Did you know activated charcoal is made of coconut husks and sand wood particles?

Activated charcoal differs from grill coal since it has a larger surface area and is absorbent. These properties result from activated coal being produced in high pressured heat. Activated charcoal is also known as carbon.

Activated carbon is usually incorporated in soaps, cleansers, and masks.

Today, we will discuss the benefits and value of activated charcoal masks.

Benefits of activated charcoal on the skin

• Tightens pores
• Draws out impurities
• Improves complexion
• Fight acne
• Relieves itching

How to use

• Wash your face with a gentle face cleanser
• Dry with a clean towel.
• Apply the mask with fingers or a soft brush.
• Leave on face for 15 minutes to 45 minutes.
• Wipe off with warm water and a towel.
• Moisturise with your favorite moisturizer.

Tips

1. Do a batch test before applying it to your face
2. Clean your sink immediately to avoid stains
3. Use your face mask at most once a week to avoid skin dryness and redness
4. Apply evenly on the face
5. If you DIY, make sure to use good quality activated carbon.

DIY

Carbon clay gel masks contain potent ingredients that improve your face texture and complexion. In addition, it tackles acne and other blemishes.

Caution

• Do not use grill charcoal on your face.
• Buy activated carbon from trusted sources.
• Do not apply a carbon face mask every day.
• Always moisturize after rinsing off the mask.

References

• Healthline: Charcoal face mask
• Activate clear skin with activated coal by Njideka Agbo

Healthy hair gives you the confidence to go out with your natural hair.

Say goodbye to painful and expensive hairstyles, relaxers and heat. Today, we will talk about how to keep your hair healthy, glowing, and happy. Trust me.

Black girl hair is curly, cottony, mostly 4a, b, c. The curls get tighter as we go up 4a- 4c. Some people have more than one hair texture on their heads.

4c hair has the tightest curl pattern. These tight curl patterns are why many people see 4c hair as tough. I have 4c hair; I face these challenges too.

4c hair struggles🙄

1. It dries out quickly because it struggles to retain moisture.
2. Shrinkage
3. Tangles
4. Mattings
5. Fragile, making it prone breakage.

Because of these issues, many people think black girl hair is untameable, coarse and doesn’t grow. Wrong wrong wrong.

Black girl hair grows; it is very versatile and easy to groom. You do not have to use heat or apply relaxers to your hair.

You must appreciate your curls because it is glorious and beautiful.

Tips for your hair

• Help your hair retain moisture by using good moisturisers and a great sealant. A good moisturiser has water in it as the major ingredient. In addition, you can try using shea butter to seal in moisture.

• Shampoo regularly; however, black girl hair doesn’t require daily shampooing; once every other week is okay.
• Do not use shampoos with sulfate and parabens. Sulfates and parabens remove natural oils in the scalp.
• Wash your hair in sections.
• Detangle your hair with a wide tooth comb or use your fingers. Apply water and conditioner before detangling.
• Do a weekly deep condition with a good oil or butter
• Detangle in sections.
• Braid or twist your hair before bed time to prevent it from detangling.
• Do not over style your hair, give space between hairstyles to prevent breakage.
• You can leave your hair in twists, twist outs, Bantu knots, puffs, afro, and buns.

The last tip for your hair is to love your hair. It is beautiful and worth loving.

References

1. Natural club: 7 tips to maintain, grow and care for 4c hair.
2. Curls and cocoa: Care for and grow it long.

Oil cleansing is rubbing pure oils on your face in attempt to dissolve clogged pores, makeup and dirt. It is a gentle way to cleanse the face.

Oil cleansing is better than the traditional face washing since it does not strip off face moisture, good bacteria and its natural oil balance. When the face natural oil balance is altered, it results in more oil production leading to more blockage.

The principle of oil cleansing is ‘ like dissolves like’. This means that oil dissolve oil. Oil cleansing is a more effective way of tackling black heads, white heads and other oil blockage. Since most makeup are oil based, oil cleansing is effective on removing makeup as well.

Effects of oil cleansing

• Gently removes makeup
• Soothe sensitive skin
• Tame breakouts
• Protect natural lipid layer
• Lifts excess sebum ( oily substance produced by skin glands)
• Clean out clogged pores like blackheads and whiteheads
• Remove dead skin and pollutants
• Balance skin oils and lock in hydration

People with oily skin benefit from oil cleansing too. ‘Like dissolves Like’, so oil cleansing will help remove excess oils on skin.

