Alternatives to Heat Styling - 1

In a previous post, I wrote about how heat styling is not good for your hair. I'm sure you guys are thinking, 'well, yeah, but what else can we even do?'

My favorite go-to style tip for when I want some natural wave in my hair is to braid it. I do not use product at all. No mousse, no gel, no hairspray. Nothing that would suffocate my hair. And it works!

This would require washing your hair the night before.
Okay, let's go -

Brush out the tangles using either a wooden comb or a boar bristle brush. I personally prefer a wooden comb.

Make sure you remove all tangles.

Wash you hair as per usual - shampoo, condition, deep condition.  Whatever you normally do. There is no extra step to be taken here.

Don't brush it or comb it. This is why we did that step before washing.

Let it air dry slightly, till it is semi-damp. 

The reason we do not braid it immediately after washing is because the hair is very porous when wet. This increased porosity leads to the hair being very stretchy, which in turn leads to hair being more prone to breakage and formation of gaps in the cuticle. Braiding it or styling it when wet can irrevocably damage your strands.

Tie your hair into a loose braid. Or two, like Heidi. Or more. To get the effect in the picture above, I had tied 4 braids. Go crazy!

The more the braids, the tighter your waves will be. Mine actually had a crimped effect.

Sleep on it. 

Since your hair is still a little damp, it'll take the shape of the braid as it dries.

Wake up, shake your hair out of the braids.

Revel in your awesome effortless wavy hair. 

Note : After a few hours, when I had been messing with my hair and running my fingers through it a lot, it still looked like that; just the waves had loosened up a bit, and it gave a little more effortless air to it.

Follow me on Twitter and Instagram, and do comment below if you would like to know about more alternatives to style your hair with no product and lots of love :) 

Why I don't like Heat Styling

All of us know that using hot tools and heat styling isn't really good for our hair. Yet we insist on doing so. Why is that? Just to look a little better, we are sacrificing the health of our hair. We already know it is damaging. We know about split ends, and straw like hair but we continue doing things. Today, I'm talking specifically about heat styling though.

Hair fibers are essentially made up of proteins. The protein in our hair and nails is called keratin. therefore, even though our hair fibers aren't technically living, it is still made of proteins and they need to get nutrition for the hair to be healthy. For this, you need to baby your hair and care about it just like you care for your skin. You don't skimp on moisturizing and treating your skin well, so why not extend the same courtesy to you hair?

When you use hot tools, you are making your hair brittle each time you use it. The strands become dull, dry, damaged; not to mention scary split ends! Reducing the use of hot tools can go a long way in repairing the hair damage to your strands.
 
Heat makes your hair brittle from the follicles all along the hair shaft - all the way to the tips. So it isn't a healthy option under any circumstances. The heat actually boils and drives out the water from the shaft, leading to cuticle damage as well as breaking the proteins, leading to brittle, easily breakable hair.

I do not use hot tools AT ALL on my hair. I experiment with my hair a lot, but I do not use any daily heat treatments on my hair. I use it very very rarely. The last time I used a hot tool was at my cousin's wedding a few months back. And I used a hair dryer set on low. That's all. No hot tools, no products.

I understand that not all of you would be able to completely quit heat styling, as many of you are so used to it, but trust me on this, try to cut back a little everyday, and you'll get used to going all natural with your hair. And your hair will thank you for it too!

Follow me on Twitter and Instagram, and do comment below :)

Goody Bag from the Dabur Vatika Hair Oil Launch

As you might know, I attended an event last Saturday, for the launch of Dabur Vatika hair oil. I received a goody bag from the event.

What was inside?

A bottle of Enriched Coconut hair oil, along with their newly launched Jasmine Coconut Oil, and a gift wrapped box! Wonder what's in it?

It's a Philips ceramic hair straightener! Quite a generous gift, but I try to use heat styling products as less as possible - say, once or twice a year at max. It is quite sleek, however.

I am definitely looking forward to trying out the hair products though.

 
Thank you, Vatika!

Dabur Vatika Jasmine Hair Oil - Product Launch

I attended the Dabur Vatika Jasmine Coconut Hair Oil product launch on Saturday. It was part of a special feature, Dabur + Indiblogger, where 40 female bloggers from all over the city were invited to be part of the exciting new launch.

This was the very first launch I attended and it was a great experience. Being my first, I really have nothing to compare it with, but I'll tell you what happened there; and I'm sure you'll agree with me.

First off, a live band performance, including Vineet of Indiblogger! It was a pleasant surprise and super fun. Everyone sang along (whoever knew the words) and the others were swaying, foot-tapping, and just generally enjoying the music.

After that, there was a bout of headbanging, both on and off stage. The stage effects were very well executed and it really made a difference to the atmosphere of the place. 

That definitely took the energy level up a few notches.

After that, there was a session with Dabur representatives who told us about the history of Dabur as a company as well as the evolution of their hair products with time. They sell way more merchandise variants globally, as compared to their India offerings. I wonder why they don't sell the same in India?

Then came the actual product unveiling.

The background you see in the band pics? Yep, that actually slid apart to reveal a human size model (not life size - a bottle's life size would be the bottle size. Because that's true to life. However, this was human size). Also, the light and smoke effects were there even previously at the band performance. But this was a step ahead. When the big reveal happened, the air filled with a jasmine scent that seemed to come out of nowhere! I was glad to be a part of live experiential marketing, again a first for me. I even tweeted about it here.

After that, the Dabur reps and the bloggers discussed remedies and tips for hair care.

Post the bonding session, we had lunch. Here's some dessert:

Ferrero Rocher Ice cream!

Cheesecake

Oh and another cool thing: there was a station outside where once could get 'champi' or hair oil massage with the new Jasmine Hair Oil from Vatika. This was followed by a wash, and hairstyling. Such indulgence! And a few of my fellow bloggers waiting their turn :)

I got a goody bag too! But that's for another post.

Follow me on Twitter and Instagram!

And do comment below - constructive comments are always welcome.

What is Beauty All About?

All the world over, everyone strives for beauty in some form or the other. 

Inner beauty, 'outer' beauty; whatever it may be. And that's a good thing. Making yourself the best version of you is an admirable goal. It's a process; a journey. And both aspects are equally fulfilling.

Making yourself a good, warm, amazing person is one of the most selfless acts you can do. You are making yourself a better person, and spreading happiness all around. If you come in even passing contact with such a person, they would just brighten up your day. They're so full of positivity that it adds a touch of sunshine to your day.

Making yourself more attractive - physically - is also a good endeavor. Of course you want to look good. Everyone does. So why not be pretty in each sense of the word and make yourself happy, while spreading joy all around?

When it all ties together and gives you a sense of satisfaction; that is when you know that you have truly unlocked another level of peace, and this is what we all strive for, knowingly or unknowingly.

Photo Credits:
indulgy.com