Black Hair: Motions CPR Treatment Shampoo

I finally finished this product after purchasing it awhile ago, and I thought I would write about the results I've gotten from it.

Perhaps it's a "Motions" thing, but again, this product was less than impressive. The shampoo bottle claims that it is meant to help repair and strengthen chemically treated, curly, or frizzy hair. I think I've gotten some of the frizziest hair after using this product. I also didn't get the "CPR" effect (CPR meaning clinical protection and repair) to work out. My hair seemed to break off about the same as if I were using any other product, if not a little bit more.

The thing I can say about this product is that it did do a little better job in the "cleaning" department than the conditioning shampoo did. It stripped my hair of the dirt a little bit better (although it took a lot of shampoo for the full affect) and it had a better and stronger smell than the other shampoo did. I suppose all in all I felt cleaner using this product than I did using the other product.

I wouldn't recommend this product. I simply did not feel as though it did what it was supposed to do for my hair.

I would like to clarify something about this post and the last "Black Hair" post I did. Just because I don't recommend them or they don't work out for my hair doesn't mean they won't work well for your hair. It all depends on the type and health of your hair. For example, the conditioning shampoo worked great when my hair was in horrible, horrible condition, but now that I have it healthier, I've realized that it simply does not fulfill my needs and it is a horrible product for me. Again, though, it could be a fantastic product for you depending upon your hair type.

Around Harrisburg: Zembo Shrine Circus

I attended this circus with my little sister (Big Brothers Big Sisters!) a couple of weeks ago, and I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised.

This event is fantastic for kids and families. My little sister is 8, and she loved it (in fact, it was her second time seeing it when she was with me). There aren't a lot of animals in the show, though. There are ponies (for pony rides at the beginning), dogs, and pigs. As a result of this, the circus is filled with a lot of acrobatics and tricks.

The most disappointing thing about this circus were the clown acts, the magic act, and the lack of enthusiasm from the crowd. The clown acts simply were dull and weren't full of zest. Although, I have to say that it was a delight interacting with them outside of their act. They would circulate throughout the crowd during the show and the intermission to get the crowd more excited and more engaged. I thought that personal interaction was really cool. As for the magic act, there weren't a lot of tricks. It was basically the same trick over and over again. Finally, the crowd enthusiasm...there really wasn't any. People were so unresponsive it was disappointing. I had hoped for (a) more people in attendance and (b) for more excitement. It almost gave me the sense that I was witnessing the dying days of the circus culture. Sad.

That being said, I think this is a pretty fun event. While it's not a huge circus, it was definitely a cool thing to do during the day on Saturday or Sunday. I'd love to be proved wrong and see people get excited about it. I highly recommend it for next year.

Black Hair Product: Motions Lavish Conditioning Shampoo

This area of my blog is probably more for me than anyone else (which is perfectly fine), but I figured if I'm going to try and remember which products do and don't work for my black hair, then I might as well share it too in case anyone else wants some insight.

I decided that I would start taking the health of my hair and scalp a lot more seriously since I realized after my last relaxer how much damage I had done to it by not giving it the proper time and treatments that it needs. However, this raised the question of what treatments do I need exactly and what products work the best for me? Unfortunately, while my hair takes on the appearance (mostly) of black hair, it doesn't necessarily act like black hair all of the time since I'm also half Caucasian (aka some products are too much for my hair and create a film of nastiness or some products just don't react like they should). Thus, I have a somewhat unique challenge of finding what works and what doesn't.

About a week after my last relaxer I was left with a scalp that flaked, burned (excruciatingly painful), and itched...badly. My hair was also dry and I could tell at the roots that if I didn't do something I was going to be left with a lot of bald spots. Thus, I began to examine everything that I was using and see what was good and what wasn't. (And for the record- my hair is A LOT healthier right now than it had been for years)

This brings me to this entry's topic- Motions Lavish Conditioning Shampoo. I can still remember when I bought this shampoo for the first time. I bought it in my second year in college (a different bottle mind you, but same product) and I thought it was a conditioner at first until it got all sudsy on my head. I was very impressed with the results at the time. My hair was left VERY soft and moisturized, just what my rats' nest was looking for. Ever since then I swore by this product--until now.

