Successful hairstyling

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Over the years I've hidden many hairstyles! So many I should have blogged about but didn't because one simple missed hair care step turned into a  frizz ball aka no show! So I guess here are just a few steps to make styling hair that little bit easier!

1. The occasional ACV rinse. Us Brits are known to be the holders or should i say receivers of hard water unlike our fortunate Americanos who have softer water. An apple cider vinegar wash is known to get rid of minerals, deposits and/or other harmful substances in our water. At the same time it restores the PH in our hair and allows our hair to retain moisture because it seals our hair cuticles. I've attempted it twice now and there were no disadvantages!

2. If your looking for the L'oreal 'because I'm worth it' kind of hair flick then it really is important to use only a little bit of product. Caking our hair with hair cream only weighs it down. The best way to think when applying products is 'I only need a dime' aka dime size amount. One product I love and can swear by it the Pantene hair serum (you can buy it just about anywhere).

Honestly this adds shine and no weight to the hair whatsoever. It's my L'oreal day staple! Plus i love using it just before a roller-set.

3. Clean hair styles better. Product build up is the worst way to go when styling hair. Layering more and more products unto your hair will only end up blocking your scalp pores, which means all that beauty and no gain... no growth!

4. Always try and detangle in the shower. Better yet in the shower when there is conditioner in your hair. This makes detangling so much easier and usually a smoother process. At the same time it makes styling afterwards also much easier.

5. Do not over shampoo the strands of your hair, this will just dry them out. Focus on the roots of your hair and the rest will fall into place. Too much shampoo on our strands can result in sulphate overload which as a result means dry brittle ends, which are subject to breakage.

x edF x

ACV Rinse

Apple Cider Vinegar Rinse

Though the difference isn't so profound I find the water here in Germany dries my hair out so much more than in London. Luckily i spent 6 weeks in Berlin last year over the summer and knew something wasn't right when washing my hair- so now having been here for 4 months I can confirm it is the water!

 As said in a previous post, hard water leaves mineral deposits in our hair and as a result we may have hair which tangles more easily.

For those of us who have grown up in Europe hard water is simply crowned normal! In fact u never really see anything wrong in it unless you travel and get your hair done.

But for those who are encouraged and want to treat your hair regardless, an apple cider vinegar rinse is definitely a great idea.

'An apple cider vinegar wash is known to get rid of minerals, deposits and/or other harmful substances in our water. At the same time it restores the PH in our hair and allows our hair to retain moisture because it seals our hair cuticles. I've attempted it twice now and there were no disadvantages!'

All it takes is:

-1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar to a cup of water ( I use two cups..therefore 2 tbsps)

- Add this mixture all over your hair after rinsing out your conditioner..therefore making it your last rinse

- Some people wash the rinse out. I personally don't! The smell disappears when your hair dries.

- You can do this once a week or even once every 2 weeks, the judgement is simply yours!

x edF x

My Kitchen: Yoghurt and Honey flaxseed mix

Lately I've been searching for ways to stay healthy both skin-wise, hair-wise and body-wise. A few blogs later and I find a lot of information on Flaxseeds. In fact one of the ladies in my apartment building swears by it... she's a stunning old lady with bright ginger hair and great looking skin. If i hadn't kept nodding at her and had bothered to translate the german word fro flaxseed into english i'm sure i would have been using it for weeks now! 


But yes for the past week I've found a way of incorporating flaxseeds into my everyday life. Every morning (as well as breakfast!) I have a home-made Flaxseed yoghurt, namely:

1 cup of natural yoghurt 

1 overflowing tsp of honey!

1 tsp of Flaxseeds (equivalent of 10 cups of broccoli apparently!)

and that's really about it!

Plus the flaxseeds are pretty much tasteless, its just like having crunchy bits in your yoghurt.

Flaxseed facts:

*Contain a lot of Omega 3 and omega 6 Fatty Acids which are essential for maintaining healthy skin/hair and also clearing up skin disorders such as Acne, Psoriasis and Eczema.

* Flaxseeds are rich in Lignan, a type of antioxidant. They are also very high in fiber. Research has revealed that lignan shows of a lot of promise with regards to fighting disease- including a possible role in cancer prevention, especially breast cancer.

