Now that you have the knowledge of what IF is and how it works, we can now move forward to what foods work best for the results you want to achieve. When you incorporate IF, and eat the right foods, you will begin to feel the change in your body. It all actually starts with your mentality and how determined you are to achieve your goals. I can dare say that even if you do not do IF and eat the healthy foods, you will still get results of feeling better and may find it an addictive way of eating. I say addictive because you will be amazed at how wonderful you will begin to feel. Feelings of better health, and your food will actually be tastier. A lot of people think that plant-based eating is nothing more than just eating salads or “rabbit food.” I was one of those thinkers until I was introduced to how and what is involved with eating a plant-based diet. I was then able to experience all the delicious alternatives that can be used in place of those non-healthy foods. When you find certain recipes and see how delicious they are, it will lead you on a search for more recipes to experiment with, experience, and enjoy.
I personally feel that IF is an important implement because of what it has done to my body. As I have mentioned in my previous post about all the troubles I have had to face every single day, they were alleviated greatly when I practiced IF. The great benefits that IF has, has been proven by science to be extremely effective with eliminating many health issues. So, when you do IF and eat a plant-based diet, you will see many benefits such as: weight loss, less inflammation, more energy, cognitive and concentration improvements, and so much more. I recommend doing both, but you should go at your own pace if you are completely new to all of this. It is a big change to you in every way and does take time to get used to this old-fashioned lifestyle. America has become the number one land that has the highest medical issues in the world. It can all be blamed on many things, but as for the food, it is horrendous with all the harmful things that are added to our foods. In a future post I will go into more details about America’s food industry. So, this is why I implement a diet of clean eating as much as possible.
*** This article is for entertainment and informational purposes only****
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I want to share with you some knowledge about hair. Hopefully, you will find this information interesting and useful. Now days with all the tools, products and chemicals, we can achieve just about anything we want with our mane. However, not everything we do to our hair is good. I will probably have to give a series about hair because of all the information there is, it would make just one post extremely overwhelming.
I first want to start off with, “What is the purpose of hair?” I’ll give you four top reasons for its purpose. The purpose of hair is first and foremost, it was designed to be protection for our body. Protection in the means of being a thermal regulator. Hair regulates body temperature, being in cold environments makes our muscles contract, causing them to pull the hair into an upright position. When this happens, the erected strands trap air and serve as insulation to protect the body from the cold. This is why when a person who has long, or thick. hair feels warmer than someone who has little or no hair. Hot temperatures give an opposite effect. As sweat glands secrete sweat, it evaporates to cool the body. This effect makes the muscles relax and causes the hair to lay flat in order to release heat.
The second very useful function of our mane is it extends our sense of touch. It is astounding to know that we may feel an object before it even touches our skin. In 2012, a study was published by John Hopkins University School of Medicine. In that report, it stated how the brain processes and collects information through hair on the skin. David Ginty, Ph. D., professor of neuroscience at John Hopkins, says more than 20 classes of mechanosensory nerve cells in the skin is what detects everything from pain to temperature. I find it absolutely amazing how the design of our body can physically detect the feelings of the changes from our atmosphere, to knowing there is an object near you before it comes in contact with your skin.
Now, for the third reason of how our hair serves a purpose. Having body hair which covers almost our entire body except for the palms of our hands, soles of feet, and lips. Aside from providing cover from the environment, body hair such as eyebrows, eyelashes, nose, and ear hair helps keep dust and foreign matter out. This is how we are able to feel something near us without it touching us. Those tiny, itty-bitty hairs that cover our body are called vellus hairs. Vellus hair is also referred to as baby hair, or peach fuzz, and is translucent and much thinner than the hairs on your other body parts.
The fourth reason why hair is important is it gives you a sense of identity. For many centuries, hair has been a significant part of a woman’s physical feature of adornment and attraction, which it still serves the same today as such. Hair is the first feature on a person’s body that most people see and judge on its appearance.
