From Chemical straightening to sulphate free to longer hair

My hair naturally is very curly and thick and there is a lot of it, o bother. So taming it has been somewhat of a challenge in the past. But chemically straightening it really helped it to tame down heaps.

Now you may think that chemical straightening is unhealthy because of the chemical used to transform the hair damages it like there is no tomorrow. But by doing this I have learnt a few things that have benefitted my hair tremendously and these things may help you as well.

My hairdresser recommended that I start using sulphate free shampoo and conditioner, this was to ensure that the chemicals sealed into my hair did not escape. I wanted long lasting results so I made the switch. I have not regretted it once and it changed my hair life (quite literally).

I found that it acts like a magic potion. It makes it soft, less dry, shiny, strong and more manageable. There are many brands that do sulphate free shampoo and conditioner but I have and only ever used the L’oreal Paris Hair Expertise range. Their range involves oils, hence why shinier and stronger hair. For some who may not know this, oil added to the hair coats the roots giving that extra boost of vitamins and minerals to the hair follicles, something that our hair desperately needs from all that heat damage. The amount my hair has grown is insane, and that is due to the oil, it is also very healthy inside and out.

I used to buy oils separately and do a treatment once a week, but now I don’t need to worry about that. This is killing two birds with one stone, which is great!

Overtime however I found that the chemicals came out, meaning that the effect had worn off. Strangely enough though, I do feel parts of my hair are still straight especially the ends and it has been 3 years since.

The chemical really does have a long lasting effect on some parts and tames it super well, but I am also thinking that the cause of this is my continuous use of sulphate free. It has in a way also tamed it to a certain extent. I definitely feel I can manage it better than I used to before the switch.

I would love to know your hair secrets, leave your comments down below. 🙂put me in todays blog

Why the water diet worked

Grab a coffee (…or water…) and get cosy because this is going to be a long one….

Back flash to School…..

Do you ever have those times where you sit in on an interesting conversation? This convo was about diet, something that I had no interest in at the time whatsoever and I thought my diet was generally pretty good, I had no problems with my weight and I was happy, so that’s all that mattered.

But after hearing the convo, I couldn’t help but wonder, was my diet really that ok?

Huh funny, so anything white is bad, sugar, flour, potatoes all except chicken. Meats are in the clear except for fast food meat (that was a given) vegetables and water should be the most of what makes up your three meals a day.

You might be thinking, hang on a minute you missed out on fruit, mmmm healthy fruit. Haha I was coming to that, fruit in this convo had a suprising placing.

‘I eat grapes but not too many, still sugar.’

‘I also exercise all the time and my routine la la la la la.

So I think you guys get the gist of this convo. This made me feel scared though, the way they were talking about food and how it had an effect on the body made me think.

I eat everything except for pork but this convo led me another way, a way that I hadn’t even expected it to. It changed the way I ate as I started thinking ‘healthy’. It started off with a simple increase of water, as I didn’t drink enough, I reckoned to be healthy I should.

I followed the 8 glass a day rule. At the start it was difficult to take 8 glasses a day, but slowly slowly I got used to it. I realised I was on a constant hype to keep it at 8 everyday. No less. This was the most craziest thing I ever put my all in to. It got to a point where 8 wasn’t enough, it had increased by nine, ten and eleven.

As a result, I ended up flushing toxins out of my system, sorry if that sounded a bit too graphic but that’s the truth of what happened. I found it crazy how the only thing I was drinking was water and nothing else. No tea, or coffee in the morning, it was just a banana and a water bottle to kick start my day.

As I was drinking lots I thought I could change up my diet too, just too see if it made any difference health wise, hence the banana in the morning, which I wouldn’t normally do.

So I decided to decrease my portion sizes at every meal and ignored sugar and flour as much as possible.

When it came to Lunch, 2 pieces of brown bread became 1 with chicken mayo sweetcorn as the filling. Dinner, whatever my mum made that night, was decreasing on my plate by the day.

I was feeling like I did not have to eat as much, as water was filling me up because of the amounts I was drinking.

As any other person trying to get ‘healthy’ I slowly introduced exercise in my daily routine, it made me feel good knowing that I was making conscious steps to being ‘healthy’.

The funny thing with this was I wanted to continue like crazy, it was making me feel safe in a way, diabetes arthritis and pcos is hereditary, something that my family suffers with, its only natural for me to feel scared about contracting these diseases one day.

Diet has everything to do with it.

This is partly the reason why I went on this crazy journey, but in high school something else was happening aswell. A lot of the girls were becoming conscious of how they looked, taking different steps in order to look a certain way. I never cared, but only because of the constant babble among people over this subject, did it start to influence me unknowingly.

The fact that this was all considered to be ‘healthy’ it also had one effect that I was most interested in and that was better concentration, considering I never got the best grades, I thought this could really help.

But I didn’t see what was coming, as time passed, unseen to the eyes was a transformational set back, I had not only lost so much weight, but it came to the point where my appetite began to fade, making water as the excuse for filling me up so much. The scary thing with this is that the person actually going through a transformational change cannot see what is happening to them. It’s the people from the outside that start to pick up on these things. People would ask me if I was sick, I would get very surprised, because I felt totally fine.

