Get Stronger, Shiny, Healthier Hair- Naturally!!

Changes in temperatures, especially extreme temperatures like summer and winter weather can be the cause of damage to hair, making it brittle, dry, frizzy, oily, and with dandruff.

There are some excellent natural remedies which if done on a regular basis you will see results!

1. The Yogurt Mask- As simple as it sounds- take a half cup-1 cup of yogurt(depending on the length of your hair). Add some water to slightly thin it out(like a shampoo consistency). Apply thoroughly root to ends. Leave in for 15-20 mins. Rinse out with warm water, and then shampoo as usual. Yogurt gives your hair a nice shine, and is soothing to the scalp, and is great for anyone with dandruff. Optional- add some lemon(about half a lemon).

2. The Egg Mask- Yes. Eggs in your hair. It does work! Take 2 eggs(adjust per the length of your hair), whisk them till you get that omlette ready consistency. While in the shower(it gets messy- and make sure no water is on your hair yet)- apply roots to ends. Keep in your hair for 15-30 minutes. The egg helps to really bring out the shine, and makes your hair stronger.

3. The Avocado Mask- Take 2 avocados, pit and take the flesh of the avocados out into a bowl. Mix and whisk. Add half a lemon, and stir in. Apply mask root to ends and leave in 25-45 minutes. This mask is excellent for shiny, soft hair with the oil of the avacado and the lemon working their magic to make that happen!

 

4. Yogurt, Milk, Honey, Lemon Mask- Take a half cup-1cup of yogurt, add 3 tablespoons of milk, add 2 tablespoons of honey, and squeeze in 1 lemon. Add to hair, root to tips, and massage in thoroughly. Leave it in your hair about 20 minutes. This leaves hair conditioned, soft, shiny, and strong.

For all the above masks- apply and leave in the recommended times, and if you want an ADDED effect, wrap it up in a hot wet towel, or plastic wrap. Then blow your blowdryer onto it for about 8-10 of the total amount of time. Also, after you rinse out the masks, shampoo and condition as usual.

Keep this up, doing the masks once a week, and you will see great improvement in your hair.

Also, I highly recommend paraben-free and pthalates-free shampoos that have naturally derived ingredients. For that you can see some of my earlier blog posts, or just see the beauty section in Whole Foods to see all the amazing natural brands out there! Alba is one of my favorites(their entire body line)!

Try these out and let us know how it works out for you!

     

Massage For Beauty

Well Hello! And Happy New Year 2014 Glam Dolls!!

Glam Girl Naturals Cosmetics has been blessed to have customers worldwide see what we are all about! So the blog has been on the backburner for a little while, but we are gonna make that not be a constant!

I just had a massage a week ago, and I am already craving another..! Not only is massage relaxing, great for your muscles, but it also helps your blood circulate, your tissues and every part of your body including organs are instantly benefited, AND you have that great release of endorphins and seratonin that give you that great and relaxed feeling!

YES- massages are awesome!!- but did you know they had so many beauty benefits as well? Massage is anti-inflammatory- yes- if you are feeling bloated, or like you are carrying some extra water, a massage is great for that!

Massage is also great for the complexion- the oxygenated blood flow that encourages lymphatic drainage(which removes toxins out of cells so nutrients can travel in), and ultimately adds vitality to dull complexions.

Massage can help during PMS! And a happier you- is a prettier you! It helps with bloat, and releives and relaxes aches and pains, and research has shown that regular massages helped alleviate the common symptoms associated with PMS.

Scalp massage is great for the hair. So a few minutes during your session not only helps relax the muscles around the head and face/jaw (which are all areas that if stressed cause headaches)- but also helps with hair growth and health.

So get out there and get a great massage and get glowing!

Get Beautiful and HEAL Yourself With Your Face!

You read it right. You can heal your body and get beautiful with your face! Yes, you. And how you might inquire? Well inquisitive one, it is through the ancient practice of ACCUPRESSURE that this is accomplished!

You see here, below, there are millions of nerve endings correlated with the body parts and organs of the body.

You have them in your face, hands and even your feet. Each runs from top to bottom of your body in energy meridians, and each point is connected with nerve endings of a specific organ. For instance, the tip of your nose- that's connected with your HEART. That's right. And on either side of your nose, is your lung nerve-ending points.

