Surviving Curl Hair

With the right products you can embrace your natural curl pattern! Curly hair can have its ups and downs, but Shea Touch has come up with a few tips to get you through surviving curly hair:

Conditioner

When it comes to curly hair you will need a good conditioner. The purpose of a conditioner is to put moisture and nutrients back into the hair. If you’re going to shampoo the hair opt for sulfate free cleansers, they are gentle on your hair and scalp.

Using too much product

Using too much product in your hair can weigh the hair down and cause build up. It’s better to use lightweight products such as serums, creams and lotions that are easier on your curls.

Sleep on a satin pillowcase

A satin pillowcase won’t take the oils from your hair overnight like cotton pillows. The right pillow can reduce the fizz and keep your curls intact.

Be selective with combs

Use a wide-tooth comb instead of brushes or combs with narrow teeth. Using wide-tooth combs decreases the likelihood of frizzing and unwanted breakage.

Shea Touch is proud to offer an all-natural hair-line 100% Natural! Paraben & PEG’s free, silicone free mineral oils free.

The Rejuvenating Hair Cream: This all natural hair cream made with ultra-rich shea butter and also contains olive oil, jojoba oil an Indian Amla and Brahmi extracts. These natural ingredients are known to protect, moisturize and strengthen hair as they stimulate growth.

Leave-In Conditioner: This natural and light leave-in conditioner provides your hair with frizz control, detangling, shine and lasting moisture. Pure unrefined shea butter and aloe vera leaves juice along with other plant extracts condition your hair by locking in moisture, providing nutrients, and protecting it from sun rays and dry air.

 

Struggling with Acne

Whether a teenager or an adult, no one is safe when it comes to acne. According the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), acne is one of the most common skin problems in the United States. Acne is prone to occurring when dirt and oil get into your pores developing into an unwanted pimple.

Shea Touch has come up with a few tips when dealing with acne:

1. Don’t bust pimples. Busting pimples only creates scars once the pimple is gone.
2. Always wash your hands before touching your face.
3. Try to keep your hair away from your face so the oils from your hair won’t transfer to your skin.
4.  Your skin needs to breathe so make sure you’re not sleeping in your makeup, too much build up can cause pimples.

Shea Touch has come up with an all-natural acne relief system to help your skin fight off all current and future acne problems. Below are just a few of our hand-picked ingredients that will help to assist with your specific problems, naturally:

• Witch Hazel is a natural astringent and mild pain reliever.
• To open up your pores we use Willow Bark Powder which is a natural salicylic acid.
• As a natural inflammatory we use Shea Butter to reduce scarring.
• Termeric Oil is a natural anti-oxidant that assists with aging, scaring and bacteria that gets into the skin.
• To bring moisture and hydrate the skin we use Rose hydrosol.

Shea Touch is proud to offer a skin care line specifically for acne relief. We understand the frustrations that acne can bring so we bring to you a line with beneficial ingredients to ease your troubles.

 

Reasons why you should protect your lips

By Olivier Agouna-Deciat

Lips are soft and very sensitive. They are part of the tactile sensory system of our body. This high sensitivity of the lips is due in part to the fact that they have fewer external cellular protection layers compared to the rest of the skin. In general the skin of the lips only has 3 to 5 layers of cells compared to the usually up to 16 layers of the rest of the facial skin. You should also know that the skin of the lips are hairless and have no sweat glands thus lacking the oily protection coat secreted by those glands in the rest of the body’s skin to keep it smooth, moist and even prevent the growth of unwanted bacteria. There are very few cells producing melanin (dark pigment in the skin) explaining why the lips appear lighter and the reduced number of protective cellular layers allows blood vessels to be superficial and contribute to the reddish color generally seen.

The anatomy of the lips is the very reason why lips are so vulnerable. The skin of the lips can dry out and crack more easily than that of the rest of the body. The reduction or even absence of melanin also makes them more vulnerable to the damaging effect of UV rays from the sun. This is why you should be more cautious about this delicate part of your body and always take appropriate protective action. Petroleum jelly based products give you a mere coating but do not nurture your cells nor provide the much need renewal. Once washed away, petroleum jelly based product leave your lips even dryer and more brittle than before. Your best bet is to protect your lips with a moisturizer or balm that is made of safe natural ingredients that can provide moisture, protection and renewal in the case of pre-existing damages.

Shea Touch all natural lip balms are made with pure unrefined shea butter, apricot kernel oil, coconut oil, candelilla wax and added vitamin E oil. In addition to providing and locking in moisture, shea butter components also help to stimulate cellular regeneration, promote collagen replenishment, prevent elastin destruction, provide some antimicrobial potential, UV protection and multi-vitamin nourishment (A, D, E and F). Apricot kernel oil is known to contain a high content of vitamin A which helps in slowing down skin aging. Coconut oil contributes additional moisturizing and softening effects. Candelilla wax, a food grade natural wax gives a healthy protection and a lasting luster. Last but not least, vitamin E oil provides anti-oxidative effects, contributes to slowing down the aging process and protects from skin damaging sun rays. Shea Touch lip balms come in 4 delightful, uplifting and charming flavors. Chose from peppermint, lemon-eucalyptus,vanilla or strawberry flavors and start enjoying healthier lips today!

