Review: Burt's Bees Avocado Butter Pre-Shampoo

I learned about this amazing product from my aunt who actually gave this to me before I left St. Thomas. Although I am familiar with Burt's Bees products, variety was hard to come by where I lived. Therefore, I had no prior knowledge about this pre-poo until I received it from her. 

Little did I know that this would become a staple in my hair care collection. I'm slowly starting to realize that avocado may be essential to my own regimen, which I'll discuss in another post. I have yet to fully test that theory, but I am convinced so far.

The Burt's Bees Avocado Butter Pre-Shampoo Hair Treatment (with Nettles and Rosemary) is 99.33% natural and promises to restore your dry or damaged hair. 

Because I detangle while pre-pooing, this product makes it easy for the comb to glide through my hair and ensure a frustration-free wash day. You guys already know how to pre-poo, however, you can also use this product to style your hair.

What's the Hype?

This pre-poo has eight nourishing, vitamin-rich oils that aid in manageability and add shine to your curls. They include: 

• Avocado oil
• Olive oil
• Sweet almond oil
• Citrus rind oil
• Oat oil
• Chlorophyll oil 
• Vegetable oil
• Rosemary leaf oil

Other ingredients are vegetable glycerin, oat flour, lanolin (helps trap moisture), nettle leaf powder, quillaja extract (bark from the soapbark plant; reduces itchiness and hair thinning), Tocopherol (Vitamin E) and some fragrance.

The texture is quite interesting as well. I assumed that this product would be creamy because of its name, but when you use it, it has more of a runny, glossy texture. 

Have I convinced you yet? If not, good. It's time to consider the pros and cons.

Pros

• You can actually read and understand what the ingredients are. It's hard to come by high-quality hair products that are 99% natural. 
• The online price average ranges from $8.99 to $9.99 according to Target, Walmart, and of course, the official Burt's Bees website. 
• The packaging is made from 42% post-consumer recycled plastic. 
• Animal lover or not, you'll be happy to know that this product has not been tested on animals. 
• The fragrance is light and smells mildly of citrus and natural oils.
• The tube is thin and easy to travel with.
• It makes my hair feel super soft, strong and luminous long after the wash is over.
• Not that it's a curl defining product, but this pre-poo defines my curls nicely. 💁🏽‍♀️

Cons

• Tube only contains 4.34 ounces or 123 grams of product, which if you're heavy handed like most naturals are, this will not last more than four to five washes.
• It runs a bit too quickly even after you stop squeezing the tube, which can become very messy.

So, what's the verdict? I give Burt's Bees Avocado Butter Pre-Shampoo Hair Treatment...

And there you have it! A natural, budget-friendly pre-poo that can be a healthy addition to your natural hair regimen. 

By the way, this product is not sponsored at all. I just like reviewing products I already own so you will be seeing a lot more of these. Let me know if you would try this product and don't forget to follow me on social media, which you'll see on the left below the About Me. 

Until next time!

Tips and Tricks for a Smoother Wash Day

Wash days can sometimes turn into one to two-day events if you're a natural girl. Hours are spent on detangling and doing pre-wash treatments even before the main wash. Add in deep conditioning treatments, protein treatments or some other treatment you saw someone doing on YouTube in addition to styling. And before you know it, you find yourself toiling away until the day is gone.

You know that all the work that you put in will be worth it in the end, but can wash days go by quicker without having to sacrifice your favorite treatment? They absolutely can!

Every wash day is different depending on what may be going on in your life. That's why I've gathered some helpful tips from across the internet as well as a few of my own that I use on every wash day.

Before and After the Wash

Schedule hair routines on a weekly or monthly basis so you know what to expect next wash day. For example, if your wash days are usually on Sunday, plan all of your wash days for every Sunday that month.

Wash your combs and brushes at least once a month so they'll be nice clean when you're ready to use them again.

Detangle while pre-pooing. Instead of doing one before the other, kill two birds with one stone.

Speaking of detangling, warm your spray bottle of water or aloe vera juice before use in a bowl of hot water. You can do this with hot oil treatments as well.

Get reusable shower caps for your treatments. This is much better than using disposable shower caps that are only good for one or two uses.

Streaming shows can be a great way to pass the time while you style your hair, greasy fingers can put a damper in your viewing pleasure. I tend to use a stylus if I ever need to jump between apps.

