4.15.2008

4.15.08 Afro Pix

Recent shots. I love my puff!

Happy birthday, Uncle Mark!

Hope everyone got their taxes done and out of the way!

The Trotter is bright (:Þ)

Another Beauty Supply Discovery

A new beauty supply opened near my home and I couldn't resist. I noticed
right off that this wasn't your typical beauty supply. Mainly because
there was an African-American woman behind the register. Wasn't
expecting that. Here in St. Louis, the majority of beauty supplies are
owned and operated by Asians. Anyway....I took my time and went down
each aisle, taking in this particular store's inventory. There were your
usual staples: texturizers, relaxers, jars of grease, tubs of gel, etc.,
in abundance. This store was pretty dang big. And, oh, the weave! I
might consider this to be a synthetic hair emporium, becuase this joint
had all kinds. I considered a few different sew-in offerings, I might be
rocking this kind of style as the months drag on.......hint :)

So, I'm going down the aisles, looking like this: pick up a container,
read the front label, read the back label, find P/MO
(petroleum/petrolatum/mineral oil/paraffinum liquidum) or another
undesirable additive, put the container down. Initially, it was
frustrating to discover that the majority of products contained P/MO,
especially since it 86'd most of my former favorite products. I quickly
became pleasantly accustomed to the healthy shine my hair took on when I
used products lacking these ingredients. And did I mention my dandruff
vanished? Completely.

Moving on. I get excited when I think I've found a new, promising
product with no P/MO. Imagine my excitement when I saw, in the distance,
a product that screamed "NO PETROLATUM/MINERAL OIL"!

Tell me lies, tell me sweet little lies...


What! I grabbed it off the shelf, smiling at the huge sticker on the top
promising me good, natural moisture. This product appeared to have
organic ingredients with nappies in mind. Amazing! Finally, someone
realized that there is a market of consumers that are conscientious of
their product's contents! I proceed to the back label to see what
goodies are held in my hand. Natural oils, yes! Vitamin B, yes!
Paraffinum liquidum, ye-what?

This may be too small, but the truth is in the fine print...

Yep. I was bamboozled. Hoodwinked. Led on a wild goose chase! They got
me, ya'll, and good. There in plain sight is paraffinum liquidum, just
another name for good ole' mineral oil. And to make it worse, "mineral
oil" was in parentheses right next to the pseudonym. So not only was I
tricked, I was lied to. Oh well, back to shelf it goes. I couldn't be
too mad, because its not like I actually used the product. The most
justifiable action is to simply not buy the product. I'm thinking maybe
they should come up with a more honest, straightforward marketing
tactic.

Would anyone like to share their own ingredient no-nos? Leave a comment

Which brings me to my next product observation. This one in particular
caught my eye because it was so dang cheesy.

Real smooth.....yeah, that's it.

"It's A Black Thang" texturizer line. Shaking my head. Afrocentric color
scheme, ultra-"down" brotha models, emphasis on the "a" in "thang".
Here's a slogan for you, free of charge. "When it's time to get those
napps in check, use 'It's A Black Thang' texturizers-because only we
know how to contradict you right!". Ugh. I'm just gonna leave that
alone.

Until next time, have good days.
The Trotter is bright (:Þ)