Look, look!

My goodness, one hundred thousand+ views of my silly little blog!

Hemline

Not really seeing the reverse U-shape when my hair is loose…?

Giant fairy knot

I hate those things!  

Usually I get them where just a few hairs manage to knot themselves up, but today I had a big one.

You would think it was physically impossible, but no matter where I pulled, it only seemed to tighten.

Sigh. No other option than cutting it up.

Stupid, stupid, stupid!

Yesterday I went to Kullaberg with Hubby, Chemist friend and Teacher friend. Chemist friend had paid for a cave tour as a thank you for helping her move. It turned out to be more rock climbing to get to the caves than actually spending time inside caves, but it was still a beautifully sunny and wonderful day to spend outside hiking in a stunning landscape.

Anyone want to see pictures, by the way?

Since I knew we would be outside for most of the day in direct or indirect sunlight, I covered my hair and scalp with two pre-tied bandannas and a headband. It did a great job of protecting my scalp from burning, protecting my hair from bleaching in the sun and kept my head cool.

My daily facial cream has SPF 15 which is actually enough for me unless I’m spending a full day outside in strong sun. It’s weird: Even though I’m very pale, I have a red tint in my hair and have freckles, I don’t actually burn easily.

I even took the time to rub plenty of SPF 20 on my blonde Hubby’s skin.

I guess I assumed my big bun would supply enough shadow to protect my neck. Either that or I simply forgot.

Ow.

 

Weird malls and creepy walls

Chemist friend and I went shopping today until it was time for yoga class. She just moved into a bigger apartment in Malmö and the funniest thing is that her usually mean kitty is all sweet and cute now. So strange. Guess the cat is happy with the new place and getting all “her” stuff moved in?

Hard to believe this is the same fluff-ball that had me genuinely scared of touching her!

We went to check out a mall none of us have been to before: Mobilia. Weird place! It looked huge on the outside but was bizarrely small on the inside. I wanted some new jeans, an epilator and a good hair trimmer for Hubby but didn’t find anything I liked and ended up leaving with…

A refill of the day cream even though I’m not entirely sure what to think of the Eucerin line.

And an impulse buy of a mini massager. I’ve been considering getting some sort of massager for my scalp on and off for ages but since I have a stiff and sore neck from last yoga lesson, I got one this time. It was 99 kronor at Elgiganten for those interested.

I had a laugh at myself for taking a minute to figure out how to turn it on. Yep, it was in fact as super duper easy to operate as the package bragged about: You just press it on your skin. Typical that something that is really so simple confused me!

The area where Chemist friend have moved is full of small, charming old houses. Really cute area!

However, one of the houses really freaks me out.

First, let me point out that yes, this is indeed a painting of a house on the house’s wall. And it’s weird that instead of painting a more interesting house on the house, they only painted a single window on the side.

But let’s zoom in a little and focus on the cat and creepy girl in the window... Waving at the passer-by’s.

But it gets worse. Look what happens when you see the thing from the side...

Yes, that is actually a creepy hand coming out of the panting!

Of course when I came home again after shopping and yoga, and showed Hubby the pictures he decided to freak me out even further by speculating about the connection between the year 1866, the creepy painting of the girl and the even creepier hand. Bastard. He singlehanded made sure I will rather take a detour over walking near that house once the sun sets!  

Igor’s reaction to the most definitely ominous wall painting and most definitely haunted house:

And Igor’s reaction to her very, very mean Hubby who knows just how to push her buttons.

Maybe I should just generally wear my brand new, just arrived today sunglasses every time I get even remotely near the place? 

Fitness for hair growth

Just like with growing your hair, getting fit is a matter of doing a little bit the right way instead of overdoing it or doing it wrong.

I find one of the best arguments for working out is that it’s good for your hair. Such a simple but understandable reason to get off your ass and move!

Do something you enjoy

It doesn’t matter what your thing is. Walking the dog or training for an ultra marathon. As long as you get some air and blood flowing through your body, it’s good for your hair. Increased circulation and release of happy-hormones is all good for your body and good for your hair growth.

I like this motivational picture:

Get gadget-y

Even though you would wish the endorphins and general wellbeing after working out should be reward enough and motivating enough to get you going, we all know that’s not how it works.

