Monat Update

I'm over due posting this. Surprised anyone? As always a huge problem for me is that I want to write 100 page essays about EVERYTHING, and I get stuck in editing mode. Moving on...

I signed up for VIP, used up all the samples that my "new best friend" gave me. I wound up using my commercial conditioner once, otherwise I have been using only Monat since May 1.
Talk about feeling an instant difference. My hair wasn't shiny at all. It was soft, but in a crunchy way. And my scalp itched again.

So the regime is pretty simple for week one:
Apply Rejuvinique Oil to hair. Wait 20 minutes. Shampoo, rinse, repeat. Condition.
Repeat every other day.

And weeks two and three:
Apply Rejuvinique Oil to hair twice per week. Wait 20 minutes. Shampoo, rinse, repeat. Condition.
Wash and condition every other day.

And week four:
Apply Rejuvinique Oil to hair once per week. Wait 20 minutes. Shampoo, rinse, repeat. Condition.
Wash and condition every other day.

After week four:
Wash and condition as needed. Apply Rejuvinique Oil to hair once per week as needed.

So after using Monat for a month, a few things I've noticed:

• Hair looks and feels better
• Scalp is less itchy
• Hair can be a bit more tangled - seems to be more of an issue as residue buildup (from commercial products) began flaking off
• Some "frizzy" baby growth is beginning to appear

Mostly good things, or things that are a short term "unpleasantness" of the detox process. Overall, I'm still loving Monat!

Here's a few photos of my hair at week 2 and now after a complete month.

After week 2, before washing. (And no, I don't want to talk about my face.)

After a complete month, after washing, partially dry.

Upclose after week 2

Upclose after a full month, partially wet, but you can see the improved color.

Monat - Before

I have written before about my attempts to detox my hair. Kind of. I've tried lots of stuff, but haven't found anything that works. I mean, really works, so I haven't documented my failures either. I have an aunt that swears by baking soda washing and ACV rinsing, but... her hair is dull and frizzy. I also have some concern about using something that I exfoliate my face with on my hair. It makes as much sense as using sand paper as cleaning rag.


I've been slowly detoxing my "beauty" routine over the last five years and hair has been the most challenging. I mean, yeah getting my face to clear up hasn't been a cake walk (and let's not talk about deodorant), but at least there I saw improvement with (almost) everything I tried. [And yes, some day I will get around to documenting my skin care routine. I've tried a few times but, much like my India posts, I felt too much time passed to make it relevant.] My hair though... it's dull. And frizzy. Tangles five seconds after brushing. It doesn't cooperate with any kind of style. It just isn't pretty hair. As I've gotten older I've developed an itchy scalp, which is annoying. My final straw though, was looking at my daughter's beautiful mid-back length hair and seeing the same disaster.

This is the condition of my hair after one washing & conditioning using Monat.
It already looks better, but you can see how dull and damaged it is.

I was hopeful that Pangea Organics would put out a hair care line, but after two years of promising it would be out "next quarter" and not delivering, I've stopped holding my breath.


Which brings me to Monat. I wasn't looking for it, but there it was across the aisle from me at a recent vendor show. I was skeptical, but the rep sent me home with a ton of samples and tons of information. If you know me, you know I love information.

Disclaimer: Not my photo. Credit here.

I spent a few days Googling the company, reviews, and looking through the Skin Deep database (yep, I checked every.single.ingredient) and not finding anything that set off red flags, I decided to use it. Most of the reviews I found were based on the samples - I saw one that continued to use Monat, but in a rotation of other products. The downside of every review came down to price. It's expensive.


With less than optimistic expectations, I tried the shampoo and conditioner. I couldn't stop touching my hair. The very next day I signed up for VIP status (which gives a 15% discount) and decided to try it for 90 days.


The system I bought for a whopping
$88. Also not my photo.

An add on for an additional $88.
Still not my photo.

 

The full 90 day detox, following their (crazy?? maybe) plan. That night I used it on my daughter too. We both loved the results. I don't know if I can get her to cooperate with the whole detox plan (seriously, washing her hair twice a week is a battle so I can't imagine what would happen if I told her I want to wash it every other day.) so it will be interesting what Monat does with her hair.








I'm going to try to do this in "real time", reporting every week for the next 12 weeks.

Just because selfies are silly and I'm a goofball...

