Sheilo Hair Products – Hydrate Line Review

I adore conditioner. After my hubby and daughter, the thought of a new conditioner is the only other thing that gets me jumping excited. So when I was asked to review the HYDRATE hair product line of Shielo.com it was more of a treat than a chore. My samples arrived and I promptly trotted off […]

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Japanese Cotton Squares have Revolutionized My Beauty Routine

Many years ago, I came across the concept of lotion masking while researching Japanese beauty secrets on Youtube. This was well before the sheet mask craze. The technique was pioneered by beauty expert Chizu Saeki, author of The Japanese Skin Care Revolution.

Th technique is simple, you create do-it-yourself sheet masks using products of your choice and special cotton squares.  At the time, I didn't pay much attention, but I finally purchased the infamous Japanese cotton squares and had a chance to experience them for myself.  Now I regret not getting them sooner and I'll tell you exactly why.
I would describe these cotton squares as the Japanese version of our cotton rounds.  Except they are 100X better.  In fact, I'm never buying cotton squares again because I've now deemed them as inferior.

Cotton rounds/cotton balls are well-meaning but they have one fatal flaw.  They rob you of your precious product.  We soak them in liquid only to get a small return on our investment.  Japanese cotton squares are the exact opposite.  They use little product and provide a HUGE payoff!  They're nothing short of spectacular.

The squares are about the same thickness as a typical cotton round, but the beauty of the squares is that they can be peeled layer by layer. This way, you can determine the level of thickness you prefer.  If I tried to peel a cotton round in the same way, it would be a mess. But these squares are designed to be peeled apart.

The thinnest layer is where the magic happens. Because then, you can transform your basic cotton sheet into an impromptu sheet mask.  All you need is a few drops of serum and you are ready to rock.
What I love most about these cotton sheets is how well they hold moisture. They don't soak it up only for it to disappear into thin air. They hold the moisture in for you.

Next, you apply to the soaked squares on skin and suddenly, you've developed your own hydrating sheet mask.  Here's a quick video demonstration of what I'm referring to.


As you notice in the video, the cotton squares stretch almost like they're made of cloth. Cotton rounds don't even match up. The girl soaked her squares in what appears to be water, prior to adding hydrating toner, to fully saturate for easier application. I find that I didn't need to do that, but if I wanted to go for maximum hydration, I just may try that next time.

After application, I noticed that my skin appears ultra-moisturized. I still had a little hyaluronic lotion on the surface of the skin that I rubbed in once I removed the sheets.  I had that post sheet mask glow but my skin wasn't as saturated.

Here's my detailed plan:

• I talked about how I preserve all of the excess sheet mask serum in a glass jar.  The leftover mask serum will be put to good use thanks to these wonderful cotton squares.
• Now I can fully experiment making my own brightening sheet masks using acid based products like this mandelic acid peel. I know there are a bunch of brightening sheet masks on the market but I always question how much of the active ingredient is in each mask. Now I can be sure.
• These cotton squares are perfect for creating "alternative sheet mask" recipes like making my own collagen infused sheets or perhaps I'll experiment super greens like liquid chlorophyll.  
• I talked about the benefits of masking before bed.  This could be a quick alternative for those days when I don't want to do a full sheet mask but still want to hydrate the skin before bed.  
• Since these squares are pretty small, I can just wear a couple on my trouble areas like under the eye, forehead or nasal labial lines instead of having to do a full face mask.
• If I get a breakout, I'll soak a sheet in witch hazel and leave on the blemish for targeted treatment. 

So many options.   And I didn't even mention how I used a thin sheet to quickly and easily remove nail polish using less product than with a cotton ball.  I also used them to tone my skin with apple cider vinegar and I loved how they stayed moist much longer than typical cotton rounds.

Your drug store cotton products are now obsolete. These squares are sheet masks and cotton rounds in one!  It's time to graduate to a superior product.  Japanese cotton pads are everything.

