New Blog Live

Hi Everyone,

If you read my last post, you know I am in the process of starting my own small business. At the moment, I’ve launched my website. For the moment, there are only partial aspects that are live. However, I’d be so grateful if you could take a look and share your feedback, comments or just creep over and read some articles. Low porosity won’t be the main focus, but it’ll definitely be one of my most posted and favorite topics to write about . If interested please click this link for more details.

Hope you’re having a great weekend and hope to “see” you over at Blossom Shop.

A preview of a post that might be of interest:

Fail-proof product for moisture and hair growth

Happy Saturday

prepoo hot oil treatments FTW! Freshly washed and unraveled. 

 

Successful technique for doing a pre-poo on low porosity hair

I’ll preface this by saying: My hair was blown out and flat ironed when I did this treatment. While on vacation in the States, I decided to have my hair done by my hairdresser. I returned home a couple of weeks ago and life has been very busy. Alas, that flat ironed hair, lasted me 3 weeks– I know, I know, way too long without a wash, but I’ll admit, I did enjoy not bothering with my hair for such a long time– My hair was a bit dry and dirty, definitely in need of a cleanse. Since I’m always deep conditioning, I decided to pre-poo my hair, so I could skip stepping out of the shower, deep conditioning and going back into the shower to rinse.

My first pre-poo consisted of me applying oil to my hair and plopping on a plastic cap. I noticed a bit of sheen, but didn’t really notice a major different in my hair’s overall condition. This time, I decided to do a hot oil/ deep condition pre-poo.

1. I combined different oils that all have beneficial properties: coconut (70%), jojoba (10%), cupuaca (10%) butter, argan oil (10%).
2. I used about 1/4 cup of all combined. Placed the oil in my DIY pyrex dish double boiler and warmed them over medium heat.
3. I added a sprig of rosemary to the oils, as it has healing properties, invigorates the scalp, promotes growth and smells just heavenly. Once warmed, I applied this to my hair from root to tip, paying special attention to my ends. I also applied a small amount to my scalp and massaged my head.
4. I was generous with the amount applied to my ends and applied a light layer to the rest of my hair.
5. Next, I put conditioner on the ends of my hair on top of the oil. Sat under a hooded dryer, with a plastic cap on my head, for about 30 minutes. I then proceeded to shampoo with a gentle sulfate-free cleanser and then condition.
6. Finally, I moisturized with a leave-in and did my usual styling routine (i.e. twists and sat under the dryer to let the moisture seep in).

What I noticed:

• my hair didn’t feel stripped when I shampooed it.
• my hair melted into the conditioner and detangling was not difficult.
• my hair was shiny after washing, but the next day when it was completely dry it was even shinier.
• day three hair is still shiny and so soft. I need to keep my hands out of my head though, definite case of HIH (hands in hair) syndrome.
• My twist out is not as defined as usual, but I’m okay with that. I’ll trade anything for health and shine.

Moral of the story, low porosity hair needs, heat for products to absorb.

*** hair pinned back for my job interview, but I’m still loving the sheen!***

   
  

Pre-poo on low porosity hair

this method has never yielded good results for me… Until today! I’ll post later today on how I achieved, soft shiny, hydrated, tangle-free hair, using a prepoo treatment on my low porosity hair.

  

Rhassoul Quick Wash Recipe

I’m holed up in the bathroom right now, doing a quick deep conditioner, while baby girl is sleeping and daddy is entertaining the not so little peanut.

I write about rhassoul clay pretty much all the time. It’s the real MVP, an all around product that can be used as a facial cleanser, hair wash, deep conditioner, etc. I usually do a hair mask, but with two kids, applying the mask can take time. Making sure every strand is coated, letting it sit on my hair for a bit before proceeding with my routine. Now, I tend to do a rhassoul wash more than a hair mask, because it’s quicker and less messy, but mostly because it’s a short process. A rhassoul wash is my remplacement shampoo, so I always follow it up with a conditioner or deep conditioner, which isn’t always the case with the mask.

I thought I’d share my mixture for my wash. It differs a lot from the mask, because it’s mostly water and has more ACV. The goal with the wash is to cleanse the scalp. Although a minimal amount of rhassoul is used here, I still reap the benefits of soft, tangle free hair.

Rhassoul Quick Wash Recipe

• 3/4 – 1c water
• 2 TBSP ACV
• 3 TBSP rhassoul

Apply to wet hair, close to the scalp, massage scalp in circular motions with the pads of your fingers, rinse and you can detangle as you’re rinsing if you’d like.

I followed this with a reverse oil rinse deep conditioner, which I’m doing right now as I write you.

