Five household ingredients for great hair

Did you know that there are common household items in your cabinets right now that you should be using on your hair? These 5 great items not only work wonders for your hair, but since you probably already have them, means you don’t have to go out to buy anything – triple word score!

Virgin Organic Coconut Oil (VOC)

Hands down, my favorite oil to use for my hair. I discuss at length here why VOC is so amazing. In a nutshell, this oil reduces protein loss in hair. This is great since hair gets brittle over time. I use it as a pre-shampoo  treatment, you can also use it as a hot oil treatment or an overall conditioner for your hair, if you don’t mind the smell. There’s a reason why Polynesian women have beautiful hair.

Aloe Vera Gel

You probably already are using aloe vera on your sunburn or bug bites to soothe your skin but have you tried using it on your hair? Whether you have super thick and curly hair like me, or fine and thin hair, aloe vera can be very beneficial for your hair. For one, it contributes to hair growth. In a study “The proteolytic enzymes Aloe vera slough off dead skin cells and open pores. It increases membrane fluidity and permeability and the outward flow of toxins and inward flow of nutrients” Aloe also has 75 known nutrients and its alkalizing effects brings hair and skin’s pH to a desirable level. But the most noticeable effect is how great it makes your hair look and feel. It calms the frizzies and minimizes fly-aways. For dry curly hair, use VOC and layer aloe on top and watch your curls pop.

Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV)

An ACV rinse is like heaven for your hair. If you have never done this before, you need to get with the program- stat! I like to mix one part ACV and 3 parts cool water, but feel free to experiment with your formula. After shampoo and conditioner, you want to pour the rinse over your hair. It results in smoothing the cuticle and leaving soft and shiny hair. The reason ACV is so awesome is because it removes the buildup from commercial products and helps with dandruff and itchy scalp.

Baking Soda

You know that you can use baking soda to naturally clean around your home, you can also use it to clean your hair. You can take back from the freezer what is rightfully yours (well maybe you should use a fresh box unless you want to smell freezer burnt). You can use baking soda to occasionally clarify your hair, it works well to remove impurities. If you have oily hair, you can add the powder directly on your hair and then brush through. It can be very harsh and best used in small amounts when diluted in shampoo or conditioner.

Agave Nectar

Raw agave nectar can provide conditioning by forming a polymer film on the surface of the hair, thereby smoothing the cuticle. It is a humectant which means it attracts water to your hair. To use Agave, you can use it with your favorite oil (VOC maybe) and rinse out. Because it is sugar-like, you want to make sure you rinse Agave out and don’t use it as a leave-in.

Alternatively, you can also use Honey to condition your hair. Honey also naturally lightens your hair. So, that’s actually 6 amazing everyday household items that you can be using on your hair right now for shiny, healthy-looking locks.

Remember to always consult a licensed healthcare practitioner before embarking on any treatment, it’s your health and it’s IMPORTANT.

Source:http://blogs.naturalcures.com/five-household-ingredients-for-great-hair/

How To Attract Hummingbirds To Your Garden

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Dr. Leonard Perry, Extension professor at University of Vermont, tells how to attract hummingbirds.

If you’re fascinated by hummingbirds, as I am, you probably hang out a feeder or two in the summer to provide them with sugar water. But did you know that hummingbirds also are attracted to many flowering plants, particularly those that have brightly colored red and scarlet flowers?

Hummingbirds — or hummers, as they’re often called — have been sighted in 49 states (all but Hawaii) and 10 Canadian provinces. However, of the dozens of species, only the ruby-throated hummingbird lives and nests east of the Rocky Mountains.

Ruby-throated hummingbirds winter in southern Mexico and Central America, returning north from mid-April to early May. You can track their spring North America migration online at http://www.hummingbirds.net/map.html.

To attract them to your yard or garden, you must meet their requirements for food, shelter and nesting spots.

