Giveaway Time!!

Healthy Hair and Castor Oil

Castor Oil and Healthy Hair Growth

Castor oil is a great hair oil, but it can be very thick and viscous. So some women may end up having a bad hair experience with the oil. In fact, it’s not uncommon for a woman to get immediately turned off from using this oil because it left her hair all sticky and icky. Still this oil is simply amazing for the health of your hair and scalp. So check out these few tips on how to best use castor oil. Then try out this oil for a few weeks- who knows, you may just fall in love too!

Tips for Using Castor Oil:

1. Moisturize Hair First
Before using any emollient (i.e. hair oil or butter), you always want to make sure that your hair has been wet first (i.e. your hair that has been moisturized first). Emollients don’t “moisturize,” they simply “seal” moisture in. So the best way to use castor oil is on wet hair.

2. Use Less Oil
Castor oil is very thick and viscous so you don’t need to be “heavy-handed” with use. Using a lot of castor oil won’t increase its benefits- it will just make your hair sticky and limp. And with castor oil, as well as many other emollients, you will find oftentimes that when using “less is more.” Also, because it is a “heavier oil,” some women do prefer to only use castor oil on certain parts of their. For example, some may only use castor oil the edges of hair as opposed to using it all over their hair.

3. Mix With Other Oils
Since castor oil is so thick and heavy, it may be best to “lighten” it up with other oils. There’s no law that says you can’t mix your emollients. In fact, I’ve been using a great mixture that includes equal parts castor oil, olive oil and fresh rosemary. This is a wonderful hair oil- and it smells great too!


A few benefits of castor oil:

• Is an excellent emollient and humectant for skin and hair

• Is a treatment for hair thinning and hair loss

• Prevents the dry and itchy scalp

• Has anti-fungal, antiviral and antibacterial properties- so it can be effective for treating skin/scalp infections like ringworm.

A Word On Jamaican Black Castor Oil…

Many women want to know why there’ so much buzz about Jamaican Black Castor Oil (JBCO). So let me give you a brief rundown of what JBCO is and why it’s different from other types of castor oil.

Manufacturers will use different types of processing methods when extracting oils from plants. And an oil will be either unrefined or refined based on how it was extracted from a plant. Unrefined oils retain most if not all of their nutritive properties, while refined oils will lose some (or possibly all) of their nutritive properties.

Jamaican Black Castor Oil is simply a raw, unrefined form of castor oil. So it is a form of castor oil that has retained most, if not all of its nutritive properties. It is simply a high quality form of castor oil. And this is why JBCO is so highly sought after and wildly popular among women.

**You can purchase Castor oil at your local market, whole foods store, or vitamin store. You may also purchase online via Amazon or Ebay. I purchased mine from a Health Vitamin store locally. They range around $10 for an 8oz bottle of Castor Oil. Just an FYI (For your info)

It's 5 Question Friday!

1. What do you do when you are really upset to calm yourself down?

    Take a xanax LMAO! #dontjudgeme

2. Do you go all out for V-day or is it just another day?

    Yes and no, I tried something new, I had surprise after surprise.

3. Are you more or less productive when Hubs is away?

    Less productive, I feel like I can't do anything lol. I be feeling super lost

4. What is your favorite time of day and why?

    Night time....................... and why you ask?! No comment LOL!

5. What is your go to karaoke song?

    Ummmm, a sister like myself doesn't do karaoke LOL, you won't catch me on the mic doing that!

TAG YOUR IT!!!!!!!!

Here's my tag for "My Natural Hair Tag" from DearNatural62 on YouTube.

Benefits of Castor Oil

Do you know the benefits of castor oil for natural hair and hair growth in general? Today, many people are using castor oil to help seal moisture and to prevent dry scalp on their natural tresses, and it works for any hair texture.

Here is a list of benefits for using castor oil as a hair care solution:

• Promotes hair growth

• Moisturizes hair and scalp

• Helps reduce damaged split ends

• Helps to tame frizz

• Creates full healthy hair by thickening

The reason castor oil helps in these areas is because of its fatty acids:

The germicidal, insecticidal and fungicidal properties of Ricin and Ricinoleic acid present in castor oil protect the scalp and hair from microbial and fungal infections, the two prime causes for hair loss. In addition, the fatty acids in it nourish hair and prevent the scalp from drying by retaining moisture.

Thursday 5

Happy Thursday everyone!!First of all I'd like to give a big congrats to my previous winner of my giveaway. And second there will be another giveaway here soon so make sure you watch out for that!
Now, on to the Thursday 5. If you do not know what Thursday 5 is, it's where you name 5 things you are feeling for the week and elaborate on them more. It's a way to get to know each other more and to also get more traffic. I hope you enjoy this activity and if you like it jump on the bandwagon, the more the merrier.
BlessedLovedAccomplishedThankfulHopeful
I am blessed to see another day, yet another week. God did not have to give me another second on this Earth but was given that and I am grateful for that.
Feeling loved is always a great feeling. I feel loved not just by one person but by multiple people in my life and they all are a great contribute to my success.
By working all week and busting my butt I feel super accomplished. I've gotten all my blogging out of the way for a week as well as most of my video's recorded and edited. As you can see I've been on top of my game!
I'm thankful for everything I have and everyone in my life thus far. Whether they were tree leaves that have fallen off the branches or whether they are roots to my tree I love you all.
I am hopeful for another week full of wellness and joy. It's almost the weekend and I can't wait!!

