Seriously disappointed in Hairsense, part II

After not having emailed me a confirmation (And then hinted to that it was my own email that was at fault when pressed for information) and basically written lolcat to me (By the owner!) I thought I was done being disappointed in Hairsense.    
          

Well, I honestly wasn’t completely thrilled with the combs either. They have traces of teeth marks from sawing (?) between the teeth and they have obviously been sanded down, but only on the surface, not between the teeth.

But 15 minutes ago, after having put my freshly WO-washed hair up in a braid with some leave in-conditioner and using my dedicated “After detangling, use for distribution of leave in-conditioner and putting hair up”-comb, I tried to remove the few shed strands that are always caught in the comb.

Only to find that one little clump of hair was somehow stuck in the teeth.

I have owned this comb for a grand total of a week and used it five times in total.

I could not be more disappointed in Hairsense than I am right now.

Never, ever going to let them have any of my money again.

         

Who knows how much of my hair has been ripped to shreds by this nasty split??

                             

                                               

                                                          

Fish oil and vanity

I’m not really sure what to think of fish oil/omega 3 supplements. It has been on pretty much permanent trial with me ever since I first started taking supplements. It seems to be one of those “super foods” that always gets praised for being good for…Well, just about everything?

I’ve been taking it half for my hair “Because everyone else are doing it!” and half for my really crappy ankle that hurts in the winter cold (Multiple fractures that haven’t been set right because the arrogant and uninterested doctor in the ER decided it was “just a sprain” and I was just being a baby and wanted attention. No, I don’t like doctors, why do you ask?)

But in the time I’ve been taking fish oil I never really felt it actually made a difference at anything. I kept taking it on a “trial basis” for years though.

Gosh, that makes me sound dimwitted and sheep-like, doesn’t it?

But to defend myself, omega 3 supplements do seem to be good for a lot in the body. It seems to be one of those supplements you “should” take if you decide to take supplements.

I was supposed to bring a new bottle of fish oil home with me from Denmark, but it turned out to contain vitamin E so I didn’t want it.

I’ve been out of fish oil since then and haven’t gotten myself around to restock.

Can’t say I’ve noticed any difference though.

But yesterday I was reading a magazine at the gym (On the treadmill) and there was an article about fatty acid imbalance causing skin problems and omega 3 supplements relieving trouble skin. My skin has been acting up lately, but since its standard setting seems to be somewhere between “Troublesome” and “Total-bitch-freakout” it wasn’t something I was thinking about. Could it be because I haven’t taken my supplement for weeks?

Could I finally have found a real reason to take omega 3 supplement?

I’m going to place an order for some soon and we will see. Hmm…

Protein and vanity

I’ve been trying to get serious with the fitness for a while. I got an invitation to fitocracy from Gwen in the UTT fitocracry thread and it’s been seriously motivating to me. Funny how tools and toys like this always helps you stay focused. Like it isn’t good enough just to go because it makes you happy and healthy?

I’d like to get fitter and lose some fat. I’m really tired of being too big for my clothes and feeling out of shape.

Anyways. I was thinking about making a “set” diet to lose the fat, but I’m a little weird when it comes to that. I’ve tried the calorie counting thing and it Does. Not. Work. For. Me. It’s like a mental blockage or something. I just can’t do it.

But what does work for me it having a “set” premade diet I just need to follow: As in “Eat A and drink B for breakfast. Eat C and drink D for lunch.” Etc.

That kind of discipline works for me. No clue why I can’t just count “on the go”.

Maybe it’s a related blockage I have when it comes to the hair care schedule? I guess my mind just rebels at having to put so much effort into something that is supposed to come naturally and effortless?

Anyways. I do have a point with this, I swear.

So I was calculating on some “pre-set” diets and I keep getting a bit worried about my protein intake. Why is that? Because I’m shallow and worry about my hair, that’s why.

I have already experienced one very sneaky shed in my life and I’m not willing to sacrifice any hair for fat loss. I love my mane more than I hate my lovehandles. I still get my thumb thick regrowth poking out of my updos or braids from time to time and it makes me cringe.

From some research I think I should aim for 1,5 gram of protein per 1 kg of body weight per day if I want to work out and diet at the same time. Just to be safe.

I find it difficult to get there on food alone and still stay at a safe calorie deficiency. So naturally I started looking at protein drinks. Since I would like to get as much protein for as little calories as possible (Hey, I prefer eating my calories, not drinking them!) I divided the calorie content with the protein content for each drink.

The results were pretty surprising.

