One of the challenges of moving to another country has been starting from scratch. Whether it has been making friends, finding a routine to my new life, or finding doctors, grocery stores and shops, I often found myself feeling stifled by the sheer number of things I had to start from the beginning.
Even after three months of being here, I'm still in the process of settling in and adjusting. But slowly, one by one, I am ticking off the list of to-do's and to-find's.
One, being finding a hair salon. I wasn't willing to dish out a boatload of money to go to an upscale salon, but I was also hesitant to walk into any neighborhood salon. I know, I know... hair grows back. But hey, if I'm paying money to get my hair cut, I would rather go with the assurance that my money will be well spent.
I was thrilled when my friend S told me she has a place she loves. We went together on a Sunday afternoon. I had my hair shampooed and then I sat in the seat ready to meet my stylist. Little did I know the actual owner of the salon would be working on my hair. S introduced us and then began working on my cut. She was easy to talk to and knowledgable. We talked about my hair style, color, the condition of my hair. As she blow-dried my hair, she noticed my hair had a lot of static. She explained that it was due to my hair being dry and suggested I go home and try out at-home hair treatments.
I got home and googled at-home hair masks for dry hair and found one using an avocado. I happened to have all the necessary ingredients so I whipped it up.
Here are the three simple ingredients:
1 avocado, 1 tbs of lemon juice, 2 tbs of olive oil
1. Cut avocado and scoop out. Mash up in a bowl.
2. Squeeze lemon juice and add in olive oil. Mix the mixture up well.
3. Dampen hair with some water. You can use a spray bottle or just dampen hair with your hands over the sink.
4. Apply mask evenly throughout hair.
5. Leave mask in for 20 mins then wash out thoroughly.
Both olive oil and avocado have moisturizing properties: avocado apparently contains biotin, a vitamin that makes nails and hair stronger while olive oil smoothes out frizz and treats damage. Lemon juice can assist with removing build up and excess oil in your hair that causes it to be weighed down. So with their powers combined, this mighty concoction will leave your hair feeling smoother, silkier and shinier!
I am looking forward to doing this mask periodically.
But note to self: Next time, heat up olive oil before mixing in so that the heat will open up the hair follicles more for better absorption!