My Month in Photos & Summer Goals


Heyyylo blossoms! It's been a long time since I did a photos post so I wanted to do one of those today. A lot has happened for me in the month of May, in between changing jobs, booking flights across the sea to go back home, and my husband's birthday.


Attending a Jennyfer re-opening event at the Mall of the Emirates to cover social media for the event. This was part of my old job. Not too shabby!
Squishy new summer weight yarns from Dubai Knits in merino silk blends for knitting projects. I am in love!
Wearing my new favorite summer lippie - Kate for Rimmel No. 109. I also stumbled upon a hair routine I like here . Success!
My new love are Lush bath bombs. So needed during the work week. <3
My voluminous curls from my latest tutorial on DIY Sea Salt Spray and other tips. Happy with the results but will keep reaching higher. @@@;-)
Touring the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world.
Hubs smiling during his birthday tour of the Burj Khalifa. We brunched at the bottom as well which was pretty delicious.
My natural hair appreciation blog reached 1000 followers which made me overjoyed! You can hashtag your photos with #curlsandblossoms for a chance to be featured. @:-)





And that about wraps things up! I'm really enjoying the new job I've switched into and I leave today to visit home for a week. This will be a really welcome vacation since I've been going nonstop since Christmas. 

Now that May is finishing up, I have a few goals in mind for the month of June:

1. Blog and post YouTube videos more often. I'll aim for one video a week and 3 blog posts this month.
2. Stay more active even though it's sweltering outside. Go to the pool, beach, or gym at least 3 times a week.
3. Try to avoid gaining the Dubai stone, by ordering take out less. Cook 2 times a week (not including weekends).
4. Go to more events and new restaurants in Dubai even though as stated it's hot enough to fry eggs on the sidewalks.  Try 3 new restaurants this month.

That's everything! Baby steps for me! How has your month gone? Leave me a comment below. 

Wishing everyone a wonderful start to your summer. Here's to fruit, sunshine, and colorful clothes. 

- Sarah @:-)

DIY Sea Salt Spray + Styling Tips for Volume

Hey hey hey! This week I'm sharing with you a guys a simple recipe for a Sea Salt Spray. This spray adds texture to the hair and enhances curls, just like swimming in the ocean does. It's not recommended to be used daily though, as it can be slightly drying. But maybe once a week it's great for a curl boost!

Recipe:
2/3 cup water
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 tablespooon leave in conditioner (can be substituted with aloe vera or oil)

Things You'll Need:
Plastic spray bottle


1. Heat water in microwave for 30 seconds (to warm, not boiling).
2. Mix in salt and leave in conditioner.
3. Pour into spray bottle and shake it up. Voila!

For styling tips on how to get more voluminous, bigger hair please watch the new video:


If you need to learn how to Plop your Hair:


How to Diffuse Curly Hair (Pixiecurl Method):


Bonus: Curly Root Clipping via Devacurl:
*Note: You don't have to purchase the devaclips. Just buy the same kind from Sally's Beauty!

Summer Hair Care Changes & Avoiding Chlorine and Sun Damage

Hey loves! In this post I'll be laying out the different steps I take to change my routine when the summer starts to roll around as well as how to protect your hair from the sun and chlorine. I get lots of questions about this so I hope it is helpful. :)



Routine Changes

For reference I have spent most of my life living in the southern US, so I spent summers in hot and humid places. When the weather starts to get a bit warmer, we all know we need some extra help from our hair products to help prevent frizz and keep our hair moisturized. I use harder hold gels and frizz reducing products. One of my favorite frizz reducers is Curly Hair Solutions Curl Keeper, which is a serum that's awesome for cutting frizz when layered under gel. If I can't get my hands on that I will opt for relying on my gel alone; I enjoy Biosilk Rock Hard Gelee (for ultra high hold) or LA Looks Sport gel (with high hold) for hot weather. If you live in Europe or Asia the L'oreal Invisihold gel is a good dupe for LA looks sport in terms of amount of hold. Or if you want something high end the Original Moxie Hold Up Serum is the bomb and has lots of good ingredients for your hair. If the gel leaves your hair a little crunchy, just give your hair a good scrunch when dry. The gel cast really helps prevent frizz and poofing!





Hair *usually* frizzes because of dryness so you can't forget about moisturizing in the summer. Not to mention the sun and swimming can take a toll on your hair, which I'll get to in a minute. One of the best steps to prevent frizz is a good leave in. My hair loves both the As I Am and Kinky Curly Knot Today leave ins, which are water based and really leave my hair feeling like seaweed. I also like Beauty Without Cruelty's leave in conditioner from iHerb.com if I can't get my hands on those two. Beyond that good regular conditioner is really important like Sally's Beauty Generic Matrix Biolage Conditioning Balm or the slightly lighter Andalou Naturals Citrus Conditioner (again from iHerb.com). And when my hair really needs an infusion of moisture I use my Hair Therapy heat wrap with Curl Junkie Curl Rehab deep treatment.


It's also worth mentioning that I apply A LOT more of my products in the summer---for all of them. The extra moisture and hold really helps keep my hair from frizzing out. I also check the dew point on AccuWeather on my phone, which is an excellent measure of how much moisture is in the air (aka humidity) and helps me know which products to reach for.



Surf and Turf Protection

So you wanna go swimming but you don't want the chemicals to affect your hair. And did you know you can get very real heat damage from the sun?? The good thing is that these are easy to prevent.

When I go swimming in chlorine, I follow up my swim with a shampoo with a sulfate free shampoo like any from Shea Moisture or the Boots DermaCare Gentle Shampoo. Then I use a deep conditioner or a really good regular conditioner (mentioned previously). This usually leaves my hair pretty happy. BUT if you want to prevent any chlorine seeping into your hair, you can apply leave in, water, and oil before swimming. This is probably more necessary for frequent swimmers; as an occasional swimmer and more of a pro-tanner I don't feel the need to do the preventative step but it is a good tip. If you spend time sunning, you'll also be letting the moisturizing products work their way into your hair even better.

Lastly if you go swimming in a lake or the sea, don't worry too much about clarifying your hair. The sea salt will actually give you a natural curl boost, so it's fine to avoid washing it out completely with shampoo. But do be sure to follow up your dip in the ocean with a good conditioner. And if you're spending a lot of time in the sun, invest in a cute sun hat or a bandana to cover your hair. There are some products with sunscreen in them (benozophenone in the ingredients) such as LA looks sport gel, but covering your hair is by far the best way to protect it from the sun.

Please leave any questions or comments below. What are your favorite summer products and what do YOU change?

Have a great summer!

Wishing you lots of good hair days,
Sarah @:-)