Tag Archives: Shampoo

Jan28

Hola!

So this post will be devoted to the Dr. Bronner’s 18-in-1 Hemp Tea Tree Pure Castile Liquid Soap. I bought this from…you guessed it…Whole Foods! I got this back from my last trip when I OD’d and got the AO GBP Conditioner and the ingredients for my Banana Honey Hair Mask hehehe…. I ended up getting the big ole 32 oz since that was all they had….oh well lol I’ll just plan on having this forever haha. I think I paid around $10 for it which is pretty good since this stuff is SUPER concentrated so you only need a teeny bit PLUS you can use it for a ton of other uses…You can buy Dr. Bronner’s products almost anywhere so don’t worry if you don’t live near a Whole Foods. I know I always rave about shampoo bars (and clearly this is a liquid) but these soaps also come in the bar form (I’ve used the peppermint bar) but I wanted to try the liquid! One drop creates SO much lather! You can seriously OD on this on accident! A little goes a loooooooooooong way!

*SIDEBAR* I actually intended on buying this in the liquid form to wash my doggy, Meyer (he’s a 3 year old mini Dachshund, love him to death :o)) He’s actually what inspired me to get the Tea Tree variation (it comes in Peppermint, Eucalyptus, Almond, Rose, Baby Mild, Citrus and Lavender) because he’s suffered skin problems since he was a lil puppy and I was doing some research and found that lots of dog owners wash with the castile soap and Tea Tree specifically is known to heal skin conditions since it has antiseptic properties. So I figured why not give it a shot! Plus he LOVES taking baths for some reason…he’s weird lol

Description
Tea tree oil is a natural antiseptic that helps heal cuts and bruises as well as skin conditions like acne dermatitis and psoriasis. All oils and essential oils are certified organic to the National Organic Standards Program. Packaged in 100% post-consumer recycled plastic bottles.

Ingredients
Water, Organic Coconut Oil*, Potassium Hydroxide**, Organic Olive Oil*, Tea Tree Extract, Organic Hemp Oil, Organic Jojoba Oil, Citric Acid, Tocopherol *CERTIFIED FAIR TRADE INGREDIENTS
** None remains after saponifying oils into soap and glycerin

*ANOTHER SIDEBAR* I actually read every word on their infamous label. It is quite interesting, a great read actually, and nothing what I expected. You should definitely take the time to read it! So next time you’re sitting on the toilet and have some time….lol….reach over in the shower and grab that bottle lol

Ok so back to point of this post lol so yea there’s a bazillion uses for this soap but I will focus on the use for hair… ok wait…one more sidebar lol…I also use this to wash my face along with my Clarisonic facial brush….OMG!!!! I think I may be curing my super annoying oily, acne-prone skin that I have battled with my whole life!! I think I will always have this in stock for my face. I just LOVE it….

So yea this is great as a hair cleanser! The tea tree is great for clarifying both the scalp and hair due to it’s antiseptic properties, so on those days where I have a lot of oil or product buildup or if I haven’t washed in a while, I would use this. I wouldn’t use this for an “every day cleanser” because it may be too much for my hair to handle and possibly dry it out. The tea tree is also great for those who may have hard water (it can help remove some of the mineral buildup). This cleanser will also increase the blood circulation and unclog the hair follicles on your head, it will help stimulate hair growth which I am ALWAYS for :o)

You only need maybe a nickel sized squirt of this to get a really good lather and PLEASE be warned to keep your eyes closed when washing with this. This stuff will burn!!

Now, I know that some people really hate using castile soap in their hair because of that “drying” feeling you get after you rinse but i don’t mind that because that can be solved by doing a rinse with apple cider vinegar (I keep a diluted mix of ACV and water in spray bottle in my shower) and using a good conditioner that smooths the cuticle. All that feeling is, is your hair cuticle is open so you’ll need something to neutralize it and close it. Check out my post on Hair Porosity if you are confused lol

So overall, this castile soap is handy to keep around for those wash days I want an extra boost of clarification and to take a break from my shampoo bars. If you try it and don’t like it, get your money’s worth and use it to wash your face or your doggy with it :o) (or all the other uses!)

