Whine.

Well, this will be long. And whiny.

Apologies to those who feel like reading it.

And to everyone who understandably skips it, it is simply an explanation for my semi-absence.

It has taken way more of my energy and will to live than I like to admit.

I trust everyone know by now that banks are pure evil and will happily bring the world to a ruin just to make more money, right?

I had a small loan in a Danish bank for a combined purchase of a great laptop and an apartment I lived in with an ex boyfriend.

It was a small one too. Even with fees and interest it wasn’t a lot. In fact, out of everyone I know, only one person doesn’t have any loans, and out of the rest, mine was the smallest.

I couldn’t imagine so much trouble could come out of so little money.

Some months back, my bank suddenly emails me that they want a bunch of documentations from me. And I do mean a bunch: Scans of my driver’s license, passport, ID, tax documents for last year, a whole list I can’t even remember.

I’m naturally confused and start gathering it all up. But oops, my passport is expired (Haven’t travelled to a country where I would even need it for about two years so I simply didn’t think about it. I guess that’s the problem with the EU, hah.) and there is this one document I can't get out of the government self-service website. When I log in there, I have to pick what county I live in in Denmark so naturally, I can’t get it out.

I was confused over the sudden demand from my bank already, so I decide to call them and inform them about the passport, the paper and ask what the whole thing was about anyways.

Big mistake. I don’t get any information. At all. Instead, they simply lock down my account.

Completely rational response, right?

I now can’t access my account, take money out or even pay any bills.

Luckily all my monthly bills go to the auto pay system and my Hubby can cover expenses at home. Very luckily indeed, or my bank would have completely screwed my life up and I would probably be homeless by now.

I inform them of this. They don’t care.

“My” bank lady sort of just avoid answering anything and keep telling me the same shit about how “She understands and will see what she can do, but she have to ask her supervisor.” Right. We all know she just takes a 15 minute coffee break and then return with a fake sympathy and “I’m so sorry but he said no.”

I call and email them almost daily but they don’t pick up and I don’t receive any answers to my questions. I ask them if it would solve the problem if I pay more off per month, if they could switch me to another account type, et cetera et cetera. It is all ignored.

I’m honestly completely bewildered at the whole thing. I have paid off my interest and fees dutifully every month. In fact it’s been running over the auto payment system, so it has never been even an hour late.

Finally they threaten me with a debt collecting firm if I don’t pay the loan back right this second.

Because, obviously people who have the option of paying off a loan from one day to another actively choose to pay fees and interests, right? It is just because people enjoy having a loan in a bank, right?

I’m pretty sick and tired of their shit and reply with “Fine, do that.” Because I just cant imagine a debt collecting firm being worse than the treatment I’ve received from the bank so far.

But oh, no, they can’t “just” do that. They have to send me, multiple, multiple warnings over the next couple of months while my account is still locked down. Because, you know, that’s the law. Or something.

In frustration I complain to my dad about it.

My dad tells my mum, my mum tells my granddad.

My granddad decided to interfere.

He likes to do that a lot. I can tell you many, many stories that are far more amusing than this one about his “helpful” interferences.

My granddad calls the bank.

The bank has absolutely no problem dishing out my very personal information to some more or less random person who calls them and claims to be related to me.

The supervisor to “my” bank lady tells him that:

A) We have had a dialogue about this.

What? Where was that dialogue? They told me to give them a bunch of documents and after that, refused to answer any questions.

B) That we have had said dialogue for the last half year.

What the actual fuck?

And C) That the problem is, I’m no longer a member of the union that is part owner of the bank.

Huh. I haven’t been a member of that union for… Dunno, years? And it hasn’t been a problem so far. But all of a sudden it apparently was, and they can’t be bothered to explain this to me?

And how exactly had they imagined I could become a member of the union again with my account locked down?

Or, was it rather that they don’t have any interest in actually solving this problem?

Luckily my granddad thinks the bank supervisor-guy is “Full of shit” and “Annoying as seven hells”.

My granddad decided to pay my loan out for me so I can switch banks.

Thank you granddad!

The greedy, evil bank charges him about 1000 kroner (Around 135 Euro and 175 USD for my international readers) extra for… I honestly have no idea. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if there was a fee for finishing your loan because uh-oh, now they wont make money off the interest anymore! Poor them!

Today comes the punch line:

My phone bill has just been paid with the auto payment system and since I have been on the phone so much trying to sort this out, it pushed my account into minus… Prepare to gasp here… 44 kroner. That is just under 6 Euro and almost 8 USD. Gasp!

After not having heard a single word from them for like a month, not even after my granddad paid the loan off, I now receive an email from them asking to pay the overdraft.

