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The Mask.

Face masks are like a little gift from the skincare angels. They are really quick and easy to do at home, but if you’re feeling fancy you can always go to a spa and go that extra mile. The best time to do a face mask is after you have already cleansed/exfoliated your face. You want your pores to be open and also the surface of your skin to be clean so that the face mask can attack beneath the surface. The main point of a face mask is to treat a specific condition. That may sound a little weird but it’s true. Different skin types should use different masks. On top of helping eliminate, or at least maintain, a skin issue, face masks can be extremely relaxing. Shower, wash your face/ hair, put on your preferred clothing (or robe), put on your face mask and relax while playing your favorite music until it’s time to remove the mask. Most people choose to do face mask once a week, usually at the beginning or end. There are face mask that you can use more frequently if you choose. Face mask are excellent sources for skin care regimens. However, before you can benefit from all the things face masks have to offer there are a few things you need to know about yourself/skin.

Knowing your skin and understanding your skin is very important to how you will benefit from a face mask. If your skin is oily, you want a mask that’s going to bring out any impurities/oils from under your skin. If you have dry skin, you want a mask that is hydrating. If you have inflamed/red skin, you want to use a mask that focuses on soothing and calming. Once you know these things you can learn what ingredients help your cause and pick masks that concentrate on your condition. You can go to all different stores from a drug store to a specialty store and find face masks for your skin. You can even make your own face mask at home. There are so many different recipes that you can choose from. You want to make sure to use organic ingredients so that you aren’t apply pesticides to your face, which would be counter productive. If you are not sure what type of skin you have you can see a dermatologists or even go by a beauty bar at locations like Sephora and Ulta. There are many ways to figure out your skin you just have to be willing to research and take time to understand. Knowing what type of skin you have can also help you change things that you eat that may add to the problem. No one likes blemish and pimples so might as well take out some time to help prevent and remove them safely, especially when you can relax while doing so. Face mask are a great excuse to take time to yourself for yourself. I would suggest to any one that this is something they should add to their skincare regimen; it’s made such a difference in mine.

Have you tried out any face mask? Do you think face masks work? Are you having trouble figuring out your skin type?

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In the name of all things humane,

Pharrell has done it again, and are we really surprised by it? Absolutely not. Pharrell is a genius p e r i o d . On top of his undebatable success in multiple industries he always remains conscious and well rounded, using every platform he gets to not only be an inspiration but to give back and make a difference. Not one of us can deny that our world has been a lot a bit crazy these past few weeks, so Pharrell allowed his newest collaboration with Adidas just to be a subtle reminder that we are all a part of one ultimate race. Although, his Instagram shows he has been working on this collaboration for a while, he couldn't have picked a better time to draw attention to the shoe. The Human Race. His new shoe line titled ‘Humane Race’, a twist to the normal NMD Adidas, is scheduled to debut on July 22, 2016. If you haven’t noticed by my word choice already, I absolutely love them. The first pair to drop are in the color way yellow, with ‘Human’ written on one shoe and ‘Race’ written on the other one. He picked a perfect time to begin releasing these color ways to send a nice subliminal message to society. The design of the shoe is meant to emulate the sensation of moccasins while still being breathable and having support. Nothing is better than a comfortable, stylish sneaker. The color ways are suspected to include yellow, green, red, burgundy, mint, and orange. There is speculation that other colors will also be added, probably resembling the rainbow in my opinion. The burgundy color way is my personal favorite. The shoes are pricey, but what do you expect with how sneakers are marketed now. What do you think of the Pharrell x Adidas NMD collaboration? What color is your favorite?

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Character may be manifested in the great moments, but it is made in the small ones.

