Jamaican Diaspora
Beauty Edition Politricks Opinion Natural Hair Styles The Home Spa Treatment The Kingston Art Renaissance
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Cover
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Toni-Ann Singh was crowned Miss World. Singh was born in Morant Bay, Jamaica. Both of her parents are Jamaican born; her mother is Afro Caribbean and father is Indo-Caribbean. Toni attended Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida, where she graduated with a degree in woman’s studies and psychology. Singh becomes the 4th Miss Jamaica to hold the title Miss World.
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Contents Departments
Musical Notes - Jahmiel Book Club Cinema Scene Recipe Corner - Carrot Juice
Feature
Politricks Opinion Christmas in Jamaica The Kingston Art Renaissance Natural Hair Styles: Dread locks * Bantu Knots * Corn Rows The Home Spa Treatment : Soft Feet * Body Soak * Body Cream
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Writing for Jamaican Diaspora Magazine
Editor’s Note
Our publication contains articles from our advertisers and contribution writers. The goal is to share positive information. If you are interested in giving out your expertise or knowledge, let us know. Community involvement is the objective.
Living Your Truth The most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched as they must be felt in the heart. Let the creator give you strength and courage to overcome any situation. Stand before all your enemies and hold your head to the sky knowing that the most high is with you. Let divine purpose come from within; those who are with you will shine through the dark clouds.
How to place an ad If you would like to advertise, please contact us. We will promote your product or special event. By letting us know who or when your special day is, it prevents dual scheduling. The intention is to complement not compete; remember unity is strength.
When one book closes, you will realize there is an entire library that needs to be researched. Know that six months from now you will be in a completely different space, mentally, spiritually and financially. That’s the living truth. Understand that values, morals and integrity must never be compromised.
To contact us, visit www.JamaicanDiaspora.com What we are about
What else does one have, if not honesty with oneself? For how can a lie conceal the reflection that is in the mirror? Don’t seek validation from others; find it from that reflection you see in the mirror. Be responsible for yourself. If someone can’t use you or reap the benefit of off you, will they deal with you in the hour off need? Accepting the truth is the living truth for happiness.
Our product is unique because this magazine targets Jamaican culture on the island and worldwide. This publication affirms identity and builds community selfesteem. We will not only bring entertainment, but also provide information in areas of health, education, entrepreneur and environment.
Janice Maxwell editor in chief
Published by JK Productions
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Book Club
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Cinema Scene
Jamaican Flix Our images our culture
www.JamaicanFlix.com
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Musical Notes: Jamiel
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eggae singer/songwriter Jamiel Foster was born in Portmore, Jamaica. He immediately took to music as a youth, performing and writing original songs by the time he was 12, and working toward a full-time life in music by his teenage years. Early on he went under the moniker Culture Jamiel, but then switched his performance name to simply Jahmiel as he further refined his musical style. Finding a decidedly pop hybrid of reggae and dancehall elements. His love for music grew listening to music icons such as reggae singers Bob Marley, Buju Banton and Junior Gong, among several others.
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Recipe Corner - Carrot Juice
INGREDIENTS:
Blend carrot with water. This step may be repeated depending on the number of carrots you have.After the carrot is blended, use a strainer to pour liquid into a large bowl.
2 lbs carrot 4 or more cup of water 1 teaspoon vanilla
Discard of the pulp in the strainer after there is no juice remaining. This step may also be repeated until all the carrots are blended.
1 tin condensed milk 1 tin Supligen (optional) 1 bottle Guinness or Dragon Stout (optional) ½ teaspoon nutmeg
Supligen and Guinness are optional, but if you choose to use them it should be mixed to the bowl of carrot juice.
DIRECTIONS:
Add nutmeg and vanilla to the mixture
You will need a blender, large mixing bowl, strainer and a spoon. Wash carrots and scrub or peel outer layer. Cut the carrots into small chunks.
Add the tin of condensed milk or sweetened to taste. Place in the refrigerator to chill or serve with ice.