How to oil cleanse

1. Apply your oil cleanser on dry skin, massage it in for 1 to 2 minutes.
2. Use a warm damp cloth to gently wipe off oil.

It is best to do your oil cleansing at night. So in the morning you can wash your face with a mild face gel like MABS face gel.

You can use olive oil, castor oil, jojoba oil, grape seed oil and avocado oil for oil cleansing. It is important to note that the oils you use should not be food grade and have no fragrance added. Its best to use oil that are formulated for skin. Food grade oils will break you out. Food grade oils will break you out.😣

Try MABS oil cleanser, it is made with pure grade organic oil, noncomedogenic and great on the skin. With oil cleansing, a little goes a long way. Just a few drops of oil or a tablespoon of oil will do. Oil cleansing should be done at most once a day. It might take a week or two before you start seeing results.

References

1. Healthline : Oil cleansing
2. Wellness Mama: Oil cleansing

Shea butter is a natural oil extracted from the Karite tree nut. The karite tree is said to be the tree of life since it has great health benefits literally from its roots to its leaves. The oil is solid in room temperature.

Shea butter’s goodness comes from its constituents.

• Linoleic, palmitic, stearic and oleic fatty acids in shea butter balance oils on the skin and hair.
• Vitamins A, E and F are antioxidant vitamins in shea butter that can promote healthy skin cell growth.
• The triglyceride part of shea butter nourishes and conditions the skin and hair.
• Cetyl esters, the waxy part of shea butter seals in moisture and conditions skin and hair.

MABS sell organic unrefined shea butter at wholesales and retail prices. Unrefined grade A shea butter is best because left untampered, all the shea goodness is present.

Shea butter contains high concentration of fatty acids and vitamins. This makes it antiinflammatory, healing and anti aging. Because of this properties, shea can help treat eczema, dermatitis and psoriasis. It can also help reduce appearance of stretch marks and scarring. Try MABS Shea honey for stretch marks and MABS Shea lavender body butter.

Shea butter has benefits on hair too, this includes, preventing hair breakage, treating dandruff and ensuring length retention. Try MABS MABS Shea and aloe vera leave-in conditioner.

However, shea butter is comedogenic. It can clog pores and lead to acne if you have oily skin. Pure shea butter can lead to breakouts so it is not advised to use much raw shea butter on the face. Also, to get the most out of shea butter, it is best to use it at night.

References

• Healthline: benefits of Shea butter on skin
• Healthline: Shea butter for hair
• Wellness mama: 21 Shea butter benefits and uses

Media platforms show DIYs on how to get rid of acne, eczema and other skin problems. Some of these DIYs are dangerous to use on the face of not done correctly.

When following any DIY, you have to know your skin and what works for your skin. This is important when it comes to amount of a product you keep to your face, how you mix the product and how long the product stays in your face. You have to ensure that you don’t expose your skin to allergies, off normal skin pH et cetra.

Many of this DIYs include both physical and chemical aggression to the regime. It is important to note that simple, natural and safe is the way out. Never put a product on your face without proper research.

Without further ado, here are 6 products you should never put on your face, below are the reasons.

1. Apple cider vinegar
2. Baking soda
3. Lemons
4. Toothpaste
5. Coconut oil
6. Peel off masks

Before we dive in, let’s state a few scientific facts.

• The skin functions as a protective cover over underlying structures.
• pH of the skin is 6-7.
• Breakouts are caused by imbalances in the physiology of the skin.

Apple cider vinegar

Though this product has many benefits, it is not to be used on the face. Vinegars are way too acidic, meaning they throw off the balance of natural skin pH. When the skin natural pH is disturbed, the results is more breakouts, inflammation and hypersensitivity.

Many DIYs put in apple cider vinegar for lowering pH or as an astringent. So a safe way to use apple cider vinegar is by mixing it with an alkaline substance at the correct concentration.

A simple recipe I have used in the past as a face mask is: 1 tsp moringa powder, half tbs natural honey a quarter tsp apple cider vinegar and few drops of vitamin E oil

Disclaimer: Always do a patch test before applying any product on your skin. Just apply in a sensitive area of your skin for a few minutes and see how it reacts.

Instead of apple cider vinegar, one can substitute with disinfected water, rose water or coconut water. You can even play around with watermelon juice or milk.

Baking Soda

Baking soda, AKA sodium bicarbonate. This product is strongly alkaline. It is used as cleaning agents for the kitchen and bathroom floors. Why on earth will anyone put this on their face?