Side note- I’ve gone through post-partum shedding before, but it seems much more severe this round, because my hair wasn’t as thick this pregnancy. Well, I’ll carry on deep conditioning the three strands of hair this pregnancy has left me. =)

Have you ever tried rhassoul clay? If so, what are your favorite ways to use it?

I’ll have some exciting news towards the end of this year. I can’t really share it with you now, although I’m itching to, but there will be some big changes happening for lowporosityhaircare.

 

Happy weekend!

2nd day hair pic (selfie and nursing —being a mom has made me a pro multi tasker). Just to show my post partum thinning. 

  

Mom Regimen and Life Hacks

Now that I’m a mother of two, I’ve adjusted my regimen to accommodate. You can still refer to my regimen page for a look into my normal routine. I hope to get back to that one when things calm down–one can dream right?

So this is what my hair routine and beauty hacks look like.

1. Hair

 

Weekly washes have turned to every other weekly washes. To revive my hair and get a fresh look for week two. I detangle my stretched hair, slightly dampen it with my wet fingers, put on a tiny bit of leave-in, coat the section in a light oil, twist it up and go to sleep. The next day, I take it out and fluff my root. Results: Shiny, fluffy hair.

For some reason, I get more shine and less frizz doing this. Probably because my hair is styled on stretched hair, using very little water. Since my hair is stretched, it’s also easier to distribute the product and oil. This will help me get through another 5 – 7 days without having to wash.

TOTAL TIME: 20 minutes.

2. Clothes

I haven’t been shopping in a long time. I have some pudge left over from the birth of my little girl. I’m okay with these two things. I only want to shop for items that are timeless and that will survive different stages of life with me. Better for the planet and my wallet– quality over quantity. I’m working out and that keeps me healthy and will help me lose some of the pudge. Although, I want to keep some of it, this pregnancy has blessed me with more butt and curves, which I’ve always wanted. LOL!

Back to the topic– To avoid looking like I just rolled out of bed and threw on the first thing I saw — which I’ve done a lot, I pair some effortless clothes with some statement pieces and do lots of layering.

Layers work well for nursing on-the-go. It gives me privacy and gives my little ones extra warmth. Like the cardigan I’m wearing in the photo above from Zara. I paired it with a loose, cropped satin tank and high waisted distressed skinny jeans. The tank hides my belly pooch and the high waisted jeans lengthen my legs and also helps suck in the belly. Just want to add my ripped jeans look, which are all the rave now, are DIY. Step one: play race cars with your toddler while crawling around on your knees and voila. I always, always, always wear a pair of flats or flat soled boots– it’s all about functionality.

If you pulled an all nighter, throw on some sunglasses and you’re good to go.

 

3. Beauty

I give myself a time limit for getting ready. I have to be done with shower, hair, clothes and make-up in 20- 25 minutes. This is my time limit if I decide to wake up before my kids and get ready. My make-up routine is 5 minutes and it’s minimal. My goal is to get a fresh, slept-8 to 10 hours-look. I splash my face with cold water, tone with witch hazel and hydrate with jojoba oil. Then I put concealer under my eye, bronzer at the top of my cheek bones and blush on the apples of my cheeks, I throw on a neutral eye shadow, a couple of coats of mascara and I’m good to go. I don’t use foundation. This method gives me a fresh, awake face. If I don’t have time for a full 5 minute routine. I just do mascara, concealer and blush.

 

4. Mind

I wake up about 10 minutes earlier than planned and either read a few pages of a book or focus on my breathing and the feeling I have in that moment. I’m trying to really enjoy being in the moment. I’m a natural planner and as soon as my feet hit the ground, I know what I’m doing three days from that moment. So my goal is to remember to live the here & now, especially with my little ones.

Your turn: What are your life hacks to save time in the four areas I mentioned (hair, clothes, beauty and mind)? Whether you have kids or not, I’d love to hear from you.

 

Quick Hello

Hi Everyone,

I’m alive and well. A few of you have emailed me to find out how I’m doing. I had a beautiful baby girl on January 26th. I hope to be back to blogging soon and answering your inquiries. For the moment, I’m taking time to enjoy my little and big bundles of joy and just be in the moment. Please read through the blog or search for any lo-po questions you may have. If you don’t find what you need, I’ll do my best to answer your inquiries. I’m working on getting a FAQs section for my blog soon. Lots of love to all of you and thank you for all of your thoughtful messages.

 

Quick morning routine

Protective styling has its benefits! It took me one hour to install  medium twists. I plan on keeping them in for 2 weeks, moisturizing my ends on an as-needed basis. If you think about it, one hour divided by 14 days is equivalent to about 4 minutes styling per day. So looking at the big picture, one hour is not a lot at all.

