Ty and I went to see Chris Rock’s “Good Hair” a couple of days ago. Good Hair is a movie that’s difficult to categorize. Is is a comedy? Is it a documentary? Is it a social commentary? After watching it I’m not really sure. But, one of the things I love about the movie is it is one that will get people talking. Some have accused Chris of airing black people’s secrets about the obsession with our hair in front of white people. Some have accused him of exploiting black women by making this movie. But, we see it as an opportunity to educate ourselves and the white community about the incredibly (and unnecessarily complicated) subject of black hair.
Given that Chris is not known as a documentary maker (and how many people really want to see a documentary anyway?), I think the combination of comedy and documentary was a good idea. The movie, for the most part, keeps you entertained (although I found myself asking why some of the scenes were in there). There are many sexual references and one hair dresser in particular who talks a blue streak, unfortunately making the movie not suitable for children. A shame because we would have loved to have taken our girls. We were warned not to take our 12 and 9 year olds and I’m really glad we didn’t.
The movie touched on a couple of really good points. The first is the obsession in the black community (and with white people) about “good” hair or straight hair.  The term “good hair’ basically means hair that is smooth and straight. The closer to European, the better.  Chris talked about the damage that can be done by chemical relaxers. But, this part of the movie was greatly exaggerated as Chris spoke with a white chemist who was shocked that women put sodium hydroxide on their hair. Well, as a Chemical Engineer, it’s not pure sodium hydroxide and you don’t leave it on your hair for several hours as they did in the demonstration in the movie.  Tywana got the message that the movie was promoting natural hair. I really didn’t see it that way. One message we both agreed on though is that you should not be putting perms in the hair of toddlers. Another message that came through is black people literally spend billions of dollars a year trying to make their hair into something it often simply cannot be. People call us all the time asking how they can get their hair to look like Halle Berry’s or Michael Jackson’s or some other star who was either born with a completely different hair type or is paying several thousand dollars a year in achieving that style. As Maya Angelou said “Good hair is hair that is on your head.”. We all have to accept what we’ve got to work with.
Another great point made by the movie is the magnitude of the black hair care market. Our women (and men) spend a huge amount of money on hair care products and most of that money goes to white companies who sell through Asian distributors. We first started talking about this back in 2006 in this blog post The State of the Black Hair Care Industry Al Sharpton put it graphically when he said we are the only people who wear our economic oppression on our heads. Most beauty supply stores are owned by Koreans and other Asians who have put a stranglehold on the market. This was also documented in a film by (ironically a white guy) Aron Ranen. The film can be purchased on DVD here Black Hair DVD or viewed on YouTube here.  Being in the black hair care market, Treasured Locks has purposely avoided dealing with distributors. Frankly, most of the products distributed through those channels are just awful. And secondly, the distributors have on many occasions flat out lied to us about product availability as soon as they have found out we are a black owned retailer. Chris talked to women in a beauty shop who were spending $1,000 a piece on a “weave” (basically a wig sewn to the head).
After watching Chris on Oprah and seeing the clips of the movie on YouTube and other places we felt most of the really funny parts we had seen already. And, having been in the industry for a while now we weren’t as shocked as shocked by the economic realities as a lot of people would have been. We definitely recommend “Good Hair”. But, if you see it and like it, definitely check out Aron Ranen’s documentary also.
The BellaNutra Hair Therapy Wrap that was selling for $29.99 has a new lower price of $19.99. Now, even more affordable, this wrap lets you perform your own professional quality hair therapy treatments at home, saving you hundreds of dollars over the lifetime of the wrap and giving you the opportunity to deep condition your hair on your own schedule.
Strengthens the hair and hair cuticle to reduce breakage
Deeply nourishes the hair roots and scalp
Softens and makes hair more manageable
Improves hair texture
The BellaNutri Hair Therapy Wrap is a durable, portable, cordless hair therapy device that can be used over and over. Â When you consider the cost of going to a salon for a deep treatment, the BellaNutri Hair Therapy Wrap will pay for itself in one or two treatments.