I could use bank opinions though: The bank I’m moving from is Lån og spar bank and I’m considering Nordea (Have heard a lot of bad about that one actually, but they don’t charge for taking out money in Nordea ATMs and since they are all over Scandinavia and I travel a lot between Denmark and Sweden, it might save me some money) or Handelsbanken (Because it has great ratings on Trustpilot and I’ve heard a lot of good about them.) 

Winter.

Snow. Wind.

Hot and dry inside, freezing and moist outside.

Constant hat-hair.

That’s a new one…

I’ve heard a lot of hair comments over the years. Some weird, some stupid, some plain idiotic. But last week I heard an unexpected one…

Some girls in my class were talking about hair and one of them turns to me “Igor, you got to have some foreign blood, right?” (That line doesn’t translate well from Danish BTW. It sounds potentially offensive in English and it really wasn’t in Danish.)

I was pretty surprised because I have never had my well, Danish-nes, questioned before.

And I guess my answer of “Errh, well, I’m Danish with a bit of German and a tiny bit of Spanish blood” wasn’t exactly what she was expecting.

Ah, the joy of having sensitive skin…Not.

For some of my readers, this won’t come as news, but to some it might come as a surprise: I don’t actually find hair very interesting.

It’s true, I really don’t.

For instance, “free and loose” shots, I see as something to check overall health of hair, not something that is pretty and admirable. Updos however, this is one of the top reasons I like long hair and maybe the top reason I’ve grown my hair as long as it is.

Updos are cool, creative and fun. Loose hair is like an untreated piece of wood and updos are the multiple things you can create out of it.

I’ve never really understood the appeal of a “hair cut”. Even the most fancy and expensive cut will eventually grow boring if all you can do to it is to drown it in various products.

For instance, I always thought Jennifer Aniston’s famous “do” was painfully boring. She so rarely do anything to it at all and most of the time it just hangs there as a big boring blanket covering her face. Seriously, that sent millions of women running for their stylists? Yawn.

Another thing about hair is that it’s fairly simple. There is only so much you “need” to learn to successfully grown your hair long and/or healthy. Sure, there is much more theory to learn if you want to, but it’s not necessary to function. And even then, if you decide to look into oil and henna-theory, its still not string theory. (Or insert whatever field you find difficult to understand. Personally I’ve never felt I “get” poems. If they’re not funny or dirty, my mind just switches off in boredom. But maybe it’s just me)

Yet, after all I decided to blog about hair anyways.

From the first time I encountered long hair forums, I felt I was capable of processing knowledge and presenting it to people.

And providing inspiration both for actually doing something to hair and spark the thought of “Hey, if she can grow that long from being bald, so can I!”

I like when I make people think that. It makes me very happy.

It’s actually my second-most favourite compliment. (“Kind of compliment” I guess, since I heard that quite a lot over the years)

My favourite compliments ever, are when people tell me my thoughts on skincare have been useful.

I’ve always had sensitive, easily irritated skin. I grew up with it and probably will always have it. I’ve experienced the ridiculous attitudes people have towards people with “bad” skin: You’re probably just completely unhygienic anyways. You’re probably just too stupid to wash, tone and moisturise. It’s just that you use some really stupid product. Why don’t you use Acme product instead, haven’t you seen that sweet new commercial promising supermodel skin in a week?

Ugh.

If you think you encounter a lot of bullshit from stupid people with bad hair when you have long hair, try having “bad” skin. It’s ridiculous how much bullshit advice you will get from people who have naturally “good”, trouble free skin.

Because, it’s not that their skin could be naturally easygoing, of course it’s their overpriced, over perfumed, over hyped products that does wonders and of course they can project their results onto someone with a skintype that is polar opposite of theirs, right? And of course it is that they are so fantastically smart and know everything about skin (From commercials and packaging on their fantastic product) that they should lecture you on correct skincare, right?

Barf.

I know how annoying it is. So the compliments I’ve received on my (Few, but still…) posts on skincare are extremely dear to me.

I’m sure some of you reading this are wondering why I wandered into rant-land. Well, this is why:

Yesterday when I shaved, I nicked my left armpit. (Hm, been shaving for almost 20 years or so and I still manage to injure myself?) Naturally, I covered it with a band-aid (“For sensitive skin!” and “No irritation!” it bragged.)

I had noticed that it was really sore, but didn’t think too much of it. I mean, a skinless area in your armpit has to hurt, right? But today when I wanted to change it, I found that it wasn’t the cut that hurt, but my skin having a reaction to the band-aid itself. A perfect imprint of the band-aid printed in red, itchy hurt.

Sigh. Having sensitive skin sucks.

Ow. 

Heh...

