Never Use Shampoo Again! Clarifying With Apple Cider Vinegar & Baking Soda

So as a girl with natural curly hair, I've been looking for a good way to clarify my hair for a while. Using oils can sometimes cause build-up in your hair and that can be difficult to get out of your hair without using a shampoo containing damaging sulfates.

After doing some research,  I found Baking Soda and Vinegar. The most commonly used vinegar is Apple Cider, but Distilled White Vinegar may also be used.

Won't using vinegar leave my hair smelling funny?
No, in my experience, once your hair is completely dry you shouldn't experience any smell. If you do, you could dilute the recipe more. I actually noticed my hair smelled really nice and clean

Won't vinegar dry out my hair?
No, this recipe is dilute enough to not harm the hair. My hair actually looked more moisturized and defined without any product in it whatsoever. Do this at night, not when you're planning to go in direct sunlight.

This rinse can take the place of expensive shampoos and work twice as well.

How does it work?
It reduces frizz by smoothing the cuticle of the hair shaft. This adds shine and manageability. It also adjusts the pH of your hair as it is mildly acidic, as is your hair; whilst normal hair products are alkaline, and also strip your hair of moisture CAUSING FRIZZ.

The Recipe:
- 1 cup of warm water
- 1 teaspoon of baking soda

- 2 teaspoons of vinegar ( distilled white if you are blond, or apple cider)
- 1 cup of warm water

* You can do them as separate steps or you can do as I did and mix them together in a bottle at one time and apply to the hair*

Thoroughly saturate the hair, and then just tie in a pineapple( a pony tail on the very top of your head) , leave it for 5-10 minutes. Using a shower cap will prevent the mixture from dripping all over you while you finish having your bath/shower.

Rinse out with warm water, and use conditioner on the mid-shaft / ends of your hair (from ear down) if necessary.

I would recommend doing this once every week or fortnight, depending on your hair regime.

Apple Cider Vinegar can also be used to:

• Give Energy
• Treat the skin 
• Treat Warts
• Whiten Teeth
• Lose Weight

Happy Clarifying!

Weekend Reads

CONFESSIONS

// I confess I meant to blog every day this week, but then I started reading other people's posts and wham it's 2pm and I'm too pooped to find the energy to post.

// I confess I'm ALWAYS hungry and I maaay have eaten my body weight in junk food.

// I confess I'm sooo confused as to why they still can't find that Malaysian plane and if my phone was stolen I could have it tracked in a day?

// I confess that I have library books from last year that I haven't returned and now I can't rent from the library and I feel like I'm dying from lack of reading material *hides face*

 READS

+ Super easy Back to Top button for your blog : Allie from Call Me Sassafrass has the perfect quick tutorial to update your blog a bit.

+ A post that really captured my attention this week was about defining your own successes and celebrating them from Some Call Me CJ

+ Kate shared 5 ways to boost your blog traffic that I'd NEVER have thought of otherwise

+ Does the timing of posts bother you? Read this post to see how you're missing out by not uploading at the same time every day!

+ THE single best makeup and hair tips post I've ever read. Kudos to Juliette!

JAM

linking up with Leslie & Whitney

How to Achieve Your Goals

Now I know that a ton of us make a ton of New Years Resolutions, and a ton of us don't keep most, if any of them. Trust me, I'm one of the head people that makes a TON of goals come each new year, and never keeps them - for crying out loud, it's my birthday on New Years Eve, and of course I always feel like turning a year older warrants some serious goal making.

I've realized the whole problem with my goals in the past was that I was SOOO vague. My goals weren't uncommon, but I found that there just wasn't the detail I needed to stick to them later in the year when my motivation wasn't as high.

For example let's say my resolutions were:

1.  Lose 30lbs
2. Revise More( over and above existing homework )
3. Keep on top of housework and chores ( laundry etc)
4. Be more organized
5. Work out more.

They seem decent right? They totally seem attainable, until real life happens..

What you need to do to help push you to motivate your goals is :

• Make them more active. Don't just say do this or do that..

You need to create sub-goals, or a sort of checklist if you will. That way later in the year it will actually feel like you're getting somewhere and you know what you've still got to do. It helps you to visualize, but in a constructive manner rather than just dreaming.

• Reward Yourself. 

If you know you're getting something AMAZING at the end of it, it totally helps motivate you, whether it's a small treat for a small goal, or whether it's a shopping spree rewarding you for losing 100 lbs!

• Keep Your Goals in Sight

Out of sight out of mind completely rings true with New Years Resolutions.. When we write down our goals and then don't look at them for 3 - 6 months or as much as a year we don't actively work towards them. Whether it's a photo of your dream dress, a reminder of that vacation you want to take or a failing grade card, motivating you to always do better, it's good to have it close at hand. Also I like to keep a list of my goals in my planner.

