What Do do When You Do Not Have a Clue What To Do With Your Hair

We have all been there. You know those days – the days you wake up and look at your hair in the mirror like What. Has. Happened. To. Me? You know, usually the days when you have something really important coming up, like a presentation, meeting, etc. And if you’re like me, you’re running late Click to continue...

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The FDA Is Warning Against Using Alikay Naturals ‘Bentonite Me Baby’ – Alikay Responds!

Alikay Naturals is a brand dedicated to creating some of the best all-natural, chemical free products to meet the various hair and skincare needs of their customers. The company was formed in 2009 after the founder, Rochelle Graham-Campbell, went natural a few years prior and couldn’t find any products to suit her needs. Fast forward Click to continue...

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Hair Blogs Weekly Roundup Post January 30th, 2016

Happy Saturday Ladies! I follow hundreds of hair blog feeds so here are my picks from around the blogosphere this week. Enjoy! 1. JourneyTo WaistLength – Video – SUPER EASY | How To Maintain & Refresh Wash and Go for 7 Days 2. MahoganyCurls- Video – Video – Throwback Tutorial | Spiral Set on Short Click to continue...

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Cut Down on Hair Shedding, Now!

 by Emilia Obiekea of AdoreBotanicals.com

Suffering from way too much shedding?

Many have heard of tea rinsing as a solution for excessive hair shedding. A less popular but more effective rinse can be done with coffee.

What is DHT?
Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) is a naturally occurring metabolite of the testosterone hormone made by the body.  Both men and women have testosterone. A man's body makes much more testosterone than a woman's body.

How does DHT affect us?
DHT is a key element of male pattern baldness, alopecia and other significant hair loss. It shortens the life cycle of our hair.

The hair has 3 phases in the growth cycle. They are anagen (growth phase), catagen (transisiton phase), and telogen (resting phase). The time the hair spends in each phase varies from person to person. The variation is largely impacted by heredity and illnesses. The normal time span spent in each phase is generally: 2-6 years for anagen, 1-2 weeks for catagen and 5-6 weeks for telogen. It will just repeat from there.

DHT stunts the anagen phase and extends the telogen phase. Over time the follicles become smaller, and the hair grows in shorter with a finer texture. This accelerates your hair loss.

What does this have to do with coffee?
Coffee is wonderful for greatly reducing the effects of DHT. Caffeine aids in blocking DHT. Coffee has a significantly larger amount of caffeine than most teas. This makes it a much more successful rinse for hair loss reduction.

Will it work better if I drink the coffee instead?
No. Drinking coffee and using it externally are totally different. It works best as a topical application is the best method for optimal results

Benefits

• Provides a nice shine to the hair.
• Stimulates the follicles.
• Blocks DHT.
• Greatly reduces shedding.
• Enriches brown to black colored hair (natural or dyed).

*If your hair is light in color do not do this rinse. It can darken your hair.

Conditioning Coffee Rinse

Need

-1 large deep plastic bowl
-1 medium bowl

Ingredients

-1/4 cup of ground caffeinated coffee (not instant)
-3 cups of distilled water
-2 tablespoons of your favorite herb (optional)

Steps

-Brew your coffee as normal. Allow it to cool.
-Pre-poo and cleanse your hair.
-Place the large bowl in the sink. I find it easier to do this way. Can be done in the shower as well.
-Pour the cooled coffee over your hair, while leaning over the deum size bowl in the sink. This will catch the run off. Massage your scalp. Repeat this step several times.
-Gently squeeze the hair. Wrap a towel around your hair.
-Allow the coffee to penetrate your hair and scalp for 5-10 mins then rinse.
-Deep condition with your favorite moisturizing conditioner.

This is not something that would need to be a regular part of your regimen. Using it as needed has been best for me.

Coffee Facial Scrub
If you enjoy the smell of coffee and your skin looks tired...this will perk you right up. Ground coffee make a great exfoliating facial scrub. This will remove dry skin without being abrasive and hydrates it.