Dec12

Ayurveda : : Shikakai Powder

Posted on December 12, 2012 by Lauren

Ayurveda : : Shikakai Powder

Hola!

So the other week on wash day (that’s usually Saturday or Sunday for me), I used yet another ayurvedic powder, Shikakai! I used the one by Hesh and bought it from my local Indian Market for just a few bucks a box. Be sure to always check the expiration dates if you buy from a local grocer. I have seen expired products still on the shelves! You always want the freshest powders.

Shikakai is an Indian herb, originating from in the Himalayas, that is ground into a fine powder. You mix with water or tea and used to wash your hair, so it’s an alternative to shampoo. It doesn’t lather or anything though so don’t expect any of that. It is applied like any other conditioning treatment. It is awesome because it promotes growth, strengthens your roots (yes!) and since it is astringent and anti-fungal, it removes dandruff and helps stop scalp issues. It also makes your hair shiny and bouncy! It’s also great because it is pH balanced and helps detangle your hair. It also says it cools your scalp. I guess this may be handy in the summer and warm climates. I know my head gets hot often with all this hair!

Yes the paste looks like mud and yes it can get messy. BUT that’s the fun part!! :o)

Now let me tell you, this was my first time using this kind of powder and I made a HUGE mistake. So I normally don’t wash my hair prior to using ayurvedic treatments since they typically do the washing themselves. But for some reason, my genius self decided to wash AND use the Shikakai back to back! OMG!!! When I tell you that my scalp was on FIRE, I mean, it was burning!!! And to add to it…I used a shampoo bar that had peppermint!! And you know peppermint already makes your scalp tingly….WTF was I thinking!? I swear it felt like I had left a perm on my hair, it was that bad. I had to rinse it out right away! Omg….

I also didn’t realize how abrasive Shikakai is and I was rubbing it into my scalp (I normally rub the other pastes into my scalp i.e. amla, brahmi, neem). Definitely not going to do any rubbing next time lol I was like my hair better not fall out! (it didn’t thankfully lol) Moral of the story, do not wash my hair before using Shikakai (duh!). I also read that some people will pre-poo with coconut oil on their scalp and then wash with Shikakai. I also love that you can mix ayuvedic powders together to get added benefits :o)

All in all, regardless of my dummy experience, I did get great results lol with this ayurvedic paste! My hair was definitely clean, super soft and my twist-outs the following week were super bouncy and springy! It was like it refreshed my hair. It also helped reduce the shed I’d been having. I’ll admit, I slacked off on the ayurvedic treatments for a while and I definitely felt the affects of it. My hair sheds a LOT when I don’t use them. That’s why I call them miracles in a box! lol So I need to continue to do these treatments regularly, at least 2x a month. Just be sure to always rinse really, really well. I have had little flakes of grain from the powders left in my hair a few days after I wash lol It also helps to gently detangle with a comb to help dislodge any particles stuck in your kinks.

I love ayurveda. All glory to God for these gifts of the earth :o)

May23

Product : : Organic Root Stimulator Curls Unleashed Part I

Posted on May 23, 2012 by Lauren

Product : : Organic Root Stimulator Curls Unleashed Part I

Hey! :o))

*This is Part 1 of 3…I don’t overload you with my ranting. You know how I can be long-winded :o)*

So a few weeks ago I was sent the entire line of Curls Unleashed by Organic Root Stimulator for review by a PR firm (Thank you :o))). I was delighted to give it a shot since I am always one to try new things plus I had sample sizes from my B-more Expo trip that I planned on reviewing anyway.

