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Experience“Tres Chic Au Shea”

THE 2012 SHEA PRODUCT SHOWCASE AND EXPO FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Join us while we celebrate using “tree of life” or shea related products and showcase the experience and benefits of this most remarkable natural product. The showcase is about sharing with each other the awareness that fruits from shea tree not only heal our skin, hair and body but also improves the economic livelihood of rural African women, who process the fruit into the healing oil we use. Together we can set a new standard of beauty and fashion that can build a foundation to launch “an economic engine” in ssa - fueled by shea based products.

Simply Shea. Butter Me Up!The Tres’ Chic Au Shea Experience

Natural Image Movement3 Ways to include Shea in your Beauty

Shea Butter. The Choice Ingredient for NaturalsWhat is “Natural Hair”

Make-Up Tips

SPECIAL THANKS

contributor, Brittany I. Daviscontributor, Erica B. Richardson

contributor, Kristina Rosscontributor, Adrienne Young

Collins PrintingSimon Sign Systems

Westwood College, MidtownWhitelight Media, LLC

Audio Visual provided by At Your Service

www.sheainst i tute.com www.sheabutterconvent ion.com

One of the most entertaining events at the convention, the highly anticipated “Tres Chic Au Shea” Showcase will feature Interna-tional models ALL styled with exquisite shea based hair and make-up products and unique African inspired prints and clothing designs; accompanied by the sounds of world famous DJ Ausar blending Afro-beat, Funk, Jazz, Rare Grooves House and beats from all over the world.

A full line of various shea based personal care products will be featured with top selected models, serving as the face of our award winning shea based product brands. Look out this fall, for the professional print spreads of the 2012 shea showcase in the “Tres Chic Au Shea” Online Photo Book.

LIGHTS CAMERA SHEA-SHEA-SHEA!

natural imageTHE

Impact on Fashion and Style by Adrienne Young

With curls, coils, kinks and all, the natural image movement is impacting fashion and style like never before. One can hardly flip through Essence or Ebony magazine without seeing a Sister’s natural mane being highlighted as she is draped in bold patterns, bright colors, and natural hues.

Designers are tapping into this movement as you see natural hair sisters in print media rocking brands such as Polo Ralph Lauren, Yves Saint Laurent, and Calvin Klein. This movement has taken the fashion industry and social media outlets by storm. Vogue Italia profiled natural hair on the runway while essence.com released their top 100 Naturalistas on Instagram.

The natural image and its unique style is sometimes seen as an expectation within the natural hair community. Cameras capture the very essence of how our hair compliments, and does not compete, with our dress. When a sister embarks on her natural hair journey, something on the inside brings out her creativity and it spills over into how she expresses herself in what she wears. During the second week of September, many gathered in New York for fashion week, and I’m sure we will see the natural image walking down the catwalk and showing the world that the natural image movement has now built momentum. We are style. We are fashion. We are the image of today and forever.

3 ways to include Shea Butter in your

beautyregime

“You can maintain soft, y o u t h f u l s k i n w i t h Certified Premium Shea butter, a great product to add to your cosmetics bag.”

by Kristina Ross

If you are like many women, the quest to overcome dry skin is a daily struggle. By adding premium Shea butter to your beauty regime you can achieve the soft and supple skin you’ve been wanting.

Shea butter is a natural product derived from the Karite nut. It has several healing benefits which makes it a great addition to your daily routine. Here are some of my favorite uses for premium Shea butter:

1. Lip Balm- Did you know that

Shea butter can be used as a lip

balm? Especially during those

winter months when our lips get

very dry and cracked. Shea butter

will add moisture to your lips,

conditioning them leaving them

soft and hydrated.

Beauty Tip: Blot excess Shea

butter off lips with a tissue and

wear under your lipstick for lasting

moisture.

2. Moisturizer (Face) - Shea butter’s amazing hydrating properties make it the perfect facial moisturizer for all skin types even oily! However, if you are prone to oily skin use the Shea butter sparingly.

Since premium Shea butter consists of vitamins A and E it can aid in ridding the skin of many imperfections such as dark spots, and stretch marks. Beauty Tip: Apply a thin layer of Shea butter to entire face before applying your foundation. Allow the Shea butter to soak into skin and then blot excess with a tissue. This thin layer of Shea butter will allow for a smoother makeup application while caring for your skin!

