Shea Moisture Product Review Pre-View

**THIS IS NOT A FULL REVIEW**

Hello all you lovely people. If you didn't already know, I am a "natural hair junkie". What I mean is that I am completely obsessed with Afro Kinky hair in its "natural state". I obsessively read product reviews and watch YouTube videos trying to find new ideas on how to style and take of my natural hair. So, I've decided to kind of bring this obsession to my personal blog. :)

For this particular post I will be doing a mini product review of the products from the Shea Moisture Product line. Yes, I have decided to jump on the Shea Moisture bandwagon, lol. I purchased them from my local Walgreens at a cost of $9.99 each (various sizes, details below.)

The products I will be reviewing are the following

Organic Raw Shea Butter Moisture Retention Shampoo 12 fl oz/355 mL for $9.99

Organic Raw Shea Butter Restorative Conditioner 12 fl oz/355 mL $9.99 Organic Coconut & Hibiscus Curl Enhancing Smoothie 12 oz/340g $9.99 Organic Coconut & Hibiscus Hold & Shine Moisture Mist 8 fl oz/237 mL $9.99

About the products

Apparently they are all Paraben, Phthalate, Paraffin, Gluten Propylene Glycol, Mineral Oil, Synthetic Fragrance, PABA, Synthetic Color, DEA, and Animal free. Whoa! That was a mouth full. I honestly can not tell you what all that is supposed to mean except that it's extra organic. I personally don't care whether a product is organic or inorganic, but for those of you who care that was for you. Collectively they include ingredients such as Sea Kelp, Argan Oil,Shea Butter, Coconut Oil, Silk Protein and Neem Oil.

Pre-View Review

Before I begin, let me say that I've only been able to use these products a few times, but so for, so good. The Moisture Retention Shampoo does NOT lather, which I'm not too fond about. The Restorative Conditioner is nothing special. It made my hair feel clean. I can't say that I liked the feeling. It's a far cry from my trusty Biotera Revitalizing Conditioner I will say this though, after washing and conditioning, my hair looked really shiny and healthy.

As for the Curl Enhancing Smoothie, it enhances not ONE curl, BUT it makes my hair feel very soft to the touch. It only lasted for half a day though :/. I used it on a chunky twits out. The Moisture Mist definitely has a hold factor because its kind of sticky. I think I will use it for my mini-twists, this month and see if it really does keep up the twists.

Over all I am satisfied with my purchases. I will continue to uses these products for at least one month. That way, I can give a better review. I can't' wait! Expect a full review a month from today.

Overall Rating: I give it a 7.5/10

Toodles!

~Jay

Just Checking In

My last post was a bit wordy and heady. So, I'll make this one light. I haven't been inspired so much. I guess I could tell you all about my day. It was rather easy going. I went to work and went to a mandatory food and beverage meeting. *yay* I was being sarcastic, lol. Anyway, after work I went to an open house for this Staffing Agency to find more information on available openings; it went well. :) You know, come to think of it, I started a blog post on paper while I was waiting. Oh! It was about my Jesus moment! But I'll save that for another post.

So I couldn't end this post without ending it with a random YouTube video. So, here's my "Favorite of the Week". It is thee most silly thing ever, and maybe even distasteful, but for some reason every time I watch it, it makes me burst into a sudden bout of uncontrollable laughter. Have a good one, beautiful people! Laugh a little!

Here it is: How you doooooin'!?!? If the Lord's been good lemme knooooww! Haha!

Kellen, if you happen to pass by, I promise, I ain't ya' stalker: "Mmmmmmmmmmmm..." LMBO!

~Jay

The Spirit of Education

Word of the day: Philomath-One who loves to learn, a scholar


I recently read a blog post written by this guy I met a few weeks ago. Click Here for the original post. His article was really interesting and it really stirred me, intellectually. In his blog post he asserts two things (1) Having a formal education is not indicative of your intellectual ability nor status and (2) True education springs from the individual and is usually nurtured by outside forces; knowledge is not necessarily poured into, as widely assumed by this socio-educational paradigm.

