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Beauty, girl talk, Health, Life, Lifestyle, Motherhood, Parenting, women

How To Get #HairGoals

3 months postpartum and I was losing hair in ridiculous amounts. When I say ridiculous amounts I mean constant never-ending shedding all day long. 4 months postpartum and I could tell the thickness of my hair was not what it use to be – my ponytail was skinnier, I could see bits of receding in places around my hairline. I CRIED.

After doing some research, I found out that postpartum hair loss is completely normal, and happens to most women but in different severities. It has to do with all the crazy hormones trying to go back to normal in your body (Like we don’t go through enough, right?)

Even after reading that it was normal – I was devastated and seriously thought my hair would never be the same. Fast forward to 8 months after delivering – and I saw fly always all around my head. IT WAS GROWING!! (Insert happy dance!!)

 

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I started taking things into my own hands to help my hair grow faster and better. No chemicals, no expensive medications, just a few nourishing techniques I learned while obsessing over how to get my hair back.

Please hear me — this is just what I did to grow my hair quickly. Don’t feel pressured to have to try all these things all at once. It’s like a buffet — pick a few that work for you!

No-poo

Sigh. Yeah, you heard me. For years now I had heard about no-poo, and thought it was nuts. But I was desperate and tried it. Why not? Buy a little bit of high-quality baking soda, and use a little vinegar, add my favorite essential oil (lavender oil), clean all the buildup off my hair and scalp. RESULTS: LOVE! My hair had never looked as good, ever. I did the no-poo for about 4 months, before I went back to a natural shampoo.

The Inversion Method (Major game changer!)

What’s the Inversion Method? For one week per month, once a day, you wet your fingertips with some hair-appropriate oil (I did a mix of almond oil and castor oil), flip your head over and give your scalp a good 5-minute massage with your fingertips. Like, a really good massage. The massage paired with your head being upside down MAJORLY increases blood flow to the scalp and triggers an increase in hair growth. You should only do this once a week per month (one week on, three weeks off). Your scalp quickly gets accustomed to it if you do it too often. I’ve read that this method can grow hair 4 inches in one week – I’m not sure I saw that kind of growth but I DEFINITELY saw a difference.

Biotin

This one’s an easy one, peeps. I started taking Biotin. Pairing this with all the other crazy hair things I was doing makes it hard to for me to say how effective it is, but since taking it my nails have become rock hard. So I know it’s doing something!

Eat Healthy!

This is usually a no brainer, but there are certain foods that provide the exact vitamins that your body needs. I’m a vegetarian so I did the plant version of everything but I will list the beneficial non-vegetarian options as well

Fatty acids: Avocados, pumpkin seeds, and walnuts were my go-to. Non-vegetarian: Salmon

Antioxidant, beta-carotene, vitamin A: Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, Cantaloupe

Protein & Iron: Eggs for me! Non-Vegetarian: chicken, pork, and beef.

Vitamin C & Folate: Spinach, kale, broccoli, and leafy greens. I would make a smoothie!

Zinc & Biotin: Lentils, soybeans, kidney beans

Vitamin B5 & D: Greek Yogurt

Vitamin C: Blueberries, strawberries, and kiwi – Also added this to my smoothie!

Chlorine, UV, and Wind Protection:  This ones pretty obvious — Throw on a hat if you can! If you’re in the pool a lot, wet your hair before going into the pool and if possible add a conditioner to help prevent it from stripping in the chlorine.  Also check out my previous post on physical sunscreen to learn more about my recommendations on UV protection.

These are just somethings that really helped my hair! My hair if feeling the same as before and even a bit thicker than before having my baby girl. I just cut off 7-inches of my hair just to try something new so it is the perfect time for me to do a before and after in a few months to show you guys how much my hair has grown!

Think hair-growing thoughts! #hairgoals

Love,

Neema

Chick Picks:

food, friends, girl talk, Recipes

Compliments to the Chef!

The chicks have been busy trying to approach blogging from all angles, so when we had the opportunity to meet with food bloggers and enjoy the creations of a Le Cordon Blue trained Executive Chef, we naturally jumped at the opportunity.

Chef Jarvis Belton had meticulously designed our five course dinner with all our senses in mind.   NOTHING was left behind — we truly ate with our eyes, nose, ears, tongue, and fingers!  During this exclusive dining experience for bloggers and photographers only, Chef Belton considered not only the preparation of the meals, but also the presentation.

