If it is not about race...

then don't mention the color of someone's skin in your argument.

Jumping on the Bandwagon- Carol's Daughter Shampoo Review

Yes, I have decided to try the "miracle tonic" for black women's hair. My reason's for trying these products are simple:

1) No sodium sulfates. Lathering shampoos kill my kinks.
2) It is cheaper to buy these products and have them shipped than mix my own. Raw ingredients are expensive in Japan.
3) I bought new cookware and want to keep them pristine for as long as possible.

Japanese products are not an option. They are way too harsh for my hair. I like as little product as possible. My reviews will consist of the goodie bag sent to me by my beloved Mommy. I really can't comment on cost because it was all on the parents dime. (I'll pay them back when I visit for Christmas).

The Products:
Khoret Amen Herbal Shampoo with Sea Moss
Rosemary Mint Herbal Shampoo with Sea Moss
Black Vanilla Herbal Shampoo
Tui Herbal Shampoo


I'll keep it simple.

Rosemary Mint Herbal Shampoo with Sea Moss

Pros: Smells great! It reminds of the green creamy center in Keeblers Grasshoppers Cookies. (Aaahh...that takes me back). Creamy texture easy to know where it's going in your hair.
Cons: You know how sometimes you wake up sick and your tongue and mouth is all coated with white scum? Imagine that look and feel on your hair. My fro was white and sticky! I had to use another shampoo to get it out.
Verdict: I will do a spot test on my skin. If it doesn't irritate it I will use it to shave my legs. Or I may try it on some chicken (kidding).

Khoret Amen Herbal Shampoo with Sea Moss

Pros: Fresh scent like clipped grass but very light. It makes me think of laundry flapping in the breeze in the countryside. Creamy texture easy to know where it's going in your hair. Gently cleans without over-stripping hair.
Cons: It requires a little extra rinse out time than with other shampoos. It doesn't dry my hair but it doesn't seem very conditioning either. If you use lots of leave-in product then you will definitely need 2-3 shampoos.
Verdict: It is a keeper for shampoos that do not follow a night out in a smoky/polluted area or days where you have used lots of product. This will probably be my travel shampoo.

Tui Herbal Shampoo

Pros: Very very gentle shampoo. This could be good for every day use. It smells fruity but not overpowering. It's kind of like pineapple upside down cake topped with cherries for your hair, or a fruit juice Capri Sun. Loved the smell. Although gentle it cleaned surprisingly well. It has a watery consistency which moves easily through afro hair.
Cons: On the flip side its consistency makes it hard to apply. You cannot put it in your hands because it will just run off resulting in pouring most of the bottle down the drain on the first try and having to carefully walk across a slick bathroom floor to your cabinet, fish around in a box filled with peanuts and bubble wrap trying to find the other bottle so you can finish washing your hair. You could dump it straight on your hair but you will probably use too much because you cannot see what your doing. No matter how gentle it is, too much shampoo is never a good thing.
Verdict: If you have the patience to play around with amounts and figure out how to get it on your hair I would recommend it.

Black Vanilla Herbal Shampoo

Pros: It smells like a vanilla candle, soft and warm. I actually found it quite therapeutic. If you like cooking pumpkin pie-esque smells this is a good one. This gently cleanses and nourishes. This shampoo seems to take out the bad stuff but there is no stripping at all. It moves like honey (without the stickiness) so it is easy to apply but glides through the hair like water and rinses easily. If you use no product it won't strip. If you use some product it will wash it away. It did a good job washing out the Rosemary Mint Herbal Shampoo with Sea Moss. You could skip conditioner with this (less money and product).
Cons: It's not sold in Japan. I didn't think of it first, call it Judy's Daughter and get a copyright so I could be rich.
Verdict: This is my favorite shampoo so far. It is probably one of the best I have ever used. Just look at the happy fro at the top of this post!


Next Review: Conditioners and Leave-Ins.