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Fun Things to do in Jamaica
Dunn's River Falls and Park in Ocho Rios
Seven Mile Beach in Negril
Blue Mountains National Park
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Politricks Opinion
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early 80% of Jamaica youth say they would leave Jamaica for better work and educational opportunities for education and work, according to recent surveys reported by The Gleaner, a large daily newspaper on the island. Why, outsiders ask, would people want to leave such a paradise? Salaries could be a major reason. In February 2016, the Jamaican Parliament, with the People’s National Party (PNP) in majority, raised the minimum wage from $5,400 JMD to $6,200 JMD. This converts to a pitiful $49 USD per work week. Private security guards’ rate was kept lower at $5,500. The PNP likely took the action to help win an election, but they lost anyway. In 2017, the new government, controlled by the Jamaica Labor Party (JLP), began working on carrying out their campaign promise to eliminate taxes for those making $1.5 Million JMD or less ($12,000 USD a year at the average conversion rate). Few of the people who favor the PNP believed that the JLP would come through with the promise, but in 2017, the government took the first step by eliminating wage taxes for everyone who earned less than $1M JMD or about USD $7,900 USD. (This was raised from $800,000 14
JMD.) The average annual salary for many white-collar jobs, teachers included, seems to be about $14,500 USD, with nurses getting even less. Tourism revenue accounts for about 31 percent of Jamaica’s GDP, including both direct and indirect expenditures, still only 15 percent of the revenue generated by resorts stays in Jamaica, the rest going a’foreign. The unemployment rate could be another. Officially, the rate has come down from over 15% in 2013 to under 8% in 2019. Yet, many are not counted in this rate. Strict Austerity Measures Jamaica has been deep in debt to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB), and the World Bank. In the 1970s, Michael Manley became Prime Minister with the promise not to borrow money from the IMF. However, in the Life and Debt documentary, he talks tearfully about being forced to take their loans after all. This revealing film provides evidence for powerful counterarguments to the so-called benefits of globalization. The book Confessions of an Economic Hit Man documents how Manley was likely forced to take the loans through a life and death ultimatum, a common practice of the U.S. National Security Administration (NSA). Because of the loans’ high interest rates and other requirements that have negatively impacted development in Jamaica, the debt grew to $2 billion USD! The Jamaican debt payment reached 160 percent of the GDP, with the interest alone equaling more than half the annual revenue of the island, which is only half the size of New Jersey. As typical, these loans came with required austerity measures, called structural adjustments, which included freezing of wages, raising food costs, increasing taxes, decreasing funding for health, social services, and education, thus increasing unemployment, and widening the big disparity between rich and poor. In 2011, the U.S.-based Center for Economic and Policy Research concluded that Jamaica suffered from the world’s most austere budget demands. Industries such as pineapple, poultry, rice and milk, even potatoes, carrots, and onions collapsed because of forced “free trade,” which allowed subsidized lower quality products from other countries to be sold in Jamaica for less than the cost of the island’s local production. In 2017 news media reported that it was discovered that some rice exported just recently from China was made of plastic! In addition to the industries mentioned above, 15
destroyed through free trade, Jamaica’s banana industry was the loser in the banana wars between the USA government (representing Dole, Chiquita and Del Monte) and the European Union. Great Britain had a longstanding trade agreement with Jamaica that subsidized their banana exports as a way of compensating for the legacy of colonialism. Jamaican bananas were more expensive to grow than in places like Honduras where these American-based multinationals easily exploited the cheap wages made possible by a union-free environment, enforced by official and semi-official state repression. Even though these corporations already controlled 95 percent of the world's banana market, they wanted Great Britain's market, too. Their success ensured the collapse of Jamaica's banana industry. This downpressive system system is perpetuated This downpressive through the so-called free is perpetuated through the trade agreements that also enable corporations to overrule citizens’ rights to so-called free trade organize or to pass laws to protect their wages and agreements that also their environment. It becomes a “race to the enable corporations to bottom” for those losing jobs to unfair competition, or their health to overrule citizens’ rights to environmental poisons and devastation. For example, organize or to pass laws to the three-nation North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) protect their wages and expanded corporations’ power by allowing them to their environment. bypass any government or court accountability. Instead, disputes are sent directly to a tribunal of three private sector lawyers with no appeal process provided! This provision, called Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS), gives corporations the right to sue governments (the people’s taxes) for huge financial compensation when they are not allowed free-rein to implement their projects. Examples include laying polluting pipelines and extending patents to prevent competition from lower-priced generic drugs—claiming these governmental blocks diminish their “expected future profits.” While Jamaica is not a signatory to NAFTA, it isn’t immune to its effects, i.e., jobs and bargaining power have been lost to Mexico. When Jamaica’s industries were ruined, displaced workers became a source of cheap labor. 16