Check out this demonstration video featuring the OG herself.

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Top 10 Controversial Hair Stories Of 2017

It’s that time of year when we like to take stock of all that has happened in the last 12 months. Even though individually we tend to prefer lighter topics with the classic happy ending, as a group there’s something about a controversy generally that attracts us the most. It’s human nature, after all, to want […]

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Air Drying Relaxed African American Hair

One look at any hair care forum and you will find loads of ladies who are perplexed or frustrated by air drying.  This is unfortunate as air drying is one of Tressbuzz’s top methods to retain length.  I will even go so far as to say that I have rarely seen a relaxed sister who […]

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My Doctor asked for my Aging Secrets. Here they are!

Yesterday, I visited the doctor for a first time in a while. This was just a routine wellness checkup. This year I turned 40 and I realize that I have to take precautions to protect my body against age-related diseases.

After completing my intake form and first-time visitor information, the nurse took me to a room to await the doctor.  A few minute later, the physician walked in.  My first impression of her was that she was younger than expected.  Maybe in her mid 30's.  When she looked at me, she seemed a bit surprised.  After confirming my name, the first words she said to me were "You don't look 40! What are you doing to look like that?  You look like you're 30!"

I smiled graciously at her comment then told her that I write about beauty and anti-aging topics. But since time was limited, I couldn't go into detail about what I think is contributing to my healthy appearance.  Since I'll probably go back to see her again in the future, I thought I'd write the post to refer her to.

Here we go.

Before I talk about the specifics, I want to fill you in on my anti-aging philosophy.  Essentially, I study the qualities I see in young skin versus people with mature skin. Then I try to replicate the "younger skin characteristics" in my own routine.  Next, I differentiate the qualities between people in their 40's who look good for their age, versus people in their 40's who look younger than their age.  There is a clear difference.

•  Tracee Ellis Ross and Gabrielle Union are the same age and share the same birthday.  Tracee looks good, Gabrielle looks younger.  
• Jennifer Aniston and Gwen Stefani are the same age. Jennifer looks good for her age. Gwen looks much younger than 48.

In the examples above, all the women are beautiful but two of them appear younger looking than their actual age.  We have to ask ourselves, why do Gabrielle and Gwen look younger than their counterparts? I'm sure genetics has a lot to do with it.  But instead of simply dismissing the question with a one-word answer (genetics), I start to pay attention to what makes them look young?  In my mind, both Gabrielle and Gwen have what I call "qualities of youth."  

The first, and most important, quality of youth is the appearance of the skin. I've mentioned before that after studying the faces of hundreds of people (while sitting at airports), I've come to realize that the biggest difference between young and older looking skin is the appearance of health that is the result of increased blood flow.  Young skin looks "backlit" Older skin appears dull and two-dimensional. I noticed that babies and toddlers have the most healthy looking skin. This continues into our twenties then the look of our skin starts to decline.  

In my beauty routine, I try to recreate the appearance of "backlit skin."  I do this by stimulating the skin via facial massage, ice facials, using my led mask. The goal is to get the blood flowing to the face. 

Ever use a Snapchat filter?  You might have noticed that they blur out imperfections on the face.  The resulting image pretty flawless.  I noticed that if I took a pic of myself with & without the filter, I appeared younger looking in the filtered pic.  Why? Because completely flawless skin is a quality of youth.  Once I made the connection, I tailored my skin routine and makeup application to mirror the results of these filters.  I'll be exploring how to create perfectly flawless (filter-like) skin more in 2018. 

Another HUGE quality of youth is facial volume.  One main difference between the doctor and myself is that he had very little facial fat.  I immediately prescribed her a diet high in collagen.  This is probably my secret weapon in preserving youth.  I have collagen in all forms. I have collagen pills, the powder, and even bone broth collagen.  Not a day goes by where I don't consume it.  I'll never forget reading an account online where the person said that they watched a news story where a bunch of a doctor's patients were interviewed for an expose.  One thing the person noticed that all of the patients seemed to have young, healthy-looking skin. This doctor recommended his patients take collagen and they all experienced improved skin as a result.  My doctor asked if I did botox. I told her no, then did a few facial expressions to display the faint lines on my forehead.  The lines exist, but my goal is to have a resting face free of lines and wrinkles. In my opinion, collagen helps tremendously.

