woman with wet hair in shower
By Jennifer Whyte Beauty, Haircare

What Happens if You Sleep with Conditioner in Your Hair?

Have you ever rushed through your shower but yet taken enough time to condition your hair and then forgot to wash the conditioner out?

Maybe you left it in for a little while to follow the instructions on the bottle but completely missed the step where you are supposed to rinse your hair afterwards.

It happens from time to time, and you may be worried about how it will affect your hair. Can I leave conditioner in my hair overnight?

Maybe you did it on purpose because you want to see if it can condition your hair better and give you softer, more manageable hair. You may have been frustrated with your hair and how difficult it is to work with and how your comb is constantly getting stuck.

I’ve heard of people leaving conditioner in their hair overnight and telling everyone that it makes their hair so much softer and silkier.

Is It Okay to Sleep with Conditioner in Your Hair?

If you look at the back of your conditioner bottle, it will probably tell you to rinse it out after it’s been in your hair for a little while.

It may even have a warning about not sleeping with conditioner in your hair or leaving it in overnight. That’s actually considered a dangerous thing to do.

What happens if I sleep with conditioner in my hair? Even though it’s not recommended to leave conditioner in your hair, let’s talk about what happens if you do.

The moisture in the conditioner will cause your hair follicles to swell, making your hair feel thicker, and then, the moisture will eventually dry back out.

If you’re hoping to deep condition your hair overnight, you could damage delicate hair follicles. Conditioner is designed to get deep into the hair follicles and treat brittle and dried out hair.

You’re supposed to let the air conditioner stay in your hair for about 15 minutes. That gives it time to moisturize and penetrate like it should. Then, you’re supposed to rinse the hair out completely and let it dry.

As a conditioner stays in your hair, strands of hair will expand and contract several times. This fluctuating growth in hair size is not healthy for your hair, and it can lead to a condition called cuticle hygral fatigue. This makes your hair very fragile and can reduce the amount of elasticity it has.

It might not happen the first time you do this, and you may be safe leaving conditioner in your hair overnight a couple times.

However, if this is something you do frequently, you’re going to have hair that isn’t very elastic anymore and is very difficult to work with. It can also become extremely fragile and may break when you brush it.

How Long Should You Sleep with Conditioner in Your Hair?

Maybe you’ve decided to ignore all our warnings and want to try deep conditioning your hair overnight, leaving the conditioner in to see if it can improve your hair at all.

If you’re wondering how long to leave the conditioner in your hair when you’re sleeping, we don’t recommend you leave it in at all. It should be rinsed out before you go to sleep, if you want to protect your hair.

If you’re going to leave it in for a deep conditioning treatment, we suggest setting your alarm for just a few hours. If you can manage with four to six hours of sleep, then you should wash the conditioner out of your hair and then dry your hair properly.

Try not to sleep for a full 8 to 9 hours with the conditioner in. That increases the risk of causing permanent damage to your hair.

How to Sleep with Conditioner in Your Hair

If you leave normal conditioner in your hair and you want to know the best sleeping arrangement so that your hair can benefit the most, we suggest sleeping on your side or stomach. This allows your hair to dry out naturally as you sleep.

It’s definitely better to wash out the conditioner first and then let your hair dry out, but if you want to keep the conditioner in, then position yourself in such a way so that conditioner can dry out at least somewhat on its own.

How to Sleep with Leave-in Conditioner

Not all types of conditioner are meant to be washed out of your hair after you’ve put them in while you shower. The conditioner that’s meant to be left in is called leave-in conditioner. There are a few different kinds of these, and they are formulated to meet specific hair needs.

It’s especially helpful for curly, thick, or dry hair to rehydrate and make them more manageable. These are the kinds of hair that can be really tough to work with when you’re brushing and combing, so leave-in conditioner can be a helpful treatment.

You’re not supposed to rinse this conditioner all your hair after it’s been applied, so how do you sleep with leave-in conditioner in?

It’s actually best to apply leave-in conditioner right before you go to bed. That way, it can be most effective, staying in your hair all night long and doing its work.

You can apply it anytime after your shower and before bed, spraying just a little bit into your hair and then spreading it with a comb or brush. From there, you can just let the leave in conditioner to dry out naturally and sleep as you normally would.

There’s no need to wrap up or tie your hair as you go to sleep with this kind of conditioner in.

You can also style your hair after this step, if you like.

There are no real side effects to worry about with this kind of conditioner. Some people do have an allergic reaction, and it can burn your skin if it touches your scalp or hands, so be careful how you use it. However, you don’t have to feel bad about sleeping with this conditioner left in your hair.

Coffee with Cream and Straw on Red Plate
By Jennifer Whyte Beauty

Why Should You Drink Coffee with a Straw?

Did you know that there’s a right way and a wrong way to drink your coffee? A lot of us are coffee drinkers these days, and while we may know just how we like our order from Starbucks, we may not all understand the best methods for drinking coffee and how drinking coffee in a certain way can affect us.

It’s fairly common to see people drinking cold coffee beverages with a straw. That’s just how you drink something that has a lot of cream on top so that you don’t end up with that cream on your face. But it’s actually wise to drink coffee with a straw when it’s hot as well. Let’s talk about why that is.

Why Drinking Coffee with a Straw Is Best

There’s a very simple reason why a lot of people will tell you that you ought to be drinking your coffee with a straw rather than sipping it straight from the cup.

Why should you drink coffee with a straw? It’s because coffee can stain your teeth. If you’re using a straw, you may be able to avoid getting coffee on your teeth at all, allowing it to go straight down your throat.

That’s going to save you a lot of problems later on, if you’re a regular coffee drinker.

Someone who drinks coffee several times a day and does that for years will likely have stained teeth before too long.

Coffee can turn your teeth slightly brown, especially If you’re drinking it frequently over long periods of time.

Coffee that settles into your teeth and gum line can also give you coffee breath. People who aren’t coffee drinkers might not appreciate that they are constantly smelling coffee on your breath. If you want to keep your mouth smelling fresher for longer, then you should be drinking your coffee with a straw instead of drinking it directly from the cup.

If you have sensitive teeth or gums, like a lot of people do, it’s a good idea to get the coffee you’re drinking to bypass them entirely. Are you someone who has to use special toothpaste designed for sensitive teeth? You ought to be using a straw with your coffee, as that will protect your teeth and keep them from feeling quite so sensitive.

