No more squeeky clean- Choosing a green shampoo

The scalp is the most absorbent part of our body. We eagerly wash, moisturize, condition, straighten, add volume and shine to our hair, which is why choosing genuinely green hair care should certainly be at the top of your priority list. However, beware of the word "organic" on the label of mainstream products, more often than not we see an  ingredient like, aloe-vera on the label that only (believe it or not) accounts for 1 percent of the product. Reading labels is so important and what we all can start learning is in-deed; the bulk of the shampoo is what truly matters for the health of our hair. The quality of detergents and amount of emollients (oils) both have to be derived without the use of toxic chemicals process.

While we love the idea of an  all-natural shampoo containing herbs, oils and botanical ingredients. Mainstream "herbal" shampoos just can't do that for us. Many mainstream shampoo products found in Wal-mart, Shoppers Drug Mart, Wal-greens and many others, exaggerate about the claims to be a natural product. They contain harsh detergents, preservatives and petroleum derived silicones. The very nature of detergent itself interferes with the scalps natural barrier function and makes it even easier for chemicals to penetrate the scalp... We all know what is underneath our scalp don't we?

If you’re looking at the ingredient list most often you'll find sodium laureth sulfate and its milder companion, laureth sulfate. Both have actually been questioned as cancer-causing ingredients although the cosmetic industry has declared them 'safe" for use. One of the greenest available cleansing agents is laurly glucoside which is a soapy blend of coconut oil, corn starch and sugar, but isn't frequently used because of its higher price.

So what should you be using?
While humectants and emollients in shampoos are a nice touch, they make very little difference because they are simply washed off too quickly. Still, vegetable glycerin, aloe extract, jojoba oil, honey and lecithin make shampoo nourishing as they fill in the pores of the hair shaft and keep the hair surface smooth and soothe and moisturize the scalp. Many organic brands offer concentrated shampoos with little added water which makes it very economical; this eliminates the need for strong preservatives. Grapefruit seed oil, wheat germ oil vitamin A, C, E and benzoin extract act as natural preservatives in these shampoos.

How often should you wash?
 It depends on the state of your hair, if your hair is fine and dry, daily shampooing even with the mildest product can increase dryness. If you you spend a lot of time in the sun or wear a lot of styling products shampooing everyday-to-every other day is recommended. By taking a look at the condition of your hair you should act accordingly. However, be aware of frequent amount of washes, which, can make your hair brittle dry and prone to split ends; especially with hard water.

Woman of color should shampoo once a week since it is much harder to retain the little oils our scalp produces in our scalp due to the kinks and coils of our hair texture. If you work out often or simply just presepire a lot in in your scalp 2 times a week is recommended.


Next post: A list of green shampoos and non-green shampoos that may help in retaining moisture and your scalp natural oils

Nu'Khara: A Birthday story

My product is made from courage, from smiles, from laughter, from late nights, from fright, from mistakes, from survival, from struggles, from life, from heart. My products are made from me... Ever before realizing Nu’Khara, it remained an unlocked thought in my cranium unacknowledged. I was pregnant with child with a pantry full of products that all seemed too risky; to not only the health of the life inside me, but to mine as well. I thought, if prescribed medicine is now dangerous because of pregnancy, hasn’t it always had a negative effect somehow? And if so, how safe will Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate be on my skin? Assuming you all know that 60% products is absorbed into your skin and into your blood stream.

Keri Lotion, that’s where the key was slowly rotated. I still remember my mom giving me the lecture about the type of products I was using on my skin and hair and the effects it would have on my health. Of course, I threw her notion away, to me she was on a different planet (a much cleaner one) and I was still on the planet they call naive and without conscience. Oblivious to the world and what I thought a company’s word meant to me. I bought in. They all said the same thing; it was generic, it was “innocent” and it was being used by many. Eventually I grew tired of getting the same results-which was nothing, I was tired of paying for something that only lasted 1-2 weeks (that did not do anything special), I was tired of someone else deciding what was supposed to be good for my skin-without explain how it’ll benefit me. 

I read and read and read. My eyes and brain were in sync with the words and the warm saliva on the tip my fingers, told the pages, which told my heart I had fallen in love with how I will contribute to lives of my family and to the many people around the world. The obsession with Nu’Khara was born on June 3^rd 2011. I emptied out my pantry and decided to make a plan on how I was going to change my life. With a new set of rules, choices, responsibilities, opinions and attitude… I have. In the summer of June 2012 Nu’Khara was born into a lover of beauty, health and certainty. Nu’Khara has come to share the story that now shows truth in a bottle. Nu’Khara allows you to choose a much higher standard of care, that makes you astonishing inside and awe-founded at the person you see before you.

Nu’Khara~ One with God, one with peace, one with love 

 For a chance to order from Nu'Khara head over to the Facebook page, where I always update my readers on health tips, product buys.and fun times Take a look and let us know what catches your fancy. Happy & safe holidays!