The lowest had just 3,9 calories per 1 gram of protein. That’s near the “raw” calorie content for 1 gram of protein, if I’m not mistaken? The highest had 8,1 calories per 1 gram of protein. That’s over twice as much!

A little math to compare the results and one protein drink per day of the calorie heavy one would “translate” into over 5 kg of pure fat more than the calorie low one in a year. Yikes.

I guess this is really how I ended up feeling fat: Those “few” extra, unnoticed calories per day. A piece of chocolate, a few chips, a second serving “just a tiny portion” even though I’m already full.

Still, I’m shocked at the difference between the protein drinks.

So, boring rant aside I’m just extending my discovery to those that may care: Run calories/protein through your calculator if you are looking to buy protein drinks.

New goodies!

                                                                       
Pretty Antoinette’s goodies!
Such pretty packaging and cute little notes with it
                                                           

                                                                            

Silky scarves

My webcam doesn’t so their vibrant colours justice
                                                             

                                   

                                                                                            
Bonnets
Both feel a bit too big for me. I’m really not sure if they can work even if I get a hole in the back for my braid. I think these will work better if you wear a bun for sleeping.
Maybe I would be getting some good use for them wearing them under a woolen hat and over a bun on cold days?
                                                                               

                                                                                       
Silky pillow cases
So pretty and glossy
                                                                                 

                                                                                     
And so soft!
                                                                                    

                                                       
Came with their own individual super cute drawstring cases
                                     

                                                
And little lavender packs to insert into the pillow. They smell divine and so calming
                                                            

                                                                                  

I got two beanies too but forgot to take a picture of the second one

They’re wonderfully snug and comfortable. I just need to get Chemist friend to make a hole in the back for my sleep braid and they will be perfect
                                               

                                                                                                                                   
Loc cover
I fell in love with this one right away. It’s so awesome and I can’t wait for more colour options to come up in the webshop. I must have more of these! I need to play with more styling options for this one…

I *could* have combs :)

My combs from Hairsense came! Hah, ironic when I just wrote about the other package being lost somewhere in USPS’s “care”, hmm?

                                    

Top left: “The Viking boat oar” as it’s named on UTT. I will use it for conditioner and treatment distributions in the shower and for rinsing.

Bottom left: I will use these two for smoothing hair when putting it up.
Brush in the middle for… Well, brushing.
Top right: I will use these for detangling. Might put the far right in my shoulder bag since it’s the smallest.
Bottom right is going to a friend.
                                                                               

                                           

Going to wash them and then put them to use, yay!

Little package lost

I’ve been tracking my Pretty AnntoiNet's package since it was shipped out. First in hopeful eagerness waiting for my silky goodies, then in baffled confusion.
            
Allow me to demonstrate why. Here is USPS’s tracking information.     
                                  

            

Recognize that the locations are repeated?

          
Let’s put that on a map…

         

                                                   
The package is accepted at a post office at A (Bloomfield), then to B (Kearny) and C (Jamaica). Then it gets shipped almost back to B (A different place in Kearny). Finally back to C again (Jamaica).
     
Seriously, what the hell, USPS?
       

I can has combs?

Since placing an order at Hairsense on the 2nd I haven’t heard a word from them.

I heard from Pretty AnntoiNet'​s, several times actually: A confirmation on the order and Linda herself taking the time to ask me if I would like to upgrade to a shipping method with tracking number outside the US and with insurance. Isn’t it sweet she took the time to care? I had just picked the first best shipping option since I didn’t know what the difference was. Too bad I didn’t see her mail until after she had shipped it out (And emailed me the tracking number and shipping confirmation) That’s a caring and responsible business owner!

                   
Hairsense though, not a peep. I checked my spam folder several times too, nothing. They did happily take my money though. Hm.
                        

So this morning I emailed them.

            
This is one of those times where I simply need to screenshot the reply. Noone would believe me if I just copy pasted it:
(My gmail is set to Danish, so if you can’t understand something, just ignore it. It isn’t important)
                                                                            

      

            

Hmm, ow-kay… I’m about to reply when this pops into my inbox too:

                  

      
I reply, then get an answer:
               

Then I have that ½ second delay before my brain really registers what just happened and my reaction is approximately this: Wait, huh?!

                                     

This seriously raises a bunch of questions for me: How old is this woman?  Is this really how business representatives talk to their customers in 2012? Am I talking to this woman? How can she spell words like “international” and “receive” correctly and not “you” and “please”? Why the weird emphasis on the ipad? Is “the” and “a” out of fashion to type down these days?
     