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Having trained at the international Le Cordon Blue culinary institute in Mallorca Spain, he learned the hard way that it takes a ton of patience to cook a rice pudding and the how much team work is required to build dishes with ingredients from all over the world.  With creative ingredients, he put a spin on a traditional dishes such as a pumpkin ‘mashed potato’ paired with a mouthwatering peach chutney (who knew!?!) or a crostini with garlic, fig, and fennel (yum!)

Paired perfectly with wines from all over the world, this dinner had us in sensory overload.  After enjoying a salad with a chocolate jalapeno balsamic drizzle (you read that right) and our main dish, we were advised to wash our hands for dessert.  Hesitantly, we returned unsure of what was in store.  Chef Belton meticulously built out desserts on top of our hands with a hand churned whip cream, fresh fig, and caramel drizzle which we ate with a spoon right off our hand.  Just delightful and different.

Having an intimate dining experience where you can interact with the chef directly was a truly unique experience.  The casual conversations with others who also enjoy documenting what they eat was also really fun.  Learning about what people are up to over a delicious meal will always round out a perfect chick-tastic evening.

Thanks Chef!

Your Party Chick,

Rina

chips and salsa, food, friends, girl talk, Life, Party, women

Party Like A Chick!

We all enjoy a girl’s night, right? But what does that even mean? A girls night to the chicks means time spent with friends in a space that is comfortable and filled with love and laughter (oh, and then there is good food and drinks, too!).  Some of my favorite girls’ nights have been those where we can compare notes with friends on life, marriage, motherhood and the newest reality shows!  Girls nights can be as few as 2 friends or as many as 10, but no matter what, the main goal is to make it a special way to get together and have fun!
There is a rotation among the chicks where we take turns having each other over — that way we all have the opportunity to get together often without the pressure of hosting all the time.  This also means that we each take that opportunity to host seriously and try to find a way to make the most intimate gatherings just a little “extra” special.  To help, party chicks have made planning a little easier — by making affordable and adorable party boxes.  With the craze of selfies and dessert tables, everyone is looking for the Instagram-perfect picture to share with friends and family. We are excited to announce our first party box themes: the Fiesta Box and the  Bollywood Box! 
Details: Henna Stencils, and Bindis

As women in our thirties we pay attention to all the details that go into hosting a girls’ night. The Party Chicks have hand picked these specialty items to make your get together a little different with everything you will need (even the command hooks!) and ten minutes.  You can create the perfect atmosphere to make your friends lay back, relax, and enjoy the time you all have set aside for each other.

Check out our introductory boxes in our Etsy Shop here.
Beauty, Fashion, friends, girl talk, women

Q & A with Model Alexandra Schafer

Being in the beauty industry has many perks. From working on exciting projects on sets to meeting the people behind the scenes that help bring everything to life. All aspects of it have been an exciting journey. However, my personal favorite thing about being in this business has been all the talent you get to meet and learn from.

I have had the pleasure of meeting some really fascinating people. And although it’s always exciting to meet your favorite celebrity or work with a high profile client, there is nothing more exciting then working with other people who share the same passion and creative energy as yourself.

Alexandra Schafer (@lamakeupalex) started her career as a model. After traveling the world to walk high fashion designer shows and working as the face of Ralph Lauren in the 90’s, Alex decided to go back to what she originally intended to do from the beginning and that’s working behind the scenes. You have probably seen her work in national campaign’s for designers/retailers such as Bebe and Guess.

I was able to ask Alex some questions about her life in the industry today and thought I would share this with our C & S readers.

Happy Reading!

Your beauty chick,

Deanna

How did you end up in the beauty industry?

Through a class I took in my late teens, which led me to modeling and then back to beauty. It was all the amazing artists I worked with over the years that inspired me to approach makeup full time.

Working with celebrity clients must leave you nervous sometimes. How do you deal with it?

I don’t really get nervous, rather excited to collaborate and meet creative’s. Creative energy is exciting and everyone is coming together; and when it really gels, it’s magical. When you have a “difficult personality” to deal with it sometimes is a challenge, but you just breathe and keep on believing in yourself and remind yourself they only want is best as well.

What’s the most common beauty mistake you see in people’s work?

They don’t enhance and frame beauty, but rather they cover it up and mask it; or the base is too heavy.

Alex doing makeup on Katie Wee of Return of the Mac

If you had to pick just one product to recommend everyone keep in their makeup bag, what would it be?

Bronzer or blush, depending on skin color.