Tui Leave-In Conditioner
Black Vanilla Hair Smoothie
Lisa's Hair Elixir
Hair Milk
Some of Marguerite's Magic

It makes you wonder...

I am utterly amazed by the autobiographical story Tony Dokoupil wrote for Newsweek's True Crime Week Series. It is entitled My Father The Dope Dealer. Actually it's not the story that amazes me. In fact the outcome is exactly what I would expect when a distributor of illegal drugs (marijuana and cocaine) gets caught up in the "high life" and begins using his own product. Basically he screws himself and the whole operation up. The collateral damage of hitting rock bottom is he abandons his son, winds up in prison (although for only like a year or something), comes back to smack his wife around and basically winds up penniless. Here is where the surprise comes in...the comments section after the article. After reading every comment (all 6 pages of them) as of Thursday 3:00 pm (Tokyo time) I was gobsmacked. The overwhelming majority of comments were blasting the author for being upset with his dad. Some of the gems:

Posted by Haywardgirl:
"I would never deny my father the opportunity to meet his grandson."

(Note: Father still uses crack and cocaine, occasionally)

Posted by SeEiNg_SoUnDs:
I can safely say that he did it for you. It may not have been an honest way of making money, but he provided for you, cared for you, and just wanted to make sure you had a complete childhood.

(Note: The father stressed he did it for the thrill and the high of being the big man.) This was not about scraping to get by and feed his son.

Posted by imherenow:
Waah waah, you had it sooo tough, dude you dont know what tough is. What you ought to be is thankful that you even had a taste of the good life,

(Note: Therefore abandonment is justified. Who needs a daddy when you can have... things?)

There were a lot of "don't judge him" and "everyone makes mistakes" comments. It was unreal. The basic sentiment seemed to be, "So daddy left, don't fault him because he was just trying to live his life. No one is perfect" and such...

Why does he get such a pass? Why is there so much sympathy for the father and so much vitriol towards the son for "putting his father's business out there"? I just strikes me as odd because I don't see that kind of sympathy for other drug dealers. The author verified that the drugs came from Columbia and Mexico. When I read articles about drug distributors from Columbia, Mexico or any other L. American country the comments take on a different viewpoint. I wonder why? I'm just saying...

Supreme Court Of The United States

Every time I look at the acronym SCOTUS I read it as scrotum. It makes me giggle.

Oh snap

I have been so stressed this past week but a nice little article I read today made me smile. The Republicans are really trying to play hardball with SCOTUS nominee Sotomayor. She is doing well at the the confirmation hearings. If this were 1988 I believe the correct expression towards Sen. Sessions would be, “Cold busted.”

One commenter Jamey, wrote, “There will be a print of her shoe sole on his face in the morning.“ Classic.

Please enjoy the article in its full text here. I hope it is as good for you as it is for me.

BET is whose entertainment?

So...on the BET awards show/MJ tribute Lil Wayne** sang a song about screwing every girl in the world while pre-teens (including his daughter) danced on stage. Reason #293489 for why I stopped watching Black Entertainment Television. Personally that description is a misnomer. It would be best to update their acronym:

Bleak Embarrassing Train-wreck

Bungled Egregious Television

Blemished Enervated and Tainted

Bag o'Excrement Television

Brain Erasing Tool

Buffoonery Exposed Today

Bulk Expendable Trash

Blacks Eschewing Themselves

Broadcasting Execrable Things

BET is like a cockroach. You just want it to die.

**Despite my intense disliking for that fiasco I wonder how Lil Wayne's views of women and sexuality were formed.

I was also extremely bothered by all the fools in the audience blindly singing along...Wasn't anybody present offended?

The King Of Pop

Michael Jackson (1958-2009)



Surreal.

Brain Snippets

*Black Entertainment Television is still on the air? Hmph, imagine that. I didn't know.

*I just read that CNN is doing a Black in America 2 segment. I wasn't so interested until I read that they are looking for an African immigrant's perspective on being black in America or if they even identify. That would be worth watching. I have heard so many varying opinions on that topic.