That's What I'm Talmbout, Pedro!!

QUOTE OF THE DAY - JANUARY 14, 2010:

"The only way to bring him into understanding is by putting the pain on him and understand that everybody understands pain..."

Bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahahahahahaha! Only in Memphis. Homeowner beats up would-be burglar. I guess he thought because Pedro was 51 and he was in his 20s, that it'd be easy to just take him down. Guess again!

Read the story and see the video here.

The Good Stuff

As a follow up to the post two days about about the synthetic chemicals, I just wanted to list a few things here that you can use, for those of us who are not kitchen mixtresses.

AUBREY ORGANICS: Aubrey Organics has been on the scene for years. Surprisingly, I have never tried any of their products. Aubrey knows all about the bad, synthetic ingredients and he doesn't use any of them. I've heard many folks gush about the Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose conditioner. It's on my list of things to try for conditioner washes.

GIOVANNI: Giovanni Hair Care Products are also known for using organic ingredients and none of the synthetic ingredients we should try to avoid. You can likely find both Giovannit and Aubrey Organics in your local health food store.

KUUMBA MADE: I like to add fragrance to the things I mix at home. But sometimes, I want something other than the essential oil fragrances. I've been adding lavender and lemongrass to my body butter, and the lemongrass is usually the stronger scent. I was at a loss as to what I could add without adding anything crazy. That's when Kenya told me about Kuumba Made. I got the Amber & Sandalwood scent, and the Black Coconut scent. I have on the body butter I mixed wtih the black coconut. I only added lavender to this batch, and I can smell the Black Coconut over the lavender. Our local Health HOme Market sells these fragrances - ask around in your area to see if your local health food store has them.

ORGANIQUE BY HIMALAYA: Organique's website boasts that their products are "free from over 200 synthetic ingredients." Although the company has been around since 1930, I really just heard about these products in the last 6 months. I'm attracted to the fact that they use herbs based in Ayurveda. I have some samples of these products from oru last Meet Up, and I can't wait to use them!

These are the lines I can remember off the top of my head. I know there are more, so I will make a part two for this post.

I Use Nothing but Juices and Berries...

OK, not really. LOL! But given yesterday's discussion on synthetic ingredients, I set out to find something natural to use as a moisturizing deep conditioner. As you know, I had to let my beloved Jessicurl Too Shea conditioner go, because it has one of the baddies in it. What was I to do? At that point, I had no conditioners in the house. I had not gotten any Aubrey Organics or Giovanni when I was at Healthy Home Market on Saturday. I had to use something in the house, or something that was readily obtainable from a grocery store.

I decided to try coconut milk. I had read about it in passing, but had not put it to the test. Of course, I had no coconut milk in the house. I mean, who keeps that in the house? Not us "kitchen-challenged" (read: non-cooking)folks. I'd venture to say that not many folks who cook keep coconut milk in the house. I had to run to Trader Joe's since I needed some more supplements, so I decided to see if they had coconut milk. They had one can of "light" coconut milk. I wasn't sure what that meant, but I purchased it anyway. I ultimately went to the grocery store and got a regular can of Goya Coconut Milk. I checked the ingredients and didn't see anything bad.

At home, I gave myself a cleansing treatment with Kalpi Tone, Shikakai, and Amla powders. I made sure to scritch my scalp well. I let that sit longer than intended. I got distracted watching Snapped. While this was sitting on my head, I mixed the following:

• Approx 1/2 can of the coconut milk (it may have been more than half...sorry, peeps)
  
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  
• 3 tablespoons honey
  
• 1/2 tablespoon organic molasses
  

I had poured a whole tablespoon of molasses and then somewhere in the back of my mind, my inside voice reminded me that I had read that molasses can act like a protein. I think I probably would have been ok, as I haven't done a protein treatment in a while. But I decided to err on the side of caution and I only poured about half the teaspoon in.

For those of you who have never used coconut milk before, it does not have that toasted coconut smell like the unrefined oil. It was just sort of bland, actually. I mixed all of this together and let it sit. It was very "liquid," so I knew it was going to be a messy application process. I was right. After I rinsed the powders out, I intended on applying this treatment while in the shower, but I couldn't see what I was doing. I had this mixture all over my sink and floor when this was all over.

