Style Icon April

By Jenteel

Hair health begins with the internal – the most important. What you put into your body reflects on the outside; especially important for most of us concerned with the beauty aspects of hair, skin, and nails.

Water

The amount of water you consume actually varies by person. I don’t stick to the “8 glasses a day” rule because we are all different. You should drink a little less than half your body weight in ounces of water per day. If you exercise, you should add 16 oz to the total for every 45 minutes of strenuous activity. For every ounce of caffeinated beverage that you drink, you need to drink and additional 2 oz of water.

Fruits/ Vegetables

Try to consume fruits and veggies with a high water content; red-orange fruits and veggies, leafy greens, citrus & berries.

Vitamins/Minerals

Vitamin A, C, E, zinc, selenium, and omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3s are very important. For vegetarians who don’t eat fish/fish oils, try nuts/oils like macadamia, walnuts & almonds.

Useful Supplements

MSM, Spirulina, Silica & DHA.

Ladies, how do you nourish your hair from the inside?

Via The Beauty Brains

Celeste asks… What is Amla powder and what does it do for hair?

The Right Brain replies:

Amla, also known as Indian gooseberry, is a fruit from the myrobalan-tree which is native to India and Burma. Like its cousin the North American gooseberry, amla fruit is edible with tart citrusy flavor. Amla is allegedly high in ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and tannins which give it high antioxidant strength. Amla also contains flavonoids, kaempferol, ellagic acid and gallic acid.

Preliminary medical research has shown Amla potentially provides a surprising variety of benefits including antiviral and antimicrobial properties; prevention of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis, activity against some cancers; reduced severity of acute pancreatitis, age-related renal disease, and diabetes; and reduction of blood cholesterol levels. Not bad, eh?

Is Amla good for hair?

It’s popularly believed that amla fruit is good for hair when applied as a conditioner. A quick search reveals claims about nourishing hair and scalp, adding texture and volume to hair, and preventing premature grey hair. Does amla really deliver against any of these claims?

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Gisella was featured as a Natural Hair Style Icon on January 12, 2012.

Where are you from?
G: I live in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Did going natural affect your style choices at all? If so, why?
G: I wouldn’t say it affected my style at all, but as I went natural before 18 years old I have been developing my style sense along the years by getting more and more inspiration, experimenting, and finding out what works better on my body. I also got more aware of my hair´s visual power, so I learned how to better use it as an accessory; styling it according to my mood (and to my clothes, as they reflect that too). But going natural did not determine my style. Maybe it made my image funkier?

How does your hair complement your style?
G: It makes it all bolder I think. Sometimes I like it bigger or normal volume depending on the day, on my mood, or on the weather cause Rio is very warm. My hair is the main accessory I have; it is totally neutral and versatile. So when I want more colors I use a scarf to make a bow on my hair. If I want to look more edgy, I create enormous volume in my hair and complement it using just lipstick to balance the look as I love using makeup. When I have colorful eyes for instance, I balance by not having too many colors in my clothes and not too much volume in my hair. I feel those choices can make it all more pleasant to look at.

How would you describe your style?
G: Humm. Hard to name it, but I would say I’m a dresses gal, with a retro look (50´s and 80´s) but not stereotyped. Colorful, bold prints and patterns all mixed according to my peculiar taste.

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Hundreds of naturals gathered for the Industry Standard natural Hair & Beauty Fashion Show in Chicago on January 22, put on by vloggers BeautifulBrwnBabyDol, MeechyMonroe and MsVaughn. Check out these GORGEOUS photos! All courtesy of JerJohn Photography. You can find the full photo album here.

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By Audrey Sivasothy, author of The Science of Black Hair: A Comprehensive Guide to Textured Hair Care

Ovation Cell Therapy is a popular hair care system that has a strong advertising presence all over the airwaves. Each ad features a handful of women raving about Ovation Cell Therapy’s ability to grow their hair thicker, stronger, faster, and longer. But are these claims true? Does Ovation Cell Therapy work? For two months, I’ve used and reviewed the following Ovation Cell Therapy products: Ovation Cell Therapy, Ovation Color Therapy Shampoo & Ovation Creme Rinse.

The Products

The Ovation Color Therapy Shampoo is a fragrant, cool blue colored shampo formulated for color-treated hair, which means superior conditioning for any hair type. These types of formulas work really well for chemically relaxed hair which often suffers from the same types of porosity and protein loss issues that colored hair faces.

The Ovation Cell Therapy is the heart of the system and is often where the system draws occasional criticism for its claims to “accelerate hair growth and reduce breakage and hair loss.”

The Ovation Creme Rinse is a creamy, light weight conditioner formula that does an excellent job of smoothing and detangling the hair.

Before I started using the Ovation Cell Therapy (OCT) System, I clarified my hair with Pantene Purity Clarifying shampoo to remove any old and lingering product residue. I used the system in the recommended order: the Ovation Shampoo, the Cell Therapy, and the Creme Rinse. For the first 3 weeks I used the system exclusively, save for a daily moisturizer and oil.

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