Treasured Locks is pre-announcing to you a venture we have been working on for about a year now. We are co-developing a revolutionary new hair straightening device along with the inventor of the device, Jason Blyden.  We intend to make the device available to the public later in the year. This presents two opportunities to you:
The Lovely Strands Hair Straightening Device is available to purchase now at a heavily discounted price. If you pay now you can be the first to receive the device when it is available later this year.
We are seeking a few more investors in the company, Lovely Strands, LLC. A limited number of shares are available for purchase, giving you the opportunity to be a part of what we anticipate will be a very successful hair care company.
You can watch a video here and let us know what you think about the device. We’d really appreciate your feedback. View video
Many of you have been asking for pictures of before and after results from Natural-Laxer MIX. We have been reluctant to give photos, not because the product doesn’t work but because it works differently for different people, depending on how well you follow the directions in applying it, how you style your hair and your hair type.
We have put together a short (3 minute) video that chronicles one woman’s experience with Natural-Laxer MIX over a two month period. She applied it once a week for three weeks and then twice more two months later. From the video, you can get a feel for what you might be able to expect with Natural-Laxer MIX and can see how it works gradually and cumulatively to make natural hair more manageable without making it completely straight and without harsh chemicals.
If you have purchased the Treasured Locks H2G Hair Growth Supplement in the past, you will notice a change in the appearance of the tablets. The basic formula remains the same. But, to improve the durability of the tablet itself so that it withstands shipping, we have changed the coating to a vitamin B-2 coating. This will give the tablet a yellow color instead of the white you are used to.
We know how aggravating it is when you want to order something and it’s not in stock.  We apologize for the fact that we have been having a great deal of difficulty keeping SheaMoisture and Nubian Heritage products in stock.
Unfortunately, the supply problems with SheaMoisture and Nubian Heritage have no end in sight. Â We will continue to do the best we can to keep supply. Â However, the out of stock situations have gotten so frequent that we will no longer be updating the blog. Â These items will be an “as available” item from now until the supply situation gets better. Â When we are out and know it will be more than few days, we will remove the item from sale on the website. When we get it back in stock, we’ll put it back on the website.
This policy change is only for Nubian Heritage and SheaMoisture items. Â Other items will be updated on the blog
as usual.
Black Opal has expanded their color selections on many of their foundations and concealers to better match a broader variety of women of color. Color charts for each product are on the website. Under the product details scroll down to find the link to the color chart.
To summarize, Cover & Clear and Flawless Perfecting concealers that were called Bronze (not to be confused with Beautiful Bronze) are now called Mahogany. Beautiful Bronze in these concealers is a completely new shade. If you were ordering Bronze, order Mahogany. See the color charts on the product detail pages for pictures of the new colors.
Treasured Locks is thrilled to be able to offer our loyal clients a way of saying thank you for your continued business with us. Our unique rewards program allows you to earn a discount on Treasured Locks products in two ways. This program has been in development for about a year and we are excited (and relieved) to finally take the wraps off of it.
Points Earned by Buying Product
The first way to earn points in the program is by simply by buying your favorite products. Each dollar you spend with Treasured Locks earns one point. So just by doing what you are already doing, you can earn a discount. Points will begin accumulating on March 16, 2009.
Points Earned by Product Testimonials (Coming Soon)
The second way to earn points in the program is by telling us what you think of your favorite products. For every submitted and approved testimonial, Treasured Locks will put an additional 20 points into your account. So, in addition to earning points for buying a product, if you take the time to share your experience, you can multiply those points. Testimonials must be for products you have actually purchased and used. We will reject any testimonials that we deem to be false (whether positive or negative). Our intent is to reward you for taking to write a truthful account of your experience with our products. Look for points for testimonials to begin by the third quarter of 2009.
The Value of Your Points
After you reach the minimal point level, you can redeem your points for a Treasured Locks coupon. The coupon is good towards the purchase of any Treasured Locks product available on our website. At the program’s inception you can buy a $5.00 coupon for 200 points, a $10.00 coupon for 300 points and a $25.00 coupon for 500 points.  See the details in the My Rewards section for current point values.
How to Cash In Your Points
Points are accumulated until you decide to cash them in for a Treasured Locks Coupon. You can cash them in early and often or you can let them build until they are worth more. Are you a spender or a saver? It’s up to you.
 Participation and Details of the Program
Participation in the Treasured Locks My Rewards program is open to any customer of Treasured Locks who wishes to participate.
