A Journey in Adulting & Self-Care

British Vogue's editor, Sarah Harris AKA my grey hair inspiration! This was the year of my first grey hair. As someone who has experimented with a different hair color exactly twice in their life...this was an exciting event. I felt like a unicorn! That was fun and all but then a part of me felt like it reflected a more stressful time in my life. It was right on the heels of several major surgeries and that doesn't even include the election, current state of affairs, climate change...the list goes on. So, while grey hairs certainly weren't the enemy, I did not want them if they were a result of stress or nutritional deficiencies. Enter black sesame seeds. This "magical" seed is common in Asian cooking and is believed to have high levels of antioxidants which stimulate the production of melanocytes which help keep our hair its natural color. I honestly did not put much weight into this but the sight of my first few grey hairs made me curious. Could this actually wo

 I recently found a fabulous salon where I was introduced to the Candela laser, an alternative to the GentleMax. It was surprisingly effective, where even after one treatment I was able to see improvement in my pigmentation and scarring. If you are a person of color and are interested in increasing collagen, reducing fine lines and addressing scarring, this could be a great option for you! I would definitely recommend lidocaine to help numb the skin beforehand. It make the process way more comfortable and helped my aesthetician get to all the areas she needed without me tearing up and needing a break. She was even able to get to my dark circles which, honestly, I just assumed were permament. Apologies for low-quality! But you can see that my dark pigmentation near my sideburn is longer and my skin is more textured in the left picture whereas the dark spot is a bit lighter and scarring is less noticeable on the right. I am currently on treatment 3 of 4 in a package so I am hopeful that

 I was recently asked about how I keep dry winter skin at bay and I didn't realize just how intensive my routine truly was! My philosophy is that I am lazy, plain and simple. Whatever I can do in one step to prevent future action is in my best interest. Of course, just like any other posts, feel free to cherry-pick and add or adapt steps that fit your lifestyle. Moisturize mee...moisturize me... 1. Use hydrating products in the shower This is a work-in-progress but currently these steps allow me to keep my skin pretty hydrated even though I enjoy taking the hottest shower imaginable. - LUSH Honey I Washed the Kids This body wash not only smells like delicious candy but it lathers up without drying my skin out. I've tried other body washes and even oil-based body washes, but consistency come back to this since everything else seems to dry my skin out. - Franks' Body Scrub I love a good scrub, especially since I use an epilator which can cause ingrown hairs. But I am pretty p