Whether it’s bleach, color, heat styling, we put our hair through a lot. So when we face a new hair problem like split ends or breakage, we’re quick to blame the common culprits. While switching your shampoo or laying off the straightener for a while might help, the answer might not be that straightforward. Find out how you’re damaging your hair without even realizing it.
Brushing Your Hair When It’s Wet
Soaking wet hair is weaker than dry hair, making it more susceptible to damage. Using a brush on wet hair is more likely to leave you with a head full of breakage. Instead, try using a wide tooth comb and work from the ends up.
Brushing Excessively
We’ve all heard the myth that brushing your hair 100 times a day will make it shiny and fuller. However, this just isn’t the case. Over brushing your hair can actually cause significant weakening and damage. Instead, try only brushing your hair to eliminate knots and tangles.
Over Washing
While there isn’t a set number of times you should wash your hair per week, your hair will let you know if you’re washing it too often. If it’s dry and frizzy, and your head is full of dandruff, it might be time to cut back on the shampoo.
Towel Drying Your Hair
Using a towel on wet, fragile hair is a quick way to cause damage root to tip. Instead, try using a cotton T-shirt or or soft cloth to gently press the water out.
Sleeping With A Hair Tie
Just like wearing your hair in a tight ponytail or braid everyday can cause damage, so can tying it up every night. If you can’t be convinced to leave it down, try switching out your elastic band for a soft scrunchie or ribbon.
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Horsetail extract is a natural anti-aging compound and antioxidant derived from the above ground parts of the horsetail plant. Horsetail, or equisetum is a part of the fern family, and got its name because people thought that its branches resembled the tail of a horse. It’s been used for centuries for its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antimicrobial properties as well as its medicinal benefits. So what exactly does it do for your body? Let’s take a look.
Contains Anti-Aging Properties
Horsetail contains silica, a mineral that holds together our joints, bones, and skin, keeping them strong and resilient. Contrary to popular belief silica, including silica desiccant packs, are basically sand and not harmful to swallow. Silica helps with the production of collagen, a protein in your body that promotes strong and healthy connective tissue, including your skin! It is said to slow the signs of aging by reducing dryness and wrinkles. Additionally, horsetail’s powerful antioxidant and antimicrobial properties help delay your skin’s aging process by fighting off free radicals, which can cause damage in the form of wrinkles and sagging skin.
Treats Acne
Skin conditions like acne, rosacea, and eczema result from inflammation. Inflammation can cause the production of free radicals, which as mentioned above can wreak havoc on your body, including your skin. Horsetail’s anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties help combat these free radicals as well as lower your skin’s inflammation and redness, reducing the effects of acne.
Treats Dandruff & Split Ends
Horsetail is commonly used to cure dandruff and treat split ends because it contains silica, which helps strengthen your hair. Simply add 4 drops of horsetail extract for every 2 tablespoons of olive oil and rub the mixture onto your scalp and hair. Leave it on for 10 minutes before washing off. Reapply every other day until the dandruff is gone.
Promotes Kidney Health
It is said that drinking 1 cup of horsetail tea a day will help cleanse the body of kidney and urinary problems. As a natural diuretic, horsetail aids in the reduction of water retention and swelling. Its diuretic and anti-inflammatory properties also help remove both kidney and bladder stones, as well as treat bladder infections.
Boosts Immunity
The antibacterial and antimicrobial properties of horsetail help protect your body from harmful germs and foreign substances. These immune boosting properties also help fight infections and speed up your recovery process when you do get sick.
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Suffering from dry Winter skin? Yeah, we know the feeling.
Dry and dull skin happen when your skin is unable to retain moisture. This is super common in the winter when there is less moisture in the air. Dry skin can make you feel tight, flakey and scaley. Left unchecked it can even lead to a bigger issues like eczema or dermatitis. Other common causes of dry skin include using harsh soaps or cosmetics, extremely hot, long showers and household allergies.
While there’s a million and one skin care products on the market promising to cure your dry skin in return for a big chunk of your paycheck, did you know you can sooth and repair your skin with ingredients you have laying around your kitchen? Here’s 5 DIY face masks for your dry, Winter skin.
1. Cucumber & Aloe Mask
The aloe vera in this mask heals and hydrates while the cucumber cleanses and cools. You’re skin will feel clean, refreshed, and moisturized!
Ingredients:
1/2 of a cucumber
2 tablespoons of aloe vera gel
Directions:
Cut cucumber into slices
Put in a blender, mix until watery
Add aloe vera and blend until smooth
Apply, leave on skin for 10 minutes or until dry
Rinse
Follow up with moisturizer or skin care.
2. Banana Honey Mask
Bananas contain potassium, vitamin E and vitamin C that help hydrate your skin while the honey and yogurt work to sooth and repair itchy, flakey skin.
Ingredients:
2 bananas
1 tablespoon of honey
1/4 cup of yogurt
Directions:
Peel and mash bananas with a fork
Add yogurt and honey
Stir until the ingredients have a smooth consistency
Apply, leave on skin for 20 minutes or until dry
Rinse
Follow up with moisturizer or skin care.