To participate you must create and maintain a My Account on Treasured Locks’ website.
Points may only be redeemed for Treasured Locks coupons and have no cash value.
The terms and conditions of the program are subject to change, without notice, at any time.
Chemical shaves. What do you think of when you hear that? I just tried a new depilatory (chemical shave) formulated especially for the needs of Black men. Â Generally, I do not recommend depilatories for shaving the face. Black men who have problems with razor bumps have turned to depilatories in the past to avoid the horrors of the razor blade. Â But, these depilatories have been even harder on the skin than the razor. Â Products like Shaver’s Choice and Black Opal for Men have made it possible for men who could not shave before to control the razor bumps and get a good shave.
Recently, I became aware of a product called Formula 103. Formula 103 was specifically formulated  to be a skin replenishing ointment as well as a depilatory. The product was designed to be extremely sensitive to skin and actually comes in two strengths.  We grilled the manufacturer.  We were assured that Formula 103 was different than what was on the market and had been tested, reformulated, tested again and reformulated again until they got it right.
I did a patch test on my arm to make sure there was not an allergic reaction.  It’s wise to do a patch test on any product you ‘re going to put on your face or on your head.  While the chances of allergic reaction are extremely low, they are always there.  People are allergic to all types of normally benign things (wheat, milk, peanuts).  If you’re going to have a reaction to something, better to have it on a 1″ square of your arm than all over your face or head.  I’m not allergic to anything. But, I thought better safe than sorry.  Patch test turned out fine. All systems go.
As you can see from the before picture, I put Formula 103 to a pretty serious test. I’m pretty sure my beard was over the 1/8th inch they had on the instructions. I wondered what would happen.  I skipped washing my face this morning, grabbed my camera, took a few shots and applied the cream to my dry face. The aroma of the new formula is actually quite pleasant. I remember my uncles using Magic Shave® back in the day. That stuff would stink up the whole house.  There was just a slight tingling as I applied the product. Nothing unpleasant.  No burning or severe itching. I’ve done microdermbasion on my face several times.  This reminded me of that feeling. I don’t suffer from severe razor bumps. But, I do get small ones occasionally.  I had one that was healing and I wondered if this stuff would dig down in there and burn me up. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it did not. While it did remove the scab that had formed, it did not burn and I am no worse for the wear.  When it was time to remove the cream (I used the stronger formula and left it on for about 10 minutes while I checked email), I grabbed a damp washcloth and got ready for the reveal.  Before beginning the removal of the cream, I looked and thought “It didn’t work.” What was weird, is the hair looked like it had been permed.  It was all laying down, smooth. But, I couldn’t tell if it was ready to come off.  I gently rubbed with the washcloth (very gently) and some came off.  I rubbed just a little harder and it all began coming off.  After just a couple of minutes, my face was completely clean.  After removing the cream, there was a little tingling.  Maybe for 5 or 10 minutes. I really didn’t notice how long it lasted.  I didn’t apply any moisturizer or after-shave to my face afterwards and a couple of hours later, it still feels smooth.  No after effects at all.
My Hairdo PillowTM is a unique hairdo style saver. You know what it’s like to get that perfect salon hair style and then have to try to sleep in a way to preserve it. Gone are sleepless nights tossing and turning to avoid flattening your salon perfect style. My Hairdo Pillow is designed with the elbow and arm in mind, the unique shape of My Hairdo Pillow mimics the way you naturally sleep, comfortably cradling your face, chin, neck and shoulder.
You’ll awake refreshed and renewed without flattening your salon hair style.
Features & Benefits:
Sleep comfortably – even stomach sleepers
Saves money with fewer maintenance trips to the beauty salon
Reduces style time while extending the look of your salon hairdo
Made of machine washable soft fleece fabric
Compact size great for travel
Works with most hair styles
Can be used along with your favorite pillow
My Hairdo Pillowâ„¢ was designed for black women by a black woman.
Click on the play button below to view the video
What women are saying about My Hairdo Pillow:
This worked so well for me – I was in my sister’s wedding (me the bride’s maid) I did not have my hair done the day of the wedding Rhonda, Miami, FL
You really sleep comfortably on this pillow ~ I LOVE IT! Cherita H, Birmingham, AL
I have my hair done every two weeks and using the hairdo pillow maintain my hair the entire time.
