The Japanese Secret to strong beautiful hair

Spending your hard earned dollars on hair vitamins is one option to healthy hair but for the most impact possible, proper nutrition is the answer. Since most of us aren’t normally eating a diet rich in fruit and veggies, I believe that we should get the most bang for the buck by going for the most nutrient dense foods out there.

I’ve already posted once before about the awesome powers of super greens like spirullina and chlorella. Today I want to talk about another power food, seaweed! Sure, you can fill your belly with pre-packed vitamins but why bother when if you can get loads of hair intensive nutrients found in nature’s sea miracle.


For the last couple of days, I’ve spent several hours reading the countless accounts of people who’ve stopped a complete stranger in public to ask the person about the secret to her lovely hair. Time after time, the reason for the healthiness and length of the locks were attributed to eating seaweed on a consistent basis. After reading about so many beautiful hair sightings being attributed to seaweed consumption, I knew that seaweed had to become a staple in my diet.


Take a gander at this excerpt from Raw Food Blog

Sea vegetables, providing plenty of proteins, complex carbohydrates, carotenes, and chlorophyll, stimulate and strengthen the skin, hair, and nails. Brittle hair, caused by a shortage of minerals, too much salt or animal food, or excessive use of drugs, can be restored by eating sea vegetables.

Sea vegetables offer tremendous benefits not only for health but for beauty. Kelp, wakame, arame, dulse, and nori are all high-protein vegetables, low in fat. Rich in calcium, phosphorus, potassium, iron, iodine, and other trace minerals, sea vegetables like alaria and kelp are better calcium sources than milk. Sea vegetables, like land vegetables, are high in potassium.




I normally eat sushi a couple of times a month which is no where near where I want to be so immediately made a bee-line to my local Asian restaurant and loaded up on this wonderful hair delicacy. I decided to stock up on a bunch of yummy nori which is the seaweed sheet used to roll sushi. Nori is extremely low in calories and high in nutrition-it’s the perfect snack. My seaweed binge didn’t stop there, I also picked up some dried wakame to add to soup and stews. I even made a stop at my local vitamin store and purchased some kelp in both tablet in in liquid form for those days when I wouldn't be consuming seaweed in my meals. You all can tell that I am serious about this seaweed stuff. I am extremely fascinated with such potent superfoods because unlike some vitamins, natural foods are already packaged in forms that’s readily absorbed by the body. What more can one ask for?

Not only will my hair benefit from this increased nutrition but I anticipate and equally beneficial result with my skin, nails, and overall health. My goal is to consume seaweed in its natural form at least several times per week. I figure it’s only a matter of time before the benefits of my efforts will manifest itself outwardly. In my opinion, seaweed should be a part of everyone’s diet because of the high amount of minerals, calcium and glyconutrients.

Here's more on the nutritional value of seaweed.




For those of you do it yourself gals like me who don't want to spend a fortune on sushi take-out, here are some video guides on how to make sushi at home at a fraction of the cost.





I really wanted to share this with my readers because I truly feel that there are an unlimited amount of options available to us that can make a major impact to our healthy hair journey. I’m absolutely sold on the idea of seaweed being a key to having strong healthy hair.

Cascading Curls

Lovely Curly Updo with Veil

Courtesy of Bama Bride

Lisa Kudrow

It's All Work and No Play for Lisa Kudrow

After she became part of TV history along with her Friends co-stars, Lisa Kudrow kept her fans delighted by taking on a string of quirky characters on screens big and small.

Now, she's delivering the kind of off-the-wall performance she loves as a foster mom from hell in Hotel for Dogs. The irony is that, off-screen, she and her handsome hubby, French TV exec Michael Stern, are doting parents.

Q: You crossed a line by being mean to kids on screen. How did you dare?

A: Oh, my god. You mean what if I'm on the cover of the tabloids as the mean mom? I thought it would be fun to play a sort of villain in a family movie. So she doesn't like kids. That's OK. But here's the bad news. I took my son to a screening and, unfortunately, there were moments that felt familiar to him. Maybe that's not so good.

Q: Who's the disciplinarian, you or your husband?

A: I was a pushover until my husband taught me that I have to be more strict. But I don't know if strict is OK or not. I've been trying to be a little more structured and have rules and boundaries and I've gotten better at it. But I'd say my husband takes care of the discipline.

Q: When you speak about your husband, you beam.

A: He's phenomenal. Thank God for him. He's so centered and he keeps all the hype and fame stuff in total perspective. He knows that there's no danger of me falling in love with someone that I don't know, like a co-star in a movie. I mean, we've talked about that a lot and I don't get crushes that easily. Oh God, I wouldn't leave him for anything or anyone.

Q: How did you feel about sharing the set with a bunch of dogs?

