Friday 20 August 2010

MUMPRENEUR AWARDS - FINALIST

I made it to the finals - woo hoo. Big thanks to all those who nominated me for Best Green Business Award which will be given to the finalist who has the most eco-friendly business or the business with the most unique way of keeping it green.

Saturday 14 August 2010

UCUUBA HAIR POMADE

I love ucuuba butter. It is a tough butter to work with but the natural scent is so pleasing on the nostrils.
I made a fresh batch of our lovely ucuuba hair pomade yesterday evening. You might notice a change with the packaging but the ingredients to help promote shine and healthy hair have not changed.

Great for twisting the hair without any tacky feeling and it is vegan friendly too. Get your easy to fit palm-size container here

Friday 13 August 2010

COUPON - CHIC AFRIQ

The last time I attended a fair was more than 3 years ago. However, I could not resist this event to be held in London on 22nd August 2010. I know I have more than a week to finalise everything but I am panicking.
Anyway, please print out this image [double click for full image] to enjoy your discount at the show - it would be lovely to see you.

Tuesday 10 August 2010

ADZUKI

I am planning on treating myself to another facial this weekend - this time with our ground adzuki bean. It will be loosely based on the chickpea facial but without the salt.
Hopefully, this will sort my face out before attending the Chic Afriq summer sale in London.
You can also try mixing your own mask by getting a pouch of the medium fine ground adzuki bean

Thursday 5 August 2010

CHICKPEA ANYONE?

I have always been a fan of ingredients in our kitchen cupboards which can easily be used on the skin. I was recently chatting to a friend when we just happened to talk about facials and she mentioned the use of chickpea flour.
Chickpeas are grown in the Mediterranean, western Asia, the Indian subcontinent and Australia. Domestically they can be sprouted within a few days all year round with a sprouter on a windowsill.
Mature chickpeas can be cooked and eaten cold in salads, cooked in stews, ground into a flour called gram flour (also known as besan and used primarily in Indian cuisine), ground and shaped in balls and fried as falafel, fermented to make an alcoholic drink similar to sake, stirred into a batter and baked to make farinata, cooked and ground into a paste called hummus or roasted, spiced and eaten as a snack (such as leblebi). Chick peas and bengal grams are used to make curries and are one of the most popular vegetarian foods in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the UK.
Although I did not get the exact measurements, I was given the ingredients as follows: * chickpea flour
* sugar
* salt
* vegetable oil
* fresh lemon juice
* turmeric

You basically add the oil, flour & lemon juice before adding the sugar & salt.
As I always mention, prime your face before treating yourself to a facial mask.
Apply the mixture, leave it on for ~ 30mins for it to dry. Gently massage your face before rinsing off.


Salt is a bit harsh on the face but this I believe will dissolve hence the addition of the sugar.

This is what I ended up using over the weekend:
*~ 2 tbs chickpea flour
* 1/2 lemon juice
* 1 tsp table salt
* 1/2 tsp turmeric
* 3/4 tbs shea oil
<- I know these were not weighed as I was camping at the time and did not have access to weighing scales :)

I know I looked like a warrior but the treatment was very effective and worth it.