Skincare: Eucalyptus oil facial steam

This week has been a real drag... found out my apartment contract was up and had to do the quickest house move ever! On top of that my internet provider decided it was time to end my contract too!

No internet and a slim chick who can't afford to burn calories by lifting boxes equals a very stressed me!

So i've finally moved into a friends apartment and the move is over, so of course i just had to treat myself to Miss Nia long's very special Eucalyptus oil facial steam! 

No joke guys... i don't think treating myself to Gucci or Prada could have given me the satisfaction i have right now! My face is glowing! Its soft and extremelz moisturised and supple...you really have to take my word and give this badboy a try!

What you need:

1. Heatproof bowl/dish
2. Towel
3. Eucalyptus oil

How to get your steam on:

1.  Boil four cups of water in a pot. Once boiled allow to sit for 2 minutes

2.  Pour boiled water into bowl and add 4-6 drops of Eucalyptus essential oil

3.  Place bowl securely on a table

4.  Sit at the table with your head over the bowl and a towel draped over your entire head 

5.  Make sure your face is approx 15-20cm above the bowl

6.  Allow face to steam for 6-8 minutes

7.  Wash face with warm water and pat dry with damp warm flannel

8.  For the ultimate moisturising experience apply your desired moisturiser immediately.

x fi

Diary of a tress lover : Kara Zeytin | Justherz

For those of you who have browsed the blog, you may have come across my blog love tab at the top of the page. One of the hair blogs i happily stalk means a lot much to me because i've developed a great friendship with the blogger herself! I won't go on, but i'm sure you've seen previous posts and pictures of this fantastic woman... Justherz/ Kara Zeytin. 


We met on Hairlista and have been in contact ever since. Kara recently big chopped and i was shocked, amazed, inspired... i had a million and one questions to ask her, which she was more than happy to answer!

...So i introduce my very own hair inspiration and i'm sure one for those who are relaxed, transitioning and natural... Kara Zeytin/ Justherz...

1) How long have u been on our HHJ? 
I've been on my hair journey since May 2009

2) What is the key to your hair length retention?
The key for me was Moisturising and Sealing my ends daily. Sometimes twice a day. Damp bunning or Baggying my ends, protective styles and trimming. It's all about the ends. If they're healthy you get length and results.


3) What do you do to have healthy hair?
What i do is simply create a regimen and stick to it! I also stretch my relaxers and focus on finding the right products and techniques e.g wrapping the hair for a sleek look or doing braid outs or bantu knots for curls. Also if i flat iron i just lower the heat and stick to one heat pass only, also i have a healthy diet.


4) How often do you trim? 
I trim my ends every 6 months at the salon right after a touch up, (that is how long i stretch my relaxers).  At home i did the Search and Destroy method almost every single weekend. I loved to do that! Just split my hair in 10 sections, grab my scissors and just sit at the window where the sun is fully coming in. The back of my hair was long enough so i could go on and on, on :)

5) What made you decide to transition? 
I fell in love while stretching. Yep..... whilllle stretching. Just fell for my new growth, for the thickness, the way it felt and looked. And by falling in love i was getting tired of dealing with 2 textures e-very sing-le time. But i also think that it was my subconscious telling me 'Hey sis you have some basic knowledge about your hair i think you can handle your Natural curls'. So... i transitioned for almost a year and did some mini chopping along the way until i couldn't take it anymore and BC just like that!


6) What are your future plans with your natural hair? Will you grow it long?
My future plan is to have healthy natural hair, and if that gives me length to my ankles i definitely won't big chop that off  ;) 


7) Will you come and visit us in England soon? :) 
Girl i'm coming over and we will do the pinky thing while sipping a cup of tea!  (lol)

www.kara-zeytin.blogspot.com

x fi

Bad Hair day

I've just finished washing my hair/weave and I'm so upset, my hair felt awful! It turned out so dry and brittle, even my detangling process wasn't good enough to redeem how dry and ashy my hair was.


I even had to skip on airdrying, and blowdry and straighten my leave out hair straight away.That's how bad it was...major flop!