Phillips Brooks

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Natural Hair Wars

August is probably the hottest month of the year, and it’s right around the corner. The heat and humidity have been reminding us of this. With the weather so hot those with natural hair are fighting a battle they are bound to loose…maybe. To prevent your hair from drying out leading to a slew of hair problems, I have a few major tips for the up and coming heat. For starters, hydrate. Hydrate your body and hydrate your hair. Deep conditioners, leave in conditioners, products like Aloe Vera Juice are key to keeping your hair from drying out and breaking or loosing its natural curl pattern. Too much frizz is always a major cause of a bad hair day. Following hydration, protective styling is your friend. Yes, we love our beautiful curls, but our curls have a hard time being beautiful when humidity and heat get a hold of them. So protect them with some nice styles to keep your hair intact. It’s okay to put your curls away from time to time. Some of the most popular forms of protective styling are braids, twist, buns. A thing to keep in mind about doing protective styles is that the point of the style is to protect not to harm. You don’t want to put tight braids/twist in your hair to wear they are pulling too tight on your roots. Same thing goes for when you have a bun. Try to have it toward the looser side. Also be mindful of what causes breakage. Using certain hair ties will cause damage your ends leaving you with split ends. Make sure you use products and styling tools that will benefit your hair. Not to mention keeping your hair up and out of your face will keep you cool, and if you have sensitive, oily, or both skin it will help you avoid a few break outs caused from the combination of heat, sweat, & natural hair oils on your face. Last but not least, drink water. Yes its cliché, but you are what you eat. Balancing the amount of water you drink will help you keep your skin together while also helping your bodies overall performance (aka your hair will continue to grow). Don’t be afraid to go for it or add your own touch. Let me know how you feel about protective hair styles. Do you think they work? What is your favorite protective hair style?

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Co-Washing?... What is that?

With all these lovely new hair care products and regimens surfacing so are new terms. One in particular is ‘co-washing’. Now if you aren’t big on natural hair, or natural hair care products, you still may have never heard this term. Well I’m here to just shed a little light on what exactly the purpose of co-washing is. In the simplest definition, co-washing is the act of washing your hair only with conditioner. Yes, that means without using shampoo. The thing about shampoos that makes it harmful to your hair strands is the fact that most of them contain sulfates. So although it may do a thorough job of cleaning your hair it is also striping it of the natural oils which can lead to dryness and breakage. And thus that leads us to the co-washing process.

 As a disclaimer co-washing does not mean just double or triple the amount of your normal conditioner and poof your hair is clean. No. You have to use the first round/second round of condition as you would shampoo. Before you even get to that part, you have to make sure you know what conditioner is going to work best for your hair, and make sure it doesn’t have silicones. Why no silicones? Of course you would want to know that. Silicones add shine to hair but over time this causing a coating to build up on your hair and that results in your hair feeling heavy while becoming dull at the same time. Not good. So be careful.

 The actual co-washing process is similar to regular hair washing. You section your hair and apply a strategic amount of conditioner and start from your scalp while massaging your wait down. Doing this will allow for all the beneficial oils to stay put while the dirt and nasty residue are removed. It’s very important that you massage your scalp and rub the conditioner in to assure its cleaning the hair. Once you’ve treated your “co” conditioner as a shampoo it’s time to regularly condition your hair. This would be the part where you focus the product to assist you on detangling. If you feel you have used a bit more product than usual, you can always repeat the process to ensure you’ve sufficiently cleaned your hair just like you would with shampoo.

 The thing is you don’t have to stop shampooing completely. If you know co-washing isn’t for you or your hair type, then try using shampoo’s that are sulfate free and have a more natural selection of ingredients. Also, although I personally co-wash I still usually shampoo once a month with a sulfate free shampoo. I do this just to ensure my hair doesn’t hold on to any excess products I may have used throughout the month, and by cutting down my shampoo use I safeguard my hair from being completely stripped of its natural oils.

 If you’re curious about how to co-wash, or what to use to co-wash I suggest you further your research using Google or even YouTube. There are a bunch of DIY conditioners and hair cleansers that are so great to use. Not to mention many bloggers have tutorials on how they co-wash and what products they have purchased to help with their process.

 Do you co-wash? Do you think co-washing works better than the normal hair washing method?