Here’s are the seven products in the line:

Lavish in Lather Sulfate-Free Shampoo
No Restrictions Moisturizing Conditioner
No Boundaries Leave-in Conditioner
Second Chance Curl Refresher
Set it Off Curl Boosting Jelly
Take Command Curl Defining Creme
Let it Flow Shine & Define Mousse

When I wore a relaxer, I used Organic Root Stimulator (ORS) products ALL the time – Carrot Oil, Jojoba Oil, Fertilizing Temple balm, Olive Oil Shampoo, Uplifting Shampoo, Hair Mayonnaise, Replenishing pak –to name a few and I loved their stuff so this made me excited to try their line for Natural/Curly hair…I was actually surprised it took them so long to come out with one…

Here’s the thing though, although ORS products contain some natural ingredients, they mostly consist of those hard-to-pronounce ingredients :o( which is why I don’t use them now. I prefer all natural products. The good thing though, is the Curls Unleashed line is sulfate, paraben, mineral oil and alcohol free (you know, the keys to win over a curly girl lol)….BUT they contain silicones, dyes and “un-pronounceables”. As with all things, it’s a preference whether you choose to use products with/without these things and I simply choose not to but figured I’d carpe diem and try them out just to see :o)

So overall, the line as a whole is alright—some products better than others. I tried each product individually to see how each worked on its own and then in conjunction with the other products to see how they worked together. I can say this line could be helpful to newly naturals or those who may be intimidated by all the different product choices out there. The products together make for an “all-in-one” system, with something for every “category” of basic natural hair products. It could aid you in getting in the habit of a “regimen”. The packaging explains how to use each product, when to use it and what other product it works well with (i.e. us the Jelly after the Leave-in as a “cocktail”). I think once you get the hang of having a routine and process, you could interchange the products with other similar products (or continue to use Curls Unleashed) NOTE: I did not use these products in conjuction with any other brands so I do not know how they interact.

So here’s the breakdown of the first 3 products and check back for the others!

Lavish in Lather Sulfate-Free Shampoo — $10.99 for 12 oz. from Sally Beauty

Product Description

Non-stripping, Moisturizing, Great Lather. Curls Unleashed Lavish in Lather by Organic Root Stimulator is a sulfate free shampoo. It will not strip hair of the precious natural moisture that makes it thrive. Curls Unleashed is free of parabens, alcohol and mineral oil. It can be used for wavy, curly, or kinky hair. Use Curls Unleashed to define, twist, and curl.

ingredients:

Aqua, sodium c14-16 olefin sulfonate, sodium disodium cocoamphodipropionate, cocamidopropyl betaine, polyquaternium-7, cocamide mea, glycerin, polyquaternium-10, hydrolyzed keratin, yarrow, hops, rosemary, chamomile, lemon balm, olive oil, ppg-5-ceteth-10-phosphate, dehydroacetic acid, benzyl alcohol, disodium edta, citric acid, parfum (fragrance), benzyl benzoate, hexyl cinnamal, lilial, lyral, methyl ionone.

I was pleasantly surprised by this shampoo, might be one of my fav products in the entire line! It didn’t dry out my hair and left my hair soft and detangled…yup, detangled! It lathered nicely so I didn’t need much and it also cleaned my scalp pretty well. I wouldn’t use this when I wanted to do a good, deep, clarifying cleanse (I’d use one of my shampoo bars or mud wash) but I would use this when I feel like I’ve co-washed a few times and need a “refresher” or if I have a lot of product from a wash-n-go and want to wash some of it away (hopefully that made sense?). I like this :o)

No Restrictions Moisturizing Conditioner — $14.99 for 16 oz. at Sally Beauty

Product Description:

Moisturizes and Restores, Works for all textures – wavy, curly, & kinky, Can be used as Co-wash. Curls Unleashed No Restrictions Moisturizing Conditioner by Organic Root Stimulator is perfect for all hair types including wavy, curly, and kinky. You can use this product to add moisture to your hair. It can be used as a Co-wash or a conditioner, there are no restrictions with this amazing product. When conditioning, place a generous amount in the palm of your hand then evenly distribute throughout your hair. Comb through with a wide tooth comb to ensure even coverage from root to end. This product can also be used if your hair is damaged. Sit under a plastic cap for 5 minutes or under and plastic cap and hooded dryer for 10 minutes. Rinse through and style.

