Urban Sustained.

Hello everyone, I've come with some news. I've started a new adventure at urbansustained.com and I'd appreciate if you'd check it out! It's a blog dedicated to sustainable living in cities, and how to reduce your environmental impact, whilst still living a healthy, fulfilled life.
I have a free sustainable living cheat sheet for you to download, and you can sign up to take part in weekly challenges designed to help you achieve a sustainable life bit by bit.

See you there!

Go to urban sustained

Beach waves...

Hello and how's your hair today? Mine is doing great - I recently did a hot oil treatment with castor oil on it, and it feels so soft and nourished it's unbelievable. I recently came back from a two month holiday (lucky me!) and my topic of discussion today will be protecting your hair from the elements, mainly sea water.

I spent one month in the U.S. and one month in Jamaica visiting family. We went swimming in the sea every other day (and if not the sea, a river) and it was paradise. Unfortunately for my hair, constant sea water isn't good for it and I had to take extra good care of it to stop it drying out and breaking. Here are the methods I used.

1) Soaking hair in fresh water before entering the sea - it's not an incredible method, but it does limit the amount of salt water that gets into your strands for a little while. Salt dries your hair out, so give it a bit of work to do before it can get to your precious shafts!

2) Combing conditioner through hair - I would wet my hair, then spread my favourite conditioner through it (currently Aunt Jackie's girls) and combing through to get an even distribution. It creates a barrier between your hair and the sea water until it gets properly washed off (after about an hour of splashing around)

3) Swimming cap - Not the most fashionable accessory but it does a good job. My sister used one and it actually kept her hair quite dry. I couldn't fathom the look though.

4) Rinse hair out - As soon as there was a shower near by, I would rinse out the salt water even if I had no conditioner with me. This limits the damage the salt water does.

5) Deep condition - I deep conditioned every single time we went swimming (so every two days). I went through a lot of conditioner but my hair is grateful for it.

The sea can be good for your hair too. It clears a multitude of scalp problems and I found that my hair was thicker after sea swimming. It can also lighten your hair (combination of the salt and sun). As long as you condition, salt water is great!

I really miss the island and my family there so hopefully I can go back soon! Due to internet problems, I didn't have any way to post. Here are some pictures I took though!

Travel me out...

Hello and how's your hair today? I recently came back from a trip around Europe with my best mates and I have to say it was one of the best experiences of my life. One thing I had to think about was my hair (obviously). Because we were travelling to many places we had those over sized backpack things to carry all our stuff, and as a result I couldn't carry all my hair tools that I normally use. Essentially all I had was shampoo, conditioner and leave in.
That's it.

I didn't struggle however, and let my hair do as it pleased during the course of the trip and it was quite refreshing to just have my natural hair with no braids or twists of any kind. I do have some advice however on travelling with hair that needs constant management or even hair that is easy to deal with.

1) Wash your hair the day before you travel. Obviously this lengthens the amount of time you have before you have to wash it again without all your accessories.

2) Buy empty mini containers. One thing I wish I did, was go to my local drugstore and buy those sets of tiny empty bottles and tubs so I could put hair gel and moisturizer with me. I had to bring my entire tub of leave in when I could have just dished a small amount into a container with me. Also I could have had other products with me.

3) Bring hair bands. You wouldn't believe how many times I've forgotten mine.

4) Keep your styles as simple as possible. You won't have all the stuff you normally use with you, and you're probably going to be busy with the wonderful place you're visiting. You don't want to be wasting time with your hair.

5) Take a hat! Hats will hide any bad hair day on your trip and also help tame your locks. I forgot I had brought mine and almost cried with relief when I saw it halfway through the trip.

I didn't have a terrible time as I went to cities mostly, (apart from Switzerland) so the humidity didn't get me. However, I am travelling to hot countries in the summer and so shall be prepared this time!

Love y'all
MOSAS
(make others stop and stare)
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Straighten me out... [Mixed chicks straightening serum]

Hello and how's your hair today? I must admit my hair is feeling very happy these days from the new deep conditioners I bought and have been using for the past few weeks. They were especially helpful when after taking out my braids as they softened the tangled mass that was my hair and made combing easier. More on that later!

I also decided to buy mixed chicks straightening serum to test out if it was beneficial to my straightening routine. I have heard many reviews on it and thought why not! I applied to clean, damp, deep conditioned hair and blow dried out with a Denman ceramic brush, so my hair was quite straight before a pressed it.