When a person enters her later 30's, 40's and beyond, her face begins to sag.  This is a result of weak muscles or muscle loss.  My biggest ally against sagging muscles is microcurrent.  Lately, I've been using my micro current rollers while wearing a sheet mask to supercharge the results. Shhhh...don't tell nobody. 

The next factor of youth is barely talked about.  And that is our bone structure.  Simply put, our facial bones change as we age. This is why you'll see a woman with no wrinkles still have the look of maturity. She has the bone structure of an older person. No matter how great your skin looks, if your bones become thinner, you'll start to look like an older version of yourself.  We don't have much control over our bone facial bone density but I have studied a little bit about bones and have to come to this conclusion.  Bones respond positively to direct stimulation. 

One of the reasons I love rebounding so much.  It's powerful bone-strengthening effects.  I remember watching a video on Youtube once where the woman, who was suffering from osteoporosis, claimed to have experienced a measurable increase in bone density thanks to a regular rebounding routine.  I don't know about you but this information is exciting.  We know that our bones respond positively to vibration and stimulating. When I massage my face, I apply a little pressure to stimulate the facial bones.  They're even starting to use electrical stimulation (microcurrent) to help shorten the healing time of people with bone fractures. Perhaps my microcurrent sessions are helping to preserve the thickness of my facial bones thereby helping me to look younger, longer.

Basically, I follow a holistic strategy to looking younger with a focus on enhancing/maintaining the qualities of youth.  There are other obvious rules that I didn't mention like drinking loads of water, detoxing regularly, and supplementing with vitamins that are abundant in younger skin like silica, hyaluronic acid, etc.  

Those are my fundamentals for looking and feeling your best at any age. 

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Heat Training Hair: A Balanced View

Since featuring Brittany, an avid heat training enthusiast, on the website a few weeks ago, I have had few emails and comments suggesting that I give a more balanced view on the subject so here it is! So what is heat training? From my research online, I have found two definitions for it. ► Using heat […]

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How I'll Utilize My Planner to Crush My Goals in 2018!

We're in the final stretch of 2017.  Have you accepted any invites to any end of year vision board parties yet?  One of my friends mentioned hosting one this year and, unlike times past, I noticed a little internal hesitancy.  Don't get me wrong, vision board parties are great, but I feel that most of them aren't as powerful as they could be.

It's exciting to daydream about all the lavish experiences you want to enjoy someday. But how do you transform them into reality?  Vision boards are perfect for inspiration. But once we have a vision in place, we need to utilize tools to make our vision come alive.  The most practical tool available is a planner.

I've used a planner on, and off, for over a decade.  But in 2018, I want to tweak my methodology a bit.  Instead of using it as a time management tool, I want it to be the secret weapon that helps me achieve results like never before.
What I'd like to do is to apply some of the lessons from previous Monday Motivation articles to my daily planning and execution.  So here's a compilation of some of the most relevant lessons and how I'll apply it to my planning process.

-I recently wrote a post on the power of Planning On an Hour by Hour Basis.  This method is great if you want to really drive a productive day. It's the perfect strategy for people who are juggling lots of tasks or if you want to create massive results in a short amount of time. An alternative is to use a simple timer to time my activity. This helps me to ge hyper-focused. When I work single-mindedly on a task, for a limited amount of time, I get so much more done.