Marlisa, Atlanta, GA
I used my pillow for my prom night and – it kept my hairstyle – I could take a nap and it was ok
Tameria B, Manchester, GA
I love this pillow – The design works so well – NO more neck pain – Thank YOU Tina, Jackson, MS
Wow. Thank you for all the great hair stories you sent in. We appreciate the time and effort you took into telling your stories.  And we appreciate your swallowing your pride to share some embarrassing moments (albeit anonymously).  When we decided to launch this contest, we thought we’d get a few funny stories.  But, while we got some pretty funny stories, we ended up getting several that made us want to cry. It was really difficult selecting a winner. So, we chose two!
As we read through the stories, we were reminded of the quote: Â
If you can’t be a good example, then you’ll just have to be a horrible warning.
-Catherine Aird
These stories were too good to keep to ourselves when we knew others could benefit from them. Â In life, we can either learn from others’ mistakes or make the mistakes ourselves and learn that way. Â We prefer learning from others’ mistakes. So, to that end, we are delighted to be able to share these stories with you. Â Hopefully, some of them will be a warning so that others don’t have to make the same mistakes. In addition to the winners, have decided to publish the best runner ups here.Continue Reading >>
We have just finished up our brand new contest entry application. What does this mean to you? Free stuff! Several people have already found it and entered. This week we’re giving away a Zents Sun Concreta to the lucky person drawn at random from our entrants. Next week…. who knows? If you have any ideas for contests, let us know. We’ll have random drawings but, we will hopefully have some more creative things coming up later.
Entering the contest is free and easy. As always, we value your privacy. Your name will not be sold, shared or given away. Please enter only once per contest. But, you can come back and enter contest after contest.
I keep telling Brian to “calm down”. But, he is so excited he can barely sit still. If you have been with us for the last year or so, you know we have made some major upgrades to the website. This one is the biggest yet, in our opinion, and we cannot wait to tell you about it. It has been in development for about a year and we finally have it ready to go!We now have a feature we call “My Account”. This is going to be awesome for repeat customers. You know how when you came back to order before you had to enter all your billing and shipping information again? Or when you called in an order, we had to ask you all of that stuff every time? Or how about when you ordered something you loved but when you com back to shop, you cannot remember the name of it or what section it’s in? Now, all of those problems are history.
“My Account”, using your email address and a password, will allow you to automatically enter your shipping and billing information at check out. This will eliminate errors in typing in your address, which slows down your order processing. “My Account” will also allow you to create a list of “My Favorites”, a personal shopping list of items you buy frequently. By logging in and going to your favorites, you can add them directly to your cart without having to search for them. Lastly, “My Account” will keep a history of your orders. So, if you have tried a product you like and want to order it again, you can simply view a past order and add it directly to your cart from there.
We know you are going to have questions about “My Account”. So, we have taken the ones we have anticipated and posted them here . Please feel free to begin using the feature right away. Just visit www.treasuredlocks.com, click on the My Account link at the top of any page and create your account.
Treasured Locks may not be the first place you think of when buying a Christmas gift. But, don’t forget about us. We have several items that would make wonderful gifts for just about anyone. And, don’t forget we can wrap it up for you. For a small extra fee, we’ll wrap it up all nice and pretty and create color, personalized greeting card printed with your own thoughts and words.
A few gift ideas include.
Indigo Wild Frankincense & Myrrh Products- wonderful, exotic smelling products that are so appropriate during the holiday season. Frankincense & Myrrh is the fragrance of kings. We have the following Frankincense & Myrrh products available:
Room and Body Mist
Natural Organic Lotion
Natural Soy Candle
Body & Massage Oil
Roll-On Perfume
Paddywax Candles- natural vegetable wax candles with intoxicating aromas.
Zents- anything from Zents makes a wonderful gift. Fragrances of the stars in everything from a solid perfume box (Concreta) to candles to body oils.