Need
-A jar and spoon

Ingredients

-4 tablespoons of fine ground coffee
-2 tablespoons of a carrier oil (ex: olive or coconut)

Steps

-Mix the oil and coffee grounds together in a jar.
-Scoop some into your hand and massage your face gently.
-Rinse. Then wash and moisturize face.
-Store unused portion in the refrigerator. Should last a week or two.

Try it out and let us know how well these recipes worked for you.

Enjoy!

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Will Your Natural Hair Grow Longer if You Wash it More Frequently? [Video]

 

by Victoria

Natural hair journeys are specific to each individual that embarks on one. Every curly girl has her own tips for hair growth that she swears by – this even applies to wash day.

I know some naturalistas that wash once a week, twice a month, or even once a month (although THAT I don’t recommend). Well what does this have to do with anything?

Are you familiar with Naptural85? You know, natural hair guru, vlogger, and ultimate hair goals? She grew her hair out from a big chop to long, flourishing tresses in a matter of years (with a few bumps along the way, just like the rest of us).

Like the rest of us, she wants to help her hair grow to its longest potential – and she came up with this awesome natural hair theory.

The difference between curly and straight hair is that women with straight hair tend to wash more frequently, like maybe once every day or every other day. And it seems like their hair grows faster than our kinkier locks. Why is that? There are a few reasons:

Extra stimulation – It’s acknowledged that the more you stimulate your scalp, the easier it is for hair to grow. That’s why many bloggers and gurus recommend scalp massages. But, who needs that extra step if you’re massaging your scalp more frequently.

More Moisture – Moisture is one of the key ingredients to growing long, healthy hair. By waiting longer periods of time without washing, our hair will of course dry out and begin to frizz. Dry hair can lead to damaged ends, breakage, and other problems that affect length retention.

Less Product Build Up – You know that gross, sticky feeling that your hair can get if its been left too long? This is definitely less of a problem when you wash more frequently, because you can remove these oils.

Washing more frequently also doesn’t mean pulling out shampoo every other day; you can simply use a co-wash (cleansing conditioner). So how do we follow this ‘wash more often’ theory? It’s pretty simple actually.

• Wash hair every three days – again, you can use a cowash to remove product buildup. And if your hair feels okay, you can just rinse with plain water in the shower before conditioning.
• Follow up LOC method – The Liquid, Oil, Cream method is one of the best ways to maintain and seal moisture in natural hair. You don’t want to wash your hair then lose the rest of that moisture.
• Low Maintenance Styles – Naptural85 will be doing twists and twist outs to preserve her hair. Styles like these are better than your basic wash n go, because your ends won’t have the opportunity to curl into each other and create those pesky single strand knots.

For more information on this method, watch the video below. I don’t know about you, but this sounds like a must try!

 

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Knitwear Designer Aisling Camps

Photo: Donald Chambers

Model: Designer Aisling Camps in the ‘Aisling‘ collection
 
 

Tell us where you are from, the early years of your childhood and what influenced your direction towards fashion?

I’m from Trinidad and Tobago, born and raised. I grew up in West Moorings and Bayshore, about 15 minutes away from Port of Spain. I have two brothers, one older one younger. I was obsessed with The Little Mermaid, made my mom rent the VHS every time we went to video store. I pretty much thought I was Ariel.
 
I’m the only girl so naturally I bonded with my mom over clothes. She would always watch style with Elsa Klensch on CNN. It was first window to world of fashion back in the 90s. My mom is someone who spends a lot of time putting together unique outfits and getting ready, she still does. She’s the biggest style influence and definitely introduced me to fashion with her infectious enthusiasm for clothes.
 
Where did your inspiration stem from or the mood you wanted to set in the design of your line.