I planned to sit under my heat cap for 30 minutes, but that turned into an hour...between writing last night's blog, cutting up with the folks on Twitter about the Celebration of Gospel on BET, and chatting on the net. Oops! Oh well, no harm no foul. When I was initially applying the mixture, I was able to finger comb through some of my tangles. But after leaving it on for so long, I had to work a little harder to detangle because of shrinkage. But it still worked, I just had to detangle in the shower. I also had to put about 4 plastic caps on my head, but I knew it would still drip out. I ended up putting a towel around my next and that kept me dry.

After rinsing and detangling, I put Asha's Mane Attraction Hair Butter throughout my hair. I let it air dry to about 80% dry, and then put in my usually flat twists for a twist out the next morning. I applied HairVeda's Vatika Frosting to my scalp and then tied with a scarf and went to bed. When I took the twists out this morning, my hair was extra soft! Matter of fact, I realize after that treatment that I don't even need to use much Asha's. I didn't use a lot and it was still too much. It feels GREAT and the sheen is off the chain.

Overall I give this a 4 out of 5 stars. I have to do something about the messiness. Someone online suggested adding Knox Gelatin to the mixture. I just wonder how that alters the effectiveness of the treatment, if it alters it at all. I'm thinking for now that I will try to find some type of squeeze bottle, and pour the mixture into there. Then I could go with my original plan of applying in the shower.

If you try this, you have to come back and let me know how it works for you. :)

They Put What in What???

I am a member of the Natural Hair Meet Up group here in Charlotte. One of our awesome members is a certified organic health expert (OK I know I got that wrong but I can't remember her exact title right now). She works at Healthy Home Market in Davidson (north of Charlotte) and has been my go-to person with health questions.

I got to the meeting a few minutes late. HHM was kind enough to let us use their new community room for the get together. I have to say I smiled widely when I walked in and saw all the "nappies" (that's what we call ourselves). Locs, twists, twist outs, braid outs, 'fros...just awesomeness!!

You don't have to be a black female to see how many products are THROWN at us in this endless search for manageable, healthy, beautiful hair. Not that they aren't thrown at other women, but I've noticed in the past 10 years that the "ethnic hair care section" has been growing exponentially. Used to be a piece of a shelf, now it's a big section in stores like WalMart, Walgreens and others.

I personally have gotten away from using a lot of the commercial products. Mainly because of two ingredients: petroleum/mineral oil, and sodium lauryl/laureth sulfate. The former because up to Friday's meeting, I only knew that it was not moisturizing and therefore would defeat the purpose for someone who has hair prone to dryness. The latter for the same deal - it strips the hair of natural oils, and contributes to dryness.

Friday's meeting opened my eyes. While I was on the right track with avoiding those two things, that was just the tip of the iceberg, and the reasons I cited weren't even the most important!

Kenya gave us so much information, my head was spinning. She is a two time lymphoma survivor, and is really vested in this information. I knew she was going to hit us with the cold, hard truth. The first part of the meeting was a true/false quiz. All the answers were false. I am going to ask her for the questions so I can post them for you here at a later date.

After that, she gave us all a free copy of "Natural Ingredients Dictionary," by Aubrey Hampton. Aubrey Hampton is the founder of Aubrey Organics products. The dictionaries were donated to the store, so that we could have them for free. At the back of this dictionary, Kenya had us turn to a list entitled "Ten Synthetic Cosmetic Ingredients to Avoid." Here are those 10 things:

• METHYL, PROPYL, BUTYL AND ETHYL PARABEN
  
• DIETHANOLAMINE (DEA), TRIETHANOLAMINE (TEA)
  
• DIAZOLIDINYL UREA, IMIDAZOLIDINYL UREA
  
• SODIUM LAURYL/LAURETH SULFATE
  
• PETROLATUM
  
• PROPYLENE GLYCOL
  
• PVP/VA COPOLYMER
  
• STEARLKONIUM CHLORIDE
  
• SYNTHETIC COLORS
  
• SYNTHETIC FRAGRANCES
  

More on some of those in a minute. Kenya asked us to bring 3 - 5 hair and body products that we like to use, so that we could look for these ingredients. The first four listed are almost always in the products marketed towards women of color. I took some Victoria Secrete and Bath & Body Work's lotions, one of my Soul Purpose shea butter balms, and my Suave conditioner. I was using Suave for my conditioner washes, but the other things I really haven't been using much, since I've been making my own scented body butter.

