Krill oil for mega omega power!

Krill? What in the world? That's what I thought when I first heard of krill. Is an ingredient in hair products? Do I just buy the oil straight and rub it all over my hair?
The answer is neither. That's because krill is an crustacean which closely resembles a shrimp. Don't be fooled by the name, the oil from this little creature is said to be 48x more potent then that of fish oils. Yes, that's right, 48 times more powerful!

How can that be? Apparently the composition of the oil is one that is more readily absorbed in our body than regular fish oil. Another benefit of krill is that it doesn't have the fishy after taste that we normally experience when taking fish oil supplements. Krill, unlike fish oils contain high levels of antioxidants which contributes to its high shelf life. Its also said that high mercury levels is not prevelent in krill because of the remote arctic waters where the krill is harvested.

Here's some information taken from aboutkrilloil.com describing the wonder oil.

"Unlike fish oils, Krill oil carries omega-3s in the form of phospholipids, which are liposomes. This is then delivered to your body’s cells. The compounds EPA and DHA are carried more effectively by these phospholipids. Fish oils do not have the phospholipid complex and instead their omega-3 fatty acids are contained in the form of free triglycerides which are less effective.

The phospholipids are known as the building blocks for your cell membranes. They control the cellular transport and this helps to protect the cell membranes from free radical attacks. The control helps omega-3 fatty acids as it allows them to pass their molecules into your intestine wall.

Astaxanthin has great antioxidant benefits. In studies it has been shown to be 10 times more effective as an antioxidant than carotene. It has also been shown to be 100-500 times more effective than Vitamin E. Other studies have shown the antioxidant benefits of krill oil is more than 300 times greater than that of measured Vitamin A and Vitamin E and 48 times greater than Omega-3 18:12 fish oil."


We all know that in order to have truly healthy hair we absolutely need to have an ample amount of omega 3's in our diet. Its crucial. Any lack of this essential nutrient will result in dry hair, dull skin, brittle nails. Not to mention the lack of concentration and other health effects.

I don't know about you but I'm super-excited about this product! I'm all about bigger and better so this is a perfect find for me. I'll definitely be adding this product to my arsenal.

Searching for Nanokeratin alternatives

After posting an entry on the nanokeratin process and its benefits, I received a comment on the potential downside to having the treatment done. Some say that the fumes emitted during the treatment may be toxic. That's because some keratin treatments contain formaldehyde which, according to the FDA, has been linked to cancer. As I continued to research, I did find out that there are versions of the treatment available that do not contain the formaldehyde. But by then I was already pretty much turned off from the treatment and quickly began searching for alternative keratin boosters for my hair.

My first glimmer of hope came in the form of an online article from cosmeticdesigns.com about genetically engineered keratin developed in the labs of Dermaplus, a company that manufactures hair and skin care products. They have somehow managed to replicate the specific strands of keratin that naturally occur in the human skin and hair. The product they created with the technology, called Keracyte, is mainly used to strengthen the hair shaft, not the already existing hair. In other words, the product is used more as a scalp treatment not a topical hair solution.

The creators of the product are mainly targeting men who have thinning hair because this product has the ability to regrow thinning hair(and even restore natural hair color). Even though the product doesn't fully serve the purpose I am looking for, its still a start. Maybe someday they can find a way to incorporate their new strand of keratin into conditioners and other hair products.

My second alternative,so far, is a product from CHI called Keratin Mist (review to come later). I just purchased this product yesterday because I saw some great reviews on LHCF and makeupally. When I first picked up the product from the shelves, I immediately searched the label for the list of ingredients. Wouldn't you know it, Rosewater and silk amino acids were like the first and third ingredient on the list. Sound familiar? There were some other notable ingredients like wheat protein and aloe extract that helped me make up my mind to move forward with the purchase.

I was a little impatient and sprayed a little on my dry hair (instead of waiting 'till wash day to get the full effect). So far I liked what I saw. Stay tuned.....

Five healthy hair boosters for a better Leave-In experience

I thoroughly enjoy the results of a perfectly executed rollerset. In just a few short hours, my hair can go from being a tangled and dry mess to soft, silky, bouncy curls. One of the quintessential aspects of creating your own rollerset masterpiece is utilizing the perfect leave-in product. The perfect leave-in could mean the difference between dull or shiny curls. The right leave-in could also be the deciding factor to whether you love your rollerset results or think the results are just o.k.

So in my quest to help you reach your hair perfection, I put a list together of some fabulous healthy hair boosters you can add to your spray bottle for rollersetting (or for your braid outs, or flexi rod sets, or whatever).