Baking soda throws off the natural pH of the skin causing more breakouts, scarring, enlarged pores and inflammation.

Baking soda works for teeth whitening, nails softening and even hair cleansing but not on the face ☹️. It’s really dangerous.

For teeth whitening, nail softening and hair cleansing mix in equal part salt and baking soda.

Lemons

Lemons belong in water, food and maybe in a photo, definitely not on the face. The use of lemons seem like a good idea because this fruit is rich in citric acid, a known skin lightener. However, Lemons are way too acidic, they will disrupt the natural pH of skin.

Worse, lemons are known to cause photo sensitivity and skin burning when exposed to the sun. Skin darkening, irregular patches, skin hypersensitivity and more breakouts is the result.

If you really want to use lemons, then try it as a face cleanser or a face wash. Do not leave it on your face please.

Toothpaste

A lot of people believe in the power of toothpaste as an anti- pimple remedy. Terrible idea. What toothpaste does is, it sucks out all the water in the pimples causing it to shrink however, it does not unclog the pore. This causes another pimple appearance next to or on the original site of the pimple. Double-wahala.

Coconut oil

Coconut oil is great on food and hair. It is too dense to be used as a facial oil. Coconut oil will clog your pores and cause more outbreaks. It is not a good facial oil. It is better to use lighter oils like almond oil or even better MABS facial oil. MABS facial oil is rich in Antioxidant and vitamin E.

Peel off masks

Peel off masks are horrifying. They are so painful to pull off, why exert pain and suffering to yourself ? Do peel off masks work? No. The whole idea of peel off masks is to exfoliate and pull out dead skin, hair and scars on the face. The problem is, Glue is the main ingredient in peel off masks. Glue is made of toxic and harsh chemicals that are not suitable for the sensitive skin of the human face.

Also, peel off masks usually do not unclog pores completely. They merely remove the top layer resulting in bigger pimples and a painful face.

Don’t get me wrong, Face masks are great, just not the peel off ones. Try MABS green face masks, MABS carbon clay gel mask and MABS honey tumeric face mask.

MABS products are 100% organic and natural. Safe and mild on the face and effective. Try MABS face wash, toners and moisturizers.

References

• LABeautyologist Youtube video
• Healthline

Turmeric, scientifically known as Curcuma Longus, it is becoming widely popular in the cosmetic world today. It contains a bioactive compound, curcumin. Curcumin is responsible for most of the great benefits we get from turmeric.

• Benefits of turmeric
• Uses of turmeric
• Side effects and cons of turmeric

Benefits of turmeric

• Anti-aging since it boost collagen production and lessens its breakdown
• Gives skin an extra glow
• Antibacterial
• Rich in Antioxidants helping it prevent cellular oxidative stress.
• Can help with psoriasis by controlling flares and other symptoms.
• It soothes inflammation, helping to correct skin reactions, break outs and red skin.
• Anti- scarring, it prevent dark spots from developing.
• Clears up break out fast.
• Clears eczema.
• Brightens dark circles under the eyes.
• Slows facial hair growth.
• Lightens skin naturally.
• Heals wound and sores.

How to use turmeric

• It can be used as a mask to reduce breakouts and attack pimples. Mix in 1/2 tsp turmeric with 1 tbs honey. You can add in a tsp of either rose water, witch hazel or apple cider vinegar. MABS turmeric honey face mask recipe.
• It can be used as a shower gel or a face wash. Try MABS face soap.
• It can be used as a lotion and moisturizer by adding it to your lotion, body butter or aloe vera gel
• It can be used as a oil to remove unwanted facial hairs and to lighten skin and armpits, to clear eczema and other skin conditions. Try out MABS turmeric oil.

MABS uses 100% organic products in all our products. No artificial colouring or preservatives. Our products are combinations of tested and proven effective natural products.

Side effects and cons of turmeric

• Do not use tumeric if you allergic to turmeric, ginger and other spices.
• Stains fingernails orange, so use a brush when applying the mask or wash your hands very well.

Aloe vera is a succulent plant, not a cactus. It is identified by its spiny edges and its juicy insides. The aloe vera juice is commonly called aloe vera gel.

Aloe vera is known as the Plant of Immortality for many reasons. Let us explore its many benefits.

