Black Pepper to cover Gray Hair {Reader's Tip}

I received this comment which I thought would be particularly helpful for everyone struggling with gray hairs instead of resorting to hair colors. 

"I don't have hair loss problem but my hair is dry and has lots of gray hair. I am applying yogurt mixed with black pepper thrice a week started this week. This is helpful to cover grey hair and my hair had become soft and looking darker."

Thanks a lot to the person who has dropped in this comment :)

Do join my giveaway here. 

And, read more Reader's Tips here. 

Image Courtesy:trendingfashions.com

Hair Color and How To {Hair Care}

[Source: Bing Images]

Some hair coloring tips from the same magazine 'Rupayan'. Check them out and make sure you follow them next time to keep your hair beautiful and yourself looking young. Wish I had known them when I colored my hair :(

Hair Color to look young

Yes, it is true. A well-chosen hair color which has been properly applied (preferably professionally) helps you look younger than your age. On the other hand, a wrong hair color can also make you look old. 

• So, beware and take professional help if you are not able to decide what matches your skin tone.
• And, it is always preferable to get your hair colored professionally and 
• then your hair should be treated with professional or salon-range products only to keep your hair soft and color looking gorgeous. 
• Always avoid the jet black color as it makes you look old. If you want to go natural, go for dark brown instead.
• Indian skin is flattered by darker shades with red undertones like burgundy and browns and chocolate.
• Colored hair looks thicker than uncolored hair but it looks really unkempt if you do not take care of your hair color so always protect your hair color and devote time to hair care weekly once. 

Before Coloring

Some of the precautions to be taken care of before coloring your hair if you are going to a do-at-home coloring job. 

• Never apply color on freshly washed hair. It burns. I made that mistake so do not do that.
• Always apply color on the second on third day after washing your hair as natural oils will help hold the hair color. 
• But, never color dirty hair. Dust and dirty scalp and hair doesn't absorb color well.
• Go for deep conditioning treatments before coloring your hair. It is important as these treatments will protect your hair to an extent and lessen the damage coloring does to the hair. 
• Use professional treatments even if you go for home remedies. The chemicals in the professional and high-end products help protect your hair contrary to the belief that chemicals are bad for hair. 
• Conditioning treatments also help the color to last long and weekly treatments mean shiny hair which makes color look beautiful. Hair color doesn't look good when faded. 
• Before starting the coloring, read the instructions carefully and understand them. Follow them to the letter if this is your first time and even if not and do not exceed the time limit stipulated by the brand. 

How to apply Color?

• Before starting, read the inst
• Start applying color from the roots and proceed towards the mid length. Stop.
• After a minute or two, comb your hair and let the color spread to the ends of your hair. This has two advantages - protects your hair ends from the full onslaught of hair coloring and lets the hair get a more natural color by blending the hair color with its natural color. 
• Wash off the color after the stipulated time. Time the color job very carefully. 
• Wash your hair till the water is clear and generally, you do not need to shampoo after using the color so follow with the conditioning treatments provided as an after-color procedure. Try to keep this condition treatments for 10-15 minutes as it helps bind the color to your hair and also, repairs the cuticles and seals the color in and makes your hair soft and shiny. 

Some tips to keep in mind

• Always use high-end products made especially for the colored hair. They have ingredients which counter-act the damage caused by hair coloring. Especially useful are the conditioners and the treatments masks. 
• After the coloring job, proceed with using a leave-in serum and avoid using a blow-dryer and let your hair air dry.   
• You can follow with a conditioning treatments the next day to counter-effect the damage caused by coloring.
• Avoid going into sun with naked hair. Cover your head with a scarf or carry an umbrella. Otherwise, your color will fade off soon.

Biotique Bio Henna fresh Powder Hair Color {Product Review}

So, this is more of a experience than a review coz I have no idea of the hair color it gives and I can't say how much of the grays it will cover. 

color chart

Price: Rs 199 for 90 gms

Ingredients

Mehendi (63%), Aam Beej (8%), Neem (5%), Arjun (8%), Gambhari (6%), Daruhaldi (5%), Kikar Gaund (5%)

Packaging
I thought it would be good to speak about packaging to while reviewing the products coz they have a lot of influence in the mindset. So, the jar is very much similar to the other Biotique products and frankly I don't like the green jars and tubs they have. Very unusual color and very tacky. The worst is that this tub has a false bottom which pretty much reduces the quantity of the product. And, the tub is not full to the brim, probably only 3/4ths which is really bad. I wish they would at least consider providing a proper quantity.

My Experience

Well, I have mainly used the henna for henna gloss and it has definitely been a good experience. Regarding the product, I would say that the ingredients sound fabulous and the smell of the henna does make me feel that it is real enough. One thing I have noticed is that it doesn't dry the hair like other hennas do. So, I would definitely vote for it. And, yup, I shall definitely buy this henna in case I need it ever in the future. 