A hummingbird consumes about half its weight in sugar each day, feeding five to eight times an hour (spending up to a minute at each feeding). In addition to sipping nectar from tubular flowers and feeders, this tiny, metallic green bird also feeds on insects, tree sap and juice from some fruits.

When selecting flower varieties, keep in mind that hummers are attracted to color and nectar production rather than fragrance. The color red and to a lesser degree pink, rose, orange, and purple — all bright colors that contrast with their backgrounds — are most seen by them.

Choose a diversity of annuals and perennials for continuous bloom. Many cultivated hybrids produce much less nectar than their wild cousins or species.

Shrub choices: Flowering quince, buddleia, and Catawba rhododendron.

Vines: Cypress vine, morning glory, scarlet runner bean, and the perennial trumpet creeper. Japanese honeysuckle vine is attractive to them, but is not recommended as it is invasive in many areas.

Early summer perennials: Bleeding hearts, iris, columbine, cardinal flower, lupine and evening primrose.

Summer annuals: Fuchsia, cigar flower (Cuphea), lantana, nasturtium, salvia (especially pineapple and scarlet sages), spider flower (Cleome), verbena, and snapdragon.

Summer perennials: Foxglove, hollyhocks (biennial), bee balm, tiger lily, penstemon, coral bells, hosta, scarlet campion (Lychnis), and phlox. Hummingbirds also like jewelweed, a wildflower commonly found in the cooler north and blooming later in summer (note that this can self sow prolifically).

Check with your local garden center or nursery for disease-resistant varieties, as it's critical that you don't use pesticides on or near the hummers' food sources. Not only can sipping nectar from plants that have been sprayed sicken or kill the birds, but it also kills the insects hummers need for protein.

Females often build nests on a downward-sloping, lichen-covered limb near or over water, though they may build in any deciduous or coniferous tree that provides adequate protection from predators such as hawks, Baltimore orioles, and other birds.

The nests, only an inch or so long, are made of plant down, bud scales, and lichens, held together with saliva or spider silk.

Newborns are about the size of a pea but grow rapidly and will start feeding on nectar in about a month.

Hummers spend nearly 80 percent of their time resting, so provide plenty of places to perch.

They love to bathe and may be attracted to a splashing fountain or even droplets of water on leaves of broad-leaved trees.

Finally, if you want to attract these delightful little birds to your yard or garden, wear red! Although there's no scientific data to support this, it seems that hummingbirds will check out anything red, even you! More on the life of this fascinating and friendly visitor to our summer gardens, including their sounds, can be found at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website http://www.allaboutbirds.org.

Blackspot of roses

A common disease of roses is blackspot, a fungus disease that can defoliate susceptible plants. Look for dark, circular lesions with feathery edges on the top surface of the leaves and raised purple spots on young canes. Infected leaves will often yellow between spots and eventually drop.

The infection usually starts on the lower leaves and works its way up the plant. Blackspot is most severe under conditions of high relative humidity (85 percent and higher), warm temperatures (75 to 85 degrees) and six or more hours of leaf wetness.

Newly expanding leaves are most vulnerable to infection. The fungus can survive on fallen leaves or canes and is disseminated primarily by splashing water.

Cultural practices are the first line of defense:

-- Don't plant susceptible roses unless you are willing to use fungicide sprays. Find a list of blackspot resistant varieties online at http://bit.ly/czkrRH.

-- Keep irrigation water off the foliage. Drip irrigation works well with roses.

-- Plant roses in sun in areas with good air movement to limit the amount of time the foliage is wet.

-- Remove diseased leaves that have fallen and prune out infected rose canes to minimize spreading the disease.

If needed, protect foliage with a regular spray program (10- to 14-day schedule) of effective fungicides. Recommended are tebuconazole (Bayer Disease Control for Roses, Flowers and Shrubs); myclobutanil (Immunox, Immunox Plus); triforine (Ortho RosePride DiseaseControl); and chlorothalonil (Broad Spectrum Fungicide, Garden Disease Control, others).

Sources: www.therealfarmacy.com, Grow Food, Not Lawns

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