Weekend round up with Calabash Hub Kitchen

Written By Unknown on Saturday 5 May 2012 | 13:51

WEEKEND ROUND-UP:
KITCHEN TREASURES
by
THE CALABASH HUB

This weekend was such a busy one.
It began with the Afro Comb Afternoon on Saturday, which was a great success. However, it meant I was unable to attend Root-2-Tip's Hairducation 101, but I spoke to Salem, who said the event went really well and that people left feeling really enlightened, which is great news as I know how passionate Salem is about encouraging people, and especially children to love their hair. Personally, I find just looking at Salem's hair to be a big inspiration and I'll be looking out for the next Hairducation event, coming soon.
By the evening I was running out to celebrate a friend's birthday up in Centre Point. I changed my hair slightly to create a big bang in the front.
It was a one-drink affair based on the price of the the drinks, but the view from up their was absolutely priceless!

By Sunday I was running out to Calabash Hub's Kitchen Treasures Workshop to learn how to make some natural products of my own.
Tickets were limited as Sister E had  previously run a Kitchen Treasure's Workshop and found that attendees are able to ask questions more comfortably, and Speakers are able to pay one-to-one attention to make sure that people are not left behind, when the group numbers are concise. 
Thanks to my partner in crime Ms Ketisha.V (@sugarkinesis) we were able to get the special offer joint tickets at 2 for £30 instead of £18 each.

The ingredients used on the day were all very basic and right now I'm all for any recession-busting knowledge on how to save pennies.
I enjoyed learning what mixed well together, and how to create basic "natural" alternatives to regular skin/ hair products.

We managed to get through quite a few recipes between 1 and 5 o'clock including:
  • Oatmeal Facial Scrub
  • Herbal Hair/ Scalp oil
  • Henna
  • Rose petal body scrub
  • Shea Butter hair & body cream
 and there was still enough time to fit Lunch in between.

The guest speakers on the day included Lola of Lolas Curls who talked us through her top ten ingredients and how to use clays on your face and hair - check out the highlights from my notebook below.
Ska Jacques, a representative from Aloe Vera & Forever Living, gave a talk on the various Aloe-based products they offer, with the opportunity for one winner to choose one of the products to take home for free.
There were also guest speakers for the product-making demos including Afia, who talked us through the benefits of basic herbs for creating a simple hair/scalp oil; and Stacey The Naprika who showed us how to mix henna for use on hair. 
Guest Speakers Top L-R: Lola & Stacey, Bottom L-R: Ska & Afia

I've never tried mixing henna before and have always wanted to know more so Stacey's talk was very interesting. Unfortunately I messed up my mix by making it too runny and there wasn't enough henna to fix it. But I have to say thank you to Stacey for being such a patient teacher and answering all my questions.

Before the end of the afternoon Sister E gave us a demo of how to mix Shea Butter and how to make simple Body Scrub.
You can buy pure Shea Butter from The Calabash Hub. Contact Sister E, who often brings large quantities of Shea Butter back from Ghana.
I also won a prize (I think Sister E is planning to ban me from entering anymore competitions, Lol).
My Calabash Hub notebook & Prize


Highlights from my Notebook

  • Aloe Vera Juice has a PH of aproximately 4.5 - 5.5
  • Glycerin pulls moisture in things it is put against i.e hair.
  • Panthenol - Vitamin E also pulls moisture into hair.
  • www.plushfolly.com - a UK based website for buying ingredients
  • Coconut and Olive Oil are 2 of the only oils that are able to penertrate the hair shaft to add moisture (as opposed to seal moisture in).
  • Coconut Oil can penertate hair by up to 90% while Olive Oil can penertrate the hair by up to 25%.
  • Coconut oil helps prevent the loss of proteins from hair.

  • Nettles are high in Iron and can benefit the production of red blood cells.
  • Rosmary helps blood to move around the body and can help stimulate hair growth.
  • Chickweed has anti-itch properties and can work well as a rinse for those with dry or itchy scalp conditions. 
  • Horsetail is a good source of silica which can help maintain hair's elasticity and can be ingested in the form of a tea.
  • Always date your mixture to avoid it turning rancid or going off.

  • Natural Ingredient & Herbal Shops in London:
    -Atlantic Rd, Brixton
    -Cazznove Rd, Stamford Hill
    -Walworth Rd, Elephant & Castle

  • When treating hair with Henna, mixing with orange juice or Apple Cider Vinegar helps release the dye.
  • Beware of PPD when choosing a henna to use.
  • Pure shea butter should be ivory in colour and comes from Shea nuts which can only be harvested when in season.
  • Shea Butter has a 2 year life span

  • When adding Essential Oils to Base Oils the recommended ratio is: 2 drops EO to every 5mls of Base Oil.



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