As an exclusively on-line retailer, you can probably guess how we are going to answer this question. But, hold on. We have good reason to feel it’s not only perfectly safe to order on-line, it’s a great idea. Using your credit card on-line is actually more secure than using it at your local restaurant. As my friend and I were discussing this at lunch yesterday, I pointed out to him that in the old days, credit card numbers were printed out, unencrypted right on the slip (remember carbon paper and those machines they used to put your credit cards in?). Even thought credit card readers are used now so that the number isn’t printed out, employees in certain establishments have purchased readers that can steal your credit card number. When you hand it to that waiter to process, how do you know what he does with it before he brings it back? It recently been reported that many large retailers are using less-than-state-of-the-art wireless networks to broadcast your credit card number through the store. Anyone with a laptop and a cheap piece of software can drive by the store and pick up your credit card number.
Security Of Internet Transactions
In the case of an on-line store, any modern retailer (this one included) uses encryption when your credit card is sent over the Internet. You enter it in plain text in the privacy of your own home. But, when you hit the enter key, the number is scrambled so that, if anyone were “sniffing” on the line, they would only see a series of meaningless bits. When your information arrives at the intended location, a “key” is used to unlock and reassemble the data. Your information is only seen again at the intended location. In the case of Treasured Locks, we do not store any personal information of clients (including credit card numbers) on our computers. We use Yahoo which is one of the largest, oldest and most trusted etailers on the Internet to provide our store services. Yahoo uses state-of-the art technology to store this information.
The Real Risk
Maybe you don’t understand or trust encryption. And, let’s be honest. Even with encryption, anytime you use your credit card number anywhere, some unscrupulous employee of the business might steal it. So, let’ s look at the worst case. Someone steals your credit card. What happens?
As soon as you find out your credit card number has been stolen (whether it’s over the Internet or someone steals your wallet), report it. At this point, you are not liable for any subsequent charges. That’s the law. From the Federal Trade Commission
“If you lose your credit or charge cards or if you realize they’ve been lost or stolen, immediately call the issuer(s). Many companies have toll free numbers and 24 hour service to deal with such emergencies. By law, once you report the loss or theft, you have no further responsibility for unauthorized charges. In any event, your maximum liability under federal law is $50 per card.”
Most credit card companies will not even hold you to the $50 as long as you promptly report your card stolen, as soon as know. The key is when you know. If someone steals your card and goes on a spree, you are not responsible as long as you report it when you find out the number has been stolen. Just a tip from us to you, do not pay for credit card “loss protection” That’s the real rip off, according to the FTC. Having a credit card number stolen is not the same as having your identity stolen. Credit card numbers are easily canceled. A single phone call can have your card deactivated in minutes and you are not responsible for any charges after that and no more than $50 maximum (per card). Recently (yesterday), I thought a replacement card was lost in the mail and called in to report it. A few minutes later I found the card and called back. It was too late, the company had already killed the account and issued a new number. For anyone who had that number, it is now and forevermore worthless. I had a card stolen from my mailbox several years ago. The person who took it went on a shopping spree charging up around $1,500 as I recall. American Express asked me to simply tell them which charges that month were mine and which were bogus. They took the bogus charges off my bill and I didn’t have a single problem after that. They did issue a new account number.
If you still don’t feel comfortable trusting your credit card information to a retailer you don’t know, there are third party payment services like PayPal, that will allow you to give this information to them and pay the merchant via them. That way the merchant never even sees your credit card information.
The Advantages of Using a Credit Card
Keep in mind that stealing your credit card number is not the same as identity theft. While you should be a responsible consumer and protect your credit card number to avoid any hassles, using a credit card is actually a very safe and convenient way of purchasing, even over the Internet. Most (every?) credit card company offers consumer protection. If you order something from a merchant and don’t receive it, your credit card company will go to bat for you and can get your money back. If you pay a merchant by check or money order and never get anything, you are out of luck unless you’re willing to take them to small claims court. PayPal also offers consumer protection services. By paying with a credit card, you are giving yourself some recourse in dealing with unknown parties. Pay by a check or a money order and that’s the real risk.
We often receive requests for coupons. The best way to be informed of sales and buying opportunities is to make sure you subscribe to our customer newsletter and/or our blog. You can sign up for our newsletter by visiting our site and clicking on the button near the bottom of each page. You can sign up for the blog right here!
