IS IT WORTH IT? First High-End Facial Mask! Seacret REVIEW

Hey curly mamas! So I did my first facial mask ever. It's kind of a shame that I hadn't ever done one. Just didn't cross my mind. lol
If you watch the video, you will see how this fancy product looked and worked on me. I don't need anything anti-aging, but I wasn't going to waste this stuff, regardless! Watch below to see how expensive this thing is!

I more than likely won't be using this on a consistent schedule. but it doesn't really matter. As long as I used it up before it expires. I have more of these Seacret products. I tried to sell them on Ebay, but the market value has fallen online, so no one bought them. Oh well, more for me! Haha!

Stay tuned to the channel for more reviews! 

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~Curls of Innocence~

How I Use Coconut Oil

Heya, curlies!

I love using coconut oil as a pre-poo for my hair, but mostly during the warmer months. In the colder months, I usually pre-poo with EVOO because it's such a heavy oil for the winter dryness.
Right now, Syriah's hair takes coconut oil better than mine. I think that it's because my hair cannot take lots of protein, so if I constantly use coconut oil as I had been using previously, my hair will be more dry and brittle. So right now, coconut oil is mostly used as a pre-poo for both my daughter's hair instead of mine.
I also like using coconut oil on my face in the morning after I've washed my face. It's silky smooth, smells good, and not heavy at all. It's part of my facial routine. ;-)
Here is Syriah's hair with coconut oil in it. I have these pics in the previous post, I believe. This is on damp, finger de-tangled hair.

 Love the shine and the extra softness that it gives when I wash it out of her hair. It's amazing. Sometimes, I don't even need to use my Herbal Essences conditioner because the oil is so soothing that it's VERY easy to manipulate the hair. The last picture is the end result.
So, that's pretty much how I use my coconut oil during these cold months. Hope you guys enjoyed this post!  Follow me on Facebook for everyday tips and updates. Peace out!

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                    ~Epic Realist~

Spring/Summer Hair Stash & Hair Tip #4

Heya, curlies! I wanted to show what I have in my bathroom right now as far as hair and face care. I had this little guilt about being a possible 'product junkie', but when I evaluated what I actually buy versus other people, I'm not even close to being a product junkie! LOL!

So, as you can see, I'm still a huge fan of Shea Moisture. That Yucca & Baobab shampoo and the Y&B conditioner is the biz-zomb! Curl Enhancing Smoothie... still awesome, mostly for Syriah's hair. My hair doesn't require that much protein. I like to use the Deep Treatment Masque as a leave in on my hair.
One day, I'm going to try Nubian Heritage hair products, because them and Shea Moisture are very similar as far as what ingredients they don't allow in their stuff. Plus, I love NH's soaps! I use them on my face as well as my body. All natural, all awesome. So far, the Raw Shea Butter soap in the picture is my favorite one.
EcoStyler gel will always be here. Love the stuff. I rarely use it, so when I get a jar this big, it tends to last about six months or longer. The olive oil one is the only kind I've tried thus far, but one day, I'll try the others.
I started using my Ambi fade cream again because my three pregnancies have left me with dark areas all over my face as well as my neck. My neck has annoying dark lines on it, and this stuff has always worked in the past for me, when I was still young and battling acne scars. So I saw it in Walgreens for 6 bucks (25% off)  versus the regular 10 bucks in Walmart and hopped on it!
And last but not least, the unfamiliar product in the picture is mine. Yes, I have labels for them now! I'm working on making them better, but this is the first go round. Used for hair and skin. If you'd like to purchase, then check out the Purchase our Products page.
This is pretty much my stash for now. Won't be changing around too much until I get money to try some new things. So, yeah. Hope you enjoyed!