Get More Use Out of Something You Might Have at Home

Use a T-shirt you no longer wear to dry your hair. It's gentler on your hair than a towel and it stays on your head much better (trust me).

Now, this is my favorite trick that I came up with. If you happen to have a cheap tablecloth lying around, spread it across the floor and sit or stand on it while you detangle or style your hair. This will make cleaning up a breeze! 😁

If you don't have a sink plug but there's saran wrap in your kitchen, line the drain with a layer or two to catch shed hair as it falls. 

You can also use saran wrap to keep oil from dripping down your forehead and neck during a hot oil treatment.

Dr. Bronner's 18-in-1 Hemp Peppermint Pure Castille Soap has been a staple for many of my relatives for as long as I can remember. If you already own this product, you know that it can be used for a multitude of household tasks, as well as a shampoo. I personally use this as a clarifying shampoo.

For your little naturalistas, you can use one of their pool noodles as a neck support if you wash their hair in the kitchen sink. I found this tip on the blog Sherry's Life.

I hope this post was helpful if you've been looking for some ways to make the dreaded wash day a little more bearable. Let me know if this helped you in any way and I hope you enjoyed reading. 

Have an awesome Hump Day!

The Mane Choice: Hair Butter Review

Hair butters provide some of the easiest ways to add moisture to your hair. They are very rich and because they are heavier than oils, those with the curliest textures can benefit greatly. I first discovered The Mane Choice products around last year, with some reviews swirling around YouTube and inevitably disappearing from the shelves at my local Walgreens.

I purchased The Mane Choice Doesn't Get Much "BUTTER" Than This Daily Hair Dressing because I craved a moisture-rich product other than a leave-in conditioner. My hair tends to dry out quickly and I believed that I'd found my solution.

So, What's The Hype About?

This product promises to nourish, soften and add shine to your hair. It's full of the good stuff like shea butter, coconut oil, and castor seed oil. However, there are plenty of other lesser-known butters and oils that are equally, if not better for your hair. The butters include Carrot, Broccoli, Mango Seed, and Avocado. Oils include Sunflower Seed oil and Orange Seed oil. 

If you prefer a more natural hair butter without having to buy individual butters to mix together, this one is perfect. This particular product also has Vitamin D, A, and E.

The Butters: What Are Their Benefits?

Carrot Butter: 

• Contains beta-carotene (which our bodies convert into Retinol aka Vitamin A)
• Regenerates skin
• Balances Moisture

Brocolli Butter

• Strengthens hair at the roots
• Contains Erucic acid, which helps with luster and shine
• Prevents hair loss
• Promotes hair growth

Mango Seed Butter

• Very moisturizing
• Has high levels of saturated and monosaturated fatty acids
• Regenerates the scalp and skin
• Provides the necessary environment for hair growth
• Protects against UV rays

Avocado Butter

• Seals and retains moisture
• Packed with vitamins and minerals that provide nourishment
• Effectively penetrates the hair cuticle better than oils because of its large amounts of saturated and monosaturated fats

The Oils

Sunflower Seed Oil 

• Eliminates frizz
• Is an emollient, which helps to lock in and retain moisture
• Very lightweight, and easily penetrates the hair
• High in oleic acids that prevent hair from becoming brittle

Orange Seed Oil

• Enhances blood circulation
• Rich in Vitamin C
• Conditions the hair and skin
• Blends well with other oils

Before you run to the nearest drugstore to buy this product, consider that even if you shared the same texture and curl pattern with me, our hair is not the same. What may work perfectly for one person's hair type can work differently, for better or for worse, with another person's hair type. 

After using this product for quite some time, here is a summary of the pros and cons of what this product did for my particular texture.

👍 It's very smooth and rich. Helps seal in and retain moisture for at least a week after first application. The texture is soft and quickly melts into the hands. It smells like citrus and makes your hair smell fresh, which most definitely comes from the Orange Seed oil. It can be added to enhance a deep conditioning treatment. Pretty much all of the ingredients are natural and this product is not tested on animals.

👎 It doesn't have much slip (for my hair at least) and doesn't define my curls as well as other moisturizing products I own. It's a bit on the pricey side. It retails for around $15.oo and cost me $18.00 at my local Walgreens.

No product is absolutely perfect but if I had to rate this one, I would give The Mane Choice Doesn't Get Much "BUTTER" Than This Daily Hair Dressing...

