Black Hair Product: L'Oreal Nature's Therapy Scalp Relief

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The last time I got my hair relaxed, my scalp had an awful time recovering. I was flaking, itching, burning more than I ever had before. I tried some products that contained sulfur, but not only would my hair smell horrible, the problem didn’t go away completely, it just eased it.

Then I got this product. It works amazing. It smells great, so you don’t have to worry about any lingering medicinal or sulfur smells. It is easy to apply because of the applicator tip, and the best part? It actually works. When you apply it, it tingles your scalp in the places that your scalp is irritated, giving you a very refreshing cooling sensation. You won’t have flaking and barely any itching after using it. Furthermore, it gets rid of it, not just eases your suffering (and believe me, I was suffering) for a couple of days.

After using it, I was in a good place to be able to get other petroleum based products to start maintaining my scalp so it wouldn’t be so damaged after my next relaxer. I HIGHLY recommend this product if you are having dry scalp issues.

The downside to it? It isn’t a large bottle, so you use it quickly. It’s not the cheapest thing in the world (but then again, you are paying more for other products that don’t really work), and unfortunately, it’s not all that accessible anymore. For some reason, my local Sally’s stopped carrying it and I had to order it off of Amazon.com. Also, like some other reviews of this product, I have to agree –you can’t use this product by itself. I got Neutragena’s T-Gel shampoo and a couple of other anti-itch/scalp repair shampoos (NOT HEAD AND SHOULDERS!!!), and between that and this product, my scalp was cured in less than a week.

I highly recommend having this product around if you chemically treat your hair often, and don’t maintain your scalp on a regular basis.

Recipe: Streusel Raspberry Muffins

This was the breakfast that I made my mom for Mother’s Day. I tried to stick to a cheesy alliteration (Muffins with Mom, har har har). I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by these and they were a huge hit with my family.

First of all, they are a heavy muffin. They are also a little bit on the dry side, so I would definitely have the milk or coffee by your side when you eat these. That’s the only downside, though. They are really catchy and the raspberries in the middle keep the taste refreshing and help to break up the sweetness. I really enjoyed these and would definitely eat/make them again.

Baking them wasn’t difficult at all. I would suggest though, that the more raspberries you put in the middle, the merrier. I only put 3 or 4 in the middle and felt as though I could’ve put 5 or 6 in the middle of each and would’ve been better off. Also, I couldn’t get the batter to stretch to a full dozen. I got 11 muffins, so just keep that in mind when you pour the batter in the pan.

Here’s the recipe:

“Streusel Raspberry Muffins” (from 25 Years of Favorite Brand Name Baking)

1 ½ cups all purpose flour

½ cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ cup milk

½ cup (1 stick) butter, melted and cooled

1 egg, beaten

1 cup fresh or individually frozen unsweetened raspberries

Preheat oven to 375. Grease 12 standard muffin cups or line with paper baking cups. Prepare Pecan Streusel Topping (recipe below); set aside.

Combine flour, sugar, and baking powder in large bowl. Combine milk, butter and egg in small bowl until blended; stir into flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon half of batter into muffin cups. Divide raspberries among cups, then top with remaining batter. Sprinkle Pecan Streusel Topping over tops. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until golden and toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack 5 minutes.

Pecan Streusel Topping

Combine ¼ cup each: chopped pecans, packed brown sugar, and all purpose flour in a small bowl. Stir in 2 tablespoons melted butter until mixture resembles moist crumbs.

Rating: A

Recipe: Fudge Dream Bars

This was something that I made my mom for Mother’s Day. I chose to do an easy dessert partnered with the Iced Oranges, so I decided to make brownies!

I was a little skeptical when I first started to make these. I thought they were going to turn out really cake-y and dry, but trust me, I was in for a shock. The finished product was extremely fudge-y. In fact, at first I wasn’t completely sure that they were done.

Aside from their extreme fudginess, I have to say that they were also really, really sweet, which means that I wasn’t as crazy about them as I thought I would be. I love fudge-like brownies, but the sugar content in these was astronomical, even for me. I definitely think that was the biggest down side to these, and in fact we didn’t finish all of them because of that. My guess is that the icing may have put these over the top.

They were pretty easy to make. They were pretty much like your standard brownie except you didn’t use unsweetened baking bars, but rather unsweetened cocoa.

That being said, don’t take my word for it. Try them yourself! Below is the recipe.

“Fudge Dream Bars” (from Chocolate Treats)

1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

4 eggs

2 cups granulated sugar

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon salt

For bars, preheat oven to 350. Grease 13x9 inch pan. In medium saucepan, blend 1 cup butter and 1/3 cup cocoa. Cook over low heat, stirring until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

In large bowl, beat eggs with mixer on medium speed until blended. Add granulated sugar, flour and cocoa mixture; beat until well blended. Beat in vanilla and salt.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Transfer pan to wire rack to cool completely.