-The other way I'll leverage my planner is to use it as a means of keeping My Goals & Visions In Front of Me At All Times.  Too often, I'll use it as a way of just writing down stuff that needs to get done. But what about all of the outcomes I want to create?  If you look at my planner from an objective standpoint, you wouldn't know what my overall goals are.  I reflect back to the post where the girl manifested a huge contract as the result of wearing some affirmation bracelets.  Those trinkets basically served as a reminder for her to stay focused on her goals. I think a planner can serve as a great reminder that we are working on something bigger.

My plan is to create a miniaturized vision board that'll fit in neatly in my planner.  But, to make it more powerful, I want it to reflect my quarterly goals.  That will force me to have to update my visions on the regular, which will keep me more connected. This is very different from creating a vision board at the start of the year then never looking at it again.

Here's an example of what I'm talking about.

But instead of generic message/quotes, I want to write something like "You Have Created XXXX Result."

- I'll utilize the planner is to accelerate my results by tracking and measuring my most important and high impact activities.  I've already purchased some goal tracker inserts that will help me stay consistent.  Then, I can go back and look at the results to see if I'm working on the right activities.

-My planner is a place where I can capture all of the wins made in the upcoming year.  Sometimes I tend to focus mainly only what needs to be done.  This year, I'm combining my manifestation journal & planner into one place.  Purely to document my progress.

- One of my past coaches encouraged all of his students to create 90-day goals but set up a list of bi-weekly actions that will lead to that goal. As I review my month at a glance, I'll mentally break it up into two halves. From there, I set bi-weekly milestones that will ultimately take me to the 90-day outcome.  In the past, I worked from my planner on a day-by-day basis. Going forward, I want it to become a tool that I utilize to bring about all of my intentions.

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#ByePores// My DIY at Home Cryofacial Hack is nothing short of Genius.

Not long ago I had the pleasure of experience cryotherapy for the first time.  After the lady at the cryo center explained all the details of the treatment, she asked if I had any questions.  "Yes.....uh, do you do cryofacials also?"  Sadly, they didn't offer cryofacials so I made a mental note to search for spas in my city that offered the service.

Not long after, I watched a beauty video on Youtube from a Victoria's Secret model featuring her celebrity facialist. One of the pre-runway tricks shared was to fill a bucket with ice cubes and splash the ice repeatedly on the face.  The alternative was to purchase a set of super expensive cryo-sticks which are basically hand-held tools that you put in the freezer and place on the skin. They're a decent option, but they cost over $100 and I knew they couldn't create the same impact as ice directly on the skin.

Should I pay $50 or more for a single facial cryofacial session or do I buy the fancy stainless steel ice facial sticks?

The answer is neither! Because I've come up with a nifty little hack so that we all can enjoy cryofacials for just pennies a day.
Before I talk about the how, let's first discuss why cryofacials are even worth trying.  In my opinion, ice is a very underrated beauty secret.   Ice is the enemy of inflammation. We know this because we ice our knees & ankles when they swell up.  When I suffered from huge cystic acne breakouts, ice was my very best friend.  The other form of inflammation that ice handles well is morning puffiness.  One way to deal with morning puffiness is to activate your lymphatic system via facial massage. That, combined with ice therapy will guarantee that puffy eyes will be a thing of the past.

The other reason why I wanted to experience a cryo facial so bad is because ice can literally transform the look of the skin.  When we drop the surface temperature of the skin, we disrupt the flow of blood.  The body goes into self-preservation mode and redirects blood flow away from extremities and towards the organs.  As soon as the "danger" has subsided, the blood rushes back to the skin's surface.  The result of this wonderful process is bright, glowing, healthy-looking skin.  The post-ice-facial-glow is something we all should strive to experience because, with increased blood flow, comes heightened nutrient delivery and increased collagen production.

Let's not forget how powerfully, cold temperatures can impact our pores.  If you ever steam your skin to open up the pores, the right thing to do is seal those bad boys shut through the use of ice therapy. Whenever I want to achieve a smooth poreless, face, I just follow this simple 3 step system.
1. Clease using my Clarisonic
2. Steam for a few minutes and apply clay mask immediately after.
3. Tone, then close pores using ice tool.