But as someone mean *Cough*Kelly*Cough* pointed out on facebook what it really reminds you of is…

                                   

                              

Srsly.

Cassia and oil

I was going to do a cassia treatment tonight but my cassia pack wasn’t opened yet.  Meh. I always do a test on some shed hairs before doing a treatment. It might not be necessary before each treatment but at least the first time you take a pack in use. Since cassia is a natural product you don’t have the same guarantee of a uniform product as you do with a conditioner.
                                              

                                         

This is why you collect some shed strands from time!
                                   
Then I thought of doing an OCM. I do them from time to time but since OCM are good for mostly whiteheads and blackheads, it doesn’t do much for my skin issues. But they do feel nice. I thought maybe I could add a few drops of my new tea tree oil to the oil mix?
                                                      
Since I was thinking about oils I realized my trusty oil spray was being pretty icky. Containers for oil always have such a tendency to get greasy and disgusting!
                                                                   

                                               

So I emptied it and cleaned it out. All nice and clean, yay!
                                       

It’s a fairly expensive pump-action oil spray intended for cooking.

                                
Look how my collection of oils has grown too!
                                                         

                                                       

Argan: Strange smell but a fantastic ability to boost the copper tones I so love in my hair!
Coconut: A little more annoying to work with then the rest since it solidifies but it seems to have the biggest impact on my hair. My skin hates it and I break out if it touches it.
Hemp seed: Light and nice. Fantastic on the skin.
Macadamia nut: Penetrates nicely and is easy to clean off.
Olive: My least favourite oil. It’s icky and sticky and difficult to rinse clean. Doesn’t seem to have much of an effect on my hair.
Walnut: Light and nice.
                                        

Now the question is what I should fill into my nice and clean oil spray and what to use on my skin?
                                                           

                                           

I settled for a somewhat random mix of 4 parts argan oil, 4 parts macadamia oil, 2 parts hemp oil, 2 parts walnut oil and one part olive oil for the oil spray. Maybe I should get an essential oil with a nice scent for my oil spray? One that doesn’t mess with the hair but only adds scent (Although I wouldn’t totally hate it if it darkened my lighter ends just a tad. Even though I’m doing my best with covers and sunblock, ten years does take the colour out of hair…)

                                                             

For the OCM I went with 3 parts of hemp seed oil, 1 part olive oil, 1 part walnut oil, 1 part argan oil and a few drops of tee tree oil. I thought of trying the macadamia too but better try each of the new ones at the time. Who knows if I will tolerate them or not? My skin absolutely hates coconut oil and it makes me itch and break out. I know I tolerate hemp, olive and walnut oil.

                                                                
I like spreading the oil out with a brush and using an electric toothbrush to work it in. Just using your fingers doesn’t really work as well especially around “corners” like the nose.

Hair diary

Monday the 5th of March
Deep conditioning with El Vital. Wow, it’s been a while since I did a real deep conditioning. Must have been before I left for Denmark? Ages ago, hah. Well, time to put a bit of effort into the hairy health project again!
Hairstyle of the day: A simple English braid for the slippery freshly conditioned mane.

Tuesday the 6th of March
Doing a S&D. Finding a whole lot of splits! More than usually definitely and a different type than my regular splits. Usually I find “eyes” and “deep splits” where the damage is detached from the end of the hair and formed a bit up. I guess it’s from elastics, which wouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. This time I find a lot of “real” splits formed at the end. I guess my last trim took off a lot of un-damaged ends and took the new ends up to where the damage is located? Kind of funny to see it change.
Pretty AnntoiNet's sent me an email yesterday that I didn’t see until today asking if I was interested in upgrading my order to express mail since it would have international tracking for my large and expensive order. I like businesses that take a real interest in their customers!
Hairstyle of the day: Braided Nautilus bun.

Wednesday the 7th of March
Today was supposed to be an olive oil-day but I was never a fan of olive oil and I was itching to try my brand new macademia oil. It has a nice thin-ish consistency and smells pleasant. I do an Ankylosaurus with it overnight.
According to the USPS tracking number, my PrettyAntoniette package has already left the US, yay!
Hairstyle of the day: Figure 8 bun.

