I am a serial facial-er.  At the very least, every other day I am in the bathroom cleansing, clarifying and moisturizing my youthful countenance to keep it looking its very best and so that I can combat the effects of my three decade long smoking addiction (see: Smoking Facts).  My regular facial components consist of an apricot scrub, an astringent and a moisturizer, and at least twice a week I expand the ritual to include masking, which helps draw toxins out of the skin.  Up until last month I’d been greatly neglecting the masking part of my regimen because I had yet to find a product I liked.  Lucky for me,  Pegasus Soaps came to the rescue at just the right time.

In case you couldn’t tell from the last review I did for Pegasus Soaps, I have made it a point to become a regular procurer of Michelle Ortiz‘s handiwork.  While I don’t personally know Ms. Ortiz outside of our Plurk sharings, I have come to admire the energy and dedication she puts into creating her products.  So when I discovered she offers By The Sea Mud Mask I had to hurry and cop a container and add it to my skin care routine.

Again, delivery was quick — my product arrived about three days after I placed my order through Michelle’s Artfire store — and came complete with instructions, an ingredients list and a free tube of Peachy Keen Shea Butter Lip Balm (gotta love the freebies, and this was a delightful one).  As soon as I received my package I did the sniff test to make sure this was a product I would want having close to my nose for upwards of five minutes.  I will not lie… the concoction is not pleasantly perfumed, as seaweed/sea kelp carries with it a “beachy” type of odor.  But having grown up around and spent a great amount of time at a beach every summer till I was fourteen I was used to it the aroma.

NOTE: The smell of the mask is not offensive at all but it does take getting used to.  For those who prefer a more “fru-fru” fragrance, Michelle can infuse the mask with a host of essential oils that might be more to your liking.

Next came the application.  After cleansing and clarifying I applied the mask liberally, making sure to keep it away from eyes, nose and mouth (as one should any facial product).  The consistency of the mask is thick, resembling wet sand with a similar texture, and proved extremely easy to distribute.  Now, here is the most fascinating part about the mask, facial-wise: upon contact with my skin I could actually feel the mask working!  Through a mild heating/tingling feeling I could sense the chlorophyll in the sea kelp powder working its detoxing magic.  The sensation was unexpected because while there was a heads up in the accompanying documentation about itching, there was nothing stated about warming.  It wasn’t an unpleasant feeling so I was not worried about it, and as one would suspect it stopped once the mask dried completely.

And now, for the removal.  The last facial mask I’d used was the Queen Helene Mud Pack Masque which worked well for me as far as applying and its intended purpose.  But when it came to removing the product, I had to use several towels (the mask caked the towels and was difficult to  rinse away, leaving behind a stain on the towels as well) and at least three hard working minutes to remove all traces of the product from my face prior to applying astringent.  But with By The Sea Mud Mask, removal was as simple as applying a warm towel compress to my face for a few seconds to loosen, and then gently wiping away.   One towel, one minute.  Easy peasy, like skin care should be.

After removing the mask I used my regular astringent to clarify my skin and remove any parts of the mask that might still remain in my pores, then waited the prerequisite one hour before applying my regular moisturizer.  The results… Smooth, clean and clear skin that glowed as if Sol were in the bathroom with me. *lol* My pores were barely defined and my skin felt “squeaky” clean and baby soft.  Considering sea kelp has a high fatty and amino acid content which work to maintain elasticity and acts as a skin conditioner (respectively), I doubt I even needed to use moisturizer until my next facial.  Imagine that!

Since this was my first experience with the product I had very little expectations of it beyond its designed purpose, so you can imagine my excitement when Michelle mentioned that the product was also good for use in pedicures!  After a vigorous work over with my pumice stone, I generously applied the mud mask to the bottoms and tops of my tootsies and surrounded each with a Saran Wrap covering.  Once thirty minutes had passed ,I effortlessly rinsed the mask away and enjoyed silky soft heels which would normally be as tough as nails thanks to my affinity for running around barefoot.  So a multi-purpose skin mask for $8 for 8 oz. I have barely used yet (a dollar an ounce for natural goodness is that deal)…  Do I really need to broadcast my rating for By The Sea Mud Mask?  I think not, but here goes anyway:

JBTM Rating:

Michelle, you have blessed me with another winner from your collection and further guaranteed yourself a repeat customer, as well as unofficial promoter (ever thought of starting an affiliate program *lol*)  Thank you so much for yet another product gem!

Healthy Hair Wishes,

Hi Hi All!

It’s been a minute since I had an opportunity to update cause Life has been playing musical chairs with certain situations in my life, and for a while the tresses were the odd man out.  Well, I’ve been taken care of it, of course, but haven’t been doing anything out of the ordinary.  Well that’s not totally true.  I have been experimenting with various different products for review purposes and to see what else works for keeping the coiff beautiful and growing.  But when it comes to styling… er… I’m a bit stalled.  I did try a braid out style the other week but it didn’t quite turn out the way I wanted.  My Seester has promised to do locs for me when I got to visit her in Houston, but that won’t be until next month, or August at the latest.  So I guess until then it’s all bun wraps, Afro puffs and maybe the occasional twist out for me. *lol*

As far as the Blog’s progress, as well as the book project… I have so many ideas I’d like to put into “print” but just have not taken the time to implement them yet.  Since it seems the scope of JBTM has expanded from a personal production to one that embraces all aspect of natural hair and body care, I’m struggling with a clear cut direction for how it’s going to go from here on out.  Well, one “new idea” has been to create the JBTM Twitter Page where I can share updates and network with other naturals.  Of course it’s new so there’s nothing really there now, but if you’ve got a Twitter account be sure to add us!

Another idea I’m thinking on is adopting a posting schedule, like what I started with In the Mix Fridays (which I do plan to return to… one of these days *lol*), where certain JBTM features are spotlighted on particular days.  That way, in the times when I don’t have anything original to share, I’ll still be sharing… ya dig? *lol*  We’ll see how that works out.

The most obvious implementation is that JBTM is once again personalized, which I’m real good with.  After moving a few times and deciding to do the book project, I thought it really important to have a self hosted Blog.  And with the self hosting, it was really important to me to have a personalized theme.  It’s not the most dynamic, yet, but I’m working on it, and with The BFF’s assistance, I should have the place decked out splendidly by the end of the summer.  WOOOOO!

So that’s about it and that’s about all for this update.  As you can see from the above pic, the hair is still growing and I am still natural.  I had a moment of weakness where the thought of turning back to the creamy crack passed through my gray matter, but then I placed my hands in my tresses and felt all of its glorious texture and that thought vaporized like water in a heated frying pan.  Nope, there is no going back, no matter how rough the road may get.  The journey is beyond worth it because I’ve learned so much more about myself with each inch I gain.  It’s been two years and I’m more than eager to see where the next two take us.  And with that… I’m out.

Healthy Hair Wishes,