3. Mineral Makeup- some cosmetic companies include Shea butter in their products to help keep the skin soft and supple or even to care for different skin conditions like rashes, sunburn peeling, insect bites, and even poison ivy.

Beauty Tip: Shea butter may get altered during processing for cosmetics so before you buy look for the seal of The American Shea Butter Institute to be sure you have optimal effectiveness.

SHEA BUTTERThe choice ingredient for “Naturals”

by Erica B. Richardsonof Oh! My Nappy Hair

Shea butter has been around for hundreds of years. Today, many people are familiar with this rich emollient/ fat extracted from a nut which is produced by the indigenous West and Central African Shea karite tree. When it first arrived in the U.S. in the 1980’s it was namely used for therapeutic purposes associated with the skin.

This vitamin and mineral rich balm has natural anti-inflammatory and healing properties. Amongst raw Shea butter has various uses it was regularly used for minor skin irritations, scars, dryness, etc. much like the cocoa butter people grew up on in the U.S., which has a similar texture and consistency.

Some people who use Shea butter prefer it in its natural form, raw and unrefined since being unaltered maximizes its effectiveness and potency. However, today with its growing popularity we frequently find Shea butter refined, and as the main ingredient in lotions, cream, oil blends, hand soaps and bath gels.

As a professional hair stylist and “natural ingredient enthusiast”, I have become quite familiar with Shea butter using it both personally and professionally. For hair, Shea butter locks in moisture softening hair without leaving the hair greasy or feeling weighed down. It aids to relieve dry, itchy scalp and dandruff unlike synthetic, counterpart

ingredients which sit on the surface, clogging pores and worsening the condition. In a case of dry brittle hair, Shea butter helps to restore elasticity and shine by sealing the hair’s cuticle. This makes it great to use on both chemical treated and non-chemically treated hair of all textures.

With all the benefits of Shea butter, there are plenty ways to style and maintain the hair’s beauty. One of the best ways to use Shea butter when styling hair is apply to freshly shampooed, conditioned and slightly damp hair before blow drying or styling hair naturally with other products. This will act as a barrier, protecting the scalp and hair, by preventing stripping or drying out the hair via heat damage or from harsh styling gels, creams and sprays. Another way that I like to use Shea butter is by mixing it with other natural oils such as coconut, olive or almond. This will soften the butter into a creamier consistency, allowing for an easy application to the body and hair. Furthermore, for added luster, Shea butter can be mixed with your favorite shampoo, conditioner, gel and even relaxer. Even though, I would emphasize using caution. Any natural style can be done using Shea butter, but some of the most popular ones include double strand twists, coil twists, twist [out] sets and loc grooming.

As an owner and operator of Atlanta Natural Hair Care, Inc, I am often asked “What is Natural Hair Care?” This is understandable because “Natural Hair Care” is further reaching than the care of natural hair. Understanding the natural hair care industry’s base gives a better understanding as to why “Natural Hair Care” does not refer to all hair types. The word “Natural” in Natural Hair Care is derived from to the popular 60’s hair style the afro, also known as a Natural. Today, just like in the 60’s, African American women “go natural” as an alternative to chemically straightening their hair. The Natural Hair Care industry is built around styling and maintaining hair that is naturally curly or tightly coiled without chemically altering the hair shape or curl pattern.

Let’s talk about these common misconceptions. Misconception #1: Natural hair care providers only use all natural products. Natural hair care clients look for their hair stylists to create styles that look good and are easy to maintain at home. Therefore, it is critical that the stylists use high performing products that do not harm the clients’ hair. Properly utilized, synthetic ingredients do not harm natural hair and often have attributes that increase the manageability of the hair. One of the reasons hair is curly is because of hydrogen bonds between the proteins (keratin) of which the hair is made. These bonds unlike disulfide bonds, which are broken when the hair is altered with chemical treatments, can be enhanced by water. Water can cause curls to loosen or can make hair frizzy depending on hair’s natural curl or condition. Synthetic ingredients are often used in products to keep moisture from penetrating the hair

whatHAIRis natural

by Elaine M. Truesdale

or to draw moisture into the hair. These products can enhance the hair curl pattern and make the hair more manageable without chemically altering the hair. Synthetic ingredients mirror attributes of natural ingredients and are often easier to produce and replicate (making them more viable and sometimes less expensive than all natural ingredients).

