Sunshine Award!

Got nominated for a sunshine blogger award by Bee of http://glamlushhair.blogspot.com.

 

So here goes;

1. How many languages can you speak?

Four very well and a host of many others conversationally. I am quite good with languages and pick up new ones very quickly.

2. What's your favourite part of blogging?

Creating new content

3. What's your least favourite part of blogging?

When I have a brain freeze and really want to do a post

4. How many siblings do you have and what is your position of birth?

First child with four siblings

5. What got you interested in the subject matter you blog about?

I decided to take better care of my hair and document it

6. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest and why?

Facebook and Twitter no reason really

7. How tall are you?

5’8

8. What food do you dislike?

Can’t think of any at the top of my head I am quite adventurous with food and will eat almost anything

9. What is your favourite quote?

I have several will give you one of them “When people show you who they really are believe them the first time” – Maya Angelou (I love her!!!)

10. What advice would you give to a younger you?

Take more risks

11. If you were given 1 million dollars what would you do with it?

Buy several houses one to live in the rest as investments you can never go wrong with real estate

I got nominated by Phoenix of the Random Phoenix as well! Thanks chica! So here goes;

 

1. Your favourite song at the moment and why?

All of these lights – Kanye West featuring Rihanna I just love this song!

2. TV show that you would recommend to anyone to binge watch?

Desperate Housewives

3. What injustice in this world makes your insides burn with rage and sadness?

Extreme poverty I don’t understand how some people can have way more than they need and others are begging for just a fraction of what they need.

4. What is your hidden talent?

I can sort of sing

5. What is your guilty pleasure?

Chocolate all day everyday!

6. Describe one room in your dream home - remember money is in abundance in this little architectural fantasy. 

My kitchen hands down!!! I want the biggest, baddest kitchen that money can buy since I love to cook.

7. What was your personal motivation behind the decision to go on a healthy hair journey?

Read my hair story at the top of the page

8. Who is your favourite Disney princess?

Cinderella only because she was my very first introduction to Disney princesses as a child

9. What is your favourite city in the world?

Can I say London which I consider my second home away from home

10. How long is your hair right now and what is your ultimate hair length goal?

I am still at a full shoulder length looking forward to bra strap anything longer than that would be too much of a hassle for me to deal with.

11. Who is your favourite Avenger? 

Who? Lol sorry I had to Google Avengers hahaha

Procrastinator’s Diary

My middle name should have been LaProcrastinator, Procrastinisha, Procrastina or something equally ridiculous judging by the amount of procrastination that went on in the last two weeks regarding my hair. So I had decided to take down my tree braids in week four which was two weeks ago I went ahead and unbraided the single pick and drop braids at the back then something came up so I used the rest of the undone hair to cover that up and went to attend to other less important matters. I thought I would get it done over that weekend but something always came up and take down was pushed to the back burner and so it went for two whole weeks until I was like enough is enough this hair has got to come out. Normally I am a go getter if I set my mind on something I get on with it and do it but every now and then the spirit of procrastination decides to show up and brings its entire village with it! The last two weeks was one of those times.

Finally I had a whole day free to myself and immediately I woke up I picked up my scissors and chopped off the extensions because I knew there was no way I was going to leave the house with choppy ended looking extension hair so it was now or never. I sprayed the tracks with a store bought braid spray to aid in the takedown and proceeded to take down my entire head. It took me an hour, one measly hour! I wanted to slap myself for having been so lazy in the last two weeks as in it took me 14 days to take down hair in an hour *sigh*.

