Skin Natural : split ends

Showing posts with label split ends. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 30, 2015

My Hair Diary - September 2014

Huh...I miss doing these series the most and guess what, there are only 12 of these posts in a year! And, this is the 10th month of the year and next month would be my first wedding anniversary. Gosh, how time flies! Soon, I will be the old bride :(

Anyways, this year has been really tough on my hair. If you actually notice there are only four hair diaries this year - January, February, June and now this one! So, let me just list down what I did which is not really much!

Hair Cut - Totally cut off the entire length to get rid of the splits and straw-like ends. Mr. Hubs was a little peeved with it, though! But, I think the new length suits me differently. Will post the snaps soon enough :)

Oiling - Have been more or less diligent about it. And, mixing castor oil in the regular oil as well.

Massaging - Recently, I have been feeling a lot of pain in my hair roots. So, a light massage really helps calm down the scalp. And, regular massage helps the hair to grow.

So, that is it! Not really much but it is a start :) Now check out the products I used:

Hair Oil - Kamini Oil + Dabur Olive Oil + Castor Oil

Shampoo - Omved Shampoo (review coming soon)

Conditioner - Omved Conditioner (but only 2-3 times, review coming soon)

Scalp Treatment - Aloevera Gel

Leave-in - Morrocan Hair Treatment (review coming soon)

What all did you do for your hair this month?

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

5 Beauty mistakes you might be making too {Five Series}

Whenever my hand used to slide to pick the skin on my chin, I used to get a smack from my mom! And, it has now so ingrained in my subconscious that whenever I pick my skin, I expect my mom to smack my hand :D Obviously because she used to complain it was ruining my skin. In fact, I have done far worse to my skin and hair. Check out my beauty mistakes so that you can stop making them, if you are!

Picking my Hair

This was way back 10 years ago. I used to have a horrible hair and loads of split ends and I used to think if I peel off one of the ends, my hair will be alright again! Well, then, I did not have the extensive hair care knowledge I have today :|

But, it is one of the worst ways you can damage your hair. Remedy is to trim the hair as soon as you spot one split in your hair. Splits tend to travel up the hair length and cause hair thinning.

Picking the Skin

I have a bit of facial hair and I did get threading done for it but believe me when I say, it was so damn painful, especially on the side burns. I started the threading just a few months before my wedding and stopped after a few months.

The remedy is to get rid of the facial hair, of course. But, that is something very difficult to achieve. So, the other and more practical remedy is to stop picking the skin, whether it is facial hair or a pimple.

Even P (hubs) has a bad habit of picking his pimples and his skin has developed sort of small craters at places so beware of this habit! And, picking the skin to get rid of blackheads or facial hair leads to blood clots which appear as dark marks on the skin.

How often have you applied your cuticle oil on the nails on your feet?

Well, I would say probably that poor feet nails are the most ignored part (except during the pedicure sessions) coz even though we apply and moisturise our heels and feet when we are going to sleep but actually massaging and spot treating the feet nails is something which we do not do often!

So, the next time, you sit and moisturise your feet, grab the cuticle oil and apply a lot on your feet nails also. And, remove that old nail polish. Do not be lazy because it an cause your nails to discolour and become yellow.

Washing the Hands all too Often

It should be named mano-phobia after its latin term. It is already called mysophobia after the compulsion to wash hands because of fear of germs or contamination. But, that is not the only reason why people repeatedly wash their hands. It can just be a cleaning compulsion.

So, I love doing it even if I have touched a dirty napkin or I have removed a plate of my own from the bed to the table or any small thing. And, then, there are big things like washing utensils and washing hands after the cleaning work or during the laundry. All the strong chemicals dry out the hands just like anything and only moisturising them is not really sufficient.

And, not applying sunscreen willfully

Granted that it is one of the most irritating chores on Earth, it is no reason to ditch it altogether. And, I can say that because I am a culprit of this. I hate applying sunscreen. But, I can readily see the disadvantages because of it. My forehead is completely covered with small rashes! Huh. So, dig that sunscreen in your cupboard and use it before you would have to throw it away!!

These are my top beauty mistakes I am still making in my life. What are yours? Do share them below!