“Silly” gadgets and tools can really help with the motivation. In the end, who cares what motivates you as long as it gets you moving?

Depending on what works for you, look into mini trampolines, the various Wii fit’s or the Nike+ fuelband.

Personally I use fitocracy.I find it has a lot of problems but it still motivates me to work out for my points. (My problems with fitocracy are that I find it extremely free-weight-centric, not always obvious or user friendly and it seems to me they’re not actually improving on the things that has been missing or not working for ages)

I downloaded the apps Runkeeper and Zombies, run! mainly for my Hubby to use on my new phone for when he runs. I recommend Runkeeper but not Zombies, run! I found Zombies, run! To be too expensive for something that will only be a supplement for running (I think the huge minus with it is that you can’t plan your runs or pick one for a length that fits your time schedule. It seems the app itself decides how long your run should be based on your playlist, which I can see is a good way to push yourself to run fast and run longer. But it seems incredibly stupid that you have to fail missions because you’re simply tired or run out of time to actually run in. Also, as my hubby put it: “So I’m just supposed to run around in circles until the program is over once I get to the end of my usual running track??” I would also really have liked to see a history or compare-option so you can see if you’re getting better or not. )

Lift!

I will probably only repeat what you already know, but to make it short: Lifting builds muscles which burns more calories, lifting enhances your performance at every other sport you do, you gain strength without becoming bulkier (Unless you start *really* bodybuilding and even then you probably need some more or less illegal stuff anyways to get really big) Lifting decreases your risk of suffering from osteoporosis, reduce your risk of heart diseases, diabetes, arthritis and joint pains.

Also, and I say this as a woman: I find a feeling of comfort in knowing I’m a lot stronger than people assume when they first see me.

Sweat!

People, even in the longhair circuit tend to treat sweat as an enemy to their hair. The reasoning given is that since sweat contains salts, it is drying on the scalp and hair. Of course that is true, but as long as you don’t leave the sweaty residue on for a full day, it shouldn’t be worse than being in a dry climate for some hours. It certainly isn’t a reason to not work out!

But let’s take a look at some numbers:

• Normal pH of sweat is 4.3 to 4.7.
• Human skins pH value is somewhere between 4.5 and 6.2 with the average pH being 5.5
• The pH of the scalp is normally between 4.5 and 5.5

Sweat lands pretty accurately in the middle of the range for skin and scalp pH, so that is just fine.

Some shampoos however will be either alkali or very close to a neutral pH. Every time you use a high pH shampoo, you push your scalps natural balance a little further away from its natural and beneficial low pH value that protects it from fungi and malign bacteria.

Conditioners on the other hand are almost all acidic and will not interfere with the natural pH as much. (On a geeky note: The low pH value in conditioners will add a proton to the amino acids they contain which results in a positive charge that will form more hydrogen bonds in the keratin scales. This is the basic “flattening of the hair scale” that is desirable to people who care for their hair.)

I found a couple of links to nice lists that have pH values listed for shampoos and conditioners for those curious:

Shampoo

Conditioner

To make a simple conclusion here: Don’t shampoo your hair after working out (Unless you finish with an ACV rinse) Go for either a simple WO or if you must, use conditioner.

Protein

If you’re growing or maintaining long hair, chances are you are already obsessed with getting protein in your diet. When you are working out (At least if you lift as well) recommendations for protein intake seems to be between 1 gram of protein per kg of bodyweight and 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight.

But even if you’re not on a diet, you probably don’t want to add a bunch of extra calories to your diet just for extra protein. The easiest way to get extra protein is simply taking protein drinks. Divide the calorie content with the protein content to get an idea how many calories your protein will “cost” you.

As a general rule of thumb, it seems to me the protein drinks that are clear are lower in calories than those that are opaque. Avoid anything that boast of “recovery” as they will contain lots of carbohydrates.

And finally, a picture that really speaks to me:

The quest for yoga-hair continues

I had an idea of doing a quick variation of a crown braid where I would start a Dutch braid in one side, braid it down to the neck and then add the other sides hair in one go before wrapping it all the way around my head and secure it with a braided-in scarf.

Basically it would be the lazy, quick version of my double Dutch braid wrap.

