To the Mother Land...

I'm a product junkie...

"What the fuck is a product junkie?" <----you questioning me

Well my loves, a product junkie is someone who loves to try new products. Soaps, lotions, facial cleansers, shampoos, etc...I can't tell you how much money I've put into different shit for my body. Some were flops, some are forever staples. Well today I'm going to tell you about an all purpose product I've "found". I use the quotes because I knew about it forever and even have used products that had this ingredient but never went straight to the source so to speak...

Shea Butter!

The bigger/badder cousin of cocoa butter. Personally I hate the way cocoa butter smells on me (I love it on a man though....especially a dark skinned one...looking like chocolate...smelling like chocolate....oh sorry, I'll get back on topic) but shea butter has no real discernible smell, which is good news for me, not to mention it's superior to cocoa butter, FTW! I won't go into the history of shea butter because if you buy it, usually it's right on the tub (see above pic) I bought the same exact tub (10ounces) from the beauty supply store for 5.49...not a bad deal in my opinion especially when you compare tubs of body butter and other moisturizers that only have trace amounts of shea butter in it (Rule of 5***) and charge double, or triple of that amount...or more.

I replaced my face moisturizer with shea butter, I swipe my finger in the tub, take out a tiny amount, rub it in my hands and put on my face...it's been 2 weeks since I started doing this and dark marks have diminished, my combination skin is smooth and supple all over and it's never oily or heavy. I also use it on my son whose skin literally drinks up lotion and I don't want to use mineral oil on him because it's not good for your skin and this keeps him moisturized all day without a problem. I love this as a moisturizer because I can still put on my perfume and my son can put on his cologne....yes his cologne

And it doesn't smell like anything other than what I intend to smell like.

Another GREAT thing about shea butter....my hair LOVES it! I've been having such a hard time finding something to moisturize my hair and not leave it greasy or have buildup in my scalp...well I found what I needed.

I take a spray bottle...put in a couple dollops of shea butter, a bit of glycerin, few drops of carrot oil, carol's daughter black vanilla leave in conditioner for fragrance (and it does a very good job of softening the hair), and some water, shake it up and spray on my hair. The natural portion of my hair LOOOOOOVES it. Curls spring up and I can feel the moisture in my hair (it feels cool to the touch). I use it in my son's hair as well...when he has a fresh hair cut waves instantly form, when he has a bit more hair (a.k.a. when I'm being too lazy to take him to the barber) and I use it he gets the cutest little curls.

Anywho...if you're a natural hair girl such as me...GETCHU SOME! If you have dry skin....GETCHU SOME! If you have discoloration or stretch marks....GETCHU SOME! Tell em Epitome sent cha ;-)