Salicylic acid

I just used the Rainforest brilliant shine conditioner in a mix with VO5 and it was pretty good. Of course it was only a mix, but it still seemed good. I looked the ingredients up and Bodyshop have them listed on their website: Points for that!
COSDNA's analysis of it is pretty  good.

But I was extremely confused over the product containing salicylic acid!
I know why salicylic acid is used in skincare products: It makes cells in the upper layer of the skin shed faster, and helps clogged pores return to normal. So it's an exfoliator that also works in the pores.
But is that an effect you want on your hair?

My first thought was uh. No, not really.

A little more research revealed that salicylic acid is used in shampoos to treat dandruff for the same reasons. And that yes, you might actually want this in your hair product.
Hmm.
Since I dont use shampoos, maybe this is why I haven't realized this before.

Since I tend to get a bit of dandruff around autumn because of the change in humidity and temperature, maybe I should actually use this particular conditioner to CO?
I haven't seen any conditioner (Well, any product actually) containing salicylic acid before, so it's worth a shot.

Beavertail

Not exactly one of the styles I find in my rotation a lot, but for some reason I felt like it.

I added a bit of "French" to the middle braid to eat up some of the length, but it still poked out a lot.

Swap, part III

Charlaine received her package!

Phew.

The waiting and hoping that your friend receives the parcel is the worst part of swapping, so it was a huge relief it arrived in one piece.

Pictures borrowed with permission from Charlaine's facebook.

Bottom right is the little extra I added (And debated endlessly if I should add it or not!): A golden Evita Peroni "Fakkare"

She looks happy, so it makes me very happy.

Wolverine?
(Note to self: Teach Hubby to be creative with taking pictures too. He could learn a thing or two from Charlaine's hubby!)

Charlaine says the clip only works in a rather messy bun, but I'm still happy it does work for her. Those Ficcare-shaped clips can be really tricky to get to work, which is why I debated for so long whether I should add it or not.

Frankenproduct fail

This morning when I went to use my new Frankenproduct to fix my hair, it just went splot! all over the floor.

The slightly-too-thick texture from two days ago have now degraded into something almost waterlike.

WTF?

I pumped some out on the kitchen table to show you guys: Look at the splashing around the "pool" and look how completely flat it is! The texture is almost like milk!

How does this happen? Was there an ingredient-wrecking enzyme in this??

It's not the first time I've seen it happen, but usually it leaves some clumpy nastiness. This is completely smooth and runny.

Anyone?

Frankenproduct

Damn. Yesterday I used up the last of my trusted Sunsilk leave in-conditioner. This morning, I discovered it had been the last bottle I had in stock.

This is double bad because A) The price, shine and hold is absolutely perfect and it's been my go to for ages. So I've usually been using it for my "base" and mixing in pricier, "better" stuff and/or sunblock. 

And B) the "sports bottle" type bottle is perfect for squeezing out the amounts of leave in-conditioner I need.

Doh. 

Time to get creative! So I went digging though my drawers to see what I had in storage.

More than I expected. Whoops! 

• L'Oreal Elvital extraordinary oil oil-in-cream. 

I like this one, but it offers way too much slip for my hair on its own. It needs to be mixed with something or I can't put my hair up.

I kept finding these at a good price in Denmark, so I really stocked up on them. 

• Tonymoly hair serum
• Mane 'n tail moisturizer-texturizer conditioner. 

These caused the same effect in my hair: Too much grip and a funky kind of texture left in it.

The Tonymoly bottle is awesome though: It dispenses a good amount of product, so I already knew it would be the basis for my Frankenproduct.

• Haken natural baobab oil. 

It leaves behind an amazing shine, but makes my hair intensely slippery and unmanageable. It has a super thick, almost glue-ish texture. 

• L'Oreal Elvital extraordinary oil. 

It leaves behind an amazing shine, but makes my hair intensely slippery and unmanageable. It has a super runny, almost watery texture.

• L'Oreal Everpure lasting moisture leave-in creme. 

I have a vague memory of not liking the ingredient list, but I'm not sure why I stuck it in the back of the drawer.

• Pantene 7 in 1 perfector BB creme. 

I haven't even gotten around to try this one yet!

• Matrix biolage UV sparkling lotion. 

This is actually a pretty good leave in-conditioner that offers nice hold and shine. But it contains absolutely no UV-protection, so it kind of pissed me off. False advertising, anyone?!

First step first: Finding a suitable container for the almost-full Tonymoly serum. 

Second step: Put a label on it or expect to forget what I put in the jar anyways, lol.

The empties: I found some leftover Avéne SPF 50 with physical sunblock that I put in the mix, emptied two L'Oreal Elvital extraordinary oil oil-in-creams, the leftover Matrix biolage UV sparkling lotion and a few pumps of Haken natural baobab oil for shine.

It got a bit thicker than I expected, but overall it had the right mixture of shine and hold. And I managed to clear out some bottles for space. Score!

Pouf!

What do you get when you leave your hair in double Dutch braids for three days because you're too lazy to fix it up again?

Pouf!

New year's resolution

I've always considered new years resolutions to be really stupid.
They're the real life version of "liking" fuck cancer on Facebook and not donating your time or money to help those affected by it.
All talk and good intentions, no action.
And people usually forget about them about a week later.
If your resolution was something you actually wanted to change, you would have changed already and then it wouldn't be necessary to make a big fuss about it all ceremoniously, right?

