PRE-POO TREATMENTS

Last night, I tried a pre-poo (short for pre-shampoo) treatment on my daughter’s hair. She had gone swimming earlier & did not remember to rinse her hair (or her body for that matter) before leaving the park. So of course, I was a bit concerned. I decided to piece together a pre-poo treatment to counteract any effects of the chlorine from the water.

According to Gennifer Miller of Healthy Textures,

pre-poos help protect our hair from the harsh shampooing process. The majority of the buildup we are trying to remove lies on our scalp, not our hair, especially if you are not using a lot of product. Our hair really only needs the conditioning aspect of the wash cycle. Using an oil or a conditioner can help provide a barrier between the hair and the harsh detergents in the shampoo.

In addition, pre-poos help condition the hair. It seems counter intuitive. Why would we put a product on our hair that we were eventually just going to wash out? Actually, conditioners and oil often work better when applied to dry hair. Think of a sponge. If you place a dry sponge on a spill, it will absorb more than if you place a wet sponge on that same spill. Our hair reacts the same way, absorbing conditioner a lot more effectively when the hair shaft is not swollen with water molecules.

For the treatment, I mixed some honey, olive oil and what was left of a bottle of Hairveda CoCasta Shikakai Oil (which I didn’t like so much on my own hair). I applied it to her hair and then covered it w/a plastic cap. It stayed on her hair for about an hour. Then I washed her hair w/Qhemet’s Soap of Alep. (Which I just noticed is no longer on her website.???) Let me tell you, that child’s hair felt so good. I’ve got to try this on myself! Anyhoo, once I completely washed her hair, I did a deep conditioning treatment w/Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose Moisturizing Condish mixed w/some jojoba oil. Put the heat cap on her for another hour. Then rinsed most of the conditioner and topped w/a leave-in, put it in a loose pony and wrapped it up for the night. This morning, we just spritzed it w/distilled water and topped w/some Curls Gel-les'c.

There are a lot of ways to pre-poo. You can apply oils (warmed or not) to your scalp and/or hair, cover with a scarf and sleep with the product on your hair. When you wash it out and condition, you should notice a difference in the softness or moisture level in your hair.

According to Miller, you shouldn’t leave conditioner on your hair for an extended amount of time. “Conditioner, especially moisture based products; tend to leave the hair strand too soft. This will make the hair limp and, as a result, very fragile. Similarly, protein based conditioners can leave the hair too hard and rigid, which will lead to breakage.”

Have you tried any pre-poo treatments? If so, what did you use and how well did it work for you?

DAILY AFFIRMATIONS ON GOOD NEWS MONDAY

Good Morning Gorgeous!

I know the thought of speaking out loud—to yourself, may sound a bit weird but is actually a healthy mental practice. Contrary to that old popular saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.”; words can actually do harm. They can build you up or tear you down. They can shape your thoughts, inspire you and can motivate you to change.

According to Carl Simonton, M.D. and Janet Hranicky, Ph.D., the quality of our health is determined to a large degree by the quality of our communication with ourselves. If you eliminate some of the negative words in your vocabulary, you will begin to eliminate some unhealthy beliefs. Changing your unhealthy beliefs is long-term emotional management and leads to long-lasting stress management, increased states of emotional well-being, and optimal health.

I believe speaking daily affirmations is a great way to create and instill a positive outlook on everything in life. Every word that you speak and hear others speak is taken in by your brain. If you constantly barrage yourself w/negative talk then that’s what you’ll believe. And if you believe it, you’re gonna walk in it and give off negative vibes and receptors, drawing the negative to you. But try flipping that to positive affirmations and surrounding yourself w/optimistic people and see how it affects your mood, your viewpoints, your self-esteem and your life. Even the way you carry yourself. And yes, this is definitely something that you have to continue on a daily basis. Speak them so that they become your everyday thoughts.

What is an affirmation? Ruth Fishel the author of the book “Change Almost Anything in 21 Days” defines it as follows: “Affirmations are positive statements we say to ourselves.” According to Fishel, daily affirmations can help you accomplish your goals and dreams. She also believes that it takes 21 days for anything in your life to become a habit.

According to Terry Cole (Psychotherapist/Life Coach/Motivational Speaker), an affirmation is a statement you declare to be true.
Here is her belief on affirmations:

Look at your subconscious mind as an excellent executive assistant in your life, ready to help you achieve the goals you; the boss and your conscious mind have set. An affirmation may be positive or negative in nature. It is how we talk to ourselves.

I am smart
I am fat
I am healthy
I can’t do this
I will do this

The above statements are all affirmations…what are YOU declaring in your life? Once you decide on some positive affirmations, your executive assistant will seek out every opportunity to reinforce them. For example if I affirm,” I have a fat butt”. When I am walking down the street and someone looks at me I will think, “See they are looking at my big fat butt.” This thought will make me feel shame, embarrassment and self-loathing. Conversely, when I affirm, “I have a beautiful healthy strong body that I love” and someone looks at me, I think, “ How nice they are appreciating my beautiful bod” which leaves me feeling empowered.

For affirmations to be effective in your life you must get rid of the negative self talk and replace it with positive self talk. The things that are repeated most in your mind are the ones that stick. If you are trying to stay away from sugar because it is bad for cancer and bad for depression and you find yourself in a bakery and your affirmation has been, “I only eat desserts that are healthy for me”, then you look at the desserts and hear a little voice repeating, “I don’t want those because I only eat desserts that are healthy for me”. Your ever-alert subconscious has latched onto an opportunity to achieve your goal, and enforce your self-instructing affirmation. You can use affirmations in every situation in your life…you have the power to change your mind so do it!

