Ten secrets for keeping your hair shiny and healthy

Most women dream of thick, shiny, and healthy hair. After all, it’s an important attribute of female beauty. Our simple tips will help you strengthen hair and keep it healthy.

1) Try to avoid strict diets - If you want to have hair like those beauties from Russian online dating websites, avoid diets that lead to a sharp weight loss, as your body may lose zinc, biotin, and proteins. The lack of all these nutrients will make your hair not only brittle but also rare.

2) Take a shower before going to swimming pool - Always wash your hair before going to swimming pool. If your hair is already saturated with water, it will absorb much less chlorinated liquid from the pool.

3) Buy shampoos suitable for your hair type - You can buy the most expensive shampoo, but this doesn’t mean that it will be perfect you. When buying shampoo, it's more important not to look at its price tag, but to check if it suits your hair type. Its cost is not a sign of quality. Studies have shown that conventional shampoos deal with hair problems no worse than expensive ones, and sometimes even better.

4) Wash your head in lukewarm water - Hot water can wash off a large amount of sebum. This protective fat acts as a natural conditioner and gives your hair shine. Also, don’t forget to massage your head while you wash it.

5) Protect your hair from the sun - Your hair gets nothing good from sunlight. The sun dries it, especially if it’s painted. If you still have to spend some time in the sun each day, use a conditioner or wear a hat.

6) Don’t use oil to get rid of dandruff - It is mistakenly believed that the cause of dandruff is a dry head, but in fact, it’s completely wrong. It’s all about an inflammatory process that must be treated with special medications. Rubbing any oil in your hair can make things even worse. Buy a medical dandruff shampoo. Just be sure to wash your hair well after using it.

7) Use conditioners that contain protein - Frequent hair styling, dyeing, and curling deform the protective outer layer of hair. As a result, you get split ends. Fortunately, today there are a lot of ways to avoid it. Buy air conditioners that contain protein and use them constantly. They are pretty good at preventing split ends.

8) Comb your hair less often - Combing the hair too often leads to excessive hair loss. The very process of hair loss is quite normal, so you shouldn’t be afraid of it. On average, a healthy person loses from 50 to 100 hairs a day. Most of it falls out because it has stopped growing and passed into the resting phase. To minimize hair loss, use combs with ball ends and try not to comb wet hair.

9) Avoid haircuts that damage hair - Braiding the hair can damage it as well as its follicles. Dermatologists advise wearing braids for no more than three months. Besides, wet hair is more brittle. Therefore, never braid wet hair.

10) Body health is the basis for beauty of your hair - It’s important to understand that the use of medical and cosmetic products for hair is only superficial. Often the poor condition of the hair is associated with health problems, for example, due to persistent stress, metabolic disorders, mental overloads, or various hormonal dysfunctions. Therefore, the beauty of your hair is based on body health.

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You Beauty Box - The Best Of British

This months You Beauty Box wasn't one to excite me from the shortlist I am sad to say but I decided to keep my subscription anyway and choose three products I had never used before.  As March has arrived and Spring is just on the horizon, the theme of this months box is Best of British. All of the brands featured this month are flying the flag loud and proud for the thriving British beauty industry.

The treats this month area 35% off no minimum spend with Bagsy Beauty.  Now I love this brand and hope to see more of it in 2017. The second is a sachet from Skinade which is described as being a professional skincare drink that nourishes your skin from the inside. Not too sure what one sachet will show in all honesty.

So on to my selections. There was a lot to choose from this month from brands such as Eyeko Bagsy Lola, Miller Harris, Katherine Daniels, Monu, The Hero Project, The White Company, Button & Wilde, Awake Organics Company, Maddie Alexander and natural world. Many brands I have come across and used and just a few that I hadn't, so this is what I chose.

Awake Organics Aura Clean Deodorant - 100% Non-toxic and Aluminium Free! Aura is a truly Clean Deodorant that won’t stop your body’s natural detoxification process. This hydrating blend of organic, antibacterial botanicals melts in effortlessly. Enriched with British Kaolin and Arrowroot to keep you smelling fresh all day long. 

There is also the use of Invigorating essential oils of Lavender, Rosemary, Lemongrass and Peppermint which combine in this naturally antibacterial formula. Aura Clean Deodorant cream moisturises and soothes delicate skin, while providing all-day odour protection. This handy travel-size contains up to 21 applications. So this is not an antiperspirant and it doesn't stop perspiration, but I have found the cream formula really interesting to use. It smells lovely and fresh and it takes a bit of getting to used to when applying it. So I am glad I did pick this up.

Maddie Alexander Serene Body Wash - Indulge your skin with this intensely nourishing and naturally luxurious Serene Body Wash says the description. 

An incredibly luxurious body wash, I hold my hands up and admit that the French Lavender scent is the only reason I chose it, I just love it and mixed with geranium you do have quite an awakening scent which is just incredible on the skin. A beautiful range that I hope again to see more of in 2017.

Katherine Daniels Essential Micellar Face and Eye Makeup Remover - This is an award winning product and having heard and read about it, this was the first item I added to my box when making my selection. 

Described as not only being 'A dressing table must have' the gorgeous aqueous texture which gently and efficiently removes all traces of eye make-up (even stubborn waterproof mascara) whilst caring for the delicate eye area, thanks to Cornflower Water which is traditionally used to reduce inflammation and irritation of the eyes.  What I like about this is that it does remove the hardest to budge mascara - They're Real I am looking at you! One swipe across the face, with no need to rub or scrub, removes everything in its path.