It’s funny because I’m usually not thinking of clothing when inspiration hits. It usually starts with a color palette. I would see a random object or some sort of landscape. I would see interesting colors and that would trigger the beginning of ideas. Usually after that I would look at a lot of old vintage knit pieces and do a lot of research. I play with shapes and draping things. Next I would start sketching. Usually make a huge mood board and edit it until it becomes concise and makes more sense. Sometimes the yarns would inspire me and I would work backwards and design a garment from there. I am definitely one of those designers that designs for themselves. I think if I have a really strong gut reaction and excitement over an idea on paper, that usually means that I’m on the right track.
 

 
How receptive were individuals to your ideas before they came to fruition?

I’ve definitely had some people give me funny looks when I said I was going to give up engineering and go into fashion. Some were even more skeptical when I went into knitwear. I didn’t care though. I just did it anyways. People that have known me for a while know that I have always been drawn to fashion taking risks with my personal style, trying to do something a little different. For them, I suppose it made sense that I decided to go into design.
 

 
What would you say to those who don’t have the positive reinforcement of family or and friends when pursuing a passion?

I would say that it’s your life and you can only count on yourself for feeling happy and fulfilled. I was super lucky to have my family be 100% behind me, but I know that if I didn’t I would’ve found a way. You just need that one cheerleader on your side encouraging you. Reach out to people who have already had success in that field and build relationships with positive encouraging individuals. Once you decide to go for it however time management is everything. When I first started thinking about going into fashion, I started taking classes on the weekend when I was working as engineer. Did 3-4 classes and squeezed it into my hectic schedule and made it a reality. I know it’s a lot easier when you have support, but it is possible. If you know you really want it, you make it happen. You make the sacrifices not excuses and take the steps towards achieving your goal.
 
You are the face of your latest line campaign, how was the experience of being in front of the camera?

Terrifying. I’ve been behind the scenes on numerous photo shoots for internships and my own line. I am a bit of an impersonator and joker so it was easy for me to make fun of how models would position their bodies and the facial expressions they’d make. I was making fun of how I thought models would act and ended up making those same faces and gestures quite easily. If you look at all the photos from that day, they go back and forth from me “giving face” and laughing hysterically about the whole thing. It is so funny to me to see myself in that light. I needed to be talked into it by my photographer but I was on a budget. I didn’t willingly model my stuff, I didn’t want it to be all about me.
 

 
What does fear mean to you?

My mom used to refer to me as agent intrepid growing up. I am a pretty fearless person I just go for everything that I want to do and I have this sort of innate gutsiness that I’m doing the right thing. I guess the scariest thing for me is when you do all the supposed right things and it still doesn’t work out and you still don’t have any control despite all your efforts. I find that to be scary, trusting the universe to make things right when things are beyond your control. In 2013 I had to leave NY after I finished my degree at FIT because I couldn’t get a work visa. That was the scariest time of my life. 9 years of making somewhere your home to be turned away just like that. All my worst fears had materialized. I had to go home and start over again but look at all I was able to create! Fast forward a couple years, I win the green card lottery and I move right back. Facing your fears and overcoming them can be truly empowering.
 
Suggestions or advice for those who are afraid to take the first steps in building a business?

Just get over it and start somewhere because nothing is going to be perfect. Your tags aren’t gonna come in the way you wanted them to, the font on your business car is not going be right. Nothing is going to be perfect and you can’t put off taking steps because you’re waiting for perfection. You Just have to go for it. The worst thing that can happen is that you fail and try again with a different approach and you can always edit and improve later. Taking first steps is hardest most crippling part. You have to put all obsessive qualities aside and just take that step. Giving yourself deadlines is pretty important as well. You could work on a project for forever and it’ll never be finished. You have to give yourself a set time, prioritize and at a certain point you just have to move forward. It can feel overwhelming but make lists of small tasks and you will be surprised at how quickly those add up and you will see progress quicker than you expect.
 

 
What is the best piece of advice or life lesson you have learned regarding your work?

Trust in your instincts, be prepared, and have faith that things will work out when they’re supposed to. Be patient with your progress, it doesn’t happen over night.
 
How do you define success?