Well I'm here to tell ya - those lotions and that Suave have several of these ingredients that need to be avoided. There were at least 20 people in that room. If we all brought 5 products, there were at least 100 products there (granted, probably some duplicates, but still). Out of all of them, only ONE product passed the test. And it wasn't something readily available in the stores. ONE product? Just ONE?? Wow.

If I type out all the things about those ten ingredients, this would be a ridiculously long blog post. I encourage you to research and read for yourself, and then make your own decisions. But here are a few tidbits:

• METHYL, PROPYL, BUTYL AND ETHYL PARABEN - this is used to extend product shelf life. It is weakly estrogenic and is easily absorbed through the skin. Known to be toxi.
  
• DIETHANOLAMINE (DEA), TRIETHANOLAMINE (TEA)- used as emulsifiers/foaming agents. Can cause allergic reactions, eye irritation and dryness of hair and skin. They are ammonia compounds and form cancer-causing nitrosamines when they are mixed with nitrates. Toxic if absorbed over a long period of time.
  
• DIAZOLIDINYL UREA, IMIDAZOLIDINYL UREA - preservatives. Primary cause of contact dermatitis. AKA Germall II and Germal 115. They both release formaldehyde! Yuck!
  
• SODIUM LAURYL/LAURETH SULFATE - harsh detergent. Many times derived from petroleum. Causes many allergic reactions.
  
• PETROLATUM - well, y'all already know this is the fuel we put into our vehicles. Petroleum jelly and mineral oil are derived from petrolatum. There's no nutrient value in these ingredients. It doesn't moisturize - matter of fact, it can interfere with your body's own moisturizing mechanism.
  
• PROPYLENE GLYCOL - IF this is derived from vegetable glycerin mixed with grain alcohol, it is ok. But generally it's a synthetic petrochemical mix...can cause hives and eczema. A girl in class stated that she has eczema and her doctor actually gave her an Rx for a cream with this in it. Things that make ya go hmmm...
  
• PVP/VA COPOLYMER - this is a waste material from the production of plastic. I don't think I need to add anything else here...
  
• STEARLKONIUM CHLORIDE - get this: this product was developed by the FABRIC INDUSTRY as a fabric softener. How the hell did it wind up in hair conditioners?? This is toxic!!
  
• SYNTHETIC COLORS - You know how you read food and product labels, and a color will be listed as FD & C Red No. 6, or D & C Green NO. 6? This is what they are - synthetic colors. They can be carcinogenic. And they don't have to tell you what they used to "make" the color.
  
• SYNTHETIC FRAGRANCES - a synthetic fragrance can have up to 200 ingredients. Just ONE fragrance. And again, they don't have to tell you what the ingredients are. Some of the synthetic fragrances can cause hyperpigmentation and skin irritation, and a laundry list of other affects.
  

We didn't even get into talking about make up. I'm scared for when we do. But I know it's coming, so I will steel myself accordingly. We DID discuss deodorants/anti-perspirants. I've known for a while that these are not good. We NEED to sweat. That's one of the ways the lymphatic system gets rid of waste products from our bodies. Anti-perspirants don't allow us to do this. We have some pretty important lymph nodes under our arms, right near our breasts. So imagine what we're holding in? Even knowing this, I still swabbed on my Degree or Secret and went on about my day. When questioned about an alternative, Kenya advised us about a deodorant called
Crystal Body Deodorant Stick. What this amounts to is a stick of mineral salts. It's clear. It has no scent/odor. It's Ammonium Alum.

I'll be the first to tell you I gave a side eye at what she referred to as "the rock" (the large size is formed into a big rock shape and last for a loooooooong time). We were like, um...what is a rock gonna do for us? Well that odor under our arms is caused by odor-causing bacteria. The Crystal stick provides a barrier that stops the bacteria from forming. You either wet the stick or apply to wet skin. It will dry clear.

