curly | Maicurls

Hello Maicurlies!

I am BACK! (again lol) Let’s skip the wishy-washy and get straight into it.

Today I’ve got a new DIY recipe to share: Black African Soap Shampoo.

So as the name suggestions, it is a hair shampoo, it is all natural and yes, it is simple!

As with any commercial shampoo (which I personally don’t use) I use this to help cleanse my scalp from product buildup (my roots) and then I slowly work my way down the length of my hair. Previously I had been using Shikakai as a cleanser and I have nothing “bad” to say about it but I wanted a change and stumbled upon Raw African Black Soap.

What Is Black African Soap?

Black African Soap is traditionally made in West Africa from harvested plants such as sun dried dried plantain, cocoa pods, barks of Shea tree and palm leaves. Palm oil, palm kernel oil and water is also added to form the soap, which is left to “cure” before it is ready for use.

Black African Soap can be used for both your hair and skin ( I will have a separate recipes for the skin – I use it to cleanse my face). Some of the many properties of this soap:

Anti-fungal
Antibacterial
Cleansing
Reducing Oil productions (for overly oil skin since it does contain moisturizing properties to help balance the natural sebum produced by the skin).
Moisturizing
Helps sooth irritated skin
Reduces acne, blemishes and fine scars/lines

Recipe:

1 oz Raw Black African Soap.
8 oz warm Water (I use bottled water because my facet has hard water).
1 tsp Almond Oil
1 tsp Grapeseed Oil
1 tsp Glycerin Oil
5 drops Peppermint Essential Oil
5 drops Lavender Essential Oil

Ingredient Alternatives:

You can use any oil/oils you have at home, you must not stick by what I personally use. You can skip the use of Essential Oils (or replace them with your favorites) I like using Peppermint Essential Oil because it has a tingling effect on the scalp that helps to stimulate blood flow which helps to stimulate growth, it also has cleansing properties, anti-fungal & anti bacterial properties and smells AMAZING! Lavender Essential Oil has a relaxing and soothing effect. I add glycerin to my recipe because it is a humectant and while Black Soap has moisturizing properties on its own I don’t find it moisturizing enough so the addition of glycerin seems to boost that (but it is optional).

If you use Black African Soap, please leave me a comment below with your own recipe! I love learning and love sharing your recipes with my readers! And if you happen to try mine, please do leave me some feedback on what you think!

Thanks

Maicurls

Hey Maicurlies,

So I managed to record and edit another “Valentine’s Day Look”. I figured since I was redoing my hair I might as well record it and heck why not throw on a dress that makes for a good “Valentine’s Day Date Look”.

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Ok so as the titles says it is a perm rod set and I used all DIY products and a Natural Oil. I ended up using 32 orange perm rods (originally I wanted to use less but forgot that was my initial plan) and let my hair air dry overnight before taking down the rods (with a little oil on my fingertips), separating and then fluffing my curls.

I always feel that having “faux bangs” really isn’t quite “for my face” but then I have a rather noticeable forehead so I want to rock a faux bang to cover it up so I opt for a to the side fringe thing…..anyways you get the point. In the video I tried both but ended up feeling “most like me” with it to the side, so that is what I stuck with for the final look.

Products/Tools Used:

32 Orange Perm Rods
DIY Spray Leave-In Conditioner
DIY Hibiscus Flaxseed Gel
Argan Oil
Wide tooth comb
Afro Pick

Method:

I had sectioned my hair into little mini sections after cowashing my hair. From each section made (a total of 6) I would apply the products in this order:

Spray Leave-In Conditioner
Hibiscus Flaxseed Gel
Argan Oil

After applying the products I detangle with my wide tooth comb (my hair was already detangled before) and then make smaller sections to roll. I start from the ends and work my way up, first rolling the ends of my hair onto itself and then in a slanted angle wind my hair around the rods. After letting my hair air dry overnight I use a little oil to help separate my hairs and reduce frizz while doing so, separate and fluff.