Coconut Oil Hair Treatment Review

I've written before how I dyed my hair every color of the rainbow in high school (you can read about it here), and because of that, I'm always looking for the latest and greatest in hair treatments and masks.  I love buying a commercial one, with all the lovely scents and outlandish claims, but I always go back to the easiest, cheapest, and quickest to find of them all: Coconut Oil.

This tasty and useful product has been used for thousands of years from South/Central America, Africa, India, to many parts of Asia.  It's quickly gaining popularity here in the West, where people often seek to use really natural products.

                                         Shiny hair last Christmas, courtesy of coconut oil(:

I use Spectrum Brand, but any brand would probably work (although according to some reviews on Makeup Alley, other brands aren't quite as good) and the process is very simple.

1. Take your dry or barely damp hair and gently massage plenty of oil from the ears down, focusing on the ends and the dryest parts of your hair.

2. You can either blow dry your hair, still coated in all the oil to speed up the process, or you can:
     -let it sit for an hour, with your head wrapped in saran wrap or a towel while you do homework or something.
     -Wrap your hair in a towel, lay towels over your pillows, and sleep in it overnight (my favorite way to do it!)

As I write this, I have my hair coated in coconut oil and piled up on top of my head with a hairclip, enjoying the delicious aroma of coconut!

Any of the three ways works beautifully.  Be sure to wash your hair thoroughly- depending on how much oil you use, you might have to wash it twice- and condition & style as usual.

Enjoy your beautiful, shiny, healthy hair!

Until Next Time,

Ashley

Review of Phyto Phytokarite Hair Treatment

When I was 15, I bleached my normally dark brown hair blonde- platinum blonde.  I was aiming for Brigitte Bardot, and ended up with something a little more...crayon colored.

Cue the horror movie screams.

Nevertheless though, I didn't give up on my dream of being blonde.  I used intensive conditioning treatments and bleached it out a little more until I ended up with something more Marilyn than Brigitte, but still entirely satisfactory.

I look back on that now and wonder, "What was I thinking?!"

My hair was a fried, poufy mess and far from the luxurious wheat colored strands I longed to flip over my shoulder with a carefree laugh.  I did research (hours upon hours of it) and stumbled across the French line Phyto.  Made from mostly natural ingredients, its Phytokarite line is designed especially for people with really, really dry, damaged hair (like those of us who decide to lighten our hair by 15 or so shades).  I used the line until I no longer needed it, then stashed it back in my closet of forgotten beauty supplies.  The shampoo was used up by visiting guests, but the hair mask was sadly neglected until I found it again last night.

I normally do a hair mask once a week, but didn't feel like using my usual Shiseido one, so I used this instead.  Since I got my hair cut, and have been heat styling, it's felt a lot dryer so I dug this one out.

The mask is a little different to use than others, and it's really best that you do it while taking a bath.  To begin, you wash your hair as normal, then towel dry, until it's more dry than wet.  Then take a small glob of the product in your hands and liquefy it in your fingers until it's thin and creamy.  Massage in your hair, and continue to do so until your whole head is covered (yes, whole head- not just the ends!).  Put your hair up and relax for 15-60 minutes.  When your ready, wash it out.

My hair already felt softer last night, and this morning, I noticed less breakage when I finger combed it (I only brush my hair before washing it, every other time I simply fingercomb and style).

I love this product, but it's one that you can only use when you're hair is really messed up.  It's weird- if you use it when you don't need it, it seems to make your hair dryer.

It's also not animal tested, which is a big pro.  You can read other reviews of Phy Phytokarite hair mask here: Phyto Karite

Until Next Time,

Ashley

New Haircut/ Film Inspiration

Soo on Saturday, I got a new haircut, and unfortunately it's taken me until TODAY to figure out how to style it properly.

I was going more for a Grace Slick kind of look, like this:

But I think I have more of an Uschi Obermaier look going on:

I'm not upset though: Uschi is one of my favorite style icons from the 1960s/1970s.  I've been a little obsessed since I saw the German movie Das Wilde Leben (for those of you with Netflix, it's labelled as "Eight Miles High).  The movie is phenomenal, and even if you're not a fan of her/her lifestyle, it's worth checking out for the fashion and music alone.

Since I started taking college level German, I've been watching a lot of foreign language movies.  Das Wilde Leben, in my opinion, gives an excellent account of the alternative lifestyle in 60's Germany.  When people think of 60's counterculture, it's always America that springs to their minds (at least to me, anyway).  I'm particularly enjoying foreign movies set in that time period: it's always interesting to compare the culture clash in other countries.

It's also got me thinking a lot about my impending move to Europe (possibly/hopefully to Germany, but perhaps elsewhere) and making me wish the year was going by a little faster!

Another movie that demonstrates this pretty well is "The Dreamers," which is set in Paris.  It's an English language film and rated NC-17, so if you're squeamish/adverse to sexual content, I don't recommend it.

Until Next Time,

Ashley