Ingredients

Aqua, polyquaternium-37, propylene glycol dicaprylate/dicaprate, ppg-1 trideceth-6, glycerin, olive oil, soybean oil, behentrimonium methosulfate, cetearyl alcohol, dimethicone, quaternium-80, avocado oil, hydrolyzed collagen, panthenol, anthemis nobilis (chamomile) extract, sage extract, nettle extract, rosmary extract, aloe juice, yarrow extract, kiwi fruit extract, peg-9 dimethicone, fragrance, amyl cinnamic aldehyde, benzyl benzoate, d-limonene, lilial, linalool, dehydroacetic acid, benzyl alcohol, ci 19140 (yellow #5), ci 42053 (green #3).

The No Restrictions conditioner is eh, it’s alright. It wasn’t one of my favs. It has a good amount of slip, it’s really thick and creamy, softened my hair somewhat. It did a pretty good job at allowing me to finger detangle while in the shower. I felt like it needed something else to really make it condition my hair well. I feel that if I used this after an ayurvedic type treatment, it wouldn’t replenish the moisture that well. I even let it sit on my hair for awhile and it still didn’t do much for my hair. I did enjoy it as a co-wash and I liked that it is in a tub rather than a bottle, you can just grab a handful and slap it on, better for productivity in the shower process lol. For the price and the amount of product, I’ve seen better so I most likely would not buy this.

No Boundaries Leave-in Conditioner — $10.99 for 12 oz. from Sally Beauty

Product Description

Softens & Detangles, For wavy, curly & kinky hair, Free of BPA, Parabens, Alcohol & Mineral Oil. Curls Unleashed No Boundaries Leave-in Conditioner softens and detangles curly hair. It will not strip hair of the precious natural moisture that makes it thrive. Curls Unleashed is free of parabens, alcohol and mineral oil. It can be used for wavy, curly, or kinky hair. There are no boundaries with Curls Unleashed Leave-in Conditioner. Apply a generous amount to damp hair. Distribute evenly through the hair to ensure that it covers hair from roots to ends. Do not rinse out. Stretch or scrunch hair as desired to define your curls. Use to define twist, and curl.

Ingredients:

aqua, shea butter, olive oil, glycerin, cetearyl alcohol, polysorbate 60, peg-150 stearate, cetyl alcohol, ceteareth-20, peg-20 hydrogenated lanolin, peg-40 stearate, stearalkonium chloride, coconut oil, cyclomethicone, dimethiconol, amodimethicone, hydrolyzed keratin, dimethiconol cysteine, panthenol, dicetyldimonium chloride, ppg-3 benzyl ether myristate, glyceryl stearate se, cholesterol, tocopheryl acetate, dehydroacetic acid, benzyl alcohol, hydroxyethylcellulose, magnesium aluminum silicate, bht, citric acid, parfum (fragrance), lilial, d-limonene, linalool.

This product is a lightweight, liquid leave-in. It’s not watery or runny which is good. The scent definitely bothered me, randomly, it had sort of a weird chemically “after-scent” lol ya know, like an after taste except it was a scent?! It made me turn my nose up a bit. I was kinda disappointed with this product. It didn’t really do anything that it was supposed to for me. I researched the product around the web and saw that lots of people gave it great reviews so I had hopes for it but my bubble was bursted :o( I used it by itself…it just left a residue sitting on top of my hair after it dried. It didn’t feel soft or moisturized despite the fact that it contains shea butter and coconut oil. I also used it under the Curl Boosting Jelly yet it still didn’t do much. I would definitely pass on this.

Here’s my hair WET with just the Leave-in:

And here’s my hair completely DRY with the Leave-in:

…stay tuned for Part II!