Anyway take down and detangling done I did a combined prepoo and deep conditioning treatment with a mix of avocado, olive and coconut oils and used Black Silk Moisture Boost conditioning treatment that my aunt gifted me. She doesn’t even know that I blog about hair but felt the need to give me a gift bag full of hair goodies:) I deep conditioned on dry hair made damp by using water in a spray bottle. I deep conditioned for about an hour using body heat thanks to my walk workout with Leslie (insert a Fitness Friday smile:). After deep conditioning I rinsed out the hair with plain water then proceeded to shampoo using Black Silk Shampoo again thanks to my aunt I quite like the products actually. After shampooing twice I rinsed my hair then detangled with Enliven Coconut and Vanilla conditioner rinsed that off and towel dried till damp. I moisturized using the LOC method; mixture of my Venus leave in conditioner and water, coconut oil and then ORS carrot oil for the cream bit. I then braided my hair into 6 big braids and called it a day. I forgot to oil my scalp but since the hair was already braided up that was left to the next day.

The Enliven conditioner has great slip and the Venus leave in conditioner leaves my hair very very soft and manageable

And that girls was my two week braid take down that took me an hour!

Hair Dye Allergy

If you use permanent hair dye do you always read the instructions in the kit? Do you always do a patch test whether it is a new brand or the same old brand that you, your grandma and them have been using for decades? 

 

Photo Source

The very first time I heard of hair dye allergy was when I was getting temporary henna body art done on my arm for a wedding, to make the design darker and long lasting the artist added some permanent black hair dye to the natural henna mix but before she did that she did a patch test on my arm to see if I was allergic to the dye or not. She mentioned that she never used to do patch tests before until a client had an allergic reaction to the hair dye.  A few weeks ago a friend updated her Facebook status indicating that she was in hospital thanks to an allergic reaction to hair dye, I did not know how serious it was until she posted photos that were taken of her on admission the previous day, her entire face was swollen including her eyelids it was terrible! 

Upon doing some online research I found out that almost all permanent commercial hair dyes contain the chemical substance known as Paraphenylenediamine (PPD) banned in some countries which is believed to be the major cause of allergic reactions to hair dyes. This chemical can cause an allergic reaction at any time even if one has previously used it without any problems. Usual symptoms of an allergic reaction to hair dye can range from mild red rash irritation on the face, neck, ears to severe swelling of the entire face. These symptoms can occur within an hour of application or take anything up to 2 days and more to appear. If the symptoms are severe swelling of the face, shortness of breath, and a drop in blood pressure it is very important to go to the emergency room because some of these allergic reactions to hair dyes can be fatal. It is recommended to wash off the dye as soon as you see any signs of an allergic reaction upon application and see a pharmacist if not severe for over the counter medication but for severe symptoms like mentioned above please see a physician immediately.

Remember always always do a patch test behind your ear or on the inner elbow 48-72 hours before intended application of  any commercially produced permanent hair dyes or go for safer alternative natural products like henna and cassia if completely allergic to hair dyes. 

More reading on allergic reactions to hair dyes

http://www.dermnetnz.org/dermatitis/paraphenylenediamine-allergy.html 

http://allergies.about.com/od/contactdermatitis/a/Hair-Dye-Allergy.htm 

Fitness Fridays: Freestyle

After waking up several mornings in June not quite feeling the workout of the day but doing it all the same I have decided to freestyle it this July. Basically I will do whatever workout routine that catches my fancy in the morning and take it from there. Thankfully I have quite a collection of downloaded YouTube workout videos to choose from. I didn’t do too badly in June but I can tell you this I did more walking with Leslie than kickboxing with Keiara. I don’t know what it was but June was just a “bleh” month for me in terms of fitness I wasn’t as motivated as before I guess it was partly due to the fact that I had a lot going on in my personal life as well. But looks like I am getting my workout mojo back since I started July on a high note let’s hope I keep it that way for the rest of the month.

Here are some “superfoods” that you should be eating if you are trying to lose weight… 

·         Eggs

·         Steak

·         Apples

·         Kale

·         Oats

·         Lentils

·         Salmon

·         Yoghurt

·         Quinoa

·         Sardines

See the rest over at http://www.self.com/body/food/2010/03/20-superfoods-slideshow/18  I am an advocate for eat whatever you want but do it in moderation and exercise while at it, that is a perfect balance for me.