Gray Hair

On my 24th birthday, I discovered my first official wrinkle, a smile line on only the left side of my mouth. This one little wrinkle was devastating! For one, I realized that for years I did not smile; I smirked. That's probably why people thought I was bitchy. Instead of smiling at their funny comments, I smirked!

Now a different revelation has come to light. I discovered my first gray hair. Over night, a long strand of pure white hair grew on the left side of my head. Obviously, my left side is cursed. The question now is: Do I color my hair or let nature take its course? On a more philosophical stand, do I hold on to my youth or grow older (not old) gracefully? (I'm sure this is how Hamlet felt during his "To be or not to be" soliloquy).

Can you spot the gray hair?

Pre-gray hair, I vowed that I would not dye gray hairs. I found the look beautiful, distinguished, regal. But now, I feel older (not old!). When discussing the issue with my hair dresser, I mentioned that I wanted a new look, something that would make me look 26. She laughed in response. Laughed! Maybe it's time to find a new hair dresser. Regardless, I need to make a decision about my hair--to dye or not to dye that is the question.

After an exhausting debate with myself, I have decided to stay with my original decision. I will leave the gray and embrace my new beautiful, distinguished, regal, and slightly older look!

Early Puberty & Paraben Products

My daughter has fabulous curly hair. At time, though, it is a little wild and difficult to manage. So logically, my husband and I have turned to a variety of hair products to remedy the problem. I also asked others for advice and was surprised by what I learned.

During a conversation with my sister, she began recounting the story of an eight-year old girl who has hair like my daughter. The little girl recently began menstruating--yes, she is eight and has a period! My sister, then, went on to explain the consequences, which I never considered. Women who begin their period early begin menopause early. My sister went on to explaining that some believe paraben, a common preservative in beauty products, can lead to early puberty in addition to breast cancer and a decrease in sperm count. My sister concluded by stating that the parents of the eight-year old believe that, to some extent, harmful products led to their daughter's early development.

What? I found the information intriguing, so I began researching. While there is information that proves and disproves the parent's claim, my hubby and I want to be on the safe side. We began purging our home of paraben products and were surprised to learn that paraben is in everything from toothpaste to organic beauty products! We are now on the hunt for paraben-free products that work and are easy to find.Paraben-free products:

1. Mixed Chicks hair products
2. Eucerin original lotion. Not all are paraben free. Check the ingredients.

Below are a few links to sites with more information on paraben.

Livestrong.com

Children's Health

Bright Hub

Camila's Hair

Growing up, I was not a girly girl. I played ball, cops and robbers, tag, and hide-n-seek. I wanted to be outside searching, climbing, and running. Thus, it's a huge surprise to me that my 2 year old daughter is a girly girl. She wakes up asking for her lip gloss, walks around the house with my heels, and goes to sleep with her princess brush; all things that I Purchased for her (yes, I created a monster).

Needless to say, Camila, the princess, is in the long hair phase. To make things difficult, she has beautiful brown curly hair (FYI: Disney has not gotten around to creating a curly hair princess) and loads of it--really, she has A LOT of hair. With her ringlets, we have tried numerous products to curb the frizz and tangles but little has helped until recently. We now shampoo her hair once or twice a week but we condition it daily with mommy's conditioner. The new strategy has really worked!

Camila with straight hair :)

Camila's hair after we began the new strategy.