So how do you do this? Simply apply some pressure to those points with clean, dry hands, and gently massage. This will soothe the areas that you are looking to placate.

To cure acne and blemishes: touch and apply pressure 1 inch below your eyes, and this should be on your cheekbone. Massaging this area will soothe and alleviate skin ailments. Why? Because it is touching the liver and kidney area that purify and cleanse toxins away from your body, and is also touching the heart area, so you are circulating fresh oxygenated blood back to your face. 

Get a GLOW: Massage the area smack in between the eyebrows- also known in yoga as your 3rd eye, and the sixth chakra. This is also connected to the pituitary gland, that balances the hormone levels in the body via the endocrine system.

So get massaging, and heal your body! Visit our website for amazing gluten-free, vegan, and cruelty-free products that you will love. Always a good sale, and an amazing investment for your health, body, beauty and GETTING GLAM! And most definetly a great investment for the environment with our non-toxic, chemical free ingredients in our products!

Ciao bellas, until next, stay glamorous, stay healthy, stay beautifyl, and GET GLAM NATURALLY with Glam Girl Naturals Cosmetics!

Gluten-Free Vegan Wrap- Protein Rich, Flavor-full and Delish!

I used to live by this great vegan place called Terri's NYC, and now that I don't, I had to come up with my delicious kind of vegan wrap!

I used my ingredients from Trader Joe's.

Ingredients:
1 Trader Joe's Gluten-Free Brown Rice Wrap
1 ounce Trader Joe's Firm Non-GMO Tofu
1 handful of Trader Joe's Baby Spinach
1 quarter of Trader Joe's Red Onion
1 quarter tomato chopped
1 1/2 Tb Trader Joe's Original Hummus(so yumm!)
1-2 Tb Trader Joe's Smokey Chipotle Salsa- use as much or as little as you like
1 oz of Feta
salt to taste
pepper to taste
red chilli (cayenne) to taste

Method:
Take your wrap, and lay on top of a sheet of aluminum foil. Spread over it your Hummus. Then add your spinach, and chopped up onion on top. Add next your tofu. Top with salt, pepper, cayenne, and the salsa. Carefully wrap up, and wrap the foil right around it. You will need it to toast and then hold all the juices in.

Toast in your toaster oven for a few minutes. You can also skip this and eat it cold. I like mine a little warm!

Take out, unwrap at the top, and ENJOY!!!

I like this because every component has nutritional value and is protein packed.

Summer Frizz

If you are like many out there who have naturally wavy hair, the summer heat and humidity can really do a number on your hair!!!!

I mean you can blow dry, flat iron, gloss on, and spray, but guess what--- go out in the heat and humidity and your hair is done! This topic even came up amongst friends who had the summer frizzies and she was asking whether keratin treatments were worth it.

I have had it done in the past and is definetly leaves your hair really straight and great for the summer, and lasts a while. However it does fade away wash after wash, and you are where you began-back to square one. :-(

Well I found this amazing product- Organix Ever Straight Brazilian Keratin Therapy. I used the Anti-Breakage Serum and the Flat Iron Spray. Both have natural ingredients such as coconut oil(which is rich with antioxidants), keratin proteins(which strengthens and softens the hair), avacado oil and cocoa butter(both which smooth and the cuticle to hold straight. Plus all the ingredients contribute in giving your hair a brilliant glow and luminescent shine.

I started out after my hair was air dried, and sprayed my hair with the Flat Iron Spray. Then once I finished flat ironing, I sprayed again to hold(the bottle directions say to do this), and added the Anti-Breakage Serum at the ends, and lightly over all.

The results were great, and my hair frizz did NOT win this time! What I like best is that the properties that contribute to straightening and shining the hair, and keeping it straight, shiny and non-frizzy are natural.

I highly recommend! You can get this at your local drugstore.

Natural Nail Polish Remover by Karma Organics

Ok, it's back to fashion this week!

So we already talked about and know of all the dangerous and potentially harfmul/toxic chemicals and formaldehyde(known to cause cancer) found in NAIL POLISH. Thankfully, there are all natural choices that exist in nail polishes, and they come in the latest trendiest colors, classic colors and the like.  