I bought the smallest size. I was majorly skeptical about this. I'm not trying to walk around smelling like Pepe LePew. Especially since I work out several times per week. Saturday morning was the test. I told my friend Lori that I'd go with her so she could walk on the treadmill up in the work out room at my job. You must apply this to clean armpits, so I showered and applied it. I put on my work out clothes and headed up to the gym. I wimped out on my work out and only ran 2.6 miles (yeah, yeah, yeah. I know), but I most definitely was sweating. After I got off of the treadmill I did a quick smell check. Nothing. Hmmmm. Went home, disrobed and still nothing! I showered and re-applied. Now the rest of that day, Verizon got my pressure up (and thus my body temp and sweating) and then the Cowboys-Eagles game had some tense moments. When I tell you there was not ONE OUNCE OF ODOR, I truly mean it. Not one! I truly believe that every product is YMMV (your mileage may vary). What works for some may not work for others. But it is not expensive, and I had nothing to lose by trying it. We'll see how it works out for the rest of the week.

I could go on, but I'm going to wrap this up. Ultimately, whatever you decide to do is up to you. There are so many toxins we're exposed to on a daily basis. We may not be able to omit exposure from all of them, but I'm all for reducing where I have control. I'm perturbed that we've been hoodwinked and bamboozled by some of these companies for so long - but that's another discussion for another post. I purged my products yesterday. It really hurt me to my heart that my Jessicurl Too Shea conditioner had the diazolidinyl urea in it. Everything else was great! I'm mad that I ordered a liter. All my smell good lotions are hitting the trash can as well. I've posted pics of the purge and keep piles below.

One of the most important things Kenya said on Friday is this: we have to change our perceptions of what our hair is supposed to look like, smell like, and how it's supposed to feel. Same thing with our skin. A lot of these ingredients are producing an illusion. And that illusion can be hazardous to our health.

LINKS:
On Facebook? Become a fan of Kenya's page, Minority Natural Health Network

On Twitter? Follow her - HealthBeatNews

Her blog - Health Beat News

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PURGED at the top, and KEPT at the bottom:

Ride or Die, Fool!

So...we all have that one crazy friend. Well, maybe more than one, now that I think about it. They always have some kind of shenanigans going on, usually involving a guy, and they want to get you to participate with them. This morning I was talking to two of my co-workers, and we somehow got on the subject of this. Given who one of the co-workers is, this doesn't surprise me, but anywho...

I moved to Charlotte in 1999. I met several pretty cool people through my job. One was a woman named T. T was cool - she was 30...at that time I was 24. She was good friends with KappaC (yeah, the one who left me in the woods with the wild boar), and we all used to hang out together. T was dating this guy who split his time between Charlotte and Winston-Salem, due to his job. She apparently had some suspicions that he was up to no good. One night, I get a phone call:

Me: Hello
T: Hey girl, it's T.
Me: What's up?
T: Listen...I need to drive up to Winston-Salem to check on X. He told me he was gonna be doing one thing, but I think he's up to something else.
Me: OK...
T: But I don't wanna take my car. He'll recognize it, if he is home. Can we take your car? I'll drive.
Me: Um...ok....I guess? <-- getting pulled into the okie doke and don't even realize.
T: OK. I'll be at your apartment in 20 minutes. Wear black. *click*

Now, when someone tells you to wear black, you gotta know that something is a-foot. You should probably say no and decline to participate. Being the young, naive person I was at the time, I didn't think much of it. She pulls up to my house and drives us up to Winston-Salem. We get to his house and she jumps out of the car and wants me to "kill the lights" so she can peek in his garage windows to check for his car. Problem was, I was driving a 96 Chevy Corsica. At that time, the manufacturers were still working on that whole "daytime running lights" thing. So my lights would be on, even if I had the button in the "off" position. I had to figure out how to turn them off. She went straight into panic mode. LOL!

Long story short: fool wasn't home. We went up a side street and parked the car, with our dang seats leaned back like we were PIs. At any moment I expected Winston-Salem PD to roll up on us because one or two neighbors were out walking their dogs, and 2 - 3 cars ended up driving by. Finally, around 2:00am or so, she decided she was over it. I drove us back home.