*We most certainly do Christmas orders. 
http://www.facebook.com/Nukhara?ref=hl

My Hair story: The Cut Pt.2

…Hours after my scalp was filled with scabs all over my head, my hair was now stuck to my scalp and there was puss and blood that were binding it there. I was going through torture trying to pull what I had left off of my scab filled scalp and that is when is when I knew something had to change. For four long years I would buy every product on the shelf that said Grow Now, Miracle Grow, and Growth Serum. Anything that promised it would get my hair back to its original state, I had it. Long and behold nothing worked, my hair was still breaking, still not getting back to being healthy, and still not reaching past my shoulders. After the three years of being relaxed in high school and transitioning into college for my first year, natural hair started to have a buzz going around the world, starting with comedian Chris Rock’s ‘Good Hair’ documentary. I decided not to listen or watch what was being said about natural hair, not because I didn’t care but because I had no desire too. I was still trying to have hope for my dead relaxed hair.

The year going into my first year of college is when I actually went my shortest and decided to follow the new trend of Rihanna, which was to go really short in the back and chin length in the front and trust me; I took it there. A couple of months later after making some close friends that I still have today and at last watching Chris Rocks documentary, I actually contemplated the thought of  cutting my hair off, which was quickly followed by turning that thought off. Until one afternoon my friend asked me if I would ever cut my hair and go natural, which I quickly answered an abrupt NO too. Even though having natural hair had been trickling through my mind for a couple of months at that point, I wasn’t going to cut off my hair! How was I going to look? Would short hair even fit my face? Would guys even look at me? As much as these questions sound shallow, these are questions that were consuming my mind. Hair is a very social and classis things in society. It identifies you as a person and no matter what first impressions are always made upon how you look and what your hair looks like.

However, when I went home that night, my friends question wouldn’t ease off my mind and I really contemplated if I could really cut off my hair. I realized that my perm date was coming up within a weeks and so was my birthday.  I went to sleep and the next morning I woke up feeling an urge to just do it. The way I saw it my hair was already short- my hair already damaged. What did I have to lose? My answer: It not growing. That was my big worry, but I took the chance. The next day I called my friend and told her I wanted her to cut off every single strand.

After my big chop (08/11/2009) I couldn’t stop smiling. I looked so beautiful and I couldn’t believe it. I think a little part of me grew, I didn’t care what others thought and that was important to me. I had one day to get acquainted with my new look and the next day would be when things got back to reality...College. On my way to school I was fine all the way up until I hit King Subway station. My heart started to beat really fast, I was nervous, I was shaking and worst of all I was late for my lecture which guaranteed me to walk in with all eyes on me, great! As I stopped pacing the halls after five minutes I finally opened the door and walked in. I searched for familiar faces which at first went from confused, to dropped jaws, too lighted eyes and then too huge smiles. I felt so relieved and happy. My friends were there to support me and told me how great I looked. They joked around about how bald I was which, surprisingly made things easier. Since then my natural journey has been a positive experience and it always makes it easier to have positivity around you. 

Good luck to all my newbies I'll be teaching you as much as I can! :) 

~Nu'khara

My Hair Strory: Why I Decided to Let The Relaxer Go pt.1

I came from a family who always had a relaxer every six weeks, blow dried and flat-ironed straight religiously. My mom had a relaxer for more than 20 odd years; her hair was long, black and soft. That’s what I remember. I also remember wanting the same thing, until my fascination was killed by her cutting her hair shorter and shorter and then eventually getting rid of her perm and also having the desire to going natural. Her then long straight hair was now replaced by Kankelon braids which, she also rocked the hell out of. Except, I wasn’t into the natural hair anymore, I never got to do any styles with my hair, all my friends had straight hair and I wanted it too. I was in between trying to fit in and looking like the ‘old’ mom. As soon as I hit my 13^th birthday I snuck over to my next door neighbors house; who was an aspiring hair stylist and got my first chemical relaxer.

For a long time my hair was still shiny, ‘healthy’ and looking good. I would get it washed and set every 1-2 weeks. However, after I moved and no longer had my aunt as my hair dresser, I decided that hair dressers were too expensive and I could do things for myself. The day I picked up the take-home box of Olive Oil perm was the day my hair would never be the same. I was over processing my hair (because “I felt those roots”) , I was coloring my hair, straightening it every day, wearing weaves, wigs and cutting it shorter and shorter every few months because, “ I hated long hair”. Yes, there probably was some truth to that, but the real reason was I couldn’t get my hair to grow past my shoulders; it was becoming very thin and brittle so cutting it into styles was a better way for me to keep up with trends without people noticing I was starting to have not so healthy hair.

