Tuesday 28 June 2016

ALL ABOUT EYEBAGS AND PUFFY EYES #2




Am happy you enjoyed reading the #1 of this subject. Thanks for the DMs. If you have not read it, please click here to read.

What can be done to prevent and reduce eye bags/puffy eyes?

* Have adequate night rest. 7 to 8 hours of sleep is enough because sometimes oversleeping can also give you puffy eyes.

* Cut down your intake of foods and beverages that encourage fluid retention eg. Alcohol, coffee white sugar, fried foods, white flour, salt foods etc.



* If you work long hours before the computer screen, get an anti-reflex prescription glasses from an eye care professional for protection. Following the 20-20-20 rule can be helpful. The 20-20-20 rule means, for every 20 minutes of work before the computer screen look away at a distance of 20 feet for 20 seconds.

* Avoid allergens. If you identify any thing you are allergic to, try to stay away from it to prevent body sensitivity reactions.

* Drink enough clean water each day for general good health and hydration. The more hydrated, the better.

* Follow all occupational safety rules. If in the course, you experience any negative eye effect like eye swelling, see an eye care professional and check protective equipments for faults. There might be need for change or upgrade to adequately protect the worker.

* If you are in the habit of squinting, see an eye care professional for examination to correcf any refractive error that strains the eye area. Constant squinting can cause early wrinkling of eye area and other symptoms like puffy eyes.

*  Eye creams can be helpful too. They are formulated specially for the eye area and to slow aging in the peri-orbital areas.

Examples of eye creams that have proven to be effective with regular application.



Oriflame Collagen wrinkle correcting eye cream.
It is made to reduce wrinkles, eye puffiness and dark circles. It improves microcirculation around the eyes and the skin around eye becomes smoother and firmer.

Oriflame seeing is believing eye cream
It is formulated to reduce puffiness, dark circles and refreshes eye area.


* Try cold compresses over the eye for 20 minutes or more. The cold compress act as vaso-constrictor to reduce the fluid beneath the eyelids. For a cold compress you can use cotton pads soaked in cold water or cold milk ; chilled sliced potato; chilled tea bags. Place it over eye for about 20 minutes. You will notice temporary reduction in eye bags.


* Natural butters and oils are loaded with vitamins, minerals and anti-aging components. Regular use of them for the skin can promote elasticity, tightening of skin generally and around the eye, minimizing lines and wrinkles. Examples include sheabutter, cocoa butter, olive oil, coconut oil, baobab oil etc.


* For the ladies, you can apply makeup and concealer to disguise the pronounced eye bags for a momentary gorgeous look. Be gentle anytime you are working on the skin around the eye.


To round up this subject, I believe proper general health care and and a good inner personality is more attractive. This should be priority!

Did this article prove helpful? I will like to know.

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ALL ABOUT EYEBAGS AND PUFFY EYES #1




The struggle with eye bags and puffy eyes is real. When you have tried your best to hide them, they sit out steering in the open and can be annoying at times. As a doctor of optometry, this subject is of interest to me too. I wouldn't bore you with medical terminologies. I will put it out very simple.

The skin around the eye is the thinnest of the whole body and most fragile and among the first to show signs of aging.

Early morning eye bags
When asleep, the body's circulatory system moves slowly, leaving excess fluid beneath the eyes. Early morning bags are normal. They disappear gradually during the day. If the eye bags persist throughout the day, then it is an indicator that your body needs more rest.


Genetics
Eyebags /Puffy eyes can also be inherited. Personally, I got mine from my mom. Mom and her siblings got theirs  from their mom, my granny. So eye bags do run in family and there is little or nothing you can do to eliminate them.


Aging eyebags
Eyebags that come with aging are caused by weakening of the tissues and muscles supporting the eyelids. Consequently, it falls forward to form eye bags as one ages.


Work Hazards
People who sit very long hours before computer screens without protection do experience what is called computer vision syndrome (CVS). CVS symptoms include eye fatigue, heavy eyes, eye pain, itching , edema (puffy eyes) and more.
Certain jobs like welding, expose the eyes to harmful rays. Therefore its important
that workers in that environment follow safety procedures and guidelines.



Food
Certain foods encourage fluid retention in the body like salty foods, processed foods containing sodium and food loaded with carbohydrates. Some people identify jollof rice for dinner as what gives them early morning puffy eyes.



Other factors
Other factors that can cause puffy eyes include smoking, alcohol consumption, hormone level changes, change in weather, allergens, certain medications, sinus infections, kidney or liver problems etc.

When does an eye bag become a serious cause for concern?
When they persist for days and/or get worse, it can be a sign of a serious underlying health problem.
When eye bags/puffy eyes are accompanied by itching and redness, see your eye care professional for proper diagnosis and treatment.

