture will continue to be my supplier of choice, as well as my supplier of choice for liquid shampoos. Another milk available from the Shea Moisture line is the Yucca and Baobab Thickening Growth Milk. It sounds like it is worth giving a try. Happy Hair to You All!

Loving This Skin Care Challenge



HeyFranHey is a great blog/tumblr page by a woman who gives amazing hair care, skin care, nutrition and exercise advice. She posted this skin care challege and I am loving it. Why? Because it is so simple and makes perfect sense. The deets are here at this LINK. I don't want to give away too much, because there is not much to give away since it's just that simple. I will say this, she suggests using African Black Soap. A great product indeed. I used to use black soap on my body, but haven't in quite a while. I intend to start ordering some from Butters-n-Bars.com. It works great and really cleans the body. The other advice she gives is great as well, and the skin care challege is for two weeks. That is not long. Take into consideration the 6 month hair challeges I have seen. This challege is also affordable and doesn't require the purchase of fancy (translate, expensive) products and supplies. If you don't have or don't want to use African Black Soap, I would suggest an olive oil castile soap in it's place.

Henna Plans Revised

I recently realized that I had made plans early in the year to start doing henna treatments by the end of June. Guess what? That hasn't happened. One thing that always proves a hindrance is not having my own bathroom. Although I live in a house with a full bath, I don't want to risk staining the tile of a house I do not own. Furthermore, the water supply is hard, and henna can take a lot of rinsing.



Just as Curly Nikki is getting her henna swagger back (the addition of a new baby proved time consuming and applying full hennas was difficult for her), I am revising my plans for a full henna treatment. I will be back home this November and using a nice full bath to wash my hair, with a non-hard/soft water supply. In celebration of this event, I will be finally, and I mean finally, delving in the wonderful world of henna. I plan on using a BAQ henna purchased from Mehandi.com. My mixing agent of choice will be either green or chamamomile tea OR coconut milk. That's right, coconut milk. I have been reading some interesting things about henna mixed with coconut milk on the Curly Nikki forums.

To get the full effects of henna as soon as possible, I will henna my hair using a full strength mix three times. Once time per week for three weeks. From there, depending on how my hair feels and reacts, I will be applying henna glosses once a month as my deep treatment of choice or a full henna every few months. When it comes to this henna thing, I plan on going in and not being cheap. Meaning I am going to purchased a BAQ Henna with a fine sift (for easier rinsing) and a high dye/lawsone content. An organic henna would be preferable as well, but will be more expensive, as all things organic. I am also considering experimenting with cassia. I may end up mixing henna and cassia together for a less red color or may use cassia in between full strength henna treatments. Cassia may not be as long lasting as henna (or so I've read), but it does not stain your hands the way henna does. Bonust points for Cassia. Also, amla treatments are another way to add Indian herbs to a hair regimen. Amla is known for its strengthening properties and for its ability to darken the hair. So if henna is wanted but without the red, amla can be added. Amla also prevents curl loosening.

Clearly, I have been thinking about this a lot. I am again very excited and hope to experience good results.

Link: The Cool and Seal Deep Conditioning Technique

Hey Readers,
After seeing this article about an interesting DC trick, known as the Cool and Seal Technique, shared on both Curly Nikki and BGLH, I decided it must be worth sharing the LINK. I won't go into detail, just read the article for the particulars. But I will sounds it sounds like it makes sense and it sounds easy enough to do, no special equipment need be purchased. In fact, the author of the article started using this method after deciding not to splurge on a very expensive deep conditioner. I'm talking too much. The article as shared on Curly Nikki can be found HERE.

Happy Deep Conditioning