First Black-owned and operated barbershop in Walmart
We salute Shaun “Lucky” Corbett, owner of Lucky Spot Barbershop, the first black-owned and operated barbershop in Walmart. Lucky Spot Barbershop is all about family & community. Since 2011, the barbershop has hosted annual community events, such as the Back to School Weekend, Community Turkey Drive, and through free community events and tutoring, Corbett has been able to support over 12,000 families.
Corbett along with Detective Garry McFadden created the nationally recognized initiative "Cops & Barbers" that has been credited with creating much needed dialogue and relationships between the police and the community they serve. Cops & barbers is a 501c3 non-profit organization that assists high school seniors that lack the necessary financial resources to attend traditional colleges and universities. However, by giving them the opportunity to attend barber school, allows them the opportunity to elevate themselves and their families for a better future.
Lucky Spot Barbershop operates in excellence by providing opportunity, inspiration and quality cuts in the community. Book your appointment today.
Nubian Heritage Skin & Hair Care made for you
Wellness products that speak to your unique needs.
We bring together traditional healing practices, cultural wisdom and indigenous ingredients, remix them and create modern natural solutions for skin and hair. This is our mission: to make cultural exchange the model for transforming the global community.
“Nubian Heritage got its start on the streets of Harlem. Fresh out of college and without jobs, Richelieu Dennis and Nyema Tubman set out to bring the healing traditions of African Black Soap and Shea Butter to the community they loved. Short on experience but full of passion and determination, they mined their knowledge of culturally authentic healing traditions to create natural skin and body treatments to share with their families and community. That was back in 1992, and they've held fast to that commitment every day since.
Passionate about sharing the healing possibilities in Nubian Heritage soaps and other products as well as the cultures they come from, Dennis and Tubman were guided by their community's demand for wellness products that spoke to their unique needs. Expanding their reach for the rich healing philosophies of ancient cultures, their passion spread to communities around the globe.”
source: nubianheritage.com
Lil Wayne opens up about his attempt at suicide
Your Health is Truly Your Wealth. 5 time Grammy award winner, @Lil Wayne opens up for the first time ever about the details of his attempted suicide at age 12. Lil Wayne discusses his life long mental health struggles in a brave and vulnerable conversation with Emmanuel Acho.
WATCH THE FULL STORY
If you or anyone you know are having thoughts about suicide, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline @ 1-800-273-8255.
photo credit: @liltunechi
This wildcrafted sea moss gel helped the founder lose 300 lbs of weight
Founded by Alexiou Gibson, The Transformation Factory (TTF), is a company that supports the positive transformation of lives, through its products that promote physical, emotional and spiritual health for those trying to become their best selves. Gibson has battled more than 10 years of health issues. In 2014, his physician told him that he would not live to see thirty years of age. He weighed over 500 lbs. at 21 years of age and was told that his body was in disrepair, and he was too far gone to make any significant changes to his health. At that time his body was riddled with multiple chronic conditions. He also had respiratory conditions making it difficult to walk long distances. From his struggles, Gibson cultivated The Transformation Factory into a company that provides the tools people need to succeed in their own journey.
Elderberry Sea Moss Gel seamosstransformation.com
Now, years later, Gibson has completely changed his lifestyle, and lives a vegan lifestyle, powers through dips and squats, and finds any opportunity he can to coach, inspire and encourage.
The Transformation Factory’s wildcrafted sea moss or “Irish sea moss” is an organic, vegan superfood that can be enjoyed by the entire family. Their sea moss is “wildcrafted” which means that we harvest it from its natural “wild” habitat in unpolluted waters without the use of any type of chemical fertilizers or pesticides.
The Transformation Factory farms practice environmentally sustainable and socially responsible farming and wild harvesting. Once harvested, the sea moss is transferred to a vegan kitchen where it is blended in alkaline spring water and made into a gel. Our many fruit flavors are made with organic fruits and natural agave with no preservatives. To ensure this freshness is passed on to our customers, we deliver our sea moss gel in a cooling pack, fresh and ready to be enjoyed.
Ava Estell, Skincare made with melanin in mind
Ava Estell is an all natural wellness brand made with melanin in mind. Their flagship products, the Body Restore Combo (Scrub + Magix Cream ) is used to treat pigmented skin conditions such as hyperpigmentation, stretch marks, blemishes, dark spots or dark areas (underarms, knees, bikini line, inner thighs), psoriasis, eczema. It’s also vegan and 100% natural.
Along with skin products, Ava Estell also focuses on hair, with their growth oil and hydrating mist bundle. It is very effective for men, women and children, and suitable for treating a host of hair loss & thinning concerns, including but not limited to lack of hair & edges growth, male pattern baldness, thinning hair, lack of hair volume, as well as alopecia.