Financial security, having a healthy balanced lifestyle and freedom to travel and have adventures. With regards to my business, I would love for my knitwear to be in several boutiques across the globe and have a constant stream of orders. I would consider that success. Perhaps one day I will have my own store.
 

 
What keeps you motivated?

Myself, I’m really damn hard on myself. I’m afraid to fail and I’m a perfectionist so I’m a really strong driving force.
 

 
Current music playlist and favorite book?

I’ve been listening to the new Toro y Moi album and I’ve been discovering how amazing Grace Jones is recently. I was also super excited that D’angelo had such a great comeback album last year. Who doesn’t love a comeback story. I’m not a huge music buff, I usually find out about stuff way afterwards. My favorite book? I’d say the most quotable book I’ve read was East of Eden by John Steinbeck. I read it a couple years ago and it really spoke to me. So many good life lessons and sage like advice. It’s so well written. I really should reread it soon.
 
Favorite restaurant and dish you would not want to live without?

I don’t have a favorite restaurant especially in NY. There are so many good ones to choose from. I guess the food that I get most comfort out of in winter time is a good ramen, the spicy tonkutsu ramen from jin ramen got me through the winter of 2012/2013 before I went back to Trinidad. And of course because I’m Trinidadian I would have to say a doubles with everything (that’s a range of chutneys and yummyness) and slight pepper preferably served on the side of the road at Curepe junction at 4 o’clock in the morning after a party.
 
Do you have a workout/exercise routine? If so, what is your routine?

I did in Trinidad but I’ve been pretty less strict since I’ve moved back to New York in May. I’m still trying to get into a routine. I was fortunate enough to use my mom’s trainer Milagros 2 times a week in Trinidad and did a mixture of free weights and kettle bell workouts and plyometrics. But since I don’t have her here, I don’t have the discipline. I hate the gym but for the last month I’ve been doing 30 minutes of yoga before I start the work day. What I did do in Trinidad was a lot of water sports; wake boarding, boogie boarding, surfing, paddle boarding but my favorite is hiking in the forest to a remote waterfall, that’s my ideal workout.
 
You really are a one woman show, which is incredible. Explain the process for us…

After I select my sketches I start making a graph that is specific to the yarn, tension and stitch I am using for the garment. I make a small swatch or fabric about 6”x6” and figure out the stitches per inch and the courses per inch. Next I print out customized graph paper specific to those ratios and I draw my pattern on it. This tells me how many needles wide I would need to make the garment to my specifications and how many courses to get the right length. After that, I follow my graph and knit out the garment and hope for the best. Sometimes I get it in the first shot and other times I have to go back and tweak the graph a bit. Next I steam all the pieces and crochet them together all by hand.
 

 
Set the mood of your work space; do you listen to music, enjoy silence, turn off your phone etc…

No my phone is always on. I work absolutely alone all the time so I am usually grateful for communication from the outside world. I used to have my pet parrot Cocotte with me in the studio in Trinidad but I don’t have the luxury of a studio pet in my small NY apartment. Recently I’ve been watching a lot of nature documentaries and playing those while I work, maybe it’s in the hopes of looking up and seeing a parrot every now and again. When I’m in the design phase of a project I’ll play background music and ask my friends for some good recommendations. If I have a crazy number of orders to fill, I know this is kind of weird, I put The Lord of the Rings trilogy on. I just know those movies inside out and it gets me going. All that epic music and shit just works for me. If you walk into my studio and you hear the horns and drums of Isengard, you know I mean business!
 

 
Favorite Designer or boutique/store/space

I always wanted to be in Opening Ceremony. They always have the coolest up and coming designers in there. Celine is the brand that I look up to the most. It is the epitome of chic in my opinion. Phoebe Philo does this understated, cool sophistication thing that I can’t get enough of.
 
Future projects?