Sensitive teeth are something that a lot of people suffer with these days, and even if you’re not sure that you have this condition, you may want to use a straw with your coffee just to be on the safe side.

How to Drink Hot Coffee with a Straw

Maybe you’re not sure what the best way is to drink your coffee when you’re using a straw. If you have questions how to drink coffee with a straw so that you protect your teeth and your health, then we have some answers for you.

You should try to position the straw between your teeth rather than between your lips. Holding the straw with your teeth allows the coffee to pass through your teeth without touching them. Coffee can go through the straw and come out on the back of your teeth and straight down your throat. That means it never has to come in contact with your teeth, preserving sensitive teeth and keeping them from being stained.

You also want to drink your coffee in a short period of time rather than sipping it over an hour or so. You might think that this is to ensure you’re drinking the coffee before it reaches room temperature, but the truth is that sipping the coffee over a long period of time will cause more damage and staining to your teeth.

Once you’re done drinking your coffee, you should try to brush your teeth. This will prevent your teeth from staining, and you could drink coffee for as many years as you like without getting any stains, if you follow this one step.

If you can’t brush your teeth, at least rinse your mouth out with water to help wash any residual coffee off your teeth. This also helps to give you fresher smelling breath.

Why Is It Hotter to Drink Coffee with a Straw?

Some people may struggle with drinking hot coffee through a straw at first. They’ll find that the coffee it feels hotter in their mouth, and it may burn their throat more than it would if they were drinking it without straw.

Why is that? It’s because if you pass the coffee over your lips and tongue and through your mouth by sipping it without a straw, you’re spreading it out across a larger surface. This allows the temperature to decrease a little, making the coffee not taste as hot.

If you are having problems drinking hot coffee through a straw, you may want to let it cool down a little bit.

Otherwise, you may want to try smaller sips, but you will build up some resistance to the heat of that coffee over time. You can also try swishing the coffee around in your mouth before swallowing it or placing the straw between your lips rather than between your teeth to let the coffee pass over more surface area before it reaches your throat.

Do I Need to Use a Straw when Drinking Coffee with Veneers?

Veneers can brighten and beautify your mouth, giving you a radiant smile. However, you have to be careful that you take really good care of them. Coffee can damage veneers very easily, so you want to drink your coffee through a straw rather than directly from the cup once you have the veneers put in.

If you want to protect your investment and keep your smile looking white and bright, always use a straw when drinking coffee. Coffee can damage the bonding agent that attaches the veneer to your teeth, and excessive coffee drinking without using a straw can make the veneers fall out or loosen. Keep that in mind when you’re drinking other beverages that could stain your teeth, like tea and soda.

 

Woman Receiving Facial
By Jennifer Whyte Beauty, Skincare

When to Get a Facial before an Event

A facial can rejuvenate your skin and make it look youthful and healthy. Facials open up the pores, remove dirt and built-up debris through deep cleansing, and they detoxify the skin.

With all of these powerful effects working for your benefit, a facial can transform the way your face looks, helping you to look your best.

There’s a very good reason why people will get facials before a big event. They want to look as fresh faced as possible, so it makes sense that they would consider going for one of the most effective noninvasive beauty treatments available.

However you need to bear in mind there can be some adverse effects, so let’s take a deeper look into what problems could occur.

Should You Get a Facial before an Event?

Is it a good idea to get a facial before a big event- like a prom, a date, or an anniversary? You want to look your best, but is a facial the right way to do that?

There are advantages and disadvantages to having a facial done, and you may want to consider how long it takes your face to recover and look its best after the facial has been performed. Your face might not react very well to the procedure, and most people do take a little time to recover from it. You want to be sure you are giving yourself enough time to fully recuperate so that you look and feel your fantastic.

You may not want to have the facial done right before you go to an event. There could be repercussions from that process that you aren’t prepared for.

You don’t know exactly how your face and your skin might react if you have never had a facial done before.

There are a lot of different types of facials that you could have done, and each of them could cause different reactions.

It’s a good idea to talk to the treatment specialist who will be giving you the facial and discuss your options and how they might affect you. After the consultation, you may decide that one kind of facial is better for you than another because of the recovery time involved and how close you are to the event you want to attend.

How Long before an Event Should You Get a Facial?

You should be careful about giving yourself enough time to fully recover from a facial ahead of the event you are going to. You don’t want to show up to a party or other special event with a puffy, inflamed, or bright red face. That would be so embarrassing, so giving yourself enough time to recover fully is vital.

When should you get a facial before an event? Expert advice for this procedure is that you give yourself a full week between the day you get the facial down and the day of the event. That should give your skin enough time to recover.

You might be under the impression that a facial is such a minor procedure that you can simply wait a day or two for your skin to heal and then you will be okay and look great.

That could be a disaster, as your skin will likely still be irritated, red, and blotchy after just a couple days.

You will likely need longer than that before your skin is fully healed and looks the way you would expect it to after a facial.

Yes, a facial will show immediate results, and you will see some improvement, but the process can be painful for you. It can also be rough on your skin, similar to a really rough scrubbing, and it can make your skin feel raw and tender. You may look fine before you feel fine.

You know now when to get a facial before an event, giving yourself a full week before you go to anywhere you might have your picture taken or where you want to look radiant and glowing. After seven days, your blotchiness should have faded and your skin should have a beautiful glow about it. It will be fully healed and will show the benefits of a penetrating, rejuvenating facial.

If you want to make sure that you don’t make the problem worse and cause yourself to need extra time to recover, then you should avoid having a wax and a facial done on the same day. If you want both of those procedures done, then have the wax done and wait about two days to have the facial done.

What Facial Should You Get?

The facial that is right for you will depend on the needs of your skin. There are several to choose from, and the specialists at the facial treatment center can help you examine your options and find the best procedure for your needs.

Here are a few of the choices you might be presented with:

  • Dehydration treatment
  • Detoxification
  • Anti-aging
  • Deep poor cleansing
  • Hyperpigmentation treatment
  • Acne prone skin treatment

Some of these procedures may have longer recovery times than others, and your treatment specialist can advise you accordingly. For any of them, though, be sure to give yourself a full week to let your skin recover.

