Hello all!
I'm going to start something new in light of the amazing blogs that I have been running across lately. I am going to start the "There is hope for humanity" blog series. Everyday I will post a blogger or website or Youtuber that has inspired countless readers, myself included. I hope you enjoy!
Day one is: Healthy is the New Skinny. This excellent site is about promoting healthy habits and embracing what your natural and healthy body is and being content with it. The models from this inspiring company have come from all different walks in life, from being "too big" as a size 6 to being forced to wear padding when they lost weight as a plus size model. The company is currently looking for models from all different walks of life, all different sizes and is encouraging people to embrace who they are naturally, not who we are expected to be because of our warped sense of beauty.
Personally, this has been very uplifting for me because I have a pretty rectangular/apple/tomboyish shape. I don't have really noticeable curves and my rib cage would probably put an elephant to shame. No joke; BUT, I also happen to have a three-octave plus singing range and can out volume most guys because of my lung capacity, I can dance, and I am in pretty good physical condition even though I don't work out that much. It's just the way my body is, and to be honest for a long time that was hard to except. Most of my friends were either tall and lanky and had naturally tiny waists or were so obsessively anorexic that the extra small I bought them for the bridesmaid dress they were to wear at my wedding almost fell off because they were so tiny. I'm finally at a place in my life where I have excepted that though, and I have lost a healthy amount of weight and feel great about who I am and how I look. I still have my boyish figure, even for being an average height, I tend to look more tomboyish/tiny/cute than anything (no sultry, sexy curvage for this chick), but you know what? I love it. I'm learning to embrace a style that suits my personality and my body type and I feel confident and good about where I am. (The hair helps too :P Let me tell you when you have someone with a lion's mane like mine covering the top half of their body it makes for a really crazy looking chick and I absolutely LOVE it.) The bottom line is, it doesn't matter how small I'll get, because of the way I'm built, I will never have amazing curvy hips and I will always have to wear a dress one size larger to fit my ribs, but hey, I'm okay with it, because I am unique, and this website has really helped to cement that into my brain.
Our bodies are not meant to be one size fits all; there are many different and diverse builds and we shouldn't fight against that. Did you know that size 6 these days is considered plus size, that means women with 25-26" waists or more could be considered plus size according to model standards. To put that number in perspective, the following celebrities could (I say could again because each body type is different) be considered plus size models (I understand that this is just a number and different body proportions vary, but as a generic idea of how ridiculous this is I'm listing these names based off numbers). Also, please understand that I don't think that plus size is bad at all or should be considered less attractive. What I'm trying to convey is that we should not have to be defined by our waist size or bust size, something that is just that; a number.
Lauren Conrad
Scarlett Johansson
Angelina Jolie
Demi Moore
Paris Hilton
Salma Hayek
Liv Tyler
Beyonce
And yes, there is a reason why I'm just linking these all the Wikipedia; I don't think that this post should be a "look at pictures of women to compare" thing, I think that it's important to understand the accomplishments of each person listed instead of being put into a category and nothing more based off a number. It doesn't matter what their size is, they are all beautiful and extremely talented women. As long as we are healthy people, and are happy with ourselves, the media has nothing on us, and I think that's very much what Healthy is the New Skinny is teaching us right now.
In the company's own words: "Healthy is the New Skinny is about fun, it's about fashion, it's about changing the world one girl, one woman, one body at a time. Join us"
So yeah! Give a look and I hope you have great day!
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
7.31.2012
Maintaining yourself through times of illness
Hello all,
It seems these days that we are all suffering from one sickness or another. Myself included. I've been fighting a chronic issue all week and have finally found something that will hopefully either fix it completely or at least give me the strength and pain relief to get through it until I can gather my forces and continue to move forward. We all have these issues, problems, chronic or not, sickness is something that can truly break a person's spirit. When a human breaks because of the pain, it's one of the most difficult and heartbreaking things to bear, and I know that in times of severe sickness there isn't much we wouldn't give up for the opportunity to live a normal and pain free life, and interestingly, we always seem to be hit with a sickness that manifests itself in a way that we would easily trade for any other type of sickness or pain. Funny how it works.
I just want to take a moment to encourage those of you who are suffering. You will get through this, you will make it, and you will be victorious. Even if it takes time, the only time we fail or we lose is when we give up our hope that it gets better. Even if you start seeing the evidence of your sickness through things that you used to pride yourself in, your figure, your hair, your eyes, your skin, what have you, know that in the end it's your spirit that will remain and your spirit is what makes you beautiful from the inside out.
This week has been one of the more trying weeks; my husband and I both spent all day at one doctor's office or another, picking up prescriptions, lying on the couch exhausted from the physical toll of our respective hurts, but we knew we had each other. Even as we were struggling, we could be there side by side and know that we would get through it together. This is key. You need someone to help get you through. I know that God put my husband in my life for a very specific reason and that He has plans for us, but I also know that He gave me my husband because He knew that I would need someone to hold me and to hold when the going gets rough. I want to encourage you in being able to have a friend, spouse, relative that you can go to physically be held and comforted by and in turn be able to do the same thing for them in their time of need.
Something that's I've been really struggling with is moderation. I find something that helps and after two years of hurting I just want to saturate myself in it, be it a food, medicine, what have you. I have to remember that I can't do that because it could easily not be helping at all and it's just my brain going psycho or it could be that it might be helping, but not necessarily fixing the problem. For instance, pain killers. I try to limit my intake because I know that even if I take the pain killers, that's not fixing the problem, it's simply making myself blind to it. Another thing is that I've been put on dose after dose of antibiotic regardless of whether or not it was confirmed that I was in need of them, and in the long run they have really hurt me because I think they were not helping, but in fact were actually deep-setting the issue that could have been fixed with a different type of medication.
Make your doctor listen to you. I'm so frustrated because I think I've finally been put on something that is helping and not hindering my problem, but when I went in again after two years she didn't even recognize me, nor recognize the multitude of things she prescribed me two years ago. She didn't have my record up. I felt like she was just brushing me off, but I persisted. I wrote down everything that doctors and specialists had suggested and I told her I felt we were looking at it the wrong way. She did a test and sure enough I was right, but why didn't she test for this simple, simple thing in the first place? Because she wasn't listening. I will be finding a new doctor. You have to go to a doctor that listens to you. You need to be able to talk with them, have them be open to listen to you and not just shove you out the door with the first thing that comes to mind or send you to a specialist because they don't know. If she had asked more questions, and been more aware of what I was feeling or instead of when my test came back negative the very first time I went to her two years ago, just brushing it off as coincidence saying I would feel better and had instead said "hmmmm, since it's negative let's test for the next things that your symptoms indicate" I would be healthy two years earlier. Even now I don't know if this is it, but she could have at least listened.