Anyways. Since I've already done something about it, and it really is something I do want to change...
My new years resolution is that I want to lose weight.

I have a skinny build with small bones. I'm not supposed to carry a lot of weight. (Compare my wrists to Hubby's and they're about half the size of his!)
And since I met Hubby, I have gained something like 15 kg (33 pounds)

Talk about a relationship-gut!

Around the time I met Hubby I was around 53-54 kg.
It wasn't the skinniest I've been as an adult though, that was some months before where I had dipped under 52 kg.

It wasn't pretty on me. Under 55 kg and I have all these bones poking out in places.

55-57 is my preferred weight and what I have weighed most of my adult life.

Now? I'm at around 64 kg.

My highest ever was 68, which I hit some months ago. It was a real eyeopener. I suddenly hated my body. And I hated how I had let myself go like that. But I guess you are less likely to notice those things when you're all happy and loved-up?
And I decided it was time to do something about it. So I have.

I dont have any body check pictures, but let me show what I mean with some old braid pictures.

52 kg maybe? Right before I met hubby.
Too bony. You can see the bony outline of my shoulder blades.

57 kg maybe?
I have some padding, but still have a waist and defined hips. You can see the shoulder blade bones, but not defined.

67 kg maybe?
No definition around shoulders. No waist curve. Love handles.
Also, I'm fairly sure I'm sucking it all in here.

Also, I find it telling how I'm more or less undressed in the first two: Usually when I do my hair, I'm more or less naked. That way I don't risk spilling leave in-conditioner on my clothes. After fixing my hair if I needed to take a picture, I usually did it before bothering to fully dress. Now I make damn sure I have clothes on. That should have been a warning sign for me, really.

So. What am I going to do about it?

I can't change a lot about my work. It consists of sitting on my ass in front of a computer or sitting on my ass in a meeting (Where there is usually ample supply of caffeine and sugary treats)
I don't really enjoy exercising. Not at a gym anyways. I tried.
Yoga is awesome, but getting to a yoga place requires more time spent on transportation than what really works for me at this point. I need something easily more accessible. If it requires too much transportation first and it's something I don't "have to" do, I'm very likely to skip it.
I enjoy mountainbiking, but again, getting to a good trail takes a lot more time than I'd like.

If exercise takes too much time or effort before you have even begun, I just dont get it done.

So that pretty much leaves dieting.
Of course this is where the problem was originally. Hubby and I have gotten into a really bad habit of "deserving" treats. Really, the relationship-gut problem.

We really need to stop that. And since hubby is staying at home, we have no excuse for not eating healthy, homemade food.

So there you have it: My new years resolution. To eat better so I can get the body I used  to have back.

First monthly trim out of many

I got my pretty Hubby to give me a 3 cm trim. As usual he complained and worried all the time, but still did an awesome job.(He is cute that way!)
He used the Etude tool for the initial trim, then adjusted and trimmed the rest by hand.
3 cm off, right to the millimeter. That set my growth back two months. And next month, I will set it back another two months. Funny thought!
We took a full length picture, but the crappy winter light made it pretty useless, so here's one with the tools, the trimmings and my nice, short tassel.
I absolutely can't tell I lost any length, but my ends feel happy and healthy!

Swap, part II

Look what arrived today!

Thank you, Charlaine! 

I have to start off with a complaint from Hubby: He was very disappointed with how much Charlaine had emphasized it was for me only and there was nothing for him.
Hubby then wandered off sulking and muttering something about being treated different for not having "crazy long hair". 

He's a moron but I love him anyways. 
(Also he is so spoiled he has nothing to complain about to begin with)

The drawings are so cute I could barely get myself to destroy the packaging! 

What I received: The Ouidad double detangler, two really nice strong elastics and two Ultra Doux avocado and shea butter oil conditioners!

The comb is enormous!
One thing is when you look it up and see the dimensions listed, it is an entirely different thing to have it in your hand and feel the size and weight of it. 

Everything unpacked.
I'm very much looking forward to try the conditioners. It has a good scent: Sort of warm and fruity. 
Charlaine and I have near similar hairtypes, so it will be very interesting to try one of her favorites!

Swap

The sweet and awesome Charlaine contacted me after reading my complaints about breaking my combs and offered to send me a Ouidad double detangler.

So sweet!!

I suggested we did a swap and Charlaine agreed to it. Also I got permission to write about it!

She is also sending me her favourite conditioner: Ultra Doux avocado and shea butter oil.

Sounds good!

I think this one goes under the name "Respons" here?

Looks familiar, right? 

I haven't seen an avocado and shea butter oil one before though! 

So I'm looking forward to try it.

It was a bit difficult to find something Charlaine would be interested in since her hair and scalp is very different from mine, and her skin is every bit of difficult as mine.
Some day I need to find someone who has "normal", easy skin and get them to take my enormous pile of skin stuff that I can't use myself. Haha.
I did find some things in the end though.

All pretty and wrapped up including a card.
I really like swaps so I always put too much effort into wrapping it up and stuff, lol.
I added a little extra thing (Middle package) that I have absolutely no idea if Charlaine will like or not.
Can't wait to hear from her about that!

This is the problem with having everything wrapped up and ready to go: I always find something extra to add!
Cute little handmade chocolates and a scalp scaler that didn't really work for me. It would be nice if it worked for Charlaine, but if it doesn't: No big loss.
That's the beautiful thing about swaps :)