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Skincare Routine with Urban Skin Rx!

Published on February 16, 2021February 17, 2021 by CurlsWithStyleLeave a comment

Skincare wasn’t something I learned early on like some women did. In fact, I didn’t learn about it until my late 20’s early 30’s. So for me, learning about the different kinds and methods of skincare was very overwhelming for me and costly. Brands would say their products the best, and I’d try it. Then immediately stopped when I noticed no good results.

Fast forward, I saw this brand being talked about by a lot of women, especially black women. Women who had the same issues as me. Despite my having a keloid, it doesn’t deter me from perfecting the quality and longevity of my skin. Sometimes, its not just drinking water and minding my own business, I gotta put some extra work in it too.

I started out with the Even Tone Cleansing bar and the Super C Brightening Serum. I got them from Target. They were kinda pricey for me, but, I look at it as an investment. Still drinking my water and minding my business, I noticed some improvements after a week. My skin tone was mellowing out and I had a glow. My face started brightening up, didn’t have any redness, or breakouts. Alright, what else you got?

So I visited the site and started searching. Oh y’all pricey pricey! For my pockets. I was willing to try more things but was still skeptical about the costs, so at the time, they had the Even Tone products in a travel essentials bundle. If I remember correctly, it was the cleansing bar, the serum, moisturizer, SPF, and a spot treatment. This should last a couple weeks for some real results.

DO NOT GET THIS STUFF IN YOUR EYES! IT WILL BURN! ESPECIALLY THE SERUM.

If I had to tell you, its because, I got it in my eyes, LOL. It’s disgusting too. Yeah, some always gets caught in my mouth too.

After two weeks, I looked different. I looked refreshed, not tired, more lively. Being a new mom, working from home with plenty responsibilities, and not much sleep will have you looking like a zombie or in my case, a “mom-bie.” So I’m walking around my home looking refreshed but tired! My makeup started looking better.

It will be almost a year that I’ve tried these products and I still use them, branching out to new products and even trying out different brands (little by little), but I am loving these products. Like any other brand of skincare, consistent use is key. I used these products morning and night, consistently. The pregnancy glow that I lost after Harper was a few months came back with interest. My skin was overall one color. My pores around my nose shrunk more than normal, and my makeup looked better. Even though our skin has texture and makeup will never be that smooth (unless your skin is super perfect), I could tell my makeup went on better. The oil on my t-zone seemed to be nonexistent. My favorite moisturizer to combat my t-zone is the Hydra Balance Instant Moisture Infusion (night) and the Radiant & Bright Glowing Moisturizer (day).

If you notice in the March photo, the perimeter around my face is slightly darker from my cheeks down to my jawline. Now, its even throughout. Thanks to the serum, my under eyes are not that dark anymore, including around my nose.

Here is my most updated skin care routine and how my skin is looking right now! Don’t forget to subscribe for new content to come! And stay tuned for a night time skincare routine!

Battling Postpartum Shedding w/Creme of Nature + manageable tips

Published on October 23, 2020October 27, 2020 by CurlsWithStyleLeave a comment

After Harper was born, I decided to get a jump start on taking better care of my hair before the postpartum shedding would make their debut. Although I know nothing can stop postpartum shedding, I can do what I can on my end to make my hair more manageable and to possibly retain as much health and length as possible. After all, I didn’t know how PPS would take my hair out or if my hair would come out at all.

I stumbled on some products from the Creme of Nature Argan Oil from Morocco line, the Plex Breakage Defense. One thing that caught my attention was that this line helps reduce damage and breakage , reinforces weak bonds and helps fill in fragile strands. With me being anemic as well, I thought this would be a great way to be proactive. My pregnancy treated my hair so well and I wanted to keep that up with healthy eating and proper hair maintenance. I started using this product back in March and have been using it ever since. I also bought this entire set, 3 times.

The line contains 3 products: Step 1: The Bond Mender Pre-Treatment, Step 2: The Restoring Shampoo and Step 3: The Restoring Conditioner. I use the bond mender right after the detangling process either on dry or wet hair, depending on the state of my hair. After about 20 minutes, I rinse, and proceed with shampoo and conditioner. One thing about the shampoo is that it is very clarifying despite the organ and castor oil, almost stripping my hair. However, the conditioner adds plenty moisture back in my strands. One thing that I noticed with this product is how I experience less shedding and more length retention in my hair.

Results

When I was pregnant last year, I noticed a little breakage and limped strands so I decided to cut my hair to the healthiest point to give myself a fresh start since I was not too far away from the 2nd trimester.

Any other Tips, You Say?

