Daily Archives: May 23, 2012

May23

April GOC Update: Akia (#42)

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Hair
Hello Fellow GOCers! April was great for me! This challenge has really allowed me to stick to my hair and fitness goals. I did really well with the mini-twists, keeping them up for actually 4 weeks! My only downfall was that I didn’t wash my hair for another 2 weeks. I wore a twist out for a couple of days and then wore a puff for a couple of days. Big mistake! From all of the product, oils and no wash, my hair became really crunchy and dry. We all know what comes with crunchiness and dryness … shedding hair and knots. I am sitting here with conditioner in my hair as we speak! So, unfortunately, I did not do a Henna treatment, protein treatment or hibiscus tea rinse … but, I digress. So, for May, I have to do better with washing my hair right away after I take out the twists instead of prolonging it.

Health & Fitness
As far as my health and fitness goals, I have been a beast! I have found my love … Pilates!! I have been attending Pilates classes, Pumped (a class where you work with a weight bar; focuses on toning) and kick boxing at least 4 times a week. I am kind of addicted to Pilates, due to the fact that I am seeing results already, and I try to attend every time that I can.

I am also still faithfully taking my vitamins, drinking at least 4-5 glasses of water everyday and still eating healthy. I eat a lot of salmon and spinach. I created a recipe that includes steamed garlic and herb crusted salmon with sautéed portebella mushrooms and red onion on top of raw spinach with a raspberry vinaigrette … it is to die for! So … for the most part, no complaints here.

♦

 Check out Akia’s initial GOC submission here.

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May23

April GOC Update: Krystal K. (#12)

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Hair
I went for a little trim to even out my ends and the lady cut off a lot of my length :-(. While I was very upset that the lady set my growth back by about 3 months, I was very glad that my hair had great shape. Prior to  getting the trim, I had snipped out the last bits of heat-damaged hair and it was pretty obvious how much shorter that section was. I suspect the stylist wanted to make my hair look layered. I’d say she did a great job.

I’ve come to accept the fact that I’m not willing to expend the energy to put my hair into protective styles, so I’ve settled on the Tightly Curly method as my standard way of wearing my hair out. I’ve been swimming twice a week, so it works well for me to wear my hair out rather than expend the time and energy to wear protective styles knowing that I’ll be back in the pool 3 days later. I really like the Tightly Curly method, because my hair air drys with this wonderful definition and the curls are pretty resilient. At night, I twist them up in 6 sections, pull them taught across my head and bobbie pin them in place in order to keep them from shrinking. I’m really glad that I decided to try it. I did a video on my first time doing the Tightly Curly Method:

via kaligirl1980

Something new for the month of May:
This month I ordered two wigs to wear when I wanted a change. I’d been seeing a lot of YouTubers do reviews on the Beshe Drew wig and I just had to try it.

I also ordered the FreeTress Lady Michelle wig.

Both are lace front wigs. I’m looking forward to having bigger curly hair with the Beshe Drew and sleek shoulder length hair with the Lady Michelle. Changing things up with help me avoid getting bored with my hair.

Health & Fitness
I’m finally losing weight now that I’m healthy. I’ve dropped down below 150 lbs and I fully expect to reach my goal weight of 145 by the end of the month. I’ll consider myself successful if I can maintain the weight for at least 6 weeks after reaching it. It has really been a matter of being mindful of what I eat and how much I eat. I don’t say “no” to any food, I simply limit the amount that I enjoy. Juicing is still a big part of my diet and I don’t see myself changing that any time soon. I do need to find new recipes/veggie and fruit mixes to add to my juicing routine to keep things fresh.

♦

Missed Krystal’s first GOC – The Sequel post? Then check it out here.

May23

Why I LOVE African Black Soap for Skin and Hair

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by Journey Mahogany

Don’t let your eyes fool you. Many have misconstrued the photo below for a blondie and, although this soap only contains the “yummiest” ingredients (i.e. shea butter, palm kernel oil, cocoa pod ash and coconut oil), I wouldn’t eat it ….  lol.

There are many variations of true African Black Soap (ABS). But for the purposes of this entry, I will focus on the kind that I use, which is handmade in the West African country of Ghana and typically looks like this:


NOTE: The soap’s color isn’t black.

So why do I love it??

There are so many things to love about African Black Soap; in fact, it changed my life. Ok, I’m being a bit dramatic, but I do use it to wash my face, body and my hair with beautiful life changing results! Yep, ABS is THAT versatile and THAT good.

It is THE only soap that has worked to completely clear, moisturize, tone and brighten my sensitive skin; and trust me, I definitely have sensitive, problematic skin. ABS has also done an exceptional job at cleansing, moisturizing and detangling my THICK, kinky curly hair and at keeping what I use to consider a dry, itchy scalp at bay.

So how do I use it on my skin?
I either lather some soap in my hands or a washcloth, rub on my face and body and rinse … nothing major. Since the soap is organic, I would be careful about rubbing the soap on my skin as it may have bits of harden cocoa pod ash and other matter that may scratch a little.

And how do I use it on my hair?
I create a shampoo by boiling water, grating the appropriate amount of soap over the water and letting it thicken overnight. I store it in an empty Kinky Curly Knot Today bottle and use it as a regular shampoo. The initial ratio of soap to water I decide to use and whether I decide to add oils or other ingredients will determine how thick it gets — it is a personal preference. The shampoo can also double as a body wash and should be stored in a refrigerator in between uses.

You may be wondering how a soap does all that in one? I am no chemist but my guess is that it is all in the ingredients- there are no harsh skin/hair irritants in this soap..at..all.  In fact, this is probably one of THE purest skin and hair products you can ever purchase. Either that or maybe God blesses each and every one of them before they are shipped out…lol.

And how much does it cost? 
Being the frugal chick that I am, I have never paid more than $2.75 for a bar of African Black Soap since I try to catch it on sale and buy it in bulk.

So there you have it.  This is my beauty secret for the day.

Want to learn more about African black soap? How it works? What are the pros and cons? Then check out African Black Soap Part 2: How Does it Work.

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Have you tried African Black Soap?