Why Patchouli Oil is a Triple Threat for Scalp Conditions

Get Your Healthiest Skin: How to Know the Best Oil to Use for Your Skin Type

I always get asked what I use on my skin to make it look so healthy and glowing, and surprisingly I actually haven’t always had healthy skin. During my high school years and some bouts in my early 20’s I had acne which I’m sure was hormonal and stress related. My skin is still super oily and prone to getting clogged. When I started eating better, getting a good nights rest (noticed I said night, not day), living a stress free life and using all natural oils, my skin became healthy. I’ve researched a ton over the years as part of what I love to do and found out some amazing information. Things that might seem counter intuitive, like putting oil on already oily skin, or skin that’s prone to breakouts. So here is some great info that can get you started on your journey to your healthiest skin, and it starts with some questions like; what is your skin type? What are the best carrier oils for your skin type? What are the benefits of using carrier oils over moisturizing creams? (I’ve also included oils that are best for eczema and psoriasis)

The benefits of using oil on your skin instead of moisturizers :

Using oil on your skin actually tricks it into thinking that it doesn’t need to produce more oil. When your skin thinks it needs to produce more oil that’s when the super shiny skin and acne hit.
- Oil reduces clogged pores by dissolving “plugs”, blackheads, and whiteheads
- Oil reduces the formation of fine lines and wrinkles
- All natural oils contain no harsh chemicals
- Oil won’t strip your skin of it’s natural oils
- Oil moisturizes and soothes irritated skin
- Oil Clears acne and prevents it

 

Your Skin Type
 
When oil is applied to the skin, the oil should absorb completely. If it just sits on top of your skin and doesn’t sink in very well, or makes your face look even shinier than before, then it’s not the right oil for you.
If your skin feels “right” and looks supple, dewy, rested, not overly shiny, and the oil absorbs well, then you’ve found your oil!
 
Oily Skin:

 
Oily skin comes from the overproduction of sebum, creating a greasy feel and shiny skin. People with oily skin usually have acne prone and sensitive complexions.
 
The best oils to use for oily skin type are oils that are light and contain a high amount of linoleic acid, a polyunsaturated fatty acid found in many light nourishing oils. Linoleic acid has been proven to reduce clogged pores by over 25% in just a few weeks when used daily.
 

Oils that contain the highest amounts of linoleic acid are:

 
Safflower Oil: 74.62%
Evening primrose oil: 73%
Grapeseed oil: 69.6%
Sunflower oil: 65.7%
Hemp oil: 60%
Apricot kernel oil: 50.3%
Sesame oil: 50%
Rosehip seed oil: 45.5%
Tamanu oil: 38%
 
Dry Skin:
 
Dry skin is characterized by tight, irritated, itchy, flaky skin. People with dry skin types are usually prone to acne due to “sticky” skin cells clogging pores.
 
The best oils to use for dry skin type are oils that contain high amounts of oleic acid, a monosaturated fatty acid found in heavier, more slow drying oils. These oils are well suited for thirsty skin and are absorbed more readily than oily skin types.
 
Oleic acid is known to reduce inflammation.

 
Oils that contain the highest amounts of oleic acids are:

 
Olive oil: 55-85% cold pressed
Macadamia nut oil: 85%
Avocado oil: 75%
Neem oil: 54%
Hazelnut oil: 66%
Sweet almond oil: 68%
Argan oil: 42.8
 

Here are a list of carrier oils best for each skin type:

 

ACNE/OILY SKIN
Argan oil (My favorite)
grapeseed oil (My favorite)
hemp seed oil (My favorite)
jojoba oil
neem oil (warning – VERY pungent)
safflower oil
 
 

NORMAL
apricot kernel oil
argan oil
Baobab oil
jojoba oil
sunflower seed oil
sweet almond oil
 
 

COMBINATION SKIN
apricot kernel oil
avocado oil (in small amounts for deep moisture during the dry/cold seasons)
hemp seed oil
grapeseed oil
jojoba oil
olive oil (in small amounts for deep moisture during the dry/cold seasons)
safflower oil
sesame seed oil
sunflower seed oil
sweet almond oil
 
 

DRY SKIN
apricot kernel oil
avocado seed oil
evening primrose oil
hemp seed oil
jojoba oil
kukui nut
macadamia nut oil
meadowfoam seed oil
olive oil
sesame seed oil
sunflower seed oil
sweet almond
wheatgerm oil
hazelnut oil
rosehip
 
 

Sensitive SkinJojoba Oil
Sesame seed
Sweet Almond
Apricot kernel oil
Baobab oil
Grapeseed
Kukui nut
Avocado oil
Rice bran oil
 
