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

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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…

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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

WANT TO GROW YOUR HAIR LONG? Here's how to eat to help make that happen…

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So many of you have written asking about hair growth and diet that I had to write this for you!

NUTRITION
If you don’t get the right nutrition your hair won’t grow. Eat a nutrient dense diet, add a good multi-vitamin as a back up.
long-natural
VITAMIN E:   This, among other things, increases circulation and stimulates hair follicles so your hair grows more healthy and more gorgeously thick!  Food sources include nuts and green, leafy vegetables, liver, eggs and certain vegetable oils.

BIOTIN: This increases the growth rate of your hair.  There is some scientific evidence to suggest that women with thinning hair may not have enough biotin in their bodies…  Food sources: swiss chard (a delicious, nutritious type of greens), onions, cucumbers, carrots, nuts (e.g. almonds) and more.

ZINC:  One of the sad symptoms of a zinc deficiency is your hair falling out! OUCH!
Make sure you get enough Zinc in your diet – it helps with hair growth. We need zinc to maintain the health of the cells in our hair follicles… so it’s pretty important because no healthy hair follicles, no healthy hair!
Food sources: beans, Fresh or dried pumpkin seeds, watermelon seeds and squash seeds, cocoa powder, dark chocolate, peanuts and various meats and seafood (esp Oysters).

IRON: Hair loss can occur if you’re iron deficient. If you want your hair to grow and be healthy, make sure you get enough iron in your diet.
Food sources: Dark, leafy greens (spinach, swiss chard, collard greens, kale), beans (inc lentils, soybeans, garbanzo beans / chickpeas etc.), artichokes, prunes, raisins, meat (inc liver) and egg yolks.
Iron tip: make sure you eat a food with vitamin C in it at the same time as your iron rich food… this HUGELY enhances the absorbability of the iron!

Eat your greens, your beans and all that other healthy good stuff and grow your hair girl 🙂

I’m here rooting for you!

love,

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

GOT DRY, LIFELESS HAIR and want SOFT, SHINY, GORGEOUS HAIR? Check out this homemade deep conditioning mask…

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GOT DRY, LIFELESS HAIR but want SOFT, SHINY, GORGEOUS HAIR? Save money with this hydrating A-list, DIY Kitchen deep conditioner… It’s only ONE ingredient 😉

african-american-woman-hair-towel-thumbnail
1) Peel a RIPE avocado (it MUST be ripe!) and get rid of the skin & the seed.
2) Get a bowl and use a fork to smash the avocado into a smooth pulp. Put the bowl to one side.
3) Get your hair totally wet, really let the water run til your hair is SOAKED! Then blot the extra moisture off to leave your hair damp.
4) Partition your hair into 6 sections and massage the wonderful mashed avocado pulp into each section – focus on the ends of your hair (usually drier and more thirsty for moisture!)
5) Put on a shower cap and leave on for up to an hour sitting in the sun OR if you have a dryer or heat cap use that (over your shower cap) for 30 mins.
6) Wash the avocado mask off your hair using cool or luke warm water.
7) Shampoo and condition your hair as you usually would. (If you can, try a sulphate-free shampoo).
8) Look at yourself in the mirror and smile. You’re beautiful!

WHY AVOCADO?
This tasty treat contains essential fatty acids and a cocktail of vitamins (Vit A, B Vitamins, Vit C, Vit D, Vit E) and minerals (inc potassium) which penetrate deep, deep into your hair follicles to moisturize, strengthen and improve your hair’s elasticity. The nutrients in the avocado hair mask also protect your hair and promote healthy growth.
Use this simple avocado hair mask to restore your hair’s natural shine and texture and save yourself some $$$ too.

Just because it’s simple doesn’t mean it’s stupid 😉

I’m here rooting for you!
love,
The Lifestylista
xox
www.facebook.com/Lifestylista

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

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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