Hydrating Invigorating Shampoo(SLS-Free) & Nutrient Replenishing Conditioner

Sorry for the long "post-break", but I went on a nice little trip with my friends (I think I'll never ever forget!). :) 

I took (as many girls all over the world) my beautycase and stuff with me to stay refreshed over the days.

Just a few weeks before the trip was going to start I ordered a new shampoo and a new conditioner, 

both from Jane Carter Solution Homegrown Hair Care. 

I think I used them for three to four weeks now, enough to give you a little review and share my

experiences with the world! ;)

1. price
2. smell
3. cleansing
4. ingredients
5. texture
6. cruelty free? (not animal tested)
7. promises of the product
8. How my hair felt afterwards

1. On the official website (janecartersolution.com) the shampoo (8oz) is 10.00$ and the conditioner

    (8oz) is 13.00$. I ordered the products at Cynthia's Bilss For Curls where the shampoo is 11.00€

    and the conditioner 13.95€.

2. The Hydrating Invigorating Shampoo smells extremly like mint (in the bathroom somebody asked "Who's   using a mint shampoo in here???"). The Conditioner is undefined (I just can't tell). Personally I think

    it smells like those soaps and shower gels you get for free in hotels...whereas my mom was like: "They 

    smell great!" (I don't think they stink, but it's just not mine...;)  )

3. The cleansing effect is extremly great! You need really very little of the shampoo....but looooaaaadddss 

    of the conditioner (at least I needed that!), because the shampoo cleaned my hair and left it dry/strawy...

    So I needed the conditioner to moisture it again, although it didn't hydrate it that well...

    The result is now that the shampoo is almost completly full and the conditioner's empty!

    

4. Hydrating Invigorating Shampoo (SLS-Free): Deionized Water, Extracts of: Aloe Vera, Comfrey, Watercress, Myrrh, Panthenol, Anthemis Noblis Flower (Camomile), Symphytum Officinal Leaf (Comfrey), Equisetum Arvense (Horsetail), Urtica Dioica (Nettle), Rosemarinus Officinalis Leaf (Rosemary) ,Humulus Lupulus (Hops), Lawsonia Inermis (Henna), Certified Organic Essential Oils: Lemon, Vanilla Extract, Polyquarternium11, Soyamid DEA, PPG30, Cetyl Ether, Oleth-3 Phosphate, Hydroxypropyltrimonium hydrolyzed wheat protein, Phenoxyethanol. 

Nutrient Replenishing Conditioner:  Deionized Water, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Glycerin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Ceteareth 20, Extracts of: Green Tea, Sage, Rosemary, Basil, Mullein, Licorice, Thyme, and Vanilla, Certified Organic: Sunflower Oil, Aloe Vera, Jojoba Oil, Lavender Oil, Lemon Oil, Wheat Protein, Wheat Amino Acids, Tocopherol, Lecithin, Panthenol, Caprylic Acid, Glycine, Phenoxyethanol, Potassium Sorbate, Citric Acid, 

All ingredients copied from janecartersolution.com

5. The texture of both products is light and creamy, but the conditioner is a little bit easier to spread onto  your than the shampoo.

6.  Both products are cruelty free (it says so on the bottels).

7. Infuse moisture while gently cleansing your hair and scalp. This SULPHATE FREE shampoo employs  humectants that helps your hair hold more moisture with an added hint of peppermint to wake up your scalp.

(Hydarting Invigorating Shampoo(SLS-Free).

 This product does just what is says … it replenishes. It works especially well when used with heat, leaving your hair in better condition than ever before. There is nothing better than soft, shiny, healthy hair. Nutrient Replenishing Conditioner contains ingredients that permanently bond to your hair’s cortex, leaving it stronger and with greater elasticity. Once in awhile, you come across a product that is truly "the best" -and this conditioner is certainly one of those rare commodities. (Nutrient Replenishing Conditioner)

Plus products claim to be hair color safe!

8. As I said my hair felt strawy and dry. The conditioner didn't make it any better and I'm happy to 

    try another shampoo now! The strong smell of mint wasn't for me and anyway I'd been a bit 

    confused, because "nautral sulphate free" shampoo shouldn't foam up like that....^^

    As you know I've got 3a/b curls, so maybe you're luckier than me! ;) 

 

An Apple A Day Keeps The Doctor Away...

