Whip It Up!: 1st Attempt at Making My Own Whipped Shea Butter

This is a project I've been wanting to do for a while, but didn't have the knowledge or funds to do so. I had this idea based on watching many YouTube vids, to make my own whipped shea butter hair and body cream. Shea butter is my numero uno favorite sealant to put in my hair. Of course it is a pain in the ass to use if you have thick hair. After saving up some cash, researching essential oils, looking up more vids. I felt confident enough to give this a go. So one morning after work, I went to Wegmans to grab all ingredients.

 

I get home, got everything all laid out, ready to rumble. I'm just pouring in this, and scooping out that into my medium plastic bowl whipping away. I'm doing this all by hand mind you, since I do not own an beater/mixer. Then....trouble hit. My concoction was not whipping or fluffy. It was rather....liquidly. I thought maybe add more coconut oil <-----Second Mistake! The first was not having enough shea butter to compensate for the amount of oil I used in the beginning. Yes I was dumb enough to think, that the coconut oil would solidify the mixture more. Nope. Luckily later on that day, I went to the store to grab some more shea butter and saved my batch.

 

In my honest opinion. It did not come out the way I had in mind. Although it is very moisturizing and makes my hair and skin feel nice. I feel as if it is not quite right, maybe I should try a different oil such as vitamin E, or lanolin. Maybe even mango butter, though I have never tried that. *adds to my check list of natural things to try*  The mix so far works well on my hair, but I feel like I can do better. I am thinking, I would make an actual video on my procedure.....once I get it straight hahaha! Below are some pictures of the stuff I used and end results. (Jojoba, coconut and extra virgin olive oils, peppermint and tangerine essential oils for scent and of course shea butter).

 

 

 

Product Review: Renpure Solutions Rosemary Mint Cleansing Conditioner

 

 

 

Tuesday morning when I got off work, I went to Rite Aid to pick up a bottle of shampoo/conditioner. Normally I get Trader Joes Tea Tree Tingle, alas they were not open at 7am. As I was about to get my fall back, Organix I seen this bottle on the side. I was curious since I love the smell of mint, and the fact I wanted to try an new product. After reading the front, ingredients etc  I decided to drop the $10 to get it.

 

Wash Routine - I sectioned my hair, sprayed each with water, slather that extra virgin olive oil, pumped some condish, detangled, repeat. After I was done with my whole head, I put on my conditioning cap. What was meant to be only left in for 20 minutes, ended up me falling asleep for hours (only me lol). When I got up, I washed the product out of my hair, then I used a bit more condish again to cleanse my scalp, then rinsed.

 

Results: My hair came out soft and subtle. As well as the volume was cranked up! I really loved how my hair came out, and will continue using this product. I still am wary due to the protein inside. I know I am not protein sensitive, but will have to learn to balance everything out.

 

The only thing I did not like about the product was, I felt it wasn't thick enough. It's not too watery but it could be thicker like an regular conditioner. But hey if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 

I recommend this product for those with dry hair, great for those who strictly co-wash. It's been compared to the Wen hair care system, with many reviews stating that its better and more cost efficient. If you do not like the Rosemary Mint, they do have Sweet Pomegranate. I do hope this short review helps. I will post the ingredients below and see ya on the flip side.

 

Ingredients:

 

Purified Water , Cocamidopropyl Betaine , Cetyl Alcohol , Glyceryl Stearate , Behentrimonium Chloride , Argania Spinosa Kernel OilArgan , Hypnea Musciformis ExtractRed Seaweed , Gellidiela Acerosa ExtractRed Alga , Sargassum Filipendula ExtractBrown Seaweed , Helianthus Annuus Seed OilSunflower , Cocos Nucifera OilCoconut , Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf ExtractRosemary , Hydrolyzed Pea Protein , Psidium Guajava Fruit ExtractGuava , Butyrospermum Parkii OilShea , Sorbitol , Amodimethicone , Trideceth-12 , Cetrimonium Chloride , Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride , Glycereth-26 , Silicone Quaternium-17 , Diazolidinyl Urea , Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate , Glycerin , Disodium EDTA , Fragrance

 

 

For all hair types

Safe for color treated hair

No sulfates, parabens, dyes, gluten, phthalates, propylene glycol

Product not tested on animals

Sock Bun Tutorial! A Safe and Witty Trick for Natural Hair!

Ok now we all been to Sally's or any other beauty supply store, the mall etc (you get the picture). I'm sure you seen products like "Hot Buns" or other knock offs that will give you that perfect bun. But there is that thought "is this safe for my curly hair?" Because most of these bun accessories have little air holes in them. I will be honest with you, I myself absolutely do NOT trust them. Only because of the holes, and I have this vision that my curls like vines creep through those holes, and rip my hair out to shreds. No no no no no! I am good on that. But not all is lost, you can still possibly use a stocking sock to cover the bun of course duh! Well what if you don't have a bun handy? Let alone a lot of hair and you want to just rely on your hair. Here is a quickie that will help you out and maybe save some dollars and a trip.

First supplies you will need:

*Scissors
*Regular knee high stocking socks, preferably black to match your hair. You can get these at the dollar store, 3 pair for like $2.


Step 1: Take one knee high stocking from the package, no need to stretch it.

Step 2: Cut the off the foot end off the sock, not too much like 1 - 1 1/2 in. Toss that baby over your back, never to be seen again...until you clean your room.

Step 3: Starting from either end, roll the sock into itself forming a "doughnut" until you run out of fabric.

There you completed the first part of the sock bun! Of course you can use a regular old sock from your drawers, but I find the knee high stockings to be more convenient, and better for my hair instead of rubbing against cotton. Now for the fun part, the bun. This is done on stretched hair of course. You can stretch your hair the night before by doing twists, braids, bands, blow out etc:

Step 4: Gather all of your hair gently pulling towards the back. Make sure it's smooth out all around. Figure out where you want to place your bun, either high, med or low. Now make a ponytail and stretch and pull your hair to make sure it's as long as possible.

Step 5: Take that sock bun you just made and slip it around your ponytail down to the base of it.

Step 6: Spread your hair around the sock bun evenly as possibly, till its covered. Now you can do one of two things. You can either enlist the aid of another pony holder to hold your hair down, and tuck in the ends. Or you can try tucking it underneath the sock and use bobby pins to hold in place if needed.

Step 7: Tame any sections of hair stick out and about, with a tool of your choice (brush or comb etc), use a little gel, hair pins or both to keep them down. And presto! You have a cute bun on your head!



I do hope this helps anyone who is floating around that awkward, my hair is long but not quite stage. Who long to wear buns on their heads. Trust me I know how that's like. Until then see ya on the flip side!

Length Check/Happy One Year

On 8/27/13 I woke up after a night of drinking down my troubles with my hair, chopped off my ponytail and decided to go further. I went to my beauty salon and told my beautician's daughter, I needed a to cut my hair. She thought I meant a trim, I said "No I mean everything that is permed." Now here a year later, my hair reached collarbone length. I remember being told that I would get sick and tired of my natural hair, and just return to the perms. Yes sometimes my hair frustrates me, Frolisha and I don't always get along. I have no desire to relax my hair. No more scalp burns for me, no more thinning hair, no more limp tresses.

 

This year has be great to me (hair wise), I plan on continuing learning my hair and ways to keep it healthy. Of course I am still going for to grow as long as possible.  It took only a year to go from twa to collarbone. I am hoping to get to APL (arm pit length) by early next year. Fingers are crossed and so are the toes! See ya on the flip side, here are some pics of my hair before I did a lil trim of the ends.