August 2015 ~ JaeBella

"I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well."

- Psalm 139:14

You may have heard about it, but perhaps you never truly took the time to look into and discover exactly what the mystery of the black soap is. It is certainly tall in the sense that it is perhaps the biggest/largest bar of soap that I have ever seen and is honestly too large to close into my soap case. Dark? Well, that's just a given. It is called "black soap,"' after all. The soap was, indeed, a mystery to me as first; however, with the help of my beautiful aunt that introduced me to this soap and a little research of my own, I have debunked some of the mystery of this soap and what makes it so amazing.

Now, the brand of black soap that I use is called Dudu-Osun from Tropical Naturals. The box explains that the soap is made with pure, natural ingredients and on the back, it lists just what those ingredients are. Something to note is that there are various brands of Black Soap, and all of them are made with something a little different.

Now, we before we enter into the ingredients of the soap, let us first kook at the rich history of it:
Black Soap comes from Africa, it is an African made and created all-natural product that has been used for centuries in various African cultures. It's skin care benefits were immediately recognized, as it not only combats the usual things that soap is used for: dirt and order, but it also softens and soothes the skin and combats anything from discoloration, rashes, and psoriasis. (Personally, I have myself witnessed the amazing work that it does in evening out my skin tone.) As well, it's properties work to control oil levels on the skin which in turn prevent breakouts and other issues related to both oily and dry skin.

Personally, since using the soap, I cannot say that I have not experienced any break out at all, but I can say that my breakouts don't last as long as they used to- especially when my lovely Aunt Flow comes to town. As well, the amount of blackheads that i once had on my face has decreased significantly. It is important to notice that everybody is different in their chemistry. What one person may need, another may not. Personally, I need to add a bit more of an exfoliant and an extra amount of moisture to get the full effects of my new facial regimen. However, I can personally attest to how amazing and beneficial this soap has been to me. It genuinely feels as though my face is glowing nowadays. Even on days when I have barely gotten any sleep, I wake up with a glowing and lively face that only comes even more to life after my morning pampering session.

And now, the ingredients:

*A quick note about Dudu-Osun: It is made with NO artificial colors,
preservatives, and is biodegradable.

Pure Honey
Shea Butter
Osun (camwood)
Palmkernel Oil
Cocoa Pod Ash
Palm Bunch Ash
Aloe Vera
Lime Juice
Water & Fragrance

If you're on the hunt for a new facial regimen, do yourself a favor and check out Black Soap, Find out if it's right for you!

Further helpful links:
http://multiculturalbeauty.about.com/od/Global/fl/African-Black-Soap.htm
http://duduosum.com/order/shop/dudu-osun-black-soap/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVBo-UGb3KM

"Whatever you do in this life, it is not legendary unless your friends are there to see it."

- Barney Stinson, How I Met Your Mother

About two weeks ago, I had the pleasure of attending the 2nd largest Hot Air Balloon release in the United States with two of my amazing friends. It was completely last minute, decided upon a mere few days prior, and it was extremely hot- something we did not quite prepare for. However, it was amazing and easily one of the best memories of summer for me. I had these moments when we were all just driving along or listening to music, or simply watching the balloons in which I just truly appreciated how much I love my life and the people in it. I don't quite know what brought about this sentiment, but it has truly stayed with me. In all of life's ventures, I've always been extremely blessed- even when things seemed to be at their absolute worst, something always catapulted things to their absolute best.

My mother said something to me the other day, "Find something to laugh about. In all things, even when they seem really hard, just find the funny in it. Laughter makes everything better." I truly believe that and I know that I laughed and laughed and laughed during this little adventure. I hope that all of you have a similar happy memory tucked away in your back pocket so that you can go to your happy place and those moments of laughter when things get hard.

xo,

Jae

P.S. I wanted to share some photos from the Balloon Festival. Check them out below!