 If you already own this product, let me know how it works for you. Thanks for reading and have an awesome Tuesday!

Breaking Out of My Natural Hair Shell

The original purpose of going back natural was having the freedom to do endless hairstyles. As I went through my transitioning stage, I remember looking forward to learning how to cornrow, flat twisting, and even attempting box braids. As I've adjusted to a year post-big chop, I have also wavered in my routine. Because of my intense hair care regimen, which I brought entirely upon myself, it seemed easier to twist my hair and leave it for weeks at a time while wearing headwraps whenever I left the house. 

Admittedly, I've also been hesitant to experiment with my hair. I knew that experimenting with new styles would take hours of practice and at the time, I was not ready to take on such an intimidating prospect. But I was growing sick of wearing headwraps, especially once summertime came around. Also, I reminded myself of why I started this journey. I began by practicing chunky cornrows on myself. They were not perfect, but I was glad that I was able to complete a simple style in less than 10 minutes. As I gained more confidence in my growing skills, it encouraged me to mix things up a little. 

One of my favorite styling methods became flat twisting. Not only was it easier than doing cornrows for me, but it enabled me to create simple styles that I could easily refresh. I also played around with elastic band styles whenever I did not feel like spending too much time on a hairstyle. 

Another easy style I did was cheating a halo braid using elastic bands. This style was something that I came across on a YouTube channel called Sekora and Sefari. If you don't know this channel, it's run by a mother who does lots of adorable hairstyles for her two daughters. Although the style was done on a child, halo braids are suitable for anyone no matter their age. If you would like to try this regal yet easy hairstyle you can check it out here. I am by no means an expert at parting, and parting my hair took several hours. But I did not give up because I knew that the results would be amazing. This was the result. 😍

I utilized some of my hairstyles to benefit the health of my hair as well. My hairline is notorious for growing very slowly. Lately, I've been trying to grow out my edges in hopes that they will eventually catch up to the rest of my hair. If you've ever searched how to care for your edges, the usual answer is to avoid manipulating them. However, I recently discovered how to flat twist my edges in a way that actually helped them to grow.

Back in the summer when it seemed like everyone was wearing Ethiopian and Eritrean inspired braids, I adjusted the various hairstyles to suit my skills and the health of my hair. Because I did these styles by myself, they were not as intricate as the gorgeous styles below.

In any case, my method was loosely based on their standout details and resulted in another round of simple flat twist styles. 

As you can see, my hair is kept in two buns most of the time. This sounds silly but before the summer, I was slightly terrified of styling my hair into two buns because I was afraid that it made me look even younger than I wanted to. This is coming from a 23-year-old who is dwarfed by middle schoolers on the regular. However, I slowly began to not care and learned to embrace wearing my two buns. They were cute and they were the best option when it came to keeping my hair tamed. As for the flat twists in the front, I avoided twisting too tight and as a result, my edges began to grow faster and stronger.

I experimented with a twist-out for the first time as well. In the picture above I used EcoStyler Gel, which you will see details about in an upcoming post. A journey is never really done, is what I've learned for the past few months. It's constant and the things you take with you are always of some use even if the lesson is over. Although this wasn't a long post, I hope you enjoyed reading. Have a great week, guys and don't forget to find me on Twitter!

Life Update: Hurricanes and Other Major Changes

Happy New Year, guys and welcome back to my blog! Quite a lot has changed since the summer and I'm excited to bring more content to you all. While the purpose of this blog is to document my natural hair journey, you know that there are other topics that I share as well. To be honest, I have been suffering from what I refer to as "chronic" Writer's Block since I've finished high school. I've just been lost on how I want to present my content and it really became a challenge. I used to write fictional stories as a hobby, and while I still write drafts to this day, I haven't found the right way to improve them even for amateur publishing. Ideas are always swirling in my mind and there's so much possibilities, but for now I'll focus on what I need to do to improve Hair, Health & Heart. 

Now, as for my hair, it has obviously grown since I last posted, but that wasn't the only major, major change that has happened. As you guys know, I've been living in St. Thomas (the US Virgin Islands) for almost six years. August is when hurricane season begins and, well... The images below speak for themselves.

