Essential Oils that are safe for Pregnancy

I started this research when my sister and cousins were pregnant and I was talking about different essential oils they could use for their hair.. But then I came across essentials that weren't safe for pregnant women and could cause complications. They may be beneficial to you but they aren't safe for you if you are pregnant or could possibly be. 


In some circumstances, it's best to steer clear of essential oils altogether. Don't use any oils if: 

• you have a history of miscarriage

• you have had any vaginal bleeding in this pregnancy

• you have epilepsy

• you have heart problems

• you have diabetes, blood clotting problems, or have thyroid, liver or kidney disease

These are safe if your pregnancy is going well.. 

• citrus oils, such as tangerine and neroli

• German chamomile

• common lavender

• frankincense

• black pepper

• peppermint

• ylang ylang

• eucalyptus

• bergamot

• cypress

• rose

• tea tree oil (not in labour)

And these are not safe to use:
 Don't use the following essential oils while you are pregnant: 

• nutmeg, which may have hallucinogenic effects and react with pain-relieving drugs in labour

• rosemary, which is thought to increase blood pressure, and may cause contractions

• basil, which is thought to contribute to abnormal cell development

• jasmine and clary sage, which may trigger contractions

• sage, which may cause bleeding in your uterus (womb)

• juniper berry, which may affect your kidneys

Until next time.. 

Herbs that are great for hair..

Herbs that is great for hair that you may not have known about.... 



Cinnamon - prevent hair breakage and reduce the amount of hair that falls out
Neem - Is an antibacterial powerhouse, it helps correct scalp issues, as well as promote healthy hair growth

Brahmi - Strengthens hair at the roots, helps relieve dandruff, also purported to thicken hair

Shikakai - Acts as a natural cleanser, and mild conditioner, whilst promoting hair growth

Aritha/Reetha - Natural cleansing agent

Methi/Fenugreek - Prevents hair loss, promotes hair growth, helps strengthen hair shaft, light protein

Hibiscus - Conditions hair, promotes healthy hair growth, prevents hair loss, thickens hair

Orange Peel - Imparts incredible shine, light conditioning properties 

Aloe - stimulates new hair growth, works against frizz, works as a natural conditioner

Amla - Stimulates hair growth, has wonderful conditioning properties, strengthens hair at the roots

Birch - works against a dry scalp

Burdock - promotes hair growth, increased shine and healthy body, combats hair loss, dandruff and itching. 

Chamomile - Works great as a natural conditioner and for cosmetic purposes, it will lighten blond hair over time.

Licorice - Largely associated with preventing hair loss

Marigold - Acts as moisturizer and can help you lighten your color to increase the shine

Bhringraj - Treats hair loss, premature graying, and also acts as a conditioner
Mulberries - Helps treat premature gray hair

Parsley - Its doses or Iron and Vitamin C help keep hair healthy and strong

Sage - Works well a natural coloring agent and also fights grays.
Horsetail - Strengthens hair and restores shine. 
Stinging Nettle - Nourishes hair and scalp, imparts shine, light conditioning properties
Rosemary - Will help stimulate hair growth, fight dandruff and restore luster to your hair
Arnica – Promotes hair growth and provides nutrition to the hair shafts. Treats dandruff and aids in preventing further scalp problems.
Catmint – Provides moisture to dry scalp
Witch Hazel – Improves blood circulation to your scalp and will stimulate natural hair growth. Also is a deep cleanser for the scalp
Hops – A natural conditioner and makes hair softer. Provides strength and resilience.
Marshmallow Root - A natural Moisturizer 

Until next time...  

Some Recipes for Deep Conditioners

Here are some recipes for some deep conditioners... If you know of some feel free to let us know.. Remember you can add your own Essential oils to the mix as well.. Make it your own and have fun while your doing it.

1 avocado

3 heaping tbsp Mayo, olive oil
, and honey


Mix well!! If not, you will be picking avocado out of your hair. This recipe makes hair extremely soft and adds moisture. Feel free to add your own oil choices.