I've tried a few different ice tools in the past, but this DIY hack is by far the most effective.  Instead of spending my hard earned money on a spa appointment, I picked up an ordinary popsicle maker.  Once filled, I place them in the freezer.  When I'm ready to use it, I remove the tray from the freezer and allow to melt slightly. Then I take one of the water popsicles and rub it on my skin.

Yes, it's cold, but it's way easier than taking a cold shower.  Plus, the nifty little handle means that I don't have to touch the ice with my bare hands.  This makes it so easy to use.  When I'm done, my skin looks so flushed and healthy. Best of all, I can do this as often as I like. No need to set an appointment at a fancy spa.  No need to dunk my hands in a bucket of ice.   Best beauty DIY ever!

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Be Prepared To Do SOMETHING To Your Hair Every Day!

I had a conversation recently with a good friend. She has had natural hair for the same amount of time that I have but she is part of the ‘stuck at shoulder length’ brigade. We were just chatting generally when the subject drifted to hair (as it usually does) and she mentioned wanting to take […]

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12 Holiday Hairstyles For Type 4 Hair

Usually, when we think of the holidays most of us are ready to whip out the latent fashionista in us by getting snatched and slaying the hair game. Unless you’re into that Christmas life, I doubt that the above is what crosses your mind when you think holiday hair.   Well if you’re going to […]

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Back To Basics – Detangling Technique

Are you being too rough with your hair? I get this question a lot: ‘I have been natural for a few years now and no matter what I do protective styles etc, my hair just doesn’t go past shoulder length. What can I do to retain my length?’ Lets get back to basics for a […]

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What I learned from Friend Zoning all of my Suitors.

I don't write a ton on the topic of relationships because of my limited dating experience.  Although my dating life was short-lived, it was very intentional.  Looking back, I think there was value in my dating methodology.

The reason I'm writing about this out now is that I'm hearing more and more women provide dating advice that I experienced first hand.  Basically, my "dating strategy" was to friend zone every one who was interested in me.  Every last one of them. This approach had so many advantages and I'll tell you why.
Before I get into the method behind the madness, I'll share why I decided to friend zone my potential boyfriends in the first place.  Let's start from the beginning.

I didn't date in high school. I considered myself a tomboy and academic who focused on my grades first and foremost. As soon as I turned 18, I started paying more attention to how I dressed, wore my hair, etc.  Suddenly guys were flirting and wanting to be around more.  Some of the same guys who practically ignored me in high school suddenly wanted to find out "why I didn't have a man."  At the age of 18, I met the guy who would become my first boyfriend.  He was charming, assertive, and pursued me aggressively.  Soon after meeting him, we got into a relationship that lasted a total of five years.

At the end of it all, I felt like this guy has thoroughly wasted my time.  I vowed to reclaim my time and never allow myself to get into a dead end relationship again.  Don't get me wrong, I loved the guy, but ultimately, he wasn't aligned with what I wanted in life.  He was cute, gave me lots of attention, but he was not the one for me.  If I had friend zoned him (like the ones that came after him) I would have realized that we were very different and would have moved on months, not years later.

Determined never to make that same mistake again, I vowed to abstain from all romantic relationships.  Don't get me wrong, I still entertained conversations from potential suitors. And I still went on "dates" but I made it perfectly clear to every single one of them that I wasn't interested in having a boyfriend.  Some of them thought I was joking.  Eventually, they all realized that when I said that we would only be friends, I was dead serious.  Part of my reasoning was to avoid the pain associated with a broken relationship. But my main motivation was to prevent myself from developing deep feelings for someone who would not be in my life long-term.

The experience was eye opening and I learned a ton.  For instance, I learned that I was attracted to the wrong guys.  Many of the suiters, who I thought were my type physically, were not at all ready to be in committed relationships (in their 20's).  I realized this because I could look at their behaviors objectively since I wasn't already involved.  That objectivity and clarity was amazing.  It allowed me to give up on trying to change or fix people. I didn't try to convince myself or excuse their behavior.  If I had to cut ties, it was easy.  Best of all, I left each experience whole. I wasn't a broken person who wasn't able to trust again. It was so liberating.

