livelovecaring Beauty, black history month, Hair, hairgrowth, Hygiene

Madam CJ Walker

February is the month when black history is celebrated. African American hair care products wouldn’t have existed if it wasn’t for the legendary Sarah Breedlove, born in 1867 to parents who had been enslaved. She is better known as Madam CJ Walker. In 1905, Walker released her own specialized products after suffering from scalp alignment that later resulted into hair loss. The company became so successful that it soon made her one of the first American women to become a self made millionaire. She owned and operated her own successful business, the Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company.

Discovery collection kit at QVC
Newspaper ad from 1915

Before the Madam CJ Walker Beauty Culture products, there was an original product called Madam Walker’s Wonderful Hair Grower, specifically made to condition and heal scalp issues after she started losing her own hair. Though loss of hair was very common due to infrequent hair washes at the time and not many hair products for black women were available then.

Walker explained how her products came to be: “God answered my prayer, for one night I had a dream, and in that dream a big black man appeared to me and told me what to mix up for my hair. Some of the remedy was grown in Africa, but I sent for it, mixed it, put it on my scalp, and in a few weeks my hair was coming in faster than it had ever fallen out. I tried it on my friends; it helped them. I made up my mind I would begin to sell it.”

In 2016, Sundial Brands launched the hair care line Madam C.J Walker Beauty Culture which is available at Sephora.

To keep her legacy alive, Sundial, (acquitted by Unilever as of Nov 2017) the company that now owns Madam C.J. Walker Beauty Culture products, has taken their part in donating financially to continue the mission to create educational platforms and opportunities for women. Sundial announced a fund of $100 million dedicated to support women of color entrepreneurs.

The Madam C.J. Walker Beauty Culture line

“I want the great masses of my people to take a greater pride in their personal appearance and to give their hair proper attention.” ~Madam CJ Walker

livelovecaring Beauty, Hair, hairgrowth, Health, MarcAnthony, natural

Biotin- Does it help hair growth?

Now that winter is over, we gotta prepare our locks for summer hair. I remember a few years ago seeing a woman in Sephora with beautiful long, black hair. I was looking at the Dry Bar products when I saw her. I went up to her and said “I like your hair. I’ve been trying to grow mines but it just hasn’t been growing” she gave me a simple answer to my problem. ” I take biotin” she said. Her hair reminded me of Rapunzel, expect it was black and shiny. I then asked if that’s her natural hair, she said “yep, I never dyed it”. I was so impressed by meeting someone who has had virgin hair her entire life.

I started getting haircuts in hopes of rocking a new style and then regretting it. Always wanting a bob so I decided why not try it. The moment I saw my hair getting cut, so many thoughts came rushing through my head wishing I could stop the process and  grow it back. Since then, I continued to have my hair short for the purpose of having it loose. Last October, I wanted a different look, I wanted bangs. I had realized how short my bags have been cut and of course regretting that also. Months have passed and my hair hasn’t grown long like before. So I decided to take the chance in taking Biotin and test it myself to see whether what that woman in Sephora had said was true. I’ve also been using Marc Anthony Grow Long products for a month now but I haven’t notice any difference. It is formulated with caffeine, ginseng and vitamin E to restore strength for healthier hair growth.

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What is Biotin?

According to WebMD, Biotin is an important component of enzymes in the body that break down certain substances like fats, carbohydrates, and others. Many beauty products have biotin in them to increase its benefits. However, ingesting biotin is highly recommended if you want to restore your damaged hair and youth.

Biotin is a water-soluble (dissolves in water) B vitamin that helps your body convert food into energy. It is beneficial for your hair, skin and nails. It isn’t stored in your body; it actually just flushes right out of you when using the bathroom.

Mind, Body and Green  shared about one small study, where women with thinning hair reported significant regrowth when supplementing with biotin as compared to those given a placebo twice daily for 90 days. Biotin supplementation has not been extensively studied for hair growth though, and evidence is limited.

 

It has been less than 30 days that I have been ingesting biotin once daily.