This is how it looked from the back. Not as pretty and structured as the double Dutch wrap.

It looked good on the right side.

It looked pretty okay from the side too

But…

It was ridiculously asymmetrical and the left side was huge!

For the first time in as long as I can remember, I felt that my hair was actually heavy and the whole construction felt very unbalanced.

Also, I felt it just looked weird and lumpy.

I was running low on time before the class, so as a last minute solution, I slapped a pre-tied bandanna around it and pulled the tassels up in front of the lumpy braid wrap.

Everything I’ve written so far aside, I actually quite liked it.

At no point during the class did I feel my hair got in my way and I enjoyed knowing I didn’t have my hair directly on the mats. I guess it would be different if you practised yoga at home, but I don’t know how clean the mats are… 

How Tangled should have ended

Really long Q&A post

First of all, a reader emailed me some days ago. I read the email and meant to reply to it, but I absolutely cannot find it again!

Either I accidentally deleted it or I have gone blind, but I really can’t find it and I’m very, very sorry!

So if this and “Ficcare” rings a bell to you, please email me again so I can have your mail address!

This updo accidentally found its way onto my head today. I'd never thought about doing a couple figure 8's. I love double buns.
Kathy

I’m so happy I could inspire you!

They are very comfortable for me, maybe because the weight is distributed more evenly?

That's awesome and brave you!!!
Darkhorse

I think my Hubby was the brave one getting so close to the braid-club in action, haha.

Can you make cholesterol treatments or are they something you have to buy? I searched around for information on them in the past without finding much on them. I like things I can make myself.
Kathy

Both!

I mostly buy my cholesterol treatments. So far I’ve found them only in “black hair” products and they all advertise cholesterol on the label. Of course it becomes a real problem to actually find any when 99% of hair products you can find are for the typical fine and thin Scandinavian hair.

However, I have never been able to find any numbers on how much cholesterol these treatments actually contain!

Can anyone help with information here?

But what you can do is to add raw egg yolks to any normal conditioner. One raw egg yolk contains 210-215 mg cholesterol (Depending on source) I usually add two to a treatment. Of course you may want to avoid this if your hair dislikes protein, which the yolks also contain.

Based on my experiences, two yolks contain less cholesterol than the cholesterol treatment (And that probably isn’t a surprise to anyone) Just remember to not add any heat and rinse in lukewarm water if you use the egg yolks!!

In regards to your blister...I *think* there is a band aid you can get that is actually glue--whether it coats the blister, I'm not sure, but they are water proof and my sister in law uses this over tradition band aids as she cooks/bakes a lot and gets cuts on her fingers. Not sure if it would work for your blister but might be worth looking into?? Can't wait to see what your mane looks like after your pamper treatment :)
Darkhorse

Aha, maybe I should look around at a pharmacy? The blisters have both healed enough that I can function normally now without using the band aids, so that’s great! But it’s good to know for the future. I will look!

Right now it is “resting” in an increasingly messy braid to let it settle down after the deep treatment, but when I take it down to handle it tomorrow I can take pictures.

Lady Igor! Omg, I just found your wonderful blog and even more wonderful hair by youtube! That braid is PERFECT! Mayebe you would like to check out my blog, too, if the google tanslator works ;) www.langehaare.blogspot.com Hugs from Germany!
Prusse

Danke! 

Ich habe deinen Blog gelesen und ich habe es wirklich genossen. Dein Haar hat eine wirklich wunderbare, satte Farbe! Ich denke, ich kenne deine Mähne ... Warst du vielleicht am LHC? Haha, überlassen es den langhaarigen, sich gegenseitig von der Rückseite zu erkennen!
(And I don’t think I need Google translate, even though my last class in German was over ten years ago?)

Your head coverings are lovely. :)
Adelina

Thank you!

If you like my head coverings, maybe you would be interested in my newest website discovery: http://andreagrinberg.com/

I really adore her style! She manages to keep them modern, sleek and interesting and not having them over decorated. I will definitely try to reproduce some of her styles. Her attitude and outlook on life is definitely worth a read too. Her blog/site is very high on my list of priorities right now and I plan to sit down with a cup of tea when I have an evening with plenty of undisturbed time.

Of course it leaves me with one important realisation: I don’t have enough scarves!