Take time for yourself. So often we are thrown in a world where work and school or spouse or kids or what have you is so first and foremost in our minds we forget that we just need to take time and take care of ourselves, even if all that means is lying down on the couch for a night and reading instead of going out. You must give your body extra pampering, you must give it time to cope. When you're going 100% all the time and in pain you will not survive, you have to give your body the rest and relief it needs. Even if lying down can't fix the issue it can at least give your body a chance to stop moving and assess things. Sleep is a powerful healer.
I am a Christian, and recently I did go in front of my church to explain to them my plight and that I needed help. At the end of the service, my pastor had everyone who wanted to join us up front and they prayed over me. The sense of love and desire to make better was simply overwhelming. I am so thankful to God for the church He has placed me in, and I know that with my asking His people to pray over me, where two or three come together in His name He hears them, and I know that I have an entire church backing me up and praying for my healing. It is a blessing and brings peace.
I hope that whatever it is that you might be struggling with will come to a close, and I pray that you will find rest and peace and the strength that you need to carry on until you are healed. I hope that my random thoughts help.
7.12.2012
The pH of hair
Hello all,
I know it's been a while since I've written so I decided I would get to actually writing something worth reading. Something that I think is important to understand when dealing with the hair is the actual science behind it, it's composition and what you're putting on your hair. To start off, we'll begin with a brief explanation of hair structure:
Hair is composed mainly of keratin, the same stuff you're nails are made out of, and has three basic parts: the medulla, the cortex and the cuticle. Your hair has a shaft, which is the part that projects out of the scalp or body, and the root is the part of the hair that is embedded within your skin. When your hair is visible, it is already dead, you do not have "live" hair if you will, sticking out of your legs and head and face. The cuticle is the shiny outside part that everyone sees and says "Oooo shiny hair!" or "yikes you need a haircut" the cuticle is the main part of the hair that you can affect directly and immediately. By that I mean, the cuticle is what is first altered by bleaches, or hair masques, or shampoo, etc. etc. If you want to affect your hair's healthy from the inside out, that's when vitamins and water and healthy eating habits are useful. They do affect the cuticle as well, but not on the immediate basis that other products affect. I'm not going to go into the medulla and the cortex because the cuticle is what I focus on mainly anyway.
I know it's been a while since I've written so I decided I would get to actually writing something worth reading. Something that I think is important to understand when dealing with the hair is the actual science behind it, it's composition and what you're putting on your hair. To start off, we'll begin with a brief explanation of hair structure:
Hair is composed mainly of keratin, the same stuff you're nails are made out of, and has three basic parts: the medulla, the cortex and the cuticle. Your hair has a shaft, which is the part that projects out of the scalp or body, and the root is the part of the hair that is embedded within your skin. When your hair is visible, it is already dead, you do not have "live" hair if you will, sticking out of your legs and head and face. The cuticle is the shiny outside part that everyone sees and says "Oooo shiny hair!" or "yikes you need a haircut" the cuticle is the main part of the hair that you can affect directly and immediately. By that I mean, the cuticle is what is first altered by bleaches, or hair masques, or shampoo, etc. etc. If you want to affect your hair's healthy from the inside out, that's when vitamins and water and healthy eating habits are useful. They do affect the cuticle as well, but not on the immediate basis that other products affect. I'm not going to go into the medulla and the cortex because the cuticle is what I focus on mainly anyway.
Hair needs to be pH balanced; it's neutral, meaning it has the same amount of acids and alkalis, which balance each other out. I know it sounds weird to say that your hair needs to have acid, but interestingly enough, it's the acid in apple cider vinegar and lemon juice that makes your hair so healthy. We'll get into that in a moment.
Have you ever looked at the ingredients in your shampoo or conditioner? You'll notice that Ceytl alcohol is often an ingredient, which is an vegetable (can be) derived acid that is meant to help keep you hair balanced. You'll also notice, if you're familiar with the pH balances of other items a lot of alkaline materials in your shampoo, such as SLS.
So what happened when you expose your hair to alkaline or acidic products? Well, when you wash your hair with shampoo, usually it feels a bit dry and rough, yes? That's because the SLS or whatever alkaline based shampoo product you use actually opens the hair cuticle. Now with soap based products, such as shampoo bars or SLS free shampoo, this helps your hair release the dirt buildup and rinse away with the soap product. With SLS, because it is a detergent it will still open your hair cuticle due to its alkalinity, but it will actually rid your hair of the dirt instead of just releasing it. Most shampoos that are SLS free will have more cleansing ingredients. SLS doesn't need that because of its detergent properties.
So now that you have put an alkaline product on your head and you have open hair cuticle, what next? That's where the acid comes in. When you apply a commercial conditioner, more often than not they use the cetyl alcohol as an acid base and when your hair is exposed to that acid, it closes up and creates that smooth and shiny surface. The first image shown is hair with closed cuticles, the second image is hair with open cuticles.
So now that we have a very, very, very basic idea of why hair needs both alkaline and acidic products, this helps me to understand just exactly what my hair is missing and what it needs. If I notice my hair is tangling a lot and looks dull, chances are rinsing a little bit of diluted acid based something or other through my hair will help it. If my hair isn't getting clean or I'm finding a lot of buildup, I can probably use baking soda - an alkaline - to open up my hair cuticle and help release that buildup of product.
If you want to know more about commonly used "hair" items and their pH balance please refer to this site. Ida has compiled excellent information on pH balance.
Now that we know a little bit about pH and how it affects our hair, what about other issues we see like breakage, or hair loss? You can administer several tests to help you understand your hair and it's needs a little better.
Now that we know a little bit about pH and how it affects our hair, what about other issues we see like breakage, or hair loss? You can administer several tests to help you understand your hair and it's needs a little better.