1.


Distilled Water
Hard water is a mofo on relaxed hair. Calcium and mineral build up works against all of your efforts. What you are left with is dry and lifeless tresses that doesn't respond get the optimal benefits of most hair products. If you live in a state which has hard water (like I do) you can't afford to let just sit back and let that evil water have its way with your hair. If you opt to add water to your spray bottle, make sure your water of choice is distilled water. Distilled water is soft water. If you do not have a soft water filter at your disposal, distilled water is the next best thing. When you use distilled water in your spray bottle, you are not spraying on mineral deposits to your hair. Imagine how light and healthy your hair will feel when you use a water that does not have the potential to create build-up.

2. Rosewater


If you haven't done so, you must try some rosewater in your spray bottle. This product is known for its moisture enhancing properties and its faint rose scent. You can use rosewater as a substitute for just plain ole water in your leave-in blend. Mix rosewater with glycerin for an even greater moisturizing effect.



It was said that Cleopatra's bath was heavily laced with rose petals. Creating her rosewater bath was said to keep her skin moisturized and beautiful and helped her to seduce her Roman lover Anthony. Let's create seductive, sexy hair with the help of moisturizing effects of rosewater in our rollerset.



3. Silk Amino Acids(SAA)
Just the sound of that word alone sounds healthy. This product is the perfect friend to your spray bottle. It practically looks just like water and its odorless. The light feel of the product means that you won't have to deal with heavy, unwanted build-up. Not only is the consistency perfect for rollersets, it also contains wonderful properties that make your hair fabulous. Silk Amino Acids have exactly what our hair needs, strength and moisture. Because silk amino acid is technically a protein, it will bond with the fragile areas in our hair shaft working to make it stronger. Not only that, silk amino acids also demonstrate moisture enhancing properties. According to Dermaxime.com, silk amino acids have powerful water binding properties which enhance moisture levels of the hair.

Here is an excerpt taken from jajagroup.com about the wonderful effects of silk amino acids.

"After silk protein on the hair dries, it becomes a transparent crystalline protective film. This film can directly prevent the hair being damaged by alkaline materials in hair products. This protective film can increase the hair elasticity and increase the hair’s natural shine. It has a very special protective function in hair products."

Need I say more?




4. Coconut Oil
If you are looking for something with a little more kick to put in your spray bottle, may I suggest coconut oil? You guys already know how much I rave about this oil. Because coconut oil is so light when melted at room temperature, it make for the perfect spray bottle companion. It's said that coconut oil is able to penetrate the hair shaft unlike other plant oils. Your hair will drink up all the nourishing benefits of this oil while under the dryer. In my opinion, this oil is probably the best choice for creating bouncy shiny hair. Again, its liquidy texture will work well with whatever else you chose to put in your spray bottle. If you hair loves the feel of oil, why not try a little bit next time you rollerset?

You can also experiment with other oils, if you choose, depending on the results you wish to obtain from your rollerset.


5. Your favorite conditioner

Just because you washed your conditioner out in your final rinse doesn't mean that you have to store the bottle away until next week. If you have a moisturizing conditioner that your hair absolutely loves, you may want to try diluting some of it in your spray bottle. I remember rubbing a little bit of Suave's Milk and Honey conditioner in my hair before air drying. The results were amazing! Maybe you haven't found a leave in conditioner that meets your needs. Give your best moisturizing conditioner a chance. It may be just what you were looking for.


There are so many other healthy hair extras you can mix in your spray bottle. I wanted to get your juices flowing to think about the endless possibilities. Remember that nothing is neutral, everything either works for you or against you to create exactly what it is you want. Make sure that whatever you put in your spray bottle words hard to create the head of hair you most desire.

*Edited on 8.15.08 to add:
I washed a rollerset my hair yesterday. I actually incorporated all 5 suggestions into my leave-in. It was a mix of mostly distilled water and some rose water, a few drops of coconut oil, some silk amino acids, and some Biolage Daily Leave-In tonic. The results were amazing. I can't tell you how great my hair feels. Usually when I rollerset, I add some moisturizing oil once the rollers are out just to help finish off the style. This time I didn't need to, my hair felt perfect and did not need any other product to enhance its appearance, moisture levels, etc.

When I wrote the post, I did not mean for all products to be used simultaneously but for me it worked out. You can opt to use any combination of these suggestions to create the perfect forumula that is right for your hair.