The only disadvantage is that the quantity is too less. It lasted me 4 times, that's it and that was henna gloss application. A proper henna application would take lot more of henna and probably for long hair, one application would finish a jar. And, for medium hair, it will probably serve 2-3 times, that's it!!! And, for that quantity and usage, it is definitely very costly.  But, much cheaper than Lush Cacas and equally natural.

My Recommendation 

I think it is worth a try, definitely.

Have you used this product? Pin It

Natural Henna Manicure {Nail Care}

[Source:rinaz.net]

Ok, this is not a very welcome option for every one. But, still, I would like to put this up. You all know what Henna is what multitude of benefits it offers. So, did you know that henna is anti-bacterial and the smell of henna acts as repellant for mosquitoes and insects. That was one of the chief reasons of applying it on the body and of course, later on, it became famous for body art too. There is one more major usage of henna.

Henna when applied to nails makes nails strong, healthy and shiny. Yes, unfortunately, it stains the nails too so they become orangey in color and the nail has to grow out completely to get rid of that color. But, applying henna prevents the nails from any fungal and bacterial infections too. And, I happen to like henna on my nails though the nails look really bad when the color reaches the middle but it does keep my nails pretty healthy for at least a month or two. So, try applying henna next time to the nails too and you can always use the nail paints to cover the orange color. 

Btw, here, I am not talking of the commercially available henna cones. I am referring to the fresh henna leaves ground and then applied on the hands and nails. The henna available in the market have a load of chemicals mixed in them so I don't really like applying from henna cones. Instead, plucking tender leaves of the plant and drying them is a better option to keep an unlimited supply of natural henna at home for whatever purpose you want whether it is coloring your hair or for body art.

Have you ever tried this? Pin It

Update on Lush Caca Noir {Product Review}

I had posted my experience with Lush Caca Noir in April. Now, that I have colored my hair with Wella Kolestint too so I think I have revised my opinion on the Noir. Well, this change of heart was due to the difference in my hair texture after using the natural and chemicals hair dyes. So, I guess, you already know who is the winner :D

So, the second part of the story goes like this. I have already told you all in my update on Wella Kolestint that I felt my hair was a bit rougher after the coloring job and I wasn't so much in awe of the color. I did like the color when I took the snap in sunlight but I myself couldn't see the color without sunlight so it really was nothing on my hair and I was irritated of the straw-feeling hair. So finally, I did a research on whether you can use Henna on chemically processed hair. And, the answer is a YES!!! I am pretty sure many would be happy to hear that. BUT wait, there is a catch here. You have to be completely sure that the Henna is 100% natural otherwise your hair will end up fried :O No one wants that!!!

So, fortunately for me, one block of Caca Noir was left unused with me so I went ahead and tried it out. I can say that my hair is a lot softer and of course shinier and this time I had mixed my Caca with beetroot :D I wanted to experiment. So, the result was somewhat like this. 

my hair color after Wella in sunlight

my hair color after using Noir in sunlight (first wash)

 

after second wash

Personally, I like the Noir result better coz the difference in shine and texture is instantly visible.

My Revised Recommendation

If you love Henna, you should definitely go for it. Don't be afraid to go for Noir coz it gives a beautiful raven black hair which looks really awesome but you gotta apply Noir pretty frequently for that which is a downside. But, then you can explore other Cacas too. Yes, it is a luxury but this is for all who want to color their hair but are afraid of chemicals or face scalp problems. Better waste money on this that burn your scalps with the chemical dyes. Learnt it the hard way, trust me!!!

Update on Wella Kolestint Hair Color {Product Review}

Well, I had colored my hair using Wella Kolestint around 3 weeks back and I had promised to do an after review of the hair color to share about the results, color and everything else. So, let me just do that in points:

• First thing which I noticed was that my hair has become rougher since I have colored my hair. This is the saddest part of the coloring job :(
• The color is visible only in sunlight. And, I made the wrong choice of color. I am not in love with this color but that is my fault not the brand's.



Medium Mahogany Brown in sunlight

• I used the conditioner provided with the hair coloring kit again after two weeks and it did add a lot of shine and gloss to my hair and the color is looking nice since then and even my hair is feeling softer since then. 

My Recommendation

It is a good hair color. I can't compare it with others so I don't know how long it will last and how does it fare better as compared to any other brand but the color does look nice in sunlight. The at-home hair colors are more for having fun rather than getting the serious job done. So, you can try out some shades if you want!!! Whatever the result be, I did enjoy coloring my hair :) and if I look at the pic long enough, I do definitely like the color though I would have preferred a darker richer color.

PS: Product sent by brand for consideration.

Wella Kolestint Hair Color - Medium Mahogany Brown {Product Review}

Box got damaged during the transit

Before reading this post, let me tell you that I have written this post in segments (before coloring my hair while doing the strand test and after the coloration) so you might find some tenses a bit confusing. 