I will always remember this one experience that I had with my relaxer where I had just taken out my kinky twist and decided I was going to perm my hair, even though the box had warned me not too. Even though I have experienced this before I couldn’t begin to describe the burn that I was feeling this time around. The relaxer had only been in for 10 minutes or so; I held on and was adamant on keeping it on for the desired time. As soon as the time was up I couldn’t get into that shower faster, as I began to wash the relaxer out my hair, not only was the chemical washing out, but my hair was too. Clumps and clumps of hair were now inside the palm of hand. I was literally crying about how much hair had actually come out of my scalp. After I came out of the shower I noticed how thin my hair had become in less than an hour. It had no life, no movement, and no shine. It was dead.

Stay tuned for part 2 and what happened after that...
~Nu'Khara

Using Essential oils to Combat Dandruff

Helpful essential oils for dandruff include: cedarwood, clary sage, cypress, eucalyptus, juniper,lavender, lemon, myrry, peppermint, pine, rosemary, sage, tea tree and ylang-ylang oil.

For simple dandruff: Mix 3 drops each of tea tree oil and lavender in 2tsp of a base oil (ie. almond or olive oil) and give your scalp a massage several times a week. Try also adding 4-5 drops of tea tree or lavender to 1tsp of mild unfragranced shampoo and using this to wash your hair.

For seborrheic dermatitis: Follow the same method above, but instead use bergamot, sandlewood, and lemongrass instead of tea tree and lavender. These will help balance the sebum production and lemongrass is an effective treatment for dermatitis.

Shampoo: Try Avenno Nourish + soothe, which contains lavender and peppermint to cool the scalp or check your local health food store.

~Nu'khara

Dandruff Relief Now!

There are two different types of dandruff:

1.Simple Dandruff: Where small particles of dry skin flake off the scalp and get trapped  in the hair.

2.Seborrheic Dermatitis: Where over production of sebum causes excess secretion to get trapped in patches of skin on the scalp, which can get infected causing itching, scabbing and inflammation.

Dandruff can occur due to an overly dry or oily scalp condition. It can also be a sensitivity to hair and scalp products such as; color, perms, sprays, grease, conditioners etc. This may cause irritation due to fungal overgrowth, or even contributing to overproduction of the oil glands.Stress, trauma and illness can worsen dandruff and the best way to treat dandruff are by good nutrition and hygiene. It is normal to experience flaking, but if you are having a lot, your diet may be too rich in sugars, salt, dairy products and/ or fried foods.

Foods such as; boccoli and onions are both high in selenium which help to alleviate dandruff from within.

Yogurt or probiotics supplements: since dandruff has to do with an overgrowth of yeast the yogurt and especially probiotics will typically lower the overgrowth since that is what it is meant to do within your body.

Snacking: Maintaining your blood sugar with a health-friendly snack is very important for people suffering with dandruff. yeast actually starts to grow out of control when your blood sugar gets too high. For steady blood sugar and less yeast, choose foods low on the glycemic index and pairing your carbohydrates with proteins and healthy fats to slow the absorption of sugars into the body. For examample if you pair a whole wheat bagel with almond/peanut butter, your blood sugar will be less dramatic than if you eat the bagel by itself.

Shampoo: Try using Avenno Nourish + soothe, which contains lavender and peppermint to cool the scalp or you can upgrade to medicated shampoo that contains pyrithione to control yeast, such as head and shoulders or Nizoral A.D anti fungal shampoo. You can use regular conditioner and style as usual!

3 different ways you can Do-It-Yourself!

1. An old folk remedy is to combine fresh ginger juice with equal parts of cold-pressed coconut oil. Apply the mixture to your scalp before bed and shampoo it out in the morning. For black hair, I would suggest leaving it under a cap for 30mins-1 hour and then washing it out. It is also said that in Jamacia they rub aloe vera into their scalp until it disappears.

2. This could also be used as a deep conditioner that gets washed out thoroughly. Choose from these essential oils: basil, birch, cedarwood, geranium, juniper, rosemary, sage or tea tree oil. You can use one or a combinaton of 2 or more.

1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 teaspoon tea tree oil or of your choice

Combine and blend well. Massage into scalp before bed. Cover your head with a loose fitting shower cap.

3. Simply add 2 crushed aspirins in your normal everyday shampoo It will work quickly in clearing your scalp of dandruff and grime. Expensive dandruff shampoo's contain salicylic acid, which is present in aspirin, so it works the same way just the fraction of the price.

~Nu'khara

Leave In-Conditioners

Moisturizers are a must-have in every healthy hair-care regimen. Select one water based moisturizer and one protein based moisturizer. Any of the two moisturizers should not contain petrolatum, and minerals that will coat your hair. Rather look for water, humectants, natural oils and/or butters. 

Having a leave-in for moisture nd one for protein can allow you to identify your hair needs at the time. Rule of thumb: use a moisture leave-in 3 days a week and the protein leave-in twice a week. Once, you begin to learn what you hair likes you can add or subtract days of usage. You'll feel the difference :).

 

Leave- in sprays/ mist: Are great for touching up your natural curls throughout the day. They work well with natural, relaxed braided, twisted, or sew-in styles. *Best suited for finer hair types.

Creamy leave-ins: Are best suited for those with thicker, course hair types.