The Lifestylista ®

Damn Girl! Live Your Most Fun, Juicy, Sexy Life NOW!

chemicals

OBESOGENS – HORMONE DISRUPTERS IN OUR FOOD THAT MAKE US FAT!

By

TaggedLaughinOnALakeFaceSo many of us are confused, angry, upset and disappointed in ourselves!  We’ve exercised, we’ve eaten well (we think) and still we’ve gained weight.  If were were cursers, we’d be cursing! BLEEEEEEEEEP &*%@!

The unfortunate truth is that there is another element that most of us are totally unaware of… EDCs, endocrine disrupting chemicals, aka obesogens!  These chemicals mimic hormones and, because of this, they interfere with our bodies and affect our weight.
HOW DO THESE OBESOGENS MAKE US FAT?
These dastardly chemicals (mostly man made)…  By disrupting our hormones, obesogens change our bodies’ behavior in many areas to do with weight.  Hormones are crucial to our weight because they tell our bodies when to burn fat and when to store it, when to eat and when not to eat.
Some endocrine disrupters alter the way the body allocates cells – so our bodies mistakenly produce more fat cells and / or bigger fat cells!
REALLY THOUGH?!  THIS CAN REALLY AFFECT MY WEIGHT???
Research done at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences discovered that a common fungicide (triflumizole) used on fruit and vegetables caused mice to become obese!  The Presidential Taskforce on Childhood Obesity has acknowledged the link between these chemicals and obesity.  Babies in the womb and young kids are the most at risk.  One study demonstrated that the women who had exposure to pesticides (the ones with pesticide residues in their bodies) gave birth to babies who were significantly more likely to overweight by the time they were 14 months old!
According to Jerry Heindel of the National Instititute of Environmental Health Sciences, “There are between fifteen and twenty chemicals that have been shown to cause weight gain, mostly from developmental exposure.”
WHAT CAN I DO? Two big things:
– Eat organic OR pesticide & fungicide free food.  IF YOU CAN’T DO THAT WASH YOUR FRUIT AND VEG WELL!  This can reduce that amount of these chemicals you take in
– Cut down on food that was wrapped in plastic (BPAs are endocrine disrupters) and food from cans (the chemicals leach into the food).
– Filter the tap water you drink, if you can.  Using e.g. a Brita filter www.brita.com
OTHER EFFECTS…
To be honest, these endocrine disrupters are so darned BLEEP &*%@ that they affect us in other ways too…
Researchers suggest that they can cause:
– a variety of cancers (including breast, prostate)
– problems with fertility
– changes in the functioning of your immune system
– birth defects and a lowering of the birth rate of boys specifically
– Attention deficit disorder and learning disabilities (neurodevelopmental delays) in kids
There are other types of chemicals that make us fat too…  Go to www.TheLifestylista.com and check out my article,”MSG IN FOOD MAKES US FAT & IT’S BEEN — — USED TO MAKE LAB RATS FAT FOR DECADES!”
Knowledge is power!
I am here rooting for you.

GOT DANDRUFF AND WANT TO GET RID OF IT? #BackByPopularDemand

By

WHAT IS DANDRUFF: The shedding of skin cells is normal… BUT dandruff isn’t.

dandruffwomanshoulder

There are a few different types of dandruff:

DRY SCALP:
Dry scalp caused by environment or a skin condition e.g. eczema, dermatitis, psoriasis etc. Are you using a very drying shampoo? Go for a mild, moisturizing one instead… Perhaps a sulphite free shampoo…

OILY SCALP:
Fungal overgrowth:
One ‘popular’ form of dandruff is caused by ‘malassezia’, a yeast-like fungus… This fungus lives on a healthy scalp but when it starts to grow out of control, it starts to speed up the turnover of the skin cells. These shed skin cells bind together with the oil on the scalp and cause what we call “dandruff flakes”… Yuk! We’ve all had it.

WHAT CONTRIBUTES TO DANDRUFF?:
– Making your scalp an even more tantalizing environment for these naughty microbes through overuse of hair products – hair gels, mousses, sprays etc. (fungal overgrowth)
– Humidity and heat (fungal overgrowth)
– Dry, cold weather (dry scalp)
– Dry, indoor heating (dry scalp)
– B complex or zinc deficiency
– Stress
– Hormonal changes
– Not rinsing your shampoo off throughly after each wash.