I’m going to take this discussion a little bit further by looking at it from a different perspective. In this discussion I will be exploring the relationship between formal education, financial success, and the love for learning; my perspective of the three and the role it has played in my life.



The Paradigm of Formal Eduction and Financial Success. Tomfoolery!


Growing up, I was taught that being a scholar was synonymous with being financialy free, which by no surprise, was my definition of success. Basically, the more information you knew via a formal education, the more successful you would become. In my world, it was The Law. From my own experience so far, however, I found this to be false. If you don’t know, I hold a Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology and I am an honorary member of Broke Phi Broke Sorority Inc. Meaning, I am broke, no money, poor, destitute, insolvent, ok, you get the picture. I am stuck with this big fancy degree and nothing to show for it but an oversized piece of paper with my name and couple of signatures on it.

Now don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with getting a degree. I just think that right now, the rules of the success game has changed, and it is simply time for us to go back to the drawing board and figure out how exactly are we to win this “game”. Like Mrs. Obama said in a recent interview on the NBC’s “Today’s Show” [super-paraphrased] “The days of holding a job for 20 years are over. It is time for us to build our skills and compete in that fashion”



A lover of scholastics and more



This brings me to the next part of this discussion: The love for learning. I have always been a lover of learning new things, for a while I didn’t know I really was until a witch of a high school teacher of mine gave me a cute little pin that said, “I love education, but it just has to stop!” Back then I abhorred that teacher. She only smiled with those who made “A’s”—those who she thought would be the “successful” people in life. Of course, I mad far less than “A’s” and I hardly made it to her list of successful people. After reading that pin, I felt like she had only given me that pin to undermine my intelligence. In retrospect though, that was how I felt; I loved to learn, but I hated institutionalized education with a passion. Every since I could remember, I’ve had a burning desire to learn more. Though-out high school and college, I read as much as I could and dabbled in as much hobbies as I could. I played the clarinet; I did a lot of sketching and now occasionally I dabble in acrylic painting; I’m dabbling in HTML and an array of other hobbies. I was striving to be, and still is striving to become the “Renaissance Man”, like the next black, female version of Leonardo De’Vince! Ok, maybe it’s a bit of stretch, but why not dream big?.



The True Spirit of Education


Now, did I ever consider myself a scholar? Absolutely not. How could I? After all, a scholar was one who made straight A’s, went to college and ended up with great jobs. And of course that wasn’t me, at all. Did I consider myself a relatively smart girl? Well, of course! Was my intellectual ability nurtured during formal education is the true question. To answer simply, no. In my opinion, anything I know now is a result of my natural intellectual ability and self discipline. Whether I had gone to school or not, I think I would still have the same intellectual caliber simply because of my love for learning.

What then is the true spirit of education? When I was in school what bothered me most were grades and standardized tests. I never thought they were accurate measures of intellect. I have met far too many educated fools in my life time. They the core of their haughtiness was found there good grades and high test scores, but still didn’t have that street-smart sensibility to relate to individuals on multiple levels of competencies. This leads me to believe that, holding a degree is not indicative of intellectual ability.

I will conclude that in essence the true spirit of education lies in the hands of the individual. True education is having a hunger for learning without the restraints of achievement and monetary motivation.


The Philomath in me



As grow older I am learning more and more that I am a free thinker, an artist if you will. Unfortunate for me, for a while I thought there was something wrong with me. Thanks be to God, I am growing into my quirky humor and undeniable awkwardness of my out-of-space thought. I love it. Although I was forced to put on thinking restraints and never was handed the opportunity to think and act freely, it hasn’t affected my here and now. Yes, I love to learn. Yes, I want to be financially free and successful; if it takes another degree or learning another skill, then so let it be. I know one thing’s for sure: from here on out, I will let the spirit of true education have free reign in my life. Never again will I allow grades, test scores, number of degrees or any such restrain to define my level of intellectual ability or predictor of success.

