Dry, Brittle, Damaged Hair Oh My!!

For a girl who colors her hair often, and who also uses a lot of heating tools (flat iron, curling iron and let's not forget the blow dryer) you would think I would know not to do these things to my poor hair. Well it's like a cycle when you have damaged hair. You use damaging tools to make your damaged hair appear healthier. Sounds weird right? But it's basically how it works. Getting my hair to where it's at today, which it still isn't perfect, took a lot of products and a lot of alternative ways of styling my hair. I'll be honest, I did a lot of side braids during the time I was trying to repair my hair, and it absolutely killed me! In the end it paid off, and I'm glad I gave my hair the necessary break it needed. Follow those steps, and you'll be on your way to better hair!

Step 1: Get your hair cut! I'm not saying go cut all the dryness off, but you should have your hair trimmed. I've been growing my hair out for years and I'm terrified to cut any of it off, but I really needed it, so I had about an inch taken off. Afterwards, my hair seemed to appear a lot healthier, but to the touch it was still very dry. This is where Step 2 comes to play.

Step 2: Buy new Shampoo and Conditioner. Do you ever notice how wonderful shampoo and conditioner work the first time you try it? I do, and after awhile I wonder why it isn't work like it did the first time. You have to cycle your shampoos and conditioners regularly to prevent build up. I never thought this was a real thing until my stylist told me about it. She said I should change my conditioner often or at least after every bottle I finish. You can always go back to the same one  after you've tried and used another. Here are the drug store as well as the salon shampoos and conditioners I recommend:

Drug Store Shampoo:
1.Head and Shoulders ( I don't have dandruff, but I love how clean this shampoo makes my scalp feel.)
2.Garnier Fructis Sleek and Shine or Triple Nutriton. I saw noticeable differences while using both of these shampoos.

Drug Store Conditioner:
1.Pantene Smooth Vitality. I love Pantene, but be careful. Their conditioner tends to leave a build up after prolonged use ( At least for me it did).
2. Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition. I'm actually using this conditioner now, and love how soft it makes my hair!

Salon Shampoo and Condition:
RedKen All Soft. Smells great, and leaves your hair silky smooth!

Step 3: Treat Your hair while it's wet! I like to gently towel dry my hair, so that it is slightly damp. I mix a quarter size amount of Dove Intensive Repair Conditioner ($5 Walmart), a squirt or two of Dove's Nourishing Oil Care Anti-Frizz Serum ($5.99 Target) and a drop of Macadamia Oil (I got a sample size from my stylist for free). I concentrate the mixture on my ends, since they are the driest part of my hair. Whatever is left over goes on the middle section of my hair, and I don't put any on my root area. The Dove Intensive Conditioner is mean't to be used after shampooing, and it is supposed to rinsed out. However, I use it on my hair like a overnight repair cream. It's kind of strange, because when my hair dries, it doesn't feel icky like there's conditioner in it. This stuff literally absorbs in my hair, and doesn't leave any type of residue.

Step 4: Put Down the Hot Tools! I know it sucks, but it must be done. Giving your hair days without heat are vital in helping it stay less dry, and brittle. I like to braid my hair at night, and let it go wavy the next day. I also sport a side braid every now and then just to give my hair a break from the heat. If you do use heated tools, please use a protectant. I highly recommend RedKen Iron Silk.

I'm currently using Head and Shoulders 2 in 1 in green apple, Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition Conditioner, and all of the products on Step 3. I would recommend all of these products based on the results I have seen. Thanks for reading, and stay beautiful!

Healthy Food Ideas!

I recently decided to start eating healthier, and I wanted to share a few great food ideas that have been working well with my diet. I always hated dieting, because I always felt like I was still hungry after I would eat something healthy. These ideas have really helped with cravings, and I never feel like I'm still hungry afterwards. Hope you enjoy!

Breakfast:

FiberOne Basic 4 Cereal- I hate cereal, but this one is amazing! My boyfriend lead me on to this one, and I'm glad he did. This cereal is great for your heart, and is low fat. It's a combination of fruits, flakes, almonds, and yogurt clusters. (Even better with a cut up banana on top!)

OIKOS Greek Yogurt (Honey Flavor) with Kashi Indigo Morning Cereal- I really love yogurt, and while I was shopping I found Kashi Indigo Morning cereal. For some reason I felt the yogurt and the cereal would go well together, so I purchased them both. I really love this combination, because it's almost like have crunchy granola on top of your yogurt. The cereal by itself (no milk) is a yummy snack. It has organic Flakes, and mixed berries (black berries and blue berries). The yogurt is very good as well, and can be eaten alone or with your favorite healthy topping.

Lunch:

Hummus Sandwich!- Ok, I love this sandwich, because it tastes amazing. 