Continued on next post.....


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Wednesday 15 June 2016

PRODUCT REVIEW - NATUR VITAL HENNA SHAMPOO BLACK HIGHLIGHTS



Today, I choose to make a review about this product, Natur Vital henna shampoo , l  used during my relaxed hair years. You remember, I wrote a post about my damaged hair and what I did to save it. It was during that period, I quit using the 'mass produced' conventional shampoos that's common in most salons here. Then, I picked Natur Vital which served me about 2 years. I wanted something close to nature and as the name goes, I fell for it.

Natur Vital Henna Shampoo promises to
*Protect and brighten hair ccolour.
*Make hair shiny.
*Make hair healthy and soft

How it looks

Front

Back


Note: Opinions expressed are mine and my conclusions were made after extensive read.

Natural ingredients that make my eyes pop
*Henna extract
*Sunflower extract
The natural action of this two natural ingredients are written on the product label as you can see above.

Henna 'Lawsonia inermis' : It is a natural coloring agent obtained from crushed Henna leaves. Henna extract makes your hair shiny and strong and gives it lots of body. It also brightens natural and dyed hair colour.

Sunflower 'Helianthus annus L' : The extract from sunflower seeds is rich in polyphenols and protects the colour of natural and dyed hair from the aggression of ultraviolet rays and free radicals. Its action is increased by a UVA + UVB sun filter to protect yoir hair and prolong its colour.


Ingredients that are just okay
Sodium chloride, Glycol Distearate, Sodium PCA, Polyquaternium 10, Citric acid, PEG-55 propylene glycol oleate, Disodium ADTA and All the Cl.(Colors)


Ingredients that are a bit of concern
Sodium laureth sulfate - Most naturalistas opt for sulfate free shampoos because it can strip off all the oils from hair leaving it very dry and brittle. Others do not mind using shampoos with sulphates as long as their hair is rinse well and deep conditioned after shampoo to replenish and strengthen the hair.

Cocamide DEA - helps shampoo lather and foam like sulfates do too. It can leave the hair dry and studies show that it carcinogenic when combined with some preservatives.

Benzophene-4 -it protects products against photo degradation. There is fair amount of scientific evidence points to adverse effects with use and considered unsuitable for children under 2years who do not have developed enzymes for the breakdown of it.


The No - No ingredients
All the parabens - Ethylparaben, Propylparaben, Butylparaben,  Methyl paraben. The parabens serves as preservatives but there are claims  that the parabens are carcenogenic and cause endocrine disruption, development and reproductive toxicity.
Phenoxyethanol - is an chemical alternative to parabens. FDA warns that it can be toxic with effects on brain and central nervous system even at moderate concentrations.

Pros
*It does restore damaged hair to healthy shiny look after several use, coupled with good hair care practice.
As you can see from the picture below it did restore my hair color from a former dark yellowish weak hair texture to dark shinier look and remained so even after i stopped using it for years.

*It is mild on hair.
*It is suitable for use on permanently dyed hair.
*Its not that pricey (At least, I could afford it as a student)

Cons
*It might stain a brightly colored cloth but it comes off easily when washed.
*Oh! The parabens. There should be a better substitute for it.

Will I like to use it again?
I would have said I wouldn't mind to use it, if I feel the need. But, I just found online that Natur Vital has a line of paraben-free hair products in abroad. So I am on a look out for it here.

Rating
4/5


What was it like using the Natur Vital henna shampoo?



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Tuesday 14 June 2016

How to properly take care of your hair under braids.



When tired of weaves and every day hairstyling, braids are next resort. Braids are great low manipulation protective styles that also help in hair length retention. But, you can feel regrets after taken them down, if you do not properly take care of your hair underneath your braids during the period you have them installed.

Your natural hair within the braids needs to be cleansed, conditioned, moisturised as you would when not in braids.

Cleansing
To cleanse your hair, you can use just water, liquid shampoo or dry shampoo. For easy application of the liquid shampoo, dilute and gently massage your scalp with your palm. Take care not to cut hair strands from the root with your nails or better still keep short nails, your hair will thank you for that. Cleanse your hair and scalp once every 5-10 days.

Condition
Follow up cleansing with conditioner. Dilute your conditioner to prevent build up on scalp and for easy rinse off.

Moisturize
The first few days of braid installation, you need to massage your scalp and hair at the roots and edges once or twice daily. This strengthens the roots  to prevent uprootof the hair due to tightness. After which you can reduce the frequency.

Have your hairspray filled and handy for during the day moisturizing. This will prevent your hair from drying out and breaking . Just shake and spray on scalp and the entire length of your hair in the braids.