I once took part in a beauty workshop and they told me I had very dry skin. They suggested or they rather talked me into using creams by Dr.R.A. Eckstein. I look up several products on their website and finally
decided to buy the Calendula Cream (a facial cream for daily use) and a Vitamin Packung (a facial pack).
When the products arrived I was a bit confused by the long ingredients list for the firm claims to be
biological (they call themselves "BioKosmetik").
I'm going to tell you a bit more about the products and about my experiences with them.
So here's my little review:

1. smell
2. price
3. ingredients
4. promises
5. reaction of my skin

1. The calendula cream smells a bit like soap, but I don't know how calendula's supposed to smell...
    The vitamin packung has a very light scent. I can't really say what it smells like, but definitely not like
     the calendula cream.

2.  On the official website the vitamin packung costs 9,30€ and the calendula cream is 13,80€.

3.  calendula cream:

Aqua (Water), Lanolin, Olus (Vegetable Oil), Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Decyl Oleate, Cetearyl Ethylhexanoate, Sorbitol, Sorbitan Oleate, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, Hydrogenated Coco Glycerides,
PEG-7 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Stearyl Heptanoate, Magnesium Sulfate, Hydrogenated Castor Oil,
Cera Alba (Beeswax), Cetyl Palmitate, Lanolin Alcohol, Phneoxyethanol, Trihydroxystearin, Stearyl Caprylate, Parfum (Fragrance), Diazolidinyl Urea, Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract, Stearic Acid,
Methylparaben, Ethylparaben, Propyparaben, Linalool, Tocopherol, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Benzyl Alcohol,
Geraniol, Benzyl Salicylate, Riboflavin, Isoeugenol, Hexyl Cinnamal, Hydroxyisohexyl 3-Cyclohexene
Carboxaldehyde, Alpha Methyl Ionone, Eugenol, Benzyl Benzoate, Limonene, Cinnamyl Alcohol,
Amyl Cinnamal, Butylphenyl Methylpropional.

vitamin packung:

Aqua (Water), Olus (Vegetable Oil), Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Steareth-7, Stearyl Alcohol, Sorbitol,
Decyl Oleate,Tocopheryl Acetate, Cetearyl Ethylhexaonate, Limonene, Benzophenone-3, Diazolidinyl Urea, Phenoxyethanol, Carbomer, Retinyl Palmitate, Methylparaben, Ethylparaben, Propylparaben,Parfum (Fragrance), Citrus Dulcis (Orange) Oil, Tocopherol, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Alpha Methyl Ionone,
Beta Carotene, Linalool, Citronellol, Citral, Benzyl Alcohol.

4.  The calendula cream says: Light and refreshing cream for young skin; contains riboflavin and extracts of
     calendula.
     The vitamin packung says: nothing ^^

5.  I really believed in this brand and it's products, but I've been deeply disappointet...
     At first my skin stayed relatively normal though it was a bit oily after I applied the cream.
     I used the calednula cream on a dialy basis and the vitamin packung every once in a while like a special
     treatment. The first strange thing which I noticed was that my skin stayed oily the whole day (not oily
     like when you have oily skin, but like it was alittle bit too much). I thought the cream was for dry skin and
     didn't care about it. But when my skin started to grow little spots all over my face (they were really tiny
     not like all these "normal" spots) and my eyes got red and swollen....
     The problem was that I started to use many different and new products at the same time, so I didn't
     know which was the cause!
     I looked all the ingredients up on the internet and read different reviews on each product.
     The result was that I discovered that both of these products contain "diazolidinyl urea" which is a
     formaldehyd-releaser!! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diazolidinyl_urea)
     As you may know: formaldehyd can cause cancer!!
     I immediately stopped using those products and I was right: my eyes weren't swollen anymore and my
     skin started to look normal again.
     Another negative point is that you can't look up the ingredients on the official website!
     Nevertheless the wrapping is nice and looks professional.
     In the end I'd say with those ingredients the product's not the best and the price therefore is just to high.
     But in the end you'll always have tot try it yourself, 'cause you never know until you try!

     Have a good day!

Henna

I finally found a friend who was willing to be my mannequin (which is rare!) for my henna art!
I let her choose a motive from my file and she picked a tiger which I'd never drawn before and
therefore it was even harder for me, but I did the best I could ;)

awwwwrrrr ;P

I also tried a Rihanna inspired hand-mehndi

This is Riri's tattoo...

...and here's mine!

Because I always have some henna left so I tried myself on several mehndis for the feet (again: thanks to my mannequin friend! ;P ):

The first pic's a cherry-tree branch (I think it has something kinda like an asian touch on it #LOL).            The second's an original mehndi with a little bird in the centre of the foot and flower tendrils around
it. The third and last pic is also an original mehndi (the thing in the middle should be a flower ;P).
P.S.: I did all those without a pattern.