On top of that i was surprised at the mini ball of hair that came out when combing my hair, especially considering the fact that my leave out hair barely sheds! It may not seem like a lot but for the little leave out hair that i have... this is major!

So what caused it?

Today i was so careless with my regime... in fact stupid may be the realest way to describe my regime today. Here is why...


1) I did not pre-poo, i decided to shampoo straight away
2) I tried to avoid going in the shower twice so did the tilt your head over the tub method...and even worse...
3) I applied shampoo and scrubbed without applying water to my hair first! 


I know some of you are probably gasping, but hey i make mistakes too! I can't believe i was daft enough to believe that my hair would turn out fine doing it that way... but I've learned my lesson for sure.


If you want good hair, you need to be ready to take good care of that hair. Right back to the essence of the blog i guess...

Love Your Tresses

Corny perhaps, but oh so true! I will never skip my pre poo session, nor will i shampoo with my head tilted in the shower, and i most definitely won't be applying shampoo to my hair without wetting it first.

x fi

Wonder oil #1 : Eucalyptus oil

There's nothing better than having a multi purpose oil, especially if it's an oil that your fave skinned celeb swears by, and also one that you already use in your hair care regime.


I've been a fan of Nia Longs smooth, flawless, 40 year old face for a long time now! She has such youthful, glowing skin... both in and out of makeup!

I did a post a while back which linked to Nia's skin secrets on B.E.T's Beauty Lounge, so a few weeks ago I revisited the link and analysed every skin secret Nia shared... one especially stood out...

'Sitting in a steam room for 20 minutes, I think, is the secret to why my skin has a youthful glow. it really does keep you moisturized. At home, inside of my steam shower, I add eucalyptus oil and it opens everything up.'- Nia Long

Besides Eucalyptus oil acting as a great stimulating hair oil, it also has many other properties:

Hair

- Eucalyptus oil can help to get rid of dandruff, which in turn can help to promote   healthy hair growth

- Eucalyptus oil can increase the elasticity of hair via increased ceramide production. Ceramides create a protective barrier around your hair thus allowing your hair to hold in moisture and protein

- Eucalyptus oil has anti-inflammatory, antiseptic and antibacterial properties

General

- Eucalyptus oil promotes ceramide production in the skin

- Opens pores and blocked passage ways

- Great for muscular aches and pains

- Improves blood circulation 

I've already started steaming! Its yummy.. supple skin is the way forward! Plus i added some eucalyptus oil into my castor oil mix... ceramides here i come!

x edF

Henna Gloss treatment

source: fuckyeahcurlscurls tumblr

I mentioned a few posts ago how much i want to do a Henna treatment. I'm officially counting down! 2 more weeks and i'll be taking out my weave install and treating my hair to some henna gloss.


I'm steering away from a straight Henna treatment because many people critique Henna alone as being too drying. It acts as a strong protein treatment, so to avoid excess use of protein i will apply conditioner to the mix... a.k.a the gloss!


I've ordered my Henna from Akua @ Sheabuttercottage as well as some Shea butter and Neem powder. Here is the mix I will be using:

Ingredients:

100g BAQ Henna powder

1 cup of Giovanni smooth as silk conditioner (review to come)

1 cup Queen Helene cholesterol Deep Conditioner

20g Neem powder

2 tbsps Shea butter

1/2 cup Extra Virgin Coconut oil

Ingredient properties:

Henna- strengthens, conditions, darkens, can loosen curls, thickens hair cuticle.

Conditioner- Moisture enhancer, provides smooth slip, combats Henna drying effects.

Neem Powder- Anti-bacterial, scalp stimulating properties

Shea butter- softening, conditioning, moisturising, healing

Coconut oil- strengthens hair, penetrates hair cuticle

You can also purchase some of these products from the following stores:
Pak Cosmetics
Skinnutrition

I'll be doing a more in depth post, including my method, once i've actually done the treatment!


x fi

Series: Shampoo Then what?

BLOW-DRYING

This has been long coming i know! Finally the second part of the shampoo then what series! I've already covered air drying...so here we go with 10 tips for successful blow drying...