I actually have a similar list of no crap allowed when it comes to haircare, maybe I should write it down on the blog. Thank you for posting this! Having sensitive skin myself, sometimes it's really hard to decide where to start when it comes to skin products.
Rita

I read it! Good post!

I’m really happy my thoughts could be of any use.

Sounds like a fun way to see a movie. I've never heard of an outdoor movie festival before. Like Rita and Darkhorse, I love the blue scarf! I bought some tie dye fabric a few months ago to cut into scarves. People don't get the wrong idea when you are wearing those. Unless you object to being pegged as a hippie, of course.
Kathy

Heh, I don’t have a problem with that. Well, I guess you can’t stop people from believing what they want to believe about you anyways?

“Hippie” is better than “covering her hair because she thinks her hair leads men into temptation”, right? Hmm.

Hey! You got your new phone!!
Darkhorse

Yes! And I love it!

My personal recommendation that Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro is a wonderful phone worth buying!

Interesting! Found this link on youtube of a yoga instructor trying 3 different hair styles.

Now, her hair is very fine and way shorter than ours, but as a yoga instructor, it was interesting and thought of sharing this with you in the hopes you might try some different yoga hair styles to help us all! hahahaah Might even be an ideal youtube video to make if you want (for yoga hair styles, not doing yoga with the hair styles ;) )
Darkhorse

Thank you for sharing! If you don’t mind, I’m just going to leave it “out here” to see if anyone else find it of use too.

I love the blue scarf!! Do you not find them hot though? I find anything covering my head, even cotton that breaths, makes me quite hot. I love those movies!! We have drive ins---while you use your car, many people opt to sit in the back of trucks on lawn chairs to watch them. I LOVE going to the drive-in!! So much fun! You have to sneak in food, but it's still a blast. We've been in the midst of a heat wave for almost 2.5 months and JUST got rain this week. 7 weeks no rain until this week and it's been brutal!! Temps up to 42-45C with humidex. I've been covering my hair as much as possible, but the ends are a good shade lighter than the roots--my hair dresser said not to bother coloring it fully until the late fall, after summer when the sun isn't so strong.
Darkhorse

Hot? Hm, I guess not. Maybe I subconsciously dress less hot when I cover my hair.

Well, now that I think about it, that will make a lot of sense since I deliberately dress in ways that are not typically “religious” when I cover my hair. Which means I go for the thinner and more fitted short instead of a bigger and heavier T-shirt… Yea, I think that must be it?

I love the blue sarong thing used as a hair scarf, brilliant! And the design is very summer-y and easily recognizable, it should take a lot of the religious vibe to it (for those who still see it like that) They sell a lot of those around here, never thought of their potential as headwear. Cool! It's adorable how you match the headwrap to the rest of the outfit, I don't know a lot of people that bother to coordinate, so it's a pleasure to see someone else doing it ^^ Looks like you had a really nice time too =] I only watched an outdoor movie once, it was a really old B&W movie about Lisbon, and there was no sound so there was a musician playing the piano =D
Rita

Thank you! I agree about the recognisable design. That and the good size of it is the reason this is one of my favourite “scarves”.

I once read the tip of matching your headwear to your shoes if possible because a viewer subconsciously draw an invisible line between the head and the feet and it makes you appear taller and slimmer. I have no clue if it actually is so, but I tend to do it anyways, haha!

I love all of your science-y posts. Probably my favorite posts have been the ones on head coverings. And I can't get enough of your hair. I guess I will like most anything you post about, really!
Kathy

I’m blushing!

Oh! No no---I think you were right to cause people to be aware that not all dandruff shampoos deal with direct dandruff. Also, it's important to diagnose correctly. Many hair dressers say that people suffer from dry scalp, not dandruff. So, it's a good thing for people to be more aware of dandruff and it's root cause (pardon the pun!) In fact, many dandruff sufferers will have it on their forehead past their hair line and into their eyebrows (as I do) which for me, blends into eczema. I only get this when mega stressed and it's a pain--especially a patch of eczema over my left eyelid. Knowledge is what you are professing Lady Igor and that's exactly what I applaud. Know what you are doing/putting onto your body. Also, from someone with sensitive skin myself in a different manner, I urge people to look at ingredients only AFTER you've had a reaction. Then, you can log what ingredients might be the culprit. I found after several products, I was allergic to blue dyes. So, anything
Darkhorse

Speaking of applauding knowledge…!