For my present faux locs,  I have water 80%, coconut oil+olive oil+ Nature and Nurture 10-in-1 growth trigger oil for daily use in my spray bottle. Even when on faux locks and the length of my hair is not exposed as its in braids, I spray along the length of my hair hoping water get in . Point :Our hair thrives on moisture. The first few days of faux locs installation, I massaged my scalp  and hair at the roots with Nature and Nurture 10-in-1 growth trigger oil which calmed the tension at the roots and hairline.

Protect hair at night
Use your satin scarf or satin pillowcase if your satin bonnet cannot contain the braids. You can also raise hair to an updo, if its too long and wrap you hair round.
Remember to massage and moisturize hair before covering it.

Donts
Choose braid styling that are not tight, painful and pull on the edges. No need to risk loosing your natural hair from the roots to a momentary gorgeous braid styling. Infact it took me more than a month to be able to style my faux locs. and still wasn't too comfortable restyling it.

Optional tip
After wash, you can seal up moisture in exposed hair not scalp (so as not to clog the pores on scalp) with melted Shea butter or any natural butter. Rub between your palm to melt and rub along the length of you natural hair.

Throughout the period of your braids are installed, your hair will look really clean, neat and smell good. You might be tempted to leave your braids on for so long b. A maximum of 8 weeks for braids and 12 weeks for faux locs is okay. If you do not take it down at a reasonable time, breakage from hair matting can occur and benefits of length retention and growth will be forfeited.

I know you got it!

I hope you enjoy your braids and keep slaying!


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Wednesday 1 June 2016

NATURE AND NURTURE HAIR CLINIC AND BARBING SALON



I got interested in discovering and featuring natural hair salons because of the concerns and needs of our ever growing number of naturalistas in the western part of this continent. So if you follow along, you will get to know where and what to expect from your best natural hair salons. Portharcourt city will be my first. Come on , lets explore!

Nature and Nurture Hair Clinic and Barbing Salon
I first met Nature and Nature at their stand at the Natural Hair Expo in the Garden city of Portharcourt. The first thing that caught my attention was the natural hair of her two cuties. It was WOW! A Hairspiration!! 4C hair on fleek!

Right away, I knew Nature and Nuture had the secrets. Three days later, I paid a visit their salon to find out about their services. I am pleased to share with you what I got.

Nature and Nuture hair clinic and barbing salon is an ideal place to cater your natural hair needs. A comfortable top notch salon situated at a strategic location, easy to locate. It has experienced male and female natural hair stylists who are gentle when working with clients hair. They stock assorted foreign brand natural hair products and their own special natural brand products that have proven to be excellently efficient. Take note they also properly care for all hair types whether relaxed or transitioning.

The manager added that on weekends, you can be have freshly handmade organic treatments with no chemicals or preservatives to treat and pamper your natural hair. Her customers always speak well of their experience and are confident to return for more.

Natural hair products they stock
All Cantu hair products (cantu kids also available)
Ecostyler gel
Sunny Isle Jamaican black castor oil
Go Natural Jamaican Castor oil with tropical twist.
Cococure essential oils
Forever By Now essential oils
Forever living essential oils
Elasta QP- Olive oil and Mango butter
Mango and Lime Jamaican Black Castor oil
Mega growth hair products
Natur Vital Henna Shampoo
Tresemmé hair shampoo and Conditioner
Crème of Nature Hair products

Products on request
Shea moisture hair products
Texture my way hair products

Nature and Nature natural handmade products
Special whipped sheabutter with oils
10 - 1 Hair Growth trigger oil

Crochet hair extensions 
Mali Bob
Senegalese twists
Havana twists
X-pression collection crochet varieties
Freetress braids
Marley braid
Nubian braid
Kanekalon Noir Fro Twist Braid
Havana mambo twist
CRO-ARUBA-ROPE and more..

Styling tools/products
Perm rods
Roller sets
Satin bonnets
Hair accessories etc.

They restock new brands .. So you can check them out

Natural hair styles
Crochet braids of all kinds.
Twists
Braids
Buns
Up-dos
Weaves and more..

Additional Services
Hair barbing
Pedicure
Makeup
Reflexology-foot massage

Special services by the salon owner
Assistance in creating a proper hair care regime.
Advice on food supplements for healthy body for healthy hair.
Coaching on body weight management.

I love her calm beautiful spirit. A plus

Location: 106B, NTA Road beside Sizzlers Fast food, Location Junction, Mbguoba . Portharcourt.

Give a call/ chat: 08025013646

Follow her online
Facebook :Nature &Nurture Hair Clinic and Barbing Salon
Instagram:  natureandnurturehair


I will be doing features on Port Harcourt (Nigeria) based natural hair salons and beauty stores that stock natural hair products. If you have any of them to recommend, please let me know.


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