After taking this month to examine the results of this product, I've come to the conclusion that is actually a very poor product for my hair. Granted, it does a great job of actually conditioning my hair and doesn't strip my hair like other shampoos do. However, that's just the problem. It does too good of a job, and it doesn't really feel like it leaves my hair clean. It doesn't have a powerful perfume smell either, so I'm left with hair that still smells the same as before I had stepped into the shower and with almost the same feel, but a little silkier, which can sometimes feel more slimy than anything. Hence, you can see why I don't exactly feel clean after using it. Often times, I resort to using other shampoos to actually do the cleaning and then use this shampoo as a "pre conditioner", which isn't necessary when you have a good conditioning routine.

Between the light and not overly appealing smell as well as the lackluster clean it gives, I have to say that I rate this product pretty low (maybe a D). I definitely won't be buying it again.

Recommend? No.

Recipe: Velvet Crumb Strawberry Dessert

I made this over the weekend, and I have to say I was very pleased. Once again, it is more of a summer dish, and was a nice little pick-me-up instead of the typically February dreariness. It was a light dessert in the sense that there wasn't a lot of it, and it wasn't too heavy on the sugar.

Taste: Wonderful. I loved how all of the tastes of the strawberry, the cake, and the cream cheese blended together into one smooth, delightful taste. It particularly worked out because the strawberries that I had were slightly on the tart side, so the dessert wasn't sickeningly sweet. The cream cheese, which I was skeptical about, gave it a great twist.

Grade: A

Cooking: For a cake, extremely easy. The recipe calls for a baking mix, which takes a lot of the mixing out of the picture when you're making the cake. In fact, the glaze was the hardest part. It comes together really quickly.

Grade: A

This is a great dessert for the summer or even spring during Easter.

Here's the recipe:

Velvet Crumb Strawberry Dessert (Summer Fresh Fruits and Vegetables, 1989)

1 1/2 cups baking mix (Bisquick)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk or water
2 tablespoons shortening
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
Strawberry glaze (recipe below)
2 packages (3 ozs each) cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1 1/2 cups strawberry halves

Heat oven to 350. Grease and flour round pan, 9 x 1 1/2 inches. Beat baking mix, sugar, milk, shortening, vanilla, and egg in large bowl on low speed, scraping bowl frequently, 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed 4 minutes. Pour into pan. Bake until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool 5 minutes; invert on serving plate.

Prepare strawberry glaze; cool. Mix cream cheese and lemon peel; spread over top of cake. Arrange strawberries on cream cheese mixture; pour strawberry glaze over strawberries. Refrigerate until set, at least 1 hour. Refrigerate any remaining dessert.

Strawberry Glaze

1/2 cup strawberries
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
3 or 4 drops red food color

Mash strawberries. Mix sugar and cornstarch in 2-quart saucepan. Gradually stir in strawberries and water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir one minute. Stir in lemon juice and food color; cool.

Recipe: Melon Cucumber Salad

Recently I've been into "eating healthier", which means eating more fruits, vegetables, and grains. I figured I'd start off with a salad, and I have to say that this was a great choice. It was a nice little pick-me-up, since February is such a depressingly dreary month. Warning though: it is a summer salad, so the ingredients (specifically the melon) will be slightly more expensive.

Taste: It is wonderfully refreshing. When I first ate this, I thought that it needed a different dressing because I didn't soak the melon for all 8 hours, but I have to say- the longer the melon sits in the oil and dressing, the better it is. The next day, this salad was fantastic, and it definitely did not need a different dressing. So, lesson- soak it for all 8 hours...at least.

Grade: A

Cooking: Extremely easy. The only thing is getting the melon and it has to soak for a while.

Grade: A

I would definitely serve this during the summer at any time.

Here's the recipe:

Melon Cucumber Salad (from Summer Fresh Fruits and Vegetables, 1989)

1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dash of freshly ground pepper
3 cups 3/4-inch pieces melon (honeydew, watermelon, cantaloupe)
2 small cucumbers, thinly sliced
Assorted salad greens

Mix oil, lemon juice, sugar, salt, and pepper in tightly covered container; toss with melon and cucumbers. Cover and refrigerate up to 8 hours. Drain; toss with salad greens.