Tuesday Tips - Home Hair Care Recipes

Healthy Hair

1. Choose the right shampoo and conditioner. Shampoo washes away dirt, dust, and other particles that don't belong on your hair. Because hair, like skin, tends to become less oily with age, choose a shampoo formulated for dry or normal-to-dry hair. Shampoo gently rather than vigorously, and concentrate the lather on your scalp, carrying it down to the drier ends.

Frequent shampooing will not cause any problems, but be sure to use a conditioner. Although many of the commercial claims for conditioners may be exaggerated, a conditioning rinse can coat the hair with a lubricant that replaces the sebum (the covering that protects the hair's outer layer, called the cuticle) stripped off by shampoo. By doing so, it enhances shine and makes hair more manageable. You don't need expensive products with exotic ingredients unless you like the way they smell or feel.

2. Treat wet hair with care. Use a towel to blot your hair dry rather than rubbing or pulling, and untangle it with a wide-tooth comb. Don't use a brush on wet hair, and avoid hot blow-dryers. High heat on wet hair causes the water under the cuticles to form bubbles like those in boiling water; these bubbles stress and break hair. Set your dryer on the low or medium setting, and keep it moving so that air circulates through the hair rather than concentrating on one spot.

3. Buy good hair tools. Look for combs and brushes with smooth, rounded teeth or bristles. If they feel scratchy when you run your hand over them, they can tear your hair. Brush your hair only enough to style and groom it. The old 100-strokes-a-night rule you may have heard about is left over from the days when people shampooed their hair with soap and had to brush out the resulting film.

4. Don't overprocess your hair. Too-frequent use of perm, coloring, or straightening agents -- or scheduling these processes too close together -- can literally dissolve hair strands.

5. Avoid excessive sun exposure. Sunlight can break down the hair's protein structure, leaving it vulnerable to breakage. Lighter hair (either naturally light or chemically bleached) is most vulnerable because it has less protective pigment. Hair sunscreens have not been proven to prevent damage, but a hat or scarf does a good job of shielding your hair from the sun.



Tips from reader's digest


Here are a few recipes/tips you can make at home.

• Fly Away and Static Control

Ingredients
Natural hand lotion

Directions
Apply a small dab of natural hand lotion to the palm of your hand. Rub hands together and apply to roots of hair.

• Frizz Control for Curly Hair

Ingredients
1 small aloe vera leaf

Directions
Snip off end of leaf and apply a dollop of aloe vera gel to palm. Work through hair to ends.

• Jojoba Hot Oil Treatment
  

Ingredients
2 teaspoons jojoba oil

1 teaspoon soybean oil

Directions
Combine ingredients then warm gently on low heat. Test temperature on inside of forearm. Massage mixture into hair.Wrap hair in a hot towel or cover with shower cap or plastic wrap for 15 minutes. Shampoo & rinse out. Recipe may be doubled for very long hair.

For More Hair Care Recipes Check out Long Locks Hair Care Cookbook

It's been a crazy week!

We have been absolutely slammed this week, here's some pics of what I brought to the post office this morning!
I had family in visiting for the weekend and kindly recruited them to help me package up all my orders! We're us until 1 am packing everything up so it would be all ready for me to bring to the post office first thing this morning.

Friday Feature - Jennifer Ladd

Jennifer Ladd

Handmade purses, bags, accessories, and baby items

Give us a summary of your shop, and how you got started.
I make handmade purses and bags - each is a one-of-a-kind piece with special attention to the details. My goal is to make a bag that is not only useful, but CUTE too.
I also make handmade items for baby (baby booties, bibs and burp cloths, diaper changing sets). I make them stylish for today's "hip" baby with bright colors and funky designs.

I just quit my "real job" as a French teacher to take on a much more important role: a stay-at-home-mom to my little daughter. I have always said my "dream job" was to run my own business and sell my handmade items, and when I quit being a teacher to stay home with my girl, I realized I would now have the time to do it. I gave it a try, and it's worked!

What motivated you to open your shop?
I have always said that if I won the lottery, I would start my own business and sell my handmade items. I never actually thought it was practical or possible. My husband, though, never saw it as a dream. He told me over and over to quit teaching and give it a try. When we made the decision that I would quit teaching to stay home with my little girl, I decided to make the leap and try opening a shop.

How did you select your name?
I had a more creative name picked out, but someone gave me the advice to use my own name so that when I sold off of Etsy, people would recognize the handmade nature of my items. I'm not sure if they were right (I loved the name I had picked out), but at least it's easy for me to remember!

What makes your shop unique?
I try to make my store bright and funky. I use bold patterns, usually not the typical, pale baby pastels. Each of my purses is designed by me and is a one-of-a-kind original.


Do you sell anywhere outside of etsy? If so, where?
I sell at two boutiques in Milwaukee, WI (The Paper Boat Boutique and Fasten Collective) and at one in Madison, WI (MoCo Market).