It was only my family members who became my talking eyes. They had realised it had become an obsession of some sort and tried their upmost best to talk me out of what I was doing, they wanted me to gain a bit of weight, as I wasn’t looking healthy, but to me I felt fine, I felt better, there was nothing wrong, or so I thought.

This was my final year at school and all things considering I wanted to make this year work. The thing that I thought was helping actually was doing the complete opposite, I slipped off the academic wagon, concentration was not there.

It had been taken somewhere else, other than studies. So this change I made in my life didn’t work, it just made things worse.

But I’ve taken a few good things on board.

All bodies are different they need certain amount of energy to do certain things. All energy intake is different. This water diet only worked for me as a detox cleansing method. Going ‘healthy’ with the diet change didn’t work in terms of brain function, concentration lacked big time. But it was only a factor that helped in loosing weight.

I still follow some practices, only because I think it’s beneficial, like decreasing portion sizes at times when I want to and increasing water intake but certainly not as much as I used to.

In effect this actually helped me in the long run, I am able to bypass unwanted calories a lot more easily now, its insanely fantastic. We all know how much its bad for us. Call me crazy, but I think that little journey that I went on not long ago was the cause of this effect.

I am still strong on exercise, and I do continue to be cautious of my portion sizes, e.g when I have flat bread for example we call it roti, I still just have half, not a whole one. Still feeling hungry, I can always count on a good glass of water to fill me up.

Haha, no wonder why they are always asking us to drink 8 a day, its because it’s the best detox solution ever.

What diet plans worked for you guys?

Let me know in the comments below!

 

 

Keeping that spirit up in the midst of that cold (brrrrr)

Aaaw winter, golden brown leaves, early nightfall and that frightful chilly breeze… yes this is one of those times again that many may be thinking about as on of those Debbie Downers due to that unsightly constant cloud of grey. Well here’s a few things that I find that help to get through those depressing months:

 

  1. Coffee coffee and more coffee

Who doesn’t love a good hot cup of coffee to start off their day with. Call it an obsession if you will, but I definitely cannot function well without getting my daily fix, especially in those cold days. Not only does it satisfy my stomach but it warms me up with a feeling of comfort while taking a stroll or simply just lounging in a coffee shop chair. This daily fix is also a perfect social connector as it brings people together.

 

  1. Layers galore

Ok this may seem like the most obvious one, but it definitely deserves a mentioning. Chunky scarves, snuggly boots, and puffy winter jackets are my go to when it comes to dressing in this cold weather.Makes me feel comfortable and so warm. I always have fun experimenting with different looks when it comes to winter fashion. So go ahead and layer your heart out.

My recent post shows me wearing an Aritzia blanket scarf, this is definitely worth the spend, it has lasted me for so long now and I Processed with VSCO with c1 presethave not regretted the buy. These ugg like boots were a limited edition in Zara, but for me it was love at first sight, thought they were super cute looking, extremely warm and comfortable, my advice when it comes to boots is to find a pair that are practical, with either low or no heel at all. Because lets face it the heel does hurt, even though it looks good when worn, but when it comes to the health of our feet, the no -heelies are more suitable.

 

There are so many different jackets that you can play around with. Whether it be a puffy winter jacket, black leather jacket or smart winter coat, any would do to protect you from the cold. Favourite jacket to date for me would be my zara khaki green puffy jacket, love the detail to it as it has gold zips attached at the sleeves, fur lined hood and a belt to fit along the waistline. Mind you, I did get in a size too big but that’s ok. Baggy is comfortable.

This is a step to appreciating winter just a tad more as there are endless possibilities of many different looks, so totally experiment and have fun with it.

 

  1. Keep ahead of the game

There is nothing worse than getting sick in the winter months. So play it smart. I get mentally prepared by slowly introducing my layers from my wardrobe to meet the cold. Yes, its true a simple early intro prevents you from getting sick. Stay as warm as possible. However if you are one to get sick easily, keep your meds at the ready or get the flu jab beforehand, just know that getting sick blows, its no fun and causes distress on oneself, so be prepared.

 

  1. Keep your eyes open

In places like Europe, America and North Asia winter comes around the time of September till December. Christmas prep and festivities are up in the air. This is a huge distraction as brings about a joyful Christmas spirit in everyone.

Also with weather being extreme, the sight of snow is the perfect addition, although this is not always promised in some countries.

However in Australia and New Zealand, the seasons run in opposite direction, with winter being placed in May till August. There may not be anything to look forward to as nothing happens, so as I previously mentioned in my other post, see the good in everything. We get to see the fall of leaves decorate the ground floor and early nightfall means force of streetlights to come up surrounding everyone with pop of colour. There is something about streetlights and lights in general that fascinate me. They can make anything look so much brighter and prettier.

With everything mentioned above, the effect will surely lead to a more enjoyed time of winter. Your views of that dark grey cloud will bypass. I am curious to know what helps you guys get through the winter, just leave your comments below, and until next time, astalavista  :).