If you are not sure if you will have enough time to recover completely, then you may want to hold off on the facial until after the event.

A decent facial will last for anywhere from 4-6 weeks, depending on the procedure you have chosen, the kind of skin you have, and how well you take care of your skin. For the next few weeks, you will have radiant and glowing skin, showing off your skin’s best side and looking more youthful and blemish free.

Your results with a facial may not be the same as someone else’s. The treatment specialist can tell you what you might expect and give you some idea of how long your results could last and how you might look after the facial is done.

Woman Wearing Beige Dress with Beige Cardigan Posing
By Jennifer Whyte Fashion

Should You Wear a Cardigan Over a Dress for Wedding

You may be conflicted about what to wear a wedding as a guest. If you have concerns about the temperature and how you might feel alternatively too cold or too hot at times, you could be considering wearing a sweater, jacket or cardigan to the wedding.

Should you wear a cardigan to a wedding? Is that a fashion faux pas or is there a better answer? I understand that the bride isn’t the only one there’s usually antsy and anxious on the wedding day.

A lot of the guests worry that they might be distracting from the ceremony or stand out too much in the pictures or they might not be making the bride happy with what they wear.

All of these are valid concerns, especially in today’s picture-centric weddings, so let’s dive into the idea of a wedding cardigan and if it’s ever a good choice.

Cardigan over Dress for Wedding- Is It Okay?

When chosen well and paired properly, a cardigan over dress for wedding can work really well. It can be stylish, cute, and a perfect outfit match.

You want something that will be comfortable so that you won’t feel like you need to keep taking it on and putting it off throughout the wedding. That can be distracting, and you don’t want to draw unnecessary attention when it’s not your big day. Make sure you’re wearing something that’s a good fit and that provides the kind of warmth you want if you’re going to be at an outdoor event.

Keep in mind that some weddings start indoors and then go outdoors for pictures.

The cardigan can be a good choice if you’re going out into nippy, cold weather and you don’t have a jacket to go well with your outfit. Remember that pictures will be taken all throughout the wedding at most modern wedding events. There will probably be professional photographers prowling the entire ceremony as well as the reception party and dinner. You could end up in shots at any time, and even if it’s in the background, you want to make sure that your outfit looks good.

Choosing a cardigan over dress for wedding party look is fine as long as you have one that creates a pleasant overall look with your dress. Consider how the colors work together and if there are any clashing patterns or styles. Some cardigans look really frumpy or goofy, and those aren’t the kind of looks you want to end up with for a wedding event.

Be sure to choose a cardigan that improves the outfit you are wearing rather than taking away from it. That way, you won’t feel out of place when you feel cold and you want to slip it on.

What Dress to Wear with Cardigan for Wedding?

We talked about choosing the right cardigan, and now let’s talk about the kind of dress you might wear with a cardigan.

If you’re wearing a lengthy dress with long sleeves and lots of coverage up top, a cardigan may not even be necessary. Of course, you can always throw a cardigan on top of your dress, so long as the two go together well. It’s probably redundant and usually considered a fashion faux pas to put a cardigan over a long sleeve dress. It works best with short sleeved or strappy dresses.

Keep in mind that there may be a color theme for the wedding, particularly if you are in the bridal party. Make sure that your dress and cardigan are on point for the theme. That may mean buying a dress or cardigan especially for the occasion. It’s definitely best to choose something you will feel comfortable wearing again, so keep that in mind as you do your shopping.

Closing Thoughts

So, should you wear a cardigan over a dress to a wedding? It’s perfectly fine as long as you’ve been careful with your choice. You don’t want your look to stand out too much and pull a lot of attention away from the bride. You also want to make sure you’re comfortable with how you look in wedding pictures with the cardigan on.

Keep in mind that this isn’t piece of clothing that you can just take off and stuff in a bag if you’re not happy with how it looks and feels at the moment. You will be carrying it around with you the entire time unless you have some place to stow it.

Manicurist Dipping Nails
By Jennifer Whyte Beauty

How to Make Dip Nails Shiny Again

Dip nails are a longer lasting type of nail polish, made with a powdery substance. They don’t chip as easily as regular nail polish, and they can retain their look and color for up to a month without you needing to touch them up.

The shiny nail look is beautiful at first, but it can fade over time. As you work with your hands, doing daily tasks, the polish can lose a bit of its luster. How to make dip nails shiny again?

Why Are My Dip Nails Not Shiny?

Has the shine gone out of your dip nails? They looked so perfect when you first dipped them, with bright, luminous colors, and now the luster has worn off. What happened?

It could just be time taking its toll on them. They are only meant to be on your fingers for about a month. After that, they start chipping, but they will probably stop being quite so shiny before then.

The reason they have lost their shine could be because of the way you treat them. You want them to stay looking bright and flashy, but that won’t happen if you do a lot of work with your hands.

The shine and the polish can wear off if you do hard manual labor. Washing dishes regularly or working with your hands will likely cause the shine to disappear after a while. You could protect the dip polish by protecting your hands with gloves when you work.

Any kind of harsh treatment on your hands can make the nails start to fade and go dull. Just be careful about how your hands are being treated and take extra special care of the nails. If you do, they should last longer.

How to Get Dip Nails Shiny

If the luster has gone out of your nails and they look dull rather than shiny, you may be wondering if it is time to just do them over. You could always take some nail polish remover to them and start fresh, and that’s guaranteed to give you a hot, new look again.

The problem with that is that it can take 15 minutes or so of soaking to get the dip nail polish to come off. You may not always have that kind of time to play around with, especially if you noticed the dullness at the last minute.

You could also try re-dipping the nails for a fresh second coat, which is an option, but that can make your nails feel a bit bulky.

You may just need to buff your nails, especially if you applied the dip polish but they don’t look shiny yet. Buffing gives your nails a vibrant, bold look, bringing out their true beauty that could be hiding.

To do this, just wait for the polish to harden. Then, use a grit buffer to make sure your nails are thick enough. Our recommendation is a 100/180 coarse buffer.

Afterwards, take a foam buffer and smooth the surface layer of the polish out. We recommend a 240/289 fine grit buffer for that step. As you buff the nails, they will become smoother and shinier.