Color chart provided on the box though I read somewhere that results of these at-home treatments rarely correspond with that of the given colors

Well, as I had read in some blog, my hair was a virgin till February when I first used Lush Caca Noir. I have been wanting to color my hair since quite a few years but then scare of ammonia and other things had discouraged me and I really don't like to take risks. But, when Wella sent a mail for voluntary applications, I really couldn't resist myself. So, I asked for Medium Mahogany Brown and Burgundy. This time I am using Medium Mahogany Brown. I'll use Burgundy after probably 4-5 months or depending on how long this hair color lasts. I got the package around 20 days back but I had to go out of town so I couldn't give it a try but I have been dying to use it. I came back a few days back and one of the first few things on the list included trying out Wella Kolestint.

Price: 519 INR 

How to use it?

The packaging comes with a very detailed instruction set which clearly tells how to use the product. 

Nourishing Almond Cream for pre-coloration treatment, color creme in the tube and developer in the bottle and the after-color shine treatment as a conditioner afterward and a pair of gloves

So, to make the long story short, you apply the almond cream before coloring the hair. Then, mix the color creme and the developer in equal quantities and apply to the entire hair or the sections you want to. Leave it for 40 minutes on average. Wash off without shampooing. Follow with the conditioner provided.

Instruction Leaflet

The instruction set also comes with the allergy patch test and strand test instructions which must be followed before hand (around 48 hours before coloring the hair). I did not perform the allergy test which is extremely wrong so please do not miss out on this step. It is very important.

My Experience

Now, I have used a block of Lush Caca Noir probably in the ending of April (around 27-30th April). So, I am not very sure how the color would turn up. 

Before Coloring

Now, I have applied the color and washed it off. So, first let me describe the application part. The pre-treatment almond cream smells awesome and is pretty smooth to apply. Now, comes the hard part. After mixing the creme color and creme developer, do not inhale the fumes ever. Strong doses of Ammonia come through so apply the color in a properly ventilated area otherwise you might really die of toxic fumes (I don't think that would happen but I really felt that). It is choking and do have someone else with you while doing this procedure in case of any problem. Asthma people should probably stay away from it. 

Now, the application of the paste is really very easy coz it is pretty smooth and a creamy mixture just like a very creamy conditioner. It glides on smoothly on the hair. The resultant color of the paste for the Medium Mahogany was a hideous orange. So, after applying, I did feel a burning sensation on the scalp for about 5-10 minutes. It was uncomfortable but not intolerable. Now, let me confess again, it is my fault that I did not do the patch test for allergic reactions which is extremely important so do not miss it. I would also like to ask if anyone has tried it and felt the same reaction. Do share. The sensation dissipated after 10-15 minutes. I did think of washing it off but I thought why not see it for 5 minutes more. So, I probably kept the developer on for like an hour or 50 minutes. I did the strand test but there was no change of color so I wasn't even sure if anything would happen. 

After the stipulated time, I washed off the color without using a shampoo. It lathers very well. I used normal water, not hot or cold. I think its best to use normal water or very lukewarm. Beware that strong ammonia fumes would come again (it comes in small doses when you have the color developer on your hair so sit in a well-ventilated area). Do not breathe in them and keep the exhaust fan of your bathroom switched on at this time. That will help to an extent. Wash thoroughly till everything is washed out. Follow with the given conditioner. And, do not forget to wash your body and face after doing this coz color might stick to your body while flowing down. Now, the hair was colored. 

After Coloring without flash - my hair is more shiny

After Coloring with flash (you can see subtle hints of color)

Now, when I saw at first, I thought there is no difference in my hair. But, when I checked it properly, my hair does seem to be mahogany color but it is not as rich as I wanted it to be. My hair does feel smooth and is looking shinier than before. I shall update on its progress after a week and 15 days and a month and also on how long it lasts. Finally, it was a different experience for me except for the part of ammonia fumes which is probably why I think people say yes to ammonia-free hair color. I have never used any other hair color so I cant compare. And, regarding my recommendation, I shall reserve the judgment for two weeks.

In the morning without flash - you can see subtle coloring

In the morning with flash

In the morning without flash- see the change of coloring with the light

Have you ever tried coloring your hair? Pin It

PS : Product sent by brand for consideration.

Beauty Uses of Beetroot

[Source:ayushveda.com]

Beetroot is one vegetable which you might hate or love to eat but it sure is good or rather great for your whole body. Since the vegetable is rich in iron, a daily glass of juice relieves you of anemia and helps building a strong immune system. 

This vegetable is also a natural dye so mix the regular henna powder in beetroot juice for an auburn tinge in your hair. And, it is completely chemical free so your hair remains as healthy and beautiful as always. 

Finally, using beetroot juice as a mask gives your complexion a pinkish tinge. So, next time you are whipping a clay mask or any fruit mask, be sure to include a little of beetroot juice or grated beetroot. The results would be visible clearly on a fair skin.Not only that, a regular usage of beetroot helps your skin become flawless as it feeds your skin iron and other vitamins through the pores. All the dark spots and blemishes are gone in a month if you use the mask 5-7 times a week.

You can even include a glass of beetroot juice in your daily diet. It surely will improve your skin and hair from inside as it carries all the vitamins and minerals necessary for beautiful skin and hair.

Have you ever tried using Beetroot? Pin It