1/2 cup of Honey
1/3 cup of Conditioner
1/4 cup of EVOO or whatever oil you would like to use
Mix well!!!! Saturate you head with the mixture and cover your hair for 30 mins to an hr. 

1 cup of greek yogurt
1/2 cup of honey
1/4 cup of Evoo
Mix well...
1x egg
2 tablespoons of oil – castor oil, olive oil, jojoba oil, vatika oil, coconut oil or any vegetable oil
1 tablespoon honey
Mix well with a fork.
Whenever you use rinsing out deep conditioners that contain raw eggs, do use a cool to lukewarm setting on the water.  You do not want to end up wth scrambled eggs in your hair!

1 tablespoon unrefined pure shea butter
1 teaspoon wheat germ oil
1 tablespoon castor oil
Warm up the shea butter in pan till melted.  Add the wheatgerm oil & castor oil.
After the treatment, rinse out with warm water.

1 tablespoon of blackstrap molasses
2 tablespoons of natural yoghurt or Greek natural yoghurt
3 tablespoons of coconut milk
2 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon of honey
3 tablespoon of castor oil
If you find the mixture too runny, simply add about 1-2 teaspoons of arrow root to thicken up the mix.

You can also add half a banana (overripe and pureed/blended) and 2 tablespoon of olive oil.  This is for added moisture, but is optional.

raw honey Evoo, evco, Jojoba, grapeseed and other oils    
Mix well and remember to rinse out completely.. This is more of a pre poo.. DC


1/2 cup of plain yogurt
1/4 cup of molasses
1/3 cup of acv
1/3 cup of evoo
3 jar of banana(baby food)

 or 2 bananas Blended well (dont want to be blamed for Naner chunks in your hair.. Mix very well, this makes my hair soft, super clean and soft.

2 tablespoons of Shea butter 

2 tablespoons of melted coconut oil 

1/4 cup of honey 

1/2 cup of Cheap silicone free conditioner.. 

Mix well 

1/3 cup EVOO, 

1/4 cup honey 

1 avocado 

Mix well and either put on a heated cap for 1 hr or just put on a plastic cap and let your body heat work its magic... It leave my hair very soft and shiny. 

1/3 cup EVOO, 

1/4 cup honey 

1 Banana  

Mix well and either put on a heated cap for 1 hr or just put on a plastic cap and let your body heat work its magic... It leave my hair very soft and shiny. 

1 bottle of beer

1/2 cup of honey 

Mix well and cover your head with a plastic cap.. Leave on for 30mins-1 hr. 

1 1/2 tspn of powdered fenugreek

1 tspn of jojoba oil

2 drops of lavender oil

2 drops of atlas cedar

2 drops of rosemary

1/2 cup of unsweetened coconut milk 

Mix ingredients, double if you have longer thick hair. 



Until next time... 

Honey, EVOO, and conditioner Deep Conditioner with link to Video

If you look below I will tell you what each does for your hair.. 

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/7iVKXMc55y8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Honey

Honey is one of nature’s best overall ingredients as it is extremely versatile and can be used to improve the condition of the hair and the skin.

Honey is abundant in many valuable things that make it a worthwhile choice. These include water, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and carbohydrates. All of these items taken together can hydrate the hair and skin and make it healthier instantly.

Honey is sticky, as you very well know so the thought of applying it to your skin or hair may not seem very appealing but once you get the hang of using it you will be so glad that you did! You are probably better off buying a squeeze bottle of honey for the purposes of using it as a beauty product. Rest assured that honey rinses off the skin and out of the hair with ease.

Honey works well when used as a facemask as it purifies the skin. It is also excellent for dry skin because it is a natural emollient as it helps to keep moisture in the skin where you want it. Nature’s antibacterial agent is potassium and honey is abundant in this mineral. Honey kills bacteria in the skin and it gets rid of impurities that are hiding in the pores.

Honey can benefit your hair tremendously as well. It helps to bring life back into hair that is damaged, dull looking or has been colored or over processed.

