Monday, July 11, 2011

Internal VS External Hair Care

This post has been on my mind for about 3 days now. I have come to the realization that so many women don't recognize the correlation between what they put into their bodies and the health of their hair. I was on Nappturality the other day and I skimmed through so many questions that read something like "...my hair is so brittle and dry, I use a moisturizer and ___________ shampoo and conditioner....what am I doing wrong?" and then I scroll down to look at the answers and nearly every response was something like "Girl use ________ shampoo and _______ moisturizer and then tie your hair up at night..." etc, etc. Not one response mentioned anything diet related. No one seemed to notice the relationship between interior and exterior health. I was the same way a few years back when all I drank was soda and ate junk food and then wondered why my hair was so unhealthy and my skin was breaking out, but then I learned that it takes much more than a good hair regime or x shampoo and x conditioner to keep it healthy.

I am not at all saying that external hair care is obsolete and one should only focus on diet because without proper maintenance, the hair would not flourish no matter how great your diet is. Internal hair care and external hair care go hand in hand. I wanted to address this because I want more women to start paying attention to their DIET. If your hair is breaking off no matter how well you care for it, then it's most likely your diet that needs improvement. I am not perfect but everyday I strive to be more mindful of my body as a whole from the inside out. I hope that one person will benefit from this post and may we all have beautiful, healthy growing hair from this point on! :-)

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Product Review: Suave Almond & Shea Butter

A few weeks ago, I picked up a new shampoo and conditioner from Suave called Almond and Shea Butter...


I didn't go to the store with the intention of purchasing this specific line but it was inexpensive and I knew that almond and shea butter are both very good for the hair. The first time I used it, I wasn't super impressed but I did like that the shampoo didn't strip the hair and make it feel dry. You can lather with this shampoo 3x in a row and it won't make the hair feel squeaky and stripped of moisture at all. The conditioner wasn't very thick and creamy like I had hoped it would be but it got the job done. I noticed that the longer I leave it on, the softer my hair feels so instead of leaving it on for 2 minutes as directed on the bottle, I put it in my hair and leave a shower cap on for the duration of my shower. This conditioner also works very well in a  co-wash. I wasn't too pleased with the scent because it smells fake. It has a subtle hint of almond but it smells like candy and I prefer more natural and true-to-the-name scents....For example, if it's coconut then I want the scent to be pure coconut :-) Overall, I liked it and thought that it delivered for the price (Under $3!!!) so I will continue to use this shampoo and conditioner until the bottles are emtpy. I give it 3 / 5 stars.

I have hard water and since I can't afford to buy a shower filter at the moment, I brought a clarifying shampoo from Suave which I have not used yet. Will do a review on this shampoo in the next few days. I am currently taking Biotin Supplements specifically for my nails but since it is intended to grow hair as well, I will update you guys on my experience with Biotin soon!