I used to take biotin religiously, but I must’ve failed to restock after running out at some point and then forgotten about it completely. I do that a lot.  As someone who is trying to maintain long, healthy hair, I recently started taken it again. I tell myself it’s helping, but who really knows? I’ll believe almost anything written on a hard plastic bottle (not really).

How about you? Do you take biotin, or do you rely on fruits and vegetables for that sort of thing? If you do take it, then do you think it’s making a difference your hair and nails?

Image Source

Sources: One, Two, Three, Four, Five.

See what I mean? Maybe brown isn’t so bad.

How you deal with hair-related discontent when you’re low on cash?

I rarely regret my decision to avoid shampoo, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t occasionally miss the scent of freshly-washed hair. Hair that smells like nothing can get pretty boring, and without that just shampooed look/feel/scent, I often forget when I last used baking soda and apple cider vinegar. Because of this, I tend use baking soda more frequently than is necessary. This is both wasteful and not so great for my already dry hair.

Amber, my talented hairstylist, often mixes a few drops of peppermint essential oil with the water she uses to spray my hair.  I’ve taken note of how awesome it makes my hair smell when she does it, but it didn’t occur to me until very recently that this might be a solution to my problem. When I saw an unused spray bottle in my bathroom cabinet and realized that I also had peppermint oil, I decided to give it a try the next time my hair needed a little freshening up.

It worked so well that I’m kicking myself for not trying it sooner!

Do you have any other tips for making hair smell great without shampoo?

Amber is a hair magician. My hair never looks this shiny when I fix it!

 So I didn’t get bangs or all my hair chopped off, but I’m feeling better about my long hair than I have in months. Amber at Intricid Salon tells me that I can easily achieve the long, lovely locks that I want with the help of a daily mutivitamin and less razoring. Oh boy! Until then, maybe I’ll just pretend to have short hair occasionally with the help of this sweet tutorial.

A small part of me wants to leave the salon with a cute bob, similar to the one above.

Katie’s sweet bangs make me wish I hadn’t even decided to grow mine out.

But I’d also love to let my hair grow into something that would hopefully eventually resemble this beautiful mane.

Ho-hum. Decisions, decisions. What do you think?

Silly hats are the only worthwhile items Ron Jon Surf Shop has to offer.

Hey guys, I hope you’re all having the best week. Here are a few links to some summer/beach related articles I’ve recently come across. Enjoy!

• Several of these casual updos could easily be recreated for a relaxing day on the beach or just a hot day in the sun.
• This sunscreen infographic is so informative! I love arming myself with useful information.
• Parts 1 and 2 of Eco Stiletto’s Eco Bikini Feature are very promising. Bikinis made from recycled water bottles and organic cotton? I can’t wait for parts 3-4!
• Get a bikini wax this month and kill two birds with one stone.  Be swimsuit ready and support cervical cancer and HPV research.

I’ve been using Danielle’s homemade bottle of sea salt spray for the past couple of weeks, and I’m loving the results. My hair has extra body, the dreamiest waves, and it even smells nice thanks to the lavender essential oil she added. I can’t wait to whip up a batch of my own! Maybe I’ll even add a little argan oil as the ReadyMade article suggests. The longer my hair gets, the more of a problem split ends are becoming. It’s disheartening, really.

Made from Earth is a line of organic skincare products that are always free of parabens, synthetic preservatives, colors, and fragrances.  They’re a cruelty-free company and one that  fully supports The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. I recently received several Made from Earth products in the mail for review, and the Peppermint Herbal Conditioner’s lovely scent and no nonsense list of ingredients begged me to try it immediately. How could I resist?

Ingredients (provided at madefromearth.com)- “Organic Aloe Juice, Organic Lavender Distillate, Organic Roman Chamomile Distillate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Castor Seed Oil, Stearalkonium Chloride, Phenoxyethanol, Hydrolized Wheat, Mentha piperita (Pepper mint) Essential Oil, Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Essential Oil, Panthenol Vitamin B5, Kosher Vegetable Glycerin, Rosehip Seed Oil, Organic Black Willow Bark Extract.”

I couldn’t locate this product in the Cosmetic Safety Database, so I linked to each ingredient above. The only ingredient with a hazard score above a 3 is Phenoxyethanol, and it earns a hazard score of 4.

Some great things about this product:

1.  It’s free of parabens, sulfates, synthetic fragrances, and synthetic coloring agents.

2.  It’s cruelty-free.

3. It contains organic ingredients.

4. The bottle is made from #1 plastic and is easily recyclable.

Product Description(also provided at madefromearth.com)- “This herbal and organic conditioner leaves your hair silky soft – and it also contains peppermint essential oil to stimulate the scalp area leaving you refreshed. All natural and plant-based ingredients restore elasticity and strength. It is designed to give your hair and scalp the optimum benefits of natural botanicals, rich plant moisturizers. Included is also our science-based formula of hair-enhancing vitamins and amino acids.

