Green Is The New Blonde... But Maybe Not

Hey Everyone. On my last post, my friend Mia commented that she was wondering how to make your hair not so green from the pool! Today, I will show you how. Personally, I like having that chlorine tint of green in my hair, hence my blog's name Green Is The New Blonde, but some people don't enjoy it. Funny story, one time, I went to the hair salon, and they asked if I wanted to get the green dye out of my hair. I was like no! That isn't dye its chlorine tint! And then everybody started laughing at me... obviously, since I'm really funny. Anyway, here are a few tips to get rid of your chlorine filled hair whether you are a swimmer, water polo player, or a person that just likes to get in the pool!

This is literally what my hair looks like after swim season.
Photo Courtesy of : Hair Colors Ideas

Shampoos

The first thing to make sure that your hair doesn't turn green or get fried by the chlorine is to use special shampoos. I know that many different brands have them such as Swim Ultra and Paul Mitchell both have certain shampoos that get rid of chlorine and the green tint, but the best one to use, by far, is Malibu. Malibu not only takes the chlorine out, but also makes your hair stronger and healthier. It can be purchased at the main website, Malibu, for $15 per 9oz of shampoo or conditioner, or you can get a better deal of $12 at Aquaholics which can be bought in store or online.

Home Remedies

For those of you that like crafts and DIY's, I will tell you some home remedies that are more natural for your hair.

1. Apple Cider Vinegar :

The first one uses our new hair breakthrough ingredient : apple cider vinegar. Besides helping you lower your chances of diabetes and low blood pressure, it is also good for your hair! It clears it out of all the toxins, such as chlorine, and gives it a real shiny look. Even if you don't ever have contact with pool water, this remedy is still an amazing hair strengthener. To make the apple cider vinegar hair treatment, you mix together one part apple cider vinegar and four parts water. Mix this together and put it in a travel bottle. You can use this mixture in the shower (it acts as a conditioner) once a week in your hair until the green tint comes out.

Photo Courtesy of : Bakes for Breast Cancer

Photo Courtesy of : Mirror 

apple cider vinegar + water








2. Baking Soda :

Another home remedy that also works is the baking soda remedy. For this one, you mix one tablespoon baking soda and one cup water into a similar travel bottle. Squirt some of this mixture into your hair while in the shower. It is supposed to act as a both a shampoo to strengthen your hair and a conditioner to smoothen your hair.

Photo Courtesy of : Grime Scrubbers

Photo Courtesy of : Mirror

       baking soda + water







Simple Tricks

Not everybody is crafty and loves DIY's, so here are a few simple tricks that are easy to use anytime and anywhere.


1. Wear A Swim Cap :

This is not only a very obvious trick, but also a powerful one. If you are a swimmer, and your hair is still getting wet by the chlorine water, then double up! Wear a thin latex cap underneath your thick silicone cap to keep your hair dry. For those of you that don't want to wear a cap while hanging out at the pool with your friends (even though I don't see why you wouldn't want to wear one...), follow the next trick.

Sharpei's girls know whats up with their flower caps.
Photo Courtesy of : TV Guide

2. Wet Your Hair Before :

Wetting your hair before getting in the water helps to make sure that the chlorine doesn't get soaked up into your silky strands. When your hair is dry when entering the pool, the chlorine water absorbs into it right away because there is nothing to stop it. But, if it is wet, the fresh water acts as a barrier between your hair strands and the chlorine water.

Well, that about concludes all of my ideas for keeping your hair chlorine-free or to get the green tint out. Comment down below if you have any other tricks! Stay tuned for more posts coming soon!

Keep Your Bod Feeling Like God

Hey party people, what's up. So, today I was thinking about how much my body was sore from previous swimming and water polo practices and decided to post something on how to keep your body feeling great! The most injury prone areas on my body are my knees, back, and shoulders. These tend to get overworked from the activities that I do, so I have to replenish them with a few exercises. The following exercises were taken and taught from various personal sources, and they work great for me! The following picture is of me procrastinating:

Photo Courtesy of: Me

Knees

To start off, we will talk about the needs for knees! I am just full of funny puns right now. If your knees tend to get kinks and pain in them like mine do, then these exercises and stretches will do you wonders! What most people don't understand is that it's not always a problem with your actual knee that is causing you pain, but more with your IT bands. You need to make sure that these are loosening them up with either a foam roller or a massage.

