Clean beauty products have been trending for a minute. Every time I walk into Target or Ulta, I spend hours in all the beauty aisles. Makeup. Skin. Hair. All of it. If the packaging screams "try me", I want to try it. But I never really cared to try any clean beauty brands until recently. I love clean beauty products for skincare, but I have yet to try any for haircare. It's no secret that when it comes to curly hair, finding the right products is a hit or a miss. How many times have you bought a curl product that doesn't agree with your curl type and end up having to return the item? I have been guilty of this so many times. Let me just say, knowing your curl type is the number one curl rule. If you don't know your curl type, take a curl type quiz.
I also love that we have so much variety when it comes to textured hair, but sometimes it can be overwhelming. And for me, I'm always skeptical of trying new shit. I like to stick to what works until the brand decides to switch up the ingredients. I recently came across Function of Beauty's haircare line at Target. For those of you that don't know, Function of Beauty is an international clean beauty brand offered in 45 countries and uses over 60 natural ingredients to create customized formulas for hair, skin, and body goals. Yes y'all, Function of Beauty offers customized skin and body products too. But we will save that review for another day.
Writer Camille Ali/xoNecole
As I stopped in front of Target's Function of Beauty display, the pink packaging that read "curly" called to me. Not only is the product affordable, but you can also customize each shampoo and conditioner based on your hair goals and needs. Sis was sold. I picked up a bottle of the shampoo and conditioner along with three booster shots. You can choose from 10 different booster shots, but I chose color protection, anti-frizz, and soothe the scalp. The shampoo and conditioner were $10 each. Each booster shot was $2.99. I left Target spending a total of $50 bucks. But I mean, who doesn't leave Target spending more than they had planned to? Guilty.
I Tried Function Of Beauty On 3B Hair, This Is My Review
Writer Camille Ali/xoNecole
Here is how my wash day went using my customized Function of Beauty's Curly Shampoo and Conditioner.
The Function of Beauty Curly Hair Shampoo
Writer Camille Ali/xoNecole
Most shampoos tend to dry out my hair after one wash, so I was interested to see how my hair would react to this shampoo. I never feel like my scalp or my hair gets clean when using "no-poo" shampoos. I need some soap suds. First of all, the smell is divine. It's a light sweet smell. Actually, it's their signature scent – peach. As I massaged the shampoo into my scalp, my hair felt super soft. The shampoo created a lather that was just right – not too heavy and not too light. I only needed to rinse my hair out once. After rinsing out the product, my scalp and my curls were clean. And nothing makes me feel better than a clean scalp.
The Function of Beauty Curly Hair Conditioner
Writer Camille Ali/xoNecole
Next, I applied the conditioner to the ends of my hair. I like my conditioners to be thick, the more slip the better. It helps me detangle my hair. I'm not a fan of products that can't help detangle my hair. It's my biggest challenge and the main feature I look for when trying a new conditioner. As I worked the product through my curls, it gave me just enough "slip" to finger-comb my hair. Usually, I have to work the conditioner in for a few minutes before I begin detangling. But the product agreed with my hair so well that detangling was easy!
I loved how the conditioner coated and softened my curls. After rinsing the conditioner out, my hair still felt soft. Some conditioners leave your hair feeling like rope after rinsing. Dry and brittle.
The Results
Writer Camille Ali/xoNecole
Most of us curly girls hate wash day, but I love wash day. I am telling you – there is something about a clean scalp and detangled curls that just makes me feel good. Especially, when you find products that agree with your hair. And for me, Function of Beauty did that y'all. My curls were soft, hydrated, shiny, and ready to be styled. Styling products are not offered through the Function of Beauty x Target partnership. BUT they do have a customizable leave-in-conditioner I am dying to try in their regular collection. The regular collection can be purchased online through their website.
