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| Guess who went ape-shit crazy? |
So I bought a pair of shoes from Primark in Leicester (best Primark I have ever been to!) and they were on sale for £6, when I got home in London and tried them on, they did not fit. At all. Come Monday I decided to take to shoes back get a refund in Peckham and buy castor oil instead. Lets just say from the picture above that I did not stick to that £6 budget!
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| Jojoba, Castor and Argan oil |
I literally screamed when I found these bad boys especially the Jojoba and Argan! I have been wanting them for ages! Jojoba is extra special because this oil is the closest to the natural oils that we secrete. It also penetrates the hair shaft and is great as a conditioner, it is antibacterial, moisturizing and helps new hair growth. And it is great for the skin as well, it has so msny more benefits. And best of all it was £3.49.
Castor oil is what my mum used to use when I was growing up and I had the longest hair ever! I personally think this oil stimulates the scalp and therefore hair grows much quicker and thicker. I have broken a comb or two trying to comb out the hair that has grown whilst my use of castor oil. This stuff truly works. It works so well everytime I go out to Peckham for supplies none of the stores have it, it is always sold out. I go to the same shop and the manager hides away one bottle for me, and the price for £1.99 is a bargain.
Argan (Moroccan oil) has been talked about non stop due to the "Moroccan oil" brand, which is packed to the brim with silicones and at £30 for a 100ml bottle, me no thinks so. And when I saw this little beauty I was so happy, Argan oil had ridiculously high levels of Vitamin E, fatty acid,Omega 6 and phytosterols (ah-mazing when it comes to healing scars, ezcema, stretch marks, acne and wrinkles), my hair after using this dried in about 2 and a half hours, no hair dryer( it died 3 months ago and I am not bothered enough to buy a new one), it is a over all great oil and I can wait for the strengthening effects to kick in. For 150ml of pure Argan oil ( and almond oil as a carrier oil, I checked the back for the ingredient list, always) the price is just wonderful, £5.49
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| Sweet almond oil and Glycerine |
I love sweet almond oil! I use this on my face every night as it is great for dealing with hyperpigmentation, after shaving, it has reduced, nope eliminated ingrown hairs, I add it to my body butters for extra moisture especially now in cold weather. It is packed with fatty acid and vitamins, helps to protect against free radicals. Its just so lovely, and only £1.99 for 250ml, I will forever repurchase this oil. I love it that much.
Glycerin is usually the second or third ingredient is good hair products, why because it is an extremelly excellect humectant, it attracts water to itself. And it is more stable with water present, meaning that under no circumstances (unless high amounts of energy) is glycerin letting go of water resulting in hair being moisturized! Oh look, my Human Biology degree is being put to use! And natural hair treated with glycerin is resistant to premature breakage, relaxed hair isn't though. I bookmarked this old post from my favourite natural hair
blog, she explains the science behind it all. Price is £1.99 for 250 ml
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| Organic Root Stimulator Smooth n Hold Pudding and Coconut oil |
I have been using this for a week and I am in love with this pudding! I luuuuuuurv. I tie my hair up daily in a bun and this has been such a great help especially when I have university lectures in the morning. Organic root stimulator smooth n hold pudding for starters smells lovely, like fresh cut cucumbers, it is light in texture almost like a whipped body butter. It feels just like a body butter and most importantly for me is that even though ORS say that is is a moisturising gel it does NOT feel like a gel. I would not touch this with a stick if it made my hair feel like a gel, you know that hard, stiffness, "dry-ish-ness", that plain gel nasty-ness! It is ridiculously soft, mega soft, no complaints on this baby. My hair is moisturised, looks shiny and healthy is sooooo manageable! I get a perfect bun in 5-8 mins which for me is an accomplishment on the scale of Nobel. The pudding does not flake at all and contains no alcohol. The ingredient list is pretty decent with water and coconut oil and the first two then Mineral oil, which is okay if added after hair has been moisturised as it coats the hair and stops moisture from leaving and entering. Then polyquaternuim-11 that has antistatic properties,holds hairstyles in place and also water binds to it. Gylcerin is fifth and I pretty much stop paying attention after that, it has avocado, almond, olive and jojoba oil present. I would strongly advise everyone, relaxed, natural or tex-laxed to buy this bad boy of a pudding. And for £2.49 for 368g of product I am definitely repurchasing this tub of MacLoving.
My last oil was coconut, if oils were musicians, coconut would be Beyonce. Why? Because she is King B (guess who is a fan?) Coconut oil helps with over all hair health because it penetrates the cortex and shaft. It reduces the amount of protein lost in hair, and protein results in stronger hair which is equal to less breakage and over all longer, healthier hair. It eliminates dandruff and gets rid of lice and lice eggs. It is high in Vitamin E and K and fatty acids that protects hair form microbial action which is the number one reason as to why we have hair loss. It has a high moisture retaining capacity which means it does not let moisture escape the hair and hair therefore moisturised and soft. The secret to longer and healthier black hair is getting the protein and moisture balance right and this oil does both. This oil is a conditioning, moisturising and strengthening oil and if there is an oil to start with this is it. This 500ml tub of coconut oil was £1.79
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| Africare Oil Moisturiser |
Ok, so I have a confession to make, since my big chop I have been using a certain moisturiser that I was in love with, we were happy, It did what I wanted and needed but a couple of months ago I realised that the texture of my hair was getting straighter and straighter. I know it could be due to my constant brushing in the same direction but you know, I will probably have to cut it all off again. So I ditched it, and bought this little hunk a dunk. I have not used it before but I have heard good things about the brand plus the ingredient list was rather enticing, the amount of protein would be beneficial for my ends which are straight as a bone! They aren't damaged, pretty thick and healthy actually, hence the need to extra protein from the moisturiser just to make sure they don't break off. This is for my ends really, and it was £4.99 for 236ml
Ingredients: Aqua, Carnation Oil, Propylene, Glycol, Pineapple Extract, Hydrolysed collagen, Hydrolysed Wheat Protein, Petrolatum, Jojoba Oil, Emulsifying Wax, Glycerol Monstrate, Methyl Paraben, Propyl Paraben, DMDM Hydention, FD&C Yellow#5, FD&C Yellow#6, Fragrance.
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| 200 bobby pins. |
I popped into the pound store got these, 200 booby pins for a pound. I cannot stress how important these are especially if you tie your hair up or need to bush it daily. They eliminate the need to over brush the ends of hair, and thus leaving for ends to grow and resulting in less breakage. When I tie my hair up I have a few stray hairs on my sides, you know near the bun instead of brushing them till they lie flat, I stick a pin in and job done. Ends protected.
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| Pack of shower caps and ok, I have completely blanked out as what to call them! |
I call them hair bands, they were a pound from Primak and notice how they do not have mettallic clips? Those clips break hair off like crazy, they damage the hair everytime they are used. So it is better and ultimately cheaper( 30 for a pound) to buy the ones with no metal bits on them. Shower caps were from the pound store and they are a pack of three. It is winter here so there is going to be a lot of deep conditioning going on. A lot!
By the way this is my 100th post!
