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
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. ✿✿✿
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!
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!
A photo posted by 🐨 Sarah 🌻 | waterlily716 (@waterlily716) on
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.
A photo posted by 🐨 Sarah 🌻 | waterlily716 (@waterlily716) on
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?
Hello lovelies! Welcome to the giveaway post. Here are some more details about the prizes.
1st set
Charmeuse Satin Giraffe Pink/Brown for Longer Hair Cocoon and Standard Pillowcase
2nd set
Charmeuse Satin Giraffe Pink/Brown 20” diameter Cocoon and Standard Pillowcase
A Silky Cocoon bonnet is made of charmeuse satin fabric with a approx. 1 ¼“ wide soft knit band attached to provide a soft grip when worn. Band can be tied from 20 – 24” with a tab to secure bonnet back without the use of elastic. Protect your hair from frizz, breakage and dryness. The lightweight material provides a silky cocoon for your hair to nestle and emerge anew. These are handmade originals with attention to detail and most importantly comfort. Giraffe pink/brown charmeuse satin is similar to doubled faced satin meaning satin is woven with a glossy surface on both sides. This item does not require a lining.Bonnet, Band & Pillowcase 100% polyester. All seams are sewn using a French seam. A French seam is a seam stitched first on the right side and then turned in and stitched on the wrong side so that the raw edges are enclosed in the seam.
Care Instructions
Hand wash or machine wash on delicate in cold water with mild detergent and line dry.
THIS GIVEAWAY IS OPEN INTERNATIONALLY.
If you don't win the giveaway and have your heart set on one of her bonnets feel free to visit the Silky Cocoon shop.
Hi guys! Thank you for all your support. Below is the rafflecopter widget where you can enter the giveaway! This is open in the US only. My apologies to my followers that live outside of the US.
Hello blog readers! Today someone messaged me asking if there was a list somewhere of ingredients for following the Curly Girl method. The only place this list used to be before was a video description, but I decided to leave it here, so it's a bit easier to read and bookmark. For more information on the Curly Girl method, check out some of the videos I've done or wikiHow.
How to follow the curly girl method:
Please watch the addendum video for more information and clarification
about sulfates and silicones:
From "ingredients commonly found in hair products":
http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreading/curl-products/ingredients-commonly-found-in-hair-care-products
This is not a comprehensive list and is not intended to be that way. Usually google can tell you more about an ingredient if you can't find it here! Also please note that the amoutn of ingredient present in the formulation of a product, and the other ingredients they are combined with, can greatly affect how these ingredients perform in your hair. For example you can find harsh sulfate free shampoos and more gentle sulfate shampoos. Something to keep in mind - otherwise happy product shopping!
Wishing you all a good hair day,
Sarah @:-)
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Hola lectores del blog! Hoy una chica me ha preguntado si exista una
lista de ingredients para seguir el metodo curly girl. Antes, solo
existaba en la descripcion del video, pero decidi dejar la lista aqui,
porque es mas facil leer asi. Para mas informacion sobre el metodo Curly
Girl, mira mis videos o es.wikiHow.com.
Esta lista fue constuido con la ayuda de esta lista en naturallycurly.com:
http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreading/curl-products/ingredients-commonly-found-in-hair-care-products
No es una lista completa. Google te puede ayudar con otros ingredients. :) Tambien, los otros ingredients en un producto pueden afectar como performa uno de esos ingredientes arriba... y ademas la cantidad del ingrediente.
Hello blossoms! Here are some photos from the beginning of April. How is it Spring already?? This week I visited my boyfriend's family in another area of North Carolina and got my hair cut. I also did the normal college classes grind, and then went to my Senior spring college formal. The formal was hosted by my eating house, which is kind of like a sorority but not really.
My new filming set up and decorations
Soooo in love with this Steve Madden bag I got off Poshmark.com for spring. <3
Visiting my boyfriend's family and all the dogwoods were in bloom.
I chopped off all my hair!!
I got the cut done at Scott Musgrave Hair Artistry in Cary, NC.
Back at school I snapped this photo on my college campus, but didn't notice the bee and almost got killed. lol
My homemade fried rice. Yums!
All my girlfriends and I at our Senior spring college formal
Me and the BF <3
Overall, this was a really awesome week. I got to see lots of fun people and I love my new hair! Thanks for reading along!
