WTH – What the ha-aair?!?

Having grown up in Dubai, the water you have access to is hard water and really, really bad for your hair. Unfortunately, it seems I took my bad water with me everywhere I went because I had the same issue in UK and in Bahrain :(!!! To add to my woes, I am one of those people who is anyway not blessed with good hair (why?! Indian genes, why???). I have really thin hair coupled with other hair issues (both hereditary and hormonal!). But for the last two years, I’ve seen my hair take a good beating and I know my friends have had the same issue. We’ve together tried and tested some different techniques to reduce our hair-fall, improve the texture and keep it more healthy. Here’s some of the tips we’ve tried and wanted to share it you all!

1. Scalp Oil Massage

Being Indian, we’ve grown up with a good old tel-maalish (head massage in hindi). Nothing really beats a good head massage from your grandmom or mom followed by a lovely afternoon siesta!. I think that’s the best way to keep your hair healthy and growing. It has numerous benefits, some of them are that it helps with blood circulation, hair growth, moisturizing the scalp and controlling frizziness! Coconut oil is one of the best oils you can use for your hair, almond oil and olive oil are other good oils too. Sometime’s you can even mix all 3 and make your own concoction along with some essential oils such as lavender or sandalwood.

I’m currently using the Japapatti hair oil from Forrest Essentials (check previous post!) and it’s actually been really good so far. I bought this particular oil to help with reducing my hair fall, thickening and regrowth, I’ve seen a considerable difference within just a few days of use. You can take 2-3 tbs or more of your preferred oil, depending on the length of your hair, heat it for about 15 seconds and with a cotton ball massage it on to your scalp. Leave it for about 15-20 mins but if you have some more time, leave it on for longer, really helps!

Japapatti Ayurvedic Head Massage Oil – Forrest Essentials

2. Hair Masks

With hair masks, there are so many different ones available in the market today. You can either make your own or use a regular product. Hair masks are usually thicker in texture and packed with moisture and nutrients for the hair. Try to use it once a week if you can, especially if you have dry or damaged hair, and if you have normal hair then at-least once a month. As a general thumb rule, its good to buy more products with more natural ingredients such a nut oils, etc and to also check that they are paraben and sulphate free. The hair mask I’ve been using for the last few years is the one from REDKEN, it is the ‘All Soft -heavy cream’. I use it more as a deep conditioning once a week. It really helps to bring in the moisture and keep my hair hydrated

REDKEN – all soft – heavy cream

3. Supplements

We all have really busy and hectic lifestyles and the added stress we go through doesn’t help. I’ve noticed that whenever I am really stressed out, I have a lot of hair fall which is really upsetting to someone like me who already has hair issues. A good go-to are taking supplements as this brings in the added nutrients we don’t get from our food. I’ve been told my many of my girlfriends to start taking Biotin, I bought a higher dose (10,000 mcg) this time because my hair was so weak and there was too much of hairfall. Once I’m done with this bottle, I’ll bring a lower dosage. Check with your pharmacist or doctor which is the best recommended dosage. Omega 3 is another supplement which greatly helps with your hair, skin and nails. I’ve noticed a huge difference and barely have any hairfall.

Biotin Supplement (the dose and brand I use) – Solgar

4. Treatment Oils

Who doesn’t love their hair to be smooth and lustrous hair? Treatment oils are perfect to keep the frizz at bay (screw you humidity!!), moisture locked in and protection when styling. I’ve seen so many great products in the market at different price points. Argan oil is the rage, I personally use Agadir Argan Oil Hair Treatment. This oil is light, non-greasy and it doesn’t make your hair fall flat. A little goes a long way. you just need a drop or two depending on the length of your hair. I have the travel size bottle, which is both perfect for travel and easier on the wallet. I’ve also used their ‘Hair Shield’ range, which is great to use for blowouts as it protects your hair when using heat. Moroccanoil is another really famous brand. I haven’t personally used it, other than their shampoo but it has really good reviews!

Argan Oil Hair Treatment – Agadir

 

5. Shower Head Filters

This is a really good product to invest in if you live in an area which has hard water. As we know hard water is really not good for your skin and hair. Installing a shower-head filter is easy and helps purify the water which helps prevent having dry skin/hair. If you invest in this, you may not even need to buy too many of those extra products to maintain your hair/skin. I used to have one in Dubai but just make to sure to check how long it can used and to get it cleaned or replaced depending on time period!

Shower Head Filter

These are some of the few external things I do, to keep my hair healthy. It’s also really important to stay hydrated and eat well-balanced meals and not go too crazy on using a lot of heat on your hair!

I also found these two articles which may be interesting to read as well :

Article 1 – How to Repair Damaged Hair and Items You Already Have at Home

Article 2 – 6 Reasons Your Hair is Dry and Brittle

We hope you have a great week ahead :)!

Love,
Aly

My Indian loot….

Hey everyone,

I hope everyone’s been having an awesome week so far! From what I can see there’s been some really crazy weather news over the last few days. My friends from UK sending me pictures of the snow, rain in Dubai and well, I experienced Bombay getting HOT! I just returned from my trip to India. I seem to be a bit of a nomad these days – while figuring out where my next journey takes me.

