Lush Roots | DIY

A few years ago I picked myself up a tub of Lush Roots to give a try. Then, like now I was trying to grown out my hair as quick as possible and I'd seen via YouTube that Roots by Lush was a good purchase to try!

So I bought it and gave it ago. I loved the scent but hated using it on dry hair, as the directions suggest. So I used it on wet hair and it lasted a couple months as I used it sparingly, but noticed no real difference.

Recently I popped in to Lush and picked up one of their shampoo bars called New geared towards hair growth containing cinnamon. I can definitely say this about Lush products they do smell divine! 

I was thinking about picking up another tub to use in conjunction with the shampoo bar, but decided I'd go home and have a think about it as for me it's a tad pricey at £10.00 a tub.

I hopped online and had a Google of the ingredients and had a thought, why not do a DIY! I'm a total lover of DIY's and if I could make something similar my self why the devil not!

So here is what you'll need:

• A clean glass jar to pop your scalp treatment in

• 7 tbsp of coconut oil 

• 2 tbsp of castor oil

• 2 tbsp of olive oil *

• 10 drops of peppermint oil *

• 10 drops of orange oil *

• 10 drops of grapefruit oil * 

• 15 drops of tea tree oil

• 15 drops of clary sage oil 

• 8 drops of cedar wood oil

• 15 drops of rosemary oil

* used in the Lush version

The method is simple combine all the ingredients in a bowl then using an electric hand whisk mix it all up.

Place your treatment in a jar and voila!

Use it once a week, massage all over the scalp, leave on for at least 30 minutes before shampooing out. The peppermint oil is the strongest scent, so if you think it will be too over powering use less, but I personally love it!

Post Workout Smoothie Recipe

Recently I've been trying to take my workouts more seriously and I'm following more of a routine. I want to get in shape ready for my wedding next year (yes I said wedding eep) and also my honeymoon. I try to work out 5 out of 7 days anything form 30 minutes to an hour, and I really like working out with the Tone IT Up girls. The make working out fun and it also kills you!

Did you know that if you want to help build lean muscle - which you want if you want to tone up, you need to consume some form of protein within 30 minutes of completing a workout!
So today I am sharing with you my post work out smoothie.
This has been my go too, its quick and easy and tastes delicious!

Ingredients |

• 2 spotted/ripe banana's 
• 1/2 pint of a milk of your choice 
• 1 table spoon of smooth peanut butter - I like Whole Earth peanut butter :)
• 1 table spoon of protein powder  
• a dash of cinnamon powder 

Method |

The method is simple, break up the banana's in to a blender, add in the milk, peanut butter and protein powder along with a dash of cinnamon and blend until fully mixed and pour in to your desired glass! You can add an additional dash of cinnamon to the top for extra flavour! Enjoy!

The protein powder I currently have is THIS ONE from Holland and Barrett. I bought 3 sachets for £5.00, you are supposed to use the entire sachet as one drink but I'm cheap and use 1 tablespoon to make it last! I have found some fairly reasonable protein powders in my local Asda so I'll be buying from there next time, and its definitely worth a shop around first before buying a big tub for £40.00!

If you don't have any protein powder or find its too expensive...because it is, just use 2 tablespoons of peanut butter. Peanut butter in its self is an amazing source of protein, body builders swear by it! The banana's are a great carbohydrate and perfect source of healthy sugars to give you that added boost after your work out!

Donating my hair..

So if you read my previous post, you'll know I recently cut off 12 inches of my hair. With the hair that was cut off, I have chosen to donate it to the LITTLE PRINCESS TRUST. A charity that provides wigs free of charge to boys and girls across the UK and Ireland who have lost their hair through cancer treatment. 

The charity works with specialist suppliers and hairdressers who offer wigs that can be tailored to the child's needs. 

The Little Princess Trust is a children’s cancer charity and our mission is to supply real hair wigs to children suffering with cancer, for the duration of their treatment.  However, in addition we assist children with other conditions which also result in hair loss, the most common being alopecia.  Our commitment to these children is different.  Despite being set up to help children with cancer, the Trust is able to supply children that do not have a cancer diagnosis with a single wig.  Whilst we are unable to commit to supplying more than one wig, we hope that this gesture will help the child and family whilst they decide on their long-term plans for dealing with this condition.

On their website there are a couple of video's that outline what the charity does and how much a good quality wig can change the life of a child suffering through hair loss. 

Their are of course guidelines to follow when donating hair such as the hair needs to be of good quality, of natural colour (not dyed blue, pink, green...) and at least 7 inches long (ideal 12 inches & longer).

I spent a long time going through my severed pony tail snipping out split ends to bring it up to standard. There of course is no guarantee that my hair will be used, but hopefully it will! Just the chance to change the life of a child is a wonderful reason to donate my hair, and over the last few years the charity has experienced a great increase in hair donation. 

So if you have #hairtospare or are thinking of having a dramatic hair cut from long to short its definitely worth looking in too!

The Inversion Method

The inversion method, is a hair growth method that involves massaging the scalp for 5 minutes with an oil, then tipping your head upside down for 4 minutes to allow blood to flow to the head, and stimulate hair growth. You do this for 7 days in a row and in theory your hair magically grows an inch in a week!...

So for my week I gave my self a scalp massage for 3-5 minutes - with out oil, I only was my hair twice a week and didn't want to have to do wash it daily. I used oil once in my 7 day period.

After my scalp massage I tipped my head upside down for 4 minutes before slowly bringing my head up. Be careful not to whip up as you can get dizzy.

Its not recommended to do this when you have your time of the month, and its always best to listen to your body.

Before I started I made sure to measure my hair to record any hair growth. Not going to lie I have always been skeptical of this method.

So here are my before and after.

So basically my hair didn't grow even half a centimeter.

The general premise of the inversion method makes sense but I don't understand the hype around it.
I think I'll continue to try it out for a few months and see what happens.