African Nail Art

I recently decided to create some beautiful nails inspired by one of my candles. Hope you like it <3

Looks a bit like zebra-nails...

Georgia Peach Shampoo & Manzanilla Coconut Conditioner

I set up a little rule for myself: I'm going to try different products for my hair and I'm going to use them up instead of (which is mostly the case) throwing them away and buy the old one again.
Even though the product might not be the best!

So this time the product review's gonna be about two products from Curls Of The World:

The "Georgia Peach Shampoo" and...

...the "Manzanilla Coconut Conditioner"

The cirterias were the same as with the Urtekram Rhassoul Shampoo in the post below:

1. price
2. smell
3. cleansing
4. ingredients
5. texture
6. cruelty free? (not animal tested)
7. promises of the product
8. How my hair felt afterwards

1. On the official website from Curls Of The World both products are sold for $10.99.
     I bought the products at a shop called "Cynthia's bliss 4 curls" where both products are 12.90€.

2. The Georgia Peach Shampoo claims to smell like fresh peaches in Georgia. I personally think the smell is 
     kinda unnatural (in my opinion it smells like the dextrose from our local pharmacy...). But if you like
     peaches you'll love this one. ;)
     Here is what it says on the Manzanilla Coconut Conditioner:

     

Manzanilla Coconut is inspired by the serene beauty of the lovely coconut trees that line Manzanilla Beach,         located on the east side of the island of Trinidad. So relax and let the waves of fragrant coconut surround, and   moisturize your curls.

    Yeah it really smells like coconut, afterwards the smell got a bit annoying.

3. At first I thought there'd be no cleansing effect at all! My hair felt creamy and a bit greasy, but as I said
    I followed my rule to use each shampoo up! So I continued using the products. This was only
    "possible", because we curly girls are lucky: Our hair never looks greasy even when it is!!
    So it might felt strange, but nobody would notice 'cause you wouldn't see it!
    But after a while I thought I might be doing something wrong...
    I wrote an e-mail to the shop-owner of "Cynthia's bliss 4 curls" for advice explaining the situation and my
    "hair-care-routine". She advised me to leave on the conditioner for about 20 minutes (previously I rinsed  
    it out after five minutes). I did what she told me and guess what it worked!! My hair felt clean, but not
    strawy clean. I've been following this routine for the rest "of the shampoo" and I've been deeply satisfied
    with it! :)

4. Georgia Peach Shampoo:

 Saponified oils of Avocado, Borage, Castor, Coconut, Evening Primrose, Palm, Sesame, Safflower, Sweet Almond Oil, Aloe Vera Oil, Saponfied butters of Cocoa and Shea.

Vegetable Glycerin, Lavendar Essential Oil, Carrageenan, Xanthan Gum, Potassium Sorbate, Silver Citrate, Natural Fresh Peach Fragance.

    Manzanilla Coconut Conditioner:
  
Aloe Vera Whole Leaf Juice (Organic), Avocado Oil, Citric Acid, DL Panthenol,

Emulsifying wax, Glycerin, Hydrolyzed Oat Protein, Palm Steari Acid, Potassium Sorbate, Safflower Oil, Rosemary Oil, Coconut Oil, Jojoba Oil, Shea Butter, Silk Protein, Silver Citrate, Vitamin E, Water, Wheat Germ Oil and Natural Coconut fragrance oil.

 5. The texture of both productes is fluidly, but still a bit creamy and the colour is white.

6. Yep, both productes are cruelty free!

 

7.  Both products promise you freshness and moisture.

8.  As I said my hair at first felt greasy and creamy, but in the end (with 20 minutes conditioner treatment)
     it felt clean and moisturized!You need to get used to the smell, but that's piece of cake (if it's not too
     strong it doesn't matter if you've found the "perfect shampoo" for you ;P).
     So for my 3a/3b curls this was just what they needed! But I have to say that I've been using
     the "Gypsy Magic Hair Growth Oil", the "Tahitian Bay Leave-In Conditioner" and the "Just The Flax"
     flaxseed-gel after washing (all of these are also from COTW). (but if the shampoo damages your hair   
     even styling products can't hide it!)

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Hey everyone! Here's a story my grand-dad gave to me. It's got a little task underneath and we couldn't
agree on one solution (I know there might be more than one solution ;P), so I'd like to hear what you guys think about it.

One day in October a bear was walking through the woods. He looked up and saw the wild geese flying south; he looked around and saw the leaves falling. There was a chill in the air and he slapped his arms around his body to keep warm. A snowflake fell on his nose. "It's time.", he thought and went to find a warm, cosy cave. He gathered up some leaves and made a soft comfortable bed with them and snuggled up and fell asleep.