But taking the nail polish off can always be dangerous, toxic, smell of formaldehyde,  and just not the most pleasant nor healthy process!

Enter Karma Organics Natural Nail Polish Remover- with Soybean Oil and natural oil extracts- I used the lavender oil one! They come in three different scent/flavors- Lavender, Tea Tree Oil, and Unscented with Vitamin E Oil.

I thought I would have to rub with a cotton ball for a while to get the nail polish I used off. But I was pleasantly surprised when with two swipes/rubs the nailpolish was off! No running of nail polish color on my skin, no smell, and best off all, my skin felt moisturized.

The scent was really light lavender, nothing to crazy. At 4 ounces per bottle and $12 for the bottle, it is a little pricier than I would like, HOWEVER, you only have to use a little bit to get the nail polish off so that is a good thing!

Check them out on their site http://www.karmaorganicspa.com/products-2/nail-polish-remover/ , or buy it at Whole Foods!

Gluten Free Walnut Chocolate Chip Bars

One of my FAVORITE loves of life is cooking for my family and friends, and them enjoying what I make! I am going to start adding gluten-free and other fav dish recipes here so that you can try them out too, if you have a finesse for cooking!

I have included 2 recipes- 1 is the easy way to make them, and the 2nd is for when you want to take the time and make some gluten free chocolate chip cookies with some TLC!

I love Betty Crocker's Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix. And so do my neices and nephew when I make them! I wanted to make cookie bars just to try something different, so I basically mixed all wet and dry ingredients per Betty Crocker's Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe instructions. For those of you who do not eat eggs, yogurt is a natural substitute- for one egg, instead use one tablespoon(Tb) yogurt. Any plain yogurt will do, or if you want more of a vanilla taste add vanilla flavored yogurt instead!

Once I have the dough ready, I lightly grease the a baking sheet with organic butter or a light olive oil. The thickness when you lay out the cookie dough onto the cookie sheet should be about half an inch. Press the dough onto the cookie sheet and press down and to the edges if it is smaller in size(the cookie sheet), if the sheet is larger, one of the sides will require you to make the edges into a straight line to form a rectangle.

Once you have that, get some Trader Joes Walnuts, or any fairtrade, organic walnut brand, and chop them so that they are little peanut sized peices. Sprinkle over the cookie dough, and press into dough so that they can cook evenly.

I think the cooking time is about 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown. Once it's done, leave to cool, then cut when it is lukewarm or cooled down completely(if you can wait!), and cut into 2" x 2" peices, and ENJOY!

Here is the next choco chip cookie recipe, courtesy of Gluten Free On a ShoeString, a great blog for gluten-free cooking! 

Ingredients

2 cups (280 g) high-quality all-purpose gluten-free flour
1 teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
10 tablespoons (125 g) granulated sugar
1/4 cup (55 g) packed light brown sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 tablespoons vegetable shortening, melted and cooled
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 extra-large egg at room temperature, beaten
9 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon cornstarch

Directions

• Preheat your oven to 325°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper and set it aside.
  
• In a large bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum, baking soda, salt and granulated sugar, and whisk to combine well. Add the brown sugar and whisk, working out any lumps in the brown sugar. Add the butter and shortening, then the vanilla and egg, and mix to combine. The dough will be thick.
  
• In a separate small bowl, toss the chocolate chips with the cornstarch to coat. Add the chips and cornstarch to the cookie dough in the large bowl. Mix until the chips are evenly distributed throughout the dough.
  
• Scrape the dough onto a large sheet of plastic wrap. Shape it into a log about 2 1/2 inches in diameter and close the plastic wrap tightly over the log. Place the dough log in the freezer until firm, about 15 minutes.
  
• Remove the cookie dough from the freezer, unwrap, and slice with a large serrated or very sharp chef's knife thickly in cross-section into rounds that are nearly 3/4-inch thick. Place the rounds about 1-inch apart on the prepared baking sheet, and bake, rotating once during baking, until the cookies are lightly golden brown and set, about 12 minutes.
  
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet until firm. Store any leftovers in the freezer, in a freezer-safe container or wrap.
  

I love both, have tried both, and am sure any chocolate chip cookie lover will not know the difference between these and the regular ones! And remember, use yogurt to substitute eggs, if you do not eat eggs!

Bon Appetite!