Remember, postpartum shedding is inevitable and you can’t control it. Some have it worse than others. I’ve been blessed to see minor breakages on my edges and a little thinning. Not only that, my body waited almost a year to see the shedding. Here are a few things I did:

Leave my hair alone. //We’ve been in a pandemic all year and I’ve been working from home, so one of my favorite things to do was after I washed my hair, I blew it out lightly flat ironed it

Protein Treatments// Most people only do these twice a year, but I say, do it when needed. For me, when my hair is too soft and shedding too much even after a trim, it is time. My favorite product is the Aphogee Treatment. Their entire line is superb. Stay tune for a demonstration.

Protective Styling// I always talk about protective styling and my favorite are braids. When done correctly, it can help with the growth of your hair. Now that my edges are broken off a little, I focus more on jumbo box braids.

Take vitamins/supplements and drink plenty of water// Taking vitamins or supplements are really hard for me because I forget, but I’ve seen great results when I do, especially when I add plenty of water.

So far, with these tips I’ve been using, my hair has been flourishing nicely. My plan is to continue these tips and we will come back with an update.

How did you do with your postpartum shedding?

Forgiveness is Not For Them…it’s For You.

Published on December 17, 2019October 16, 2020 by CurlsWithStyle2 Comments

“I never knew how strong I was until I had to forgive someone who wasn’t sorry, and accept an apology I never received.”

Or may possibly never get.

I saw this quote on social media after giving birth and it hit me like a ton of bricks.

In the last two years, I’ve seen the true colors of so many people and the lengths they would go to provoke negative reactions and in turn play victim. I’ve seen what a slight disagreement would do to people who you thought were your friends. I’ve seen people hate on you, so green with envy, you would think they were the real Bruce Banner. People would go above and beyond to paint a picture of you, that’s not you at all, and in turn, pit people against you. This is what hate will do. One person’s hatred towards you can cause others to hate you as well, or at least make up in their mind that they won’t even give you a chance.

I never understood why people never wanted to hear all sides to a story, rather than just the one; especially when the one was flawed. I never understood how, a person who knew the entire story, would still act like they didn’t, and in turn never stand up for you. Imagine this happening to you for years. After awhile, you start to think, maybe it is you. You’re the problem. But that’s what the enemy would do. The enemy would make you feel like that to isolate you and make you feel alone. I constantly had to talk to my husband, my best friend, my brother, my sister-in-law, and cousin to make sure I wasn’t crazy. They would tell me the truth because that’s what I expected. Tell me if it’s me and I can improve. I became paranoid because I thought I was the problem, but it turned out that people hate when you stand up for yourself. When you won’t take toxic behavior no matter who the person is.

I struggled with forgiveness, especially when my daughter was born. I never understood why God wanted me to forgive when I was the one who was wronged. When I felt like I was being made a fool. Why do you want me to forgive when the people who hurt me, never said they were sorry or even acknowledged that my feelings were hurt? I’m human too. I have feelings. And if I forgive them, wouldn’t that make me look stupid? Like, they one up me? Lord, I know if I hurt someone’s feelings and I knew I did, I would apologize and make it right. So why can’t people do that for me?

But then I learned, that, forgiveness is not for those who hurt you. Forgiveness is for yourself. Why, do you ask? Because the one who is wronged, is always holding grudges. They are bitter, and upset. This was me. When you can’t forgive those who wronged you, how can you expect God to forgive you? How can you expect to reap the blessings that God has? So here I was, holding my beautiful daughter listening to God tell me that the forgiveness he wanted me to do, was for me. It was so I can move on. It was so I can experience the blessings that God was ready to give me. It was to show that the God that people talk about and claim that they know, lives in me.

“You might be the only Jesus that some people see.” Jesus is all about love, forgiveness, and grace and because we are all striving to be Christ-like, it is important to start practicing what we preach or go to church every Sunday for.

“So, honey, if I forgive them…do I have to say it to their face? This is the question I asked my husband. He then reminded me that forgiveness is not for them. So I didn’t have to. It was for me and between me and God. When I forgive, I must show in my actions. So I pondered a few more weeks because, I’m a Capricorn and I’m stubborn.

But then I did it. I let it all go. I gave it to God. And it felt great. I want my blessings. I want to move on. I have a whole daughter now. My job is to teach her about giving grace, compassion and forgiveness. I will also teach her that is is also okay to guard your heart and never put yourself in a position to be treated a certain way again.

So if you’re struggling with forgiving, remember, it is not for them. The Bible says “Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord (Romans 12:19, KJV), so it’s not our job to get back at those who wrong us and believe me, I wanted to. Our job is to let go and give it to God. Let him handle our heavy load because he can do it better than we can. And when you do, life will get better. Trust.