Misconception #2: Natural hair styles always reflect the hairs natural curl and textureNatural hair styles go beyond afros, braids and twist. Many natural hair salons specialize in thermal straightening and sets, which use water or heat to loosen and reshape the hydrogen bonds between the proteins that make up the hair. This changes the “shape” of the hair. The new “shape” depends on the tools and techniques used (ie. Rollers, Rods Flat Irons, Curling Irons, etc). If done properly over time the hydrogen bonds will return to their original form and the hair will go back to its natural shape.

Misconception #3: All Natural Hair Stylist are Professional Hair Care Providers Today, the Natural Hair Care industry is growing at a pace that far exceeds other beauty industry markets. As the Natural Hair Care industry grows more people are offering natural hair care services and products. With the influx of natural hair care professionals and very few industry regulations it is important to question Natural Hair Care stylists and salons about their experience and qualifications because caring for naturally curly and tightly coiled hair is a skill and a art that takes years of experience and education to master. Not all are experienced and competent! See www.atlantanaturalhair.com.

Triterpene alcohols found in the butter such as, lupeol and alpha/beta-amyrin have been shown to possess extraor-dinary anti-inflammatory effects. A clinical study was performed to study the effects of shea butter on dry, delicate or aging skin.

Volunteers applied either 15% or pure shea butter twice a day. Both products resulted in 70% healing of skin conditions including hand dermatitis, sun burns and scars. There was also a reduction in wrinkles and a 75% improvement of skin suppleness. By adding shea butter to your current skincare regimen, you are more than likely to notice improvements in your skin.

Here are a couple of ways to use shea butter that will leave your skin singing praises to you:

Shea Butter Steam FacialOn freshly cleansed skin, rub a dime-sized amount of shea butter into the skin in circular motions. Beginning at the forehead, continue in upwards and outwards motion, ending at the neck. Place a warm, damp washcloth over the face for 5-10 minutes. Do not rinse. Pat excess with washcloth.

Shea butter’s amazing qualities and nourishing benefits makes it a wonderful addition to a skin care regimen, regardless of skin type. The butter is highly concentrated with nutritional essential fatty acids, unsaponifiable fractions and vitamins. These fatty acids found in shea butter (palmitic, stearic, oleic and linoleic acid) are the same that are produced by the sebaceous glands in the skin. Shea butter is also effective in healing acne prone skin.

butterme up

SIMPLY SHEA.

by Brittany L. Davis, Chemist

Dry, Cracked Feet TreatmentAt bedtime, coat dry, cracked feet with shea butter. Pay special attention to the heels, which is most often the driest. Cover feet with thick socks as you sleep. When you wake up in the morning, your feet will feel luxuriously soft and supple. This is especially recommended in the colder winter months.

Cuticle Massage CreamMassage shea butter into cuticles and hands before going to bed. For an increased effectiveness, wear a pair of lightweight cotton hand gloves to encourage moisture absorption. After-Shower Body MoisturizerAfter showering, massage shea butter into slightly damp skin. The shea butter will act as a protective layer, holding the moisture in the skin for long-lasting, moisturized skin throughout the day.

Make-up and skin care companies around the world have begun to incorporate shea butter into its formulations. Shea butter’s beneficial and nourishing properties are making a wave amongst consumers as well. Due to this emollient’s ability to improve and maintain soft, supple and smooth appearance to the skin, many large brands are incorporating shea butter in make-up bases, creams, foundations and mineral powders.

In the right formulation and concentration, facial primers based on shea butter will not leave a greasy after feel. Your foundation and/or powders will be able to glide onto the skin with ease! Not only will your makeup application be smoother, after continuous use there will be a noticeable difference in the health of your skin. By using shea butter as a base, dry skin is especially improved as it helps to regulate sebum production and provides extreme moisture. This will aid in keeping your skin dewy and hydrated throughout the day. The unsaponifiable fractions found in shea butter are the reason why it has incredible benefits. Aside from its moisturizing properties, shea butter is effective in improving skin elasticity and texture, evens skin tone and for the treatment of skin conditions, such as, dermatitis, eczema, rashes, etc.

SHEA facedMAKE -UP TIPS

by Brittany L. Davis, Chemist

SPO

NSO

RS &

VEN

DORS

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