1. take a strand of hair from your head and place it in a bowl of water. If it sinks that means that there are "holes" or damaged ends in your hair and it's taking on water. If it floats it means that your hair cuticle is intact.
2. Gently pull on a single strand of your hair. If it breaks immediately then you are in need of moisture. Start running coconut oil through your hair the night before your wash it. Adjust the amount of oil needed depending on the length on your hair. If your hair strand stretches a lot and then when it breaks it curls up on itself that means your hair is lacking protein and is weaker than most. An easy fix for this is to take a raw egg, mix it up with some honey and rub that through your hair and leave on for two hours. Wash out like normal. The protein in the honey and egg will help fortify your hair in it's weak condition, but the honey will also balance out the protein of the egg and leave your hair soft. Do not apply egg to your hair too often as the protein if over applied can leave your hair feeling brittle.
3. If you wash your hair and your ends dry within an hour then chances are they are thirsty and you should apply oil or mayo to them before you wash.
4. Are your nails brittle and cracking and your skin dry? Chances are you have a deficiency in some way and need to start eating differently or drinking more water. The first signs of unhealth comes from your hair, skin and nails.
Please keep in the mind, the above tests are simple ways to evaluate your and each person's head of hair is different. If a person has really fine hair then their hair will dry faster than someone who had a lion somewhere in their ancient heritage.
When making hair masques to aid your hair's health it is also good to keep in mind what makes a great masques. Typically when I make mine, I have a 75/20/5 balance. 75% moisture 20%protein 5%acid. This is a great generic formula, but always feel free to change it up depending on what you feel your hair needs. If it needs a ton of moisture, than skip the protein and add more oil, that type of thing.
Here is a list of ingredients to help you start working towards making your own hair masque recipes:
Moisture
Oil - coconut, vegetable, olive, argon
Oil - coconut, vegetable, olive, argon
Mayo - I only use the kind that's made with olive oil, but you can use the generic as well. DON'T USE MIRACLE WHIP!! As yummy as it is on your sandwiches, the extra sugar isn't good for the locks.
Honey - Honey is a humectant and will attract moisture, but please keep in mind that you need to rinse it all out because your hair will be sticky if you don't and it is also a natural peroxide, so over time and extended use it will lighten your hair
Avocado
Protein
Eggs
Mayo - I put mayo in here too because it technically has the protein in it, but I still prefer to keep it in the moisture group
Avocado - same story with the avocado
Acids, from least to most acidic
Coffee
Wine
Vinegar
Lemon Juice
Please keep in mind that this is a very basic list, but an excellent way to get started. If you have darker hair and want to keep your hair darker, I would recommend using the coffee. You can also use green tea, but I haven't tried this method.
I know that sometimes our bodies just don't do what we want, regardless of whether or not we're putting the right stuff in them. Things happen; sickness, stress, pregnancy, it can all affect you regardless of how well you're taking care of yourself. Making yourself a homemade hair masque can not only be good for your physically, but sitting back for a while and just giving yourself a coconut oil head massage or sitting down and watching a chick flick while letting egg protein soak into your hair can be a great health benefit for you emotionally and mentally which will in turn help your hair to be at its best.
I hope this was useful and not all just redundant information, and if you have questions feel free to ask!
*I also want to take this moment to share two blogs with you. The first is by a woman who has been struggling with health problems that have been affecting her hair's for a long time. She has pushed through it with tons of grace and happy attitude and I love reading about her life and how now she is finally able to work on getting her body as healthy as possible: Long Haired at Heart
The second blog is one that I found a few months ago and aside from the amazing hairstyles, this gal has experimented a lot with different hair treatments and masques. It's so awesome to see someone with beautiful healthy curly hair that is taking care of it all the way down. Definitely check her out: Sarah's Place for Long Hair
*I also want to take this moment to share two blogs with you. The first is by a woman who has been struggling with health problems that have been affecting her hair's for a long time. She has pushed through it with tons of grace and happy attitude and I love reading about her life and how now she is finally able to work on getting her body as healthy as possible: Long Haired at Heart
The second blog is one that I found a few months ago and aside from the amazing hairstyles, this gal has experimented a lot with different hair treatments and masques. It's so awesome to see someone with beautiful healthy curly hair that is taking care of it all the way down. Definitely check her out: Sarah's Place for Long Hair
6.07.2012
My favorite hair resources!
My
Favorite Hair Resources
Homemade
hair masques:
1.
The Super Shiny and Happy Hair
Recipe
o
Ingredients:
§
1/8
cup coconut or olive oil
§
A
brush
§
Hair
tie
o
Instructions
§
Brush
out the tangles in your hair and take a handful of the oil, don’t worry, if you
chose coconut oil, hold it in your palm until it softens.
§
Run
the oil all over your hair, even your scalp
§
Massage
the oil into your scalp; this will promote circulation and it feels really good
too!
§
Tie
your hair up so it’s out of your face; remember to not tie it too tightly!
§
Leave
the oil on for as long as you can stand it, I like to leave it on all night!
§
Wash
and condition the oil out. Do this once
a week and notice a big difference in your hair!
o
HINTS
§
You
can do this with mayo too, but you will need to cover your head with a hair cap
if you want to sleep with it on
§
Be
patient, there is no such thing as an overnight cure for damaged hair; use this
for at least a month once a week.
2.
Protein Boost Hair Recipe
o
Ingredients:
§
1
egg, beaten
§
Large
spoonful of Honey
§
A
small dash of olive oil or any oil that is liquid at room temperature
§
Brush
§
Towel
o
Instructions
§
In
a bowl, mix the egg honey and oil together until it is nice and combined
§
Brush
out the tangles in your hair and drape the towel over your shoulders and let your hair hang over
the towel
§
This
part is messy, so be sure to do it over a sink or with a friends help. Start
gently rubbing the egg and oil into all of your hair, including the scalp. Try not to think of it as raw egg in your
hair, instead think of it as a yummy golden, raw, goopy, snotty thing….Okay
never mind…trust me it will be worth it!
§
When
the egg mixture is completely mixed into your hair you can pull it up into a
hair cap or let your hair rest on the towel, be aware that there might be a
little bit of spillage, so don’t stand on the nice rug.
