A Journey in Adulting & Self-Care

 I have to thank my mother...even in the peak of the 90s pencil thin brows, she shaped my brows according to what suited my face and not what was trendy. So, while sparse brows are not my concern, I do have hairs that go every which way and create gaps and empty spaces. I have tried all sorts of eyebrow gels and even gone as far as to use eyelash glue to try and tame my brow hairs but by the end of the day, they seem to have been in an argument and are going their separate way. Enter, eyebrow lamination! Now, typically before I DIY a treatment at home, I like to get it done professionally. However, the images that pop up when you search "eyebrow lamination" remind me of old-school Grandpa brows! No offense to anyone who enjoys the feathered look but it does not suit me and I was a bit worried that a salon would try to give me this trendy shape and I would hate it. So, I got a kit from Amazon, watched a few videos on Youtube and tried it on myself! The process was easy enough

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

 Before my title causes you to get out the torches and pitchforks, allow me to explain. Olaplex changed my life. I was trying to figure out my hair texture and the weird curls and texture I would see in the shower led me to believe that I secretly had curly hair that was being mistreated and heated to a frizzy, sad mess. That is, until I started using Olaplex. Immediately, my hair was smooth, bouncy, shiny, soft...all those adjectives you read on the back of a shampoo bottle! I was hooked! Gimme no. 6, no. 4, no. 5! Oh wait, there a no. 8? Yes! I'll take a no. 7 and a no. 3! No, these aren't entrees from a Chinese takeout menu but products from their hair repair system and I tried (nearly) all of them! At my peak, I was regularly using at least 5 of the 7 products they had in the complete system. Which was all well and good, until it wasn't. I first noticed a problem when my hair just felt limp upon waking up instead of bouncy and voluminous. Ok, weird. Maybe I slept extra-

 So, as the title indicates, it has been 6 months since my husband gave me the Dyson Airwrap as a gift and I wanted to check-in to let you know how it has been so far. Read on to learn if I still use it, what is the most useful and pros and cons I have discovered. Do you still use it? Yes! I got rid of the curling iron with 7 attachments, the blow dryer, hot rollers, flat iron and foam curlers, leaving Dyson the only hot tool I have now. Every time I wash my hair, I have to use the Airwrap. Trust me, I tried not to one night just to make sure my hair texture hadn't magically transformed into silky, smooth waves. Turns out frizz is still my friend and Dyson is somehow keeping it at bay. So, is your hair fried from all that use? Nope! Don't ask me how but my hair is smooth, shiny and looks like glass. I didn't even notice until I was taking a video where my little one was arranging my hair in a heart shape pattern on the floor. I realized all the shine and light gleaming was

 So as summer winds down for us in the Northern Hemisphere, our Southern Hemisphere friends are getting ready for warmer temperatures and bare limbs. Depending on your personal choice, you may opt to shave/wax/expilate your limbs. This can lead to ingrown hairs, especially those who epilate. But no need to fear, there are plenty of ways you can go about addressing these annoyances. Step 1: Exfoliate If you can reduce the loose, dead skin on the surface you can help prevent ingrown hairs. Dry brushing or brushing your skin before removing the hair with a stiff exfoliating brush (I like this one) helps prepare your skin. Skin on our body is much thicker and stronger than skin on our neck or face and can withstand much more exfoliating. I also like exfoliating in the shower. Wet skin makes it easier to permeate deeper and remove more than the surface skin layer. A good body scrub combined with an exfoliating towel (I use Frank's Body Scrub and Salux cloth) can work wonders at leaving

If you walk away from this blog only have read this post, then just know that your neighbors will thank you. Smelling good not only makes us feel good but can be pleasant or even down-right alluring to those around you. And before you think all it takes is a shower and deodorant, just know that we are about to level up your aromatic game. The Basics Because this is a blog about making self-care accessible, we will start at the beginning. Shower regularly. Even if you feel depressed, tired sick...a warm shower can work wonders. Even if it is the only thing you manage to do...pull yourself out of the bed long enough to get under that shower.  If this tweet is to be believed...the Vikings and all their showered glory were too sexy for European women so the power of a shower cannot be denied! Great! You are freshly showered! Now what? Use deodorant. If you are using anti-perspirant (the difference being that antiperspirant  actually block your ability to sweat), then use these at night sin

 Ah...a flowing, luxurious mane...our hair is one of the few things that we can change on a whim with just a few snips of a scissor or stroke of a bleach-coated brush. However, hair loss can be a difficult and somber part of aging. Recently I celebrated my 35th birthday and I noticed that I was forever cleaning up errant hairs after a shower or brushing my hair. With long hair, this was not new but I noticed that I would have side part that ran deeper than I liked or that my updos were sitting flatter than usual. The last straw was when I tried the middle part to see what all the hype was only to be shocked at the lack of volume. I tried volumizing spray with a little success but I knew I had to get to the root of the problem...pun totally intended. So here are some things that I tried and what I liked and did not like: This is about 6 months apart with red light therapy, hair serum, peppermint oil and biotin. Now that I know this combination works, I will remove one product at a time

 So, one of the perks of quarantine has been researching and just learning from others...usually through online forums. This has lead me down a rabbit hole of things that seem very obvious and commonplace to others but apparently no one knew or shared with me as I was growing up. Hence, the first in what I hope will be a series.."why didn't anyone tell me?" As a child of the 90s, Bath-and-Body Works and Herbal Essence were a staple of my shower routines but beyond that, everything else was learned through the pages of glossy teen publications and hearsay from friends. I remember being surprised that my friend brushed her hair in the shower and thinking..."wait, is this something everyone should be doing??" Now, I've come up with some things I found new and surprisingly but has made a big improvement in my shower routine. Pre-shampoo My curly girls sisters may already know about this but apparently your shower strips moisture and natural oils from your hair s