I just finished selling exclusively at a boutique called addō on 7 Main Street Sag Harbor. I was completely overwhelmed with orders this summer, which is fantastic. I also just made a custom wedding ensemble a couple weeks ago. Right now I am still testing the market and working out the kinks since I have only been selling my things in the United States for a few months. I finally got my online store up and running this week which was a bit of a learning curve and a process. I made it myself with square space. I got a lot going on especially with no business partner, not even an intern, I really need to be better about reaching out for help. I will be designing new pieces this month. I went yarn shopping for cashmere this week to get the ball rolling. Cashmere feels so good and I can’t wait to make some super luxe pieces for the winter.
 

 
What is your favorite life lesson

Have faith that things will work out, maybe not at the time that you want it to work out or in the exact way you want it to work out, but everything does in its own time. You just have to keep working until things fall into place.

 

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How to Build A Natural Hair Care Regimen With Only 4 Products

@sunitav_
By Charlene of Textured Talk

Once you transition to the world of natural hair care things can be quite overwhelming. Product recommendations, styling tutorials and diy recipes that promise growth are flying at you left and right. Each blogger has specific things she does for her hair and what works for her texture but you just want to know where to start without breaking the bank. And honestly you’re trying your best not to give up but you are also two minutes away from the creamy crack! Lucky for you, I like to keep things simple. At the core of every healthy natural hair journey is a basic natural hair care regimen. If you don’t want to become a kitchen chemist and mix essential oils, eggs, mayo or whatever else you have read you do not have to. Here’s the breakdown of how to build a no-nonsense healthy natural hair care regimen.

4 Steps to a Natural Hair Regimen

At the core you need 4 types of products for your natural hair care regimen, tops. Also, remember products are formulated to work best together so you can save time and money by purchasing each product from the same brand.

1.Cleanser
2. Conditioner
3. Daily Moisturizer
4. Sealer and/or Styler

There are variations of each product type but at the end of the day the choice is yours. Let’s break these products down a little more:

1. Cleanser
-1 Moisturizing Shampoo (weekly)
-1 Clarifying Shampoo (monthly)
-1 Co-wash (optional)

The foundation of natural hair care starts with clean hair as clean hair will ultimately become healthy hair. Use a hydrating sulfate free shampoo to cleanse with lukewarm water weekly and use a clarifying shampoo once a month depending on your level of product build up. Clarifying shampoos have a higher pH level to gently open the hair cuticle and remove dirt, build-up and environmental elements and are greatly needed to ensure a healthy scalp.

My Product favorites – Obia Natural Shampoo Bars – great for moisture and detangling. For clarifying the Hydratherma Naturals Herbal Amino Clarifying Shampoo works wonders with removing product buildup after a long month of styling with butters and heavy creams. Co-washing is optional but can be completed every 2-3 days. If I choose to co-wash the Eden Body Works Cleansing Co-wash is hands down the best.

2. Conditioner
-1 Deep Conditioner (weekly depending on dryness)
-1 Leave-In Conditioner (each time you shampoo & daily if needed)

Use a hooded dryer, steamer, warm towel or hair therapy wrap for 20-30 minutes to deep condition. The use of mild heat helps further open the hair cuticle to moisturize. For extremely dry textures once a week is suggested; otherwise, 2 times a month is optimal. Use a product that explicitly states DEEP conditioner or masque/mask. There is a difference between regular conditioners and deep conditioners. They are not the same and are not intended to serve the same purpose.

One step you can’t afford to miss is the leave in conditioner. Leave in conditioners are intentionally the final step in your shampoo & condition process because it usually has the lowest ph balance to close the hair cuticle to retain moisture.

My Product favorites: I always get great results using the Mielle Organics Babassu & Mint Deep conditioner. This one contains protein so if you’re protein sensitive opt for the tgin Honey Miracle Mask Deep Conditioner. In a given month I rotate between both for optional protein/moisture balance. For leave in conditioners, you also can’t go wrong with the Obia Natural Hair Curl Moisture Cream or the Karen’s Body Beautiful Sweet Ambrosia Leave-In Conditioner.