Ava Estell only uses natural ingredients that helps to promote healthy hair growth, reduce dandruff, relieve itchy scalp and moisturize your hair.
Ava Estell has a money back guarantee, which is always reassuring to customers.
How music can relieve the body of stress
Music is a universal ‘language’ that affects listeners emotionally and physically. It’s scientifically proven that the tempo of music can impact how one feels when they listen to it. For example, fast music can make a listener more alert and excited, whereas slow music quiets the mind and relaxes the muscles, making you feel less stressed. Overall, music is an effective stress management and healing tool.
The healthcare field of music therapy is growing steadily. It focuses on using music for healing with the management of cancer, ADD, depression, pain management, stress reduction and more. It’s a sign of how beneficial music can be as a remedy for stress and other ailments.
The healing power of music
It increases dopamine production
A 2011 study by Salimpoor shows that music increases dopamine production in the brain. The study used an MRI to observe how the brain functions when music is played and it found that the pleasure center of the brain that’s stimulated when food and other cravings are satisfied was stimulated.
It affects your state of mind
By increasing ‘the happy hormone’ (dopamine), music helps with adopting a more positive state of mind. This makes it effective with preventing stress, anxiety and depression.
It has positive effects on the body
As previously stated, music’s effect on the mind impacts the body positively. This is because the thoughts you think directly impact your cortisol levels (the stress hormone) and your heart rate. If you’re in a calm state of mind, your cortisol levels and your heart rate will be lower, which boosts health and can increase your lifespan.
Music therapy in ancient African societies
Researchers say it’s difficult to pinpoint when music therapy started in Africa due to the lack of historic documents as African societies passed down knowledge orally. Despite this, McClellan states that many African legends attribute music to a supernatural or divine source.
Music was therefore used to connect to a higher power and to remove illness from the body, with an example being shamans in ancient Nigerian who used drums made of the hide of Indian pythons to heal people emotionally and spiritually.
Ancient Egyptians used music for spiritual and aesthetic purposes. They believed that music had the ability to heal physical ailments and instruments like the flute played a significant role in healing people. Many African societies also believe that music can revive a dying person or animal, a belief that is still widely held to this day.
Try these music vibes for starters
Fela Kuti - Shakara
This classic song can be listened to any time of the day. It’s a relaxing song by Nigerian legend Fela Kuti that’s bound to put you in a good mood.
Tuko Pamoja Meditation Music
Tuko Pamoja translates to ‘we are together’ in Swahili. This meditation piece is an hour long and is perfect for incorporating into your yoga sessions, meditation, and morning and night routines.
Music is a great tool to relieve mental and physical stress and it can be used as a medium to heal.
The stress and mental state of black people
Mental health is a significant part of an individual's life. It determines how one relates to other people, how they handle stress and other external factors, and how they make decisions. People’s mental state is greatly affected by socio-economic factors like class, gender, and even race — which is why taking these various intersections into account is key for understanding mental health in specific contexts.
Due to historical occurrences and the shared experience of racism, discrimination, and inequality, mental health issues present themselves differently in the black community than they do in other communities. The historical violence and oppression of black people is not only something that affected black predecessors, but science also shows that trauma can be passed down genetically through a process known as epigenetic, which means not only do black people deal with their own trauma in the present day but they’re also deeply affected by the trauma of those that came before them.
Dealing with all these layers of racial trauma, gendered, and economic oppression further compounds the stress that black people go through on a daily basis, which is a huge reason why African Americans are more likely to experience chronic mental health conditions compared to other demographics in America.
A barrier to mental healthcare for black people is medical racism, which stops them from getting the professional help they need. It also isn’t beneficial that mental healthcare is quite expensive as it automatically excludes many from being able to access it. Added to this, social norms in the black community also influence the stress and mental state of all individuals in the group.
There is still a stigma around mental health in the black community, with beliefs about coping mechanisms, emotional openness, and seeking mental healthcare dictating how people treat people with mental health issues and making individuals apprehensive about seeking professional help.
Encouraging mental wellness among black people starts at a structural level. By discussing and dealing with issues such as racism, poverty, mass incarceration, and more, the trauma that black people face will be reduced, allowing for better mental health outcomes across the board. Furthermore, making mental healthcare more accessible and normalizing mental health conversations in the community to fight stigma is also an important way of promoting mental wellness among black people.
Ultimately, focusing on the myriad of factors that affect the mental well-being of black people will help with creating healthier environments that can facilitate mental wellness.