How long have you been making your craft?
I have been sewing since as long as I can remember (my mom says I started when I was 3 - I think she's exaggerating!!). I learned to sew by watching my grandma and then copying what she did to make clothes for my dolls. I never stopped sewing but I hasn't been until recently that I've started selling my craft.

Is it your full-time job?
No, I don't use this as dependable income, but that's what makes it fun. I quit my job as a French teacher so I can spend my days raising a smart, caring, thoughtful daughter. I don't want to take my time away from her. She is my "full-time job" (the best I've ever had!!) I work on my projects in the evening when my husband is home and is able to have some "daddy-daughter time" with her while I work.

How do you balance work, and/or your shop, and home?
Some days it is tough to be sewing while I hear my husband and my daughter playing and giggling in the other room. I know that time will pass so quickly and I want to enjoy every minute of life with her. Luckily, I do spend all of my day with her and I do really enjoy my evening sewing time (a little mental break for me). Also, she usually spends the evening playing at my feet, anyway! She has started to have a lot of fun playing with my sewing scraps and supplies (a very cool thing for me to see since I, myself, used to do the same thing at my grandma's feet!)

What is your favorite material.
Fabric. Bright, funky, beautiful.

What inspires you?
Pretty colors and pretty patterns. When I see beautiful color combinations, my brain does a happy dance.

Click here to visit Jennifer Ladd

Treasury Features!

I made this treasury this week " Simplicity"

I was also featured in this treasury today, Thanks Samantha

New Soap - Great For Men and Women

Terra Soap - 4oz - Patchouli, Vetiver, and Ylang Ylang

Patchouli, Vetiver, & Ylang Ylang

This 4oz bar of soap has a deep earthy aroma. It contains musky patchouli; woody vetiver, and sweet ylang ylang. This bar of soap also contains bentonite clay which is derived from volcanic ash sediment. This clay has excellent oil absorbing properties, and is thought to remove acne causing toxins from the skin and revitalize tired skin.

Legno Soap 4oz - Sandalwood Bergamot Benzoin

Sandalwood, Bergamot, & Benzoin

This 4 oz bar of soap has a warm rich aroma. The combination of musky sandalwood, sweet bezoin, and fresh citrus bergamot create a soothing bar to balance your sense.

Energia Soap 4oz - Bergamot, Basil, Lime and Grapefruit

This 4oz olive oil base soap is a combination of bergamot, basil, lime and grapefruit, that has a sweet, citrus, fruity scent with a slightly spicy undertone. This refreshing aroma is uplifting and energizing and will give you a jump start in the morning.

Tresury Features

Two of my soaps were featured in treasuries this week!

Thanks Anne Julie!

Thanks Backwood Sophisticate!

Tuesday Tips -Healthy Skin

Here are some great tips on ways to keep your skin healthy and prevent sun damage.

Daily Preventive Skin Care

The following are some daily measures for skin protection:

• Don't wash your face too often with tap water. (Once a day is enough.) It strips the skin of oil and moisture. In addition, chlorinated water, particularly at high temperatures, poses special risks for wrinkles.
• Wash your face with a mild soap that contains moisturizers. Avoid alkaline soaps, especially with deodorant.
• Pat the skin dry and immediately apply a water-based moisturizer.
• Always apply sunscreen, even if going outdoors for short periods.
• Avoid drinking alcohol within 3 hours of bedtime. Alcohol increases the risk for leaks in the capillaries, which allows more water in and causes sagging and puffiness. Capillary leakage increases when one is lying down.
• Lie on the back when sleeping. This helps offset the effects of gravity.

Avoid Sun Exposure

One of the most important ways to prevent skin damage is to avoid episodes of excessive sun exposure. The following are some specific guidelines:

• Use sunscreens that block out both UVA and UVB radiation. However, do not rely only on sunscreen for sun protection. Wear protective clothing and sunglasses in addition.
• Avoid exposure particularly during the hours of 10 AM to 4 PM, when sunlight pours down 80% of its daily UV dose.
• Avoid reflective surfaces, such as water, sand, concrete, and white-painted areas. Clouds and haze are not protective and in some cases may intensify UVB rays.
• Ultraviolet intensity depends on the angle of the sun, not heat or brightness. So the dangers are greater the closer to the summer-start date. For example, in the Northern Hemisphere, UV intensity in April (two months before summer starts) is equal to that in August (two months after summer begins).
• The higher the altitude the quicker one sunburns. One study suggested, for example, that an average complexion burns in 6 minutes at an altitude of 11,000 feet at noon, compared with 25 minutes at sea level in a temperate climate.
• Avoid sun lamps and tanning beds or salons. They provide mostly high-output UVA rays. Some experts believe that 15 - 30 minutes at a tanning salon is as dangerous as a day spent in the sun. People should not be misled by advertising claims of "safe" tanning or promotions offering unlimited tanning.

Read This Entire Article from Health Central

Check out Tan Central for some great tips on how to apply self tanner, and reviews on products.