Ingredients- Arnold Healthy Nut Bread, Sabra Red Pepper Hummus, Organic Baby Spinach, Organic Shredded Baby Carrots, Favorite Cheese, Favorite Meat ( I use Turkey)

Spread the two pieces of bread with the Sabra Hummus, place the cheese and meat on one slice, and the spinach and carrots on the other. Place both side of the bread together and Viola! This sandwich is amazing, and it really fills you up.

Salad- I use baby spinach, and whatever fruits and veggies I have available. I start off with babes spinach, carrots, and cucumbers as my base. I recently added granny smith apple slices and raspberries to my base salad, and it was phenomenal. Top it all off with your favorite dressing (I like Low-fat ranch, yum!)

Dinner:

Progresso Light soup with Special K Savory Herb Crackers!- I recently tried the Progresso Chicken Pot Pie soup, and it was amazing, especially when it's paired with the Special K Crackers!

Salad- I might eat a salad if I didn't eat a salad earlier for lunch, or I might eat the hummus sandwich if I didn't eat it earlier for lunch. I usually try to alternate these two choices for lunch and dinner.

Snacks:

Kashi Dark Chocolate Coconut Bars- SUPER YUMMY!

Kashi Pumpkin Spice Flax Bars- Crunchy Snack on the go!

Kashi Zesty Salsa Pita Crisps- Great with hummus, or a nice side with your hummus sandwich!

Usually I try to eat healthy throughout the week, and then eat whatever (in portions) on the weekends. Doing this allows me to stay on track, and not feel like I'm actually dieting. I also try to go the the gym at least an hour a day 5 days a week. I just started experimenting with juicing, and will update you guys with that as soon as I try it a few more times! Good luck and Stay Strong!

Extra Extra! Virgin Olive Oil That Is

So I have a great little secret that I picked up from a friend recently and at first I thought she was insane but now I'm so glad she let me in on this tip. Every girl likes to put on a little make up every now and than just to enhance there beauty. Some make up tends to stay on after a shower, or even after your facial routine. I used to use make up remover to remove heavy eyeliner or mascara because these two things tend to be the hardest things for me to completely remove. Well my friend told me to use Extra Virgin Olive Oil to remove my make up. Haha, was my initial reaction but after doing some research, extra virgin olive oil is very good for your skin. It is natural, and it is a good oil for your skin, not the icky dirty oil that tends to build up in our pores which cause break outs. It also is very moisturizing and you can feel the moisture after you rinse it off. I like to pour a quarter size in my hand and work it with my fingers around my face(if you need more than use more). I massage it in for a couple of minutes and than I allow it to sit for a second or two just to get a more moisturizing cleanse. I than grab a small wash towel and run semi-hot water onto it until it is nice and hot(sort of like those hand towels they give you at Kobe's Japanese Steak House before you eat.lol.) I just wipe away the extra virgin olive oil and make up with the semi hot, rung out wash towel. Than I repeat this step by running more hot water onto my towel, ringing it out and wiping until all the oil and make up is removed. Your face will immediately feel moisturized and the make up will be all gone! So be like Rachael Ray and get you some EVOO, u'll be glad you did :)

Who thought DECAY-ing would look so Good

I really like Sephora because they have every essential that a girl could really ever need or want. Also if you sign up and create an account with Sephora.com you get to earn points and use them for certain items and on top of that you get a free gift from them on your Birthday! Who doesn't like free? Anyways I LOVE LOVE Urban Decay's collection of makeup. I love the vibrant colors they have and there packaging is very trendy. I have a couple of the Urban Decay Eye Shadow Palettes but today I'll be discussing Urban Decay's Sustainable Shadow Box Palette. This palette was a gift and I use it everyday, no joke. First off it comes in this really adorable bamboo case that has one bolt on the left corner so the cover can swivel up and down which I thought was sort of unique. The cover has a lot of cute, modern designs on the front from butterflies, swirls and where ever your imagination might take you. Inside you will find 10 different Urban Decay Eye Shadows(5 on the top and 5 on the bottom with a gap in the middle where the eye shadow brush goes). On the left side there is a small mirror which is helpful but honestly I never use it because its way to small for my big ole eyes! ha. The colors are YDK(Bronze color), Flipside( Deep Turquoise color), Grifter(Pinkish purple color), VZI(White color), Twice Baked(Brown color), Midnight Cowboy Rides Again(Light bronze color), Flash(Purple color), Oil Stick(Black color), Kiddie Pool(Sky blue color), and Half Baked(Gold color). Haha, yes they have some unique names for there eye shadows. All of these colors have glitter or a shimmer so if you don't like eye shadows with a lot of bling than this palette might not be for you. I really don't use the eyeshadow brush that came with this as I did not like how it felt on my eye lids so I use a softer eyeshadow brush for application. This palette also comes with a small tube of Urban Decay's eyeshadow primer potion. This is another item that I will rave about from Urban Decay. The primer makes a huge difference when you use it before you apply your eyeshadow. The use of the primer will actually give you the color you see in the palette, I have had bad experiences from other brands of eyeshadow where I see a color but when applied it looks nothing like the color it was in the palette. This primer and eyeshadow from this line will give you the color you see which is a plus in my book and the color will last pretty much all day long. Amazing, I know! Give this a go and you'll be hooked on Urban Decay :)