Peppermint is known for providing relief from stress, depression and mental exhaustion. Its oil is useful for hair care as it gives a cooling effect while leaving a “waxy” coating on the hair. The conditioner forms a protective layer over each hair, and restores moisture to hair follicles.”

Price- $12.00 for an 8 oz. bottle, which seems to be pretty standard.

Performance-  After shampooing with Intelligent Nutrients Harmonic Shampoo, I followed the directions provided on this product’s packaging and conditioned my hair twice. I was a little worried that doubling up on the conditioner might weigh my hair down, but I was pretty pleased with how shiny and manageable it ended up being. After a little blow drying and straightening with the help of my Jonathan Straightening Lotion, my hair was almost commercial material!

Scent- Combine the invigorating scents of peppermint and tea tree oil, and voilà! You wind up with this conditioner. The tea tree oil is much less obvious than the peppermint and is almost an afterthought, but it’s definitely there. Also, whoever decided to make shampoos, body washes, and conditioners smell like mint had to be a genius. I can’t think of a better addition to a sleepy morning shower.

Rating- 9/10. I subtracted 1 point for the ingredient with the hazard score of 4, but this product’s performance, scent, price, and remaining ingredients are all fantastic!

Would I purchase this item again? Yes, I certainly would.

*This product was provided by Made from Earth; the opinions were provided by me.

While typing my recent post about washing my hair less, I learned that boar bristle brushes should be cleaned regularly and thoroughly. I had no idea! Sure, I’d combed the bristles of mine occasionally, but that was about it. I’m not sure why it never occurred to me to give my boar bristle brush a deep cleaning, since a cleaner brush would logically result in cleaner hair. Behaving logically might not be something that comes naturally to me.

For those of you who are completely unfamiliar with boar bristle brushes, or if you’re like me and have simply failed to clean yours until now, here’s my simplified version of the cleaning process:

• Before cleaning your brush with soap and water, get as much of the hair/dandruff/debris out of the dry bristles with a comb. I used one with fine teeth, and it did a pretty impressive job.
• Massage bristles with warm water and gentle cleanser.  Dr. Bronner’s Unscented Castile Soap worked well for me.
• Rinse your brush with warm water.
• Dry the bristles with a towel, comb the bristles a few more times for good measure, and then place your brush face down on the towel to dry.

I also noticed a pretty unpleasant smell while cleaning my brush. I’m not sure if it was the dirt I was removing from the brush, the wet bristles, or a combination of the two. Either way, the smell was gone once the bristles were dry, and for this I was grateful.

Thanks to my freshly washed brush, my hair feels cleaner and looks shinier. Imagine that!

Shampoo-free for five days, and my bangs still don't look wet. Amazing!

I’ve always longed for the kind of hair that never has to be washed but still looks great. Danielle was lucky enough to be born with such hair, but some people have to work for it. I’m one of those people, and I’m finally starting to work for it. For the past three weeks, I’ve been washing my hair only once a week, and I’m actually starting to see a difference in my hair! It’s shinier and it requires less heat styling to make presentable. You might be wondering how a greasy-headed girl like me could possibly get away with shampooing her hair only once a week, so I’ll let you guys in on a few haircare secrets below.

• After going two or three days without shampooing my hair, it starts to feel a little weighed down and dirty. I’ve found that rinsing my hair with either a mixture of apple cider vinegar and water or baking soda and water works wonders. When I’m feeling brave, I use cool or cold water to for extra shine.

• Surprising as it may be, conditioning daily with a light conditioner does not make my hair oily. My hair is healthier for it, and it keeps it smelling nice and minty.

• There are days when I cover my hair with a water resistant head wrap in the shower or simply wet my hair and forgo all rinses and conditioners (usually the day after shampooing), and my hair looks as clean as it ever does.

• I’ve been brushing my hair right before bed and before my morning shower with a boar bristle brush.  Not only does it help move the oil from the roots to the ends, but it also helps remove dirt and other nasty stuff from my hair (if you’re skeptical, then you should buy one and use it for a while without cleaning it…it gets pretty gross). Boar bristle brushes are also great for people with sensitive scalps. Translation: I don’t feel like I’m yanking all my hair out when I encounter tangles.

• When I do shampoo, I try to use as gentle a cleanser as possible. This ensures a minimal amount of damage and makes me feel better about myself.

Thinking of shampooing your hair less? I hope some of my tips encourage you to take the plunge! Or if healthier hair all around is what you’re after… here’s a Care2 article that suggests a few ways to achieve it.