We all want strong and beautiful healthy hair, but it can be easy to get overwhelmed when trying to figure out what actually works. There are definitely a lot of gimmicks out there! Here are a few super easy ways to make sure that you’re growing your best hair!

FEED YOUR HAIR

Strong and healthy hair starts on the inside! Did you know that as soon as the hair leaves the follicle in your scalp, it’s technically “dead”? Weird, I know! This means that it’s SUPER important to give our hair all the nourishment and building blocks that we can, by making good choices about what we put in our bodies. There are lots of ways we can nourish our hair; here are a few of my absolute favourites: collagen (tasteless powder that dissolves in liquid), iron and omega 3s. Also, make sure that you’re eating enough protein and drinking lots and lots of water.

TREAT IT NICELY

Heat is the number one reason I see excessive hair damage. Contrary to popular belief, it’s not always from curling irons or flat irons! In cold winter weather, many of us enjoy taking hot showers. However, what we don’t often consider is that this hot water is zapping the moisture from our hair and skin. Try washing your hair separately in luke-warm water, or, just turning down the dial a bit. If you’re really attached to your blow-dryer and irons, make sure you’re using a good thermal protector prior to applying heat.

If you have coloured hair, it’s great to incorporate a restructuring treatment or mask into your routine; check with your hair care professional to see what they recommend for you. Why not also use this time for a bit of relaxing self-care? I like to light some candles, turn on my aromatherapy diffuser, wrap my hair up in a Marin Towel (to keep the heat in) and delve into a good book.

I would highly recommend that you consider switching to a silk pillowcase; luxurious, right? While cotton is an amazing fabric, it can absorb the moisture from your hair and skin, and easily mess up your styled hair. If you toss and turn at night, cotton pillowcases can weaken your hair, potentially adding to breakage. Alternately, silk is breathable and slippery and will help to hold your style for the next day. It’s a good tip to help you avoid the dreaded bedhead. #iwokeuplikethis

TAKE CARE OF YOU

Stress; not only does it have a detrimental affect on your overall health, more specifically, it can have a negative affect your hair. While a small amount of stress can actually be good for us, extreme stress can lower our immune system and increase the risk of catching a cold or the flu. When our bodies are stressed, the nutrients that usually go to our hair may be redirected to support our body.

Speaking of nutrient absorbtion- all that ‘gut health’ talk isn’t just a trend. If our digestive system isn’t functioning optimally, the nutrients in our body can become depleted. Make sure to take your probiotics and eat all those delicious fermented foods!

Implementing these suggestions are small, but beautiful acts of self-care that will help you to grow your best hair!

XOXO

Diana

Diana Osborne is a Toronto-based holistic hair expert who helps people achieve beautiful hair using healthy ingredients. She also focuses on educating people on lifestyle habits that help to feed their hair. Diana is passionate about conscious business, the environment, education and creating awareness about MCS.

For those of us living in the Great White North, cold & flu season is inevitable. But, we don’t have to suffer; there are simple things that we can do to help keep our immune systems strong, and hopefully avoid getting sick. Here are our top tips:

GET ENOUGH SLEEP

We all know that sleep is important and that when we don’t get enough, it can seriously affect our health. Our bodies relax, repair and rejuvenate when we sleep. When we don’t get enough ZZZ’s our immune system becomes weak, which makes us more susceptible to catching a cold or the flu. Developing healthy sleep patterns is a form of self-care. Make an effort to get into a regular sleep schedule, to develop a relaxing bedtime routine and to shut off all screens at least an hour before bed. For a restful sleep, keep your bedroom as dark and as quiet as possible and make sure to keep all electronics away. The quality of sleep is also very important for our immune system and overall health.

MANAGE YOUR STRESS

Easier said than done, right? However, in order to have a truly healthy immune system we need to do our best to reduce and manage our stress. Making time for self-care, and taking time to do things that bring you joy are also very important tools in managing stress. Most people are familiar with emotional and physical stress, but what is less talked about is chemical stress. Examples of chemical stress include: the chemicals in our cosmetics, cleaning products, the air, our food, medications, alcohol, pesticides, herbicides. There are some things that we can control, and others that we have less control over. What’s important is that we do what we can. Haven’t made the switch to natural cosmetics and cleaning products yet? This is a great place to start! Working to reduce these three main types of stress will help to keep your immune system strong and healthy during cold and flu season.

EAT IMMUNE BOOSTING FOODS

Once we manage our stress levels and get into a good pattern of sleeping, it’s important to look at what we’re putting into our bodies. A balanced plant-based diet that is low in sugar is one of our best defenses against cold and flu. Staying hydrated by drinking plenty of water is also super important. Looking for immunity boosting foods? Here are a few of our favs. Make sure to choose organic whenever possible (think back to reducing our chemical stress). Foods rich in vitamin C are great immune boosters: dark leafy greens, citrus fruits, cauliflower, camu camu powder. Fermented foods boost our immune systems AND keep our guts healthy! We love kombucha, miso, and kimchi. Herbal teas are another good choice. Three teas to try: ginger, reishi mushroom, and echinacea.