 

Fighting and Defeating Eczema!

By Olivier Agouna-Deciat According to Dorland’s Medical Dictionary “eczema is a superficial inflammatory process involving primarily the epidermidis”, or simply stated, it is an allergic condition due to an exaggerated response of the immune system to a stimulation by an external factor. Those agents triggering the immune system and provoking a cascade or exaggerated reactions are called allergens. The same principle applies to other health condition such as Asthma or hay fever. In the case of eczema the allergen can be just about anything touching the skin. The most common form of eczema encountered  is the one referred to as atopic dermatitis characterized by a persistent recurrence of uncomfortable

skin irritation. This condition is commonly marked by redness, dryness, intense itching, small papules and vesicles, formationof a crust, and even scaling and localized hyper-pigmentation of the skin. The face, neck, arms and legs are the most affected parts of the body because of their constant exposure to the ambient environment.Eczema is very common and affects on average 20% of the US population as reported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. An overwhelming prevalence is seen in children and infants with few of them carrying the condition into adulthood.  Eczema is a chronic condition most often running in families where other related conditions such as asthma exist.Removing the cause of eczema is a tedious task near to impossible. Affected individuals are surrounded by, live in and often in contact with allergens frequently triggering disproportionate immune responses. Weather conditions, soaps, detergents, cosmetics, cloths, bacteria, other household materials, and many other environmental agents are all possible allergens. The ubiquitous state of those agents leaves the diseased individuals with only the choice of managing symptoms to improve their comfort; since we all know that removing all causes in this case can hardly be envisioned. Even though eczema is very uncomfortable to live with and can make a child very restless, it is not considered to be a life threatening emergency and can be treated and well managed.Traditional treatments are over the counter hydrocortisone ointments, moisturizers and anti-itching creams or lotions. The aim of the treatment is to relieve the common symptoms (dryness, irritation and itchiness) and reduce the underlying inflammation. In extremes cases stronger corticosteroids, antihistaminic and most recently approved topical immunomodulators can be prescribed. Another form of treatment involves ultraviolet light treatment called phototherapy. All those treatments have been proven to work and help better the condition of affected individuals; however, one should remember that due to continuous exposure to causative agents, eczema cannot be cured. Those medicines only help control flare-ups and limit symptoms.  Recurring episodes require frequent and most often prolonged use of treatments. The problem here is that using hydrocortisone and other strong corticosteroids in such a way can cause some serious side effects outweighing the benefice intended for the treatment of eczema. Side effects linked to frequent prolonged use of steroids containing medicines are but not limited to, acne-like eruptions, dryness, hair follicle inflammation, peeling of skin, secondary infections (due to suppressive effect on immune system), glandular problems and high blood sugar. Obviously the risks of side effects are even greater in young children and infants with weaker immune systems and more sensitive skins. Last but not least, it is noteworthy to point out that most of the commonly recommended over the counter and prescription moisturizers are made with petroleum derivative jelly base which often contains residual carcinogen material such as some aromatic compounds. In addition petroleum jelly has limited skin absorption potential and coats the skin thus preventing the normal functioning of pores. The moisturizing film on the skin is removed with every wash with soaps leaving no lasting effects.Fortunately, there is a safer way to treat and prevent flare-ups due to eczema. The use of natural bioactive emollients has been proven effective and is now backed by several scientific studies. Shea butter is a perfect example of such multi-potent vegetable fat that can (in its pure and unrefined form) help address the need of frequent lasting moisture and reduction of the underlying epidermidis inflammation. This butter is extracted from shea nut kernels of the African savannah shea trees and has been used for centuries by locals for skin protection and healing of superficial and underlying soft tissues ailments. Research has shown that shea butter is extremely richer in unsaponifiables compared to other similar vegetable fats. The unsaponifiable fraction of shea butter is essentially composed of phytosterols, triterpenic alcohols and tocophrol (vitamin E). The triterpenes and some of the sterols have been proven to demonstrate a strong anti-inflammatory activity, the phytosterols in general as in several other vegetable oils are known to increase and stabilize moisturization, and tocopherol a strong anti oxidant is known to prevent skin damage due to ultraviolet rays and it also exhibits anti-inflammatory properties. Those unsaponifiables are also known to prevent elastin destruction, promote collagen repair and inhibit some bacterial growth. An increasing number of individuals with eczema have been using shea butter in its pure raw form or in natural lotions or creams formulations to care for and prevent flare-ups. Shea butter is known for its fast penetration in the skin thus allowing it to easily reach the inflammation site. The moisturization provided is long lasting and there are no risks of overdose or side effect. There is a growing number of all natural products formulated with unrefined shea butter. A good example of such products are Shea Touch’s body lotion, facial revitalizing cream and 100% shea body butters. Do not be fooled by manufacturer using a tiny amount of “refined” shea butter still mixed in a petroleum jelly base. Shea butter and shea butter based products provide a healthy and safe mean to fight and defeat eczema regardless of race, gender or age.