Cook at home more often.

Cooking at home more often is a good tip for maintaining a healthy lifestyle and achieving weight loss goals. When you cook at home, you have more control over the ingredients and portion sizes used in your meals. This can help you to make healthier choices and avoid consuming excess calories, saturated fat, sodium, and added sugars found in many restaurant and take-out foods. Additionally, cooking at home also allows you to save money and be more mindful of what you are eating. You can experiment with new ingredients and recipes, as well as have fun with your family and friends. Cooking at home can also be a great way to learn more about nutrition and healthy cooking techniques.

DIY Hair Care: What Ingredients and When?

When it comes to hair care, it is vital (yes, vital) to know how certain ingredients work on our strands.  Having this knowledge reduces the "trial and error" involved in both building and adjusting a hair care regimen.

Below is a quick guide for the more popular, natural ingredients (with the exception of a couple) involved in DIY hair care.  Do keep in mind that what works for most individuals may (or may not) work for you.

When you want to take advantage of the humidity:
Glycerin, honey
Why: Humectants (moisture retention).
How to use: Add to a moisturizer or a leave-in.

When you want an oil-based sealant:

Soybean oil, grapeseed oil, castor oil, avocado oil

Why: These oils can reduce moisture loss.

How to use: Use separately or add some to your moisturizer.

When you want a light sealant:

Jojoba oil, grapeseed oil

Why: Light compared to other oils (jojoba being the lighter of the two).

How to use: Use separately or add some to your moisturizer.

When you want a heavy sealant:

Olive oil, shea butter (melted)

Why: Olive oil is one of the heavier oils.  Many butters (such as shea) contain fatty acids like oils but are heavier than oils.

How to use: Use separately or add some to your moisturizer.

When your scalp is itchy:

Tea tree essential oil, aloe vera juice

Why: Some find either of these substances to be soothing to the skin.

How to use: (Tea tree) Use a few drops with water or a carrier oil.  (Aloe vera) Use straight or mix with water. NOTE: If you are pregnant or have a health condition, please consult your doctor before using essential oils.

When your scalp is dry:

Jojoba oil, aloe vera juice

Why: Jojoba oil is a light oil (non-heavy).  Aloe vera juice is light, moisturizing, and soothing to the skin.

How to use: (Jojoba) Massage a few drops into the scalp.  (Aloe vera) Use straight or mix with water.

When you want a moisturizing or softening oil:

Grapeseed oil, safflower oil, castor oil

Why: These oils tend to leave the hair feeling soft and moist.

How to use: Use separately or add some to your moisturizer.

When you want a moisturizing or softening non-oil:

Glycerin, aloe vera gel/juice, rosewater, honey, water

Why: Glycerin and honey are humectants (good for moisture retention).  Aloe vera gel/juice and rosewater are moisturizing.  Water is the best natural form of hydration.

How to use: Use separately, add to your moisturizer, or mix one (or more) ingredients to create a moisturizing spritz.  NOTE: Adding water, aloe vera juice, or rosewater to a whipped butter can create an environment for bacterial and/or fungal growth.

When you want shine or sheen:

Castor oil, coconut oil, avocado oil, apple cider vinegar

Why: Castor oil has been shown to impart sheen (see earlier post).  Coconut oil and avocado oil are ones that many women swear by.  Due to its pH level, apple cider vinegar may help to flatten the cuticles, thus allowing for more shine or sheen.

How to use: (Castor, coconut, avocado) Use separately or add some to your moisturizer. (Apple cider vinegar) Use as a post-wash rinse with cold water for 5 minutes.

When your shampoo is drying:
Coconut oil, olive oil
Why: Moisturizing and lubricating.
How to use: Pre-poo with any of the above oils or add to shampoo.

When your shampoo is not cleansing enough:
Baking soda
Why: Easily lifts oils and dirt.
How to use: Mix a little with your shampoo. (Be sure to follow up with an apple cider vinegar rinse.)

When you want more slip in your conditioner:
Shea butter (melted), coconut oil, olive oil
Why: Lubricating.
How to use: Add some to your conditioner.

When you want a more moisturizing conditioner:
Glycerin, honey, shea butter (melted)
Why: (glycerin, honey) moisture retention; (shea butter) emollient.
How to use: Add some to your conditioner.