Free Trade Imperialistic powers also decided to do the Jamaican workers “a favor” by creating a Free Trade Zone (free of business tax and accountability to the government) that included huge textile assembly plants near the docks. Ships unloaded materials cut in the U.S. and elsewhere, and mostly a Jamaican female work force was paid only USD $30 per week to sew garments for well-known manufacturers. When workers protested against the miserable working conditions and wages, they were fired, with most of the owners relocating their businesses to Mexico- the others bringing in Chinese workers. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a 12-nation pact dubbed “NAFTA on steroids” by opponents, was defeated in the U.S. in 2016, thanks to huge citizen protests. Yet, it later moved forward, renamed with code-words: Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, and in 2018, was signed by seven countries, with even more considering membership. The U.S. government is holding out for increased abilities of companies to sue national governments, in particular over strict regulations over oil and gas developments, (via ISDS) among other contested priorities. The “liberty amendments” are another bag of tricks gaining speed down a slippery slope in the U.S. For example, its proponents advocate for a constitutional amendment mandating a federal balanced budget, which sounds as “American as apple pie,” but in reality is a coverup for then dismantling Social Security, Medicare, and other supportive assistance for most Americans, so that the wealthy can live regulation-free and tax-free—an example of what is being promoted by the elite worldwide. These shenanigans or politricks makes “typically calm” me so mad that I want to lash out! Fortunately, I once saw an encounter that showed me that creative nonviolent strategies are far less messy and lethal and can be more effective than explosive confrontations. I recall a time when an African American friend Jeff and I were in an upscale hotel, standing at a bar having drinks while waiting for the start of a free seminar on leadership. An older White man walked up to Jeff and asked him to bring a drink over to a table, clearly mistaking him for a waiter! It was obvious to me that the mistake came from a bigoted stance. I hadn’t known Jeff very long but assumed he would blast the man with a charge of racism. I was surprised that, instead, Jeff calmly straightened up and, with what seemed to me like a royal 17
gesture, motioned to him, saying, “I believe you will find the waiter over there.” The man actually bowed, and without lifting his head, backed away, mumbling a thank you. What a powerful teaching moment! Recently, Erica Chenoweth, at Howard University, published research confirming that over the past 100 years, nonviolent protests involving at least 3.5 percent of a population, are twice as likely to achieve change as the violent conflicts! I like to change the Republican slogan, “Make America Great Again” (a code phrase deceitfully used to stir up the marginalized masses by the wealthy elite who want to be relieved of ethics, government taxes and regulations), and urge all to Make Americans Think Again, and more recently Make America Greta Again, as a theme urging action counteracting climate deniers. I puzzle about why people can’t see how rights are being taken away, how groups of people are being pitted against each other, and how health is being threatened with the camouflage of code words. Why are people supporting these moves through their votes, or not voting at all? I brace myself against slipping into disillusionment and despair. One Drop Does It! Fortunately, consoling words from Bob Marley in No Woman No Cry come breezing into my mind, is helping uplift me back into the One Love vibration. I softly hum my modified version, “Don’ worry ‘bout nuh t’ing. Hmmm...every big, big t’ing gonna be just fine.” Like others who enjoy reggae, I find it impossible to feel any kind of down while listening to it. I further center myself by immersing in a series of reassuring Bob Marley messages accompanied by the one drop reggae riddim (rhythm). I consciously choose these songs because for me, the musical term one drop (when the drummer and even the bass player skip the expected first beat) also signifies resistance to the status quo ism skism systems...the inhumane powers-that-be that have made life a hardscrabble sufferation for a large majority of people in the world. I resolve that we must “not give up the fight,” but instead focus on positive goals for a more equitable and peaceful world and relax into the faith that Jah Jah will never let WE people down.