Now, you have four reasons why we have hair and its design of use for us. It serves a mighty and essential purpose for us. It is important to take just as great care of your hair as it is for your outer and inner body. Everything that we do to our body has a great effect on our well-being. No matter if your hair is long or short, you still have those sensory follicles. I may suggest being aware of what you are applying to your hair.
I chose to chat about skin in this next series because of how vital it is to take care of it, inside and out. Everything we eat, drink, and put on our skin affects the quality of its appearance and your confidence. Our skin is the largest organ of the body. It serves many purposes such as protecting our anatomy and protects us from Earth’s natural elements, like microbes. Another very important function it has is, it regulates out body temperature and allows us to feel sensations such as touch, heat, and cold. Here is a link I would suggest to further your knowledge about skin and in-depth details of its functions. I just wanted to share a small amount of knowledge. https://www.britannica.com/science/human-skin
Our skin has three layers, all which serve as a function of the body. These layers all have names: epidermis, dermis, and subcutaneous.
Epidermis layer – is the outermost layer, which provides protection for the entire body, is waterproof, and carries our skin tone.
Dermis layer – is the second layer of the skin, which sits beneath the epidermis. This layer contains tough connective tissue, hair follicles, and sweat glands.
Subcutaneous layer – this layer is the deepest layer of our skin. This layer of the skin is a tissue (hypodermis), made of fat and connective tissue.
As I mentioned above about how vital it is to be mindful of how we care for our skin, I will add details, or examples, of what to keep mindful of. This also means you can research the ingredients of cosmetics and other products that I will list below. Everything we ingest, and apply topically, is absorbed into our bloodstream. Find a product that has the fewest ingredients on their label.
Lotions (hands, feet, body), sunscreen, body sprays, bed misting sprays
Soaps, body wash, shampoos, conditioners, body scrubs
Medical and Rx topical cream, moisturizers (face), deodorants
I know this is a lot, but all the products that I have listed, about 90% has harmful chemicals in them. Now, I can’t say that I don’t use any of them, but I do use them only when necessary. Like makeup, I only wear it when I go to work, and as soon as I get home that mess comes off. I do not like cheap cosmetics, but that’s just what is in my current budget. The products that I do use make my face feel suffocated and yucky. But who’s to say that even the expensive ones will be any better. This will have to be a search for more natural or better ingredients for the cosmetics that we use.
So now for the lotions, I don’t use lotion much since I use certain oils as a moisturizer. However, every now and then I will use scented body lotions, just for the scent. What I use does contain not so good ingredients, but like I said, I don’t apply them often at all. What I suggest for daily use for dry, chapped, and cracked skin is Coconut oil. I have used coconut oil for cracked skin, but it didn’t work as fast as I wanted it to, but I love it for its nutritional properties. What I did use for cracked skin is Eucalyptus and Lavendar oil and a hand glove. Another very good natural product to use is vegetable glycerin. There are many oils that can be used for whatever skin condition you need to address.
Moving on to the sunscreens, I personally do not use any. I could count on both hands how many times I have used a sunscreen anywhere on my body. My reason for not using it is because I never felt comfortable with it. Then about 10 years ago is when it started with the rumors of some of them causing cancer, mainly of the skin. There has been recent research about sunscreens that I have found saying that there is a chemical that is indeed cancer causing. I have provided the link of the site that I felt trustworthy of the most recent research about this product. If it is a concern for you, please take a read of this article from Yale University. /www.yalemedicine.org/news/is-sunscreen-safe
Soaps, bodywashes, scrubs (exfoliants), and shampoo & conditioners are not good for your body, or hair, because all the chemicals are absorbed through your scalp. Making your own can be costly, compared to the ones in the Supermarket, but it is much better. You will know exactly what is in the products that you create for yourself/family. I still say, less ingredients are best. Scrubs/exfoliants from the store are not good for your skin. It may appear that your skin looks good, but just keep in mind what chemicals your skin is absorbing. Face, foot, and body scrubs can be made at home and work much better than the ones you buy at the store. However, with those, you have a shorter time span to use but I’ll talk about how to make natural beauty products in a future post. I understand that not everyone has the time to create their own formula for yourself, so my suggestion is that you find someone who does this as a small business and give them the support, if you choose this route of skin care.
