Tips & Tricks to Plump and Moisturize Skin This Winter

"My skin just gets like this during the winter..." Have you ever uttered these words? Is that the acceptance that you give for skin issue for your family? Yes it is true a change in the weather may cause skin issues. Soooo.. what are you going to do about it? Here are a few tips & tricks to plump and moisturize your skin during the Winter.

1) Bathing Behavior..

When you’re bathing or showering, make sure that your water is mild in temperature. Hot showers can dry out and irritate your skin. Schaffer says the hot water causes damage to the keratin cells that are located on the most outer layer of our skin — the epidermis. By disrupting these cells, it creates dry skin and prevents the cells from locking in moisture.

Also make sure you’re using a mild soap for your skin. The goal here is to be gentle, and not remove the many natural oils your skin wants to preserve. Our Raw African Black Soap will cleanse your skin without stripping it of it's natural oils.

2)Moisturization, Moisturization, Moisturization!

Ideally, you should first moisturize right after you get out of the shower, since it’s best to lock in that moisture immediately. If you don’t lock the moisture in shortly after bathing, it’ll evaporate quickly. This leaves no chance to preserve the moisture in your skin, which in turn leads to you feeling dry throughout the day. Our whipped body butter collection helps to lock in the moisture and yes it lasts all day.

What about those hard to reach areas like your back? For this, we recommend moisturizing while in the shower to help you cover your back, to prevent it drying out in the future. Towards the end of your shower, simply apply the moisturizer.

It will drip down your back, and when you’re drying off, just spread it around evenly with your towel!

3) Gentle Exfoliation

Once or twice a week, spare some time in the morning to exfoliate your skin. As we age, the process of cell regeneration slows down. This means that it takes a longer time to shed skin cells and produce new ones. Exfoliation ensures that the dead skin cells are constantly being removed and not accumulated, which can lead to dull and dry-looking skin. It also allows your skincare products to better penetrate into your skin, giving you the full effects and benefits of your products.

4) Good Diet & Green Tea

Consuming fatty fish like salmon and mackerel can help with plumping your skin. These fishes are high in omega-3 fatty acids which are important for keeping your skin supple and moisturized. Another food that you can incorporate into your diet for plump skin are avocados. The healthy fats found in them are key for maintaining the elasticity in your skin.

Besides drinking your 8 cups of water a day.... Studies have also shown that catechins found in green tea aid in protecting your skin against sun damage – the number one cause for premature ageing. The antioxidant compound is also great for improving thickness and elasticity of the skin. Our Green Tea Moisturizer (November 2020) will work wonders on the outside.

These small tips will help you to lock in moisture and keep dry skin at bay. Change your behavior to see change. Make a concerted effort to do these small things year round and you will see results.

I'm stuck! My hair won't grow past my ears! HELP!! (Part II)

This is a continuation from the prior blog post. I'll pause whilst you head off to read that one... Listen. Can you hear the Jeopardy theme music?

Okay lets continue our conversation on hair retention tips.

4. Use natural hair gels

We all love a slick style. Low loose (non tight) ponytails are an awesome protective style. We are finding that clients are using gels that are toxic and tearing down their hair. Check the ingredient on your hair gels. If the ingredient list is full of alcohols and 23 letter word ingredients that you cannot pronounce, goggle them. Find out what the ingredients are used to do. Preservatives are one thing but ingredients used to make rubber tires is a completely different issue.

5. Skip the daily shampoo

This tip is sometimes skipped because AA naturals usually do not wash their hair with shampoo daily. However you would be surprise by how many people especially after a big chop use shampoo daily. So we will keep this one short by advising stretch your washes. Once or Twice weekly especially if you are using gels and experiencing buildup.

6. Add a multi vitamin to your morning routine

We always recommend working the problem in whole. You cannot workout and eat bad and expect great results. So you have to work the tips on hair as well as work internally. If your diet isn't supplying you with enough nutrition, a supplement could make a world of difference. Look for a multivitamin that's formulated and labeled 'For Hair, Skin and Nails. Those contain important vitamins like biotin and C and B vitamins that support hair health. Taking liquid biotin daily strengthens your hair as well. Bonus: You may get better skin in the process!

More to come....

I'm stuck! My hair won't grow past my ears! HELP!!

I'll start this blog off with 2 words. Hair grows. It really does. Hair growth and hair retention are two different and very distinctly important things. If you have to color your hair because of dark roots... your hair is growing. If you have to perm your hair because your roots are thick... your hair is growing. If you are stuck at one length it is quite possibly because you are not taking the proper measures to retain length. Length retention is key. Retaining the hair that grows should be your number 1 task. Here are a few ways to do so.

1. DON’T TOUCH YOUR HAIR

We love playing with our hair ,and running our hands through our hair. However this could be pulling back your length retention goals. Also manipulating your hair frequently (twisting and retwisting every night) are going to be detrimental to your hair growth progress. Put your hair into a protective style that you can set and leave alone for a few days. This will give your hair a much needed break and help you keep your hands out of it.

2. DECREASE THE HEAT

Decreasing heat in your hair care regimen gives your hair one of the best chances for retaining length. A "hard press" can kill the curl of your hair stands and straightening "only your edges" weakens and kills those as well. If the plates of your iron is too hot or heat isn't distributed evenly it can cause heat damage. Heat damage was the reason I was forced to BIG CHOP in 2017. I now straighten my hair with heat once a quarter if at all.

3. GET A TRIM or CUT IT

When I got rid of all of the damaged ends / hair and the shedding became non existent. Because I am not losing hair as quickly as it was growing, I’m seeing more growth and retention. Holding on to damaged ends causes more damage. You can not bring the damaged hair back to life no matter what any miracle product says. Getting a trim / cut will bring you closer to your length goals. It does not have to be a specific time period, but getting a trim as needed will be of great benefit to your hair care future!

More to come....