Do you have any friends who try to talk you into foolishness? Have you ever called your own friends up for a "ride or die" mission? Details! Inquiring minds want to know!

Hey Mr. DJ...

TwitterFriends and I were discussing music/playlists to keep you motivated while you are running or working out. I have two playlists on my iPod that are long enough to take me through a half marathon or any long distance run. I usually set the iPod to "shuffle albums" and then let it do its thing. So even though I know what songs are on there, I don't know which one is going to play next.

I tend to love old school music, so here are a couple of playlists for those who are interested (yes...I gave iTunes some serious change. But some of this I had on different CDs in my collection):

OLD SCHOOL RAP/HIP HOP PLAYLIST:
55 songs, 4.1 hours
This playlist wasn't made for running, it was just all the songs I loved. But I found that listening to a lot of these songs kept my mind occupied enough that I could still run, but I had something to think about other than how tired I was or how much I'd rather just be eating ice cream.

• Ain't No Half Steppin' [Explicit]- Big Daddy Kane
  
• Bonita Applebum - A Tribe Called Quest
  
• The Bridge Is Over [Explicit] - BDP
  
• Buddy - De La Soul
  
• Cha Cha Cha (Explicit LP Version) - MC Lyte
  
• Check The Rhime - A Tribe Called Quest
  
• Chief Rocka (Explicit)- Lords of the Underground
  
• Children's Story [Explicit]- Slick Rick
  
• The Choice Is Yours (Revisited)- Black Sheep
  
• Don't Sweat The Technique - Eric B & Rakim
  
• Doowutchyalike (LP Version) - Digital Underground
  
• Electric Relaxation - A Tribe Called Quest
  
• Flava In Ya Ear - Craig Mack
  
• Get Up Everybody - Salt-N-Pepa
  
• Gittin' Funky (LP Version) - Kid N' Play
  
• Hey Young World - Slick Rick
  
• Hip Hop Junkies - Nice & Smooth
  
• The Humpty Dance (LP Version)- Digital Underground
  
• I Got It Made (Clean Version)- Special Ed
  
• I Know You Got Soul - Eric B & Rakim
  
• I Like It (I Wanna Be Where You Are)- Grand Puba
  
• I Wish - Skee-Lo
  
• It's A Shame - Monie Love
  
• It Takes Two - Rob Base
  
• Just A Friend [Explicit] - Biz Markie
  
• Keep Rising To The Top - Doug E. Fresh
  
• Kiss You Back (Single Version)- Digital Underground
  
• Ladies First (LP Version)- Queen Latifah/Monie Love
  
• Latifah's Had It Up To Here (Amended LP Version)- Queen Latifah
  
• Looking At The Front Door - Main Source
  
• Love Me Or Leave Me Alone (Explicit LP Version)- Brand Nubian
  
• Ownlee Eue (LP Version) - Kwame
  
• Paid In Full - Eric B & Rakim
  
• Passin' Me By - The Pharcyde
  
• Peaceful Journey - Heavy D & The Boyz
  
• Poor Georgie (Explicit LP Version) - MC Lyte
  
• Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat) (2005 Digital Remaster) (Explicit)- Diggable Planets
  
• The Rhythm (LP Version)- Kwame
  
• Rollin' With Kid 'N Play (LP Version) - Kid 'N Play
  
• Same Song (Edit Version)- Digital Underground
  
• Say No Go - De La Soul
  
• Self Destruction - Stop The Violence Allstars
  
• The Show - Doug E. Fresh
  
• So Wat Cha Sayin' (Explicit) - EPMD
  
• South Bronx [Explicit]- BDP
  
• Straighten It Out (LP Version)- Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth
  
• They Reminisce Over You (Single Version)- Pete Rock & C.L. SMooth
  
• They Want EFX - Das EFX
  
• Treat 'Em Right (LP Version)- Chubb Rock
  
• U.N.I.T.Y. - Queen Latifah
  
• Vapors [Explicit]- Biz Markie
  
• What's On Your Mind - Eric B & Rakim
  
• Work It Out - Monie Love
  
• You Can't See What I Can See - Heavy D. & The Boyz
  
• You Gots 2 Chill [Explicit]- EPMD
  

80S POP/ROCK PLAYLIST:
52 songs, 3.8 hours
I'm an 80s baby...what can I say. These are not all running-paced songs, so when I do listen to this I sometimes have to hit forward.