ANTI-DANDRUFF SHAMPOO:
Make sure your anti-dandruff shampoo contains one of the following active ingredients:
Try ones with different active ingredients to see which ones work…
– zinc pyrithione – decreases fungus and bacteria, cut down on scalp oil production
– selenium sulfide – decreases fungus and reduce the rate of cell turnover
– ketoconazole – anti fungal
– salicylic acid – helps get rid of the dead skin cells
– IF NONE OF THESE ANTI-DANDRUFF SHAMPOOS WORK… TRY A full-on TAR SHAMPOO! Yes it smells appalling and it may even irritate your ski (lol) but it’s an age-old remedy that works! It decreases fungus and reduce the rate of cell turnover.

***Wash with shampoo twice. On the second wash, allow the shampoo to ‘soak in’ and have the active ingredients work… for 5 mins.***

HOMEMADE ANTI-DANDRUFF REMEDIES:

— A homemade salicylic acid remedy:
Pound 4 aspirins into a powder and add it to your shampoo. Allow it to penetrate the skin cells on your scalp for 5 mins before washing away with regular shampoo.

— Lemon or Lime rinse:
3 tablepoons of lemon or lime juice in one cup of water.
This balances the pH levels of your scalp, reduces itchiness and has an anti-bacterial action. It’ll even make your hair shine. VERY IMPORTANT: Wash off all the lemon or lime before you go out into the sun (or else your hair will bleach!)

and

If your dandruff doesn’t go away or if you feel it is extreme, see a dermatologist!

Good luck chica! I’m here rooting for you.

love,

The Lifestylista
xox
http://www.facebook.com/Lifestylista @TheLifestylista

THE 7 KEYS TO LONG HAIR NO MATTER WHAT KIND OF HAIR YOU HAVE…

By

Yes Lifestylista ladies, you heard me!  So many of you want long hair but you tell yourselves that it’s all down to genes and that there are some kinds of hair that don’t really grow…  Not true!  Most of my posts are universal but this post isn’t – today I’m speaking directly to black (/ African-American) ladies.
With black hair, it’s as important to STOP BREAKAGE as it is to ENCOURAGE GROWTH.  So often we think our hair isn’t growing, when in fact what’s really happening is that it’s breaking… 🙁
1) DO AS LITTLE TO IT AS POSSIBLE
Ever wondered why the same people who say their hair “can’t grow” get dreadlocks and, all of a sudden, WOOSH – long hair?!  This is the ‘lowest manipulation’ hairstyle possible – there’s no combing, no brushing, no chemical relaxers.  I’m not saying get locks, you choose your hairstyle… I’m just illustrating a point:
— When we do the minimum to black hair (no matter what texture), we see it grow and grow and grow … So intensive styling every day with combs, brushes and heat doesn’t help the cause.
 lil-wayne-dreads-locks
2) BE GENTLE WHEN YOU WASH YOUR HAIR 
– Don’t use hot, hot water – this can dry your hair out.
– Use a gentle, moisturizing shampoo (preferably sulphite free) and sometimes try washing your hair with a conditioner… This is called “co-washing” (if this sounds crazy to you, just try it and you’ll think you were crazy for not knowing about it all these years LOL!)
– Try to deep condition your hair at least every two weeks.
3) ADD MOISTURE AND LOCK IT IN
Our hair is drier and more brittle than other types of hair (European, Asian  etc.) partly because our curly roots make it hard for our natural hair oils to find their way along the hair shaft right down to the ends of our hair…  So if we don’t keep our thirsty hair moisturized, it’ll be less elastic and it’ll be much more likely to break the heck off whether we like it or not.
4) CUT YOUR SPLIT ENDS
OK – this is no joke!  I know some of y’all hate to cut your hair (“I’m tryin to grow it b&*tch not cut it!”) but if you really want long hair you’re going to have to trim your hair before the split end damage moves further up your hair shaft.  Think of it this way… You’re containing a fire before it spreads!
5) PROTECT THE HAIR
– Sleep in a silk or satin scarf to prevent all the friction and breakage when you rub your head on your cotton pillow at night.
– After washing, don’t dry your hair with a cotton towel – too much water will be absorbed before you can seal in moisture and there’s too much friction.  Instead use a microfiber towel, a cotton T-shirt or kitchen paper towels – these smoother surfaces absorb just the right amount of water and don’t cause friction, knots or disrupt your natural post washing curl pattern…
–  Be mindful that any chemicals or heat you apply to your hair will promote breakage.  So either stop doing it OR be extra careful to minimize the amount of extra styling you do and maximize the amount of moisturizing you do.
– Don’t use products containing alcohol (talk about drying your hair out… YUK!)
6) CLEAN PORES
Girl, your scalp needs to breathe! All the stuff you put in your hair builds up over time and can block your pores and stunt the growth of your hair!   And NEVER use Vaseline or any other petroleum based product on your hair or scalp unless you want your darned pores clogged the heck up…