There will be a flat, even layer for light to reflect off of. Getting all the grit and imperfections off the nail polish so they are perfectly smooth can make them shine like the noonday sun.

Finish things off with a Step 4 Sealer. This keeps the nails looking vibrant, preventing the polish from fading or coming off as easily. It adds a protective, thin layer that is really good for maintaining the look of your new nail color.

If you are wondering how to make my dip nails shiny again, we think it’s possible you either skipped these steps in the application process or rushed through them and maybe didn’t do them properly.

How to Keep Dip Nails Shiny

If you want to make sure the nails stay shiny once you have achieved the perfect look for them, then there are some tricks and tips we want to share with you. We talked about how to make dip powder nails shiny, now let’s talk about how to keep them looking that way.

You want to keep them clean. Keep them free of dust, dirt, grime, oils, and especially any substances.

Something as simple as baking soda, lime or lemon juice, and various household cleaners can peel nail polish away. If you’re doing any cleaning, you should wear protective gloves to safeguard your nails.

This is a good idea whether you’re wearing dip nails or not. You want to keep your nails looking perfectly manicured and not allow them to get chipped, so any cleaning should be done with the protection of some sort of gloves.

Be careful about what you do with your nails when you first apply the dip polish. You want to make sure it dries and hardens completely before you wash your hands or really do anything with your hands at all. Try to plan your schedule around the application of polish that you don’t have to use your hands for a while.

You also want to make sure that if you’re putting on multiple coats of dip nails that you are timing your coats and spacing them out a little bit. Give yourself a few minutes between each coat application so that every layer can harden like it should.

If you just put on another coat or try to touch up the coat of polish you have once yours is chipped, dull, or faded, then your second coating is not going to last as long. It’s better to simply start over to get yourself a long-lasting coat of dip nail polish. If you try to keep touching up or adding coats every week or so, you’re going to be fighting uphill battle.

Dip nail polish can look really beautiful and very shiny, but you’ve got to apply it properly, taking your time and getting the process right. You also have to take really good care of it so that it will retain its shininess.

Overnight Oats in Mason Jar topped with Fruit
By Jennifer Whyte Nutrition

How to Make Collagen Overnight Oats

We all know that breakfast is considered the most important meal of the day, because it gives us the energy we need for the day and provides us with the nutrients that will help power our bodies and minds.

However, it can be tough to get a nutritious breakfast in the little amount of time we sometimes have in the morning.

Oats offer a very nutritious breakfast, packed with fiber and vitamins that are so good for your body. I want to share with you how to make collagen overnight oats, which is a really healthy food that you can fix up the night before and then eat first thing in the morning.

When you have it for your breakfast, there’s no fuss and no mess, and you don’t have to wait on breakfast.

What Are Overnight Oats?

These are rolled oats that have been made up the night before and then packed into an airtight container. They’re meant to be prepped and ready to eat and when you’re ready to go in the morning, so you can take them on the go or eat them at the breakfast table.

You don’t have to use rolled oats, however, and steel cut oats can be used instead.

There are several different ways to make overnight oats, and the recipe I’ll give you combines a collagen protein along with almond milk, berries, and chia seeds.

Put that together with the rolled oats and you get a nutrient packed dish that won’t create any hassle for you when you need something to eat in the morning.

You have done all the work the night before, and there’s really not a lot to it.

How to Make Overnight Oats with Collagen

It’s super easy to make this recipe, and that’s why I chose it over other ways of making overnight oats.

You’re basically going to put all of your ingredients into a container and mix them, and then you just leave them in the fridge overnight to prepare themselves without you having to do anything else. How easy is that?

There are a few tips I want to share with you so that they turn out right, because if you just try to make them on your own without following a recipe, you may have some issues. You may wonder why they didn’t turn out very well.

Let me share with you a quick and simple method for how to make overnight oats.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup of rolled oats (feel free to substitute in gluten free oats)
  • 3/4 cup of almond milk
  • 1 scoop of multi collagen protein
  • 1 tablespoon of chia seeds
  • 1/2 cup of berries- raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, etc.

Directions:

  1. Choose an airtight container that can hold all your ingredients and mix them in that container.
  2. Mix all ingredients in an airtight container.
  3. Make sure the oats are completely submerged under the liquid.
  4. Cover the container and place it in the refrigerator overnight.
  5. Your collagen overnight oats will be ready to eat in the morning.

What Ingredients Do You Need for Overnight Oats?

All you really need for this dish is rolled oats and some kind of liquid to put them in. You can use water or any kind of milk.

Of course, the kind of milk you use will determine how healthy or fattening the dish is. You can use the same amount of liquid no matter whether you’re using water or milk, though milk will make it sweeter and richer.

As you can see in the recipe I shared with you, I’ve added more than just oats and a liquid. Some chia seeds and berries as well as protein powder can make this a more filling dish. Oats are already pretty filling in and of themselves because of their high fiber content.

Anything with a lot of fiber will be filling, but you can make this feel like more of a complete meal with some added protein powder, as well as the addition of garnishes or fruits.

I like adding in chunks of fruit to my oatmeal, as it changes the texture and the flavor, and it also gives this relatively bland looking dish some visual variety. So, I may add in sliced peaches, apple, mangos, bananas, and other fruits to change up the flavor and improve the dish.

One ingredient I didn’t mention adding that you could and that’s really popular for overnight oats is yogurt. Any kind of yogurt will do, but of course, your yogurt will affect the flavor of the oatmeal. It will make it thicker and creamier, so you may want to add in some more milk or other liquid to compensate. Try changing things up with different flavors of yogurt each time.

You could also add sweeteners to the meal, like sugar, syrup, honey, and whatever else you fancy. These can be added when you’re mixing all the ingredients together or in the morning.

I would suggest mixing your ingredients first without the sweetener and then giving the dish a taste test in the morning. That way, you can determine how much sweetener you want to add or if you need any sweetener at all. Remember, if you add fruits to the dish, they will help to sweeten it.

You could also add garnishes to your overnight oats. I like sprinkling on a little sugar, but you could also try a cinnamon sugar mix or whatever other garnishes appeal to you.

There are lots of ideas out there, so don’t stop with just what I’ve given you in this article. You may find some really interesting recipes that help you take your overnight oats to the next level or give you some different flavors you wouldn’t have thought of on your own.