Ouch!! What kind of yoga are you doing? I've found that I do a loose braid and knot it, and when we start to work on our backs, I quickly change the style to a top knot. Course, my hair is half the length and thickness yours is, but it works. I'm interested in any crown braids because that was my next step. Or a high bun like this. Do you find when on your back, your chin pushes into your chest because of your hair? That is my biggest issue right now. How are you liking yoga? Aside from the blisters ;)
Darkhorse

I have no clue! It’s called “power yoga” on the program, so I’m guessing it’s a mash-up of some more energetic yoga forms? I wasn’t completely convinced about the whole yoga thing at first, but it does something to the body, doesn’t it? I go with Chemist Friend and we both found we sleep really, really well the night after our class. I mostly go for the “sleep effect” and because it’s good training for my balance which I find isn’t too good. Chemist Friend says the same thing, but I guess we both have a real case of “office muscles and coordination”. Hah…

Yep, exactly the pose you described and the disturbing of the pose… It wasn’t the bun itself though, but the sticks that got in the way. I tried holding it up with a Flexi but my megaflexies were too large to get a proper tension going. I think a smaller Flexi may have worked, but I’m not planning to buy any more Flexies, at least not for now. (Still haven’t forgiven them for their rudeness!)

It would be interesting to see pictures from your local area.
flash-uTT

I shall see what I can do! We’re planning to go to some “local” caves on the 11^th so at least that should be interesting.

"But I guess there is a limit to how much scientific, useful and enlightening hair stuff I have to post." I beg to differ! I love to read your geeky sciency comments and I'm a little in love with your science entries here. Even the biotin rant, which for a rant, is pretty damn relevant and a valuable lesson for anyone. I've seen people in different forums complaining about sharing good advice but not being "heard", truth is, I always read those, but don't reply because in all honesty, there's nothing I could add. Maybe I should make an effort to acknowledge those? So far I've enjoyed all your entries (even the more dramatic ones on UTT). I think that it can be quite a pleasure to read something more personal about our online acquaintances. Not everything is about hair, that's what I like the most about your blog and everything has reading value ^-^
Rita

Gosh, I really appreciate that!

(No further message because I don’t think I have anything intelligent to add to that statement)

Actually, anti-dandruff shampoos do address the issue at hand. It's just the instructions are not given clearly. Having dealt with dandruff for most of my life, and having had a horrid bout so extreme my hair was falling out, I can say that there are different levels of dandruff and many times, it's dry scalp. Dandruff hurts, your scalp is inflamed and the dandruff is hard, itchy and painful if it is a bad flare. Doctor prescribed drops will be needed to alleviate this. It was the worst thing I've ever had--the itching and pain, not to mention the handfuls of hair I lost. Good news. Hair grows back. Stress and diet affected me, but largely stress. Dandruff lies below the scalp. What many people don't realize is that you must let the product sit on your scalp for a minimum of 2 minutes to let it 'soak' in. Yeah--ever smelled that stuff??? Nizoral worked for a medium outbreak (NOT recommended for color treated hair). It was the least offensive odor and I needed to tie a scarf around
Darkhorse

Since I have no experience with dandruff (I think?!) I leave your careful explanation out in the post for people to read. This is valuable information for anyone who has dandruff or scalp issues!

I think that whatever you wish to post, is fine. I mean, it's your blog and you can always fill it with whatever you choose. Your location is gorgeous so seeing it is always lovely. Skin related issues is also relevant as we've all had our own issues (yes, I too am someone who picks at things/cuts away things/blisters/etc. Especially popping water blisters ;) ) Thoughts, theories, anything you feel like sharing I'm sure your readers will enjoy. It's nice to read people who think similarly to how I do. Course, I'd love to see all the photos pre cut of your hair--you said you did some crazy stuff with it--you have me curious. :)
Darkhorse

Thank you!

(Yay, a fellow skin-picker!)

I will have to look next time I’m at my parents place. I went through the paper pictures I have and only found a picture from about two months after my dramatic head shave. I guess I tend to take pictures instead of being in them...