A: I grew up with dogs and I have a toy poodle. But when you're filming everyone has to have their ducks in a row before the dogs come to set, otherwise it will be harder to get them to do what they need to do. But that's fine with me. You can't upstage a cute doggie.

Q: You get to be pretty outrageous in Hotel for Dogs. Is it fun to be sort of the Queen of Mean?

A: It is occasionally. But when I was with The Groundlings comedy troupe, the emphasis was almost always on the mean stuff. You had to look angry to make it funny. I didn't want to live my life like that just to get laughs. I realized that there were things that I thought were funny that weren't so mean spirited and I got a chance to show another side of myself on Friends.

Q: There are a lot of talented comedic actresses, including you, who don't get a chance to be funny as a leading lady on the big screen. Why is that?

A: I wish I knew. Male-driven comedies always outnumber female driven comedies. Then when there is one, everyone is like, 'Well, that was a shock. Who would've thought people would go to see women be funny in a movie?'

Q: Did you ever feel a challenge to go beyond your image as Phoebe on Friends?

A: It hasn't come up that much. I don't get people saying before they cast me, 'I need to see that you're not going to be Phoebe when you do this.' Actually, I'm always expecting it to happen. But I've gotten a lot of roles that are nothing like her. Maybe I'm just lucky.

Q: Blonde or brunette — which is more fun?

A: My hair was dark most of my life. When I became blonde, I definitely felt lighter, and I guess also because you're lighter, people treat you lightly. It just feeds into itself. I really lightened up. When I had dark hair I didn't smile as much. I was, you know, a depressive. But when my hair got lighter, everyday I was just in between smiles.

Can you attract the hair you want?

Ever since watching the movie The Secret, I've tried vehemently to incorporate the Law of Attraction into every part of my life. For those of you who aren't familiar with the Law of Attraction (LOA), the basic premise is the we are constantly attracting into our lives what we are experiencing based on our predominant thoughts and our beliefs. Most people who chose to use the Law of Attraction often use the universal law to attract a better job, fulfilling relationships, or abundant wealth.

I, unlike most other people, I find myself using this wonderful law to attract perfect hair. That's right, I am using the LOA to create fabulous hair.

Here's how.

Talk about what you want
Once upon a time I used to have self-defeating thoughts about my hair. Whenever I examined my hair, I would say or think things like, " my hair is so dry," or "my hair is always breaking." I'd even go as far as to say that my hair would never reach mid-back because of how unhealthy it looked or felt. Those types of thoughts were counter intuitive to what I really wanted. The more I thought about everything negative about my hair, the less progress I would make, no matter how hard I tried. The LOA states that we bring more of what we think about into our lives and the more I thought about how damaged my hair was, the harder it became for me to make any impactful changes in the health of my hair.

Nowadays, when I assess the condition of my hair, I'm careful not to use such negative terms so I don'tstart feeling defeated. Instead of saying, "dang my hair feels so dry, I'll say something like, "what can I do to help improve the moisture levels of my hair?" See the difference in approach to the same issue? Whenever I find my hair looking and feeling unattractive, I think about exactly what I want. What I want is healthy, shiny, supple, moisturized, hair. Therefore I focus all of my energies to thinking about my hair as I want it to be.

Visualize what you want
Another important facet of the LOA is the act of seeing exactly what it is you want to attract. There was a time when I would view pictures of lucky gals who had to die for tresses (before the LOA), I would feel so miserable after seeing pictures of those who have achieved what I wanted. Now pictures of fabulous hair are my inspiration. In fact, I have a look book which includes pictures of perfect hair that I would like to experience. As I review my inspirational hair pictures, I get excited about what will be. It actually feels attainable instead of depressing. The more of these feelings about my desired outcome I am able to create, the closer I get to my ultimate goal. Next time you see an image of a head of hair that makes you want to drool, become motivated that these results are attainable for you.

Be grateful for what you have
One sure fire way to attract more of what you want into your life is to be grateful for what you do have. Get rid of your pathetic case of hair anorexia and start being grateful for what you do have. So maybe you are not yet at the length you desire but you probably have thickness that others would give up their tax return check for. Play off your hair's strengths by being grateful for the head of hair that you have today. Gratitude helps us to focus on what's right in our lives. As long as we focus on the great things going on with our hair, we'll experience more of what we are grateful for.

Speak on what will happen as if you already have it
No matter what my hair looks like, I always talk as if I have the most beautiful head of hair I know. I say things like "I'm enjoying my luscious head of hair. My hair is healthy, strong and beautiful." Saying those things is not enough, I also try to feel the feelings having the type of hair I imagine having. The more I talk in that fashion, the more believable it becomes to me.

So why even bother putting into practice the habits that I listed above? Because the feelings of excitement that I create from my positive self-talk and visualization cause me to take actions that are in line with someone who has the hair I want to have. I ask myself, "what types to things would I do to create the hair I desire" then I take the right actions to get there. While using the LOA to improve my hair, I've "manifested" some wonderful hair enhancers like the L'Oreal Hair Fixer and my shea oil. Both have come into my life fairly recently and both have made a huge impact in the overall health of my hair.