Health Benefits of Oats

What makes oats so healthy? The biggest nutritional value this food offers is its high fiber content. They are rich in fiber, and that makes them great for your digestive health.

Oats are also good at lowering your blood pressure and helping you to keep a proper, level blood pressure. They clean out your gut as you digest them, which helps your body produce healthy bacteria.

They’re also a good food to help you manage your weight and keep a healthy weight. That’s because they’re so filling. You won’t have to eat a lot to feel like you’ve had plenty to eat. So, you can cut down on your portion sizes.

A lot of people who don’t eat oats often will give themselves a big bowl of oats and then not be able to finish it. They just don’t realize how filling it is just by looking at the portion size.

Oats are also an excellent source of antioxidants, and you can combine those with some fruits that are a good source of antioxidants as well, like raspberries.

Eating oats is good for your skin as well, as it reduces itchiness in the skin and makes you less prone to skin irritation. Some of the nutrients in oats will benefit your entire body, and you may be surprised at some of the health benefits you get from eating this food.

They also promote healthy, regular bowel movements, easing constipation and making you less likely to get blocked up. The fiber will work its way through your entire digestive system, promoting digestive health on a large scale.

If you eat overnight oats regularly, you’ll see changes in your digestive health. You might not get stomach cramps or upset stomach as easily or as often. You may not feel nauseated as often. You may also have an easier time using the restroom, and you may feel lighter and more full of energy.

Fiber offers so many health benefits, and I’ve really just scratched the surface here with this article. Because overnight oats are such an excellent source of fiber, I do recommend you add them to your diet on a regular basis to improve digestive health and boost the nutrition levels in your body.

Are overnight oats healthy? Yes, they provide you with all the same benefits of regular oats that you might make on your stovetop. Preparing them this way in the refrigerator does not diminish their nutritional value, so feel free to use this dish as a part of a healthy diet.

Try making this dish the night before and enjoy a breakfast with zero prep time in the morning. If you’re one of those people who’s always rushing out the door and can barely make yourself coffee or grab a piece of fruit to eat, try this instead. You can take it on the go, and you won’t even need a drink with it.

It may take some time to adjust the consistency to the perfect level for you, but you’ll get it pretty quickly. If you don’t like how dry the oats are when you make them, you can always add a little more liquid.

blue chia seed pudding in glasses topped with berries
By Ellis Francis Nutrition

How to Make Blue Chia Pudding

Are you looking for a snack that is gluten free, paleo friendly, and completely vegan? Blue chia pudding is a great snack to have in between meals, as a dessert, or to serve as your breakfast. It’s not just compatible with a lot of different diets, but it’s also rich in nutrients.

They say food that’s good for you often doesn’t taste very good, but blue chia pudding is the exception.

What Is Blue Chia Pudding?

Blue chia pudding contains blue spirulina and chia seeds combined with plant milk to make a completely vegan and dairy free dish.

You may think that a lightly colored pudding like this has a ton of dairy, but it doesn’t have to if you’re using plant milk as a substitute. This dish can also be made with regular dairy milk, but it’s not necessary.

It tastes just as good with plant milk.

One thing I really like about this dish is that it only takes a few minutes to make and there is very little cleanup for you to do afterwards.

It’s a good source of omega-3 fatty acids which are good for your heart. It’s also rich in minerals protein, and fiber. That’s why I say it makes a good breakfast, because it can be very nourishing and filling.

After you’ve had a serving of pudding, you may feel like you have energy for a while and may not need to eat for several hours.

One common misconception about this dish is that it uses food coloring, but that’s not necessary either. There are no artificial dyes used to make blue chia pudding or any food coloring. Yet, it still has a vibrant blue color, which is really fun, and your kids will probably love that.

What Is Blue Spirulina?

For those who have never had it, a description of spirulina can be a little bit off-putting. For people who are always looking for interesting healthy foods to try, spirulina may already be familiar to them. This is an algae that’s bluish green in color and is sourced from lakes and ponds.

Does blue spirulina have health benefits? It’s actually very nutrient rich and good for you. It’s a good source of antioxidants, so you may want to use it if you’re not feeling well or you want to prevent yourself from getting sick.

It’s also good for your digestive health and for maintaining proper blood pressure. You can use it to improve your energy levels as well. Blue spirulina is considered a superfood, so I could probably write an entire article on its health benefits.

The spirulina algae is typically a combination of blue and green colors, but to get the blue spirulina chia pudding look, the blue color has to be extracted from that.

This doesn’t add any manmade components to the dish or processes that dilute and detract from the nutrient value of spirulina.

When the blue color is extracted, it’s made into a powder. At that point, it has very little flavor, so it can be added to dishes like chia pudding without affecting the flavor.

That lets you create a flavor that’s pleasing to you and without worrying about the effect the spirulina algae is having on the taste profile.

How to Make Blue Chia Pudding

Ingredients:

  • 1 teaspoon of blue spirulina powder
  • 1/4 cup of chia seeds
  • 3/4 cup of unsweetened plant milk
  • 1/2 cup of full fat coconut milk
  • 1 teaspoon of Maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla

Directions:

  1. Put all of your ingredients into a bowl and combine them using a spoon. You know all your ingredients are combined once there’s no dry powder specks left or dry seeds.
  2. Allow the pudding to rest for 8 minutes, and then stir it again to get rid of any clumps that might be there.
  3. Put the pudding into a covered container and let it rest in the fridge for an hour. This will allow it to cool and thicken.
  4. Before serving the pudding, stir it once more. You want to make sure that you’re stirring the pudding really well, as you need to get rid of any dry seed pockets that could mess with the texture.
  5. You may need to prepare the coconut milk before you mix it with the other ingredients. For best results, put the can into a bowl of hot water to warm.
  6. Leave it there for 15 minutes and then shake the can well before opening it up. This helps to break the cream up that may appear on the top of the coconut milk. Once that’s broken down, it’s easier to mix everything together and combine it smoothly.

You can make some substitutions on this dish, changing out coconut milk for any other kind of plant-based milk. I use coconut milk because of how creamy it is, so other substitutes will make a thinner less rich dish.