One day, I met my now husband at a grocery store.  I gave him my number because I thought he was cute and really liked his energy. During our first phone convo, we instantly connected. Eventually, informed him we could be friends. Whenever I told a guy about my friendship clause, I would typically get a variety of responses. Some thought I was joking or that friends meant a "friends with benefits" type agreement.  I clarified that friends meant that there would be no physical interaction. During this time, the only type of physical contact I gave was a hug.  I'm not saying that this is the right way to do it,  but it was my way of setting clear boundaries.  Most guys were taken aback by my methodology but my (now husband) didn't even flinch.

We were friends for a few years before we actually started dating traditionally. During that time, we had movie nights, we spoke on the phone for hours, we even lost touch when life got busy.  Even though he clearly expressed his desire to date (and even marry me), he was respectful of my desire to remain friends. Over time, we solidified our friendship which endured even when he moved out of state.  Although he would often tell me that we would, one day, be married I didn't always feel the same way.  I found him attractive but thought he was too much of a pretty boy so I dismissed him as disingenuine.  Over time, I finally came to realize that his words and actions were aligned. That's when I finally let me guard down.  We were engaged soon after I finally came around and we're celebrating 13 years of marriage this coming year.

The other day, I was watching a Law of Attraction documentary and when they got to the part about relationships, the LOA expert said this:

"It's important to clear your field so you are creating a very intentional signal. Not dating, or having flings.  You want to create clarity to erase confusion.   It's vital to clear your space, make it open and available to actually find the true soul mate that you're looking for."                                                                                            
With every interaction I had with male suitors, I came out of the experience with incredible clarity about what type of man would be best for me. I would use the opportunity to identify which qualities about the person I liked and which ones were deal breakers. Some of them seemed very excited about our friendship in the beginning, but soon lost interest when they didn't get what they wanted.  My now husband was one of the few who wanted to be a part of my life even though we weren't physically involved.  Even though he wanted to be involved romantically, he fully respected my decision.

I jumped on an Instagram live recently. And the young lady proclaimed to her followers that she was abstaining from dating for all of 2018.  Earlier in the year she talked about the broken relationships she'd endured in the past.  Her reason for remaining single and celibate was to revive her ability to discern and determine which relationship(s) are worth pursuing.

Just because we meet some guy who's attractive and charming, doesn't mean we should automatically get involved with them.  We give too much energy to guys who deplete our lives instead of adding to it.  By the time we realize their shortcomings, (or the misalignment) we jump into "fixing" mode because we're in too deep.  This isn't healthy.  The young lady is working on her discernment because too often our judgment is clouded by how the guy presents himself. We don't allow enough time for his true nature to appear before deciding if we should be intertwined.

 Her objective now is to utilize her single life to discover her true self.  Then she can clearly determine if potential suitors are aligned with who she is. In her words, "if who you are doesn't align with who I am, you have to go."

I'm not saying that everyone needs to take this "no romantic relationships" approach to dating.  There's a lot you can learn about yourself from dating, which is why I still continued to do it.  But, ask yourself, what is your intention. If you're looking for a serious relationship, maybe taking a little time out from traditional dating. Or maybe you can try to date differently to heighten your sense clarity.  Trust me, if a guy really wants to be with you, he'll stick around.  Work on yourself first and clear your energy so you are able to date with intention.  




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Is Mineral Oil Really All That Bad?

Does mineral oil really deserve it’s ‘evil to black hair’ image? So what’s the deal with this oil anyway and why does it deserve our cold shoulder? Mineral oil or liquid petroleum is a liquid by-product of the distillation of petroleum to produce gasoline and other petroleum based products. It has a multitude of uses […]

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