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Written By Cheri Avery Black – www.CheriAveryBlack.com
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Christmas in Jamaica
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grew up in rural Jamaica in the 1950s and 60s. These are my memories of that time. When I was growing up in Jamaica Christmas was the absolute best time of year. All troubles were washed away when Christmas breeze started to blow. When December came the weather became cooler especially in the rural areas. The sugarcane fronds, the palm fronds and even the leaves on the mango trees would dance in anticipation of Christmas. There was excitement in the air and everyone seemed nicer. I guess that’s what they called the “Christmas spirit.” In the weeks leading up to the big day, there was a lot of work to be done: There was the whitewashing of stones that lined the walkway up to the house as well as the lower part of the trunk of trees. All the curtains in the house had to be taken down and washed. We had no washing machine so all the washing had to be done by hand in a washtub. The week leading up to Christmas the house had to be specially cleaned, dusted in every crevice and corner. Then the wooden floors had to be stained with a red liquid, polished then shined with a coconut brush. To perform this chore you had to get down on your hands and knees and press on the brush hard while moving it in a back and forth motion. When completed it was a source of pride to see the beauty of the floor so shiny and bright. Seemed like a sin to walk on it.
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Neither we nor most of our neighbors had electricity so all the baking, roasting and cooking was done in unattached kitchens on wood or coal fires. The air was delicious with the smell of baking sweet potato pudding, black cakes, the cooking of curried goat, chicken, escoveitch fish, pork. No matter how meager things may have been during the rest of the year, it seemed most people had a bounty when it was almost Christmas. The people who lived alone, especially the elderly, were invited by neighbors for Christmas dinner. I will always remember how when my brother, Gilly and I, were sent to live in Port Antonio with our father and he abandoned us to go live with a new girlfriend, how the neighbors, especially Miss Sarah Williams and her husband and their son and daughter, saw to it that we had a nice Christmas. A staple of Christmastime back then was the jonkannu bands. They would pass through the districts, a masquerade of characters playing fifes and drums and dancing. I was excited to see them and terrified at the same time. No matter how meager things may have been This was true for most of us children. You would hear the music starting in the distance and people during the rest of the year, would begin shouting, “Jonkunnu a come!!” If it seemed most people had you were standing outside without an adult, you’d fly a bounty when it was back inside the house and watch safely from the almost Christmas. window. Once when Gilly and I were living with Aunt Daphne and were left in the house by ourselves while she and the neighbor went into Kingston to shop, we heard the sound of the jonkunnu band we locked every door and was looking out the window when one of the characters, Horsehead, must have spotted us and pretended he was opening the gate to come in. We slammed the window shut and hid under the bed completely terrified. The characters I remember are Horsehead, Pitchy-patchy, Belly woman, Cowhead, Devil and Bride. I have seen names of others but I don’t remember them. I feared Horsehead the most. Christmas Eve was very exciting because it was Grandmarket time. We would all go into May Pen town where there was a big market where vendors plied their wares. Many, if not most, of what they sold were geared towards children. 21
There was feefe, a toy made of bamboo with a feather at the end. When you blew into the opening at the top the balloon inflated and it made a loud squeaking sound. Firecrackers were very popular. The one I liked the most was sheboom, a small, round shiny ball that you threw hard and it exploded as it hit the ground. Starlight was a sparkler we waved around. There were sweets galore such as coconut drops, grater cake, Busta backbone, tamarind balls. I remember pretty little girl dresses and patent leather shoes. The one drawback to Grandmarket for me was the crowds. I hated people bumping into me. I would wriggle my shoulders as if to say, “Get off me!” That caused Aunt Daphne to say time and again she would never take me to Grandmarket again because I was acting like a little woman. To this day, I don’t like crowds and people bumping into me. When I lived with Aunt Clare in Kingston, Jamaica’s capital city, the highlight of the Christmas season was the arrival of Santa Claus! We would line King Street by the hundreds, if not thousands, waiting for Santa to go by in an open-aired vehicle. He would wave at the crowd with a white-gloved hand. I knew nothing about the North Pole or elves. All I knew was that Santa Claus arrived from overseas by airplane and disembarked at the Palisadoes Airport (now Norman Manley Airport) and was headed for Times Store where kids would sit on his lap and tell him their Christmas wishes. I never sat on Santa’s lap.