Apply honey to your hair, starting at the roots. Do not touch your hair right away but allow the honey to work its way into the hair shaft. Leave the honey on for approximately 20 minutes and then rinse it off before you shampoo.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Only olive oil that is labelled “extra virgin” guarantees that the oil has been cold pressed from freshly harvested olives and does not contain chemicals. Extra virgin olive oil that is green in color is of higher quality than golden-yellow oil. Olive oil helps in preventing as well as curing hair loss as  it prevents the production of the hormone DTH which causes the hair follicle shaft to decrease. Regular application of olive oil to hair prevents the production of DTH hormones on the scalp, thus getting rid of the problem of hair loss. For relaxed/permed hair ladies excessive chemical use can cause hair damage, olive oil contains antioxidants that promotes a healthy hair  and scalp. Olive oil strengthens and smooths hair cuticles.

Rosemary

What are the Plant Properties? antitumoral, antifungal, antibacterial, antiviral, antiparasitic, liver protecting, cardiotonic, digestive, detoxicant.

What are the Documented Uses for Rosemary? Hair loss, alopecia areta, infectious disease, impaired memory, Alzheimers, gout, skin conditions, throat and lung infections, liver conditions, hepatitis, muscle soreness, kidney (cleansing).

What is the Aromatic Affect on the Mind? Keeps the mind alert and focused. Strong aromatic scent of herbs and wood.

My Response to "The biggest haters of the natural hair movement".

This blog is in response to a blog post I have read on FaceBook titled "The biggest haters of the natural hair movement".

I have been natural now for 7 months and when I first decided to post my pictures on FaceBook of my head.. (very little hair on top) I received a lot of the "why you do thats" from friends, family members, and people I haven't seen in years. I also received love and admiration from friends and family members after the shock has worn off. You see I was the first one between my mother and I to get a relaxer because I wanted the ease of doing my own hair. Also on picture day when my hair was cute going into school it was puffy by the time it was picture time. And shortly after I got a relaxer my mother followed suit. My mother went back to being natural a year before I did. Her last relaxer was in June 2010 and she transitioned for a year. Then decided to cut her relaxed ends right before my wedding. I was happy. I followed suit shortly after. When my aunt showed my grandmother pictures of me after I went completely chemical free to my grandmother she was in shock as well.  My grandmother said why did I cut all my hair off that was my crown and glory... But she has rocked a jeri curl yes you read that right ever since they were the new thing.. And take into effect my grandmother is close to 100.. (I get her age wrong daily).. But I can see why she said that cause growing up she love me hair in braids and beads or whatever style my mom put it in.. She is ok with it now.. She love watching the growth from the pictures I post on FaceBook. But it wasn't a relaxed vs natural thing, it was a long hair vs short hair.. She doesn't care if it is long and straight, loc'd, curly, or fro'd, as long as it doesn't look dry or a mess. LOL. I have never come across older women who has had an issue with my hair it was more of a shade being thrown from younger ladies who doesnt have the confidence to go back to being natural or they are saying to themselves I want to do that but I just cant that has the funky stares or the whispers so loud that you can hear them.. I have had few encounters with ignorance in my life, I can deal with it. But then you get the ladies who want to know how you do a certain style or what is your regimen, or my best one yet can you do my hair like that. So me myself I love all the attention I get, but the main person who has to walk around and be ok with my hair is me.

Until next time... 

Very Grateful

I am very grateful that you guys have been reading my blog. I hope you are getting some great information out of it. I am learning so much and love passing the information on to you. I hope you decide to keep coming back for more information and I promise you I will keep posting.

Also I have a Facebook page the address is http://www.facebook.com/CamillesCorner and a Google+ page as well it is under the name of Camilles Corner.  So go on it, like it, and share with your friends and fans.. I would very much appreciate it.

Until next time....

Understanding Hair

Hair is much more complicated than it appears. It helps transmit sensory information and creates gender identity. Hair is important to the appearance of men and women. There is hair on all the major visible surfaces of the body. It is also the only body structure that is completely renewable without scarring. This article explains what exactly hair is and how it works.