It was January when the bears slumbers were disturbed by hammerings and thuddings, the sounds of machines and trees falling. The bear sat up, rubbed his eyes and yawned, turned over and went back to sleep. 

In March the bear awoke and feeling hungry left his cave in search of food. As he came out into the daylight he could hardly believe his eyes. Where trees had once towered up on his doorstep now stood a huge concrete building. The soft musty-smelling earth of the woods had been concreted over. As he stared in wonderment a man came over to him, yelling and gesticulating with his arms. "Come over here, man. Why aren't you working", he shouted, "like all the other man?" "But I'm a bear", replied the bear. "Ha," cried the foreman, "don't give me that. You're just a stocky man in a fur coat who needs a shave. Come on, get to work." "No, really I'm a bear." The foreman wasn't standing for this and grabbed the bear's arm and led him to the works manager, explaining, "this man here says he's a bear and won't work." "Ha!", said the workers manager, "You're not a bear. You're just a big man in a fur coat who needs a shave." However, seeing that the bear still wasn't convinced, he took him by the arm and said: "Come with me, I'll take you
to the zoo and show you real bears." 

And so the works manager stumped out his fat cigar and having ordered his chaffeur-driven limousine, drove with the bear to the zoo. In front of the bears cage the manager told the caged animals, "This man here", pointing to the bear, "says he's a bear." "Ha!", answered the zoo bears in unison, "he's not a bear, he's just a big man in a fur coat who needs a shave. If he were a bear he'd be in here with us behind bars." The manager slapped the bear on the shoulder saying, "See, now do you believe me?" The bear hung his head dejectedly, but still maintaining that he was a bear the manager decided to give him one last chance: "Come on, let's go to the circus and see the circus bears." On arriving at the circus the manager approached the performing bears scurrying around the big topper on bicycles. Explaining once again the situation to them the circus bears began to laugh: "He's not a bear. He's just a big man in a fur coat who needs a shave. If he were a bear he'd be in here with us on a bicycle." There was now nothing left for the bear to do but accept that he was a man and start to work in the factory. 

The bear was sat to work at a huge machine and he spent endless days reading dials and turning wheels and pulling levers. The bear was an excellent worker and because of his diligance he gradually worked his way up the promotion list and eventually became deputy works manager with a large office and a big limousine, smoking only the best Havana cigars.

Then came the oil crisis.... The bear showed up for work one morning to find the factory complex deserted. There wasn't a man to bee seen. The bear walked around the complex trying to find out what had happened. It was a cold winter's day and as he looked up and saw the wild geese flyníng south he stopped for a moment, shook his head, saying to himself, "No, I'm a man!" He walked on and on and came to a large forest. It was getting colder and colder and the snow was beginning to fall. He looked around and saw the fallen russet leaves pilling up on the mossy forest earth. He began to feel very cold and slapped his arms around his body to keep warm. He came upon a cave and feeling sleepy, he gathered up heaps of leaves,
made a cosy comfotable bed and snuggled down to sleep, saying to himself before closing his eyes: "I am a bear." 

Which words best describe the story:

• political
• poetic
• descriptive
• existential
• sad
• out-of-date
• environmental
• symbolic
• naturalistic
• happy-ending
• romantic
• anthropological
• like a fairy tale
• philosophical
• degrading

How to save a curl...

I only know this feeling too well: It's morning and your hair looks like a giant frizz-ball or you jump out of bed hurrying into the bathroom to wash your hair, although you might have washed it just yesterday...

I've been following this routine for almost a year (even though my friends told me off...) robbing my hair it's moisture and oil every morning. The result was that my hair looked great! (--> in the first five weeks :(  )
It gradually became dryer beginning to look dull and de-moisturized.

But I wouldn't care, because the curls were still more defined and "together" than before I started washing
my hair everyday! (--> to tell you frankly: I didn't use any conditioner nor no-poo shampoo at that time...little did I know ^^).

But as you may know: All good things come to an end! (though it wasn't really a good thing)
At a certain point my hair wouldn't look "good" in the morning and to make the whole thing even worse
it also wouldn't do after washing it!
And by that time I decided to give up this "morning-wash-'n'-go" thing and went to the local hairdresser...

I told my mom that I was no longer willing to invest so much time in the morning and that I decided
to get a shortcut. She warned me that it might not work out as I planned, but I had my way and left
happily!