It's hard to find curl products that work for your curl type. And when you do find a product that agrees with your hair, it's usually a few brands to choose from. Function of Beauty is one of those brands. Affordable, vegan, good for your hair, and good for the environment. I would continue to use their product line as part of my wash day routine. I have enjoyed my wash day experience so much, that I am ready to order my own customized Function of Beauty curl collection (color, scent, and ingredients) personalized with my name on it! I'll call it Function of Cam.
I'm ready to meet my #hairgoals, are you?
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Featured image by Function of Beauty
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Camille is a lover of all things skin, curls, music, justice, and wanderlust; oceans and islands are her thing. Her words inspire and her power is her voice. A California native with Trinidadian roots, she has penned personal essays, interviews, and lifestyle pieces for POPSUGAR, FEMI magazine, and SelfishBabe. Camille is currently creating a life she loves through words, self-love, fitness, travel, and empowerment. You can follow her on Instagram @cam_just_living or @written_by_cam.
Exclusive: Dreka Gates Talks Farm Life, Self-Mastery, And Her Wellness Brand
Dreka Gates is making a name in wellness through authenticity and innovativeness. Although we were introduced to her as a music manager for her husband, Kevin Gates, she has now carved out her own lane outside of music as a wellness entrepreneur. But according to Dreka, this is nothing new.
In an xoNecole exclusive, the mom of two opened up about many things, including starting her wellness journey at 13 years old. However, a near-death experience during a procedure at 20 made her start taking her health more seriously.
“There's so many different levels, and now, I'm in a space of just integrating all of this good stuff that I've learned just about just being human, you know?” Dreka tells us. “So it's also fun because it's like a journey of self-discovery and self-mastery. That's what I call it. So it's never-ending.”
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If you follow Dreka, then you’re familiar with her holistic lifestyle, as she’s no stranger to promoting wellness, self-care, and holistic living. She even lives part-time on a Mississippi farm, not far from her grandmother and great-grandmother’s farm, where she spent some summers as a child.
While her grandmother and great-grandmother have passed on, Dreka reflects on that time in her life and how having a farm as an adult is her getting back to her roots. “So the farm was purchased back in 2017, and it was like, ah, that'll just be a place where we go when we're not touring or whatever,” she said.
“But COVID hit, and I was there, and I was on the land, and I just started remembering back to going to my grandmother's during the summertime and freaking picking peas and going and eating mulberries off the freaking tree in the bushes.
“And she literally had cotton plants. I know some people feel weird about picking cotton and stuff. She had cotton plants and I would go and pick cotton out of her garden. And she had chickens, and I literally just broke down in tears one day when I was on the farm just doing all the things, and I'm like, ‘Oh my gosh. I'm literally getting back to my roots.”
"I literally just broke down in tears one day when I was on the farm just doing all the things, and I'm like, ‘Oh my gosh. I'm literally getting back to my roots."
You can catch glimpses of Dreka’s farm life on Instagram, which shows her picking fruit and vegetables and loving on her animals like her camel Eessa. Her passion for growing and cultivating led her to try and grow all of her ingredients for her wellness brand, Dreka Wellness. However, she quickly realized that she might be biting off more than she could chew. But that didn’t stop her from fulfilling her vision.
Watch below as Dreka talks more about her business, her wellness tips, breaking toxic cycles, becoming a doula, and more.
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Job seekers have a lot of challenges to face that go beyond simply being out of work. The job market has been tough since the beginning of this year, mostly beaten down in the aftermath of the pandemic.
Between the job scams, long interview cycles that can last for months, and job ghosting, trying to land a decent gig can be more than frustrating. And it’s not just hearsay or social media chatter. There are very real indicators that the job market is in shambles, explaining why many seeking gainful employment are hitting wall after wall. Research supports that the difficulties you’re facing aren’t just a figment of your imagination and may have nothing to do with what you’re doing “right” or “wrong.”
Talent solutions provider Aerotek has found that close to 70% of people said their current job search was more challenging than their last one and that they feel like they have to try harder to find a new job in this economy. ZipRecruiter reports that 43% of job seekers said they were actively searching for work in the second quarter of this year, an increase from 37% at the end of last year. And 63% said they felt financial pressure to take the first job offer, up from 58% early this year.