Keeping My Color Vibrant

Like a majority of women and even men, I like to dye my hair. I don't have problems with grays yet, but my hair tends to lose its vibrant color due to the heat damage. Florida is known as the Sunshine state and let me say it definitely is very very sunny. I love the heat but my hair doesn't and not only does the sun prevent my locks from being as vibrant as they possibly can be, its also the blowing drying, the curling and the straightening. I use a great heat protector( I'll blog about this another day) but still with all the wonderful gifts of protectors one way or another my hair loses its vibrant dark brown color. I have dyed my hair a million billion times and my all time favorite hair dye for my hair is the Garnier HerbaShine hair color. It only has to be on my hair for 10minutes and I get great natural looking hair color that lasts. I use the soft black color because I notice that this fades into a nice dark brown after a few washes with regular shampoo and condition. Once I get the desire faded color I begin using Color care Shampoos and Conditioners. This hair dye has bamboo extract and I am a sucker for any product with bamboo since bamboo is well known for being strong and flexible. Also I hate when hair dye has that awful smell to it, and this actual smells good, not like candy or anything like that (Haha, I wish) but it's a very tolerable scent. Another plus is it has no ammonia and I noticed that ammonia hair dyes dried my hair out worse than a dye with no ammonia ( That maybe just me but I swear ammonia can't be good for your hair). I really think you should give this a try especially if your savvy with your money and don't want to pay a whole lot of the green stuff to sport a new hair color:)

I bought mine at CVS for around $8.00 for a box and one box was enough to dye all of my hair. I have semi- long hair that is medium thick and one did the trick! Good luck!

Starbucks Tumbler that gives back!

Ok, I have a slight addiction to Starbucks as some of you may know. Most of the time I receive excellent service whenever I go to satisfy my addiction. The Starbucks by me is only 5 minutes away and it is one of the very few that I know of in my area that has a drive thru which I'm so glad for. I've been going to this particular Starbucks for awhile now, so much that the people know what I want to order before I say anything. Haha! Well anyways I go online to the Starbucks store and look at the merchandise they have to offer from time to time. I've been wanting the Cold Cup Tumbler (Grande Size) since the first time I laid these brown eyes on it but they are a seasonal item that sells out quite quickly. A lot of people buy them in bulks and try to re sell them on Ebay, and Amazon for outrageous prices because of their popularity. I was not going to spend an arm and a leg for one of these even though I really enjoyed how they looked, they look just like the Cold cups that my drinks come in at Starbucks. I waited until they came into stock on Starbucks' website and I got it for the regular price of $12.95 with $2.99 Shipping. I received it about a week and a half later and it was nicely packaged and everything was in Excellent shape. It is double insulated and feels very durable. Every time I use this Tumbler I get .10cents off my drink order and I'm also being green since it is reusable. I love love this tumbler and it is worth every penny. Ok so Next thing I found while I was in the Starbucks by my house was a Ceramic Tumbler for hot drinks. It looks sort of like the cups they use for your hot teas and coffees but with a black lid instead of white. It was only $10.95 and a small donation to RED would be donated with the purchase. RED is an organization partnered with Starbucks to help with HIV/AIDS in Africa. You can help this cause by purchasing products at Starbucks with the RED label on them. It's a really great cause so please help out! This ceramic hot Tumbler was amazing, it was easy to clean and it felt like it was worth way more than $10 bucks. I don't know how well these tumblers would do in a dishwasher because I wash mine by hand. I would think the ceramic cup part would be fine in the dishwasher but not the lid of it or any part of the Cold tumbler. So I would definitely recommend these two products especially the RED tumbler to help support the cause in Africa!

Creative Idea

So totally got a sweet idea to start a blog. I'll be blogging about cosmetics, hair care, and just everyday life issues. So if you have any questions about products just leave me a message. Most likely I've given the product a go but if not I might consider giving it a try and than posting an honest review on it. Also I encounter issues in my everyday life just like everyone else has, does or will so I'm here to be your best friend in helping give you the best advice for these pesky little issues. I'm stoked and can't wait to start blogging!