The next time someone gives you that whole “You need a haircut!”-bullshit, maybe it’s time to point out that they would fit perfectly into North Korea?

 Hairstyle in accordance with socialist lifestyle of DPRK

Link and another link. 

I haz sick skills

With a little help from some hairspray I managed a very nice Dutch braid on a friend's layered hair

Braiding video

I just uploaded a video of myself braiding my hair. Like I wrote in my comment:

Over the years I’ve received a lot of questions about my braiding technique. Well, I have now tried to do a braiding tutorial and I had planned to do a description too, but I only managed to confused myself. “Right index finger holds strand number 2 while thumb…” Yea. It was no good.
Either you will find this video useful and answering questions or giving yourself inspiration on how to hold your braid… Or you will find it intensely boring. Anyways. Enjoy.

On an experimental basis I have let the option to comment on the video stay open. It will be interesting to see how many perverts or idiots write stupid things. Either that, or people are actually smart (Doubt it though. Youtube comments seems to be where all intelligence goes to die) 

  

Sunsilk surprise

I went to H&M today and found that they had my beloved orange Sunsilk leave in again. Yay!

I had to suppress my urge to sink to my knees, hug the shelf and gently rock back and forth while sobbing to myself.

Instead I bought 4 bottles which I felt was an acceptable, non-freaky number. The supply should last me about 2 months.

But when I came home I discovered I had two different editions of the product.

One looked like it always did and says “Damage reconstruction program” on the label where the other kind says “Advanced damage reconstruction” and is slightly brighter orange with a smaller silver patch where it says “nutrikeratin” on. Both editions have a lot of the same text, including “Thomas Taw, expert on damaged hair”.

The “Damage reconstruction program” (Left)

Looks and image

Both bottles have that mildly cheap look. Orange plastic, sports bottle opening, no pictures, just some graphics and quite a lot of text. Both are very busy boasting of being created by “Thomas Taw” because apparently that guy is so famous that you should know him and be impressed by his name?

Scent

The “Damage reconstruction program” smells a lot fruitier than the other kind.

Touch

Smooth, creamy formula. Some leave in products are too slippery in themselves and actually makes it harder to handle my hair (!) but this one adds slip to my hair and not to my hands.

Rinse ability

Easy to rinse. I felt no residue even without using soap.

Usability

I love this leave in-conditioner. It has that nice creamy texture and makes my hair so much easier to detangle and manage. It also adds nice hold to my updos and keeps unruly hairs down.

Price and value

39,90 kronor for 250 ml. That is 0,15 kronor per ml. Sometimes I find it at half the price at H&M.

Ingredients

Aqua, cetearyl alcohol, isopropyl palmitate, glycerin, stearamidopropyl dimethylamine, dimethiconol, dimethicone, amodimethicone, parfum, cetyl hydroxyethylcellulose, dimethiconol/silsesquioxane copolymer, sodium C14-16 olelin suffonate, trideceth-12, TEA dodecylbenzenesulfonate, ceramide 2,

helianthus annuus seed oil. This is simply sunflower seed oil.

oleic acid, PEG-7 propylheptyl ether, PEG-7 glyceryl coconate, lysine HCI, disodium EDTA, DMDM hydantoin , methylparaben, phenoxyethanol,

cetrimonium chloride. “Safe for use in rinse-off products and were safe for use at concentrations of up to 0.25% in leave-on products.” Hm. This one isn’t in the alphabetised section in the end that indicates less than 1% in the finished product, so I’m not very pleased with this!

methylchloroisothiazolimone,

methylisothiazolinone. “Safe for use as a cosmetic ingredient at concentrations up to 100 ppm.” Hmm?? We’re still not in the alphabetised section…

PEG-60 hydrogenated castor oil, lactic acid, silica, polysorbate 60, benzyl alcohol, benzyl benzoate, benzyl salicylate,

Citronellol. Has a comment on cosmeticsinfo.org if used in a fragrance but none as a non-fragrance ingredient.

hexyl cinnamal. Has a comment on cosmeticsinfo.org if used in a fragrance but none as a non-fragrance ingredient.

limomene,

linalool. Has a comment on cosmeticsinfo.org if used in a fragrance but none as a non-fragrance ingredient.

Two of the ingredients have restrictions tied to concentrations but are fairly high up the ingredient list. Three of the ingredients have restrictions when the ingredients are used in a fragrance. A few of them I couldn’t find. The rest “…were safe for use in cosmetic products.”

Conclusion

I must admit I wasn’t too pleased to see some ingredients with restrictions on the list. But compared to some of the other leave in-conditioners I’ve looked at, it’s not that scary. I know I’m really new at this thorough analysis, but I guess I have to get used to having at least some questionable ingredients on any ingredient-list. differences. But even with this, I haven’t been able to spot the differences.

