Natural Black Hair Styles

There are several “ingredients to avoid” lists out there. Here are some of the ingredients we found on those lists and why they’re there. This should not be taken as a recommendation from us that you should avoid all of these ingredients. Some of the products we offer contain ingredients on the “avoid” list. Why? Frankly, there are very, very few products that do not contain at least some of these ingredients. It has been estimated that 99% of cosmetic products contain some form of paraben (a preservative). If you think that’s scary (we don’t), after looking at this list, look at your toothpaste and deodorant ingredients.

Read the rest of this entry »

What is Shea Butter?
How can I tell if something is good Shea Butter?
How should Shea Butter smell?
How do I store Shea Butter?
My Shea Butter melted. What do I do?
What color should Shea Butter be?
How can Shea Butter benefit me?
How does Shea Butter benefit my skin?
What does Shea Butter benefit my hair?
Is all Shea Butter the same?
What can I tell by looking at the label?
Where can I get good Shea Butter?
What’s the difference between raw shea butter and refined shea butter?
Do I want raw Shea Butter or refined Shea Butter?
What about East African Shea Butter?

While you may have only recently heard of Shea Butter, its use is far from a recent development. The benefits of Shea Butter have been well known for centuries. Africans have used Shea Butter for many generations to protect and rejuvenate their hair and skin. Shea Butter is not only for those of African descent though. Everyone can take advantage of Shea Butter’s benefits. Today, Shea Butter is available in pure form and as an ingredient in many products to help with maintenance of the hair and skin and relief from many common ailments.

Read the rest of this entry »

First of all, natural is a relative term. How you define “all natural” may vary from how the next person will define it. Once you mix two ingredients together, one could argue the product is not “all natural”. We believe that God put many wonderful things on this earth to take care of our bodies inside and out. Generally, speaking the less refined or manipulated a product the better. However, we also believe God gave man the ability to improve on his environment and some chemical formulations (especially medicines) are extremely beneficial. Swamp water is natural. But, I wouldn’t drink it. Aspirin is not as natural (it is an extraction of a natural compound found in willow bark), but it’s a fantastic drug. Blood pressure medications are not natural, but many of use could not live without them.

We promote products that we believe are healthy for your hair and body. All things being equal, we prefer natural products over highly refined products. Even when man tries to recreate nature by manufacturing or refining products. Time and time again, man has made “extracts” of things proven to be beneficial and research comes along later saying the supplement is not as good as the whole fresh fruits or vegetables. Often, there are delicate trace substances, a balance of substances or some other thing that we cannot quite recreate. But, sometimes the extractions are necessary. How’d you like to have to find and chew on willow bark if you had a headache?

However, all things are rarely equal. All natural products will be less stable, may not look as nice, will be more expensive and usually have shorter shelf lives than less natural products. If you like a lot of lather, you may be disappointed with all natural shampoos. If you buy all natural products, you may find they separate or go bad more easily. We have had people who thought they wanted all natural products call and complain about the products separating (an effect of not using artificial emulsifiers) or not being as thick or not lathering as well as what
they are used to. Besides just saving money, manufacturers often use chemically altered ingredients to make the products more palatable to the average consumer and more stable.

So, the decision is really up to you. Personally, we use an array of all natural products, less natural products and some completely manufactured products, depending on the product itself.

© 2004-2007 Treasured Locks, LLC All Rights Reserved. Reprint In Its Entirety. With Written Permission Only