tgin

These are a few of my favorite things.... My mom always instilled in me since I was young to invest in Black Owned businesses. From skincare, to makeup to natural hair products - these are some of my favorites! Have you tried any of these brands yet?

During the week, every day is busy for me. I get up, brush my teeth, make food, start my morning skincare routine, do my hair then out the door I go. Once I come back home, I am super exhausted from driving and working so although I’d love to do a light form a microdermabrasion or even try out my new derma roller, I know that it’s just not happening so I also make time for the essentials. The essentials are always, cleanse, tone, moisturize and put on a sleep mask. Therefore if I ever miss a step it’s because A. I ran out and the product and B. my body is craving a shower and sleep. Needless to say, don’t do either.  To start off I always cleanse my face with some type of charcoal infused or either black soap formulation of products. Lately I have found that TGIN has a 2 in one cleanser of both black soap and charcoal that I absolutely love.  The “African Black Soap + Shea Butter and Charcoal” soap is promised to detoxify, rejuvenate and clarify the skin which is absolutely needed after a long day of being around many people and every day environmental pollutants. The ingredients of olive oil, coconut oil, shea butter, activated charcoal and she butter all help to draw out dirt from the pores and can put a halt to breakouts.  My next step is to tone my skin. Yes, cleansing does remove a portion of the dirt and the nastiness on our skin but toning helpt so remove more than what you see or feel. My favorite toner at the moment is by Bare Lush and Co. “Ginseng Astringent”s. Leaving my skin soft and smooth, this oil-free, glycolic, astringent toner and freshener doesn’t tingle the skin; instead it actually calms the skin. It has the most refreshing smell which is another reason why I love it so much. The third and last step that I do is put on a sleep mask. There are a range of masks that you can use to sleep in however for someone with combination skin and concerned about fine lines turning into wrinkles, my go is the Crepe Erase Crépe Erase - Overnight Facial Plumping Treatment.  This brand of products are targeted to older consumers however as humans we are all getting older so it’s always best to start reversing time, ahead of time. The brand promises that the “TruFirm Complex helps to visibly smooth and firm fine lines and wrinkles, restoring elasticity…” I can honestly attest to this because my skin is super soft in the morning when I wake up and my skin looks more full and plump.  Even on the laziest or the most tired days of the week, these 3 steps will keep you looking and feeling the opposite of how you feel. Give it a try the next time you're thinking of doing the just wash and go to sleep. 

I have dry, thirsty, Sahara desert type 4b to 4c hair. I picked up this conditioner on sale on a whim. I’ve used it as a rinse out conditioner and as a deep conditioner. It melts away tangles and has a nice amount of slip too. My hair feels conditioned and hydrated without being weighed down! It’s good to your strands even when you are not. It contains no parabens, sulfates, lanolin or artificial colors!

This really smoothed and nurishes my curls when I wear my natural hair. 🙂

All this extra time in quarantine is compelling me to spend more time caring for myself and adding steps to my skin and hair routines I wouldn’t otherwise have or make time for. For me and my natural hair that means reintroducing pre-poos! Pre-pooing is so great for adding that extra moisture and hydration into your hair before the wash day process. Also super helpful in aiding with detangling and minimizing breakage. My hair tends to dry out quickly, especially the ends when my hair is stretched so any added hydration makes a huge difference. I just bought THE Mane CHOICE - Heavenly Halo Herbal Hair Tonic & Soy Milk Deep Hydration Pre-Poo as part of a run on black owned beauty brands I did last week. I have tried their products before and truly enjoyed them but hadn’t in a while so I was happy to revisit! This pre-poo: 💆🏾‍♀️ smells freaking AMAZING 💆🏾‍♀️ melts tangles to help minimize breakage and preserve moisture 💆🏾‍♀️ has umutanga oil, palmarosa oil, yashtimadhu root, yucca root and burdock root oil (never heard of half these things) a blend that supports growth, soothes dry scalp and strengthens hair I can’t get over the smell. This is like the best smelling hair product I’ve ever used! Just used it for the first time and it literally MELTED my super tangled and dry hair. Made it so so easy to finger detangle. I am going to leave it in for about 20 mins then follow up with my TPH BY TARAJI - Hustle & Co Cowash and TPH BY TARAJI - Make It Rain Hydrating Conditioner . Today the leave in conditioner I’ll use is the OUAI - OUAI Leave-In Conditioner which also has an amazing smell and then coconut oil and seal it all with tgin - Butter Cream Daily Moisturizer