1. Always remember to use a heat protectant before applying any heat to your hair. People often ask for proof of the effects of heat protectants... quite frankly prevention is better than cure! Heat protectants add a protective barrier to your hair, so basically lessen the damage caused by heat.


Here are some great heat protectants ...

1. Aveda Brilliant damage control
2. Fantasia ic heat protection serum
3. Elasta QP Design Silk
4. Aussi heat protection
5. TRESemme thermal heat protective spray
6. Chi silk infusion

2. Face the blow dryer downwards when blow drying. This seals your hair cuticles as this is the direction in which your cuticles lay.


3. Use a low heat setting instead of the highest setting! Yes the higher may seem to give
 sleeker results, however patience with a lower heat setting and you can achieve the same result!


4. Keep the blow dryer away from your hair. 6-7 inches is reasonable. You can cause problems with over drying your scalp if the blow dryer is too close to your hair. You are also more likely to cause damage o your hair if the blow dryer is not kept at a reasonable distance from your hair.


5. Blow dry in sections from back to front. The back of our head contains hair which is more likely to tangle. Drying our hair in sections reduces breakage and gives better blow out results such as reduced frizz.


6. Avoid blow drying one section of hair for too long as this can burn your hair. Keep the blow dryer moving.


7. Do not blow dry dirty hair. When hair is full of products these products will burn more readily because in most cases they contain ingredients that can burn if overheated. Blow drying clean hair also produces a more lustrous and free flowing blow out result.


8. Make sure hair is properly dried before blow drying. Hair should not be excessively wet. A good t-shirt dry should do the trick. Partially air drying is also a great idea.


9. Make sure you have detangled your hair in the shower prior to drying your hair. This promotes smooth and tangle free blow drying.


10. If using a brush and blow dry technique, invest in a good brush. Personally the denman brush works great for me. 


x edF

            

New Series: Vintage Revamped!!!

source

So Sunday and Monday (bank holiday in Munich) were the most frustrating days I've had in a while... 


I manage/edit the blog using google chrome and safari... so about to post a blog I'd prepared, I decided to do a quick blog preview only to find that all of the pictures in my side bar had somehow been replaced with question marks... I'm thinking huh... Major joke...blogger must be down because there really is no other excuse for this nonsense!

So I switch from google chrome to safari thinking it'll all be fine but no! Same thing!

I make a call to a computer whizz kid friend who logs-in as me and tries to figure it out because everyone else's blog seems to be just fine. He says my photo configurations were messed with and I'm going to have to republish all 501 photos one by one.

The most painful part is I couldn't dodge it... There was no shortcut or here's something I prepared earlier. I spent 7 hours photo re-posting!!!

I can't lie I wanted to cry but every cloud has.... U know the rest... and funnily enough I had a reunion with my old posts. Oh goodness, why didn't you guys tell me how corny and mediocre they were! I had many cringe moments... The text font, the weird pictures... I wonder what made you still choose to read!

It wasn't all bad though because it's what has brought about a new series...

'Vintage revamped'

So many of my old young fiona posts are so relevant but lacking juicy and indepth information so I'll be re-posting them and making them up to date. They'll have the same titles but begin with Vintage revamped so u know they're the updated version!

x fi


Have a fab internet friendly day!

Saturday's shoes

fun with niks!

I love these badboys... courtesy of motherdearest

fabric...fabric... perhaps i can make my wedding dress....

x my Munich sweethearts x

Most valuable lesson learned in Munich
'Only those who look left and right, can think ahead'

Not much of a hair post as you've guessed, but no joke this protective style challenge is proving quite boring! I feel like i'm in hair product rehab.... there's no fun in not being able to buy products and test them... in fact the thought of waiting a whole month (weave take-out) before my henna gloss treatment gives me eye spasms... grrr... so this is what you'll have to put up with guys... posts about me... my life... perhaps other products...hmm makeup might work well...clothes... etc etc.


If i can't buy products i sure will find another way to bother you guys muhahaha


x Fi


p.s there are some missing blog photos... i'm till in the process of re- uploading them. My Picasa album crashed!

Hairdrenaline Potion

3 inches in 7 weeks!!!

So those familiar with hairlista and who are youtube hair video fanatics like myself, will know that word on the street is that there is a hair potion that can get you 3 inches of  hair growth in 7 weeks! Also known as...