§
Watch
a girlie movie – or read a book for a couple of hours
§
Watch
and Condition the egg out and feel the effects of the protein working to
strengthen your individual hairs!
o
HINTS
§
Do
not rinse out the egg in hot water at first; this will…well…cook the egg
basically, and we all know how we hate hair in our food. Rinse with lukewarm water first, then when
you know you have all the egg out you can heat up the water.
§
Do
not use this recipe more than once a month, protein is good for your hair, but
too much of a good thing can always turn sour, just think of that entire bag of
potato chips you ate last week, yikes. I
would recommend this about once a month.
§
Don’t
worry about the honey, as long as you rinse it out, it won’t be sticky. Honey is a natural humectant, which means it
attracts moisture so it will help retain softness while the egg helps maintain
hair strength. Be warned though, Honey
is also a natural peroxide and while it won’t damage your hair, you might
notice natural highlights beginning to form.
If you don’t want that you can up the oil in this ingredient and cut out
the honey.
3.
Avocados on My Head, Avocados on
My Head Recipe
o
Ingredients
§
One
ripe avocado (the avocado must be mushy enough to mix into a paste
§
2
tablespoons mayo
§
Dash
of olive oil
§
Brush
§
Towel
§
Hair
cap
o
Instructions
§
Mash
the avocado, mayo and olive oil all together in a bowl until it looks like
something you would try to feed a baby….but don’t really try to feed a baby,
maybe your little brother if he’s acting up, but seriously…this is hair food.
§
Brush
out the tangles in your hair and apply towel if needed
§
Again,
either over a sink and/or with a friend’s help mush the green goo of awesome in
your head until it looks like that munchkin with the green hair in Wizard of
Oz.
§
Tie
your hair up and let it sit for at least two hours. Definitely sounds like a movie opportunity
again.
§
Wash
and Condition out, and you’ll feel the benefits of both the moisture from the avocado
as well as the fats and proteins it provides, along with the moisturizing benefits
of the oil.
4.
Super Clarifying Baking Soda
Recipe
o
Ingredients
§
½
cup of baking soda – DO NOT USE BAKING POWDER!!
§
¼
cup of lemon juice mixed with honey
o
Instructions
§
Okay,
we’ve all been there, where we have buildup from product in our hair, but we’re
just not willing to put the bad ingredients from the clarifying shampoos – like
charcoal – in our hair. This is a great,
natural and easy-to-make recipe that will help get rid of those nasty buildups
without sacrificing our hair’s health.
§
First,
you’re going to take your cup of baking soda and separate cup of lemon juice
into the shower with you – don’t mix them together; you don’t want a 2nd
grade volcano project manifesting itself in your tub
§
Wet
down your hair and then add just enough water to your baking soda to make it
look like a thick paste
§
Add
this paste to your scalp and start massaging it in. It’s okay for it to feel grainy, just massage
and then gently squeeze the rest into your length. Massage for at least five minutes
§
Let
the baking soda sit in your hair while your washing the rest of your body or
for at least another five minutes and then rinse thoroughly
§
Wash
and Condition your hair normally
§
Then,
at the very end of your shower, mix the lemon juice and honey with some warm
water from your shower head and mix together until it’s combined. Pour this mixture over your head and let sit
for a few minutes or until it’s completely saturated your hair. Rinse as normal
There
is actually a bit of science to this clarifying recipe. Our hair is happiest when its pH is balanced.
The baking soda is alkaline, which forces our hair follicles to open a release
all the gunk that has been holding on to it.
It’s a great way to cleanse your hair from months of buildup. The acid in the lemon juice is what close
those follicles after you’ve finished cleaning it and because your follicles are
all closed up it makes your hair look really shiny. The honey will help add moisture to your hair
keeping it nice and soft. Tada! Clean, happy and pH balanced hair.
Hair Gurus to check
out YouTube:
·
4ypn0tica – excellent
hair tutorials for updos, from the simple to the elaborate
·
ArrowOdenn– a very nice
girl who posts unique hair styles on a regular basis
·
CinthiaTruong– Easy,
elegant updos for the various awesome times in your life
·
FieryPha– Pha is a hair
buff with lots of knowledge and experience with long hair
·
Habioku– I love these
hairstyles, they are so easy, also, check out her self-trimming video!
·
JLovesMac1– Apart from
being silly and hilarious and a general beauty guru, this YouTuber is awesome
because she is honest about her hair experiences, including the bad. If you want information on extensions and the
pros and cons of them this is the place to visit
·
Loepsie– one of my
absolute favorite people to watch, Loepsie is so sweet and very honest about
her journey, including recent hair loss caused by natural soap bars. She gives you in the insider on whether or not
natural is the way to go for your body
·
Luvableviet– This girl
generally does it all, including cutting her hair and showing you exactly how
·
Torrinpaige – Another favorite,
she has knee length long, THICK hair and TONS of awesome hairstyles
·
Wendyslookbook– easy and
very pretty hairstyles
·
YayaLifestyle – Yaya is
one of favorites because she documented her journey of growing long hair and
then cut it for donation
·
PhylsGyrl – ME! Okay,
well I don’t consider myself a beauty guru, but I am a hair buff and would love
recommendations for what to post of my YouTube.
Also check out my blog at www.thecontagiousintrovert.blogspot.com
Favorite places to
buy hair accessories:
·
www.crystalmood.com – This place has so
many awesome things!! ‘Nuff said
·
http://www.aubrey-organics.com/
- If you’re looking for some natural alternatives, this is a great place to go
·
http://www.floandpercy.com/collections.html
- Okay, these are wedding, prom, quinceanera, etc. etc. level hair accessories,
but I can’t get over how pretty they are
·
http://www.etsy.com/
- I’m sure every single one of you are familiar with Etsy, but there is so much
here that is so awesome!
A
word on hair:
Okay,
I know I’ve talked your ear off already, but I just want to share my thoughts
and opinions on this subject. I am a
total hair buff. I love hair, be it
short, long, blue, orange, brown, neon green, layered, not layered, whatever. I love it.
