Neem Oil

Neem oil comes from the seeds and fruits of the Neem tree, a tree well known for its medicinal purposes. In Swahili we call this tree Mwarubaini which means the tree that has forty cures for it is believed to cure forty plus diseases and body ailments. All parts of the tree are used to treat and cure ailments from the bark to the leaves, seeds, fruits, flowers and even roots they are all used in one way or another to treat various ailments. The Neem tree has antiviral, antifungal, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antimicrobial properties among others. Neem is a major ingredient in a lot of beauty and cosmetic products in addition to medicinal products.

 

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Neem oil has high concentrates of fatty acids like oleic and linoleic and vitamin E.  Neem oil promotes a healthy scalp due to its antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and antifungal properties which in turn promotes a healthy environment for hair growth. Neem oil helps combat itchy scalps, treats dandruff and ailments like psoriasis in addition to removing head lice. One major con of Neem oil is its pungent smell but the health benefits outweigh the pungent smell in my opinion. The smell can always be masked by using an essential oil like Lavender or other carrier oils like coconut, almond oil and the likes to mask the strong scent and/or mixed into shampoos and conditioners. If you intend to use Neem oil in an overnight treatment I highly advise mixing it with another oil or deep conditioning treatment and not to use it on its own unless you literally don’t have a sense of smell and sleep like a log:)  The pungent smell only applies to pure 100% Neem oil products that contain Neem oil as part of the ingredients do not have the pungent smell so you may want to try those instead of the pure oil if you can’t stand the smell.

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Benefits of Neem Oil

Frugal Fridays: Recycling

How many of you while growing up (especially if you are from an African household) came home, opened the fridge saw a tub of ice cream, excitedly grabbed a spoon ready to scoop some only to open the tub and find leftover chicken stew or anything other than ice cream hahaha! Story of my life!  The women I know of my mother’s generation and older do not believe in spending their hard earned money buying plastic food containers when they can recycle the margarine container, ice cream tub or any other food item plastic container. These women had stacks upon stacks of plastic containers some that were never used after their initial use in their kitchen cabinets. Because I grew up in a recycling household these habits were passed down to me the only difference is I only recycle something that I actually need and will be using within a week at most and I refuse to recycle any tub or container that does not have a peel off label. I am dead serious if the brand logo/information is printed on the tub I will not be recycling it simply because I like uniformity and neatness and having stacks of plastic containers with all sorts of labels on them just looks messy in a kitchen cabinet for me. And at least this way people who go into my fridge will never find rice and stew instead of ice cream in a labelled ice cream tub:) These containers come in really handy when mixing homemade hair deep conditioners and henna too!

 

Recycled ice cream container,  thank goodness it came with a peel off label. I actually carried take away food from my brother's house in this container you now see how handy they are:)

Something else I recycle are Ziploc or resealable freezer bags. I recycle freezer bags until they cannot be sealed anymore lol. I simply wash the inside with dishwashing liquid after emptying whatever contents that were inside and then hang it to dry on the dish rack turning it inside out so the inside dries as well and it’s ready for another use in the kitchen or to hold my hair and beauty products when travelling. 

Resealable freezer bag

Have a recyclable day!

Baby's wash day

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I called my cousin sister yesterday for assistance in preparing this post only to discover that she was struggling with washing her baby’s hair; my two year old niece. At the moment she washes my niece’s hair at the same time as she is giving her a bath every day. She is currently using Aveeno shampoo and no conditioner she says the shampoo is good it doesn’t dry hair. She shampoos the little one’s hair and massages the shampoo in the hair and scalp, then proceeds to detangle with shampoo still in hair after which she rinses with the baby’s head tilted to the back (she supports her head with one hand) so that shampoo doesn’t get into her eyes. After rinsing she detangles again and then towel dries and uses Vaseline but then she mentioned that she noticed the Vaseline just sits on the hair and asked if I knew of any baby oils she could use. I suggested to her to use either olive or coconut oil, she had some olive oil in the house so she is going to start using that from now. I also suggested shampooing once a week as opposed to everyday and using a conditioner to co wash instead on other days. My niece sweats a lot naturally and also from playing, running around and is uncomfortable if her hair is not washed on a daily basis so it has to be washed everyday for now or at least until she is much older.

Do you have any tips on how to wash babies or toddlers’ hair and products that have worked for you?

Marula Oil

Marula oil from the Marula tree native to southern Africa is an all purpose body and hair oil that has been used by the people of this region for decades. Rich in vitamins C and E, Marula oil also has high concentrations of essential fatty acids Omega 9 and Omega 6 in addition to possessing anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties among others. It is a light non greasy oil that is easily absorbed. When used on the skin Marula oil rejuvenates dull skin, smoothens it, improves elasticity, aids in fading scars, softens and minimizes appearance of wrinkles. Marula oil is also said to help with skin conditions like eczema and acne.  Marula oil can be used on hair as a pre poo, sealant, added to deep conditioners or on its own for shine. Marula oil’s anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties makes it an ideal oil for use on the scalp and helps rejuvenate dry, brittle and damaged hair. Go here for more information on Marula oil.

 

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An interesting fact is that this tree that produces Marula oil is also where the drink Amarula comes from.  If you like Baileys or other cream liqueurs then you will love Amarula. The Marula tree also has plenty of other medicinal and culinary uses.

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Fitness Fridays: May Fitness!

First things first here is a recap of my April Regimen I only missed four workout days which is pretty good averaging at one workout missed a week so that was not too bad well done me:) I had initially planned to go swimming on Saturdays as it was the only day that I could comfortably do so without rushing around like a headless chicken but alas that was not to be I only managed to go once the rest of my weekends in April were jammed packed with activities which meant no time to swim. Times like these I really wish I lived in a house with a pool or at least lived in an apartment building with a pool because I could then swim a few laps anytime I wanted to and also save on traveling time to my local pool which was a major factor in my April swim fail. 

On to my May regimen pretty basic but very effective so far. Never underestimate anything never! I learned the hard way I came across this walk workout below and my first thought was how hard can it be to walk on the spot for 45 minutes I have walked on the road for longer. Turns out I was so wrong walking on the spot is way harder than talking a walk in your neighbourhood at the end of workout day one, my thighs and hips were killing me as in I was sore all over it took me a good three hours of rest to recover! The subsequent days have been so much better thankfully but I can tell you this talking a long brisk walk around your neighbourhood is way easier than walking on the spot that much is true from my experience. I walk 3 miles which is about 5km every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. As tiring as it was the first time this is a great workout. If I get time in my schedule I may put in a neighbourhood walk to top up as well. I am using a different video from the same trainer which refused to load but it's more or less the same thing only that she has real people walking with her in that video. YouTube search for it here's the link if interested > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rnB9rDRrCM

I do cardio kickboxing every Tuesday and Thursday great workout for arms I tell you.

Healthy You! Healthy Hair!