 

MATURE/AGING SKIN
apricot kernel oil
argan oil
avocado oil
evening primrose oil
hemp seed oil
jojoba oil
kukui nut
macadamia nut oil
meadowfoam seed oil
olive oil
sesame seed oil
sunflower seed oil
sweet almond
Sea buckthorn
wheatgerm oil
Baobab oil
Rosehip seed
Tamanu oil
 
 

Eczema/Psoriasis
apricot kernal oil
almond oil
avocado oil
borage seed oil
evening primrose oil
chamomile oil
calendula oil
hempseed oil
jojoba
kukui nut oil
Neem oil
safflower oil
sea buckthorn oil
rosehip oil
tamanu oil
sesame oil
wheatgerm oil
walnut oil
 
 

Scars/Damaged
Baobab
Calendula
Jojoba
Kukui Nut
Rosehip Seed
Sea Buckthorn
Tamanu

from Urban Bush Babes http://ift.tt/1fxMSOi

5 Benefits of Steaming Natural Hair

by MaiCurls of GlobalCoutureblog.net

Is your natural hair extremely dry?  Hair steaming may be just what the “hair doctor” ordered when it comes to healthy, moisturized coils and curls.

What is hair steaming?

It basically means adding moisture in the form of moist heat (steam) to the hair strands. This can be done in a number of different ways such as using a handheld hair steamer, a standing steamer or even enjoying the steam after a long warm shower.

Why should you consider steaming?

1. Helps reduce breakage: the steam helps to add moisture and thus can make dry, brittle and thirsty hair supple, hydrated and healthy.

2. Lifts the cuticle to allow product/ingredient absorption: the warmth from the steam helps to raise the cuticle of our hair, which means that products/ingredients are more easily absorbed into the core. This can be particularly helpful for low porosity naturals that find it hard to get moisture deep into the core of the hair or products to be fully absorbed by the hair.

3. Enables hair stretching, less shrinkage and tangles: because the hair is hydrated, it usually means that there is less shrinkage which in turn means less tangles and knots. This makes it easier to detangle and can also lead to less breakage!

4. Refreshes curls without having to start over: you get to add moisture without having to soak your hair with water. This can be especially beneficial for those that suffer from dry brittle hair during winter and do not want to add water in the morning/night and perhaps risk getting a cold!

5. Helps clean the scalp and promote hair growth: the warmth from the steam can actually help fight through some product build-up/dirt on the scalp, making it easier to keep your scalp clean. A clean scalp is a healthy scalp and a healthy scalp means healthy growth. The warmth also helps stimulate blood flow in the scalp which again helps with hair growth.

When and or how often should you steam?

It really depends on how dry your hair feels, how often you need to wash your hair and how difficult/easy it is for products such as deep conditioners, leave-in conditioners etc. to penetrate your hair strands. In all likelihood, you will not require daily hair steaming however you might feel that 1 – 2 times a week gives you happy, hydrated hair that looks and feels lush, plump and truly hydrated.

Do you steam your hair? How often?

 

from beauty hair http://ift.tt/1I10sS9

5 Reasons to stop wearing bummy clothes around the house

cute + comfy //wearing basics, gold accessories, stylish flats and statement handbag

It's the weekend, and you've made plans to chill out at home, catching up on your favorite shows or browsing through fashion magazines.  Maybe you'll even get some decluttering in or knock a few other chores off your list.  Staying in typically means throwing on a pair of comfy loose fitting pants and a t-shirt.  The only people you'll probably come in contact with are those who don't care how you look.  No problem, right?

I'm here to make the case for why you should give up the habit of wearing unattractive house clothes, even if you have no where to go.  Let me first start off by saying that I've violated this rule ever since I began working from home full time.  And I've suffered major consequences because of it.  At first, I thought it was cool not to have to get up and get ready for work. But, as time passed, I realized that not doing so was not beneficial.  Learn from my mistakes so you don't fall into the trap of looking like a house-bum.

Reason #1: Undetected Weight Gain.
There a  couple indicators of weight gain.  The first is what your bathroom scale tells you.  But, if you've decided not to weigh yourself on a regular basis (like I have), you have to rely on other signs, like how your clothes feel.  Typically, the clothes you change into when you're at home are much more casual and loose fitting.  This allows you to gain a little here and there without causing much alarm.  I didn't really realize the couple of pounds I put on until, I started working in my "normal clothes."  And, the more weight you put on, the more you are likely to reach for loose fitting clothes.  Then the vicious cycle begins.   Wearing my nicer close raises the level of awareness of my body.  Comfy house clothes are designed to feel effortless and undetected.  This could work against you if you spend a lot of time at home.