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Hair Combs and Brushes {Reader's Query}

Hi Swati, I coundn't find an appropriate post in which to ask this question, so I'm asking here. You've written a lot about hair care, but I couldn't find any post about hair brushes/combs. I've been reading that boar bristle brushes are really good for hair. What are your thoughts on that? What brushes/ combs do you use? Do you find that good quality ones aid in maintaining good hair health or is it unnecessary? I've seriously been considering purchasing a boar bristle brush (regular brushes cause more hair fall for me compared to combs), but I couldn't find a single Indian blog that had mentioned anything about it.

So, first of all, thanks Poohkie for pointing such a pertinent topic. And, I am so sorry it has already been a month that I have not reverted back! Now, let me get back to the topic. Long back, I had discussed a bit of history on the combs and the ones I have used subsequently! I am really sorry about the missing pics in that post but I had deleted a pics folder in picasa because of which many of my posts have missing pics!

Wooden Combs

Apparently, the Indian artisans in history used to make wooden combs which had a sort of string of holes through the base of the teeth. One could pour a drop or two of oil through the first hole which used to travel down the comb and when used on the hair, the oil gets applied to the roots and hair strands evenly, nourishing the hair!

I have come across quite a number of wooden combs by now but still the TBS one remains my fav! I think its mainly to do with the finishing of the product. I recently got one for my friend as well and she has been finding a considerable difference in her hair. So, yes to wooden combs compared to the plastic ones! But, whatever you choose, make sure they are wide-teethed.

How to choose Hair Brushes?
Ok, the first rule with brushes is that if you have curly hair, its better to avoid one! Otherwise, I have heard natural brushes or boar-bristle brushes are really good. So, I did find out a long long time back that Denman and Mason Pearson are the two best brands when it comes to hair brushes but unfortunately I have no idea where they are available online. TBS carries wooden quilled brushes as well, one of which I had bought but use it very occasionally.

A flat brush or paddle brush is great to tame the hair and distribute the natural oils from the roots to the tips of the strands. The bristles of the brush can be nylon or wooden or natural hair like boar bristle or horsehair. Also, the base of the brushes should be rubber preferably because that allows the bristles to move more flexibly and damages the hair lesser comparatively!

How much brushing is good?
Hundred brush strokes a day is said to do amazing things to hair but I think that's just overdoing it. Excess brushing can actually damage the hair. First, brush the hair only when it is dry and it is straight.

Brushing curly hair can harm its cuticles because the hair strand is uneven and the brush quills can rip it off! That is why natural hair is preferable on the brush.

Also, a few brush strokes a day does help distribute the natural oils evenly on the hair. So, make sure you do not brush your hair excessively as it flattens the hair. If you have fine hair, remember that it can look very weighed down if you brush it more often, especially when it is a day old.

How to clean the brush?
I have to say that this is the one part which stumps me completely and discourages me to use my TBS brush. But, you do not have to worry if your brush is not wooden.

After every brush stroke, make sure you remove the hair strands caught up in the bristles. Ignoring them too much can lead to lot of accumulation of hair strands.

Also, soaking them and washing them once in two weeks or a week depending on how frequently you use it or how dirty it has become is good. I use a discarded tooth brush to clean the base of the brush and even my comb and nails.

Do you use a brush? How do you choose your hair brushes? How often do you use them and how do you clean your brush?

Saturday, July 4, 2015

Why not shampoo everyday? {Your Opinion}

Do not wash hair everyday is a common diktat when it comes to hair care routines. But, I have always wondered if it should really be so?. Now, there are quite a lot of scenarios in which I would say its better to wash hair than not in order to prevent damage.

For example, commuting in the peak hours of the traffic in a tropical weather does nothing but make you sweaty and dirty unless you are in your own car with air conditioning running which is not something everyone can afford.

Or, street shopping on a sunny day can accumulate lot of sweat on your scalp and salt in the sweat is a major cause of hair fall. Or, let us see, workouts!! An hour of workout session can cause the hair to get all sweaty and stringy. And, if you do swim, it is advisable to wash your hair after the session to prevent hair damage due to chlorine.

So, in all the above cases, it becomes more or less mandatory to wash the hair. So, why not wash it everyday? And, does no hair wash with such routine mean more damage to hair? Well, in my case, wash the hair as and when necessary. Only take care to use an SLS-free shampoo to prevent more damage.

What do you think? Would you wash your hair everyday if you do follow such routines?

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Do you warm up the oil before applying? {Hair Care}

Yesterday, there was kinda a huge disaster averted. It arose from the same topic as I am about to discuss. Do you warm the oil before applying it? I love to do it as often as possible. I love the relaxation it gives me and I feel oil gets absorbed better on those days!