Here are some examples of affirmations that you can say out loud everyday:
• I am exuding self-confidence.
• I am worthy.
• I am courageous.
• I believe in myself.
• I can achieve anything that I truly believe.
• No matter how hard it gets, I am going to make it.
• I can do it.
• The universe is meeting all my needs immediately.
• The universe is supporting me in everything I do.
• I am receiving all the good in my life now.
• All the answers are coming to me as I need them.

How can you create your own personal affirmations that are specific to your life?
Excellent affirmations can be created by asking yourself empowering questions like, "What can I do today to move closer to a life of: abundance, health, contribution, gratitude, love, peace, purpose, etc....." (make it what you resonate with! It has to have meaning for you!)

If you create good affirmations and have a reliable prompt to remind yourself to speak or think them throughout the day, they will become implanted and almost automatic. This can be powerful to help you change your mind. Wouldn't it be nice if your default, "auto-pilot" thoughts were things you purposely planted into your mind? (instead of the things we default to....... due to societal or commercial bombardment)

Standing in front of a mirror while reciting the affirmations is also very powerful because you see yourself giving yourself a command. Remember that the words “I am” are the two most powerful words in the English language.

Use affirmations to replace old thought patterns, like in these examples:
Old Thought / New Affirmation

IT’S GOING TO BE RISKY: / Being myself involves no risks. It is my ultimate truth, and I live it fearlessly.

IT WILL TAKE A LONG TIME: / I have infinite patience when it comes to fulfilling my destiny.

I DON’T DESERVE IT: / I am a Divine creation, a piece of God. Therefore, I cannot be undeserving.

Here are a few more examples of some affirmations:
"I live in abundance."

"I deserve the best and the best is coming to me now."

"Everyday, in every way, I'm getting______________ " (stronger and stronger, clearer and clearer, better and better, etc....)

"What I'm searching for is also searching for me" or "Everything I want wants me" etc.

You can also watch a wonderful video by Philip McCluskey on affirmations here.


What daily affirmations do you say, if any?....

IT'S COCKTAILS AND FLOWERS!!

Cocktail ring, that is. =)


Happy Friday, Beautifuls!

I hope that all in your world is well. My week has been pretty busy. Mainly at work b/c of handling month end less one person. Whew!! We’re already at bare-bones w/our workforce so someone taking an extended vacation puts a bit more wear-n-tear on the rest of the department. Left me drained by the end of the day. Not that I’m complaining. It just is. Simply an observation.

Question: My 13 year old daughter would like to start a blog. She’d love to be on Facebook or Myspace. Til now, I have strictly forbidden b/c of my concerns with internet predators. Her aunts think it’s a great idea, as long as I’m supervising. I think I will allow it. I do enjoy her writing.

Just curious: What are your thoughts on age and the internet?...

Marilee's Fox Cocktail Ring! So cute!

Have a wonderful weekend, Lovelies!
CO


Ooh, check it out! I'm the Who's Who? feature on Texture Playground. If you haven't checked out this hair blog then you've gotta go by there. Fleurtzy brings a wealth of information to the blogosphere regarding natural hair care. She is one of the wonderful bloggers who has helped me with my own hair regimen. I remember seeing her comment on the Curltalk 4a forum on Naturallycurly.com. Shortly thereafter, she burst onto the scene with her own hair blog. Great site to blogroll!

I'M POOPED!!

My apologies to all. I try to blog Monday thru Friday but sometimes.... I just can't. Right now, I am pooped! Will try to post on Wednesday evening.

On another note, I'd like to welcome all the beautiful new followers and subscribers to this blog. You all keep me going.

Peace, blessings and abundant health,
ChocolateOrchid

DEM KNOTTY KNOTS

Hi Gorgeous!

I just had to address this issues of tackling knots and tangles. This was not an issue for me until my hair got a little length to it. Then all of a sudden, I’m frustrated because my fingers are getting caught in the matrix of my hair. However, after reading Curlynikki’s post on Detangling..Reloaded and following her method, it is not as big an issue as it had become.
I’m also using Hello Hydration Conditioner. Check out Urbancurlz post on it here. It really is da bizness! At first, I didn’t think it would do anything because it is thick. Boy, has it fooled me. Anyhoo, I just wanted to put my 2 cents on it. It really has helped me. On top of which, it’s cheap and easy to find at any Wally’s, Target and drugstores. I recently purchased a bottle of Herbal Essences Totally Twisted. I’ll definitely let you know how that product performs after trying it.

I also want to mention an oldie but goodie. I say oldie because I used this conditioner when I first went all natural. Then I got caught up trying a bunch of other stuff only to recently come back to this one. My first love, Oyin’s Honey Hemp Conditioner. I had totally forgotten how good this product was to my hair. Not only does it feel good working on my hair, it’s also filled with good stuff like purified water, aloe gel, honey, hemp and some other goodies. Although I’ve never tried it as a deep conditioner, this video is compelling me to give it a try. Check out Jamyla, the mixtress and her hubster, Pierre:



What a fun and informative video.
Yes, I did crack up at 5:42.(Lol)
And I definitely want to try that brush.

Hope this is of some help to all you beautiful people. =)

GUESS WHAT??...

Hi Beautifuls!

Guess what?.. I'm in ClutchMagonline!! Whoo-hoo! Check it out here.

Shout out to the lovely Laquita Thomas-Banks (our future Oprah) working diligently at Clutch. Thanks for considering me for such an article and thanks to Clutch Magazine for publishing it. I am honored for my blog to be thought of in such a way.

Lol.

PROMISE YOURSELF

Promise yourself to be strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.

To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet.
To make all your friends feel that there is something in them.

To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.

To think only the best, to work only for the best and expect only the best.

To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.

To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.

To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.

To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.

To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

Author: Christian D. Larson

Wishing you a Happy Monday and wonderful week!
Peace and blessings,
CO