Written by Pauline Binder
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The Kingston Art Renaissance
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hether beautiful murals painted by recognized artists or graffiti masterpieces, there has always been street art. It can lift spirits, declare turf wars, effect social change, pay homage to the greats or simply beautify a space. All of these reasons and more were a part of the vision Jamaican Entrepreneur and 2019 RJRGleaner Honor Awards Recipient Andrea Dempster-Chung had in mind when she conceptualized Kingston Creative.
To independent authors, she has always been the affable, supportive owner of Bookophillia Bookstore, the only book shop in Jamaica that never carries school books. For these authors, such as myself, it means a space where our local books have prominence; sit on shelves beside international bestsellers and gain an audience. A space where readers flock to buy books they actually want to read.
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To the Jamaican creative world, she is known as the lady whose passion is driving the movement to make, in her own words, “Kingston the creative capital of the Caribbean.” Her journey began twenty years ago when she and a group of friends drafted a proposal to rehabilitate the old J. Wray and Nephew Building in downtown Kingston to be used as an arts portal. A creative space where artists could work and exhibit. She found no luck in selling the idea to the team that was already discussing the rehabilitation of Kingston.
Fast forward to 2017. After returning from working in the UK and having gained valuable experience in workingHer with government the arts, she and two other journey began and twenty intrepid volunteers, Jennifer Bailey and Allan Daisley, decided to dust off the vision. years ago when she and a They plunged headlong, cashless, into the new group of friends drafted a and exciting world now called Kingston Creative. proposal to rehabilitate the old J. Wray and
Through sheer determination, valuable Nephew Building in partnerships and volunteers that now downtown Kingston to be number over 70 people, they have ushered in a used as an arts portal. renaissance period of sorts. Kingston Creative is run by creatives. Everyone who is a part of the organization has creative talent. Whether a photographer, fine artist, dancer, writer, it’s a group that is in tune with the power of the creative industry. They are breathing life into old abandoned buildings, painting murals, hosting events and slowing transforming the space into an arts district for people from all walks of life and economic backgrounds.
Yet, it’s more than just about the actual work and beautifying a space. There is serious economic power in the creative industry which generates 2.53 trillion dollars in revenue and 30 million jobs Worldwide annually. “Jamaica has such a powerful culture,” Andrea says. “Jamaica is a mover and shaker in World; we should have a piece of that pie.” 24
Combining creativity, technology and economics, Kingston Creative is at the forefront of turning the tide for many artisans whose passion for their creative expressions do not translate into economic empowerment. Generating earnings that they can do more than scrape through life on but rather earnings they can thrive on. They are adding value to the artists’ work by adding value to their own view of themselves and their worth to the wider society.
There is a monthly Art Walk that features pop-up art displays, an artisan marketplace, walking tour of historic buildings and entertainment. There are hollowed out buildings lit up for movies, poetry and other art forms, that remind me if only in a small part, of the ruins of Ephesus in Turkey lit up for a performance. Young and old, ‘uptowners’, downtowners and those in between meet in these space for refreshing cultural and artistic expressions.
Water Lane is a particular focal point in the development of the Arts District. In the same way that the Wynwood Arts district in Miami attracts thousands of visitors to its 25
Wynwood Walls, Water Lane is being developed as Water Lane Art Walls. Already murals have begun to line the lane and the use of augmented reality within the art means visitors can simply scan a code with their cell phones and the use of an App, to learn more about the artist and the work.
Andrea is all smiles when she speaks of how proud they all are that “little, little Kingston is a member of the Global Cultural Districts Network (GCDN)”, and that they were invited to Singapore to talk about the activities and impact of Kingston Creative. The GCDN boasts some of the world’s most artistic cities as members including Dubai, London, Sydney, Beijing and the Gold Coast. For as Andrea puts it “likkle likkle Jamaica to be invited and featured is a huge deal. Jamaica is the first Caribbean nation to be accepted into this elite organization.”
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The growth has been phenomenal. At least that’s the outsiders view. Though very pleased with how far they have come in so short a time, Kingston Creative believes they have just scratched the surface of possibilities. They have brought the vision to life. They have gained Global recognition and the powers that be are finally taking notice. They have ignited a flame. But it takes lots of fuel to turn the flame into a raging inferno, and raging inferno is where they want to be. In time, visitors will be flocking Kingston, not just for the exciting party scene or the amazing food choices or for meetings but to revel in the excitement that is the Kingston Art Renaissance.