Reason #2:  You slowly turn into a home body.
When you automatically change into house clothes, you send yourself a signal that you're gonna be home for the day (or weekend).  Your mind goes into "sleep mode."  It's the complete opposite when you dress up.  Especially if you go all out and apply minimal make up and wear your favorite scent.  After you're done with your household stuff, you catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror and think to yourself "I'm looking good, maybe I go visit friends, or attend an event."

Reason #3: You're less likely to dress up when you leave the house.
Once I got comfortable wearing house clothes as a daily affair, I'd put very little effort to put myself together whenever I left the house.  Sure I'd dress up if I had somewhere special to go, but if I was making a quick trip to the store, I made little additional effort to look presentable (thank God, I didn't run into anyone from the past).  But, on the other hand, if I invested a few extra minutes, each morning, to execute my signature casual look, I found myself doing even more before leaving the house.  By then, I really looked like I had put in more effort than I actually did.  The absolute best way to practice looking your best on a daily basis is to look presentable even when you're at home.

Reason #4:  You walk around the house feeling uninspired.
Your life consists of (a) the time you spend at work (b) the time you spend at home (c) the time doing outside activities.  You're probably the most productive while you're at work.  The time at home, is likely on the other end of the productivity scale.  You might be thinking that your time at home should be for decompressing and not necessarily for productivity.  But I'd like to challenge your thinking for a minute.  If there are aspects of your life that you want to alter, the only time you can really affect this is when you're at home.  Work time is already accounted for by your employer. So if want to change your life, you've got to use your personal time to do that.  But if you're in "lounge mode" whenever you're at home, you aren't using the time to create your new future.

If you dress well, even while at home, you raise your level of awareness about all the additional time you have available to you.  If you're at home dressed, with freshly painted nails, while wearing your favorite scent, you might think to yourself "let me check out ideas to launch my business" instead of "I wonder what reality shows are on."

Reason #5. Dressing well alters your life.
I have a theory that people who present their best selves (physically) actually have different experiences from others who don't.  I think human beings are drawn to attractive people.  Attractive doesn't just mean being born with the perfect features.  I define attractive as (a)someone who invests time in their personal appearance and (2) someone with a charismatic personality.  People respond to others who present themselves as "attractive."  I've experienced this myself. When I nurture my appearance, strangers are more friendly and attentive. Opportunities seem to present themselves to me.

You've had this experience too.  If not, I urge you to test this theory for yourself.  Imagine what happens when you multiply those small benefits day after day.  Our lives are comprised of what happens to us every day.  Why not experience a life of feeling good about how you look, day in and day out.  Walking around in full confidence and positive anticipation of what's ahead absolutely has an effect on how you lead your day.

When I talk about looking presentable, even at home, I don't necessarily mean that you have to wear formal clothes on your days off.  It's up to you decide what works best for you.  Just try to avoid defaulting to t-shirts and sweats.   Start with the basics like wearing minimal makeup, a light fragrance an your favorite accessories.  From there, you'll find it easy to elevate your personal appearance, even if you have no where to go.

from Relaxed Hair Health http://ift.tt/1LFzYfc

4 Heatless Ways to Stretch Your Natural Hair

Hola Chicas!

Looking for a way to show off your hard-earned length this summer without reaching for the blow dryer?  Watch and learn as Tina Munzu stretches her natural hair with 4 heatless techniques!

What's your favorite way to stretch your natural hair?

from beauty hair http://ift.tt/1TXq75J

Redefining Yourself, for Yourself.

  by GG of AllTheManyLayers

"People like me more when they think I'm pretty."

I can't tell you when, but at some point in my childhood I began to believe this was true. This is what the media, my environment and even my mother taught me.

The media taught me to compare myself to touched up, perfect images and the more I looked like them, the more acceptable and loved I would be. It taught me to fix myself to fit certain standards of beauty and that life would be more charmed and happy if I did.

My environment taught me that being pretty was important. I looked around and decided pretty was a club and I wanted to belong. As a member of this club, I'd get special treatment. I saw it with my own two eyes, all the time, everywhere. Extra attention. Benefit of the doubt. Get-out-of-jail-free cards. Kindness and consideration. Most of all, being pretty gave you magical powers like confidence, charm and magnetism. And I wanted all of those things.

My mother taught me to invest time in making myself beautiful -- caring for my skin and hair, wearing flattering clothes, taking pride in putting myself together and presenting myself. But somehow I missed the reason behind it all. I believed that I should be doing these things for outside approval -- to please my family, to get the attention of a man, to show my 'rank' among other women, to win favor and feel special. There was no connection established between self-love and self-care, creativity and self-expression.