My goal is to be a life long learner. Nuff said.

Thanks for joining me
~Jay

A "Joy of the Lord" Moment

I know, I know, it's been a while. **no excuses** but I stumbled upon this song by a Christian rap artist name Lecrae called "God Is Enough". It was ridiculously timely; this had to be God! Lately I've been really struggling with the lack of spiritual desire. I'm even reading a book called "The Transforming Power of Spiritual Desire" by Darlene Bishop and even with the reading, I have ZERO spiritual desire; I have no joy.

I know it's pretty much due to the fact that I have a college degree and I'm working a dead-end job like everybody else. Certainly, I'm not "rollin' in dough" like I thought I would be. I have to be honest with myself. Don't get me wrong there's nothing wrong with working those kinds of jobs. If that's what makes you happy, then by all means, do it!

Here's the irony: Today, as I was driving home from work I thought about how much I really like my job. It doesn't pay well by any means, **at all**. But every time I go, I enjoy myself. What’s my point? Today, I had joy. I am grateful for that. I truly believe it was the Joy of the Lord manifested. Like I said, this job isn't the most glamorous job in the world, but yet, I had joy. I love these random "Joy of the Lord" moments in the midst of a desert storm.

I say all this to say that GOD IS ENOUGH. Although I am lacking spiritual desire and I'm really discouraged by my job/money circumstances, I still understand that God is enough. More than enough. No matter what. One day, instead of random spouts of "Joy of the Lord" moments, I will be able to live a continuous, "Joy of the Lord" moment. Hope does not disappoint. Selah.

~Jay

Without further adieu: Lecrae, "God is Enough" (Lyrics Below)



Flame:
(We so impressed)
With them ladies
Who be drivin' Mercedes
Who be drivin' them crazy
And we gotta be crazy
(We so impressed)
With them fellas
Who be makin' them jealous
Who be makin' them stellas
And we gotta be crazy
(I'm so impressed)
King who on the throne
Who left his heavenly home
Never did a thing wrong
They crucified him on
A tree, there he made
It was crazy how it set the stage
For his resurrection from the grave
That gets me amazed
(You can be) the flyest man
(With a) hundred grand in your hand
Swag right, sag tight
And a Gucci fan
(You can) be the richest, be the smartest, be the hardest, all of that
But I guarantee before I die they all are fallin' flat

Hook:
Used to want a lotta things
All the stuff that's on TV
Education, cars, and clothes
Fashion lights and jewelry
(Focused on the wrong stuff)
Now I got my eyes on you
And now I know that

Chorus:
God is enough
God is enough
God is enough
You are enough
Never too much
More than enough
God is enough
You are enough for me

Lecrae:
Party like the fast life, hurry this the last flight
Chasin' all your dreams, this right here could be your last night
And man you finally got your cash right
But it never seems to last right
You know you sick of lookin', you sick of chasin'
I think you know the truth, you just don't wanna face it
Your life is empty, though you havin' fun
You never satisfied, you never get enough
You go from thrill-seekin' to pill-poppin'
From heavy drinkin' to club-hoppin'
You just can't stop it, like you're a slave
And you chasin' nothin' all the way into the grave

(Hook)
Used to want a lotta things
All the stuff that's on TV
Education, cars, and clothes
Fashion lights and jewelry
(Focused on the wrong stuff)
Now I got my eyes on you
And now I know that


(Chorus)
God is enough
God is enough
God is enough
You are enough
Never too much
More than enough
God is enough
You are enough for me

Lecrae:
Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want
Takes away my fears, you restore my soul
Off into the sky, the dead in Christ arise
To be with you forever, see with the clearest eyes
Quench my inner thirst, there's something more in life
No money, cars, relationships compare to joy in Christ
Love that falls from selfish ones that like to flirt with self-destruct
No need to stut, know what I want, to keep it, but my God's enough

(Hook)
Used to want a lotta things
All the stuff that's on TV
Education, cars, and clothes
Fashion lights and jewelry
(Focused on the wrong stuff)
Now I got my eyes on you
And now I know that