I think that hair is so awesome how it works scientifically and how
people have used it to express themselves and to show who they are. I’ve had super short hair and super long hair
and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it because it helped show people who I am, and
I encourage you to do the same. It doesn’t
matter if people think that your hair looks silly, or old fashioned or too
short, too long, if you like it, if it makes you feel beautiful and confident
then you are on the right track. If you
have damaged hair or you don’t like it, just be patient and take it one day at
a time. Treat your hair like old lace,
delicately, and it will reward you by being healthy. Listen to your hair too. If your hair is unhappy, chances are it’s
trying to tell you something, sometimes it means that there is an imbalance in
your body or that you’re not feeding yourself right. Your hair is a great way to tell if you are
healthy on the inside both emotionally and physically. Hair falls out when we’re stressed, when we’re
not eating right or missing something nutritionally. If you notice your hair changing, take a
moment to think about what’s changed in your life. And remember that everyone’s hair is
differently, and that’s great! Experiment, and have fun!
4.12.2012
Home made hair masque
I thought I would share a hair masque recipe with you guys today.
First off, you'll need:
Olive oil, an egg and a RIPE avocado. In this particular tutorial, I did not have a very ripe avocado, and you'll see why you need a ripe avocado. By the way, did you know that if you say avocado enough times it starts sounding like a made up jarble word? Avocado avocado avocado...seriously. Try it.
At any rate, take one egg, one avocado and enough olive oil to make everything jive together smoothly and put it in a blender or food processor. I chose the latter. A mini food processor to be precise. Chop or Grind:
Until it looks like this:
And place in a bowl with a spoon (spoon is optional actually, but the bowl isn't. No putting your fingers in a blade infested food processor container):
Although it looks like the avocado is mixed up throughouly, my avocado is not ripe enough to actually mix into the mixture. You want to mix it to the point that it looks like green mud...or horse pucky...or something that you would try to feed a baby.
Go to the bathroom and either lay down a plastic something on the floor so you don't green mush all over the floor or be super careful when applying to your hair.
To prep your head you need to put a towel that you don't mind getting icky around your shoulders:
Also, brush your hair; it will make application a lot easier:
Start applying your baby food mush stuff to your hair, trying to apply as evenly as possible. Unfortunately, again because my avocado wasn't ripe enough, it applied in little chunks, but I still got all of the egg and oil in my hair too:
It looks like I have green dandruff. Groovy.
Okay! Let that sit in your hair for at least twenty minutes to two hours. Then go the shower and rinse that nasty green goop out of your hair. Shampoo and condition as normal, but seriously, make sure you get that stuff out otherwise it's not good.
You are left with nice shiny and healthy hair!
Remember, that hair is dead. You cannot reverse damage or split ends, HOWEVER, you can help prevent them by giving your hair treatments and treating it well. I like to make the analogy that our hair is like old lace; it is beautiful and delicate and lovely, but if you just throw it around and treat it like sandpaper it will start to look like sandpaper. Treat it well!
Healthy hair starts from the inside too; drink lots of water, at least half your weight in ounces, and eat good foods. The healthier you are, the healthier your hair, skin, nails will be. They need nutrition too, just like everything else in your body.
Use good products on your hair, be it SLS free shampoos, shampoo bars or no shampoo at all, find a routine that works for you and your hair type! Something that works for me will not necessarily work for you.
Be patient.
Love yourself <3
:)
Olive oil, an egg and a RIPE avocado. In this particular tutorial, I did not have a very ripe avocado, and you'll see why you need a ripe avocado. By the way, did you know that if you say avocado enough times it starts sounding like a made up jarble word? Avocado avocado avocado...seriously. Try it.
At any rate, take one egg, one avocado and enough olive oil to make everything jive together smoothly and put it in a blender or food processor. I chose the latter. A mini food processor to be precise. Chop or Grind:
Until it looks like this:
And place in a bowl with a spoon (spoon is optional actually, but the bowl isn't. No putting your fingers in a blade infested food processor container):
Although it looks like the avocado is mixed up throughouly, my avocado is not ripe enough to actually mix into the mixture. You want to mix it to the point that it looks like green mud...or horse pucky...or something that you would try to feed a baby.
Go to the bathroom and either lay down a plastic something on the floor so you don't green mush all over the floor or be super careful when applying to your hair.
To prep your head you need to put a towel that you don't mind getting icky around your shoulders:
Also, brush your hair; it will make application a lot easier:
Start applying your baby food mush stuff to your hair, trying to apply as evenly as possible. Unfortunately, again because my avocado wasn't ripe enough, it applied in little chunks, but I still got all of the egg and oil in my hair too:
It looks like I have green dandruff. Groovy.
Okay! Let that sit in your hair for at least twenty minutes to two hours. Then go the shower and rinse that nasty green goop out of your hair. Shampoo and condition as normal, but seriously, make sure you get that stuff out otherwise it's not good.
You are left with nice shiny and healthy hair!
Remember, that hair is dead. You cannot reverse damage or split ends, HOWEVER, you can help prevent them by giving your hair treatments and treating it well. I like to make the analogy that our hair is like old lace; it is beautiful and delicate and lovely, but if you just throw it around and treat it like sandpaper it will start to look like sandpaper. Treat it well!
Healthy hair starts from the inside too; drink lots of water, at least half your weight in ounces, and eat good foods. The healthier you are, the healthier your hair, skin, nails will be. They need nutrition too, just like everything else in your body.
Use good products on your hair, be it SLS free shampoos, shampoo bars or no shampoo at all, find a routine that works for you and your hair type! Something that works for me will not necessarily work for you.
Be patient.
Love yourself <3
:)
2.21.2012
V-cut was a bad idea
Hello all,
Well I am here to say that I officially regret getting a v-cut. I should have just stuck with the idea of layers throughout the length because with the way my hair is cut right now is feels SO SHORT!!!! *wails* I'm mean seriously, seriously short. I know that I'm just shy of waist length again, but man it's so frustrating to not be there. grr. I mean...when you really think about it, I got the trim on the 30th of January. 22 days ago. So you'd think that I would understand that my hair is not going to magically grow five inches in 22 days. But it would be really nice :D
*sigh* oh well. Hopefully things will start moving here pretty fast. It just seems like a frustrating month. I've been dealing with some health issues - that I'm going to doctor for - and they've actually been causing me problems for about a year and a half now, but I had two flare ups this month which has really taken a lot out of my body; my hair is falling out a little more and my nails are chipping more. So I'm going to assume that my body is just trying to devote energy to other things than my vanity at the moment. The nerve. I'm also going to start back on vitamins; I'm just trying to hold off until I know for sure what exactly I'm dealing with.