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“If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything…”

I believe that’s how the infamous quote goes. There has been a lot going on with our Earth. More recently than before the concerns of Global Warming, our deteriorating Ozone Layer, and overall damage to the Earth has become a controversial topic. With the concern of our homeland at the fore front (just a couple years back) companies decided committing to “going green” was the best way to continue pushing sales while showing they cared too. Now that the “hype” has segued from the lime light a bit it seems some of these brands haven fallen short with their commitment. You may be shocked by the brands that have stayed true vs the ones that have not. 

So 76 well known brands from across the boarders joined Greenpeace on what they call a Detox Catwalk. This is supposed to show which brands are more or less toxic free. This “Catwalk” started in 2013 and each year Greenpeace checks in to see how the brands are doing, the ultimate goal is for the brands to be chemical-free by 2020. After checking in the top three companies are H&M Group, Inditex (which is the mother company of Zara), and Benetton. A few did poorly which included Limited Brands (owners of Victoria’s Secret and others). The only one who completely failed was Nike. I found this shocking in particular, because Nike’s brand is about being healthy, living healthy, and making healthy choices. I feel this looks extremely bad on Nike’s behalf to be such an active health brand but choose to neglect its commitment to eliminating hazardous chemicals from its attire.

Now if your curious about how Greenpeace came to its decision about how brands are doing with their chemical levels feel free to go to their site GreenPeace.org. However, they have a three step criteria including Detox 2020 plan, PFC Elimination, and Transparency. Feel free to check out the link I listed above to educate yourself more on the goals of this movement and to find out how the brands are staying committed. I think it is important to stay true to your brand and if you commit to something you should see it through. This “catwalk” could make a huge difference in the world we live in allowing us all to live a bit longer. If the chemicals in our clothes are destroying the ozone layer so quickly imagine how it may be affecting our skin that’s in direct contact with these clothing items. I am not a “health freak” nor am I perfect but I am working toward a better lifestyle and I found this information to be interesting.  How do you guys feel about these brands vowing to eliminate hazardous chemicals from their clothing? Are you surprised by the companies that have fallen short of their agreement? Do you think the Catwalk Detox will help the environment?

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Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.

Benjamin Franklin

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Invest in Our Own

 Hello everyone,

I am always talking about investing in oneself and how important it is. However, I’ve realized I have not gotten too into depth about what that means. Now of course there is the obvious answer, which is taking time out for yourself and putting money into yourself; but there is another side to this investment. If you look around a lot of cultures invest in their own people, but a common factor of this is the African American community lacks that support from one another. The lack of knowledge is the biggest problem, as an African American myself I find it extremely hard to find out about more black owned business (until now). We have to bring knowledge to our homes, our children, OUR FAMILIES. If we don’t support one another, how can we expect support form someone else? This country is at war with it’s own people, and we are looking from help from everyone else but we need to stand in unity with our own first. Things that can help us are knowing where black owned businesses are located, teaching our children they are important as well as their dreams, taking time out to be aware of ways to keep our money with our people, and taking a step towards ending hatred for our own so we can be the example without being the hashtag. Let’s Stay Woke. Yes, all lives do matter, but currently Black lives are being challenged and we need to remind them we’ve been here, well be here so stop threatening our safety. Negative energy will only transfers into more negative energy, we cannot keep the violence going. We have to positively make a change. Below are a few resources I was fortunate to obtain from Sharee De Vose [@myshareeamour (on twitter)]:

Some people have mentioned that they don't know of any Black-owned businesses in their area. Here's a list of apps/resources that may help you (some apps may only be for Android, not sure):

· WhereU

· Tuloko

· Purchase Black

· The Small Black Business Directory

· Black Trade Lines

· Spendefy

· www.egrassrootsbusiness.com

· www.bbnomics.com ("100 Black-Owned...")

· www.2millionjobs.com

· www.blackbusinessnetwork.com

· www.blackeconomicdevelopment.com

Although I've found these resources, I have not used them all (so I can't speak to how helpful each is). You can also search "Black Business Economics," and other keyword combinations on Google to look for more sites and lists.

Happy spending! ‪#‎SupportBlackBusinesses ‪#‎Ujamaa ‪#‎Ujamaa365

 Please use these resources. Comment if you know any other sources for black owned businesses, or outlets to keep our community building together. How do you feel about investing in your race/culture? Do you think self investment is helpful?

