

I Tried Cantu's Raw Blend Hydrating Skin Collection & Here's What I Think
Cantu has literally had its foot on our necks with their newest releases and it seems like they're moving in an even more natural direction when it comes to ingredients. Although Cantu products have always been free of parabens, phthalates, and sulfates, they're now incorporating more natural ingredients with their Skin Therapy collection. When Cantu initially released their Skin Therapy collection, it consisted of body lotion and creams, now they've added a Raw Blend line of products for people with extremely dry skin.
Cantu Skin Therapy Softening Hemp Seed Oil Raw Blend & Cantu Skin Therapy Hydrating Cocoa Butter Raw Blend
Krissy Lewis/xoNecole
The collection aims to deliver head to toe moisture with just three simple and natural ingredients. Each moisturizer is made with coconut oil and shea butter, but you also have a choice when it comes to your active ingredient of choice including Hemp Seed Oil, Cocoa Butter, Tea Tree Oil, and Mango Butter. This is honestly right up my alley because my skin tends to get drier the more I travel and I get eczema flare-ups if my skin isn't moisturized properly.
So I decided to try the Cantu Skin Therapy Softening Hemp Seed Oil Raw Blend and Cantu Skin Therapy Hydrating Cocoa Butter Raw Blend on my skin (and hair) and this is what I thought…
The Smell
I love that what you see is what you get as far as ingredients goes, each formula has only three ingredients, which also means no added fragrances. The Cantu Skin Therapy collection doesn't really have a smell, in fact you may only notice a faint scent of the raw shea butter or oils, but nothing else. So, if you don't mind the smell of shea butter and natural oils, then this is right up your alley.
If you're also someone who struggles with sensitive or acne-prone skin, then a fragrance-free and natural moisturizer would be the most ideal option to minimize breakouts. In fact, clean beauty can be more effective when treating skin concerns like dryness, acne, psoriasis, eczema, and general skin irritation.
The Feel
Krissy Lewis/xoNecole
Before actually trying the Cantu Skin Therapy Hydrating Cocoa Butter with Shea Butter & Coconut Raw Blend, I thought it was going to feel like raw shea butter. If you've used it before, then you know that it's very thick and can sometimes take a lot of muscle to rub into your skin. I'm happy that this moisturizer is not as difficult to massage into your skin or hair. It's more of a rich balm texture and it does have some weight to it. It looks pretty thick in the jar but once you apply it to your skin, it literally melts, leaving your skin or hair soft and smooth.
The Finish
Krissy Lewis/xoNecole
I love the finish of both the Cantu Skin Therapy Hemp Seed Oil Raw Blend and the Cantu Skin Therapy Cocoa Butter Raw Blend, it gives your skin a very dewy and radiant glow that lasts for hours! The moisture is long-lasting and you won't need to reapply throughout the day. However, you should know that it is a bit greasy so avoid using too much.
When I applied it for the first time, I used way too much for my hands and needless to say it left greasy fingerprints around my apartment. You can literally see everything I touched. To remedy this, I just wiped my hands with a cloth and even though I removed the extra grease, my skin still felt moisturized. When it came to hair, I applied a dime-sized amount or even less, a little goes a long way.
My Final Thoughts
You don't need to buy every type of Raw Blend moisturizer. As I mentioned earlier they offer a range that includes Hemp Seed Oil, Cocoa Butter, Tea Tree Oil, and Mango Butter and to be honest, if you tried one, then you have tried them all. I also feel like this is more practical and efficient as a skincare product and not a haircare product. I say this because thicker moisturizers like shea and cocoa butter should be used as sealants and not moisturizers. It also does the same thing an oil does, seal in moisture and add shine.
In my opinion, oil is an easier and efficient sealant when it comes to any density of hair. Because this is a thicker sealant, it can clog the pores in your scalp and prevent moisture from getting in. So if you do choose to use it on your hair, use a little to trap moisture in, instead of using it as a moisturizer.