Please understand that it is our intent to bring the best possible values to you every day with or without a coupon. Many stores have artificially high prices, which they “discount” to make you feel you are getting a deal. We want you to feel comfortable buying at any time knowing you are getting a great value. We offer volume pricing on many of our products and free ground shipping. We encourage you to take advantage of those opportunities, which can add up to significant savings. We also throw in gifts with many orders and often upgrade shipping from Ground to Priority or UPS Shipping with Tracking, at no extra charge.
We will occasionally have sales and offer special discounts to customers who read the blog or the newsletter. If you’re on those lists, you’ll be notified when we have coupons available.
Hi, I’m Tywana Smith and I own and operate TreasuredLocks.Com. Treasured Locks is a small, black owned company that sells high quality hair and skin care products, predominantly for the needs of African Americans and people of color. While most of our products are excellent for all hair and skin types, our focus is to make available the best products on the market to people who have special needs. We know you have unique needs and we are here to meet them for you
We chose the name for Treasured Locks for many reasons. First, like treasure, quality hair care products for black people can be hard to find. As more of us move away from areas where there are local stores to cater to our needs, we find ourselves running all over town just to find the basics. Secondly, your Secondly, your hair or your locks is a treasure to you. Our hair has unique requirements, and we must take care of it properly to unlock the beauty contained within. Treasured Locks was created out of my personal frustration with finding quality black hair care products and information on how to care for my family’s hair and skin.
We have just completed a major upgrade to our Natural Hair Care Salon Directory making it even easier to use to find locations (including a fancy new Google mapping feature so you can actually see exactly where the salon is located). We have also made it easier to add your favorite salon. We will be offering standard listings for free and enhanced listings (including a link to the salon website and a description of the salon) are available to salons that contact us to learn about the requirements.
Well, my mother thinks so anyway. We were mentioned in the Cincinnati Enquirer this past Friday. I’ve finally taken the plunge and begun transitioning to natural hair for real this time. I had toyed with the idea for years and gotten off to a few false starts. But, this time, I’m well on my way. Here is a picture of my hair now:
Here’s a link to the article. My picture was in the paper. But, it’s not in the on-line version. Cincinnati Enquirer Article
We have completed phase I of our site renovation. We hope you like our new look. We’ve added some new functionality such as a better checkout process and the ability to accept PayPal payments (which several of you have been requesting).
Over the next couple of months, we’ll be putting more underneath the skin. But, for now, enjoy our new look.
Treasured Locks is pleased to be able to tell you about a fantastic website for information about black hair. We have been partnering, in one way or the other, with OurHair.Net pretty much since we launched four years ago. We often refer our clients there. The site is chock-full of information concerning how to care for your hair, articles on the trials & tribulations of the decision to go natural or not, etc. There is also a nice, active message board where you can interact with the staff as well as with other women having the same concerns you have.
OurHair was built just for the needs of woman of color living in the modern world. Their main mission is to help educate you with information in a welcoming, positive atmosphere, which incorporates an understanding of the unique attributes of our hair. They do a great job of furthering the African American and Ethnic woman’s understanding of her hair and how to best care for it. The site is an information based web site funded by the owner and contributed to by highly talented graphic artists and writers. OurHair we encourages you to submit your photos or articles about African American hair and Ethnic hair care issues.
Please check out OurHair.net and tell them Treasured Locks sent you.
Well, a blog is kind of a running newsletter. We will post news, sales, etc. about Treasured Locks and you can visit a website page to read them. A blog will usually allow you to leave comments for the blogger. You can reach our blog by visiting us at http://blog.treasuredlocks.com Our blog will not take the place of our regular newsletter. But, it will be updated much, much more often and the newsletter will have links back to the blog.
A really cool thing about a blog is you can subscribe to it through a pretty new technology. This is even better than subscribing to our email newsletter because the blog is updated more often. And, you can leave comments on the blog for us and for others. But, the best thing about subscribing to our blog is you can be updated without filling up your email mailbox. You do not receive email notifications when a blog is updated. You use something called a NewsReader that gives you a notice when there is a new post made to a website that you are interested in. You then visit the site and read the news.