When you want a more strengthening conditioner:
Coconut oil, hydrolyzed protein (e.g. keratin, collagen), egg
Why: Coconut oil has been shown to penetrate the hair and reduce keratin loss (abstract).  Hydrolyzed protein penetrates the hair and provides reinforcement by replacing lost keratin.  The egg contains protein (though too big to penetrate our strands) and is an ingredient that some women swear by.  For maximum strengthening, go for conditioners containing hydrolyzed protein.
How to use: (Coconut oil) Best used as a pre-poo to minimize breakage, but may also use post-wash.  (Egg) Add to your conditioner.  (Hydrolyzed protein) Find a commercial conditioner with this ingredient.

When you want more hold and definition:

Shea butter, mango butter, beeswax, aloe vera gel, flaxseed gel

How to use: Add some to your moisturizer or use separately.  (Mango provides more hold than shea butter.)

When you want a lighter, less oil-based whipped butter (e.g., warm weather):

Aloe vera gel, jojoba oil

Why: moisturizing, but light

How to use: Mix a 1:1 shea butter and aloe vera gel mixture (or a variation of this recipe).

When you want a heavier, more oil-based whipped butter (e.g., cold weather):

Olive oil, coconut oil, grapeseed oil, safflower oil, castor oil

Why: moisturizing and sealing

How to use: Mix a 1:1 or 2:1 shea butter and oil(s) mixture.

You can now find HHB on Facebook. Share with your friends:

http://www.facebook.com/healthyhairandbody.

A to Z List of Common Ingredients in Products

Yesterday, I found a link describing many of the common ingredients we find in hair and skin products.  Below are some of the more popular ones; for the remainder, check out the original article:

Alcohol Denat (aka Denatured Alcohol): The European name for SD alcohol, it is ethyl alcohol made undrinkable for legal use in cosmetics. It acts as a solvent, disinfectant, and freshening agent in skin care products and a solvent in fragrance oils.

Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate: This salt, a natural coconut alcohol derivative, is a mild surfactant used in rinseable skin cleansers.

Avocado Oil: This organic emollient and carrier oil is used in makeup, moisturizers, and creams for its high levels of fat and vitamins A and C. It is also among the most effective naturally-derived sunscreens.

Beeswax Yellow or White: Derived from virgin bees and is primarily used in skin care products and makeup as an emulsifier.

Bentonite: This white clay is an important makeup ingredient — it absorbs oil and reduces shine. It is also used to thicken cosmetics and skin care products and to emulsify oils and masks.

Burdock: The roots, seeds, and leaves of this plant contain an essential oil used in beauty products for its soothing effects on the skin. It is also an astringent and antibacterial agent.

Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter): From the nut of the Mangifolia tree in Central Africa. It’s also called Karite Butter or African Shea Nut Butter. Shea butter is high in triglycerides, has a high content of vitamins A, E & F and will soften and maintain moisture to the skin without greasiness.

Butylene Glycol: This humectant is used in hairsprays for its resistance to humidity.

Cetearyl Alcohol: This alcohol derivative is an emollient and emulsion stabilizer used in skin lotions, hairstyling creams, and deodorants.

Coconut Diethanolamide: (coconut oil acid, cocamide DEA, ninol, witcamide and calamide) A coconut derivative and common ingredient in skin care products; it works as a detergent creating a stable soapy lather moisturizes and softens the skin. Like sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), coconut diethanolamide can break down skin’s oily barrier layer and dry it out. Some people develop allergic reactions to it.

Coconut Oil: This coconut kernel extract is a natural lathering and cleansing ingredient, and is often blended with other fats. Frequently found in skin cleansers, oils, and moisturizers, as well as hair care and nail care products.

Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Extract: Derived from the milk or coconut “water” inside the hard exterior that is the endosperm or food for germination of the plant. It is highly nutritive, containing amino acids, sugars, vitamins and plant growth factors.

Collagen: A fibrous protein that makes up the connective tissue in the body. In cosmetic products it is used as an emollient.

For the remainder, check out the original article.

You can now find HHB on Facebook. Share with your friends:

http://www.facebook.com/healthyhairandbody.