Our small islands and the rest of the Caribbean was hit by not one, but two Category 5 hurricanes in September. While I had experienced milder hurricanes as a child, nothing prepared me or anyone else for Hurricanes Irma and Maria, or "IrMaria", as people at home call them. These were not my first monster hurricanes, however I don't count that as my experience, as I was only a sleeping baby when Hurricane Marilyn threatened to blow in the walls my relatives literally held up in 1995.

We did all we could to prepare in the days leading up to the event, while Irma was pounding on islands like St. Maarten and Barbuda. As the storm grew stronger and got closer to us, we realized that our lives were seriously at risk. Personally, I did not feel much, to be honest. Although I deal with anxiety on a daily basis, I remember not feeling scared at all. I think I'd already accepted what was meant to be and just focused on helping prepare the house and securing everything. However, my sister and I did decide to pack evacuation bags, "just in case".

On Wednesday September 6, the winds began to pick up, and the power was shut off in advance. Luckily, my sister and I filled two new large trash bins with water in case we needed to bathe or brush our teeth. With flashlights, fully charged devices and important documents secured, we locked the hurricane shutters around our windows and the glass door, sat in the dark and waited. Sometime after 12:00 as I set up my safe spot for the day, I heard my aunts and grandmother rushing to the kitchen to look out the window. The storm had barely started yet the first winds were strong enough to knock down the mango tree that stood above our backyard. 

Luckily only the branches, and not the trunk itself, fell on our roof. Interestingly, it gave me some relief because the fallen tree had provided somewhat more coverage to the back of the house, where me and my sister's bedroom was located. After 2:00 pm was when we felt the true force of Hurricane Irma. The house groaned, water leaked under the doors and our ears popped from the pressure. I remained in the dining room away from the windows and the GLASS door. I did not care that there was a shutter preventing it from blowing in. I was convinced that it would happen. However, my usual anxiety did not kick in all the way. I just watched some downloaded shows and stayed alert. Perhaps I was in survival mode. I wasn't too sure. 

The winds kept the same strength until I began to get unbearably sleepy around 4:00. Because I wasn't willing to sleep in my bedroom surrounded by windows, I took a toy basketball pump and one of the air mattresses my niece and nephews used whenever they slept over, and spent the next two and a half hours inflating it by hand. By the time I finished, the winds remained unwavering but I was aching for sleep. I remember dozing off in the hard dining room chair until the strong winds started to die down sometime after 6:00. That was when I felt secure enough to carry the little mattress to my bedroom, place it on the floor away from the windows, and slept.

The sound of my neighbors calling out and branches being chopped was the first thing I heard when I woke up around 6:00 in the morning. I went straight to the porch to find my sister, aunts and grandmother already surveying the destruction around us. There were pieces of leaves splattered across the hurricane shutters and the floor of the porch. 

My first glimpse of the destruction was when I looked to my left I saw the telephone pole leaning precariously against the power lines of another pole. 

Below on the street, the neighbor who lived across from us pulled a large branch out of the street before chopping it with his cutlass. The neighbor two houses left of our house had lost his roof. So did a neighbor's house on the street below. Interestingly, all of the cars on our street were unscathed, all windshields and mirrors intact. 

What really stood out to me was how bare the trees were after the leaves were ripped away, almost as if it was winter. I saw many houses that I had never seen before, because they were once covered by lush greens and trees. The mountains were a mixture of brown and green.

We even saw a little bit of the ocean from where we stood on the porch, which had been transformed into the most unique shade of light blue. It was the same gorgeous shade of blue that appeared after every hurricane. I began to take pictures of the aftermath, eager to share with my relatives what we had just survived, and to find out if they had survived as well. However, cell service was knocked out, so I couldn't even contact my other relatives on the island or my mother and brother who lived in Massachusetts. The first wave of relief came when my two sisters arrived after walking down the hill from their mother's house. We hugged and shared pictures of the damage from each other's point of view. I asked about my young niece and nephews, concerned as to how they coped during the storm. Even in a category 5 hurricane, those kids did not care what was going on as long as they were able to play on their tablet (until its battery died). I was so glad that they were okay. 

For the rest of the day we picked up the pieces and checked to see what was working and what wasn't. Thankfully, because we had a gas stove, we were able to use the stove top and have hot food. Our running water returned the day after, and I was thankful that I could at least flush the toilet and take a proper shower. But I was still not at ease because none of us could contact loved ones on the mainland to let them know that we were okay. I just knew that my Facebook feed was blowing up with concerned statuses of our relatives desperate to hear from each other. It was about two days before we were able to send and receive short messages. The service, albeit horrible, came in and out just enough so that we were able to catch a glimpse of the outside world.