You've tried everything else, why not use a natural law of the universe to help bring about the beautiful hair you've always wanted?

Chignon With Birdcage Veil

L'Oreal Hair Fixer review-Part VI

Here I am at the final installment of my L'Oreal Hair Fixer experiment. I'd like to take a moment to recap my experiences and list any observations I have after using the product.

First off, I want to talk about the state of my hair when I first decided to use the product. I was only a few weeks post-relaxer and my hair was lacking in the strength category. After each application, my hair felt stronger for the most part and I was able to validate this assumption with the amount of hair lost at each wash and set. Its hard to believe that even with this new growth I'm now dealing with, I'm loosing less hair then I did with recently relaxed hair.

For those of you interested in trying this product, keep in mind that different products react to the hair differently. If going without conditioner does not sit right with your hair, you may try using the product with the conditioner. I wouldn't go through each application without conditioner if your hair does not react well to it. Do your hair diligence and measure your results with this product closely.

I also want to say that you need to make sure you have a killer moisturizer on hand in case your hair feels a bit parched from going without deep conditioning. Shea oil did the trick for me! I have no idea how this experiment would have turned out if it were'nt for my shea.

Last but not least, I'd recommend skipping the cheap conditioner when you pre-poo and go for the real thing. Might as well use the good stuff since you won't be conditioning after the wash. My hair definitely liked it when I used the good stuff as a pre-poo. I'm thinking of continuing with this practice going forward.

Next week I'll condition my hair as normal and go back to doing what I did before the L'Oreal Hair Fixer. I'm almost sad to see this day come. I will not be giving up this product cold turkey. In fact, I plan on purchasing another box and using the solution as a supplement to my normal routine. Since the solution is so watery, I'll just use it along with my leave-in. Now that I think of it, I may also use the option of alternating between using the product with and without conditioner. The possibilities are endless. Either way, the L'Oreal Hair Fixer is definitely a permanent part of my hair routine rotation.

For those of you who want to see some proof of what I experienced, you can view my pictures from my previous post.

As a special treat, I've also included some pictures below of my shed/broken hairs from each set.

This picture includes six weeks work of hair loss data. The hair ball on the left is my first week using the Hair Fixer. As you can see, the amount of hair I would loose before this product was insane! The second hair ball was two weeks after my first wash so it also included an extra week of shedding.


Take a look at the first week of hair loss up close.



Compare that with the last week of hair loss up close.


I'm a very happy girl!



Related Posts

L'Oreal Hair Fixer Review Part V

L'Oreal Hair Fixer Review Part IV

L'Oreal Hair Fixer Review Part III

L'Oreal Hair Fixer Review Part II

L'Oreal Hair Fixer Review Part I

The First Lady: No Fuss, No Muss

First Lady Michelle Obama

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

In honor of the day, we present a hairstyle from the woman behind the man.

Coretta Scott King accepting the Medal of Freedom from President Jimmy Carter.

T-Boz : Medium Length Style with bangs

Straight Medium Hair with Flower

L'Oreal Hair Fixer update part four

Today marked the fifth installment of my L'Oreal Hair Fixer experiment. This week was a bit different then past wash and sets. This time I decided to air dry instead of my usual rollerset. As part of my commitment to continuous improvement, I chose to tweak my routine. Instead of using a cheap conditioner before the wash I opted to use my regular conditioner as a pre-poo. I figured that since I haven't deep conditioned in so long my hair would really appreciate it if I used a quality product. I was right.

I used my Silicon Mix with Pearl Extract prior to washing. After shampooing, I combed the hair into a ponytail. I leveraged the running water to help me comb the hair back without adding too much stress on hair. Once the hair was detangled, I proceeded to saturate the hair with my leave-in, L'Oreal Hair Fixer, and shea oil. After securing my hair into a nice ponytail, I pulled the loose hair up to the top of my head and secured the hair in place with a bobby pin. That's when I tied my hair down with a silk scarf to dry.


After a few hours when my hair was around 75% dry, I took down my hair and used my Super Salono dryer on a cool setting to speed up the drying process. (I also took a moment to rub some more shea oil in) Once the hair was dry, I combed through with the largest tooth comb I have to remove any remaining tangles. Because I took the time to detangle under running water, I had very little tangles to deal with when my hair was finally dry. Next I decided to flat iron the hair to add some smoothness. I did not use the flat iron to create silky straight hair, I only lightly passed the iron through my hair as quickly as I could. As you can see from the picture below, my hair was not flat ironed to the point where it was bone straight.