How to subscribe to a blog
Subscribing to a blog, if you’re not familiar with newsreaders is a little tricky. Hopefully, it is going to get easier as the technology matures and the capability is built into browsers. It’s already there for the Macintosh in Safari. But, for Windows, there are only a few options now:
If you use Yahoo as your homepage, you can click on the My Yahoo icon at the left side of our blog page and that will add the “feed” to your Yahoo homepage. You’ll see it just like your news headlines. This is a very, very easy way to do this (assuming you are using Yahoo as your homepage). If you are not using Yahoo as your homepage and want to, visit Yahoo , click on the My Yahoo icon at the top of the page. Arrange the page the way you want and make it your homepage. Then, visit our blog, click on the My Yahoo button and go from there.
If you already have a newsreader (you’re probably not reading this), just make your way to our XML feed and add us. Our XML feed is at: http://blog.treasuredlocks.com/feed/
It is important to subscribe to the XML feed link and not the regular blog link. If you don’t already have a newsreader, this is going to be a little more tricky. There are several newsreaders available and they all work a little differently.
Pluck is an integrated newsreader that installs itself in your browser. That’s nice and convenient. There are versions for both Internet Explorer and Firefox. We found it pretty easy to use. But, it’s supported by ads, which you might find annoying. And, in the short time we played with it, we could not figure out how to get from the article back to the main blog.
Awasu is a stand-alone application (that also doubles as a browser). It’s kind of complicated. But, for Windows, we like it best. It allows you to click on an article in the reader to actually visit the website. Downside, is you have to download a separate application and run it and it was a little difficult figuring out how to get a feed into the reader. But, once we got our feed in, we liked the way it worked.
NetNewsReader Lite is great. But, it’s for MacIntosh only. Very easy to use. It was bought by NewsGator. Hopefully, they’ll come out with a Windows version.
Safari (also for MacIntosh) has a built-in reader.
There are web-based readers, too, where you visit their site to find your news. NewsGator is one of those. We didn’t really like having to visit a site to find our news. But, it seems to work pretty well.
If all of this is way too confusing to you, don’t despair. You can always just periodically visit our blog at http://blog.treasuredlocks.com and read it at your leisure. Make sure you bookmark it.
Since we began searching for natural products for our daughter about 7 years ago, we’ve come across all kinds of controversies and misinformation concerning many product ingredients. One of the biggest controversies surrounds Sodium Laurel Sulfate. For those of you not familiar, sodium laurel (& laureth) or SLS is a surfactant used in shampoos, toothpastes and liquid soaps. You’ll often find SLS or its derivatives even in “all natural” products. After all, SLS is derived from a natural source. And, as we have stated in other places, natural is a relative term. Once you combine any two ingredients, one could claim a product is natural or not natural. SLS is derived from coconut. So, some people consider it to be natural. It’s just as natural as “grapefruit seed extract”. But, is that really the point? The question we think is relevant is “Is SLS harmful?”
SLS is a foaming and cleaning agent. Its controversy stems from the belief by some that it is highly toxic, highly irritating and carcinogenic. Some people have gone so far as to avoid any product with Sodium Laurel Sulfate or any of its chemical cousins. Because of our personal concerns for our family and our position in the industry, we have studied this issue, with great interest, and from both sides. We realize that some manufacturers have a stake in promoting the use of SLS and some have a stake (those who make “alternative” products) in villifying it. We don’t want to be responsible for hype on either side of this issue. We could offer either or both types of products. Unfortunately, whenever you read anything on the subject, you must take into the consideration the interests of the author. What will he or she gain if you accept her position? Whilethere are some people who believe SLS is unsafe, there are just as many who point to the fact that it has been used for decades with no proven serious health risks.
Here are the facts. SLS, in its pure form, is a skin irritant. But, no one suggests you put pure SLS on your skin hour after hour and leave it there. That’s the way irritability tests are performed. Pure SLS is placed on the skin and left for hours. In that form it is deemed an irritant. However, in health and beauty formulations, SLS is highly diluted by the other ingredients and is usually rinsed off (in the case of shampoos or body washes) or rinsed out- (in the case of toothpastes), minimizing or eliminating the irritating effects. Only those with highly sensitive skin are adversely harmed by the levels of SLS in most products and these effects are usually just mild skin irritations (rash or dry skin).