Hummingbird Soap Bar from Shari's Handcrafted Soaps

I raved about Shari's Patchouli Bar last fall and I was excited to get another bar into my shower rotation. I've been using the Hummingbird Soap Bar from Shari's Handcrafted Soaps since Christmas, in rotation with the other soaps in my shower. The fragrance is described as tart kiwi, lilac, tiger lily, pineapple and pears. This soap is a delightful experience. I adore everything about it.


Ingredients (from package label): Olive Oil, Distilled Water, Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Sodium Hydroxide, Buttermilk, Shea Butter, Castor Oil, Palm Kernel Oil, Fragrance, Sodium Lactate, Skin Safe Mica & Tussah Silk


First Glance: Packaged in shrink wrap with front and back labels, always a generous sized bar from Shari. A beautiful Caribbean Blue bar with a single white swirl through it. I studied this one for quite a while trying to figure out how she did it. I think it's a spoon plop with a hanger swirl (but I'm willing to be wrong. I'm still not the best at identifying soap color methods). The top is beautifully swirled with blue and white and a fun sprinkling of mica. One side of my bar had a dolphin  jumping through the waves shaped swirl (Can you see it?).

First Use: Smooth and silky lather, this bar is a bit softer in the shower than the Patchouli bar, so I've been extra careful to keep it well drained and out of the shower spray. The scent is super sweet, almost too sweet for my taste, but I still find it pleasant. I can really smell the lilac and pineapple with just a hint of pear remaining on my skin afterwards.

Overall Thoughts: I love the condition my skin is in after using Shari's soaps. The tussah silk really leaves my skin super soft (I can't stop touching my arms!) and the buttermilk creates a super creamy lather. I can't wait to use the other soaps and tell you about them!


Disclaimer: In accordance to the FTC guidelines, I must state that I make no monetary gains from my reviews or endorsements here on Sherry's Stuff. All products I review are either purchased by me, given as a gift, won, or received in exchange for an honest review.

The (Un)Shampoo Bars from Great Cakes Soapworks

I am embarrassingly behind on posting about the rest of the soap I received from Great Cakes Soap Works. I posted my first review of the Sandalwood Goat Milk bar w-aaaaaa-y back in June, promised to post the reviews of the other three soaps that I bought, and then just disappeared.

I have attempted to write the reviews for the shampoo bars that I bought, and then completely deleted what I wrote. Several times.

Long story short: The shampoo bars didn't work for my hair and that was what I struggled with for an entire summer. Mid-August I finally admitted to myself that these shampoo bars weren't right for my hair. Sometimes that's how it goes. Hair is a fickle creature and getting away from commercial shampoo can be a challenge for anyone. Pantene has a good thing going. The search for the Perfect For Me shampoo bar continues!

On that note, I will be reviewing the shampoo bars as body bars. I only have pictures of the Coconut Honey Shampoo Bar because the Beer and Seaweed Bar pictures were on my other phone - which died a slow agonizing death in the Smoky Mountains this summer (better it than me).




Beer and Seaweed Ingredients: olive oil, coconut oil, beer, aloe vera juice, sodium hydroxide, castor oil, hemp oil avocado oil, patchouli essential oil, cedarwood essential oil, lemongrass essential oil, seaweed, rhaussoul clay, silk.


Coconut Honey Shampoo Bar Ingredients: olive oil, coconut oil, coconut milk, water, sodium hydroxide, castor oil, hemp oil, avocado oil, honey, rhaussoul clay, silk, and essential oils of orange, bitter almond, fir, litsea cubeba, and ylang ylang.


First Glance: The bars are round! (Does that make them no longer "bars"?) I love round soaps for their great hand fit. More soap should be round. Nothing extraordinary about the color, a very uniform natural and smooth soap. The Beer and Seaweed was the first that I tried. I loved the earthy smell of the seaweed and patchouli. In comparison the Coconut Honey Shampoo Bar was a very mild scented soap.


First Use: The beer and seaweed was difficult to lather, but once it started there was plenty of bubbles. When I used it for shampoo, my hair smelled strongly of patchouli (not a bad thing when in the presence of other patchouli lovers). Slight scent when used on body but not long-lasting. The coconut honey bar lathers quickly. No lingering scent for either hair or body.


Overall Thoughts: As mentioned, these didn't work for me as shampoo soaps. I did, however, order a second round of the Coconut Honey just to use as body soap!

Give these bars a try instead of your regular shampoo - even though they didn't work for me they might for you.