Written by Judith Falloon-Reid
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Dread locks
Dreadlocks, also locs, dreads, are ropelike strands of hair formed by matting or braiding hair. Dreadlocks can also be formed through a technique called "twist and rip", as well as backcombing and rolling. While leaving hair to its own devices – foregoing brushing, combing or cutting the hair, also known as the "neglect" technique and "free forming" – will generally result in tangles and mats, the formation of evenly sized dreadlocks takes planning and maintenance. Various methods are used to encourage the formation of locks such as backcombing, braiding, rolling and the crochet hook method. All of these methods require ongoing work to be applied to the dread before it becomes neat and tight or mature. However, if the crochet hook method is applied by a skilled hand throughout the length of the dread, then the resulting dreadlocks are instantly tight and will not need any rolling.
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Bantu Knots
Bantu* knots are a cute, flirty style traditionally sported by African woman of certain cultural group and some women of African descent but these knots work well with just about all hair types. They are not actually knots, however. Instead, they are small, coiled buns secured against the side of the head. Little known facts: •
Bantu knots are also called Zulu knots you will see why as you keep reading.
• Bantu originated from West Africa. It’s through many waves of migration that they spread through other parts of the continent! • Among the groups that were taken as slaves from Africa, Bantu comprised most of the African slaves. So sad to say, but many of you black sisters and brothers reading this might be of Bantu origins. • Bantu means “People” in many Bantu languages. I say Bantu languages because in Africa it’s common for many groups to speak a language with some variations. The same way someone in the Northern parts of the US might say or pronounce a few words differently from someone in the South. • A common characteristic of Bantu languages is that they use a stem form such as -ntu or -tu for 'person’ and the plural prefix for people in many languages is ba-, together giving ba-ntu "people."
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Corn Rows
Cornrows or braids, also called cane rows in the Caribbean, are an ancient traditional African style of hair grooming, in which the hair is braided very close to the scalp, using an underhand, upward motion to produce a continuous, raised row. Many African groups also wear braids, depending on their tribe. Cornrows are often formed in simple, straight lines, as the name implies, but they can also be formed in complicated geometric or curvilinear designs. Depending on the region of the world, cornrows are worn by men or women, or both, and are sometimes adorned with beads or cowry shells. Often favored for their easy maintenance, rows can be left in for weeks at a time if maintained through careful washing of the hair and regular oiling of the scalp. Braids pulled too tight or worn for considerable lengths of time can cause a type of hair loss known as traction alopecia. In the US many young Black girls wear this style more than adults. This trend is changing with adult women, who braid in add ons to enhance the style. An elaborate form of cornrows, known as box braids, became fashionable among urban black women during the 1990s, after their prominent use by Janet Jackson in the movie Poetic Justice.
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The Home Spa Treatment Sometime going to the spa is not an option. It could be distance, or the money just isn’t there. What to do? Treat yourself to a home spa; afterall, it is cheaper, and the basic ingredients can be found at home or the local drug store.
Soft Feet
¼ Cup Listerine (blue is best) ¼ Cup Vinegar ½ Cup warm water
Soak feet for 15 minutes. Gently rub the dead skin will fall off your feet, leaving is soft.
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Body Soak
½ cup epsom salt ½ cup baking soda 10 drops lavender essential oil
Add ingredients in bath tub. Sit, soak and relax for 20 minutes. This will draw out the toxins in your body.
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Body Cream
Ingredients
3.
Warm the water slightly and place in
•
3 ounces jojoba oil
blender
•
3 ounces water
4.
•
1 ounce beeswax
mixture to the water slowly.
•
8 drops rose absolute
5.
Blend until a cream forms.
•
21 drip frankincense
6.
Store in the refrigeration
Add the wax/ jojoba oil/ essential oil
Before Using Essential Oils… Direction
Remember that essential oils, including the
1.
ones above, must be diluted in carrier oils.
Melt the wax and the jojoba oil in a
double boiler; allow to cool to lukewarm
Also, before using, be sure to test your oil on
temperature.
a section of your arms, just to make sure you
2.
don’t have an adverse reaction.
Add the rose and frankincense
essential oils.
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