This is still my favourite leave in product.

The “Advanced damage reconstruction” (Right)

Looks and image

Both bottles have that mildly cheap look. Orange plastic, sports bottle opening, no pictures, just some graphics and quite a lot of text. Both are very busy boasting of being created by “Thomas Taw” because apparently that guy is so famous that you should know him and be impressed by his name? This one also boasts of “New nutrikeratin technology”.

Scent

It has a mildly “creamy”, soapy scent.

Touch

Smooth, creamy formula. Slightly “glassier” than the other one. Some leave in products are too slippery in themselves and actually makes it harder to handle my hair (!) but this one adds slip to my hair and not to my hands.

Rinse ability

Easy to rinse. I felt no residue even without using soap.

Usability

I love this leave in-conditioner. It has that nice creamy texture and makes my hair so much easier to detangle and manage. It also adds nice hold to my updos and keeps unruly hairs down.

Price and value

39,90 kronor for 250 ml. That is 0,15 kronor per ml. Sometimes I find it at half the price at H&M.

Ingredients

Aqua, cetearyl alcohol, glycerin, paraffinum liquidum, hydrolyzed keratin, trehalose, gluconolactone, adipic acid, sodium sulphate,

annuus seed oil. Also sunflower seed oil?

lysine HCI, oleic acid, dimethiconol, stereadmidopropyl dimethylamine, trimethylsiloxysilicate, cyclopentasiloxane, dimethicone, sodium chloride, carbomer,

trideceth-5. “Safe as used in cosmetic products when formulated to be non-irritating.” Kind of a weird way of putting it: Would any product be formulated to be deliberately irritating?

cetyl hydroxyehylcellulose, butylene glycol, disodium EDTA, lactic acid, parfum, DMDM hydantoin,

iodopropyl butylcarbamate. “Safe as a cosmetic ingredient at concentrations less than or equal to 0.1%.” Hm. This isn’t in the alphabetised section so it could easily be in a concentration higher than 1%. Hm?

potassium sorbate, phenoxyethanol, benzyl alcohol, benzyl benzoate,

benzyl salicylate. Has a comment on cosmeticsinfo.org if used in a fragrance but none as a non-fragrance ingredient.

Citronellol. Has a comment on cosmeticsinfo.org if used in a fragrance but none as a non-fragrance ingredient.

hexyl cinnamal. Has a comment on cosmeticsinfo.org if used in a fragrance but none as a non-fragrance ingredient.

linalool. Has a comment on cosmeticsinfo.org if used in a fragrance but none as a non-fragrance ingredient.

One of the ingredients has restrictions tied to concentrations but is fairly high up the ingredient list. Four of the ingredients have restrictions when the ingredients are used in a fragrance. A few of them I couldn’t find. The rest “…were safe for use in cosmetic products.”

It boasts of “New nutrikeratin technology” and actually has hydrolyzed keratin as the 5^th listed ingredient. One point for that! Its very rare to actually see the ingredient they brag about being listed so high.

Conclusion

I must admit I wasn’t too pleased to see some ingredients with restrictions on the list. But compared to some of the other leave in-conditioners I’ve looked at, it’s not that scary. I know I’m really new at this thorough analysis, but I guess I have to get used to having at least some questionable ingredients on any ingredient-list. This is still my favourite leave in product.

Crown wrap tutorial variation

Actually this is perhaps my favourite hairstyle but the double Dutch braids takes a long time and I’m lazy!

Start with your hair in two Dutch braids. Dutch braids have that nice “bump” that is great for holding back braids.

Wrap one braid around your head. I wrap it in front of the braid bases, but depending on your scalp shape it may work better to wrap behind.

Now “nail” the tassel to the other braid using a hair stick.

Tuck the tassel under and wrap the second braid around the stick in an infinity shape. Pull the braid in under the infinity shape.

Keep wrapping the braid around in an infinity shape, each time pulling the tassel in under itself until you run out of length.

The first braid may feel like its close to slipping here, but it will be fixed soon.

Take the second hair stick and push it through the infinity-shape.

I like putting the sticks in like this for this updo:

(Slightly exaggerated for understanding)

It looks like this from the front: Nice, flat bun with decorative hair sticks and a braided headband. 

Pardon the absence

I have recently returned to uni and it’s been cutting into my time and energy to blog (Especially when group work has been a total nightmare. That aspect should be fixed now since our group size has been reduced by one) It’s been taking its toll on my funding for hair stuff too.

But I will figure things out with a little time.

It’s been a surprise that my blog has been missed though!

I love you too, readers!