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HealthTip

It’s hard to get on track with eating/living a bit healthier than you may have been. Especially when you don’t understand everything about what makes something “healthy” or “ not healthy.” The most important part about learning to live healthier, is understanding that everyone has their own remedies and schedules. I found that starting with smoothies was a better regimen for me. The next step for me was deciding on what outcome I wanted from the smoothies and what mixes would please my taste buds. I’m still working on being in a better state of health but I’ve gotten much better. Also, the internet is your friend. If you start with smoothies like me all you have to do is search and the internet will have an something that works for you.  I will link a site that has a couple of options for smoothies, but don’t think that that’s your only option. There are many different regimens. Some people find going vegan or being a vegetarian is the best result, others find that having a very strict work out schedule or cutting out red meat works better. Make sure you stay true to yourself when deciding on being more healthy. Taking the time to do your research is extremely important. Here is the link to some smoothie options: http://flip.it/yw-Du . How do you feel about healthier living? Do you find it hard to change your habits to live healthier? 

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It's a beautiful day to be Great. So be Great Today .

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Power. By definition, it is the capacity to direct the behavior of others.

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Ayesha Curry x Freshly Picked 

Looking for cute, comfy shoes for your infant? Freshly Picked has the answer. I first heard about this brand because of a family friend who always had her son in them and posting their Instagram. When I got a pair for my daughter she seemed to love them (although I only got her one pair because she has WAAAAYYY to many shoes). Honestly, I think this collaboration was a perfect match up. This brand promotes a very “no place is sweater than home” kind of feel, and the quality of their products are great. Ayesha Curry is pretty much the face of that ideal family, where God comes first, success follows, and love and peace are circulating to keep everything going. With that being said how could they not do a collaboration? Not to mention these color waves are super cute and (minus the pink one) are gender neutral. If you haven’t already, you should most definitely go check out Freshly Picked. I love Ayesha Curry for keeping her cool and showing people (especially women) how to endorse themselves using the values they hold to be true as the starting point and not losing sight of those values. What do you think of these toddler shoes? 

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Remind yourself every time you wake up what your goals are, that way you never forget what you're working towards.

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Support our Generation. Support our Artist. #QuentinGilmore

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Wake up. Physically, Mentally , & Emotionally.

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Above are photos showing how my hair came out after using the Bumble and Bumble Products. As a disclaimer, each day I did dampen my hair to reactivate the product that was put in in from the first day. With that being said I did not add any more of the product to my hair past the first day. Also, I tend to be heavier handed with products, but I was lighter handed with the gel( and only the gel) which is a lighter (slimy feeling) gel and glides through the hair way easier so that less was more. These photos go with the post ‘The Buzz About Curls.’

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The Buzz about Curls

With the weather finally breaking, if that’s how you’d like to put it, ‘tis the season for the “wash and go” look. Wash and go looks tend to be the easiest, “fastest” hairstyle for the warmer seasons. The problem with wash and go styles are knowing what products to use to allow your style to be at it’s prime and last all day. If your like me and have curly hair, finding products that hold your natural curl pattern while still fighting frizz is quite the task. However, where there is a will there is a way and I’ve recently been introduced to a very, very good product (or brand rather) and I love it. I know you all are wondering what product? What brand? Where can you find it? So here it is: the brand is Bumble & Bumble. The product(s) are the curl defining crème and the anti- humidity gel. These items can be purchased at Sephora (online or in person). The best part about this brand is that they have a collection for each texture, so it seems. For my purposes though I can only rave about their curl collection (since that is the one I used), but I’m sure you’ll get great results for any hair texture as long as you follow their guideline. This product works so well though, literally my 3rd day hair looked as flawless as my 1st day hair. Although it is on the pricier side for hair care its completely worth the money. The amount of product in the packaging is a good amount, and I’m more on heavy handed side with products (so trust if it lasts me a while it will last for you too).  If you decide to try this product, or even a different collection based on your texture let me know. How do you feel about the wash and go hairstyle process? What products do you use?