'The Hairdrenaline hair potion'

A hair concoction containing biotin, tea, castor oil, cayenne pepper, onion oil and garlic oil.

Ohvaleriemoncherie's potion has received a lot of criticism over the past few months, however on the other hand women are going crazy for this stuff and have embarked on their very own potion hair challenges.

I think the ingredients are in no way suspicious so the question is what do you think? Worth a try?

BEFORE

AFTER

x edF

Henna for better hair

During the first year of my hair journey I was a regular henna user. That is, I bought a tub of henna conditioner and used it everynow and again. Little did I know henna wasn't the main ingredient in the conditioner! So a year later I've decided to do some real research on henna and get back on the bandwagon and incorporate henna into my hair regime, even whilst doing the protective style hair challenge.

After taking a look at Curly Nikki's results there's no doubt I need some henna in my life. I plan on doing a henna gloss treatment in between installs when my hair is resting before the next weave install.

picture source: www.curlynikki.com

So...

What is henna?
Henna, lawsonia inermis, is a plant. It is a large bush, or small tree, that grows in hot, dry climates. There is evidence from Egypt that henna was regularly used to dye hair five thousand years ago, and may have been used in Jericho as early as eight thousand years ago. Henna was used to keep hair healthy and to color gray hair.

What does Henna do?

Pro's

- Strength: The henna dye molecule binds with the keratin bonds in our hair thus making our hair stronger and more resistant to breakage. It smoothens the hair cuticle by filling out rough spots on the frayed cuticle, which also results in softer hair.

- Colour: Henna helps to darken hair and give it a richer, shinier look. Henna adds a red tint to hair which can be seen in bright light but in normal light makes hair look darker and more lustrous. It is a non chemical dye and therefore safe for our hair.

Con's

- Application: As Henna is a dye it is known for being messy and should not be applied without gloves! It needs to be left on for a long period of time (4-10 hours). Each application is different so you need patience in order to get it right. Results vary according to how you mix your treatment, so practice makes perfect!

- Texture:  Henna can be drying and you should always co wash after rinsing it out. It is similar to a hard core protein treatment, hence why a henna gloss treatment is more recommendable as compared to a pure henna treatment.

-Smell: Henna has a strong smell which some people hate. It tends to linger for a few days but eventually fades. This smell is masked more easily with a henna gloss treatment.

Other:

- Your hair will get darker/richer in colour with each additional application of henna. Henna does not lighten hair, it adds tints but does not lighten.

- Be cautious of buying fake henna from hair shops. In most cases it is coloured henna and referred to as black or red henna. Coloured henna is not pure henna and therefore is chemically based. Source BAQ (Body art quality) henna from reputable sources such as Mehandi.com (US and Canada) or Sheabutter Cottage (UK and Europe)

Reasons to use Henna:

To revitalise dull looking hair

For stronger hair

As a protein treatment

In my case I love hair that is rich in colour. My hair is a mixture of shades due to relaxer effects so the henna treatment should work great in achieving a uniform colour, richness and hair strength.

main information source:

www.curlynikki.com

'fantastic blog for naturals'

x edF

I am... Naturally Relaxed

'Beauty on two fronts'

7 months Post

So it's finally here... month 7 of my post relaxer stretch. I never thought I could do it and blog happily about it, but somehow its all worked out well! I must say the protective style challenge came just in time, as i'm not sure i'd be this happy if i had my hair left out.

Transitioning has been on my mind ever since the end of my 6 month stretch in 2010 and the beginning of this 12 month stretch. I never planned on stretching this long initially. In fact i planned on relaxing in January and it just never happened!

Anyway as you know from my braid pattern pictures of my weave, I have some left out hair which allows me to wear a ponytail without seeing any cornrows. I gave my hair a wash (well everything except the absolute front section) and it was a total shock to see how my hair has transformed! It's practically natural! Now I understand why shrinkage can be so frustrating!

Excuse the pic quality. Had to use my phone because the nikon was charging!

back section of hair

stretched back section of hair

So the question still remains... to transition or not to transition???

x edF