You know I’ve noticed that in the last 2.5 years while I was away from blogging,  a lot has changed. There’s mostly vlogging through Instagram and YouTube! However, I still kind of like the whole concept of writing and talking to you guys; I mean that is how we started Divaly isn’t it? I am thinking of maybe interspersing some videos and including recipes and restaurant reviews as well, to keep up with the times ;).

In this post, I thought I’d share some of the new products I picked up on this trip to India. I tried to keep my shopping to the minimum but for anyone who knows me, THAT almost seems impossible. I mean I don’t even really even need to be buying clothes or make up, it could even be like random tea bags and coffee for all I know!

Sooo I’m going to share some of the things I’ve been wanting to checkout whenever I went to India and I’ll do seperate product reviews on some of them in another post.

1. Nykaa

I believe this is India’s answer to getting all those ‘foreign’ cosmetic products but at good prices and all under one roof! They also have their own product line, so from blushes, highlighters to lipsticks, nail shades and even shower gel! They have a pretty nice range of products with a decent price point too! I’ve been seeing their ads and products all over social media and naturally, but of course, I had to go check it out! Here’s a couple (not all) of the products I picked up.

Glow Getter – Highlighting & Illuminating Duo in Glitterati 02 & POUTPerfect in You Make Me Blush

 2. Kama Ayurveda

Now this is another brand I personally hadn’t heard of until I saw an instagram post of Masaba Gupta’s (an Indian fashion designer) about the rose spray! Face and body mist sprays are great, especially when you have more hot and humid climates, really refreshes and hydrates the skin. I was advised to buy a pack of three different face sprays for a great introductory offer of Rs 625. The fragrances were lavender, mogra and rose! The brand seems to be similar to Forrest Essentials, and I am keen to explore their products more.

Face and body mist sprays – Rose, Mogra and Lavender

3. Forrest Essentials 

Now what can I say about this brand and it’s products? I absolutely love, love, loooove this brand and all they offer. I am so fascinated by their natural, exotic ingredients and all the fancy concoctions they come out with! I was good this time, I bought only one product, a head massage oil. With all my travelling, bad water and stress, my hair’s taken a little bit of a beating. I’ve been told good this about this, so hopefully it works!

Ayurvedic herb enriched head massage oil Japapatti

Since most of these products are new for me, I’m going to use and test them for a little while and then do product reviews on each! I hope you have a wonderful week and stay tuned for more!

Love,

Aly

Divaly Recommends!

Today we’re celebrating International Women’s Day, what better way to celebrate than to have some really awesome products to make you feel fab!

Over the past few months, we’ve been told and requested by most of our readers to post more product reviews of the products we use and experiment with. Taking that into consideration, we decided to also include a ‘Divaly recommends’  post once a month along with our monthly indulgences post!! This way we have more variety and choice to choose from :-)!

V and I will recommend absolutely anything – from a product,  to a service or something as random as a great place for cupcakes and macaroons, anything we think you must and absolutely need to try out !!!

So for this months post, we recommend :

1. Kerastase Elixir K ultime

This is an absolute must have for all you ladies. It is a lightweight multi-use oil that helps to nourish, soften and make your hair silky smooth! It can be used for all hair types and can be used in a variety of ways. You just need a small drop or two to use either as a pre-treatment oil before your shower, on damp hair as a style aid , after a blow dry for some shine or just on its own on dry hair. It also helps keep away the frizz and makes your hair super soft. It is slightly expensive but goes a really long away and worth every penny!

2. Instant Nail Polish Remover by Sephora

This is another absolute must have especially if you love to do your nails! It is a nail polish remover in a bottle with pre-moistened pleated foam which eliminates the need for cotton balls. Its convenient size is perfect for on the go and even for travel and doesn’t require any cotton pads. It takes off colour instantly without leaving any traces of nail polish and lasts you for ages. For even the most dark or hard to remove nail polish, this remover helps to take off lacquers. Get ready to say goodbye to bottles of nail polish remover and bags of cotton pads!

3. Midnight Recovery Concentrate 

There are a few products that are miraculous and one wonders how you ever lived without them – Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Oil is undoubtedly one of them. Yes, you read that right, it’s an oil and it works spectacularly well on all skin tones in all climates. A couple of drops (I use 3 in winter when my skin gets extra dry) warmed up in your palms and massaged onto your face before you head to bed makes you wake up with a glow on your face – even if you have only slept for 3 hours! If you feel a spot coming on, put a drop of this oil on it directly and we promise you, not only will the spot disappear, it most definitely won’t leave a mark that takes ages to go away. Midnight recovery oil is one of those products that just works. You absolutely need to have it on your night stand. One bottle goes a long long way, so it is worth every penny. If you want results, buy this and don’t go in for a drug store substitute. You can use this oil on its own or put on some extra moisturiser if your skin gets really dry and flaky. And yes, this product is good to use all over your face – there is no need to avoid the T zone or anything of that sort.

 

We hope you try these products and love them as much as we do. Let us know once you do! Happy shopping as always and hope you have a fabulous week ahead!