• Make Sure They're GOOD for you!

A lot of us make the same old goals every year, and never attain them, or we desire things that are no longer healthy for us. I suggest you think of what you wanted this time last year and de-clutter that list.. It's unlikely everything is still relevant or as important. Make sure that whatever NEEDS doing is done, and whatever else is on that list is for your benefit.

8 Blogging Tips That All Beginners Should Know

I’m by no means a professional blogger, or even someone who has been blogging for years but here are my top tips on blogging for newbies.

*This post was part of a link up on blogging tips. Check out the link up here*

ORGANIZATION:

Scheduled posts are a brilliant thing: If you’re a new blogger/career blogger taking 2 weeks off blogging for your vacation can be pretty detrimental to your blog. People like consistency – so if you schedule some posts your baby will still be fine when you get back. This is really helpful if you go to school/work and find time management hard as well. Scheduling tweets and Facebook updates to promote your posts is also a must. Check out buffer or Hootsuite for this
                              
BUILDING COMMUNITY:
                                                 
Joining blogging groups such as Wonder Forest’s Blogger Connect can help build your readership by allowing you to share your quality content with other like-minded bloggers. You can also find many blogs similar to your own and build friendships & sponsorships from there. Other social media outlets are also good for content sharing.

                                   
Commenting Creates Community; Blogging is only great because of it’s ability to connect people ALL over the world. It’s good to get feedback and give feedback when blogging, so commenting intelligent, valuable things on the posts that you read and enjoyed is a win-win situation.

CONTENT CREATION:

Write about what inspires YOU; It’s important that you don’t only write articles with the sole aim of driving traffic to your blog. Yes , people search for certain things more, but most of the times they’re overdone because EVERYONE does them. Trust me, if you like to write about your life, then fashion blogging will almost definitely feel awkward.

Find your niche and your voice and regardless what you write about you’ll still get traffic. 

If you’re stuck for ideas or you're gonna be away for a while guest posts can be a brilliant thing. Someone writes for you , and they get exposed to your blogging audience – win/win!

DESIGN:

Keep things simple: In terms of design, you don’t want your blog to look overcrowded so choose no more than 3 different fonts, and don’t clutter your design with a million gadgets and buttons. Not only do too many buttons make your page look cluttered - they slow down the load speed of your site.When you write you also want to keep things fairly simple too – too much jargon makes text hard to read.

Use tutorials. Look at established blogs and see what they have that you don’t. This is where you can get an idea of what you want to change and how to do it. There are a TON of tutorials all over the web on how to make buttons, do image mapping etc.. It can really add to your blog and tide you over until you decide to spring for a professional design.

Pictures,Pictures,Pictures; Pictures can make or break a post. Good quality pictures are important – especially when you’re doing a DIY, tutorial or recipe type post. Make sure that any pictures you decide to edit are edited in a similar format to keep your blog consistent.                      

The 5 Tips You Need to Get Out of That Writing Rut

+ Read: When you can't get your thoughts out on to the page, read someone else's. When the problem is a lack of inspiration, and one of the best ways to get your creative juices flowing is to read. I don't know how many times I've been reading and immediately had an idea for a post.  It can be a paperback, newspaper, short stories, web articles, magazines - whatever floats your boat!

Creating new content means you need to consume new content !

+ Write: As difficult as it sounds, write down everything, ( even non related to the novel or post etc ).
Keep a notebook with you and write down everything that pops in to your head. Sometimes we lose our best ideas because we don't write them down.
This can also serve as sort of a 'brain dump' if the problem is that you feel like you have too many ideas in your head that you can't concentrate on writing just one .

+ Use Prompts; Journalling prompts and writing challenges can help spark ideas that you originally wouldn't have thought of yourself. Also try thought association( thinking of a word that makes you think of another and another etc) can be useful tools. Free writing ( just letting out your ideas, writing without thinking) may be for you. Practice makes perfect!

+ Get Outside: Changing your environment can make a huge difference if you're feeling tired of writing in the same space. The fresh air and the different sights & experiences can invigorate your mind and help you think more clearly and write more.

+ Discuss: Social interaction is a great way to plant a seed in your head that develops into a whole book. If the problem is that you don't know what to write, sit down and talk to your mom, husband, best friend, tutor, librarian or whoever you feel most comfortable with. They usually will have a different perspective or idea that you never would have had!

The Best Free Blogging Resources; Pictures & Editing

In the spirit of sharing and blogging about blogging I thought I'd share my favorite free resources that I use for pictures and editing.

