This is the most complex movie I ever enjoyed. It’s worth watching two or three times to sort of get what’s going on.

I love Juice Beauty. I started using their skin care products maybe six years ago for acne. I was impressed with the organic line’s results and became a regular client for almost four years. But, because my skin won’t let me use anything for a long period of time, I had to switch and use something else.

Recently I decided to go back to Juice Beauty. It’s been years since I was a regular customer so I think my skin will be okay with my return. I remember when applying Juice Beauty twice daily, I received the most compliments ever on the way I looked. Many people said, “Whatever you are doing, keep doing it,” and that made me feel good.

So, as I was online ordering skin care products I noticed for the first time Juice Beauty’s Juice Organics hair care stuff. I might be a little slow with this because I haven’t been on the site for a while, or I can’t remember seeing it before, but this time around I noticed it and became excited. I ordered PomSmooth shampoo and conditioner for normal, dry and color-treated hair.

The certified organic products are free of: parabens, pesticides, petroleum, phthalates, sulfates, propylene glycol, artificial colors and synthetic fragrances! I’m in love! Here are my thoughts.

This is the amount I used for 2 weeks of heavy product build-up.

The gel-like shampoo lathered nicely right away. There was no scent, oddly, but the shampoo made my hair feel moist. After the wash my hair was soft but felt more moist. There was some shedding but not a lot.

My curls take a lot of conditioner.

This is not enough.

So I added a bit more. Conditioner is important to my hair.

During the second huge heap of conditioner my hair felt very moist, not very soft, only moist if that makes sense. I left the product on for 5 minutes. After rinsing my hair was soft and moist! I was pleased! There was no shedding. I was pleased again.

Overall on a scale of 1 to 5, I give Juice Beauty’s Juice Organics PomSmooth Shampoo and Conditioner, 4 curls.

A 3 is the regular score. I added 1 more point because it is organic with no harsh chemicals. I truly love that!

I would say my $10.00 for each product was nicely spent.

Somebody with their big head better move on! Now I know why those flowers look a little frail.

I am super excited about the herbs planted in the little garden in my back yard. I mainly lived in apartments in New York and never had space to have a garden of any sort. But now I have some space and decided to section off an area to grow fresh herbs.

This was supposed to be my personal project but The Hubs some how took over and purchased and planted everything himself. Check it out.

Provence Lavender

Lavender grows well here in New Mexico and I always enjoy going to the lavender farm and festival during harvest. This season I’ll be able to make lavender oil using lavender from my own garden! How cool is that?!

Funny, at this stage, the plant doesn’t look very much like lavender to me.

Rosemary ‘Arp’

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Rosemary

Two types of Rosemary. I don’t know the difference. The Hubs took over. They look the same to me. Maybe I’ll test the difference with my homemade oil.

Lemon Thyme

German Thyme

The thyme oil I make tastes the best. I use thyme oil on my hair too but mainly I like to eat it.

Garden Sage

Onion Chives

Orange Mint

Thai Basil

Sweet Basil

Curled Parsley

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I wanted to do an experiment using Pantene’s truly NATURAL hair care products with two variations of natural hair. My mom and I have perm-free hair. For a 73-year-old my mom’s curls are loose, soft and very thin. My hair is a little different. It looks thick but is really thin. My curls are tight, dry and the softness depends on the products I use.

Pantene’s new collection of products for natural hair I received included a Clarifying Shampoo, Deep Conditioner and Defining Curls Styling Custard. This product line:

• Has no parabens or dye
• Helps restore moisture while detangling
• Defines natural curls
• Adds shine

So with that I conducted a test to find out how two different natural hair types compared to Pantene’s truly NATURAL hair care products.

My mom’s hair. It’s thin.

Because she had about 3 weeks of product build-up in her hair, a heap of Pantene’s clarifying shampoo was used during the first wash.

She didn’t experience much lather but her curls felt soft and manageable. No hair came out during the wash.

A smaller heap for the second wash.

Lots of lather, softness and she was able to detangle using her fingers.

Amount of Pantene’s deep conditioner used.

The deep conditioner added more softness. Her hair felt extremely conditioned and she was able to detangle using her fingers.

Amount of Defining Curls Styling Custard used on each two-strand twist.

The styling custard stayed in her hair overnight. Mom’s hair is much longer than mine.

The amount of clarifying shampoo I used. The texture of the product was a little watery.

I had 2 weeks of product build-up on my hair and felt the first heap of shampoo did not produce enough lather.

So I added a little more shampoo.

The second heap during my first wash still didn’t produce enough lather.

So I washed my hair a second time.

Loads of thick rich lather appeared during the second wash and my hair felt super soft and conditioned.

The amount of conditioner I used.

I think I need a little more conditioner.

So I added this much more.

The deep conditioner made my hair feel soft, rich, moist and thick. I easily ran my fingers through my hair and no strands came out!

The size of curling custard put on each of my two-strand twists. I always use a lot of product on my dry hair.

My twists stayed in overnight. I was excited to see the results of our hair.

The next day my mom’s hair felt dry and hard. It wasn’t shiny or moist and her hair produced little curl definition. However, she does like the fact that even though her hair was dry, there was absolutely no shedding. That is a big plus for her.