Castor Oil Challenge

I'm going on a Castor Oil challenge, starting March 1st for a total of 3 months to see the growth. I will stop my biotin supplements for this challenge and I believe you all should do this challenge with me. Hop on the bandwagon of castor oil because as you know it's a great product to use in your regimen. Make sure you stick around for more posts on castor oil, it's properties, and a little more information on castor oil. :) Until next time everyone, Peace Love & Hair Grease!

Meet Me On Monday

1.  Tomorrow I'm going to _________? Take my car to the shop and return a couple of phone calls
2.  Pudding or Jello? Pudding over Jellow
3.  What book are you currently reading? On the Right Track by Marion Jones
4.  What is the first concert you went to see? Mary J Blige show
5.  What is your current weather? Sunny and 72 degrees :P

5 Question Friday

1. What have you done recently that you are proud of?

Moving into my OWN place!

2. What is your favorite way to work out? Or if you don't workout, what are you wanting to try?

I enjoy running and doing lots of cardio

3. If you knew you best friend was cheating on spouse would you tell?

Yes I would confront the best friend and let them know if they don't speak up I will because cheating in my book, no matter what the circumstance, IS NOT ACCEPTABLE!

4. If you could afford a live-in maid or nanny, would you have one?

No, my kids are my responsibility. I created them therefore I will take care of them and raise them myself

5. Do you stress out about birthdays (specifically the age) or do you enjoy them?

No, age is nothing but a number. As long as I live as long as God allows I am fine with that.

Product Review: Shea Moisture's Curl Enhancing Smoothy

Product Locations & Pricing:

• Target: $9.99 for 12 ounces
• Walgreens: $9.99 for 12 ounces
• Shea Moisture's Website: $9.99 for 12 ounces

Ingredients:

• Water
• Shea butter
• Mango Seed Butter
• Avocado Oil
• Coconut Oil
• Aloe Leaf Extract
• Silk Protein
• Neem Seed Oil
• Carrot Seed Oil
• Essential Oil Blend
• Honeysuckle Flower Extract, Lonicera Flower Extract, Japenese Flower Extract
• Vitamin E

NOT in this product:

• No Parabens
• No Phthalates
• No Paraffin
• No Gluten
• No Propylene Glycol
• No Mineral Oil
• No Synthetic Fragrance
• No Animal Testing
• No PABA
• No Synthetic Color
• No DEA
• No Animal Ingredients
• No Sulfates

My Personal Review:

I've heard the raft of Shea Moisture products both good and bad but I never believe what I hear until I actually try it myself. With that being said, I've grown to love Shea Moisture's products. At first, with my 1st BC, I didn't use this product vigerously. I would only use it some times and I was mixing products with it not knowing the official benefits of what this Smoothy could do by itself, basically trial and error. With my 2nd BC it has helped tremendously. Not only has it helped moisturize my hair it has also helped retain the moisture and length of my hair. Goodbye breakage! Since my 2nd big chop I've been dedicated to this brand, 100% completely lol. I can tell you that Shea Moisture is definitely going to be in business as long as I have hair. This brand is my staple and I would advise anyone who is having problems with retaining moisture and wanting to stop breakage please try these products. There's lots of different kinds of products by Shea Moisture that you can try. So go ahead and head to your local Target and/or Walgreens and grab you some of these wonderful products.

Ok so today I'm specifically going to talk about the Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothy. This product is the bomb.com yall. I'm telling you. As you all know I'm still in TWA phaze. I did my 2nd BC June 4th, 2011. That time I basically shaved my head completely and started all over. With that being said I already knew what problems I had last time and didn't want to reep the same concequences. I already knew how great of a product the Curl Enhancing Smoothy was so I decided to go ahead and go all Shea Moisture products this time around. Low and behold I have yet to have any breakage or dryness in my hair. This Curl Enhancing Smoothy is a God-sent blessing! If I could work for Shea Moisture as a representative or someone to give a testimony by God I would because these products workkkkkkkkkk! I have 3c/4a textured hair and as you know those two textures do NOT go good together. They are kinky, nappy, corse, and most of all hard to keep moisturized. It's a daily struggle but someone's gotta do it. Those textures put together are very rare but guess what, I must be that chosen one because I'm one of the rare. I have it and I'm working it hunny. I'm not ashamed on my nappy kinky loving curls. I embrase them and keep it moving, I advise you to do the same!

Orange Chicken Stir-Fry

Orange Chicken Stir-Fry

Quinoa:

2 cups chicken stock

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 orange, zested and juiced

1 cup quinoa

1/4 cup chopped chives

Chicken:

1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast, thinly sliced

Fresh black pepper

1 chile pepper, thinly sliced

1 inch piece ginger, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced

1/2 yellow onion, sliced

1/3 cup hoisin sauce

1/3 cup orange marmalade

2 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce

For the rice:

1) Bring 1 1/2 cups stock, 1 Tbsp oil, and orange zest to a boil.

2) Add quinoa, stir, and reduce heat to med-low, and cover.

3) Cook 15 minutes, and then stir in the orange juice and chives.

4) Turn off heat and fluff. Remove from heat and keep covered until ready to serve.

For the chicken:

1) Heat the remaining 1 Tbsp oil in a large skillet over high heat.

2) Add the chicken, season with black pepper. Brown evenly and then remove to a plate.

3) To the skillet add chile, ginger, garlic, onion and red bell pepper. Cook until veggies start to soften.

4) Return chicken to the pan.

5) Stir together hoisin, marmalade, soy sauce and remaining chicken stock in a small bowl.

6) Add to the pan and reduce over high heat for 2 minutes.

7) Serve the chicken over quinoa.

Wordless Wednesday . Sunset Style

**BTW, this photo is Copyright protected by myself I took this, please do NOT steal!