Hair Tip #4: Don't get caught up in the hype of hair products. Just because everyone else is trying the newest product doesn't mean you'll die or miss out on something if you don't try it. It is tempting; don't get me wrong. The newest thing for kid's hair, apparently, is some type of gel called Gorilla Snot. Yes, that's the name of it. It looks like it tames fly-aways like nobody's business. I've been tempted to try it, but it can wait. I don't use too much gel in my hair or my family's hair, anyway. It's not urgent to try everything new. If what you're doing works, stick with it until you get bored, or your hair changes. You'll end up wasting tons of money trying every single thing out there just because everyone else is. Try one thing at a time so if your hair does something crazy, you'll know what product to blame it on instead of three.
Dark & Lovely's new natural line looks like junk to me. I wanted to try it, but when I saw the ingredients myself in the store, I said hell to the no! And this is what they call natural!? Some of these mainstream companies are way too desperate to hop onto the natural bandwagon and keep making money, and it seems like all they do is change the label and plaster it onto the same crap that they were selling before, give or take a few things. Same with Pantene's natural line. Utter disappointment. -___-
Please don't fall for the hype. Like Miss Jessies, for example. That stuff costs more than a dinner at Red Lobsters for a whole family, but I heard that it was utter crap and caused scalp problems in a lot of people because of all the chemicals in it. Use what you know works, and if something new has an ingredient that you know that you know that you KNOW your hair hates, then why...buy it?

Peace out, curly mamas!

~Epic Realist~

Styles and Trials- Routine Updates

Hola, curly mamas! Haven't done a good update in a while.
I rocked mini twists last week. As usual, they only lasted a week, but they looked better than my first attempt. I dampened my hair and used my newest whipped shea butter, which has castor oil in it. It felt awesome. It began to frizz badly by the fourth day, so I put some oil on the ends and wrapped it up at night again.
It didn't do much to salvage them. I learned my lesson from last time about not spritzing mini twists or braids with water, because that'll just create more frizz. My itchy scalp was screaming for water around this time. I avoided the water and put coconut oil on the ends. Eh, still only looked okay after taking off my bonnet, and then they shrunk up and looked dry again. Oh, well. I'll keep trying and figuring out how to make mini twists last for two weeks instead. ;-)

I used some of my leftover birthday money to stock up on some things. I got my two favorite Shea Moisture products, since I was out and I missed them so much. I also got a new soap, an all natural one that I tried on my face. It's awesome! There are NO foreign ingredients. It's by Nubian Heritage... 3 bucks and change. Walmart has natural soaps now? Holy crap... they're coming UP!

For now, that's my new facial routine. I use this soap day and night on my face, and apply castor oil or coconut oil to my face. It feels just as soft as baby skin, I swear. I'm in love with this soap. Screw the other Ambi crap that made me break out. LOL!

My Current Hair Health: Well, my hair feels very healthy right now, soft, supple, and growing... except for the excessive shedding. I still haven't figured out why I'm shedding every single time I finger de-tangle my hair, or why my hair seems to have gotten a little thinner. I feel like I've tried everything. I've tried using protein to avoiding protein, deep conditioning, natural shampoos, hot oil treatments, and trying to keep my scalp clean. I've even been eating a lot healthier, more water, more fruits/veggies/nuts, less meat. But something else is going on, and I'm hoping that it isn't thyroid related. :-/ I need to go back to taking vitamins...
Pre-poo: About an hour of coconut oil on damp hair
Wash routine: Washing once a week with a SM shampoo, castor oil on scalp and ends, whipped shea butter or SM cream, braided or twisted into whatever amount
Daily care: Spritz with water (which contains vegetable glycerin and peppermint oil) until damp every other day, apply castor oil on scalp, apply shea butter or SM cream, brush through with paddle brush, braid or twist (usually one without protein)
Nightly care: Apply stocking cap if already moisturized that day; if not, do daily care routine
Outdoor styling: Spritz with water, style with SM cream or whipped shea butter
Deep conditioning: Once a week with Roots of Nature Green Tea deep conditioner or hot oil treatment with castor oil

Syriah's Current Hair Health: Riah Chic's hair is very healthy right now as well. Since I got the SM creams again, I threw away what was left of the Cantu stuff. I will never buy that crap again; it's not natural and it made both of our hair feel coated beyond reason. Tried to go cheap and screwed myself yet again. So I got rid of that stuff. If I ever get Cantu again, it needs to be the natural kind.
Pre-poo: About an hour of coconut oil on damp hair
Wash routine: Washing once a week with a SM shampoo, castor oil on scalp and ends, whipped shea butter or SM cream, braided in 6 or more braids or twists
Daily care: Spritz with water (which contains vegetable glycerin and peppermint oil) until damp every other day, apply castor oil on scalp, apply shea butter or SM cream, brush through with paddle brush, braid or twist
Nightly care: Apply stocking cap if already moisturized that day; if not, do daily care routine
Outdoor styling: Spritz with water, style with SM cream or whipped shea butter

Baby Symari's Current Hair Routine: (9 months old)
Wash routine: Wash twice a week with a SM shampoo, castor oil on scalp, whipped shea butter, small twists done without hair ties
Daily care: Spritz with water (which contains vegetable glycerin and peppermint oil) until damp every other day, apply castor oil on scalp, apply shea butter or SM cream, re-twist
Nightly care: Nothing as of yet. I won't dare try to keep a cap or bonnet on this child at this age!