KEEP IT MOVING

Make sure you’re getting hot & sweaty on a regular basis. Having a regular sweat sesh helps to rid our bodies of toxins, is great for our cardiovascular health, and leaves us feeling great! Sweating also increases the core temperature in our bodies which aids in fighting off those pesky germs. Finding physical activities that we enjoy is key to staying active and sweaty.

What are some of your favourite tips for staying healthy during cold & flu season? Leave us a comment below.

Stay healthy,

XOXO

Stray & Wander Team

As moms it can often seem impossible to carve out time for ourselves; there's just so much that needs to be done and only 24 hours in a day. We often ask ourselves how is it possible to stay active or even motivated in the midst of what feels like pure chaos? 

For many of us, it's just not possible to find an hour or two in the day to make it to the gym, no matter how hard we try. Our self-care often gets placed on the back-burner while we tend to everyone else's needs. But, the old adage rings true, we simply cannot pour from an empty cup.

So the question is, how do we stay active when we have little to no time to spare? The solution is that we need to find ways to incorporate activity and movement into our everyday lives. We've all heard it a million times: try walking instead of driving; try taking the stairs instead of the elevator. Although these options take a bit of extra time, they'll leave you feeling great! We try to stick to a simple rule: if it's under ten blocks or ten flights of stairs, we WALK! 

Another one of our favourite ways to stay active is by planning fun activities with our kids; family bike rides, hikes,  swimming and trampolining are a few of our favourites. Teaching kids to stay active from a young age is key, and remember, we lead by example.

For days when you feel like you just haven't gotten enough movement, you can try this quick full body workout that's sure to get your heart rate up and your booty looking right! It can be done anywhere and no equipment is needed. We can often be spotted doing this circuit at the park while our kids are playing:

• 10 burpees
• 20 high knees
• 20 squats
• 20 jumping jacks
• 10 push ups
• 20 crunches

* repeat 3-5 times

In life, it’s the little things that count, even 15-20 minutes of movement will make a difference. Creating small changes in our daily habits can build momentum over time and lead to bigger lifestyle changes. Slow and steady wins the race.

As mamas we don’t always have time to hang with our fit friends, so make sure to follow people on social media who motivate and inspire you to MOVE. There are so many amazing fitness accounts out there, and many of them post great (free) workouts.

Most importantly take care of yourself! Drink lots of water, fill your fridge with easily accessible healthy snacks and make time for self-care; whatever that may look like for you.

We’d love to hear from you about how you incorporate fitness into your busy schedules. Leave us a comment below.

Keep Moving,

Kat

About The Author

Kathleen Clement is the owner of @krayzeefitness. With a background in occupational therapy, physiotherapy and personal training, Kat now focuses on empowering people through movement and healthy living. Supermom and a powerhouse of positive energy, she can often be found in the wee hours of the morning leading creative bootcamps at various locations around the city. Interested in connecting? Kat can be reached at katclement92@gmail.com

Our favourite way to spend  fall evenings is curled up with a good book and a warm cup of tea under a beautiful Turkish blanket. It’s been a little while since we shared what’s on our reading list. Looking for a good read? Check out our picks:

REAL LOVE-SHARON SALZBERG

A creative toolkit of mindfulness exercises and meditation techniques that help us to stay present in our experience and create deeper love relationships with our partner, our friends and family but most importantly with ourselves.

This book guides us in stripping away layers of negative habits and obstacles while focusing on experiencing authentic love based on experience rather than preconceptions.

THE UNTETHERED SOUL- MICHAEL SINGER

The Untethered Soul walks us through our relationship with our thoughts and emotions, helping us to uncover the source and fluctuations of our inner energy. It delves into an exploration of what we can do to free ourselves from the habitual thoughts, emotions, and energy patterns that limit our consciousness. With great  clarity, this book opens the door to a life lived in the freedom of our innermost being.

By tapping into traditions of meditation and mindfulness, Singer shows us how the development of consciousness can help us to live in the present moment and let go of painful thoughts and memories that keep us from achieving happiness and self-realization.

Sounds good, right?

MOM + ME + MOM- MAYA ANGELOU

This is seventh and final book in Angelou’s series of autobiographies. It’s in this final book that she shares the deepest personal story of her life- her relationship with her mother. Exploring the healing and love that evolved between the two women over the course of their lives, this is a moving and remarkable portrait of two courageous souls delivered with Angelou’s trademark good humour and fierce optimism.

We’d love to hear what’s on your reading list! Tell us in the comments below.

Happy reading!

XOXO

Stray & Wander Team