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Good to know: Undesirable substances in hair products

August 23, 2015 by Sheila Smith

Beautiful hair is healthy hair, but even regular and dedicated care can lead to various problems such as itching, dandruff, hair loss, greasy hair…The causes of these problems may lie in your shampoo, hairspray, conditioner, specifically in their harmful ingredients.

We have tried to assemble for you a list of undesirable substances in hair-care products.

1) Silicones in shampoo

You should avoid shampoo with silicones. In addition to being deposited on the scalp they can clog the hair follicles. Also, the skin on your back, face or wherever shampoo touches the skin can become irritated. You should also avoid silicones in skin products.

2) Drying alcohols

Pay special attention to this. These alcohols have instant drying effect on the hair and are not desirable in any product – even in shampoo, conditioner and leave-in products where they are the most common.

Alcohols in leave-in products are used for instant shine (believe it or not, the old recipe for shiny hair was vodka!). But just like with the skin, these alcohols dry the hair extremely.

Test: apply the hair product you use on your palms for a few days. You will see how your skin becomes wrinkled, dry and cracked.

There is a recipe, in which the alcohol is removed from the mixture by evaporation.

In contrast to the fatty alcohols (will discuss about them in the following text as the most hydrating agent in hair products), the following alcohols are of no benefit to the hair and should be avoided:

– Alcohol
– Alcohol denat
– Propyl
– Ethanol
– SD Alcohol (40)

Benzyl alcohol is used as a preservative and is located at the bottom of the composition in a small amount and it has a bad effect on the hair.

Isopropyl alcohol is used to a more efficient penetration of useful ingredients makes it a desirable ingredient, but in hairspray, foam and similar products used to “harden” the hair faster it is bad for your hair.

3) Sulfates in shampoo

Sulfate is one of the most infamous ingredient in hair shampoo. The so-called SLS (Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate) and SLES (Sodium Lauryl Ether Sulfate), ALS (Ammonium Lauryl Sufate) are very bad for your hair.

There are a number of shampoos without sulfates that are gentle to the scalp and the hair. But, if you use products with silicone you should sometimes wash your hair with shampoo with sulfates to remove the deposits from products for forming and protecting the hair. It is only “deep” washing your that you needed, in most cases use a mild shampoo.

4) Sodium chloride

Better known as salt, it is used to thicken the shampoo which has a potentially drying effect on the hair.

5) Perfumes

Scented products can be found in almost all hair products. What you should pay attention to is the place of the perfume in the composition, it should not be fount among the first few ingredients.

6) Lanolin, Mineral Oil and Petroleum

These ingredients are cheap oil products, used as an emollient, however they have no real nutritional value for the hair. Apart from being completely useless, they hamper the penetration of nutrients into the hair.

7) Propylene Glycol

Often used in hair products, it is also the main ingredient in antifreeze. It breaks the protein structure of the skin, hair.

8) Parabens

They are used as preservatives, and they are often associated with cancer, but the amounts in cosmetic products is very small, so that their presence and concentration in hair products is negligible.

Dye your hair naturally – without harmful chemicals

June 16, 2015 by Sheila Smith

Hair dying has become a must-have for a large number of women. Yet many of us are not always sure what color should they dye their hair, what suits them, so they often experiment.
This is not so bad for our looks, but it is very damaging for the hair!
Constant changes in hair color means more aggressive treatments that damage and dry out your hair.
So we suggest dying your hair using natural methods. Here’s how dye to make your hair blonde, brown or red using the fruits of nature.

Green walnut bark and coffee – for nut-brown hair color

Chop and grind the bark from 1 kg of walnuts and pour 1 liter of water. Put the stove on high temperature to cook. When the water boils leave for another 30 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and leave overnight. The next day, filter the liquid and mix with the hair balm you normally use in 1:1 ratio. Apply the mixture on your hair and leave on for around 30 minutes, then rinse. If you want a lighter shade the keep the walnut shells submerged in the water for a few hours. This method of dying is ideal when you want to move from lighter shades to darker.
COFFEE is another food that can help darken your hair. Brew a strong black coffee, leave it for few hours – the longer the better and rinse the hair.

Onion shell, oak bark and sage – light brown hair color

Put two hands of onion scales and the same amount of oak bark in a deeper pot and mix, and pour 1 liter of boiling water. Cook on mild fire. When it boils turn off the oven and leave for 45-60 minutes to cool completely. Soak your hair in the resulting liquid and leave on for a minimum of one hour. Then rinse and dry the hair as usual. If you want a more consistent and more intense hair color, it is necessary to do the final rinse with alcohol vinegar. Do not worry about the smell it will go away pretty fast.
Sage is another effective natural product for hair coloring in lighter shades of brown. The hair slightly darkens and gives brunettes a richer, deeper color. Cook a stronger sage tea and leave on your hair for a minimum of one hour and preferably longer. Do this hair treatment once a week and in a month you will get the desired color. Similarly, you can use chamomile tea and black tea.

Chamomile and Lemon – golden blonde hair color
Chamomile is one of the best ways for getting lighter blonde hair. You’ll get a few shades lighter hair in a healthy and natural way. Besides chamomile and lemon can help you lighten your hair or make highlights. If you want highlights, simply separate them with aluminum foil, brush the lemon cut in half, place it on the foil and leave for a few hours. If you want to brighten the whole hair, spray lemon juice after the usual washing and dry your hair in the sun.

Beetroot and carrot – red hair
Chop a medium-sized beetroot and 2-3 carrots into small pieces and put them in water to the boil until completely tender. After cooking, allow to cool completely, and blend a couple of pieces in the cooking water. You will get a dark red liquid. Apply to the entire hair and leave on for 30 minutes. Rinse the hair with water, and at the end rinse with vinegar. The effects of this treatment will be the most effective on lighter hair, while for the darker shades you will need to repeat the treatment for several times. But do not worry – it is completely healthy and natural so the hair will not be damaged!

5 Foods You Think Are Healthy, But Aren’t

May 9, 2015 by Sheila Smith

Lately, people have begun to pay attention the food that they consume.
The problem is that manufacturers followed this trend and in order to earn more, began to advertise all kinds of foods as “healthy” even though they are not.
Check out these 5 foods you thought were healthy and next time think carefully, before you buy them.

1. Salads – salads are often associated with the opinion that they are healthy, but is it always so? Salads are healthy, but when you add a variety dressings of or mayonnaise they cease to be good for your body, because you consume too many unnecessary calories.

2. Granola bars – If you make them by yourself then you are on the right track. But if you buy them at the store you didn’t make a good choice. Most granola bars that you can find in the shops and supermarkets are full of sugar or sweeteners.

3. Muesli – This breakfast is also presented as a healthy one. But if you buy muesli in a grocery store or supermarket chances are that it will be full of sugar and unnecessary calories. It is best to buy your own cereal, soak them overnight in water and add almonds, walnuts, honey or something according to your taste.

4. Popcorn – Popcorn are healthy and contain few calories but that does not apply to those prepared in the microwave. Make them at home in a healthy way.

5. Brown bread – This is the biggest problem. In fact most types of bread, which are sold as brown do not contain brown flour from whole grains, it is actually white bread with added color. The real brown bread is not soft, but hard. If you just want a healthy bread, make it yourself from germinated wheat grains.

Don’t let manufacturers trick you!