3. Moisturizers (Daily)
I seriously can’t stress this enough…moisturize, moisturize, moisturize! Natural hair care is all about making sure those curls are soft and hydrated. This is the #1 issue among women with natural hair because we are not moisturizing properly, we are not enough. It’s ok to moisturize your hair every day and this is the first thing I encourage when women complain about severe dry hair issues. Note: Moisturizing is not shampooing, co-washing or oiling your hair every day. At the core, moisturizing is using water based products to refresh your natural curls daily. Opt for a moisturizing hair milk or daily refresher spray.

My Products favorites: Plain & simple h2O and a little oil mixed in a spray bottle. A light spritz at night before bed and again in the morning will ensure your hair stays moisturized throughout the day. Your daily moisturizer can also be a leave-in conditioner of your choice, which in some cases may work as a styler too! Perfect right?

4. Sealer and/or Styler (Each time you style)
Once you have moisturized the hair by deep conditioning and applying leave in conditioner, seal moisture with natural oils such as castor oil, jojoba oil, or shea butter based products to retain moisture. Test different oils to see which ones work best for your texture. Castor oil or shea butter may appear too heavy if you have a fine texture. Lighter oils such as almond, avocado, or jojoba might work better. Regularly moisturized hair will reduce breakage and will help with retaining length. If your hair is constantly dry, your risk of breakage increases. As a result, the hair can break off at the same rate it grows.

Product favorites: Camille Rose Naturals Aloe Whipped Butter Gel, Alikay Naturals Moisture Rich Hair Parfait, Bee Mine Organics Bee Hold Curly Butter
Your choice of styler such as a twisting cream could also work as your sealer, but pay attention to ingredients. My best results for longer moisturized hair are creams that contain aloe vera juice, mango butter, shea butter and/or avocado oil, just to name a few. Although these ingredients seem heavy, when produced into a creamy styler my hair can remain moisturized for up to 3 days.

What are your 4 staples?!

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Water-only Washing And Deep Conditioning Produces For Defined Curls

Dear naturalistas, dry, frizzy hair is not the natural state of black hair. It is the result of weeks, months, or even years of lack of moisture. The good news is that, it is completely reversible, and it is possible to achieve beautiful, springy curls no matter your texture. One of the stealthiest contributors to Click to continue...

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Traveling Soon? How To Acclimate Your Hair To A New Environment

Those of us who travel frequently or have moved to different states and locations know that the environment has a direct effect on our hair. If you are not aware just think about how humid days during the summer turns your twist out into a puff ball! In many locations there are more issues than Click to continue...

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#Squadgoals – Have You Seen The New Diverse Barbie Collection?

MATTEL is changing the game and they literally have us over here trying to justify how we are going to collect Barbies again while in our 30’s. Yesterday the news of Barbie getting a make over was everywhere and the pictures were to die for. For the first time, young girls and doll collectora alike Click to continue...

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Master your metabolism and burn fat like a 20 year old.

All my life, I've been a petite girl.  Although I always enjoyed working out, I didn't have to do it to stay slim.  Exercising was more about making sure I didn't get winded climbing up a flight of stairs.   I could eat whatever and not have to worry about a thing.  Life was good.

Then my thirties hit and I noticed something strange happening.  Although I stayed relatively the same size, my legs weren't as toned.  Suddenly, my food belly wasn't going down hours after a meal like it used to.  The more closely I examined my body, the more I noticed what was occurring.  Slowly, muscle was being replaced by fat.

For a while, I played it off. I still tried to squeeze into skinny jeans and fitted tops, but there was no denying the change.  So, I made some changes, and noticed the positive impact.  But the moment, I slacked, the pounds came back on.  Finally, I had to accept once, and for all, that my metabolism (my once trusty friend who never let me down) was slowing.

In my younger days, my metabolism was on over drive!  I could eat from a drive through 5 days a week and suffer no consequences.  'Cause my beloved metabolism always had my back.  But now I realize that it needs my help to rev it back up again. No longer can I neglect it and still expect it to perform at optimum levels.  My metabolism was always there for me and now it needs my help!