(source)

x edF x

Dare to be Different

i Love Creativity. 

Doesn't it just make you want to be different?

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other sources: Black is the color , FYCC

Be inspired....

x edF x

Redberry Appeal

This winter is going to be very hot! These vintage reds and deep berrys look great on both white and black skin. I've always thought such colours are much better suited to winter...so... will you be rocking bold lips too?

Tao Okamoto

(source: lefashionesque.blogspot)

Liya Kebede

Chanel Iman

*Attempt easy tasks as if they were difficult, and difficult as if they were easy; in the one case that confidence may not fall asleep, in the other that it may not be dismayed.*- Baltasar Gracian

The past week has been very busy. A friend spent the weekend at mine...then the weekend after a friend from london came for an extended weekend...then on top of that work was manic. End of quarter prep = everyone is stressed. A lost delivery sent me into a panic attack last week Friday! Besides having to stay at work till 8:30pm- not finding it was like a fat kid not getting cake.

But amidst all of that stress there were so many positive things that came out of it. So i guess my lesson this week is without a doubt remain optimistic...it gives you less wrinkles... or even better... positive thinking makes life all that more worth living :)

So... the great things about my week and previous weekend...

1) A great Munich Bayern basketball game!

2) Relaxing with a missed friend

3) The 2 new additions to my life (1st pic spot the difference!)

4) A free piano!!! Delivered next week!

5) A little bit of retail therapy after work

6) A night at Zus' and an amazing chicken salad followed by Bridget Jones!

7) A frying pan gift ( wanted a bigger one) from my work colleague

8) Count down for another special persons arrival

9) Random appreciation of some VW's! Bought these a while ago...don't u just love them... 

10) Finally...the arrival of a potentially amazing cookbook!

Auf gehts Bayern auf gehts!

3. Spot the difference part 1!

3. Did u get it right? La-la la

5. For some...scary...for me essence of fashion :)
... i returned them a week later!!!

9. VW= Yummy

10. Get my cook on!

11. She caught a big one!!!


x edF x

iLove Art

Aren't these paintings/ drawings AMAZING? They were done by a very talented lady called Brianna McCarthy.

Check out her blog Brianna McCarthy

x edF x

6 months later

So 6 months later and Im relaxed again! I thought i'd miss the full thick hair due to regrowth but my hair is fuller than it has ever been when relaxed so I guess those 6 months really were worth it!

I have approximately 1 month to go before i reach my 1 year hair journey so the length comparison pic will have to wait till then. I decided not to straighten my hair this time after relaxing. I don't know...the though of so much direct heat after all those chemicals made me cringe...God knows why! But yeah my neighbours surprised me today! They wore their tango gear and danced for me! One managed to get a few photos of my hair 'n' sent them...so here's perhaps a sneak peak of my hairs condition.

'Happy Monday...strive to be the best you can- time waits for no one'

x edF x

Hair comparison time!

Hey people!

I just wanted to upload the comparison post of hair growth that occurred over my 6 month stretch! I apologise about the second picture, my dad took it and to be honest, I think he was just confused!

The  month stretch period was great! I learnt so many different ways to look after my hair and sustain growth. I have begun the stretch again so I shall periodically post new treatments I try : )

♥Lamide

Feb 2010

Aug 2010

Random

Looking forward to seeing this. I've always been a Tyler Perry fan...

and...



Sesame street encourages blacks girls to love their hair...aww!



'HAPPY SATURDAY!'

x edF x

Stretching finale

Aissa Maigi- isn't she beautiful!
(source)


6 months and a day later and I'm finally ready to relax my hair. The stretch has been an experience indeed. The first few months flew by with ease of course because that would be my normal stretch and then after that things got tough. Dealing with very coarse hair wasn't so much fun, i'm so sure I found a deadlock the other day! I can see why my mum relaxed it in the first place!

Either-way there have been advantages and disadvantages of my 24 week and a day stretch!

(+) My usual 12 week stretch now seems like the easier thing ever!
(+) My hair feels stronger
(+) I've learned to feed my hair with more moisture
(+) My hair has grown

(-) I experienced breakage nearing the 6 months
(-) My hair was very coarse nearing 6 months

Conclusion- I think i'm better at taking care of my hair when its easier for me to manage...so I'm back to my 12 week stretch.