Oh oh oh! Also! I'm going to re-henna my hair on Friday! Woot woot! I'm thinking do doing a video tutorial since I have yet to put up a second video because I just really haven't had the time lately, but we'll see. I'll at the very least post pictures of the progress. My mummy is going to stop by and help me get all the roots and stuff because even though I lost a lot of hair last year, I still have incredibly thick hair and last time didn't get my roots as well as I would have liked. C'est la vie.
I'll talk to you soon!
Well I am here to say that I officially regret getting a v-cut. I should have just stuck with the idea of layers throughout the length because with the way my hair is cut right now is feels SO SHORT!!!! *wails* I'm mean seriously, seriously short. I know that I'm just shy of waist length again, but man it's so frustrating to not be there. grr. I mean...when you really think about it, I got the trim on the 30th of January. 22 days ago. So you'd think that I would understand that my hair is not going to magically grow five inches in 22 days. But it would be really nice :D
*sigh* oh well. Hopefully things will start moving here pretty fast. It just seems like a frustrating month. I've been dealing with some health issues - that I'm going to doctor for - and they've actually been causing me problems for about a year and a half now, but I had two flare ups this month which has really taken a lot out of my body; my hair is falling out a little more and my nails are chipping more. So I'm going to assume that my body is just trying to devote energy to other things than my vanity at the moment. The nerve. I'm also going to start back on vitamins; I'm just trying to hold off until I know for sure what exactly I'm dealing with.
Oh oh oh! Also! I'm going to re-henna my hair on Friday! Woot woot! I'm thinking do doing a video tutorial since I have yet to put up a second video because I just really haven't had the time lately, but we'll see. I'll at the very least post pictures of the progress. My mummy is going to stop by and help me get all the roots and stuff because even though I lost a lot of hair last year, I still have incredibly thick hair and last time didn't get my roots as well as I would have liked. C'est la vie.
I'll talk to you soon!
1.14.2012
Okay, I want to get a little serious
So, this is going to be a branching off of what I usually write about because this has been pressing on my heart for a while.
I know that what is written on this blog is to be generally considered fairly shallow and vain. I want to try my best to address why I do like writing about this so much and why it's been a journey for me to get here.
I've never really considered myself a beautiful person - NO, I'm not fishing here for those who might know me - but it was really set in stone for me when I went on a camping trip with a family whose daughter applied makeup on the way to the camping site. Me, with my boy cut hair and camping clothing, couldn't hope to compare to the person with curly red hair, five inches taller than everyone there, smart, matching hiking gear, and with perfect makeup. Her daddy took a picture of her and said that a photographer wouldn't even have to edit her photo at all and then took a picture of me, looked at it and said, "Well, we'll have to work on you."
It hit me like a knife in my gut; never before had I been so unfairly judged or insulted. And that feeling of accepting that I just wasn't that great looking pretty set itself into my heart permanently.
*Enter violin music* Pathetic, I know.
So imagine if you will, someone who has been told all her life the classic, "you have a wonderful personality and are so pretty on the inside" trying to accept that she will never be anything more than the awkward girl next door. It's frustrating. And it's hard, especially when you're trying your best to be stoic and realistic about it. I started growing my hair out and it got really long, to about my hip. I started obsessing; I finally had something of my own that not a lot of people had and it was soooo pretty and lovely and everyone wanted to touch it. I couldn't NOT think about it.
Everyday was focused on the opportunity to show off my hair, which - when looking back at it, wasn't all that great. I mean, it wasn't bad, but there was a lot of damage, I didn't wash it enough and the bangs just kinda sucked.
So I chopped it off. Again. And started up a new mindset: if I can't be pretty, then I'll be bada$$, hip, funky, cool, hence the spiky pictures of my hair that I've posted in two posts back.
I tried to not think about my appearance and how I felt about myself, because I knew that, in God's eyes, I was beautiful to Him no matter what, and as much as I tried to remember that my opinion of myself only got worse. I was still constantly thinking of how I looked and how I just didn't compare to other people. I knew and know it's wrong to do that, again, I was hand-crafted by my Sweet Abba and that should have been enough, but I think that I started embracing a mindset that was just as negative as being constantly obsessed with myself in that I didn't have a realistic idea of how I truly looked. I would downplay myself on purpose.
Slowly but surely, I have begun to accept a more realistic and accurate idea of my own beauty. I think a lot of why we have this falsified concept of what is attractive in this world is because of how much society pushes synthetic beauty.
Aha! Little lightbulb goes on in my head! I know that the way the world views us normal, non-photoshopped, looking women is wrong, but I know that we are beautiful and should strive to value ourselves as such, why not promote a more natural, better, organic means of promoting that beauty?
And here we are. It's still a journey and I still struggle with my self-image a lot, but I've really come to appreciate the little things that I've been doing to pamper myself and my ego. I love long hair. I just do and I always will. I will NEVER cut it shorter than my waist ever again because I feel beautiful with it. And not only because it's long, but because it is truly healthy. I like having longer nails. I have to find a balance because I am a pianist and having long nails can effect my proficiency in playing, but as long as I keep them healthy, I am happy. I like making sure my skin is hydrated through the best means possible and I love sharing what I'm learning with people.
This isn't just about external beauty either, it's about becoming beautiful from the inside out and it's about learning to embrace yourself and who you are and taking care of yourself. It's our job to maintain our bodies; we've been given them for such a short period of time, why not take care of them as best as we can?
I know that hair and skin and nails still seems a bit shallow, but it helps me stay grounded. When I get these things off of my chest via blogging or on youtube, it helps de-stressify my life and allows me to tackle the many difficult things that I am challenged with. Brushing my hair is relaxing and I don't think there is anything wrong with that.
I know that I am and always will be beautiful in the eyes of my God who created me, and I know that He has a purpose for my life that I'm sure has nothing to do with how perfect I can get my french manicure, but I do know that to fully achieve what His will for me, I need to have a good opinion of myself and feel confident in who I am. Without confidence and endurance, without the faith that there is Someone who cares enough about us that we should treasure ourselves I believe that we have very little that we can truly call our own.
Okay...*gets down from soapbox*. I think I'm done for now, but like I said earlier, that was very important for me to share with you. Thanks for listening!
I know that what is written on this blog is to be generally considered fairly shallow and vain. I want to try my best to address why I do like writing about this so much and why it's been a journey for me to get here.