The Myth
In the late 1990s a myth began making its way around the Internet that claimed SLS causes cancer. This email myth spread rapidly and was taken up by manufacturers of alternative products. In searching for the truth about this myth, we could not find one unbiased, credible source to back it up. There is strong evidence that a manufacturer of alternative products started this myth. But, even without proof of this, what we have found is no one can seem to find a credible source for this belief. Like many Internet email myths it has taken on a life of its
own and has shown how if something is repeated often enough, it can become accepted as indisputable truth by those who suddenly hear it from multiple “credible” sources.
Our conclusion on SLS is this. It is a potential irritant. For people with extremely sensitive skin, it is possible they should avoid Sodium Laurel Sulfate. But the studies for skin irritation involve applying pure SLS to the shaved skin of an albino rat, hour after hour with no rinsing. (So, don’t do that.) SLS is used so commonly because it is a very good surfactant (agent that helps water be more effective). Products without SLS simply will not foam as well and many people don’t like that. Many people want lots of foam from their shampoos and body washes. SLS is a great way to get that foam. Also, we believe that SLS is potentially drying to African American hair and skin. For that reason, we prefer products that use milder forms of surfactants (like the often confused SLES or Sodium Laureth Sulfate) or products that use SLS in lower concentrations (further down the ingredient list). Most salon grade shampoos (including the ones we offer) use these alternative surfactants.
Our plan is to offer both products with SLS and those that are SLS free. The SLS products tend to clean better, foam better and are usually less expensive. For the vast majority of people, we think they are fine. We use them personally. However, for those who want to avoid SLS (and its cousins) all together, we will continue to offer sulfate free products.
Alternative Surfactants
Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate and Sodium Laureth Sulfate are two alternatives to Sodium Laurel
Sulfate. Unfortunately, the controversy over these two compounds is just about as crazy as the
controversy over SLS. Some manufacturers have claimed they are milder and safer. Other manufacturers (who by the way have decided not to use them) claim they are even harsher than SLS.
Conclusions
We’ll keep this short. We have enough research to fill up about 20 pages. But, our job here is to present you with the big picture. What should you do when you hear a rumor about an ingredient? First of all, remain calm. When you hear a report of a dangerous ingredient, consider the source. In fact, first find out the source. If a friend tells you or you get an email, find out where the information originated. Then, do your own research and try to look at both sides. Go to responsible websites like the American Cancer Society and find out what they have to say.
If you’re interested in learning more:
Go to the American Cancer Society’s website and do a search on Sodium Lauryl Sulfate. If this ingredient even possibly caused cancer, wouldn’t they report on it?
Several of you have asked us about Treasured Locks making contributions to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. We, like everyone else, have been deeply touched and disturbed by the images coming out of New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf Coast. Treasured Locks is endeavoring to do our part to help with relief in a number of ways, including cash donations, product donations and labor in helping get supplies to those affected.
Treasured Locks will continue to contribute to the efforts to help the thousands of displaced families as we can over the coming months. We ask you to do the same. Be careful of scams though. Our recommendation is to only give money to reputable organizations such as the Red Cross and the Salvation Army. Avoid, any website popping up asking for money for Hurricane Katrina victims.
We recently lowered the prices on all of our HumiNature Facial Care products. Now they are not only the best, all natural face care products available. But, the price is even more reasonable than before. We also lowered the price on the Treasured Locks H2G Hair Growth Vitamins bringing them way, way below the price of the next best competitor and making them comparably priced to even some of the lesser quality products in the market.
As always, we are looking for the perfect mix of products to bring to you. Relatively soon, we will be discontinuing a few products. But, we have more than adequate replacements for most of them.
One product line we will soon be discontinuing without an immediate replacement is the line of sleep caps, durags, etc. from Spartan Brands. Unfortunately, Spartan Brands has changed their policies and we will not be able to continue to carry their products. We are considering bringing in some higher quality head gear like sleep caps and wraps. But, we’re not sure how those would go over. What do you think? Would you be willing to pay more for higher quality head coverings or are you just as happy picking up something at your local beauty supply store?
This blog site looks a little better than our old one. So, we’re going to try things over here for a while. Make sure you subscribe to the RSS feed to get all of the updates.
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