3. Avocado Mask
Carrots are potassium rich and full of antioxidants, helping hydrate and revitalize the look of your skin. The avocado, honey, and egg yolk work to moisturize and smooth your skin, reducing dry patches and irritation.
Ingredients:
1 carrot, peeled
1/2 of an avocado
1 tablespoon of honey
1/2 tablespoon of olive oil
1 egg yolk
Directions:
Steam carrot until tender
Blend or mash carrot until creamy
Mash avocado and mix with carrot pulp
Combine all ingredients in a bowl
Stir until the ingredients have a smooth consistency
Apply, leave on skin for 15 minutes
Rinse
Follow up with moisturizer or skin care.
4. Strawberry Yogurt Mask
Strawberries contain powerful antioxidants and vitamin C. Greek yogurt contains lactic acid which is a natural exfoliant. Mixed with honey, these ingredients work to break down dead skin cells and hydrate your dry skin.
Ingredients:
3 medium strawberries
2 teaspoons of Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon of honey
Directions:
Blend or mash the strawberries, and add to bowl
Add the Greek yogurt and honey to bowl
Stir until the ingredients have a smooth consistency
Apply, leave on skin for 10 minutes
Rinse
Follow up with moisturizer or skin care.
5. Oatmeal Mask
Oatmeal contains antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds that sooth your dry, irritated skin. Mixed with the hydrating and smoothing benefits of honey and olive oil, this mask will help moisturize your skin while reducing inflammation and dry patches.
Actually, vitamin D is more than just one vitamin. It’s a family of fat-soluble nutrients that share similar chemical structures. Beyond being produced in your skin as a result of direct sunlight, vitamin D is absorbed through our diet. The most commonly found in your diet are vitamin D2 and vitamin D3. While both a part of the vitamin D family, D2 and D3 are different in multiple ways.
What’s the difference?
Vitamin D promotes calcium absorption, regulates bone growth and plays a role in immune function. When someone says vitamin D, we often think of the sun. While it’s true that our skin produces vitamin D when exposed to the sun, those who spend most of their time indoors or live at a high altitude need to resort to getting the recommended amounts from their diet and supplementation. Vitamin D3 is found mostly in animal sourced products such as oily fish, egg yolks, and butter while vitamin D2 is found mostly in plant sources such as mushrooms or fortified foods such as milk. Both vitamin D’s are effectively absorbed into the bloodstream; however the liver metabolizes vitamin D3 better.
What does this mean?
Well, when the body processes vitamin D, it metabolizes it into compounds known as calcifediol. Calcifediol is the main circulating form of vitamin D, and the levels of it in your blood reflect your body’s stores of vitamin D. Physicians test your calcifediol levels to check for vitamin D deficiencies. Studies show that vitamin D3 yields more calcifediol than vitamin D2, with some studies suggesting that a single dose is nearly twice as effective as its counterpart. Due to this, it is suggested you consider supplementing your diet with vitamin D3 over D2.
What will it do for me?
Vitamin D has several important duties, such as regulating the absorption of calcium and phosphorus, and promoting normal immune function. It is so vital to your daily function, that being vitamin D deficient can lead to soft bones or brittle bones, fatigue, being sick more often and more! Now that you know the basics on why vitamin D, specifically vitamin D3, is so important let’s take a look four benefits of vitamin D3 you might not know about!
1 Protects Your Heart
Research suggests that having a deficiency in vitamin D3 increases the risk of heart disease or heart attack. Studies also show that vitamin D3 helps regulate blood pressure, preventing hypertension and ultimately supporting long term heart health.
2 Boosts Your Mood
When absorbed into the body, vitamin D3 activates neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin that affect brain development and overall function. A change of vitamin D3 levels in your body can affect the production and release of these neurotransmitters, therefore affecting your mood. Low levels of vitamin D3 have been linked to depression or SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), a mood disorder featuring depressive symptoms, occurring during the times of the year when there is relatively little sunshine. While this is not to say that supplementing with vitamin D3 will cure depression, studies show that vitamin D3 deficiencies have been known to impair or prolong recovery from depression.
3 Preserves Your Memory
Studies show that older adults with lower vitamin D3 levels are at greater risk for losing their memory and cognitive abilities faster than those with higher vitamin D3 levels. A recent study found that the risk for cognitive impairment was up to four times greater in those who had vitamin D3 levels below 25 when compared to those who had levels 75 and above. Supplementing with vitamin D3 can help prevent or delay the risk of dementia, memory loss, and help manage your overall thinking process.
4 Soothes Your Stomach
Vitamin D3 helps regulate the inflammation levels in your gut, soothing your stomach and aiding digestion. It is common to see those with IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) or IBD (Irritable Bowel Disease) have low levels of vitamin D3 in their system, which may result in increased inflammation and therefore exacerbate their symptoms.
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