Oh, Look, Cocoa! Hey, feel, Softness!

Hey people!

Before I go into anything, we have more than 1000 views on le blog! *shakes shekere* *dances the Funky Chicken* *side-eyes other bloggers with 10s of thousands of view wondering why the excitement*. Many thanks for the clicks on this blog. They are much appreciated. Do come again :D

 

I should have written this post several days ago but I am getting lazy. Still, hair I am! Tehe!

Last week Wednesday, I tried bantu knot outs AGAIN! It looked promising at first then did a fast downwards spiral when it got to the 'out' stage. *sigh*.



Bantu Knots night before: Looking good

 

Unravelling the knots next day: Looking even better



Further unravelling to give body: What is This??!




[source]

I eventually put a comb through the thing. We trudge on.

 

So I set off after this hair mishap to get to e-centre at Yaba. I only went to see Pacific Rim and Despicable Me and ended up not only seeing those but parted with so much money on some impromptu shopping. Chai! *bites finger in memory of surviving account balance* I won't go into details on that but a little fraction of the money got spent on this hair AGAIN!

 

On my way to the mall centre plaza (really, what do you call that place), I made the most amazing discovery. A woman selling Cocoa right smack in the middle of Montgomery Street! She had so many! I immediately thought of some cocoa butter and made a detour towards her. She spoke no English, which was fine. I got one big cocoa for N200. I really wasn't sure what to do with it or how I was going to extract any butter from it but I was curious enough. She told me throw the cocoa pod on hard ground in order to be able to break it and that I shouldn't bother with a knife as it wasn't going to crack it. Then she said I was to lick the seeds. Interesting.

On getting to e-centre, after the movies, I did a quick dance to my new favourite store, Health Plus Pharmacy and parted with about 2000 naira in exchange for a bottle of Almond Oil and a bottle of Natur Vital Sage Conditioner. I know I had just bought a new conditioner like 2 days before that but I'd explain why I bought this Natur Vital version.

Next day, I broke the cocoa pod just like the woman said to do. Threw it on hard ground while wrapped in a nylon bag and it easily split in two. Upon opening the pod, it revealed about 30 or so seeds covered in white succulent juice. I looked inside to see if I would find some butter but other than the seeds, all that was left was a hard interior. I then went on Google and searched. Google Google on the Web, where is the butter? Well, it would seem that the butter is actually gotten from the seeds. The seeds are dried and fermented and the butter is extracted. Oh well. If there was no butter, those seeds needed some licking! I dug in.

 

The taste was so nice. Very little anything to use to compare it. It tasted nothing like chocolate. I thought it would but my research revealed that all those chocolatey taste, smell, colour all come from the seeds after drying and extracting. If you see anyone selling these, please buy it. Everyone needs to know what cocoa seeds taste like. Weird that it's not commonly seen in Lagos even as it is widely grown in the South-West.

Pocketful of sunshine

As for the almond oil, I know I've been buying a lot of oils lately but I felt I needed this one. Almond oil is really good as a carrier oil for the hair as it is a good sealant and good for hair growth and thickening hair ;). I wanted to get some Jojoba oil too but it cost N4300! I did a quick 180degrees.



200ml/N1200

You have probably only heard of Sweet Almond Oil as being good for hair. Well, this Almond Oil is the same as Sweet Almond Oil. Here's how you can tell the difference. If it's a carrier oil or oil in a big carrier oil sized bottle labelled 'Almond Oil', it is the Sweet Almond Oil. Where you find it as an essential oil though, that is Bitter Almond Oil. Sweet Almond Oil is the carrier oil while Bitter Almond Oil is an essential oil. No need to fret when you see just plain 'Almond Oil'. :)

 

When I bought the Natur Vital Sage Conditioner, I was actually looking for a good leave-in and then my eyes caught this. I've always known Natur Vital as my mum is a loyal customer and they are known for using natural ingredients for their products. I remember the one time I wanted to buy the Shampoo though, it had sulfates so I never went near it after that. This time though, I discovered that this particular conditioner had no silicones or parabens or colourants or preservatives or mineral oil in its ingredients but even boasted to containing "100% organically grown Ginseng and Sage extracts". I was sold at that point.

N880

[click for a closer view]

 

So, I did a quick comparison of both the V05 Tea Therapy Blackberry and Sage Conditioner against the Natur Vital Sage Conditioner. I used the V05 on one half of my hair and the Natur Vital on the other half. Here's a quick review:

 

V05 Tea Therapy Conditioner:

• Smelled AMAZING! Blackberries.
• Had lots of slip
• Detangling was a breeze
• My hair still smelled of blackberries after rinsing out.
• Light conditioner. A bit watery.
• My hair was left soft afterwards
• Contains sage which is very good for scalp health and hair growth

 

Natur Vital Sage Conditioner:

• No striking scent
• Really thick consistency
• A little went a long way
• Gave good slip
• Its thickness makes it good for deep conditioning
• My hair was left soft afterwards
• Contains certified organic sage which is very good for scalp health and hair growth

My verdict: Both are fantastic! I'm glad I own them. The scales tilt a little more towards the Natur Vital for me though because of its thickness and more natural contents.

 

As for my oils! (Bet you thought this post had ended, yeah? Don't be lazy!) Remember I got the Haitian Organic Castor Oil, Grapeseed Oil and Organix Argan Oil some time ago? Well, I tried them all out.