(Chorus)
God is enough
God is enough
God is enough
You are enough
Never too much
More than enough
God is enough
You are enough for me

I don't need these worldly things, no-oh
I don't need these worldly things, no-oh
More of you and less of me, G-od
More of you and less of me, G-od
I don't need these worldly things, no-oh
I don't need these worldly things, no-oh
More of you and less of me, G-od
More of you and less of me, G-od

(Chorus)
God is enough
God is enough
God is enough
You are enough
Never too much
More than enough
God is enough
You are enough for me

Mid-Night Ramblings

Please ignore all typos; done from my iPod touch. Just got it today.


So I'm here in my bed thinking about how much I'm failing at this thing called "The Walk" . Man this walk with Christ sure is difficult. I mean life in general is redonculous. I'm learning everyday that this walk is much more than I thought it was when I signed on the dotted line. Everytime I thinkI get "it" I really don't. Maybe God is teaching me that it's not for me to get. Perhaps I'm expecting too much in too little time. I feel like I'm working on a ridiclous math problem, you know, one of those problems you THOUGHT you solved but when you look closer, you realy didn't solve to begin with. Well then I guess this is what is, I don't get it and I won't get it. So much for trying too hard. Nobody told me I had to be this strong. I'm not Job. I don't want to be Job either. I'm totally just rambeling. This is what tired does to you. I guess I'll name this post, "Mid-Night Ramblings".

Night peeps!

~jay

I'm Naked and Loving it! A Facebook Note

You probably clicked on my note to see some sick obscenity of a piece. Ya’ll know that’s NOT what I’s be’s bout! Lol. This is all about my hair, yes my relaxer-free hair, my naked hair.

Soo this natural hair thing better be that serious. I’ve been “natural” aka relaxer free on and off for the past 4 years maybe?? Or may be more. But whatever that’s not the point of this note.

I must admit, I’m a youtube junkie. On youtube there are tons, I mean TONS of African American women (and other races) who have let go the relaxer and decided to go out butt naked.  hehe. So recently I was going through some Facebook pictures and I started to notice a lot of my friends “going natural”. Now, it started to hit home: a lot of women are opting out of the “creamy crack”. Man, I don’t know if it was that “Good Hair” movie, my Chris Rock, or Solange Knowles’s drastic hair cut, but whatever it is, it better be THAT serious, for er’body to be starting to do it, LAWD! lol.

This brings my to why I decided to “let go” of the perm. First off I’ve ALWAYS loved BIG hair. Ya’ll remember my Oprah hair, lol? I loved it! As a littler girl, I remember running around the house screaming, “Mommy, do you like my Afro?!?!”. Now, let’s fast-forward to middle school. I must admit, I was utterly obsessed with Lauren Hill and her whole vibe—emphasis on the natural hair. Yes, people you can thank Lauren Hill for my initial drive to go “naked”, lol. Now, let’s hop n skip to high school. At my high school, if you were “different”, consider yourself ostracized, like you had leprosy or something. So yea, cutting off all my hair and going with the “asa lama lakum” look wasn’t definitely detrimental my rep (as if I had any, lol!) Skip over to college….College…COLLEGE! Whoo! Talk about my gateway to freedom! I had a few conversations with my girl Nicole and #POW summer 06’ it was all gone…Let the ostracizing begin! I thought it was cool, apparently friends and family didn’t think the same. It was rough, I mean rough. It’s hard when people think you’re Brittany Spears kind of crazy because you cut off all your locs. To me, it was JUST HAIR..it grows back.

And grow back it did. I loved every moment, every stare, every comment, everything! I felt empowered, I felt like a new person; I was able to express myself the way I truly wanted to. :: Sigh :: those were the days! I stayed relaxer-free for approximately 21 months. Unfortunately, I fell prey to the “creamy crack” and relaxed my hair. It had to be the stupidest decision I had ever mad in my life. The only reason why I relaxed my hair was becasue I didn’t want to look a hot ghetto mess for my Birthday and I was too cheap to pay someone to style it for me. So yea, I did what I knew best, I permed it.