You can also switch out the maple syrup for any kind of sweetener you like, like honey, and even mashed up banana works well.

How to Store Blue Chia Pudding

How do you store blue chia pudding to make sure it doesn’t go bad? It could be stored in the fridge for as long as four days, as long as it’s placed in an airtight container. A plastic or glass container work fine, and you can even put it into a jar for storage.

How to freeze blue chia pudding? If you follow the recipe I gave you above, you will have blue chia putting that can be stored in the freezer for as long as three months.

It can be stored in a freezer safe container of any kind, and then you can thaw it out at room temperature in about an hour. Before you serve it or eat it yourself, make sure you stir it thoroughly.

If there are any yogurt layers on your pudding (as some people do add yogurt to their dish), it should not be stored in the freezer.

How to Store Blue Spirulina

When you buy spirulina, it can be stored in an airtight bag at room temperature. It doesn’t need to be refrigerated until you open the bag. At that point, it should be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

What Is the Difference between Black and White Chia Seeds?

You can choose between black or white chia seeds for this dish and many others, and you may be wondering if there is a benefit to using one color of chia seed over another.

The reality is that they both offer the same nutritional benefits and the same taste. You can use them interchangeably, but of course the black ones will be more visible.

Can You Use Dairy Milk Instead of Plant Milk?

You don’t have to stick with plant milk like almond or soy milk for this dish. You can use dairy milk instead if you’re not trying to make a vegan dish.

It works just the same, you can use the same amount. Your flavor profile will change slightly, but that’s probably what you’re looking for if you’re using dairy milk rather than a plant milk.

What If My Chia Pudding Is Too Thin?

If you’ve made the chia pudding according to the directions above and it still comes out too thin, you can fix it.

There are a few different ways you could fix it, like adding a thickening agent like cornstarch, or you could add some yogurt to it as well.

Probably the best way to thicken up chia pudding and keep the same flavor and texture is to add more chia seeds. As you mix these in, they’ll thicken the pudding, and you want to be careful about adding too much so that you’re pudding doesn’t become too thick.

Is Chia Pudding Good for You?

There are plenty of health benefits to chia pudding, and I’ve covered a lot of them earlier in this article. The high fiber content means it’s good for your digestive system.

The high protein content makes it good for helping you lose weight and feel full so you don’t feel like you need to eat as much.

There are also a lot of nutrients and minerals in this dish that are good for your overall health.

Can I Blend Chia Pudding in a Blender?

If you mix this dish by hand, it will have a thick, gel-like texture to it. It might come out a little thicker and heavier than you’re wanting, so blending it is a good option to help thin it out a little bit and make it creamier.

Just put your ingredients into the blender without mixing them or you can stir them together first and see how they turn out that way before adding them to the blender. Then, just cover the blender and process for about 30 seconds.

Woman Legs in Black Bikini with Tan Lines
By Jennifer Whyte Beauty

When Can You Shower after a Spray Tan?

If you want your spray tan to last, you’re going to have to take good care of it.

Tanning experts will tell you caring for your tan starts before you even have it applied. Of course, it’s even more important to preserve your tan after it’s been applied.

You may have questions about what you can and can’t do following a tan. One of the questions we see most often about what you’re allowed to do or what’s recommended after your tan is how soon you can take a shower following the tanning process.

Spray tan is a bit different from a natural tan or using a tanning bed to get the desired look. There are special care instructions you need to follow to make sure that the tan stays in place and you don’t have to redo it too soon.

With that in mind, let’s talk about showering after a tan- what you need to know and how long you need to wait.

How Long to Wait After Spray Tan to Shower?

Recommendations will vary from one tanning expert to the next, but the question of when can you shower after spray tan is probably most safely answered by saying 4 to 8 hours.

That gives your tan enough time to set and not be easily washed off. There’s a range there, as you can see, so you may be wondering if there are different factors that affect how long you have to wait.

Our recommendation is simply to wait 8 hours if possible, but you could go for your shower as early as four hours after the spray tan. The longer you wait, however, the better.

It’s not advisable to put off your shower for a whole day, though. What we do recommend is that you schedule the tan for early in the day so that you give yourself plenty of time between when you get that and when you would normally go for a shower.

You may also want to avoid working out and making your body sweat too much. The perspiration can be rough on the spray tan, washing it away or affecting its integrity at least a little.

What happens when you do shower after a spray tan is applied? You’ll probably notice some of the tanner washing down the drain as you clean yourself, but that’s perfectly fine.

If you’ve waited about 8 hours or so to have your shower, the tanning spray will already have done its work. You won’t lose any of the bronzed look just by taking a shower at that point. You will simply be getting rid of some of the residual surface tan that didn’t permeate your skin cells.

It shouldn’t affect how tanned you appear, even though you see some of it washing away. There will likely be some extra solution hanging out on your skin that needs to be washed away to allow your pores to open up and your skin to be healthy.

That’s why we recommend that you don’t wait too long to have your shower.

The extra tanning solution that’s stuck to your skin does need to be washed off and shouldn’t be left for a full 24 hours, if you can help it. If it’s not washed off in a timely manner, it can clog your pores and cause irritation, rashes, and breakouts, in some cases.

What to Do to Protect Your Skin after a Tan

You want to be careful about how you treat your skin following a spray tan. There’s a lot that could go wrong with that tan, and it could come off prematurely. There are few things you can do to protect your skin after you’ve had a spray tan.

Try to Avoid Getting Wet

It’s not just the shower you need to stay away from for several hours after a spray tan; you should stay away from any moisture that gets on the parts of your skin that had been spray tanned.

This means sweating, washing, taking a dip in the pool, and anything else where water could touch your tanned skin.

Out of all these, sweating will probably be the least damaging to the tan, but you still want to reduce your risk of losing some of the tan and try to keep your skin dry for the next few hours.

Wear Loose Fitting Clothes

It’s best to keep tight fitting clothes off your skin as much as possible.

They could press into the skin and the tan, pulling some of the tan off with them. If you want your tan to last, try to wear clothes that don’t stick close to your skin for the next 4 to 8 hours.

Be Careful about What You Put on Your Skin

If you’re used to putting lotions, skin creams, fragrances, and other substances on your skin, you should avoid doing that for the next few hours as well. These all contain liquids that can damage the integrity of the tan.