Flexirods saved my weekend

This past weekend was kinda busy for me. It all started off with a call from a friend of mine who was a birthday on Sunday. She organized a girls night out on Friday, and because I didn't prepare until the last minute, I had to rely on a quick and easy tool to get my hair ready.

I had no time to conduct a full wash and set routine and I had to think fast. The first thought that popped into my head were of my trusty flexirods. The weather in the city where I live is hovering at around 100% humidity so I knew that I had to employ the use of some type of styling products in order to create loose curls in just a few short hours.

With my trusty Silicon mix intensive leave in at hand, I quickly went to work. I parted my hair in large sections and created a dime-sized mix of Silicon Mix and jojoba oil for each section. I then proceeded to wrap each section around the flexi rod in a spiral curl motion until I completed my entire head of hair. The flexi rods were in my hair about an hour or so before I removed them one-by-one. It wasn't long before the curl-loosening effects of the humidity set in causing my curls to drop.

The end result looked something like this:










The very next day I had to once again create a last minute do it yourself hair style for a wedding I was attending. The person organizing the wedding gave all of us bridemaids only one suggestion, that we wear our hair curly. Again, I went straight for my trusty flexi rods. This time my goal was to create tighter, more defined curls. Because my husband and I spent most of our afternoon exploring the streets of our newly renovated Downtown, I basically had only a couple of hours to create the perfect look for the wedding. The tight timeline forced me to use a product that I haven't touched in probably a year, my Hask Placenta styling mousse.

The wedding hairstyle required much more flexi rods then the style I created the night before. Because I created the look starting with dry hair, I had to use an ample amount of mouse with each section of hair. I was pleasantly surprised at the end result considering the fact that my hair was not freshly washed and the look came together within a couple of hours (at the most).


Here is a pic of the finished look:










The wedding party was quite large. There were probably 20 bridesmaids or so sporting curly do's. Of all the bridesmaids, I was the only person who did not use an ounce of weave.

Here is a pic of a fellow bridesmaid, my husband, and me on the right.














Where would I be without my flexi rods?

Oh how sweet it isn't! Yet another reason why you should limit your sugar intake

A few years ago I was religious about eliminating sugar from my diet. This change came after stumbling onto a website, a while back, and reading of a study where a dog given a diet of only water outlived a dog provided a diet of sugar water. That was the moment that I knew I had to make a decision to limit the amount of sugar I take in on a regular basis.

I then proceeded to eliminate as much refined sugar as possible from my diet. Not buying a pack of snack cakes was easy. But when I found out that my loaf of bread and the ketchup I use both contained sugar, I came to the realization that giving up sugar would be harder than I first thought. I have since backslided from my commitment made years ago to eliminate sugar. No, I'm not to the point of buying snack cakes, but I haven't been as disciplined with checking the labels of common food for sugar levels.

Well, I'm going back to my no-sugar-eatin' ways. The cause of my turnaround was when I found out that, amoungst many other reasons, sugar can cause spit ends. Yes, split ends! I first read about this in a book on healthy hair and when I thought about it, this made perfect sense.

When I studied the effects of sugar on the body years ago, I learned that because refined sugars are devoid of nutrients, the body actually has to use its own nutrient reserves just to break down the sugar in your system. Hence, the reason why we experience tooth decay when we consume too much sugar. We are using the body's calcium to digest it. Along with calcium, sugar also depletes the body's copper reserves. In fact,a recent study found that rats fed a diet high in sucrose experienced three times the reduction in copper compared to rats who were fed a diet rich in starch.

A deficiency in copper, my friend, is one cause of split ends. Copper, in general, is extremely important for the health of your hair. In fact, according to Hair Vitalizer.com, copper stimulates the cells that are responsible for the substances that are present during the hair's growth phase. Without an ample copper reserve, you may not experience the same level of growth that you would normally with a balanced diet.

Sugar should be technically thought of as a poison because it actually robs our bodies of essential nutrients leaving behind only empty calories for which your body has no use for. That is like giving someone your car for thousands of dollars only to find out that the money was counterfeit. You gave up something of value and what you are left with is worthless.

Your hair grows directly from inside of you and relies on your nutritional stores for its healthy state. Because we are choosing to relax our hair, we have to make sure that we are growing the healthiest, strongest, hair possible so that it can somewhat withstand the harsh process. Sugar undermines all of our efforts at achieving great health and we must no longer allow this to happen.