I decided to air dry and flat iron today because I wanted to assess the health of my hair. Needless to say that I am extremely pleased with how my hair has evolved while using the Hair Fixer. Before, I was plagued with fly aways and tons of breakage. Today my hair looks and feels smooth and moisturized. I need to reiterate that I have not deep conditioned (other than pre-poo) in nearly six weeks. The amount of breakage I experience is manageable compared to what I was dealing with before my experiment.

This week's wash and set was extremely successful. Before today, I nearly swore off airdrying but now that I am assessing my results, I think that I may once again put my back into faith into air drying now my hair has been given a second chance.

Thanks L'Oreal Hair Fixer!

Bob With Bangs Wedding Bridal Style

Also, Inverted Bob

The Cold Shower Method to Healthy Hair

Recently I've been turned on the the idea of taking cold showers. It all started when I viewed a youtube video where a guy was challenging his viewers to take cold showers in the morning. By doing so, he said, we would be starting the day with an act of courage. In his words, "everyone should begin their day with an act of courage." I'm huge on personal development so I immediately took on the cold shower challenge as a way of developing mental toughness.

In the video the gentlemen also mentioned some health benefits of taking a cold shower. Apparently, the cold water on the skin causes the body to increase blood flow circulation as it warms up the body temperature to help protect itself from the cold temp. Increased blood flow and circulation helps bring vital nutrients to the skin and organs. Not only does blood flow help bring nutrients to the cells, the increased flow also helps to remove excess waste and toxins. I was overcome with excitement thinking about the possible benefits I'd experience from cold showers but after reading pages of testimonials on earthclinic's website, I was convinced.

For the past week I've been showering with cold water in the morning. Let me tell you gals, I will never take a hot shower again!
Before cold showers my skin was extremely dry, I mean almost to the point of flaking dry. Today, I only use lotion on the soles of my feet. My skin is amazingly soft and supple, I can't believe the change. When I take my cold showers in the morning, I like to let the water hit my face so I can get acclummated to the temperature more quickly. Because of this wonderful act of courage, the skin of my face has been transformed. My face looks noticeably healthier and smoother.

We all know by now that cold water as a final rinse on the hair helps to lay the cuticles flat but I'm thinking about what type of results I'll experience when I wash and rinse with cold water. This past Saturday was the first time I washed and rinsed with only cold water. My results were good but I can't say for sure what part of the fabulousness came from the cold water and which came from the Hair Fixer. Either way, cold water is the way to go for me. I am absolutely hooked on them and I'm not looking back.

I fully expect my hair to benefit from the increased circulation to my scalp as the cold water hits it. I can just see it now, all of those marvelous nutrients from my healthy eating and supplements being delivered straight to the hair follicles causing a healthy supply of new growth. Couple that with the shiny hair I hope to experience, and you get fabulously healthy hair.

For those of you interested in the cold shower method to healthy hair, I urge you to browse the testimonials on earthclinic. I also recommend that you start with a warm shower and gradually cool down the water before you step out. You can also do some searches online to find out more about the marvelous benefits of taking cold showers.

Natural Twists

Medium Length Style with Fingerwaves

Braided Updo

L'Oreal Hair Fixer review week four

My L'Oreal Hair Fixer experiment is still going strong, its been about a month since I've used conditioner in my hair and I can not believe the results I'm experiencing. Yesterday's wash routine was very similar to last week's with the exception of one step, I washed with cold water. The reason I used cold water? I talk about it detail in my next post.

Once again, I had no problems using a fine tooth comb for my rollerset. With every application I am loosing less and less hair. Part of the reason I switched to airdrying a couple of months ago was because of the ungodly amount of hair I would loose with a rollerset. Not no more!

The hair doesn't feel as moist as it would if I used conditioner. It doesn't feel dry either. I've had experiences when a conditioner hadn't done its job and the hair feels unprotected from future damage. This is not the same feeling. The hair still feels great, it just feels like it could benefit from a little more moisture. What I do to rectify the situation is immediately rub in some of my most moisturizing oil (shea oil) and proceed to tie my hair down with the silk scarf. The scarf stays on the rest of the day and overnight if possible. By the time the scarf comes off in the morning, fuhgetaboutit! My hair is supple, shiny, and feels hydrated.

I'm starting to get this feeling in the pit of my stomach because I now only have two applications to go. Something deep inside of me doesn't want this experience to end. I'm thinking about integrating this product into my routine going forward. Maybe I'll alternate between normal washes with conditioner and the Hair Fixer. Or better yet, maybe I can wash and condition like normal and use this product in my leave in conditioner. The possibilities are endless. This product is so amazing that I haven't even been tempted to open up my new batch of Silicon Mix conditioner with Pearl extract.

I tell you guys, this product has given my hair a new lease on life. I feel like I have been given a new head of hair. I am extremely grateful for my second chance and I promise to never allow my hair to have to go through that horrible phase ever again.

Happy New Year, Brides-to-Be!