• Something About You - Level 42 (OK I LOVE this song and was very psyched when Anthony David re-made it in 08)
  
• Human (Extended Version)- Human League
  
• Things Can Only Get Better - Howard JOnes
  
• Back In The High Life Again - Steve Winwood
  
• The Warrior - Scandal feat. Patty Smyth (this is actually my "boost" song on Nike +)
  
• Always Something There To Remind Me - Naked Eyes
  
• Steppin' Out - Joe Jackson
  
• Look of Love, Pt 1 - ABC
  
• Abracadabra - Steve Miller Band
  
• We Don't Talk Anymore - Cliff Richard (ok this is 70s - why is this on here? LOL)
  
• Too Late for Goodbyes - Julian Lennon
  
• Hold Me Now - Thompson Twins
  
• I Can Dream About You - Dan Hartman
  
• Cruel Summer - Bananarama
  
• Genius of Love - Tom Tom Club
  
• Catch Me I'm Falling - Pretty Poison
  
• She Blinded Me With Science - Thomas Dolby
  
• Living Years - MIke and the Mechanics
  
• Keep On Loving You - REO Speedwagon
  
• I'll Be Over You - Toto
  
• Promises, Promises - Naked Eyes
  
• TRUE - Spandau Ballet
  
• If You Don't Know Me By Now - Simply Red
  
• Valerie - Steve Winwood
  
• Everybody Wants To Rule The World - Tears For Fears
  
• Burning Down the House - Talking Heads
  
• The Captain Of Her Heart - Double
  
• No One Is To Blame - Howard Jones
  
• Dont You Want Me Baby - Human League
  
• Breaking Us In Two - Joe Jackson
  
• Foolish Heart - Steve Perry
  
• While You See A Chance - Steve Winwood
  
• Who's Crying Now - Journey
  
• Every Time You Go Away - Paul Young
  
• In The Air Tonight - Phil Collins
  
• Take it on the run - REO Speedwagon
  
• Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)- Journey
  
• Shout - Tears for Fears
  
• Roll With It Baby - Steve Winwood
  
• Don't Dream It's Over - Crowded House
  
• All I Need - Jack Wagner
  
• Owner of a Lonely Heart - Yes
  
• Take On Me - A-ha
  
• Holding Back the Years (12" Extended Mix) - Simply Red
  
• Don't You (Forget About Me)- Simple Minds
  
• Take My Breath Away (Love Theme from "Top Gun")- Berlin
  
• In Your Eyes - Peter Gabriel
  
• Sledgehammer - Peter Gabriel
  
• Once In a Lifetime - Talking Heads
  
• Don't Stop Believin' - Journey
  
• Head Over Heels - Tears for Fears
  
• I Can't Wait - Nu Shooz
  

So, as you can see...my musical tastes are all over the place. What I run to depends really on how I'm feeling. Some people need really high energy music. I just need something I like that will keep me entertained. Experiment - make your own playlists and share! What type of music do you listen to when you work out?

It's 2010!

The first post of the new year! Woo hooo!!

I brought in the New Year in style at SkateTowne in Atlanta, GA. They even gave us champagne and cake. I don't know how roller skating and champagne mix, but ok. I had a great time in Atlanta...I got to see some old skate friends, hang out with my cousin, and had lunch today with old co-workers. Everyone keeps asking me when I'm coming back. I just tell them, "you never know!"

Other than that, I've been sick with some kind of mutant cold since Christmas Eve. It's really putting a kink in my running plans. I ran last Monday and last Tuesday, and that's it. I got too busy on Wednesday, and Thursday night was skating. Friday and Saturday, I just didn't feel up to it. NOt to mention that GA decided to have massive cold front, and it was like 18 degrees in the morning. I did at least get 2 skate sessions in, because I skated on Sunday night as well. If I can get rid of this cough, I will get back to my running. We were debating on a half marathon this spring. I need time to get ready, though.

I hope everyone had a great new year, and I'm looking forward to what 2010 has to bring!