I wasn't aware that these beliefs were sabotaging my self-concept and undermining my confidence. I walked around with my distracting hang-ups and my pride and this unreasonable pursuit of perfection. Obsessing over how I looked, dressing to get any kind of attention I could get, then feeling very uncomfortable with the attention once I got it. Expecting to be known as one of the 'pretty girls' and feeling slighted when I was denied the attention I felt I deserved. Confused. Showing off. Showing too much. Doing too much.

My emphasis on appearance was buried deep in my subconscious, driving my actions, building walls and blind spots and bad habits, leading me down a slippery slope of insecurity. And I didn't even know it.

In fact, I actually thought I had good self-esteem until I had my daughters. Their perceptions and questions challenged me to observe and be honest with myself so I could teach them about inner beauty and self-love from a place of true knowing and not just concept.

I wanted to understand why it had always been so important to me to look a certain way. Why my blemishes and so-called imperfections were such a problem to the point where I couldn't go out and enjoy myself if they were showing. Why I was so obsessed with appearance. My preoccupation with beauty was driven by insecurity, not self-love or inspiration and I wanted to understand why and how and what I could do to change it.

Stripping down, learning to love my reflection without make up, without chemicals in my hair and without trendy clothes -- finding the beauty in all my womanly insecurities, has been exactly what I needed to trigger a shift in perception. To begin to appreciate my body for the miracle that it is and start taking care of myself from the inside out. I needed to shed some old skin and old ideas, redefining myself, for myself.

When we are in tune with our spirits, we feel beautiful on the inside, and we want to express it on the outside. Inner beauty naturally leads to all the magical powers we crave -- outer glow, magnetism, confidence, grace.

Without that inside-out dynamic, we find ourselves placing too much emphasis on the external package, excessively proud or excessively ashamed of our appearances and acting accordingly. Thinking that worth and status is dependent on how we look. Allowing how we feel on the inside to be determined by the response we get on the outside, instead of the other way around.

But a woman who delights in her appearance in order to honor her Creator, her spirit, and her vehicle for expression, that’s the kind of beauty I've come to believe in and this is what I will teach my daughters. It is more than caring about how you look, it is caring about how you affect people, how you speak to them without words, and how you inspire them with your presence.

How have your ideas about beauty and appearance changed over the years? Please share in the comments below!

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‘Made Real’: Wednesday Crush Wednesday Entrepreneur; Cipriana Quann

Photos: Marcus Cooper
via: Made Real
 
 
“Built on the principles of collaboration and idea sharing, #MadeReal is the result of collaboration between change making women, some of the world’s leading marketing, design, retailing, and branding specialists, and Pernod-Ricard
 
For the change makers, it’s an opportunity to exercise their talents, participate in the development of new brands and new products alongside branding experts, giving them invaluable experience they can use to pursue their own entrepreneurial dreams.” -Made Real
 
Thank you to Made Real for choosing me as their Wednesday Crush Wednesday Entrepreneur. Scroll below for the full interview.
 
Where do you find your inspiration for your style?

Hands down my inspiration stems from my family. My Mother taught me to be fearless and that included style. She wore anything, from pant suit business attire, bohemian dresses, an array of mixed patterns/textures to lace and leather. While my father taught me to the importance of tailoring and diversifying my outlook. He showed me how to expand my horizons of mixing menswear with womenswear. Then my identical twin sister inspired me to not care what others thought, she set the example of what style should be…fun. Oh and I have to mention 3 stylish women who had a big influence in my youth; Lisa Bonet, Diane Keaton and Diana Ross.
 


 
How did you get into this industry to start with?

I wanted to create a lifestyle website focusing on fashion, hair, beauty, health, food, film, photography, interior design and arts and cultures with the uniting core of the site to support, encourage and highlight the multi-faceted lives of women specifically women of color, which I felt was missing in mainstream media. After years of modeling and constantly be told the natural texture of my hair was not “commercially appealing”. I wanted to celebrate difference as the norm, “imperfections” as perfections, beauty beyond aesthetics and break down the “ideal standard” of beauty while coloring outside the lines through a platform that women could relate to, no matter what ethnicity.
 

 
What’s your biggest obstacle that you tackle daily as a female entrepreneur in New York City?

I have this conversation quite a bit with my twin sister since we work together constantly and the first obstacle that comes to mind is sometimes individuals take for granted your kindness especially as a woman, underestimating that as a weakness and try to manipulate that part of you for their own selfish motives.
 
Therefore finding the balance between two sides without changing the best part of you; being friendly while always exerting a professional demeanor. Always maintaining a business like setting makes a conflict easier to address or correct when/if the time comes.
 

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