Lastly, I think this is a good product especially for the price point ($5.99). I would personally use this as a sealant for my skin as well to ensure all-day moisture. I wouldn't use it as a standalone product. It's a great sealant and will easily give your skin that natural summer glow.
I would also just use this on my body, but it is a natural product so you can wear it anywhere you choose.
Featured image by LaylaBird/Getty Images
Freelance writer, content creator, and traveler. She enjoys the beauty of simplicity, a peaceful life, and a big curly fro. Connect with Krissy on social media @iamkrissylewis or check out her blog at www.krissylewis.com.
How Content Creators Hey Fran Hey And Shameless Maya Embraced The Pivot
This article is in partnership with Meta Elevate.
If you’ve been on the internet at all within the past decade, chances are the names Hey Fran Hey and Shameless Maya (aka Maya Washington) have come across your screen. These content creators have touched every platform on the web, spreading joy to help women everywhere live their best lives. From Fran’s healing natural remedies to Maya’s words of wisdom, both of these content creators have built a loyal following by sharing honest, useful, and vulnerable content. But in search of a life that lends to more creativity, freedom, and space, these digital mavens have moved from their bustling big cities (New York City and Los Angeles respectively) to more remote locations, taking their popular digital brands with them.
Content Creators Hey Fran Hey and Maya Washington Talk "Embracing The Pivot"www.youtube.com
In partnership with Meta Elevate — an online learning platform that provides Black, Hispanic, and Latinx-owned businesses access to 1:1 mentoring, digital skills training, and community — xoNecole teamed up with Franscheska Medina and Maya Washington on IG live recently for a candid conversation about how they’ve embraced the pivot by changing their surroundings to ultimately bring out the best in themselves and their work. Fran, a New York City native, moved from the Big Apple to Portland, Oregon a year ago. Feeling overstimulated by the hustle and bustle of city life, Fran headed to the Pacific Northwest in search of a more easeful life.
Her cross-country move is the backdrop for her new campaign with Meta Elevate— a perfectly-timed commercial that shows how you can level up from wherever you land with the support of free resources like Meta Elevate. Similarly, Maya packed up her life in Los Angeles and moved to Sweden, where she now resides with her husband and adorable daughter. Maya’s life is much more rural and farm-like than it had been in California, but she is thriving in this peaceful new setting while finding her groove as a new mom.
While Maya is steadily building and growing her digital brand as a self-proclaimed “mom coming out of early retirement,” Fran is redefining her own professional grind. “It’s been a year since I moved from New York City to Portland, Oregon,” says Fran. “I think the season I’m in is figuring out how to stay successful while also slowing down.” A slower-paced life has unlocked so many creative possibilities and opportunities for these ladies, and our conversation with them is a well-needed reminder that your success is not tied to your location…especially with the internet at your fingertips. Tapping into a community like Meta Elevate can help Black, Hispanic, and Latinx entrepreneurs and content creators stay connected to like minds and educated on new digital skills and tools that can help scale their businesses.
During a beautiful moment in the conversation, Fran gives Maya her flowers for being an innovator in the digital space. Back when “influencing” was in its infancy and creators were just trying to find their way, Fran says Maya was way ahead of her time. “I give Maya credit for being one of the pioneers in the digital space,” Fran said. “Maya is a one-person machine, and I always tell her she really changed the game on what ads, campaigns, and videos, in general, should look like.”
When asked what advice she’d give content creators, Maya says the key is having faith even when you don’t see the results just yet. “It’s so easy to look at what is, despite you pouring your heart into this thing that may not be giving you the returns that you thought,” she says. “Still operate from a place of love and authenticity. Have faith and do the work. A lot of people are positive thinkers, but that’s the thinking part. You also have to put your faith into work and do the work.”
Fran ultimately encourages content creators and budding entrepreneurs to take full advantage of Meta Elevate’s vast offerings to educate themselves on how to build and grow their businesses online. “It took me ten years to get to the point where I’m making ads at this level,” she says. “I didn’t have those resources in 2010. I love the partnership with Meta Elevate because they’re providing these resources for free. I just think of the people that wouldn’t be able to afford that education and information otherwise. So to amplify a company like this just feels right.”