Apr9

Product :: Henna Sooq Cocoveda Shampoo Bar

Posted on April 9, 2012 by Lauren

Product :: Henna Sooq Cocoveda Shampoo Bar

Something new….

During my visit to the Baltimore Natural Hair Care Expo, I picked up something I had never tried before… shampoo bars! I think I am in love with the concept of washing my hair with a bar of soap lol I get a kick out of little things like that :o)

So during the expo, the Henna Sooq booth was the first thing I saw as I walked in. It’s a Maryland based company that sells a ton of henna and ayurvedic (<---I'll post about this very soon!) products. They were doing henna body art at the show! Everything they sell is 100% pure and natural. Check out their site and blog, they have a plethora of products and provide a ton of helpful information on the benefits of henna and ayurvedic hair care. It makes me really want to try more of their products and get into using henna.

Any who, back at the expo, they had a bunch of different types of hand crafted bars, which all smelt nice and earthy—some better than others—but all pretty good for the most part. I was definitely staring at the display for a good five mins trying to decide which two to get lol. After reading the ingredients and talking with one of the owners, Jamal (who was really nice, cool and helpful by the way), I ended up getting the full sizes (4.25 oz) of the Cocoveda Shampoo Bar and the Black Velvet Body Bar (good for hair and body; haven’t used the Black Velvet yet though) for the 2 for $10 deal (they are $7 online).

I chose the Cocoveda bar because of the ingrediants (and the cocoa-y scent!). The owner assured me that this was one of the most moisturizing. It’s rich and lathers really well, pH balanced and all natural. This bar also helps stimulate hair growth due to the ginger essential oil content and amla. I know the bars look a bit scary lol but they are harmless :o)

Here’s what’s in the Cocoveda bar:

Unrefined organic shea butter, cocoa butter, organic high oleic sunflower oil, organic coconut milk, organic henna, organic amla, shikakai, bhringraj, bhrahmi, nagarmotha, ginger essential oil

Oh and another thing, these bars will last a really long time. I imagine I could get at least 20 washes (?) out of one bar, maybe even more than that. The website instructs you to cut pieces of the bar so that you don’t get the entire thing wet each time you wash.

Now for the fun part…using the bar! lol I sectioned my hair in about 6 sections while in the shower and rubbed the wet bar on my scalp. It creates enough natural lather that it can spread over the length of your hair. I made sure I did a good scalp scrubbing and let it sit in my hair until I washed each section. Then I rinsed it all out at the end and applied my conditioner.

My hair is like super SQUEAKY clean…like literally squeaky as in you can hear your hair squeak lol. That feeling can be mistaken for it being dry or waxy but its because of the ayurvedic ingredients opening up the hair cuticle so it’s imperative that you use a good conditioner right away to close the cuticles back up. It’s good for low porosity hair since it’s difficult for our hair cuticles to up and “receive” the conditioner. And as soon as I applied conditioner, that weird squeaky feeling went away and it was pure hair bliss after that! Super clean, shiny, bouncy, weightless curls!

My fav part is how well it cleaned my scalp. I had been having “issues” with my scalp and ayurvedic products supposedly help so we’ll see after some uses. I must say though, it’s been over a week (I co-washed once) and my scalp is not itchy like it normally would have been by now. That’s the only reason why I had been washing so frequently with shampoo so I’m really excited about the benefit of these bars. I may have the to freedom to go back to co-washing more like I used to. Kinda geeked about that :o)

This is definitely a keeper! You know I had been looking for a shampoo sooooo I may add this to my .essentials list hehe. Using a solid as a shampoo may not be for everyone since it’s a different concept than your average shampoo-in-a bottle, but at the very least, it’s fun to use! Lots of folks have given up liquid shampoos to bars and swear by them. Just google it and give it a try ;o)

Im excited to try the other bar I got and other ones as well!

—Any experiences with shampoo bars?