The hairdresser was pretty good for my hair afterwards seemed healthy and shiny again.
Now I had chin-short curls which at first (naturally) seemed to be more carefree than my shoulder
lenght curls, but they ended up just like they did before: dry and de-moisturized.
(I just didn't know how to care for them :( and to defend my mom: her hairs not as curly as mine!
I've got my curls from my dad who wears his hair very very short --> no advices how to handle them
curls!!)

I felt horrible about my hair and because my curls are so "thick" I'd have to spend 30€ to get my
hair professionally straightened...and as you know it's not lasting long. My mom wouldn't straigthen it and my dad tried, but it still would look like a disguised curly girl with "home-straigthened" hair...

In despair I searched the internet for a solution...and found one!! Some of you may know what I'm going to tell you now ;) The method I'm talking 'bout is called "blow-drying". I still had some money left and
so I decided to make an appointment to get my hair professionally blow-dryed! Of course I looked things
up on the internet and knew about the health risk with all those chemicals and the formaldehyd, but I
didn't care. The idea of having straight hair and those swooshing ponytails was just too good!

Luckily I gave up the whole idea when I discovered the book "Curly Girl" by Lorraine Massey.
I gave it a last try and searched the internet again for a solution of my problem...
and I found one (big surprise!)!
I read the book and afterwards decided to never ever straighten my beautiful curls again! :D

But I couldn't find any of those products named (or suggested) in the book in the local drugstores.
So I only used conditioner on my hair and skipped the shampoo completely.
It worked out as well and my hair never looked greasy or strawy, but I wasn't satisfied with this.
Finally I found a shop on the internet which is not too pricy and without shipping costs. (big plus for they
can be high!).

I strongly recommend this book to every curly girl struggeling with their hair or tying it back into
a tight poytail every day. It really helps you to be proud of your hair and it includes instructions how
to cut curls yourself or how to do a nice evening up-do.
P.S.: I bought myself the second edition (which also has a chapter for guys!), the first edition
shows you the history of curls among different eras (very interesting, women along the centuries longed for curly hair!) 

Curly Girl 1st edition

Curly Girl 2nd edition

Urtekram Rhassoul Shampoo

Hey there! I'm going to start my new blog with a product review of the...

...Urtekram Rhassoul Shampoo

I established some criteria so you get a quick impression of the product in general:

1. price
2. smell
3. cleansing
4. ingredients
5. texture
6. cruelty free? (not animal tested)
7. promises of the product 
8. How my hair felt afterwards

Before I start some quick information 'bout my hair ;)  

I have a mix (depending on the day and weather conditiones) of 3a/3b curls (shoulder length).

1.  I couldn't find the shampoo on the official website of "Urtekram" (yeah the shampoo's a lil bit old)

     so I looked on other sites and found it on amazon.de.The cheapest offer you can get there is 

     12,34€ for 500ml. 

2. If you know Wrigley's Mint chewing-gum: That's exactly how it smells!! 

    For all those who never tested this chewing-gum: It has an intensive smell of fresh mint. 

    (Never suspected this shampoo to smell like mint leafs #LOL)

3. It really cleanses the hair and it' not getting foamy unless you mix a small amount with water in you palms

    before you put it onto your hair!

4. The "International List Of Ingredients" on the bottle says:

    Aqua, hectorite, aloe barbadensis gel*, cocamidopropylbetaine, glycerin, coco-glucoside, sodium cocoyl 

    glutamate, levulinic acid, mentha piperita extract*, p-anisic acid, mentha viridis oil* (aroma*), sodium

    citrate, limonene°, linalool°.   (*= from Organic Farming, °= from essential oil).

5. The texture is almost like milk, I'd say a 'lil bit thicker. It has a brown colour and little pieces

    (probabely of an ingredient ;)  ) in it, so it's a bit ticklish in your hands. And as said before it 

    gets foamy when you mix it with water.

6. Yep, it's not animal tested and the shampoo bottle says that it's Certified Organic by Ecocert.

7.The product claims to be an traditional african hair treatment which provides light volme for your hair.

8. And now the big surprise....my hair afterwards felt dry, strawy and it wasn't much shinier than before.

    But it was definitely clean! (Which is a big plus for I experienced shampoos where you actually 

    had the rest of it under your fingernail when scratching your head after rinsing out for hours...)

    I bought myself a bottle with 500 ml and by now haven't used half of it. 

    So as a "once-in-a-while" cleanser this shampoo is exactly what you've been looking for, but

    if you're searching for a "daily-routine" product...keep your hands off! ;)

    Last but not least I have to remind you that I'm a curly girl and can only speak for me and my curls!

    So if your stick-straight (but if you read this blog chances are that you might be another curly girl ;P )

    you should try it, because you never know until you try <3!