Watch the full conversation with the link above, and join the Meta Elevate community to connect with fellow businesses and creatives that are #OnTheRiseTogether.
Featured image courtesy of Shameless Maya and Hey Fran Hey
What Is the Cab Light Theory & How Does It Apply To Your Love Life?
For most of my 20s, I found myself toggled between situationships and dead-end dynamics that left me with nothing more than frosty memories of what could have been. While these relationships proved to be great learning moments and experiences that have shaped my views on what I deserve in a long-term partnership, it’s hard not to mull over why timing never quite played in my favor.
Chalk it up to naivety or simply the hopeful romantic in me, but love never seemed like a distant concept to me. Sure there were tough lessons I had to learn and breakups that I needed healing from, but the hope of finding that special someone still remained. Yet, in my reflections, I couldn’t help but wonder why I kept meeting men who seemed good enough for the moment but would be better had we met at another time.
That is, until I considered one fated component of my dating life that was simply out of my control: and that was time.
When you can’t make sense of things on your own, the TikTok algorithm has a way of leading you to the answers you’re seeking. And during a recent scroll, I stumbled upon a thread of women echoing the sentiment that “men marry the woman in front of them, at the time they are ready to be married” — but could this be the root of my dilemma?
This notion, known as the "Cab Light Theory" is a concept that was introduced in the hit TV series Sex and the City. In the scene, lawyer Miranda Hobbes suggested that men are like taxis - when they're available, their "cab light" is on, and when they're not, it's off. “When they’re available, their light goes on. They wake up one day and decide they’re ready to settle down, have babies, whatever, and they turn their light on. The next woman they pick up — boom! That’s the woman they marry. It’s not fate. It’s dumb luck,” she tells her group of friends in the ladies' room.
The theory is that men are ready and willing to pursue a romantic relationship when they're emotionally available and interested (light on), and if they’re not, well, it’s on to the next pick-up they go (light off). While men are not modes of transportation, there is a point to be made about how a passing notion in a TV series from the start of the millennium could still hold some truth today.
In the original video shared by creator Tay Talks, her take on the “Cab Light Theory” implied that men aren’t necessarily marrying their soulmate or even the love of their life, instead, “it was just the girl he was dating at the time he was ready to get married and settle down.” The “dumb luck” that Miranda Hobbes was referring to in the show is the chance encounter that a woman would find a man who is both financially sound and emotionally available enough to stop his dating pursuits and commit to one woman forever.
But as dating trends shift with new social and economic factors at play, how could it be that more “lights” aren’t going off for men?
In an illuminating piece by Psychology Today, men are more lonely than they’ve been in decades and their soil for choice isn’t helping. The article shared that dating apps drive new connections but have a gender imbalance, with 62% of users being men. And with women becoming increasingly more selective in preferring emotionally available men who share their values, men are now facing a relationship skills gap that can lead to fewer opportunities for long-term partnership if growth, healing, and deeper emotional intelligence are not achieved.
While it’s easy to oversimplify the headaches and frustrations that come with modern dating, we can’t forget that while timing does play a factor in us finding “the one,” we also have the power of choice within our grasp. Men and women both need time to heal, grow, and discover themselves on a deeper level — so would we really want to “jump in the cab” of someone who hasn’t gone through that process already?
Since love is one of those forces that we can’t just make happen a the snap of our fingers, it can be easy to fix a blanket theory into the reason behind our singleness, but it’s important to remember that we can choose to pursue other candidates who date with openness and desire for commitment rather than waiting until someone’s light hastily cuts on.
While love can be sublime it shouldn’t be random. And when love finds us, we shouldn’t have the question in the back of our mind whether we were the best our man could do at the time. We deserve to be sure.
So yes, the “cab light theory” is a cheeky concept that prompts us to appreciate the timing of our love life, but it should also remind us that alignment is everything.
Because the real question is: was his light not on, or was he simply not the one?
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Featured image by Delmaine Donson/Getty Images