Hair Origin


A developing fetus has all of its hair follicles formed by week 22. At this time there are 5 million follicles on the body. One million of those are on the head, and 100,000 are on the scalp. This is the largest number of follicles we will ever have - follicles are never added during life. As the size of the body increases, as we grow older, the density of the hair follicles on the skin decreases.

Hair Anatomy


Hair has two separate structures - the follicle in the skin and the shaft we see.

Follicle - The follicle is a stocking-like structure that contains several layers with different jobs. At the base of the follicle is a projection formed like sticking a finger in the bottom of a stocking and pushing it in a small amount. This projection is called a papilla and it contains capillaries, or tiny blood vessels, that feed the cells. The living part of the hair is bottom part of the stocking surrounding the papilla called the bulb. This bottom part is the only part fed by the capillaries. The cells in the bulb divide every 23 to 72 hours, faster than any other cells in the body.

The follicle is surrounded by two sheaths - an inner and outer sheath. These sheaths protect and mold the growing hair shaft. The inner sheath follows the hair shaft and ends below the opening of a sebaceous (oil) gland, and sometimes an apocrine (scent) gland. The outer sheath continues all the way up to the gland. A muscle called an erector pili muscle attaches below the gland to a fibrous layer around the outer sheath. When this muscle contracts, it causes the hair to stand up.

The sebaceous gland is important because it produces sebum, which is a natural conditioner. More sebum is produced after puberty. The sebum production decreases in women throughout their lives. The production also decreases in men, but not as much as in women.

Shaft - The hair shaft is made up of dead, hard protein called keratin in three layers. The inner layer is called the medulla and may not be present. The next layer is the cortex and the outer layer is the cuticle. The cortex makes up the majority of the hair shaft. The cuticle is formed by tightly packed scales in an overlapping structure similar to roof shingles. Most hair conditioning products attempt to affect the cuticle. There are pigment cells that are distributed throughout the cortex and medulla giving the hair its characteristic color.

Hair Growth Cycle


Hair on the scalp grows about .3-.4 mm/day or about 6 inches per year. Unlike other mammals, hair growth and loss is random and not seasonal or cyclic. At any given time, a random number of hairs will be in various stages of growth and shedding. There are three stages of hair growth: catagen, telogen, and anagen.

Anagen - Anagen is the active phase of the hair. The cells in the root of the hair are dividing rapidly. A new hair is formed and pushes the club hair up the follicle and eventually out. During this phase the hair grows about 1 cm every 28 days. Scalp hair stays in this active phase of growth for 2-6 years. Some people have difficulty growing their hair beyond a certain length because they have a short active phase of growth. On the other hand, people with very long hair have a long active phase of growth. The hair on the arms, legs, eyelashes, and eyebrows have a very short active growth phase of about 30-45 days explaining why they are so much shorter than scalp hair.

Catagen - The catagen phase is a transitional stage and 3% of all hairs are in this phase at any time. This phase lasts for about 2-3 weeks. During this time growth stops and the outer root sheath shrinks and attaches to the root of the hair. This is the formation of what is known as a club hair.

Telogen - Telogen is the resting phase and accounts for 10-15% of all hairs. This phase lasts for about 100 days for hairs on the scalp and much longer for hairs on the eyebrow, eyelash, arm and leg. During this phase the hair follicle is completely at rest and the club hair is completely formed. Pulling out a hair in this phase will reveal a solid, hard, dry, white material at the root. About 25-100 telogen hairs are shed normally each day.

Hair Shape


The amount of natural curl a hair has is determined by its cross-sectional shape. Hair that is most similar to a circle is straight and hair that is flattened and elliptical is curly or kinky. The more circular the shaft is, the straighter it is. The more elliptical the shaft is, the curlier or kinkier the hair. The cross-sectional shape also determines the amount of shine the hair has. Straighter hair is shinier because sebum from the sebaceous gland can travel down the hair more easily. The kinkier the hair, the more difficulty the sebum has traveling down the hair, therefore the more dry or dull the hair looks.