I’m often discouraged to protective style, particularly put my hair in twists, because: A) I like to wear my hair out B) it seems time-consuming and C) requires more planning and preparation than a wash n go or a twist-out.

However, this morning it took me a whole 2 minutes to pin my hair up into this bun and move on with my business. I have to admit, it was totally worth it. Not to mention, my ends are extremely hydrated, as they’re protected from harsh elements and tucked away most of the time.

I can’t say, I’ll protective style all the time. However, I get what all the fuss is about.

Do you protective style? If you do, what are some of your favorite to-go-to options for protective styling?

Pre-Poo Oil Treatment

Happy New Year Everyone!

The other day, I was skimming through a book a friend gifted me many years ago. The book is about all natural Indian beauty secrets. It also includes a section on healing from the inside, which I appreciate, as all beauty starts from within. The hair section discusses cures for dry hair. Some of the suggestions to combat this problem include: shampooing on an as needed basis, gentle brushing and combing, using creamy conditioners, reducing exposure to strong winds and sun, and overnight coconut oil treatments.

Honestly, nothing new here, but it helps to read about it and have it reiterated. As a lo-po natural, I obviously can’t go without an occasional shampoo. However, I typically cleanse with rhassoul clay, only using commercial shampoos every other month if I notice any product build-up. I’ve never prepped my hair with an oil treatment before cleansing. So I’m giving it a go for the first time today. Ideally, the book suggests doing this overnight. However, I can’t work this into my schedule. So here’s my approach to pre-poo oil treatments:

1. Divide hair into four sections and generously apply coconut oil to both scalp and hair, concentrating on the ends. You could treat yourself to a nice scalp massage at this point.
2. Cover hair in a plastic cap, wet a small towel with very hot water and carefully squeez out the excess water. *Place the damp, hot towel over the plastic cap, place a plastic bag (the kind you get at the grocery store in the fresh produce section) over the towel and cover with a scarf or bonnet.
3. Leave this in for as long as you like, but if you’re stressed for time like me, about 20-30 minutes should be fine.
4. I’ll follow this treatment with rhassoul and condition my hair if necessary.

*Remember heat is the key for effective moisturizing for lo-po hair.

My due date is rapidly approaching and I’m due in a little less than two weeks, but could go at any moment, so my goal today is to get my hair into some kind of protective style and forget about it until after the birth. If you’re a long time follower, you might remember when I was pregnant with my son, I had a fear of going into labor mid-styling. Same thing this time around. So some simple elegant two strand twists might be the way to go again.

I’ll report back with pictures and results after styling (if I’m not in labor— I’m that uncomfortable at this point, I wouldn’t actually mind!).

Do you pre-poo? What kind of results have you noticed?

XO

**UPDATE**

After washing with rhassoul clay, conditioning and applying my leave-in, grapeseed oil and gel, I twisted my hair. I then sat under the dryer for 15 and to let me leave-in absorb. My twists feel moisturized and soft and my hair is shiny and smooth. I think the pre-poo gave it more of a shine than my usual routine, but I’m not 100% sure, so I’ll have to give it a few more tries to test the results. In any case, I’m happy to have my hair twisted and out of the way for the next couple of weeks.

 

Updates from the Hooded Dryer

Deep conditioning my hair and realised it’s been a disrespectfully long time since I’ve blogged. Since, I’m doing my weekly deep conditioner, I thought now was a better time than never.

On the hair front. My hair has been doing really well. I ran out of rhassoul clay and need to order a new stock. So I’ve been doing a lot of co-washing and I shampoo every other week or once a month, since winter months here tend to be dry. I make deep conditioning part of my regular routine. Even on days when I’m feeling lazy and tired, I make sure I sit under my hooded dryer for at least 15 minutes to let my conditioner soak into my strands.

I’ve mainly been doing twist-outs and protective styling (though not intentionally, but due to my being exhausted, lazy and low on time). I did venture into threading once, when I had the urge to blow-dry my hair. It gave my hair a really nice stretch to work with for other styles. I haven’t put heat to my hair since I went to the salon in August. So I’m happy for Youtube and alternative methods to blow-drying.

My pregnancy is going well and I have a little over a month left until the baby comes– saying that suddenly makes me panic. Time is flying by. I’m excited to meet this little life and to see my son transform into a big brother. We finally found names for both a boy and girl. I was starting to worry, because we’ve disagreed for the past 34 weeks.

In the meantime, I’m looking forward to relaxing over the holidays. It’s been a busy year at home and at work. I’m thankful for everything we have, but really need some downtime before I double my motherly duties. Hope you all have a wonderful holiday season with your loved ones and family members!!