And, for me, its a perfect end for a stressful day. Anyways, what I used to do was boil a medium sized utensil full of water and then put the oil bottle into that utensil for like 15 min. Oh! make sure that the oil bottle is not plastic or the water is not boiling hot coz the oil bottle can deform due to excess heat.

And, then, pour the heated oil from the bottle into a small bowl and apply the oil using cotton ball immediately on the scalp. Or, if I am using this nozzle tipped bottle, I put that bottle directly into the hot water. You can get the water from the geyser as well, btw!

These methods of heating the oil are perfectly safe but since either of these methods have not been working out for me recently, what I was doing was taking a bowl of oil and heating it directly on the gas. Worst idea EVER! Keep the oil bowl for 2 minutes on the gas and oil boils over. But, I managed it somehow until yesterday.

I had kept a bowl of oil on the gas for like 1 minute probably and the moment I came back into the kitchen, the oil caught fire right in front of me!! I was like stunned. It was burning high and I could not use water to extinguish it coz any drop of water would make the fire blow up even more.

Then, I had to call my MIL. She tried to blow off the fire but the oil was igniting again and again. So, finally, she took the bowl with the handler and somehow managed to drop it into the sink. The oil spluttered and the fire blew up for a second and then extinguished. But, it was a lesson for me :D

Never again will I try it and am before-hand advising you to stay away from such experimentations. It is a bad bad idea. Better to stick to dropping the bottle in hot water. I am not even going to microwave the oil ever again.

So, have you ever had any of such almost-kitchen disasters?

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

#OneMonthtoHealthyHair Challenge - How's my Hair doing?

Can you guess the products? I love how it adds a pop of color to my shelf!!

So, let me state three things which happened in the last week!!

1. I have been wanting to change my shampoo since quite long now - either the shampoo I have been using has stopped working or my hair needs a change or I am just too bored of using a single brand for more than two years. And, I had been seriously considering trying the two brand ranges which have been reportedly doing well for many!

2. I am prepping the hair for the #OneMonthtoHealthyHair event starting March 1st!

3. And, then, I get a mail from a brand about a hair challenge they are conducting. I have to use their products for one month and report back! Incidentally, this range is one of the brands I had been seriously considering so I said yes!

So, the first step in the activity is to detail out on the present condition of my hair!!

My Biggest Hair Problem!

I have dry curly hair which tends to develop lot of splits if not cared for regularly, and by that I mean ever week!! And, it does tend to get a bit rough sometimes like it did these winters which is the major reason why I had been thinking of changing the shampoo.

Also, it is possible that it has developed a product build-up so if you think your hair is going through the same phase, try out vinegar. Add a table spoon to the shampoo and then continue washing your hair!! Result - Bouncy and Shiny Hair.

Split Ends?

It has been again 3 months since I did my hair diaries post. I should have kept up with it! So, I had my hair cut in September and my hair did grow back but again a lot of split ends have developed. So, yup, hair cut is pending!!

Hair Fall, Weak Roots?

I remember that it was November when I used to find so much hair in my comb. Thankfully, it has reduced now. But, itchy scalp still persists! No, I have not yet tried the essential oils. But, tea tree and rosemary essential oils work for itchy scalp!!

Okay, I do not suffer from weak roots but for those who do, please remember that proper balanced diet is extremely important. Include a lot of protein in your diet and regular scalp massages help with improving blood circulation and improves the scalp conditions.

Frizziness, Dry Hair, Undernourished Hair, Rough Hair?

Due to the winter-y dryness, the hair has developed static and has become a little frizzy but regular after wash hair care does help with that!! Try to use 5 drops of rosehip or pomegranate oil. Even almond oil can help.

Hot Oil Treatment has been helping a lot to control dryness and rough hair! Also, eating a lot omega 3 helps with hair dryness so do not forget nuts and other dry fruits.

Dull Hair?

Curly hair, by default, lacks shine. So, yes, it is more prone to dullness. I, too, suffer from the same problem.

Summary

So, I shall be reviewing the product on the grounds of split ends - not getting more of them (remember that existing split ends can NOT be repaired), dry hair - soft and healthier hair and, if possible, shinier hair as well.

So, that is my hair condition right now. Let us see how much the product helps to improve it! And, by the way, you might have noticed I have blacked out the product name. So, can you guess it? Would you also like to take the hair challenge? Do share your hair condition in the comments below!

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