Benefits of Aloe vera

• Slows aging process
• Increase collagen production
• Improve skin elasticity
• Reduce redness of skin
• Treats Acne
• Natural moisturizer
• Hydrating
• Light texture, 99% water
• Soothes irritated skin
• Perfect for sensitive skin
• Prevents premature aging of skin
• Repairs skin cells
• Fades blemishes
• Removes dark circles and puffiness
• Remove sunburns and irritation
• Prevents dark spots
• Contains lignin, a substance which can enhance the penetrative effect of other ingredients into skin.

MABS sells a range of products rich in aloe vera gel like MABS skin brightening moisturizer.

This moisturizer comes in green and colourless.

For the best result, use organic aloe vera pressed fresh from the leaves. MABS uses fresh aloe vera leaves to extract aloe vera gel for her products.

Madame Ann’s beauty shop is your favorite place. Next, MABS will discuss tumeric as a beauty agent.

Papaya is a tropical fruit packed with vitamin A and C. It is rich in antioxidants making this fruit a super fruit. Papaya has a special enzyme, papain, this enzyme digests dead proteins like those on skin and acne scars.

Papaya soap is a natural gentle soap that can be used all over the body. It can even be used on sensitive skin and baby skin. It has many benefits due to the potent nature of papaya. MABS sells 100% organic Papaya soaps at affordable prices.

Benefits of Papaya Soap

• Exfoliate skin naturally
• Anti-aging
• Fight inflammation
• Protect against skin damages
• Papain enzyme in the papaya helps digest damaged skin
• Promotes growth of healthy skin
• Stimulate collagen production
• Curbs excess Melanin production
• Clears acne
• Clears wrinkles and fine lines
• Helps reduce itching
• Removes dark scars
• Cleans blemishes
• Gives a toned and youthful skin
• Prevents clogged pores
• Lightens skin
• Prevents break outs

Side effects

Do not use this soap if you are allergic to papaya or latex.

Happy new Month to all my fans become friends become family. I wish for you all the best in April 2020. Today we will discuss black soaps.

If there is ever a silver bullet to correct skin imperfections, it will be black soaps. Black soaps are good on skin for both men and ladies.

Black soaps have been used and trusted for centuries, so bet you can trust it on your skin. It is made of natural ingredients such as plantains peels, Shea butter, cocoa pods and palm oil. These ingredients are natural, making black soaps delicate on your skin. In fact, mothers can use this soap to bath their new born. You can trust black soaps for your skin’s daily routine.

Before I go in deep on the benefits of black soaps, let me fulfil my promise. Last week, I promised to explain the difference between skin brightening and skin lightening. Here we go.

Skin Brightening

Skin brightening aims at giving your natural skin an extra glow. It doesn’t change your shade at all. It truly prevents dull looking skin. It makes you skin look healthy and well taken care of. MABS aloevera brightening lotion does an amazing job for skin brightening as well as a range of other MABS products.

Skin Lightening/ Whitening

Most commercial products use harsh chemicals to achieve this. The results is usually skin reddening or oranging, formation of skin melanomas and light sensitivity. Skin lightening aims at giving you a different skin tone 4 to 10 shades away from your original shade, depending on how light skin you want to be. There is a much safer way to achieve skin lightening without the use of harsh chemicals. MABS products are 100% organic and natural. Our products are delicate on the skin and are very effective. MABS skin lightening serum, MABS orange cream, MABS white cream et cetera achieve skin lightening without causing harm to the skin plus you start seeing results within 3-5 days.

Back to black soaps.😏

• Properties of black soap
• Uses of black soap
• How to use black soap

Properties of black soap

• Antibacterial, it kills bacteria that cause acne ( propioni bacterium acnes).
• Anti fungal, it kills fungus like candida albicans and other fungi that cause nail infections.
• Anti- inflammatory, black soaps can be used in cases of rosacea and extreme itching.
• Anti-aging, it prevent loss of collagen.
• Antioxidants, rich in vitamins A and E.
• No harsh chemicals.
• Can be used on all skin types.
• No fragrance
• Exfoliant
• Moisturizing

Uses of black soaps

• Improve skin texture
• Clear acne and pimples
• Remove blemishes and scarring
• Fights hyperpigmentation
• Clears wrinkle and lines
• Minimize appearance of stretch marks
• Soothes itchy and red rashes
• Improve overall skin quality

How to use black soap

• You can use it to exfoliate your skin. Due to its touch texture, it serves as a great exfoliant, just dont scrub too hard.
• Add it in warm water to make it softer or more liquid as a bodywash
• MABS sells a variety of black soaps. Our products will not dry your skin or cause break outs. Contact MABS on +234 806 555 3627 or leave a comment in the comment section below.