Thursday the 8th of March
The macademia oil has a nice absorption. I use a bit of watered down leave in conditioner to wash some of the surface oil out. I don’t intend to wash it clean, just to get the majority of surface oil off. The oil has a nice non-sticky kind of effect even though it’s not completely cleaned out of the hair. Then I put it up in a nautilus bun. One of those “Get it out of the way and ignore it” days.
Having one of those days where everything gets on my nerves. The big tax day was Monday and it has been grating on my nerves since. Except for last year, I’ve had to pay taxes back every single year since ever no matter if I studied or worked (Or how much I worked) But since I actually got money back last year I thought I would this year again. They must have changed a rule because I haven’t made any more money this year? I had to pay quite a bit back and it put a real stick in the wheel for my plans. I had planned to buy myself two new identical phones, one for my Danish number and one for a new Swedish, and I fell in love with an expensive sliding phone. Damn. That will have to wait.
Hairstyle of the day: Dutch braid.

Friday the 9th of March
The macademia oil has fully absorbed.
Reminder to self: Email Hairsense. They have taken the money but no email, no shipping, no notice they even acknowledged my order.
Hairstyle of the day: Figure 8 bun.

Saturday the 10th of March
After my morning hair rinse I don’t use leave in conditioner. My plan was to do a cassia treatment in the evening according to my hair plan but hubby distracts me with takeout Thai food, candy, beer and rented DVDs. Mmmh, night home on the couch > cassia treatment.
Hairstyle of the day: Braided Nautilus bun.

The exciting life of Igor

My hair-skills are really suffering from my injured hand. Sucks being dominantly right-handed and having it injured. Maybe I should put some work into getting more ambidextrous? I can’t even brush my teeth with my left hand. 
   
Today’s hair is a severely crooked braided Nautilus with the elastic showing, sigh.
    

  
It’s a beautiful bright and sunny, although cold day. Perfect for going shopping: Hubby needed some new shoes more suitable for spring.
   
I needed to get my favourite glasses repaired. Not only does my hand injury screw up my hair, it makes me really clumsy too. I dropped my glasses a few days ago and all the tiny screws in them sprang to all sides and they fell apart. I was actually impressed that the tiny screws could work themselves out on a single impact like that.
   
Ah, good as new.
   

  
I’ve had to resort to my backup glasses. They look very similar to my favourite grey pair, just in black with green details. I still don’t understand how I could have bought them though!
  

             

What’s the problem, you ask?
   
This.
         

  
The little square “block” thing is really catching my hair and hurting it. Hidden dangers to your hair… Let this be a warning to all the longhairs out there!
 
I got a nice bottle set at Åhlens that I fell for because of the flower print and pink cap.
    

   
Right now one of the big ones contains pure lemon juice and the small spray bottle contains a facial mist of my own recipe. Its half toner/skin tonic and half pure lemon juice with a few drops of honey. It has a nice skin brightening effect, the lemon acid combats outbreaks, the vitamin C gives skin a nice boost and seems to be slightly moisturizing too.
  

     
I got some smaller bottles too that I will need to send out oil samples in soon. The smaller bottles were 20 kronor each and the pink/flowery set was 55 kronor at Åhlens, if any Swede reading this should be interested.
     
After finishing our shopping, hubby and I went to New Delhi in Lund for lunch. They have a really good buffet and I would kill someone for their recipe for shredded chicken and their pickled onions!
    

    
Look how nice the oil samples looks! It seriously looks professional with my blog-sticker on! Hubby asked me if I was opening a hair-business, hehe. Maybe I should.
Maybe “Developed and used by Igor!” would have a certain attraction?
  

    
Feeling really satisfied with what I did with the bottles, I fed “our” little wild birds.
    

We have a minor army of chatty tree sparrows

  

   
great tits
         

 

blackbirds

    
and an adorable little family of blue tits. We have followed the little family since the male sat in the bush outside our kitchen window and sang. He attracted a lady and they nested in the vent in the next building where they got four chubby little babies on their wings. They stick together and are usually the first to spot it when we put food out for them.
  

  
From time to time we have a pair of common wood pigeons stopping by too. They make me smile because they always look so completely confused.
    

   
Last summer we had a family of wagtails visiting too with their fluffy grey babies.
      

I love watching the frantic happiness from feeding the little birdies just some scraps of food. Feeding birds is really good for the soul!

Now I’m sitting here typing this blog entry.

Once I’m done, hubby and I will watch some TV and have some chocolate fondue. I got it as a very early birthday gift (My birthday isn’t for another month) from Chemist Friend. So yummy dipping strawberries and marshmallows in melted chocolate!

After some chocolaty goodness, I’m going to finish up re-reading Making Money
 

      
and start on World War Z.
        

   
All in all a good day!