It’s better just to do without them for a little while. In fact, you should avoid oil-based skin applications until the tan has completely faded. These could pull the tan spray off, even after it’s been on your skin for an entire day.

Shave Gently

Shaving yourself can remove some of the tanning spray as well. As long as the tan is on your body and giving you a bronzed look, you want to shave very gingerly.

How to Shower after a Spray Tan

If you’ve waited about 8 hours from the time you got your spray tan and you’re ready to shower, there are some guidelines you should follow for that first shower.

Don’t try to scrub your skin really clean that first time. Yes, you want to clean yourself and get rid of the excess tanning solution, but scrubbing out your skin can remove more tanning solution than you intend to.

You shouldn’t use any soap at all, as that will remove a lot of tanning solution and keep it from developing and solidifying like it should.

That first shower ought to be a quick rinse. It should be just enough to wash all of your skin down, and you don’t want to rub scrub, exfoliate, or soap yourself.

No soap should be used at all until you’ve had the tan on your body for at least 24 hours. This will help you achieve the best results and get the bronzed look you’re going for.

If you do want to rub yourself down a little bit for a better clean, you can use your hands to do so, but do it gently. We understand you might not feel incredibly clean coming out of the shower the first time, but that’s the price you pay for using spray tan.

While the spray tan is applied and until it fades out completely, you should be very gentle with your showers.

Use shower products that contain no sulfates or parabens, and make sure you’re not scrubbing your skin roughly but rather patting it clean and patting it dry.

If you can manage all of that, your spray tan should stay in place for a while.

coconut oil in jar next to coconuts
By Jennifer Whyte Beauty, Haircare

How to Wash Coconut Oil out of Hair

Coconut oil is a great way to give your hair shine and hydration, making it so much easier to brush or comb out. However, if you’re using coconut oil regularly, it can leave behind a greasy residue in your hair.

That’s true of any oil, and as good as this one is for your hair, you will want to clean it out if you put too much of it in at one time. It’s easy to overdo it at times, but we’ve got you covered with a guide for how to wash coconut oil out of hair.

How to Wash Coconut Oil out of Hair with Conditioner

Conditioner works pretty well to get out coconut oil, especially when you pair it with a clarifying shampoo. These two working together are excellent if you are trying to wash coconut oil out of hair, and they remove dirt and impurities that may be hiding there as well.

Too much coconut oil hanging out in your hair, it tends to attract dirt, loose hair, and other particles you don’t want there.

If you want your hair to look shiny and clean again, you can use a combo of conditioner and shampoo.

You can use these as you regularly would to clean your hair, and they’ll do a fine job washing the extra coconut oil out.

However, we would recommend choosing shampoo and conditioner that are designed to clean up oily roots. Some of the shampoos and conditioners that do that, however, may dry out your ends.

Look for a product that is good for hydrating and purifying, and there are some excellent options out there that do both.

How to Wash Coconut Oil out of Hair without Shampoo

So, what do you do if you don’t have any shampoo available, but you want to clean that extra coconut oil out of your hair? While shampoo works really well at cleansing oily substances out from your hair, you don’t absolutely need it.

You could use a scalp scrub instead. There are a variety of these out there, with some made from apricot seeds and other natural components that do a good job of getting rid of any oil that might be stuck in your hair.

Look for something that works gently so it doesn’t damage your hair and provides nourishment. If you are using a quality scalp scrub and really working it in, when you’re finished, your head can feel really refreshed and revitalized.

Scalp exfoliators are excellent at removing extra oil. If you don’t clean out that oil quickly, your hair can look flat and greasy, so using something like a scalp scrub is really effective.

It is designed for getting down to the roots and all across the top of your head as well, so it does an excellent job of penetrating through the hair to clean out all the oil.

How to Wash Coconut Oil out of Hair with Shampoo

Dry shampoo is a product that can work on your hair to cleanse it out without you needing to shower and rinse the shampoo out afterwards.

You can use it on your hair while your hair is dry, which means it’s a lot more versatile than regular shampoo.

This is actually one of the most effective products if you’re looking for a method for how the wash coconut oil out of your hair. It’s so effective and really easy to use. It’s actually designed to soak up and absorb the excess oils that are in your hair. Once you’ve worked the dry shampoo into your hair, it leaves your hair feeling balanced and refreshed.

To use it:

  1. Apply the shampoo throughout your hair, working it all the way to the roots. In fact, you want to focus on the roots, as that is probably where a lot of the extra coconut oil is chilling.
  2. Put the majority of the dry shampoo there at the roots and then spread the rest of it lightly throughout the remainder of your hair.
  3. Once the dry shampoo has been worked all through your hair, you can brush the strands out. There’s no rinsing and no washing, you’ll have to dry your hair up afterwards.

This is such a great tool to use when you’re on the go for work or traveling for leisure. You can keep some dry shampoo in your bag and pull it out to work into your hair whenever you feel like your hair is a little greasy or oily.

How to Wash Coconut Oil out of Your Hair but Leaving the Hair Shiny

A lot of the methods we’ve given you so far for how to wash coconut oil out of hair can leave your hair feeling a little dry. Not all of them are nourishing, rejuvenating, and moisturizing.

The shampoo and conditioner method will probably work the best to leave your hair looking shiny but get rid of the oil at the same time.

If you’re concerned about a hair product damaging your hair and drying it out, making it look flat and lifeless, then definitely go for the shampoo and conditioner combo.

This is going to help your hair retain its shininess, especially if you’re using a nourishing, quality set of products that are healthy for your hair.

Some of the other methods we’ve given you work really well removing the oil, but they also remove a lot of the moisture from your hair and dry it out.

That’s not always the best way to handle the problem, but sometimes that’s what you have to do when you’re in a tight spot and your hair looks greasy.

So, if you want to know how to properly wash coconut oil out of hair, a combination of shampoo and conditioner is the way to go.

How to Wash Coconut Oil out of Dyed Hair

If you have dyed hair and you accidentally put too much coconut oil in there, you may be concerned about how the coconut oil will affect your hair color. The good news is that in most cases, it won’t.

Coconut oil doesn’t have the ability to strip color, fade color or lift color.