Here are the top 4

Death to the Stock Photo

David and Allie started a project to try and get rid of boring old stock photos. Each month they send free emails of 10 photos to do whatever you want with. There's also the site where you can download single images and browse through them. There is also a premium package offered, if you feel the need to upgrade at any time.

Unsplash

Unsplash is somewhat similar to Death to the Stock Photo in that it's a completely free site where you can download 'do whatever' stock images with no copyright infringements to worry about. You can also sign up for emails to be sent to your inbox every 10 days. These are usually REALLY high quality images.

Canva 

Canva is a free editing site where you can create tons of different content. You can edit pictures and create different graphics as well as do tutorials and learn how to use it better. The tutorials are a BIG help - as a newbie Canva can be a bit confusing as there are so many features you can use and things you can do. There are images, backgrounds and a far larger range of fonts than any free editing site I've ever used available. There is also an option to add paid stock photos etc at $1 a piece if you feel so inclined.

 PicMonkey

PicMonkey is hands down the easiest and most user-friendly format of editing I've come across. You can edit photos, create graphics and collages for free. It has a ton of features from resizing to overlays and themes etc. They too have a Royale version which allows you to use many different fonts and features not available in the free version. Royale is $6 US dollars a month although I know plenty of bloggers who've been content with the fairly comprehensive 'basic' features.

How to Add More Protein to Your Diet

Like a lot of people, I thought only body builders ( MEN) should be actively trying to pack their diets with protein. 

Protein has way more uses than just to build muscle, and I think it gets a bad rap.

                                                   + how much protein should I be eating?

Lean protein is an excellent way to fuel the body, on average you should be consuming 56 grams a day for men and 46 grams per day if you're female ( the Recommended Daily Allowance), but when trying to lose weight/gain muscle you can almost double that.

                     //won't increasing my protein intake make me fat?

If you're aiming to lose weight protein can also be very helpful. I used to think if I eat a lot of protein or take protein powders I'd gain weight like crazy. That's not true however. Protein is useful in weight loss because it leaves you feeling fuller for longer than carbohydrates do [ man do I love my carbs ]. When you no longer feel the incessant urge to snack it makes weight loss much easier, although upping your intake too much and not moving around can make you fat ( but it's harder to do than you think).

          + isn't eating a lot of protein expensive?

While you might think that buying a ton of sea food ( a great lean protein ) will cost you dearly, It's simple to add more protein into your diet without breaking the bank.

Eggs are SUPER cheap and are a great source of protein

• Almond Milk
• Peanut Butter
• Tuna
• Greek Yogurt
• Nuts, Beans and Legumes

Also, you can make your very own protein shakes, or buy them at the store for a great pre/ post workout snack [ drink technically, but you know what I mean ] and pinterest is a GREAT place to find recipes.

Comment below and tell me how YOU add protein to your diet, get your picky kids to eat it, or with any other questions.

Beauty Must Haves for Travelling this Summer

Inevitably, when you’re travelling you ALWAYS take more than you need/want/use – just because it’s cute and dinky does not mean you’ll use it people. Here’s my must have items for when you travel Europe.
This was requested by Tina.

• A dry shampoo; 

this is a necessity if you’re going on longer trips. It can be hot and your hair gets greasy more easily.. you don’t want to wash your hair everyday – and usually you most definitely don’t want to use a hotel hairdryer/ take your own hair dryer. A cheap and effective brand of dry shampoo is Batiste, which come in travel friendly sizes

• A Powder, Tinted Moisturizer or BB Cream;

during the summer you might not necessarily want to wear a heavy foundation, so I suggest getting a light mineral powder that will give you coverage but allow your skin to breathe. BB creams and tinted moisturizers with SPF in them are also good.

• Waterproof Mascara;

this is good for if you’re going to any where with a beach, or high humidity. My favorite is; Loreal Power Volume 24 Hour. The last thing you want is to have panda eyes!

• A Cheek/Lip stain;

this is a great little product that saves space in your cosmetic bag by doubling as a blush and lip stain. Benetint has good color and staying powder

• A Lip Balm:

it’s essential to carry a lip balm with spf in it during summer, it will give protection from harmful UVB rays and will also finish off the lip-stain nicely to give you a perfect pucker.

• Smokey Eye Pencils/Quads

For more dramatic make-up looks (perhaps if you’re going out for dinner etc) you’ll want to take products such as the CoverGirl smokey eye pencils.
For every day looks, you’ll want to pick up some eye shadow quads or trios of colors you wear every day – neutral. This is easier than taking your whole palette and you can easily create a NUMBER of looks.

NB: If you really worry about coverage or staying powder, you could also use primers and fixing sprays – but that’s not necessary.

I hope this helps you guys that will be travelling this summer!
Comment, like follow and all that jazz, if you have a question just comment or email me and I’ll get back to you sharpish!