#BlogLife515 - Heads up feministas!!

I checked out a few places but didn't see anything that appealed to me and the only thing in New Look was that green leopard print top so I decided to just get it.

It's not the cheapest at £16 plus £4 for Saturday delivery, the regular was a pound less so I thought I might as well choose a time, I'm guaranteed to be at home.

I hope the sleeves are long, that's one of the reasons I like getting it a size bigger but I'm trying to.. Show the plus size that I am and not shield away into a big shapeless blob.

When it arrives I'll try and take a snap for twitter but that's not really my forte as I can't tell good from bad pictures, with my weak eyes.

It looks as expected, fit loosely and the sleeves go past my wrists so I'm happy, just wish it was lighter and not so dense.

Sometimes I don't consider the ramifications of my purchases. Getting a mud mask in a tub version was such a huge mistake.

It is so awkward and painful to open and shut it. I don't know what on earth I was thinking.

It's so much better to get the tube versions, they are way less taxing for me.

I do enjoy it, easyish to apply, it's just a bit challenging to grab a tiny scoop and smear it on my face.

But after that it's fine and hardens quite quickly. Aside from that black scar on my nose, the rest of my face is soft and clear.

I do need to add moisturiser to my routine to stop me scratching my face but it keeps slipping my mind.

Looking in the mirror, I have mud all across the edges of my hair ha, it rinses out easily though.

What I have been doing for a while now since the cut, is just leaving my hair as free and loose as possible.

Before I would clip it up, back, away and I felt it pulling my hair and making me shed a lot, which is never good.

I had a friend who mainly used to have hers loose and she had the thickest strongest hair and she told me, even when she sleeps, she didn't put it up.

That was back when I had long, long hair and I had to braid it or have it in a tight ponytail otherwise I felt like my lungs constricted.

But now I have shorter hair, it's easier to do that. It makes a difference being kinder to my scalp.

I still have greys, I still have thin patches but I don't think my hair is as thin or see-through as it previously was.

To me that is quite significant so instead of clipping or having a headband, that never stays on my head (I can't be the only one)..

I just leave it free to breathe. Oh and banishing heat was also beneficial.

As was getting rid of combs and brushes and using my hands to untangle and style it.

To be honest I don't get many knots, if any but when I had long hair, I had them all the time.

Having them brushed out always made me scream. It felt like someone was pulling out my roots, eek.

If you have thicker hair, then it's easier to use those tools but I found it so damaging, a bunch of my hair would always come out.

I know some hair fall is natural but it always seemed more than usual and it always felt sorta unclean using a greasy brush/comb on my clean hair.

I had such a rough night. My wisdom teeth were hurting, the humidity was abominable and I couldn't sleep.

I've learn't some tricks over the years, aloe vera is a natural antibacterial product but that did nothing.

I eventually got up a few times to gargle with salt water and that helped a fraction.

Then I listened to some binaural beats on Youtube, it somewhat aided me and by the time I actually slept and woke up, the pain was all gone.

Although binaural beats is a natural healer with the vibrations, you also have to be very careful.

Some frequencies will end up being harmful. Certain high pitched ones I avoid because my whole head was hurting.

I developed a throbbing headache, my ears were tender and I felt worse.

I find the gentlest but most effective versions are the musical types, they also help me to drift off to sleep.

Caring for my hair

Turns out I was too impatient to wait for another shopping excursion. 

I just compared prices at a few online retailers and got a few deals. 

I'm going back on my trusty Perfectil supplements for three months, having taken advantage of the three for two offer. 

It just seems to give me the ultimate skin/hair/nails boost.

I haven't taken it in a while because the price tag discourages me but the blend of ingredients finally persuaded me back. 

Biotin, Iron and a whole host of wholesome vitamins. I've tried other brands but they don't seem to produce any results whereas Perfectil consistently does. 

I've also bought the Alberto Baslsam conditioner, plus the Herbal Essence Argan oil and their Passionfruit type. 

It should smell wonderful. (Let's hope it also nourishes my hair and scalp). Either way I'll let you know. 

I need good scents when I'm washing it just lifts my mood and wakes me up so instead of feeling my usual tiredness, I feel diva-esque ;)

The only other thing I bought was a standard cheap lip balm and oh yea the L'Oréal Fine Flowers face wash.

The postie is going to have his hands full this week, assuming it arrives. 

When I was trying to grow my hair and nothing worked. 

A product by Lee Stafford called Hair Growth Treatment For Hair That Never Grows Past A Certain Length surprisingly worked. 

Out of the whole range, I only tried the mask because its a waste of money to invest and then find out it contains no benefits. 

It did the trick for me so I just moved on to other products.

I only wash my hair once a week, although it gets greasy within a day or so, frequent washing isn't recommended. 

Sometimes I'll spritz the leave in conditioner and other times I'll just leave it. I used to hate getting my hair cut every few months. 

The stylist always chopped too much off and tried to persuade me to get a shorter do but the more mature I became I realised that in order to stay healthy, I needed a regular trim.

Nowadays about once a month I will generously cut about two inches off until I can feel the hair is a little thicker and less dry. 

I'm really not sure about the hair masks anymore as they don't seem to wash out properly. 

I prefer a fast acting product that I don't need to spend all my time soaking and then washing out.

I've tried hair mayonaise. A nightmare to wash out and didn't provide me with great results. 

I can't remember why I used to put olive oil in my hair, probably read about the effects on combating my dry scalp. 

Super messy and no difference to me also.

Lastly this might sound peculiar but I stopped using a comb and brush. 

I found that especially with harsh knots a chunk of my hair was coming out but if I just gently untangle it with my hands there is minimal loss.

Greying

For the last couple of years I have seen grey hairs sprouting up randomly on my scalp. Not clustered together just the odd one here and there. When I was younger I figured I would use a natural henna dye to cover them up but now that they are actually here I am rethinking it.

Before I used a non chemical henna shampoo that naturally tinted my hair and left it in the most wonderful conditioned state. There was never any need for the conditioner becase the shampoo was that good solo. They had black, brown and purple and I always experimented with the purple because I loved it. Nobody else did but I thought it was so different so I was happy.

I'm not even sure if it would have blended out the grey hairs. I was snipping them off with scissors but now I've left the stragglers else I feel like I will have no hair left. I don't feel as self conscious as I did because we all age even if it is prematurely. Unfortunately I can't remember the brand of shampoo that it was and other substitutes have not faired well, unless they changed the formula drastically and it stopped tinting.

I went back to the retailer I originally bought it from and he said they were out of stock but getting some, however the price was.........different. I used to pay a pound for a huge 250ml/300ml bottle which lasted me a good month or just under because I didn't need much. When I enquired about the price hike he said it was now £13 I said you can keep it.

How the hell do you go from a reasonable price to extortionate? I could have understood if it had changed to maybe £4/£5 and I would have still complained but probably would have bought it every couple of months because my hair needs the hydration plus the colour boost but there is no way I am paying that much for something cosmetic that may or may not even work.

The state of my hair has gone from thick to thin with patches of scarcity all from heat and chemicals so I am reluctant to damage it any further. I will keep looking but it is of low importance to me at the moment.

At least the last of my hair accessories arrived and now I have a wide hairband that I can clip in place to cover up the thinness.