Haiti Haitian American

Why Haitians Love Our Castor Oil (L’huile Palma Christi/Mascreti) via Naïka in Balance

Thank you for this information post by blogger Naika in Balance: 

Castor oil is a vegetable oil obtained from the castor bean (technically castor seed as the castor plant), Ricinus communis. Castor oil is a colorless to very pale yellow liquid with mild or no odor or taste. It is a triglyceride in which approximately 90 percent of fatty acid chains are ricinoleic acid.

If you are Haitian/Haitian-American, you may have grown up calling castor oil, l’huile palma christi, l’huile mascreti, or like me and my cousins…stinky oil! By no means did we mean any offense by this-it’s just that….it has a very strong smell Growing up, my mother would rub this on my head when I had a headache, my throat when I had a sore throat, my knee when I broke my knee, my scalp for my hair growth….you get the gist.

And yes….it always worked. Nope, no exceptions. It’s liquid magic y’all. It wasn’t until I chopped my hair off a few years ago, went natural/organic, and started experimenting with different oils for hair and scalp treatments did I come across something called “castor oil”.  I was looking at one of my top favorite hair blogs, Curly Nikki, which is where I came across information about this oil.  I ran to Youtube to see if one my resident hair gurus could support this claim – check! I did some geographical research and found that it was especially popular in the Carribean…specifically in Jamaica…and also in…Haiti.  *Cue angels singing*.  I ran to my mom to tell her about what I discovered.
(Yup, whenever I discover something, I run an tell my mom…#onlychildproblems.) After talking a little bit more about this oil, she made me realize that it was our beloved l’huile mascreti. And lemme tell you something- every Haitian…living in Haiti or Diaspora surely has AT LEAST 2 bottles of this oil sitting in their cabinet….specifically wrapped in some type of bottle…with a brownish tape wrapping its permitter….sitting in their bathroom sink… right next to other hair greases. Yesssss hunny, it’s that serious. I even took a bottle to college…and when it ran out..trust that my other Haitian friends had some to spare. Let’s just say from that point on, I’ve been using this oil for various hair and skin concoctions and I never ever ever have to worry about it running out. It’s always there. #winning.
I want to add that even though Jamaican Black Castor Oil, otherwise known as “JBCO” in the natural hair community is the most talked about form of castor oil, it in fact is the same as Haitian Castor oil in the sense that is derived from the same Castor beans.  The main difference between the two oils is the level of refinement. But TRUST that Haitian castor oil is the business and is just as good (if not better….) than the other ones! Haitian pride baby! You can find castor oil at local beauty supply stores, health food stores, online retailers (such as Amazon or Kreyol Essence), and in your grandma’s cabinet. 😉
See below for some of the health benefits of Castor oil
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    • The author said “huile palma Christi” NOT “huile palm”. “Huile palm” is palm oil BUT “huile palma christi” is palma Christi oil which is castor oil. The phrase palma Christi means hand of Christ. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castor_oil_plant

      Thanks for sharing, Wanda. I truly appreciate your post. I too have a bottle of l’huile mascreti that I got from my parents. It continues to be my go-to oil for many ailments. :). Have a blessed day!

Ray Banlye Broward (BCR) Disid Evalyasyon Anviwònman an Nimewo ID Pwojè Finansye Konte Broward ak Konte Miami-Dade, Florid: 452240-1

Ray Banlye Broward (BCR) Disid
Evalyasyon Anviwònman an Nimewo ID Pwojè Finansye Konte Broward ak Konte Miami-Dade, FLORID: 452240-1

Evalyasyon Anviwònman Revizyon

Konte Broward ak Depatman Transpò Laflorid (FDOT) te devlope yon Evalyasyon Anviwònman (EA) jan Administrasyon Federal Transpò (FTA) mande pou sèvis tren banlye nan Konte Broward pou asire konfòmite ak Lwa sou Règleman
Nasyonal pou Anviwònman (NEPA). Evalyasyon Anviwonman pote sou miz an plas sèvis tren banlye sou koridò ferovyè (Kot Lès Florid) depi nan estasyon pasaje yo nan vil Aventura ale nan direksyon nò rive nan jiska vil Fort Lauderdale, yon distans 18.5 kilomèt. Nouvo estasyon pasaje yo pwopoze nan Vil Hollywood, nan Ayewopò Entènasyonal Fort Lauderdale- Hollywood, ak nan Sid Fort Lauderdale.

Objektif Evalyasyon Anviwonman a se analize efè aplikasyon pwojè a sou anviwònman fizik, imen ak natirèl. Sa a se yon avi ki anonse ke yon peryòd konsiltasyon piblik 30 jou ap kòmanse 19 jiyè 2024 epi fini 18 out 2024 pou yo ka rekiyi kòmantè sou Evalyasyon Anviwonman an. Tout kòmantè ou resevwa pandan peryòd kòmantè sa a, ak repons a kòmantè sa yo, pral enkòpore nan dokiman final desizyon NEPA a. Kòmantè yo ka soumèt nenpòt lè pandan peryòd kòmantè a nan youn nan
de fason:

 Pa imèl: BCRSouth@broward.org
 Pa lapòs US: Broward County Transit, Capital Planning and Project Development Attn: Broward Commuter Rail South, 1 North University Drive, Suite 3100A, Plantation, Florida 33324

Tout kòmantè ekri yo dwe resevwa anvan 4:30 P.M. dimanch 18 out 2024. Tout moun ki enterese envite pou fè kòmantè yo.

Tanpri note ke enfòmasyon pèsonèl moun ki soumèt kòmantè yo, si yo bay yo, yo ka pibliye nan dokiman anviwònman yo ki sikile piblikman. Yon manm piblik la ka chwazi eskli enfòmasyon pèsonèl yo nan kòmantè yo.

Yon kopi elektwonik Evalyasyon Anviwonman a disponib jiska 18 out 2024 sou sit entènèt pwojè a
(www.browardcommuterrailstudy.com) an tèks klè ak fòma pdf, ak nan fòma papye nan Syèj Sosyal Broward County Transit (1 North University Drive, Suite 3100A, Plantation, Florida 33324) pandan lè travay nòmal yo. Kopi papye yo disponib tou nan biwo FTA Rejyon 4 ki nan 230 Peachtree Street, NW. Suite 1400, Atlanta, GA 30303, United States.

Kopi enprime Pwojè Evalyasyon Anviwonman a ap disponib tou pou revize pandan lè ouvrab regilye yo nan lokal bibliyotèk piblik Konte Broward sa yo:

-100 S Andrews Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
-1 Park Avenue East, Dania Beach, FL 33004
-2600 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, FL 33020
-300 S Federal Highway, Hallandale Beach, FL 33009

Enfòmasyon pou Kontakte:
Phil Schwab, P.E., FDOT Responsab
Pwojè Depatman Transpò Florid
3400 West Commercial Boulevard
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33309
Telefòn: (954) 777-4524
Nimewo gratis nan (866) 336-8435, ekst. 4524 Imèl: BCRSouth@broward.org
Depatman Transpò Florid
3400 West Commercial Boulevard
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33309
Telefòn: (954) 777-4524
Nimewo gratis nan (866) 336-8435, ekst. 4524 Imèl: BCRSouth@broward.org

Jie Bian, BCT Responsab Pwojè
Broward County Transit
1 North University Drive
Suite 3100A Plantation, Florida 33324
Telefòn: (954) 357-8532
Imèl: BCRSouth@broward.org

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