So that is my March box and whilst it wasn't one I was overly enthralled about, now I have it and have used the contents, I have been pleasantly surprised by how good these brands actually are and it has been great to find new products that I might now have come across before.

So there you have the March You Beauty Box and I think there is an interesting mixture of products and I am happy with my choices at £8.95. What do you think?

*this post contains PR samples unless indicated otherwise

Ciate – the Dewy Stix Highlighter

When it comes to highlighters, it’s fair to say I’m a little obsessed with them and have quite a growing collection of different shapes, colours, textures and finishes. When this Ciate Dewy Stix landed through my letterbox I was quite excited to see how it worked, I don't own very much from Ciate by make of makeup, so this is a first for me.

"Take your beauty game to the next level with Ciate London's new Dewy Stix. Add an instant life-from-within radiance without heavy pearls or shimmer" says the description.

The packaging already appeals to my inner magpie, show me something shiney and I am wanting to touch it add to that a chubby stick look and applicator and I am a fan before I have swatched it. With a unique formula that creates a dewy complexion without that heavy shimmer, or oily look as I prefer to call it, the balm-like texture of this stick simply glides onto the skin with minimal fuss. It is non-sticky or tacky and leaves behinds a really pretty finish, Skin Glossing the term is called and a huge beauty trend right now.

It can be used on cheekbones, brow bones, cupids bow and anywhere the light would naturally hit your face. It can also be used over eyeshadow to create a wet-look finish. If worn on top of foundation whether it is a cream, powder or liquid, it doesn't move or remove it as I thought it would, it just glides on top leaving a really subtle highlight, which if you prefer, can be built up using multiple strokes.

The Dewy Stix also contains hyaluronic acid to hydrate the skin and it is cruelty-free. Priced at £22 and is available from the Ciate website.

*this post contains PR samples unless indicated otherwise

New Launch: Roccabox

Just when you thought there were enough subscription boxes out there, here comes another one. Meet Roccabox which is brand new to the scene and for their first box, they have collaborated with none other than the fabulous Paula from The LDN Diaries.

Founded by Tia Roqqa who has worked in PR for many brands, the new venture of Roccabox will collaborate with a top beauty influencer to create a bespoke box of their favourite beauty products each month and these boxes will include 5 deluxe beauty products and a mini magazine put together by the influencer who curated the box with all their top hints and tips. Roccabox aims to be an ‘introducer’ box to not only discover brands and new product ranges. However, what I love most about the box is that they have partnered with Paperworks, a charity for people with Autism, learning difficulties and other complex needs. Each month, the boxes are packed by the people at Paperworks who love to work with their hands and learn new skills.

So the first item out of the box is one I have not, until now, come across and it is a Kevin Murphy Young Again Hair Oil which has an RRP £30. Described as being a weightless leave in oil which is infused with Immortelle to counteract the oxidisation and ageing process. Indulge yourself with intensely conditioned smooth, soft hair. Bur Oil improves hair strength, shine and body as well as helping to penetrate the scalp to relieve dry, flaky skin. Horse Chestnut Seed Extract which adds strength, shine and body. Safflower Seed Oil which acts as a lubricant to give the hair a soft and smooth appearance and Apple Extracts which help to remove dead cells from the hair’s surface plus quite a few others.

Balance Me Radiance Facial Oil (10ml) - I have used this before on many occasions and it was the very first facial oil to convert me to using them. Described as being Dewy Skin in a bottle, this powerfully active face oil feeds the skin with a rich, replenishing blend of skin boosting and smoothing ingredients such as Amazonian Buriti Nut, Cameilla and Rosehip Oil all of which work to reduce redness and address uneven skin tones and minimise the visible signs of scarring. Yarrow, Benzoin and Roman Camomile which work together to create a highly moisturising effect and Sweet Almond Oil which not only smells incredible but is great for moisturising the skin.

New CID Cosmetics - i-Prime Mini (10ml) - i-Prime is the makeup artists' secret weapon for the flawless application of foundation. Featuring pigments which are said to help blur imperfections on the skin, i-prime Foundation Primer is described as being the perfect base to apply your foundation. Using skin quenching shea butter and antioxidant vitamin E, this serum is really lightweight and you only need a pea sized amount which you apply to clean, moisturised skin.

Nanshy - Marvel 4-in-1 make-up Sponge. An incredibly soft sponge which has been created to give that airbrushed flawless finish. Each edge of this sponge has a use, whether it is the flat edge to contour, the larger area to apply foundation or the tip for those harder to reach areas such as the corner of the eyes, to apply concealer or to cover blemishes. You can also use it dry for a more fuller coverage of your foundation. This is a full-size item which has an RRP £5.95.

The final item in the box comes from one of my go to, holy grail if you like, products and that is Dr Lipp, the original nipple balm for lips. I literally cannot rave about this stuff enough, I adore it, my lips adore it and you can use it on dry, cracked, sensitive or itchy skin anywhere. It is a 100% natural product which helps the skin to heal itself and I have featured it more than once on my blog.

I am really impressed with this box and I am glad to have been introduced to some new products and brands that I haven't yet tried or come across.  You can subscribe to Roccabox for just £10 per month (plus £3.95 p&p) and can cancel it at any time. For more information and to sign up, everything you need to know is here. 

*this post contains PR samples unless indicated otherwise