Here's are a few reasons, according to the expert, behind what is causing issues with the job market.
1. Companies are taking longer to follow up after job interviews.
And when you do get a call or follow up for an interview, it might take longer to even know whether you got the job or not. Research by human capital advisory firm Josh Bersin Co. and workforce solutions firm AMS found that the “duration for global hiring” is at an “all-time high,” and that the recruitment process now averages about 43 days.
When you have to wait more than a month for confirmation after a job interview, that can put a dent in the proactivity of applying for other jobs, as well as a major dent in your pocket. Unemployment insurance only lasts but so long and sometimes barely covers the full basic expenses of living. It's definitely annoying and nerve-wracking to wait so long for a follow-up from a recruiter or hiring manager, and it's even more so when you thought you aced the interview.
Not to mention you could be waiting just to get rejected, having wasted time on multiple rounds of tedious interviews.
2. Job recovery hasn't quite caught up due to the impact of the pandemic.
Experts say job growth is “downshifting” from the aftermath of the pandemic, and the pace has “caught up to where it would have been if the health crisis hadn’t happened.” Companies and professionals alike are still dealing with the fallout of COVID-19, and it's apparently taken more than three years to see substantial movement forward when it comes to job openings and creation.
3. Many of the open positions may not be in your industry.
According to labor statistics, 272,000 jobs were added in May, with the growth driven mainly by three sectors: healthcare (+68,000), government (+43,000), and leisure and hospitality (+42,000). Jobs created in these industries reportedly accounted for more than half of the U.S. employment gains.
This indicates that it might be a bit more challenging for those in other sectors to land interviews and get hired. This certainly doesn't mean changing industries or fretting because what you do doesn't fall into any of the aforementioned. It simply points to something that could contribute to the frustrations of job seekers who aren't getting callbacks for jobs in other industries.
4. If you're a college graduate, the jobs that are available might not align with your educational background.
Demand for jobs that require a college degree is reportedly lower than those that don’t, and recent grads are also “fixated on certain positions with too many applicants rather than high-demand roles," experts say.
However, another report from Harvard Business School and the Burning Glass Institute found that not all employers who indicate support of skills-based hiring and remove degree requirements from job ads are actually hiring candidates without degrees. “[F]or all its fanfare, the increased opportunity promised by skills-based hiring has borne out in not even 1 in 700 hires last year,” the authors wrote.
Either way, there's a clear issue here in terms of some companies making up their minds about whether not having a college degree will block candidates' eligibility for certain jobs, posing a clear challenge for job seekers whether they've pursued higher education or not.
5. Company leaders, constantly fearing a recession, have been cautious about hiring new workers.
Experts say that company leaders are still holding on to fears that a recession is coming, and are going light on hiring because of this. “Business leaders are still concerned that a recession is possible, even if it’s not 100% certain,” Glassdoor lead economist Daniel Zhao told CNBC earlier this year. “They don’t want to overhire into a recession and then have to lay people off.”
Dan Kaplan, a Korn Ferry senior client partner, added, “No one can figure out what’s ahead, which means you have to make more decisions blindly. Normally, economists will predict a tough market for two of three quarters, and there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, but this time it’s been almost 24 months of predictions of doom and gloom.”
There's Still Hope For Job Seekers
While there are major challenges right now for job seekers, it's always a good idea to look at things with a solutions-focused mindset and approach with optimism. (I mean, do we all really have a choice?) If you're hitting walls in your job search, it's time to think of a better strategy, consider other passions you have, start a side hustle, or try these methods for upgrading your job search methods.
The journey might be more difficult for some and if you feel passionate about doing a certain specific job, hold your ground if you're financially and mentally able to. Keep applying to your dream gig, track what you're doing and how you're spending your time, volunteer to serve in some way in order to continue doing something you love while you're looking, prioritize free self-care activities, and hold on to faith. Something will indeed come through.
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