The boys (hubby and Jam), they pretty much do whatever lol! I wash Jam's hair once or twice a week because he's always on the floor, and I just wet it and apply oil to his rat tail whenever I actually remember about his hair. Hubby has a low haircut and a rat tail, which is growing rapidly. I am the hair lady of the family. Hehe. ;-)

Well, that's my super long update. Hope you guys enjoyed!

Until next time, fellas. Oh wait... are they any dudes on this blog? Haha! O_O

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~Epic Realist~

Facial Routine Update: Ambi FAIL!

So, the new Ambi soap that I was telling you guys about? It's an absolute FAIL!
I used that green bar for three days, and on the third day, my face began to burn whenever I washed it. I thought it was nothing at first, but I washed it again and more intense burning occurred. There were big, red patches over my cheekbones that had broken out in little red, sore bumps, and that soap was the only new thing that I'd used on my face.
So the Ambi soap went bye-bye!
I'm never the type to have allergic reactions to things, but that stuff did not agree with me. Of course it didn't; it wasn't natural. I Googled the soap and many other women have had the same reactions. Yikes. Good thing it was only under two bucks. Other people have had no problems with it. Interesting...
Never again. I've used other Ambi products in the past and have never had any reactions to it. But that's what I get for being cheap. LOL! Well, I have three kids, so I can't always splurge like that. Next time I purchase a facial soap, I will make sure that it's either my old trusty Ambi face wash or an whole new natural face product that I've yet to try. ;-)
Since I got rid of the soap, my face is back to normal. I'll be doing the oil cleansing method with castor oil until I can get to the store again for a new facial soap... one that won't break me out!

Hope you enjoyed this review. Lol!
Until next time, curly mamas.

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~Epic Realist~

New Facial Routine!

Hey, curlies! I have a new facial routine. Frankly, I haven't taken great care of my face in years because I've been so busy with my kids and hadn't had the money, but it's time for me to get on the ball. I don't get a lot of acne anyway, and I usually just wash my face in the shower with regular soap. But I know that's not good for my face. My diet has been off, too. My face has been occasionally breaking out lately with stress and improper cleaning, and my skin tone is all over the place and blotchy-looking.
I recently tried this new 'oil cleansing' method that everyone's been raving about. Not gonna lie; it did work. I liked the feeling of the 'steam effect'. But much like the hype over co-washing, the purpose of oil is not to cleanse. I don't feel comfortable cleansing my face with oil the same way I don't feel comfortable cleansing my scalp with conditioner. Everyone's trying to get away from soap because of sulfates when all you have to do is purchase something without it!
I haven't had any of the Dudu Osun black soap lately because I couldn't order it and I just now realized that I didn't have to anymore. They sell it right in my local beauty supply store! So when this Lever 2000 soap finally runs out, I can go back to my natural soaps.
I thought about trying a Shea Moisture bar soap as well, but that's when I can find it in a store. Tired of paying for shipping with everything. LOL!
Okay, back to facial biz.I got an Ambi facial bar soap, only because I've always loved Ambi. I used it a lot during my college days, and my face was always utterly flawless. My skin tone was in check and moisturized. Here's the soap I got. In Walmart, it was $1.87. Originally, I thought it was five bucks because of where the soap was placed, but nope. http://shopambi.com/detail/AMB+002232
So I've been using this soap for the last three days, day and night. It's awesome! I love the smell and the softness. It's a very light cleanser, and this huge bar should last me a couple of months. After washing, I use JBCO as a facial moisturizer. A lot of people have been using castor oil for other things besides their hair, like their face, their dry feet, and the muscle aches.
I will keep testing this and see if any problems arise. But as of now, it's perfect.
I'm out! Until next time, peeps!

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~Epic Realist~