The first thing I noticed was the smell. It doesn't smell bad, but sort of clinically (if that's suitable?) but I thought they could have made it smell better. The texture is also quite odd, a tiny bit on the gooey side, but it melts away in your hands when you rub it together. Its good as a heat protectant and a little bit goes a long way with this product. It didn't make my hair greasy and it felt lovely and smooth and soft :)
I think it did aid with keeping my hair straight for longer (it snowed but my hair didn't go crazy), so I definitely like it. It is a bit on the pricey side but as I said a little goes a long way and mixed chicks are famous for their less chemically harsh products that are kinder to hair.

Also, I found a way of keeping my hair straighter for longer depending on how I sleep, so more on that later.

Love y'all!
MOSAS
(make others stop and stare)
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Moisturize me daily... [Cantu shea butter]

Hello and how's your hair today? I recently watched a youtuber called PhillyzJamPoet, who has a really good video on growing your hair. I really recommend watching her, especially if you have curly hair and her suggestions apply to all hair types. I personally don't wear wigs or weaves which she does suggest but I still think her care regimen is quite good so check her out!

I was recently shopping with one of my friends and she recommended a product to me, Cantu shea butter leave in conditioning repair cream so I bought a tub and decided to try it out.

As I currently have braids, I used it to moisturize them and honestly, as I was putting it on I could feel my hair softening. Not only that but the smell is amazing! I grabbed one of my younger sisters and decided to moisturize her hair and then put a sleeping silk cap on her overnight. When she woke up, her hair was soft, more managable (smelt awesome) and healthier. I totally recommend this product, as its also quite cheap and can be bought online or at a beauty store.

I wouldn't use this daily as I have quite porous hair that absorbs product quite easily so I'd apply this after a wash whilst my hair is still wet if I wanted to do a wash and go. Leave it to set for about half an hour before blowdrying or heat styling so your hair can really absorb it. I also think I'd use this to refresh a wash and go in a style such as a twist out so I wouldn't have to wet my hair again, but only a small amount.

I really think this product will aid me in getting to my hair length goal so we'll see with that!

Love y'all! xxxxxxxxxxxx

MOSAS

(make others stop and stare)

Happy New Year!

Hello and how's your hair today? It has been a very long while, and I do apologise. I've been so busy in university and various other life changing things that I havent had the time to update. But cutting to the chase - it's a new year, I've made some resolutions and keeping this up is one of them. So without further ado, here is my blog post!

Currently, I have my hair in long single twist braids, that look like something like this:

They're in braids mostly because I have exams and so its so much easier to maintain so I don't have to worry about my hair at all. Also, doing braids every now and then cause the hair grow because the strands are protected and there is so much less breakage (as long as you don't pull on the front as it will break those hairs).

As part of my new years resolutions I am growing my hair out down to elbow length, which I know will be no easy feat (especially as my hair is curly), but it's a challenge I've set myself for the next few years. I'm going to be testing out which products are best for hair growth (I already have my eye on mixed chicks' product range), and I really don't want to give up on this!

Since I have braids I thought I would post some pics of a few braids which I thought were lovely. (I don't own any of these pictures!)

Love her!

Enjoy!

Love

MOSAS 

(make others stop and stare)

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Vo5 me part 2

Hello and how's your hair today? This is the second post on my favourite Vo5 products, and this next one is probably my absolute favourite. As I mentioned in my earlier post, I've struck up a balance in being curly and straight and Vo5's 'Smoothly Does It Curl Defining Mousse' is my go to product for either style. It smells nice, is really light and doesn't make my hair crunchy when applied, yet still controls and defines my curls, or help keep my hair nice and straight.

 

How I apply

 

After washing my hair, I moisturise and apply my serum to damp hair (not dripping wet), and apply this product last. This helps to trap all the goodness, and the mousse also has heat defence so it protects my hair. If I'm going curly, I just leave it in and only put on about half a handful of mousse.

 

If I'm going straight however, I apply more (about a handful) and spread it as evenly as I can through my strands. If I have time, I use big rollers and set my hair under the dryer or let it air dry (which is very rarely to be honest, I'm always busy), or if I'm in a hurry, I use my hairdryer with the comb attachment to dry and comb at the same time. My hair also comes out straighter than letting it air dry, so straightening is an easier job.

 

I never apply mousse to dry hair (unless I'm going to blow-dry it out) because it makes it crunchy and it doesn't really work well for me - everyone's hair is different so you have to know what works for you.

 

I'll be back with my last favourite Vo5 product next week, and maybe you guys might try some of these products out!

 

Love y'all

MOSAS

(make others stop and stare)

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