My hair was dry and crunchy but it had great curl definition. The curling custard caused my hair to stick to my scalp. In order to take it apart for styling purposes I had to add a little water to my finger tips to loosen my tresses. Surprisingly I was happy to discover that no hair fell out during this process.

Truly Relaxed and Truly Natural – Two collections From Pantene for healthier hair* no matter what your style.

“Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Pantene via Glam Media.  The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Pantene.”

I can’t tell you how much fun I have been having with Pinterest. This really reminds me of making a “vision board” that gained its popularity through The Laws Of Attraction. Remember that?

If you want to check out more things I am planning to share about myself just, go to “Find Me Here” located on the right side of this blog page, and click “P” for Pinterest.

Follow Me!

Can A Good Exercise Regime Give You Lustrous Locs?

We’re all aware for the need to look after our hair with the right products, selecting the best shampoos, conditioners and treatments to help with style, control and hold. It’s also true that what we eat and the nutrients and vitamins we put into our body can have a drastic effect on the condition and state of our tresses. What’s more interesting to discover is how having a good exercise regime can also benefit our locs and scalp. Sounds interesting? Keep reading.

Certain types of exercise

One of the best ways of getting stronger healthier hair is to encourage the blood supply to the scalp. Once the blood supply is where it needs to be we will develop stronger locs that grow faster and look healthier.

If you’re a person that feels stress and anxiety very easily, then your body is more likely to produce greater amounts of a hormone called Cortisol which comes from the adrenal glands.

Amongst all the other consequences Cortisol can have on your body – thinning, breaking and ultimately hair loss can also be a major side effect. Therefore, choosing exercises that help to stimulate the cardiovascular system can really help to lower levels of Cortisol and get the blood flowing properly once again.

It’s important to choose the right kind of exercise because a superior plan will encourage the body to produce a “feel good” chemical called Serotonin which not only makes you feel happy inside but it will combat the high levels of Cortisol.

Below are different types of exercises to consider:

Walking: This is free to everyone and costs nothing. It’s a low impact aerobic activity that really helps get the blood flowing through the body. Walking can be as gentle or as high impact as you wish. To incorporate walking into your everyday life think about getting off the bus two stops early on your way to work or shopping. Instead of flopping on the sofa after a hard day, take twenty minutes out to walk round the block, breathing deeply and getting fresh air. On weekends plan trips that involve plenty of fresh air and chances to stretch your legs.

Cycling: Another exercise that can be done to either a low or high pace or indoors or outdoors. Cycling offers a fantastic method to release stress and help get blood pumping through the veins in an effective way that is essential for the hair. If there is not a safe place to cycle in your area think about going to the gym to use their exercise bikes or invest in your own and the cycling can be used at home!

Rowing: Choosing an exercise that requires a lot of upper body strength and arm power can also help to get the cardiovascular system working in a better way. This is something that can be done at a gym or outdoors using a kayak or canoe.

It’s important to plan a sensible routine and realize that you need to start gently and work up to gradual fitness to see the best results for your hair. It’s not a good idea to go full pelt if you haven’t worked out in a long time. By doing so may increase your stress levels and your body will try to overcompensate for the hard work you’re doing and this can cause severe hair loss.

Ideally, try to do thirty minutes of cardiovascular exercise, five days a week. If you’re in good shape you can always carefully increase this and if your fitness levels aren’t as high start with twenty minutes and slowly build up.

Exercise can reduce other hormones too

One other major benefit of exercise for hair is that it can effectively reduce another hormone produced within the body, called DHT (Dihydrotestosterone). This hormone is something that affects men’s health as well as women’s and can be responsible for hair loss and thinning as the ageing process takes hold. Periods of moderate exercise such as jogging, walking, swimming and anything aerobic can help to balance this chemical and stop it from being over produced in your systems. The flipside of this is for people who have very intensive exercise plans. They are more likely to experience an over production of DHT which can end up resulting in baldness or the extreme thinning of hair. The key is to keep exercise in moderation so that this hormone is kept well in check.

Combining a good exercise regime with quality hair products and a varied, healthy diet is the best way to ensure that your hair really is your crowning glory.

ObeyYourBody’s® Afriderm™ is a skincare system specially formulated for all shades of dark skin. Women who are Black, Latin, Middle Eastern and Asian will all be able to benefit from this line. Afriderm™ addresses dark spots, oiliness, acne, sensitivity, sun protection and extreme dryness. So with all of my skin issues on their list to improve I couldn’t wait to give it a try.

My package included Afriderm’s™ Peeling Gel that was made to exfoliate and cleanse.

While rubbing the product on my damp face in circular motions I began to notice dead skin being exfoliated away. The Peeling Gel doesn’t offer a bead-like feeling while exfoliating. The feeling was more cloth-like and I liked that. I had to rinse well with warm water in order to remove all of the dead skin from my face. Afterwards my skin looked bright and felt clean and smooth.

Dead skin after exfoliating the back of my hand.

I was also given Afriderm’s™ Body Butter that was designed to heal dry skin.

This product is moist, super thick and creamy rich. After saturating my entire body following a shower my dry tight skin felt as if it could breathe. The moisture and shine lasted until I took it off with another shower later that evening.

I am very pleased with both products. So, with that said, look for YOUR chance to WIN Afriderm™ products by ObeyYourBody® in May on Permed to Natural’s Facebook Fan Page!

Don’t miss out!!

To learn more or to purchase products now click HERE. Enjoy!