 

Organix Argan Oil: Contains cones. In fact, those cones are the first 3 items before you get to the Argan Oil itself on the ingredients section. Because of these, I haven't really opened my heart towards this. But I did notice a bit of softness to my hair whenever I used it. Smells nice. I wouldn't use it often. Because of the fear of build up, I washed my hair more often.

 

Grapeseed Oil: Of all the oils I bought, I expected the most out of this and found it to be somewhat disappointing. My biggest frustration with it? It's too light! It's so light that you need a lot. A bit annoying as I bought a small quantity of it, 2oz. And even after putting what you feel is a lot, you still feel like you don't have oil in your hair. It hardly locked up any moisture for me. And surprisingly, whenever I used it, my hair super itched! This surprised me greatly as I thought it was supposed to do the reverse and it was mixed with tea tree oil. Smh. Too poor. I later found that Grapeseed oil is suitable for people with fine hair. Only means I don't have fine hair.

 

Haitian Castor Oil: This seems to hold the most promise. It claims to be organic unrefined castor oil. It is refreshingly thick especially when you're coming from the water that is Grapeseed oil. I usually put Castor oil on my scalp as it is heavy on my hair most times but with this oil, I decided to put it on my hair. It made my coils pop! So exciting! I loved it. And the softness it gave to my hair... It's a winner. I'm still applying it to my edges though with the hope that it'll do a miracle.

 

My verdict: Yes, Haitian Castor Oil, Yes!!!

So, after the test of my 2 new conditioners, I did a combination of all my oils and made twist-outs in my hair. I unravelled the twist outs on Monday morning and I had my first perfect twist-outs! I couldn't believe it! Something is finally working and I'm so glad. Not only that, I had never seen my hair have such incredible softness. I used to think my hair was soft. Now, I know it wasn't. My hair was left tangle-free too which I never have after my unsuccessful twist-outs. Amen to whatever did the magic (this includes my 2 new conditioners and my too many oils). I tried uploading the pictures but they're particularly heavy and my internet was suffering. Will do in some later posts. But still, this was how I felt after my twist-outs.

I have definitely seen the light [source]

 

I know. Long post. Don't complain. You should read more. :P

 

Ciao!

Stay beautiful and seek out cocoa!

 

Oils to Smooth the Grind...and Itch!

Hi guys,

 

I'm so excited about the new additions I've made to my hair products collection. I got some new oils courtesy Twentysix85 some days back and I'm impatient as to seeing the results. I bought the Grapeseed Oil, Haitian Castor Oil and Organix Moroccan Argan Oil.

 

For a while now, I've been trying to get my hands on any essential oil especially Tea tree oil as I heard it is really good dandruff and I have always suffered from that. Luckily, on Sunday, I strolled into a HealthPlus pharmacy and discovered a wide array of carrier oils and essential oils. Honestly, it was like oil heaven. I couldn't believe such a place was so close all this while! As I had already made an order of oils from Twentysix85, I didn't want to overdo on the spending. I bought Tea Tree Oil and the pharmacist on ground even helped me further by selecting one from an organic range of essential oils! I probably should take my camera there one of these days and show you guys all the wonderful oils they have on display.

 

Tisserand Organic Tea Tree Oil

 

I have said a couple of times here that I love using coconut oil for my hair as it is very agreeable with my hair. Well, I am going to have to cut out coconut oil and shea butter for a while. The reason is because I suffer from scalp eczema. I guess it was inevitable that I was going to get some scalp eczema as I am always battling dandruff (eczema is caused by the same fungus that causes dandruff). I have found out that coconut oil, shea butter and olive oil fuel scalp eczema. Add castor oil to that mix. Those who have read about my regimen know that those are all I use! You can read about scalp eczema on Natural Haven's blog here. When I see it on my scalp now, I just sigh. I have battled eczema since I was a kid. FYI eczema is a skin allergy and most times, hereditary. Mine's definitely hereditary. Everyone on my mother's side is saddled with it. There is probably nothing that I haven't used to treat it. And I always found that if I used something that worked for it, after some time of consistent use, my body grew resistant against it. I really don't want to have that battle with my scalp too.

 

The last time I had scalp eczema some months ago, I used Damatol. I was well aware that it had lanolin and mineral oil but I was desperate enough to use it. It worked. But now, I don't think I want to do that and set myself back again. So, I've decided that since Tea Tree Oil is well acclaimed to be good for dandruff, then it'll work for scalp eczema. I know that Natural Haven said one should stop all natural oils but I can't really see myself doing that. How else am I expected to lock in all that moisture? So, I'm switching to my new Grapeseed Oil mixed with Tea Tree Oil. Grapeseed Oil is known for its moisturising and conditioning properties. It is a hair loss remedy and also aids in the relief of dandruff and is absorbed into the scalp. Perfect, eh?

 

I am also stubborn enough to use the Haitian Castor Oil mixed with Tea Tree Oil. I will update you guys on the results.

 

Haitian Castor oil 4oz/118ml



Grapeseed Oil 2oz/59ml

 

 

I was a bit let down with the Organix Moroccan Argan Oil when it arrived. I actually thought it was the real pure stuff. Whereas, this came with several things mixed in. More concerning was the fact that it contained cones :(. I have always avoided silicone products whenever I am shopping for hair products. I read that they're bad and cause build up on your hair so I stay away. I don't particularly know if my hair hates them. You can read about the effect of cones on your hair here. Well, the good people at Twentysix85 assured me that hair is relative and encouraged me to try it out before discrediting it. So I'm going to try out the Organix Argan Oil for a while and see how my hair responds to it.

 

 

I fear I may have rambled on for too long. This post was supposed to be very brief. Laters people!