Just a pic of my re-growth over the 6 months

I'm going to do an overnight oil prepoo on my ends to prepare me for the relaxer tomorrow. I wont prepoo near my roots because this may lead to under-processing* due to the longer time needed for the relaxer to penetrate my strands as a result of having to go through more barriers caused by products.

I will use a mix of: Coconut oil, almond oil, olive oil and grapeseed oil 

* Under-processing- when the relaxer doesn't relax to its full potential.

Winterize Your Hair Regime

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Winter is a real nuisance when it comes to hair. It can really take toll on our lovely strands...it steals so much moisture which as a result = dry brittle and static tresses. Even turning up the central heating is just as bad because it steals any..if not almost all..moisture from the hair!

So where to start or what to change in your regime?

Reduce the Humectants:- 
First things first its time to say goodbye to S-curl/glycerine etc ! Yes as depressing as it sounds, S-Curl is known as a humectant which is great when there is moisture in the air..but terrible when there is no or very little moisture in the air. This is because it has reverse effects. During Winter 'Humectants' take moisture from your hair rather than your surroundings which means drier hair.

If you have loads of products which contain humectants no worries...just avoid those with it as the first or second ingredient because that means it has a larger % of humectant in it...anything further down in the ingredient list should be ok.

P.S-Remember the first listed product on packaging is the most prevalent one!

Up your moisture:- 
Retaining moisture during winter is the way to go... 

*Shampoo- The name of the game during winter is moisture retention. Get rid of the clear shampoo and find a creamy shampoo. The cloudier the product the more moisture it contains. Sulfate-free shampoo's are known to be less drying so will help you retain more moisture.
*Co-wash- Up your co washes... co-wash more than you shampoo! Its v.important considering the weather.
*Leave-in- ALWAYS use your leave-in...they protect our hair against environmental damage especially during the winter.

- Creme of Nature Moisturizing Shampoo

- Keracare Sulphate Free Hydrating Shampoo

-Tres Semme Salon silk conditioner

- Superdrug Coconut oil conditioner

-Herbal Essences Beautiful Ends split ends cream (leave-in)

-At One Botanicals leave in conditioner

Use a heavier moisturizer:- there's no need to weigh down your hair but just like some folks exchange their body cream for vaseline during the winter..so we should change our hair moisturizer. E.g

-Organic Root Stimulator Olive oil hair cream

-Herbal Essences Beautiful Ends split ends cream (leave-in)

Finally continue to deep condition... with heat under a dryer is better than without a dryer just because there'll be less heat in the air! 

AND...


Use Protective styling- Buns, braids, weaves, wigs, extensions etc. Straight left out hair may be easier to manage but winter will make it a heap of stress...especially when trying to restore lost moisture.

x edF x

My Kitchen: Fish filet vegetable ensemble

I absolutely love fish! Especially filets..no hassle..bones out and good to go. Plus i'm rice crazy..i could eat the stuff everyday...so I figured i'd make a healthy meal out of a few of my favourite things.

                 

Ingredients

- 200g assorted fish filets cut ( namely: salmon, haddock and monkfish)

- Mixed peppers (red,yellow,green)

- Broccoli- i used fresh broccoli

- 1 Garlic clove

- 1 onion (medium)

- 2 tbsp Rapeseed oil

- Seasoning (according to taste- thyme, 1 maggi cube, pepper, pinch of curry powder, oregano and    sprinkle of crayfish)

- Rice

Preparation:

1) Prepare rice ( add water to pot and required amount of rice and bring to the boil). 

2)  Chop peppers (thin strips) , onions, garlic and broccoli

3) Once rice has been brought to the boil rinse ( some people disagree with this...I've been raised doing it!) Then replace with water just laying above rice layer)

4) Add 2 tbsps on Rapeseed oil to pan (medium heat)

5) Once oil has heated add chopped onions and allow to lightly fry before adding chopped garlic.

6) Allow to simmer for 2-3 minutes and then add fish filets.

7) Once fish begins to brown add sliced peppers and broccoli and then season to taste.

8) Cover pan and allow to steam for 5-10 minutes

9) Once rice is cooked serve alongside fish vegetable ensemble mix

and voila! Simple right!

x edF x