Are you over 25? If so, your metabolism has been slowing down by between 1-4% every year.  Not 25 yet, well enjoy these last few years of worry free eating because it won't last forever. Luckily for us, we can do something about it.  If we make conscious decisions that speed up our metabolism, we can be burning mega calories even while at rest.  Let's talk about how to do that.

One of the foundational tips to improve metabolism is to eat more often.  But immediately, my mind starts to think "but if I eat more, won't my body store more calories?"  The important distinction to make is that eating more DOES NOT MEAN  more of what you currently eat.  You're not supposed to be consuming 5-6 plates of food a day.  When the fitness experts say eat 5-6 meals a day, what they really mean is "shrink your meal size and spread it throughout the day instead of eating 1-3 large meals."  Or eat small meals and include healthy snacks in between. This is to make your body think that there's a steady flow of calories all day, so there's no need to store it.  The idea is not to allow yourself to get too hungry.  This will also keep you from binge eating or having to battle crazy cravings.  

My tip regarding this technique is to practice mindful eating.  Once upon a time, I took on the challenge of chewing my food until it was nearly liquid.  I hated to do it but I wanted to experience the potential benefits.  Let me tell you, not only did I get full on less food. My digestion improved and my stomach flattened.  The only change I made was to eat with single minded focus (not eating in front of tv, phone, etc) and chewed way more than normal.  I'm convinced that combining mindfulness eating with multiple small meals a day will improve your metabolism.

Improve your resting metabolic rate.
Let's say you're awake for 14 hours today.  And you work out for an hour before work, for less than 10% of your day, you increase your calorie burn.  But what about the other 90% of your day?  If you work in front of a computer, then you come home, eat, and catch up on your shows, you're sedentary for most of the day.  That work out has to be pretty awesome in order to impact how you burn calories all day while you're at rest.

Eating 5-6 small meals will help, but if you want to make a MAJOR IMPACT ON YOUR METABOLISM, you need to increase your resting metabolic rate (basically, how many calories burned while you're inactive).  This, my friends, is the key to getting the metabolism of a youngin' in their twenties.  

Simply put, the most effective way to increase resting calorie burn is to have more lean muscle.  MUSCLE EATS FAT!  Maintaining muscle requires more calories than maintaining fat.  So if you are serious about boosting your metabolism, you need to be strength training on a regular basis.

Adding muscle shrinks you!

I started incorporating strength training in my exercise routine a few years ago.  Not only did I not bulk up, my body was sculpted in a way that was way greater than in my 20's.  Then I experienced a wonderful side effect of adding muscle....increased energy.  And when I have more energy, I move more, which means burning more calories.  Best of all, muscle takes up less room than fat so I was able to enjoy having a slim body again.

If you are ready to kickstart your metabolism boosting journey, I recommend you start strong by incorporating high intensity interval training (HIIT) into your routine.  This is a serious fat burning technique that helps you see results fast.  Basically, you exercise in short high intensity bursts coupled with less intense recovery periods.  Another benefit of high intensity training beyond faster fat loss, is increased human growth hormone levels (which slows down as we age).  While people are paying for human growth hormone shots, you can produce your own all natural version with high intensity training.

This morning, I completed a high intensity burst session on the treadmill.  My session wasn't long (only 15 minutes total) but it was powerful.  There's  an obvious difference in my energy levels compared to when I walked on the treadmill for 45 minutes the day prior.  I feel amazing.

Just knowing that an HIIT session can burn fat (for up to 36 hours after the workout) and spikes human growth levels is enough to me motivated to continue.

 Looking forward to having my old metabolism back again.

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The Top 5 Things I Want To Accomplish This Year With My Natural Hair

From knowing past mistakes and failures of your hair journey, you will be able to go back to the drawing board and create a new regimen to follow to continue on to healthy hair. There are so many goals that can be accomplished within a hair journey, but let’s make this one personal. At the beginning Click to continue...

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