Today, I urge you to begin to look a little more closely at the amount of sugar your are consuming on a regular basis (the average American consumes 2-3 pounds a week). Think of sugar not as the sweet confectionery treat but as a dangerous poison. I know how hard it is to eliminate refined sugar from your diet (in fact, its nearly impossible). Instead of going cold turkey, why not try some simple alternatives like fruit juice with no sugar added or a some ripe grapes in lieu of bit sized chocolates. Fruit sugars, unlike refinded sugars, come equipped with enzymes that aid's its degestion. This means that the body uses less of its own nutrients to digest it. Going forward, I want you to be aware of the sugar levels in the foods you eat so you can make conscious daily choices to limit your sugar intake for your health and the health of the beautiful hair of yours.

My Hair Obsession: The Humble Beginnings

As long as I can remember, I have always had a fascination with all things hair. It all started when I was a young lad, my earliest hair related memory is one that I actually don't remember. My mom tells of a time when I was merely a toddler just embarking on that time in my life when most youngin's start to explore. For me exploring would lead me to my first true love, my hair.
According to my mom, she was busy tending to the household when she finally realized that she hadn't heard the normal rumblings of a child playing nearby. That is when she decided to investigate and find out just what I was doing. It wasn't until later that she found her child, in a room by herself, with a nearly empty container of hair grease. The contents of the container were spread all over my hair, my clothes, and other unfortunate places in that room. Thus it began..........

My personal memories start to solidify at around 7 years of age. My mother, wanting to make her child happy, would buy me these dolls that stood almost as tall as I was. The purpose of the doll was for a child like me to take my new play friend by the hand and walk side by side. I, on the other hand, saw much greater purposes from my new possession. I devised clever schemes of how I could somehow transplant the doll's long, luscious hair to mine. One day my mom came home from her long day at work and asked my brother and I if we wanted to visit our local park. I told her I needed a few minutes to get ready and proceeded to create my own version of fusion weave by taking a portion of my doll's hair and somehow attaching it to the end of my braid with the help of a little aluminum foil. The end result was a poorly constructed braid consisting of type 4 hair on the top half and silky doll hair on the bottom half.

Though my attempts at creating lengthy hair was extremely lacking, I still felt like a million bucks because I was able to gain several inches of length overnight. I still remember getting a second look from a cute boy at the park that day though I can't quite decipher if the look was one of admiration or mere curiosity.

Fast forward a couple of years when I would ride the school bus to receive my public education. Being one of only a hand full of minorities, I often stood out in the crowd as different from most others. I remember riding home on the bus and staring at the girls as they brushed their hair from their faces as the wind from the open bus window swept their hair in every direction. That was the moment when I had decided that I had outgrown my ponytails.

At around 10 years of age, my aunt came to town and asked my mom if she could take me to the fair. In preparation for the event, my aunt asked my mother if I could wear my hair down. I begged and pleaded for the opportunity to allow my hair to flow (relatively speaking) freely on this very special day. My mother, being the traditionalist that she was, agreed to allow the back half of my hair down only if the top half was placed into some sort of ponytail.

That half up, half down, hair do was the beginning of what would become my hair emancipation. For it was after that occasion that I had to have the dreaded conversation with my mother relinquishing her from her responsibilities of doing my hair. Much to my surprise, she had grown tired of messing with it and happily stepped down from her role as my personal hair stylist.

It was then that I began a long and arduous hair journey that created some frustration over the years. As a teenager, I was too often swayed by what others saw as suitable ways to treat their hair. As a result, the physical state of my hair fell short of my expectation time and time again. It was only after I began to search the farthest reaches of the internet for any and all available information that I began to witness any notable change.

Today, my hair journey has evolved to the creation of this blog. Is this blog here because I know everything there is to know about relaxed hair? On the contrary, this blog exists because of my desire to gain as much knowledge on how to perfect my hair as possible. My journey is no where near over but I am pleased to say that I am relishing every single step of the way.

Random Thought #1: My cousin will be bald by the end of this year

Random thought:

I have a female cousin who is not in tuned with the basic fundamentals of taking care of her relaxed hair.

Last week while at a family function, she nonchalantly moved a section of her hair aside so that she could reveal a massive area of baldness on her scalp.

I gasped in horror and quickly told her to cut off as much relaxer as she could (if she was willing) and to allow her hair to grow naturally (even if for only part of the year) before relaxing again.

She then proceeded to reminded me of a family wedding occurring in just a few short weeks and reaffirmed the fact that she could not attend the function without a fresh relaxer.

I then flashed back to the days when she would openly mock me for allowing myself to be seen in public with more than a quarter inch of new growth.

That's when I realized that my words were futile and no change would come about until she literally has no hair left on her head.

On the bright side......the red hair color she sports looks really nice.