DisclaimerIn accordance to the FTC guidelines, I must state that I make no monetary gains from my reviews or endorsements here on Sherry's Stuff. All products I review are either purchased by me, given as a gift, won, or received in exchange for an honest review. 
 
 

Stress Relief Bar from Great Cakes Soapworks

The Stress Relief bar was one of the free samples in my first Great Cakes Soap Works order. I used the small soap ball as a facial bar. I didn't notice a scent at the time, but loved the feel of the bar. Curious to try a whole bar, I added two of them to my second order.

I'm glad I did. The Diva went through my soap stash one night and found one of the bars. She took a big whiff of it, proclaimed it hers and to the upstairs bathroom it went. Once there, The Spawn claimed a co-ownership of the bar. After that, there was no way I was getting my hands on that soap. See? Good thing I ordered two.

Ingredients: tallow, olive oil, coconut oil, water, sodium hydroxide, shea butter, castor oil, cocoa butter, essential oils of eucalyptus, spearmint & peppermint, sodium lactate, and dried peppermint leaves.

First Glance: This is a brilliantly white bar studded with peppermint leaves. One deep whiff of this bar makes me think of starlight mints. The eucalyptus is a very mild background scent - my kids only notice the mint. This bar is bigger than the Sandalwood - or at least it seems that way. I looked at my notes and it seems that they're the same size... but for some reason the Stress Relief bar feels heavier and looks like a bigger cut bar.

First Use: Creamy bubbles abound with this soap bar. I think this bar may have a higher lye discount, because it feels super moisturizing. The mint essential oils are not overpowering and did not cause any skin sensitivity. Very refreshing to use as a face wash. Amy doesn't advertise it as an acne bar, but it did dry out and heal up a recent seasonal acne breakout without stripping moisture out my face.

Overall Thoughts: My kids and I are both loving this soap in our showers. An eucalyptus mint dupe is going onto my What To Soap Next list. In the meantime, we'll continue to use and buy Amy's awesome soap.

DisclaimerIn accordance to the FTC guidelines, I must state that I make no monetary gains from my reviews or endorsements here on Sherry's Stuff. All products I review are either purchased by me, given as a gift, won, or received in exchange for an honest review.

Patchouli Soap From Shari's Handcrafted Soap

1995 called and they miss me. I've been madly in love with anything Patchouli (and Sandalwood) all summer. It's been taking me back to my incense burning high school days. The colors in this soap are just an awesome tribute to Autumn, earthiness, representing a time to just settle and gather yourself (returning my inner hippie to her box in the corner) so I thought this would be a great time to try the Patchouli Soap from Shari's Handcrafted Soap out.

Ingredients: Olive Oil, Distilled Water, Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Sodium Hydroxide, Buttermilk, Unrefined Shea Butter, Castor Oil, Palm Kernel Oil, Fragrance, Sodium Lactate, Skin Safe Mica, & Tussah Silk

First Glance: This bar is stinking huge! I didn't even look at the bar weight when I ordered, but when I took the bar out of the box I was floored by the size. It's manageable for small adult hands, but it's a thick cut bar with a good weight to it. The website says it's 5 ounces, but I'd guess that's a general minimum. I didn't weigh it to check. Packaged in stiff heat shrink with two open ends for sniffing capabilities, I could see most of the bar even with the two stick-on labels on the front and back.

 

The soap itself is lovely. Beautiful swirls that made me think of falling leaves blowing across my yard. The colors are solid and consistent, no graininess or unmixed color blobs in the swirls. The bar had a very glossy sheen and beautiful planed edges.

 

First Use: The soap lathered immediately with big luxurious bubbles. The bar is super hard, so there wasn't much change at all to the appearance of the soap. I was kind of disappointed in the smell - it didn't seem very "Patchouli" to me. I had to work to really pick out that scent. It almost seemed like there was a light citrus and powder scent covering up the patchouli. I do like the scent, it just wasn't what I wanted from a patchouli soap. No lingering scent after showering - which is ok and expected.

Overall Thoughts: This is a great soap, and while the scent wasn't what I expected, I am still ecstatic with my purchase from Shari's Handcrafted Soap. I look forward to using the other five bars that I bought from her. (Reviews coming! I promise!)

Disclaimer

In accordance to the FTC guidelines, I must state that I make no monetary gains from my reviews or endorsements here on Sherry's Stuff. All products I review are either purchased by me, given as a gift, won, or received in exchange for an honest review.