I've never really considered myself a beautiful person - NO, I'm not fishing here for those who might know me - but it was really set in stone for me when I went on a camping trip with a family whose daughter applied makeup on the way to the camping site. Me, with my boy cut hair and camping clothing, couldn't hope to compare to the person with curly red hair, five inches taller than everyone there, smart, matching hiking gear, and with perfect makeup. Her daddy took a picture of her and said that a photographer wouldn't even have to edit her photo at all and then took a picture of me, looked at it and said, "Well, we'll have to work on you."
It hit me like a knife in my gut; never before had I been so unfairly judged or insulted. And that feeling of accepting that I just wasn't that great looking pretty set itself into my heart permanently.
*Enter violin music* Pathetic, I know.
So I chopped it off. Again. And started up a new mindset: if I can't be pretty, then I'll be bada$$, hip, funky, cool, hence the spiky pictures of my hair that I've posted in two posts back.
I tried to not think about my appearance and how I felt about myself, because I knew that, in God's eyes, I was beautiful to Him no matter what, and as much as I tried to remember that my opinion of myself only got worse. I was still constantly thinking of how I looked and how I just didn't compare to other people. I knew and know it's wrong to do that, again, I was hand-crafted by my Sweet Abba and that should have been enough, but I think that I started embracing a mindset that was just as negative as being constantly obsessed with myself in that I didn't have a realistic idea of how I truly looked. I would downplay myself on purpose.
Slowly but surely, I have begun to accept a more realistic and accurate idea of my own beauty. I think a lot of why we have this falsified concept of what is attractive in this world is because of how much society pushes synthetic beauty.
Aha! Little lightbulb goes on in my head! I know that the way the world views us normal, non-photoshopped, looking women is wrong, but I know that we are beautiful and should strive to value ourselves as such, why not promote a more natural, better, organic means of promoting that beauty?
And here we are. It's still a journey and I still struggle with my self-image a lot, but I've really come to appreciate the little things that I've been doing to pamper myself and my ego. I love long hair. I just do and I always will. I will NEVER cut it shorter than my waist ever again because I feel beautiful with it. And not only because it's long, but because it is truly healthy. I like having longer nails. I have to find a balance because I am a pianist and having long nails can effect my proficiency in playing, but as long as I keep them healthy, I am happy. I like making sure my skin is hydrated through the best means possible and I love sharing what I'm learning with people.
This isn't just about external beauty either, it's about becoming beautiful from the inside out and it's about learning to embrace yourself and who you are and taking care of yourself. It's our job to maintain our bodies; we've been given them for such a short period of time, why not take care of them as best as we can?
I know that hair and skin and nails still seems a bit shallow, but it helps me stay grounded. When I get these things off of my chest via blogging or on youtube, it helps de-stressify my life and allows me to tackle the many difficult things that I am challenged with. Brushing my hair is relaxing and I don't think there is anything wrong with that.
I know that I am and always will be beautiful in the eyes of my God who created me, and I know that He has a purpose for my life that I'm sure has nothing to do with how perfect I can get my french manicure, but I do know that to fully achieve what His will for me, I need to have a good opinion of myself and feel confident in who I am. Without confidence and endurance, without the faith that there is Someone who cares enough about us that we should treasure ourselves I believe that we have very little that we can truly call our own.
Okay...*gets down from soapbox*. I think I'm done for now, but like I said earlier, that was very important for me to share with you. Thanks for listening!
12.27.2011
Blurgh, I need a routine
Hello everyone I hope you all had a wonderful and blessed Christmas and holiday season! May the food angels watch over you as you create new and unique recipes from leftovers :D
I had my first Christmas dinner at my house this year; my in-laws came over, and my mummy and brother and sisters and step-dad, and my Grandma stopped by with a friend and it was all over a lovely time, but I have. So. Much. Ham. Leftover. Lol! Luckily I'll be able to pull out all the ham recipes I never use, because this is the only time of year that my husband and I eat it. so we'll see how that goes :)
I've noticed something horrible. I'm so upset...DANDRUFF!! ARRRGGGGHHH. I haven't dealt with dandruff in like...ten years. So I'm really frustrated, but I think I know what's causing it. I've been using the Wen cleansing conditioner a little more than usual because it's easy and I've been short on time and also my hair has been up for two weeks in a row basically because it's been really cold at work - they are working on our heater, and I don't like wearing my hair down over my six layers of clothing so the combing of the hair back all the time, and the Wen I think are the culprits. I'm going to try and get back into a routine here now that it's slowing down a little and honestly it's not too bad, just disheartening. I hadn't changed up my routine in years so when I made the switch to solid shampoo bars, it really messed with my hair ecosystem, but I'm still very happy I did it. I am going to try a different, cheaper conditioner because I'm going through the giovanni stuff really fast. I might keep it around to use it on days that I wash and then maybe use their regular conditioner for other days. We'll see. I've also stopped oiling regularly because I'm not using a shampoo that can get it all out, but I might lightly oil my scalp and length tonight before washing or at least do a honey, egg, and avocado treatment to see if that helps. It's interesting, I honestly don't do near as much for my hair as I used to when I using a detergent based shampoo, but now that I'm using the chagrin bars, I haven't really felt that urgent desire to either. And my hair is happy, so I must be doing something right.
I've also decided that I've officially made "long hair" stage. I hit waist length a month ago and now I'm starting to get past it with the ends of my layers, but even though I've been with waist length hair, it's now starting to feel really long because I'm finding that it's getting caught in things more, I have to start learning to move with long hair again, and I almost freaking burned it all off the other day over the stove when I was making popcorn. It was HORRIBLE. I leaned over to pour my popcorn in a measuring cup and was like, "what's that smell"? I looked down and saw my hair against the burner and oh my goodness my stomach dropped to the floor I was so scared. I ran into the bathroom going, "no no no no no no no no no no no" (Poor husband, he went in to make sure I was okay and held me when I almost started crying), but so far I can't really tell where I singed it; I could when it first happened, but nothing too bad or noticeable to anyone who wasn't there, and I've conditioned it since and I can't tell now. I'm angry at myself for having been so careless, but I guess it was God's way of telling me to be extra careful from here on out.