7) DIET 
If you don’t get the right nutrition your hair won’t grow…
For more on this, go to www.TheLifestylista.com — Beauty & Style section to see my article “WANT TO GROW YOUR HAIR LONG? Here’s how to EAT to help make that happen…”

I am here rooting for you!  (“Rooting” get it 🙂 Hair roots… Nevermind).
love,
The Lifestylista
xox

www.facebook.com/Lifestylista

GOT DANDRUFF AND WANT TO GET RID OF IT? Read this now…

By

Got-DANDRUFF

GOT DANDRUFF AND WANT TO GET RID OF IT?

I got a great question from M.T. about dandruff and I know many of you face the same issues…

WHAT IS DANDRUFF:

The shedding of skin cells is normal… BUT dandruff isn’t.

There are a few different types of dandruff:

DRY SCALP:

– Dry scalp caused by environment or a skin condition e.g. eczema, dermatitis, psoriasis etc.

Are you using a very drying shampoo?  Go for a mild, moisturizing one instead… Perhaps a sulphite free shampoo…

OILY SCALP:

– Fungal overgrowth:

One ‘popular’ form of dandruff is caused by ‘malassezia’, a yeast-like fungus…  This fungus lives on a healthy scalp but when it starts to grow out of control, it starts to speed up the turnover of the skin cells.  These shed skin cells bind together with the oil on the scalp and cause what we call “dandruff flakes”…  Yuk!  We’ve all had it. 🙁

What contributes to dandruff?

– Making your scalp an even more tantalizing environment for these naughty microbes through overuse of hair products – hair gels, mousses, sprays etc. (fungal overgrowth)

– Humidity and heat (fungal overgrowth)

– dry, cold weather (dry scalp)

– dry, indoor heating (dry scalp)

– B complex or zinc deficiency

– Stress

– Hormonal changes

– Not rinsing your shampoo off throughly after each wash.

ANTI-DANDRUFF SHAMPOO:

Make sure your anti-dandruff shampoo contains one of the following active ingredients:

Try ones with different active ingredients to see which ones work…

– zinc pyrithione – decreases fungus and bacteria, cut down on scalp oil production

– selenium sulfide – decreases fungus and reduce the rate of cell turnover

– ketoconazole – anti fungal

– salicylic acid – helps get rid of the dead skin cells

– IF NONE OF THESE ANTI-DANDRUFF SHAMPOOS WORK… TRY A full-on TAR SHAMPOO!  Yes it smells appalling and it may even irritate your ski (lol) but it’s an age-old remedy that works!  It decreases fungus and reduce the rate of cell turnover.

***Wash with shampoo twice.  On the second wash, allow the shampoo to ‘soak in’ and have the active ingredients work… for 5 mins.***

HOMEMADE ANTI-DANDRUFF REMEDIES:

A homemade salicylic acid remedy:

Pound 4 aspirins into a powder and add it to your shampoo.  Allow it to penetrate the skin cells on your scalp for 5 mins before washing away with regular shampoo.

Lemon or Lime rinse:

3 tablepoons of lemon or lime juice in one cup of water.

This balances the pH levels of your scalp, reduces itchiness and has an anti-bacterial action.  It’ll even make your hair shine.  VERY IMPORTANT: Wash off all the lemon or lime before you go out into the sun (or else your hair will bleach!)

and

If your dandruff doesn’t go away or if you feel it is extreme, see a dermatologist!

Good luck chica!  I’m here rooting for you.

love,

The Lifestylista

xox

www.facebook.com/Lifestylista @TheLifestylista