So, it shouldn’t have any effect on the color of your hair, if you’re sporting dyed hair. Because it doesn’t fade your hair color at all, there shouldn’t be a need to touch up the hair afterwards.

It’s fine to use any of the methods we’ve given you above for cleaning excess coconut oil out of your hair, even if you have dyed hair. There’s no need to worry about your hair color fading or being stripped off because of the cleansing method you are using.

Of course, you want to make sure you’re using products that are gentle on your hair and your hair color. Not all of them will be, but it’s easy enough to find ones that get rid of the coconut oil and don’t have any effect on your hair dye.

How to Use Coconut Oil

So, you ended up with too much coconut oil in your hair and you want to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Using the methods we gave you above, you can cleanse out the extra coconut oil, and then here are some tips to help you keep from putting too much in your hair in the first place.

When you’re applying coconut oil, don’t pour it into the palm of your hand. That’s an easy way to use too much. Our recommendation is to apply it to your fingertips.

This helps you keep better control, and it encourages you to be more careful about how much you’re using at once. Just cover your fingertips with oil and then spread that throughout your hair, working through the entire length of your strands.

You should use coconut oil sparingly because it’s really easy to use too much and end up with greasy, matted hair.

When that happens, you can just use one of the fixes we gave you above, but there’s another suggestion we want to give you that should help you not overdo it with the coconut oil.

You don’t have to use pure, concentrated coconut oil. Instead, you can use hair products that have coconut oil in them. These may be products you’re more familiar with using, so you’re not as likely to overdo it with them.

There are a lot of nourishing treatment serums and sculpting gels, as well as holding gels that are imbued with coconut oil. These give you all the benefits of coconut oil, like the shining, moisturizing, and nourishing qualities that it is known for.

However, they’re all pretty easy to use, and you may be very familiar with how to work with them in your hair.

Coconut oil is so good for your hair color but there are some dangers with overdoing it and using too much at once. Hopefully, our guide will help you avoid some of those problems.

 

 

woman wearing white crop top with blue jeans on grey background
By Jennifer Whyte Fashion

How to Make a Crop Top Out of a T-Shirt without Cutting

You can turn your T-shirt into a crop top for a really cute look, but you may be concerned about how cutting the shirt will destroy it and you won’t ever be able to use it for a full-length T-shirt anymore.

You don’t actually have to cut your shirt to get a crop top, and I’ll show you a few ways you can do this. Yes, there are multiple methods for cropping your T-shirt without having to take a pair of scissors to it.

Keep reading to see some of the best methods to modify your favorite T-shirt for a breezy summer style.

Methods for Making a Crop Top Out of a T-Shirt

The Knotted Crop Top

The quickest and simplest method is to make a knot in your T-shirt. You have probably seen this version of the crop top around, and it won’t ruin your shirt at all. It makes it wrinkly after you’ve undone the knot, but you’ll fix that by the next washing cycle.

  1. To do this method, bunch up the bottom half of your T-shirt, pulling all of that material to the center of your torso above your navel.
  2. Hold the material with your left hand (or nondominant hand) and pull as much of the material through your hand as you can and extend your left forefinger.
  3. Then, tie a knot around your finger to hold the material of the shirt in place.
  4. You can tuck in the little tail end of the knot that sticks out so that your knot creates a rosebud look.

That’s all you need to do, and you have a really simple crop top look without damaging your shirt.

You can also tuck the knot under the bottom of your shirt so you have an even line across the bottom. These are just a few different ways you can style this look for your preference.

The Bow Tie Crop Top

If you have a longer shirt where tying it into a single knot in the center of the shirt would make a very large and unattractive knot, then you can try a different tying method.

With this crop top method, you’ll be pulling material from both sides of the bottom of your shirt, creating two lengthy bunches. You can tie these together in the center in the same way you would tie your shoelaces. Cross the two lengths of material, pulling one end underneath the other, and then pull it tight.

If there’s enough material left over, you can create a bow tie look there. Otherwise, just tying the two ends together can look cute as well.

You may also want to try double tying your two ends so that they don’t become loose.

Hair Tie Crop Top

Here’s another super simple method that works well, and you’ll need a hair tie to pull it off.

  1. Start by pulling your shirt up from the bottom, and pull it up as high as you want it to be for when you’re finished cropping it.
  2. Then, fold the excess underneath that crop line and pull the shirt from the back to create a length of material.
  3. Holding that in place with one hand, you’ll take your hair tie with the other hand and tie that in place. You can just twist your hair tie around the bunched fabric in the back of your shirt as many times as you need to secure the extra material.

For a slightly neater look, you can fold that bunched bit of fabric and the hair tie underneath the crop line in the back of your shirt, creating a more even and smooth crop line all around your body.

Bra Wedge Crop Top

You can use your bra to secure part of your shirt for a crop top as well. This method requires you to pull the fabric from the bottom of your shirt upward as high as you want it for the look you are going for. You can roll up the sides of your shirt evenly to do this.

Then, you secure the underside of the shirt into your bra, all the way around your body. The bra should hold it in place and keep it from coming loose, so long as you have a closefitting bra.

You can adjust he crop level once the shirt is secured into your bra. You may need to adjust how much material is tucked into your bra at once so that it stays secure as long as you are wearing the crop top look.

Extra material on the back of the shirt can be tucked into the bra as well, so you have a fairly neat look, but there will be loose hanging fabric with this method, and you’re not getting a very tight fit with the shirt overall once it is finished.

Folded Crop Top

The final method I want to share for how to make a crop top out of a T-shirt without cutting is to simply fold that sides of the shirt. That sounds really simple, but if you’re not doing it properly, you may end up with your folds rolling down on their own as you go about your day.

So, you can simply grab your shirt by the two sides at the bottom and roll it in a tight roll upwards as high as you want it. Keeping your rolls really tight prevents them from coming loose.

Depending on the material you have, the rules may stay in place pretty well throughout the day on their own, but to ensure that you preserve the style of the crop top no matter what you’re doing, you can secure the rules in place using hair pins.

Some people may prefer safety pins because of how secure they keep everything, but that pokes holes in your shirt, and we are trying to avoid any kind of cutting or puncturing with this tutorial.

So, take two hairpins and secure your rolls of the shirt on each side. You can roll the hair pin inside so that it’s covered up and not visible.