I've also started sleeping with my hair down at night, which I know longhairs out there are probably gasping and going "NO!!!" hearing that, but interestingly enough, I've experienced less in the way of tangling in the mornings, and my hair is easier to manage in the shower, which is nice. I'm not noticing an increase in splits, and maybe just a few breaks here and there, but I'm getting more of those, because my hair as been up for so long - it needs a break. I'm going to wait until February or March of next year and then I'll trim my hair and shape it up, but until then I don't feel like losing any of the length.
Well...is that enough silly, shallow, hair stuff to make you urp yet?
I had my first Christmas dinner at my house this year; my in-laws came over, and my mummy and brother and sisters and step-dad, and my Grandma stopped by with a friend and it was all over a lovely time, but I have. So. Much. Ham. Leftover. Lol! Luckily I'll be able to pull out all the ham recipes I never use, because this is the only time of year that my husband and I eat it. so we'll see how that goes :)
I've noticed something horrible. I'm so upset...DANDRUFF!! ARRRGGGGHHH. I haven't dealt with dandruff in like...ten years. So I'm really frustrated, but I think I know what's causing it. I've been using the Wen cleansing conditioner a little more than usual because it's easy and I've been short on time and also my hair has been up for two weeks in a row basically because it's been really cold at work - they are working on our heater, and I don't like wearing my hair down over my six layers of clothing so the combing of the hair back all the time, and the Wen I think are the culprits. I'm going to try and get back into a routine here now that it's slowing down a little and honestly it's not too bad, just disheartening. I hadn't changed up my routine in years so when I made the switch to solid shampoo bars, it really messed with my hair ecosystem, but I'm still very happy I did it. I am going to try a different, cheaper conditioner because I'm going through the giovanni stuff really fast. I might keep it around to use it on days that I wash and then maybe use their regular conditioner for other days. We'll see. I've also stopped oiling regularly because I'm not using a shampoo that can get it all out, but I might lightly oil my scalp and length tonight before washing or at least do a honey, egg, and avocado treatment to see if that helps. It's interesting, I honestly don't do near as much for my hair as I used to when I using a detergent based shampoo, but now that I'm using the chagrin bars, I haven't really felt that urgent desire to either. And my hair is happy, so I must be doing something right.
I've also decided that I've officially made "long hair" stage. I hit waist length a month ago and now I'm starting to get past it with the ends of my layers, but even though I've been with waist length hair, it's now starting to feel really long because I'm finding that it's getting caught in things more, I have to start learning to move with long hair again, and I almost freaking burned it all off the other day over the stove when I was making popcorn. It was HORRIBLE. I leaned over to pour my popcorn in a measuring cup and was like, "what's that smell"? I looked down and saw my hair against the burner and oh my goodness my stomach dropped to the floor I was so scared. I ran into the bathroom going, "no no no no no no no no no no no" (Poor husband, he went in to make sure I was okay and held me when I almost started crying), but so far I can't really tell where I singed it; I could when it first happened, but nothing too bad or noticeable to anyone who wasn't there, and I've conditioned it since and I can't tell now. I'm angry at myself for having been so careless, but I guess it was God's way of telling me to be extra careful from here on out.
I've also started sleeping with my hair down at night, which I know longhairs out there are probably gasping and going "NO!!!" hearing that, but interestingly enough, I've experienced less in the way of tangling in the mornings, and my hair is easier to manage in the shower, which is nice. I'm not noticing an increase in splits, and maybe just a few breaks here and there, but I'm getting more of those, because my hair as been up for so long - it needs a break. I'm going to wait until February or March of next year and then I'll trim my hair and shape it up, but until then I don't feel like losing any of the length.
Well...is that enough silly, shallow, hair stuff to make you urp yet?
11.11.2011
Sorry it's been so long
Well hello everybody,
Sorry I haven't been around in a while (to the few who read this blog lol), but it's been really busy. My husband and I just moved and we're still trying to settle in, work has been crazy and I haven't been doing really well lately so I'm trying to get back on my feet.
I went to the doctor's this week to get some blood work done...we're checking my thyroid, blood sugar levels and doing a blood count test; I've been noticing a lot happening that are all little things by themselves, but putting them all together could definitely mean there is something going on. So we'll see! The bigger thing I've noticed is that my hair is shedding...and I this is every girl's nightmare! I'm really hoping that it's just a phase and it will stop soon, or that if it is connected to my thyroid that we'll get it regulated soon...I'm finally at a length where I can be happy with it and just let it grow with no real goal. I don't want to lose all of my hard work :(
So that's where we are...I'll keep you all updated as I figure more out. Nothing else really special to report; just kinda hanging in there!
*UPDATE* I got my results from the doctor's office and apparently I'm extremely healthy except for the chronic depression; which I've had for forever and that's not why I had the tests done, so an aside more than anything. I'm going to chalk the things I've been noticing up to stress and changes in routines. So yeah! Woot! No problems!
I've also noticed that the hair shedding seems to have dissipated to a normal shed during showers, and for the most part I don't shed in between washings as much, which is what I was told to expect. So more good news, yay!
Sorry I haven't been around in a while (to the few who read this blog lol), but it's been really busy. My husband and I just moved and we're still trying to settle in, work has been crazy and I haven't been doing really well lately so I'm trying to get back on my feet.
I went to the doctor's this week to get some blood work done...we're checking my thyroid, blood sugar levels and doing a blood count test; I've been noticing a lot happening that are all little things by themselves, but putting them all together could definitely mean there is something going on. So we'll see! The bigger thing I've noticed is that my hair is shedding...and I this is every girl's nightmare! I'm really hoping that it's just a phase and it will stop soon, or that if it is connected to my thyroid that we'll get it regulated soon...I'm finally at a length where I can be happy with it and just let it grow with no real goal. I don't want to lose all of my hard work :(
So that's where we are...I'll keep you all updated as I figure more out. Nothing else really special to report; just kinda hanging in there!
*UPDATE* I got my results from the doctor's office and apparently I'm extremely healthy except for the chronic depression; which I've had for forever and that's not why I had the tests done, so an aside more than anything. I'm going to chalk the things I've been noticing up to stress and changes in routines. So yeah! Woot! No problems!
I've also noticed that the hair shedding seems to have dissipated to a normal shed during showers, and for the most part I don't shed in between washings as much, which is what I was told to expect. So more good news, yay!
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