¼ cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

4 cups powdered sugar, divided

2 to 4 tablespoons milk

For frosting, in medium saucepan, combine ¼ cup butter and 1/3 cup cocoa. Cook over low heat, stirring until melted and smooth. Transfer to a medium bowl.

With mixer on medium-low speed, gradually beat in 2 cups powdered sugar until blended. Beat in 2 tablespoons milk. Gradually beat in remaining 2 cups powdered sugar and enough remaining milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until frosting is smooth and spreadable.

Spread frosting over bars in pan. Cut into 32 bars.

Rating: C

Recipe: Iced Oranges

This has to be my favorite summer recipe. This is by far not the first time I’ve made this, but I figured it would be nice to share anyway.

The taste of this is so refreshing. The orange juice and the lemon always mix just right to produce a refreshingly sweet and sour taste. The consistency always turns out, for me, like shaved ice, but I think it’s supposed to be more like a sherbert. It is great during the summer when it’s hot and you just don’t want ice cream, but you want something cold. I personally think it is a great compliment to a dessert, particularly a chocolate one such as brownies.

Making it is a snap. The recipe suggests that you squeeze your own oranges and then use the oranges as the “bowls” for the ice. My recommendation is if you’re not in it for the long haul, which I am most often not, you should just use 100% orange juice (I prefer Simply Orange or Tropicana) and just freeze it in a freezer-friendly plastic container. Squeezing the juice from the oranges and using the oranges as bowls, while cute and can be very flashy, is EXTREMELY time consuming (a lot longer than it has to be) and frankly, the time that I put into it wasn’t worth the end product. However, if you have time to kill and really just want to impress, have at it.

One final tip when making this recipe –I find that the more lemon juice I add (without turning the whole thing into a lemon flavor) the better it tastes. I would definitely taste it before you put it in the freezer for the first time and adjust it to how you like it.

Ok, here’s the recipe:

“Iced Oranges” (from Mediterranean: A Taste of the Sun in Over 150 Recipes)

2/3 cup sugar

Juice of 1 lemon

14 medium oranges* (substitute for 3 cups of orange juice)

8 fresh bay leaves, to decorate

Put the sugar in a heavy pan. Add half the lemon juice and ½ cup of water. Cook over low heat until the sugar has dissolved completely. Bring to a boil and boil for 2-3 minutes, until the syrup is clear. Let cool.

Slice the tops off eight of the oranges to make “hats”. Scoop out the flesh of the oranges and reserve. Put the empty orange shells and “hats” on a tray and place in the freezer until needed. *SKIP THIS STEP IF YOU ARE ONLY USING ORANGE JUICE

Grate the zest of the remaining oranges and add to the syrup. Squeeze the juice from the oranges and from the reserved flesh. There should be 3 cups. Squeeze another orange or add bought orange juice, if necessary. *ADD THE 3 CUPS OF ORANGE JUICE HERE INSTEAD OF DOING THIS STEP.

Stir the orange juice and remaining lemon juice, with 6 tablespoons water, into the syrup. Taste, adding more lemon juice or sugar, as desired. Pour the mixture into a shallow freezer container and freeze for 3 hours.

Transfer the mixture into a bowl and whisk to break down the ice crystals. Freeze for 4 more hours until firm but not solid.

Pack the mixture into the orange shells, piling it up, and set the “hats” on top. Freeze until ready to serve. Just before serving, push a skewer into the tops of the “hats” and push a bay leaf into each one.

Rating: A

Black Hair Product: BB Castor Oil with Aloe

Another product review for my “black hair product” section…Here it goes!

I have been using this particular product for several months now, and I have to say that I’m thoroughly impressed with it. I really think it is a must have for my regularly-used-product collection. It definitely rescued my hair when it was dry and severely damaged.

I have used this mostly in two ways. First, I use it after I’ve shampooed and conditioned my hair and I don’t want to straighten it. I apply it while my hair is wet by parting it in sections and applying just enough to coat my hair, particularly the ends. When I’m done, I put some mousse through it, and voila! My hair looks shiny, dark, and healthy. Moreover, it is soft and it doesn’t break off easily. I love it.

The second way I apply it is when my hair is dry, dried out, frizzy, and just needs to be revitalized. Once again, I part my hair and apply liberally. It softens my hair and moisturizes it, and doesn’t leave it too greasy. I also will apply it to my hair when it is straight, particularly the ends, in order to keep the frizzies at bay. It works great!

I would not recommend putting this product on your hair before you straighten your hair because I’ve found that it leaves my hair greasy and gross in the end and then I have to wash it out, over all damaging my do.

The thing I dislike most about this product is the smell. It’s not strong, but it has a plain smell that almost smells like vasoline. I don’t hate, but I’m not in love with it either. I’ll put it this way, if the product didn’t work as great as it does, I’d probably not buy this again simply because of the smell.

Over all, I highly recommend this product simply because it works. I will definitely be buying this again.