I hate ppl, ppl are stupid. That's my very mature 2 cents.  

RockPaperScissorLizardSpock

And I maturely laughed.

Oooh! Nice phone!!! I pray UPS doesn't wreck it!! I'm lucky I was able to go to the store and upgrade my phone for free, and handle all the phones--I knew I wanted a blackberry, and am thrilled/in love with it. Had it for over a year. I need keys--the iphones are sooo hard to text with. Cross fingers your new phone comes to you without injury!Darkhorse

I agree! I bought one of those clever things once and the touch screen keyboard pissed me off so much I went back to my “horribly outdated” Nokia!

A friend of mine once said hot oil will ruin your hair 'because it fries it'. Like french fries. I had to laugh and say 'well, if I used oil that hot, I wouldn't have hands or hair left!" It's not their fault :D
Darkhorse

*Chuckle*

Yea, sure it would fry… If you heated it up to the fry-frying temperature! Strangely people believe heat protection serums will protect your hair from the equally hot flat iron….

You might have just changed my life here.
Eepiphanies

Yay, so happy I could help. It’s such a quick little beauty trick and it does so much for so long.

Yay!! Igor, the braid is looking fabulous. I dream of a tassel like yours! Okay, it's a bit early to tell if you will be able to replicate the same result, but I hope you will :)
Ohtawen

Thank you!

I will be putting up some more pictures of it soon.

Stop. Being. So. Sexy.
Umphie

Don’t make me smack you with my wildly swinging braid!

I'm interested in seeing how the reverse U looks like without the braid. Braid is LOVELY!!!!
Darkhorse

Thank you!

More detailed pictures are on my to do-list.

Thank you Ida, for taking time and answering so thoroughly about my hair/scalp issue. You're right, I maybe should wash with colder water and see if it helps. Other than that, I'm going to get my hands on some cassia. I remember that I used it a long time ago and that it really helped with my itchy scalp, I don#t know why I tend to forget about it. Thanks for the reminder.
Anni

I really hope you get your problem scalp to relax!

(I tend to forget my cassia treatments too. I wonder why? Is there something “forgettable” about cassia?!)

Big hug to you!

Hiya Igor, I get cholesterol treatments in London at the Pak's haircare store. I go into the actual shop, but if you shop online, it would be great for you. International delivery is from £2. I use Le Kair Cholesterol, but there is also: http://www.pakcosmetics.com/Hair-Care/Treatments/Conditioning-Treatment/Queen-Helene-Cholesterol-Hair-Conditioning-Cream.html http://www.pakcosmetics.com/Hair-Care/Treatments/Conditioning-Treatment/Lustrasilk-Tea-Tree-Cholesterol.html http://www.pakcosmetics.com/Hair-Care/Treatments/Conditioning-Treatment/Lustrasilk-Aloe-Vera-Cholesterol.html - this is the one I want to try! http://www.pakcosmetics.com/Hair-Care/Treatments/Conditioning-Treatment/LustraSilk-Olive-Oil-Cholesterol.html This is the full Pak's cholesterol treatment list: http://www.pakcosmetics.com/search/cholesterol hope that helps! Lovi (from LHC)

Thank you for the tip, Lovi! That’s good to know where I can find some. I had been thinking of ordering some from somewhere since I simply can’t find it in stores here, so it’s good to know where to even start looking. 

Unexpected compliment of the day

A guy about my age approached me today in the bus on the way to a gym class. He had taken a picture of my braided Nautilus bun and wanted to file share it to my phone.

Funny, in retrospect I should be creeped out he took a picture without asking me first, but I’m not. He didn’t completely do a “hit n run” compliment but it was close enough not to get me uncomfortable with the situation.

Ironically I get a compliment on a day where my hair is being a hot mess! It’s weird, slippery and generally a pain and kept up in a pinching and fuzzy braided Nautilus. I’ve kept it in a simple braid since my protein and oil treatment to let it settle down on its own. The only reason I wrung it up in a bun was that I was going to the gym and needed it out of my way. 

It’s funny, years ago I would have been completely overjoyed getting a compliment like this, but now it just leaves me mildly embarrassed.

I guess it comes with having had long hair so many years that it has become a part of “me” and I don’t see it as special anymore?