I only stayed permed up for about a year, maybe longer. And then here came the weed-whacker again, lol. May 2009 I cut it all off again because I missed my fro and I desperately needed a confidence boost at the time. Now, I’m 16 months in, I think, lol and I don’t plan on turning back. At least not for now. : ) To be honest with you, I love my hair in both states, I think I like the perm-free better though. It is in that state where I am most confident, where I am the best me I can be. I love it and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I’ve heard people say, “This natural hair thing is fad..” Well, it’s not a fad for everybody, especially not for me. It’s been a deep desire of mine for a while and for me to buzz cut twice just reassures me that I love the natural me. Dude, like, I’m naked, and loving it! : )

~Jay

An Artist Trapped

A Facebook Note by Jay :)

This one was requested. Haha, yea right. ;) This is nothing deep just a little more about "THE JAY" :o)



An Artist Trapped



Many people don't know this about me, but I really enjoy writing poetry, painting, and listening AND playing music. Now, I've never considered myself an artist, as every Joe Shmoe can declare themselves as one. But as I look back on my past I quickly realized that's exactly what I am. It only makes sense. Any other interpretation just doesn't coincide.

Believe it or not, my first love was drawing. Yes, drawing. I distinctly remember being able to replicate a picture of school bus when I was in kindergarten. Yes, kindergarten. As I moved on to a higher grade level, I remember getting extremely excited about Art class. I enjoyed every moment of it, from the water painting, to sculpting, to drawing, pastel, sketching....everything. I would draw on my free time whenever I had the opportunity.

This love followed me well into my middles school years. Ahhh, those were the days...drawing for people, sketching graffiti letters and the like. Truly, I enjoyed it. I also remember the day when I would daydream of having my own fashion line—at the time, I just could not find clothes that fit me properly. I would dream of different hairstyles, color schemes and everything! So you may be wondering, "Well, why didn't you take an art class or go to art school?" The answer is simple: I was always taught that an academic degree was my "way out", whether it was a nursing degree or business degree. And that's what I did. Now, has it paid off? Yes, in a sense, but I'm not happy. To this day I STILL daydream about different hairstyles, fashion ideas and the like. I still sketch and I still enjoy it.

My next love is music and poetry, but not in the way most people like it. I actually like to create it. Growing up I was always exposed to somebody in my family playing the piano or the guitar or something, and LAWD, not to mention singing. You know er'body and they mama think they Aritha Franklin, lol! For as long as I could remember I was on some choir or playing some instrument point of my life. I started "singing" in a choirs when I was like, what? 5 yrs old maybe?? I started playing the clarinet in the 7th grade and continued that until 12th grade.

I was also always writing something of some sort. I started journaling when I was in the 4th grade and I still do it now. I mean, I don't do it as frequently, but I do it nonetheless. Some of my journal entries became poetry entries. My first "official" poem (that I could remember) was named "Who Am I" written in the 8th grade. Throughout the years I took chances to "update" it. Man, I wish I could find the different pieces; it would be great to see how much I have grown as an individual.

I digress. Ironically, I never really was consistent with any of things as far as professional training was concerned. So I never really got to explore these things in depth. Now, I'm 23 with a Bachelors of Science in Psychology working as a supervisor at a retail store. With a combination of my college experience, work experience, and life experience, every part of my interest in music, art, and poetry has been sucked out. What's my point? .......I miss it, I need it. Real life hit me and I'm no longer able to dig for the artist in me. I'm not free to express myself the way I would like. Society told me to dress and act a certain way. So I did. Society told me to get an academic degree. So I did. Society told me to get a whack job AKA chase after money. So I did. Little did I know that society's agenda for me wasn't my agenda for me. I used to wonder "Who Am I". So who am I? I am an artist trapped. I want to be free...Society, please, LET ME DO MY DO!



Jay <3