Sandalwood Goat Milk Soap

I love soap. I really love handmade soap. In my research for making my own soap recipes, I stumbled on Great Cakes Soap Works. I'm not sure what drew me back to Amy's blog and website over and over again. Maybe it was her tagline: A great cake of soap can cleanse your body, but only a great God can cleanse your soul.  - See I John 1:9 or maybe it was just the simplicity of her soap.

Reading Amy's blog was interesting to see her transition from a palm based soap to tallow and from fragrance oils to essential oils - tallow and EO's are what I love about handmade soap. I finally decided to stop lusting after her bars online and ordered four bars. Two shower bars and two shampoo bars. I will eventually be reviewing each of the bars, plus the two sample bars that Amy sent me.

Before I start the review for the first of the four bars, just let me say this about Amy's customer service: awe.some and ah.may.zing. I ordered my bars on a Wednesday and they were in my mailbox  on Saturday. I opened my box to this:

And under the handwritten note was this:

She threw in two samples of her spa bar and stress relief bar - it looks like she's reformulating a recipe! Or maybe she's just trying to sucker me into buying more soap ;)

Sandalwood Goat Milk Soap

I fell in love with the scent of sandalwood while I was in India. When I came home, I wanted sandalwood soap. I struggled with choosing this soap because the sandalwood fragrance in this soap bar is from a fragrance [read: synthetic] oil. I did some research and discovered that sandalwood essential oil is expensive -  Like $60-100 per half ounce expensive (and about a half ounce is what you use per pound of soap) - so I stopped being such a snob and put the bar in my shopping cart.

This was the first soap that I used from what I ordered. In fact, I'm still using it. I had wanted to review it after one week, but... well, weird things were going on, so the review is happening at the three week mark.

Ingredients: saponified tallow, olive and coconut oils, shea butter, castor oil and kokum butter; also fresh goat’s milk, fragrance, pulverized elderberries, cocoa powder, sandalwood

Yes, it does bother me that this picture is upside down...

First Glance: This bar comes in a professional looking box, with a see-through smell-through window. I was a bit disappointed with the bar size at first (in my head, 4.5 oz is bigger). There's also some discrepancy between the box (it says 4.25oz) and the website which says 4.5 oz. I never did weigh it to see what I actually got.

Oh, my, it's a beautiful soap though! Three layers, one with just a bit of exfoliation material in one of the layers - possibly the pulverized elderberries or some sandalwood powder? I'm not sure, the bits dissolve so nicely while using it I couldn't snag one of them for a closer look. I dream of making a bar of soap this pretty. My pictures don't do it justice.

First Use: I was really happy with the lather on this bar. The bubbles are small but plentiful. The bar stayed very firm in the shower with no mushy spots or slimey stuff developing. [Note: I keep all of my bar soaps on a wire rack in the shower so that they air dry completely between uses and do not sit in water.] The bar has nice slip and worked well for shaving. It rinsed a little too clean for my liking, and I was worried about my skin being too dry afterwards.

Thoughts Overall: I almost stopped using this bar one week in - I started to break out across the top of my chest, my arms, and my back. At first I thought it was from the soap bar and a reaction to the artificial fragrance as I haven't used store bought soap or handmade soap with artificial fragrances in two years, then I discovered I had a major sinus infection [that I'm still fighting off] that likely contributed to the breakout. I said I had weird stuff going on, yeah? Anyways, after 3 weeks and no new outbreaks [getting the old outbreaks to heal is another story as my immune system right now sucks worse than a Hoover], I'm 90% certain that it was from my general health and not so much from the soap itself (although I'm not ruling out the reaction to a fragrance oil completely).

I'm super happy with the hardness of this bar, I've used up probably half the bar so I know I'll still get another few weeks out of it yet. That's a pretty good life span for a daily shower bar! I'm also still super happy with the lather in this bar, it's really nice for shaving [I also ditched shaving cream two years ago]. I'm still not digging the squeaky clean rinse that this soap leaves, but I haven't had to use moisturizer when I get out of the shower either. This soap leaves a light scent on the skin, but it doesn't linger.

Will I buy this soap again? Absolutely! Right now I'm not into making soap with goat's milk, I'm pretty happy to leave that to people who do it right. Of course, I said that about soapmaking in general about three years ago and see how that panned out for me...


Interested in checking out some of Amy's other soaps? Head on over to Great Cakes Soap Works!