A Quickie Hair Product Review and then Some!

Hi friends!

In the honor of my repeated attempts to write SHORTER posts, here is a quickie hair product review!

I wasn't in anyway contacted or compensated by the maker of the following product. I simply just walked into a store, purchased it, tried this hair serum out and liked it. Now I want to share with you!

One thing that's been bothering me lately is the ends of my hair. I don't know the proper way to describe them, but my ends are a little "scraggly", a little fly-way. I get regular trims, so they're not split ends, but because I don't have a "blunt cut", so my varied layered ends can have the tendency to look thinner.

I went into my local Plum Market. I love this place! They're a specialty grocer with a lovely eco-based apothecary. If I need to find a more natural beauty product and I don't feel like going over to Whole Foods or shopping online, my first stop is Plum Market.

I walked in and talked with the sweetest saleswomen. She's always helped me, and has been so positive and supportive about my gray hair. (See, surround yourself with positivity!) I described my problem: frizzy hair, fly-away, dry ends. The nice women showed me a few products, but her favorite was this "Ultra-Moisture Super Potion" by Giovanni Eco Chic Cosmetics.

Giovanni touts it's self as one of the first "natural" line of salon products. They are cruelty and animal testing- free. They do not use any parabens, sodium lauryl sulfate or animal bi-products. Instead, Giovanni chooses vitamins, minerals, herbs and oils whenever possible. 

I always go back and forth in my head as to whether I over-worry about using more natural beauty products. Sometimes I feel like maybe this is just me being anxious and making life harder and more expensive, but then I come across things like THIS!

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics: 

"An FDA study found lead in 400 lipsticks tested, with higher lead levels than ever reported in some of the most popular brands. The worst offender was L'Oreal USA, whose Maybelline Color Sensation and L’Oreal Color Riche lipsticks were #1 and #2 on the list. In fact, L'Oreal USA, which owns Maybelline, makes five of the 10 most contaminated brands in the FDA study."

It's not a huge surprise that there is lead in our lipsticks. I've heard this before, but...wow.  So ANYWAY, I think when there are easy ways to cut some of the chemicals and dangerous metals out, why not!

Back to the " Super Potion." So, I really like this product. I would call it a "serum."  Although it contains avocado and olive oils, it's not greasy at all, and is actually very light! My hair is fairly thick, so if you have fine hair, you might want to try just a little bit at a time, but really there was no left over residue or weight. I absolutely love the light scent by the way. I know this sounds strange, but it smells like dyer sheets, in a GOOD WAY! It's faint and disappears. I just like it. 

I put some Super Potion in my damp hair before blow drying, for heat protection. Then, after drying my hair and after then using large hot rollers, I put some more on to smooth everything out. This is where I saw the most improvement. My hair became less poofy, more smooth, and my ends became less fly-away.  Here's an "after" picture of my hair on a typical day. I wish I could style it like my hairstylist does, by this is just an idea of what "Super Potion" can do on a regular day. :)

I feel like this product really helps to calm everything down. And, at just under $8 a bottle, and only needing a few drops each time, this eco-friendly product is totally worth the price and will last a long time!

If you have any favorite hair products that you feel work particularly well on gray hair, please let me know. I'm always excited to learn more from YOU dear readers! :)

Other than hair, nothing else is too new. I've made a little bit of progress on my crocheted laptop cozy. Here's what I have so far:

And today, I saw a Hummingbird come up to our feeders three times! The sad thing was, we didn't have a Hummingbird feeder out. It was in the garage. I raced to make some sugar water, and then I put the feeder out. Hopefully some little guys will come back again tomorrow!

I've been slowly working my way through the documentary:  "Birders: The Central Park Effect."

It's been great so far. I am amazed at how many migratory birds stop off in Central Park, and the footage for each season, oh it's just gorgeous! Did you know, out of everything in all of NYC, my very favorite part is Central Park? It really is. 

My favorite part so of the movie so far, has been the birder Chris Cooper's list of " The Seven Pleasure of Birding." Chris has explained the draw exactly. It's incredible. Here is a passage from a letter that he wrote to MarieWinn of the blog "Marie Winn's Central Park Nature News."

"As promised, here are the Seven Pleasures of Birding, at least as I've determined them:

1. The beauty of the birds
2. The beauty of being in a natural setting
3. The joys of hunting, without the bloodshed
4. The joy of collecting (in that the practice of keeping lists -- life lists, day lists, etc.-- appeals to the same impulse as, say, stamp collecting)
5. The joy of puzzle-solving (in making those tough identifications)
6. The pleasure of scientific discovery (new observations about behavior, etc.)

and saving the best for last,
7. The Unicorn Effect--After you've been birding for even a little while, there are birds you've heard of or seen in books that capture your imagination, but you've never seen for yourself...and then one day, there it is in front of you, as if some mythical creature has stepped out of a storybook and come to life. There's no thrill quite like it." - Chris Cooper - "Marie Winn's Central Park Nature News."

Isn't that fantastic!? If you are a birder, you will understand! It's true though. Now I have a renewed spirit and enthusiasm. I think I'll go down to the little pond at the bottom of our hill tomorrow, and I'll bring my binoculars. I've seen some Red Winged Blackbirds down there recently, and you never know what else will be in that marshy patch.

Here is what else. Suddenly it's all: "SURPRISE! It's SUMMER!" Although,  really, it's only spring. After days and days of cold temperatures and rain, and even SNOW just a month ago, today it was suddenly in the mid-80's! Everything is finally starting to bloom. I looked outside into our backyard and for the first time, it looked like spring! I feel so happy. I actually prefer fall and winter - heat and humidity aren't my favorite, but I have to say, the sunshine is so nice. I'm really glad it's here. :)

And this was me tonight. I took it for my Instagram account because I see all of these other Mom's posting motivational exercise pictures. I didn't take this to motivate anyone else, just to remind myself not to give up. Today I went out and walked up and down and up and down our big, long, steep hill in 85 degree heat for a half-hour. It was hard, but I did it, and I was glad. I walk first and foremost to be fit, not to be a smaller size. Don't get me wrong, I would be THRILLED to no end to lose weight, but I finally realized that I need to start with doing this for myself, not for a number on my jeans. August will mark one year of 20-30 minutes of aerobic activity most days, plus additional activities that I try to fit in, like bike riding. I stopped weighing myself because depending on whether the number was up or down, I'd feel happy or devastated. Now I go by how I feel. My clothes aren't that much loser from what I can tell, but I'm more toned, a lot stronger, and I can power up hills and stairs with no problem! So, I guess that's something. ANYWAY, life....yeah....just doing the best that I can.

So that's the scoop!

Hey! wasn't this supposed to be a SHORT post!? ;)

Until next time!

xoxoxoxo,

Lauren