Although I knew what to expect during the storm, nothing could prepare us for the struggle the aftermath brought. Our new normal became waiting hours in lines under the hot sun to get ice, which usually ran out by the time it was our turn. Driving from ATM to ATM in search of cash only to find out that they were empty. Standing in more lines and taking numbers just to go into the grocery store, because a certain amount of people were allowed in at a time. Eating dozens of cans of soup, crackers, skittles; taking ice cold showers; charging our devices on whatever working outlet we could get our hands on, and changing the batteries in our flashlights every other day became our new routine. Many people left on the mercy ships that were en route to the mainland, but I personally was content with staying home, no matter what challenges each day brought. 

And just when we thought that we could start rebuilding our island, the broadcast on our battery powered radio reported that another potentially dangerous storm named Maria, was building in strength quite similarly to Hurricane Irma. I literally felt the desperation in the air, as if everyone was saying, "Haven't we suffered enough?" We were only a month into hurricane season, and had two and a half months to go until it was over. In the days following the broadcast, reports of a Hurricane José were announced and we really began to feel defeated. But like we did before, we accepted what was going to be and prepared for the worst, again. 

Hurricane Maria felt the same as Irma, however the winds seemingly went on longer, perhaps because the full force of the storm hit after 6:00 in the evening. There was more water with that storm, as we discovered during the night. We spent at least two hours frantically mopping by the front door and the kitchen door, and placing down old towels to slow down the water that quickly crept in. Then, I re-inflated that little mattress until 3:00 in the morning and slept for a long time. The storms claimed the lives of four people, and caused many more injuries. As we made adjustments to our routine post-Maria, I felt envy for those who had generators, and my stomach ached for real food. While I appreciated the care packages that my aunts received from their jobs, or the bucket of supplies the Red Cross gave to us on the street, life began to feel very difficult. The heat, the mosquitoes, and having to sit in the dark every night began to take its toll. 

By early November, my concerns began to revolve around preparing for my next semester in UMass Amherst's online program. I knew that I wanted to begin registering for the spring semester, but how could I do that without power or internet? That was when I came to the most difficult conclusion. As much as I wanted to remain in the warmth and comfort of my home island, I needed to decide what was best for my future and prevent myself from putting off my goals for the sake of keeping familiarity. For weeks I weighed the pros and cons of staying in St. Thomas or returning to Massachusetts. Ultimately, I knew that it made more sense to return to the mainland.

At the same time, things began to get a little easier. My aunt received a free Wi-Fi hotspot that she was told we could keep until our internet returned. We also relied on unlimited data to keep up with current events or entertainment whenever the service was good. I was able to start working again and carried me or my family's devices to charge them. Then, we hosted a couple from my family's church who helped in the relief efforts, and they brought a generator which we were able to use for a few hours each day for about a month. One day the wife gave us a solar lamp that we kept outside all day, and lasted throughout the night. The bug repellent that was so scarce after the storms became readily available, offering temporary relief from the ravenous mosquitoes. People began to get their power restored and the weather slowly began to cool down. Every day felt a little better.

Still, I had not planned to stay on St. Thomas forever. When I finally decided that I was going to return to Massachusetts, it turned out that many around me decided to leave it all behind as well. At the end of October, I said a tearful farewell to my niece, nephews and sister as they departed to start a new life in Missouri. My younger brother left for Kansas. A few old friends, former co-workers, people from my family's church, or random people who I happened to overhear on the street, decided that they had no choice but to move on.

With only a few hundred dollars in my bank account and hopes of a fresh start, I left St. Thomas on December 7. I've been back in Massachusetts for almost a month and have been readjusting to the harsh winter climate (harsh is an understatement...😑). I have seen some relatives and friends and although I've lived on St.Thomas for the past 5 years, it almost doesn't feel like I completely left. I decided that it would be the perfect opportunity to start adding new content to my blog, which you will be seeing every week. With new goals and a new outlook, I am ready to see where Hair, Health & Heart takes me.

What I learned from my recent experiences is that it's easy to forget how simple things can be taken for granted. Things that you might realize toy appreciate until it's gone. 

I hope you guys have an amazing New Year and let's make the most of 2018! Thanks for reading! 😁