In conclusion, I hope that I have provided enough information to have you intrigued enough to research for yourself and find what works best for you and your family. Everything we put on our body, and in it, has an impact to our well-being, whether we know it or not. No, we are not perfect, and will many times go to products in stores because of the convenience that is readily available for us.
***DISCLAIMERS***
I AM NOT A HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL AND CANNOT DIAGNOSE ANY CONDITIONS
I AM A PROFESSIONAL COSMETOLOGIST AND CAN ONLY ASSIST IN BEAUTY KNOWLEDGE AND GIVE RECOMMENDATIONS
THIS INFORMATION IS FROM MY EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE AND RESEARCH
Let’s start with the definition of Cosmetology. Cosmetology is the study and application of beauty treatments which include: hair, skin, and nails. All three are serviced by a licensed, trained professional. All three of these services can be branched out into a different career path. For hair, the most widely common service is hairstyling, which those services are normally haircuts, hair coloring, and formal hair styling (UPDO’s). Skin care, for the basic cosmetologist, is applying make-up to one’s face. Most of the time they are referred to as a Make-Up Artist. And lastly are the nail services. Nail services are commonly done by what is called a Nail Technician. Nail Techs give basic manicure of shaping and styling a person’s nails (hands and feet) and can go further into decorating nails with a color polish, glitter, overlays, and gems.
Now that we know what a cosmetologist is, here is where I will begin my story.
In January of 2012, I enrolled in the Cosmetology program at Virginia College in Huntsville, AL. I had no clue what a cosmetologist was or what they did. Neither did I know that a hairstylist was labeled as a cosmetologist. I had initially enrolled to see if they had a culinary program, but they did not offer that program at that location. So, I had discussed this with my family and they all encouraged me to enroll in the cosmetology course. The course was for 12 months for full time and 18 months for part time (night school). I chose the full time. To be a licensed cosmetologist, Alabama requires you to complete 1,500 hours of training in a school of cosmetology before you can even take your state board exams. I did better than I expected in this program and am still very proud of myself, today. I completed my program in December of 2012, and walked the stage as an Honors Graduate in February of 2013. About a month later, I was able to take my written exam and in April or May I took my practical exam. I scored in the low 90’s on both exams and received my Cosmetology license about 6 weeks later.
In May, I was hired as a Stylist with Cost Cutters. I enjoyed cutting hair and seeing the transformation on people. Well, about a week into my new job my health took a turn for the worse. This bad turn took many arguing doctors months to figure out what was going on with me. I had to take water therapy to help me gain my strength back into my legs. Doctor visits, specialist, and all that sorts. I was in bad shape in all aspects of my life. A few months went by and I went to see a neurologist in Cullman. He is the one who diagnosed me with MS.
Back to the salon job I had. After a few weeks off, because I had been in and out of the hospital, they asked me to resign due to my health. I sadly agreed. They did ask me to come back after I was well enough to, but only with a written doctor’s release. I only did hair for people who would ask me. A couple years later I did apply for another salon job, but, did not get hired due to the fact that I was “too slow.” This is true, sadly, but I blame this on the MS and how much it has affected my cognitive speed. I kept my license up until 2021. I am thankful for the opportunity to have received this education and knowledge. I still do hair services and nails, from time to time, but with me not having a license, I cannot work in a salon, nor run a business out of my home. I do enjoy doing hair and nails, but it is not a passion of mine. I am willing to extend my skills and knowledge to help others.
So, in light of all that has been said about my story of cosmetology, I can write about it with professional knowledge to give to you. However, much as been updated with products and techniques that I do need to inquire to stay up to date. I am educated with the basic foundation of cosmetology. That year program covered a lot of curriculum. In future posts, I will be covering about the beauty of cosmetology and the branches and details of services.
Chatty Chansa 