Stretching My IT Bands with a Foam Roller
Photo Courtesy of: Me

Anyway, the first actual knee exercise is the sitting exercise. The purpose of this is to get your glutes (butt muscles) and hip muscles stronger so less pressure can be taken off of your knees. To start off, you need to have a chair directly behind you. In this exercise, you are basically sitting down on a chair and standing back up again. Start with your knees shoulder-width apart. You are going to bend down until your bum barely touches the chair. As soon as you feel it touch, you bring it right back up. Basically, you are sitting down and standing up again. The key tip for this exercise is to make sure that your knees don't go past your feet because this can cause unwanted pressure inside the knee cap. You should do 10 reps of this exercise maybe once a day, depending on the condition of your knees.

Sit & Stand Stretch
Photo Courtesy of: Me

Back

Side View of Prayer's Stretch

The next stretch is for your back. After a few weeks, my back tends to get really tight which allows for several knots and kinks to appear. In order to release this tension, I do the prayer stretch. Many of you have probably heard of it before, since it is a popular yoga stretch. You want to make sure that you are doing it on a soft surface, so there isn't any pressure on your knees. The first thing to do is to get down on your knees and then drop your tailbone down to the ground. Next you will reach your hands out as far as you can in front of you and press down. You can try reaching your hands to the different sides as well for a good stretch on the sides of your back. I would recommend to do this stretch whenever your back is feeling tight.

Front View of Prayer's Stretch
Photo Courtesy of: Me

Shoulders


The shoulders are probably one of the most injury-prone areas on one's body. They are very complex and take a while to heal without proper care. I wouldn't recommend doing too much for your shoulders, for if they really start to hurt, you should go see a physical therapist (the link is a physical therapy place that I attend sometimes). I have plenty of experience from previous shoulder injuries from swimming, and they are not fun to deal with! A stretch that I would say helps a little is the double triangle. For me, it seems to release some of the tension, and hopefully it does for you, too! You can do this stretch either kneeling, sitting, or standing. Basically, you put the back side of each of your hands against your back and press. You should feel a stretch in the crease between your two shoulder muscles.

Double Triangle Stretch
Photo Courtesy of: Me

Well, I hope that this helped you in some way, shape, or form! Stay tuned for more posts coming soon!

Replenish The Works

Most sports require a lot of physical and mental strength. That is why it is important for athletes to take care of every aspect of their body. In this post, I will explain how you are supposed to keep your body running while still breaking it down through sports and activities.

What would you rather drive?

Not Taken-Care-of Car
Photo Courtesy of: Friedman Archives

Taken-Care-of Car
Photo Courtesy of : The Internet Pet Vet

The most important thing that your body needs to survive, even, is water. Without water in your system, your brain can't think correctly, so you get headaches, nausea, and breathing problems. This will happen if your just sitting around at home doing nothing. Imagine if you are working hard at a sport, such as water polo, for several hours a day, and you have nothing to drink. Your body pretty much shuts down because it has nothing to work off of or REPLENISH it with. I really need to start drinking more water, myself. I don't think that I have had a glass of water for the past three days. This is a really bad habit of mine, and I think I am going to go downstairs and grab a glass of water right now!

Okay, I am back.  The next important thing besides water is eating healthy. Every meal should be balanced with vegetables, dairy, protein, and carbohydrates, especially before a game or practice. I am not very big on dieting because I find that more harmful on your body than good for it. The most commonly used diet is one without certain proteins and carbohydrates. Your body needs these to perform everyday activities, so living without them should not be an option. Another meal that is important is your post-workout meal. After every practice of either swimming or water polo, I usually mix up a big glass of chocolate milk! The dairy in this is proven to rebuild all of the muscles that were broken down during the workout. Click here for an article written on all of the benefits of this amazing drink. Besides being great for your body, it tastes great, too!

The next part of your body that needs replenishing is your skin. The one thing that I can say for this is MOISTURIZE! A water-sport such as water polo requires you to be in a pool for a long time. Certain chemicals in pools can make your skin very dry and tight. That means it is important to apply lotion to your face and skin after every practice or game. Without moisturizing straight after contact with water, you are drying out your skin and basically destroying it. Your body lotion and your face lotion should be two different things because the skin on your face tends to be more sensitive. Try Nivea Soft Moisturizing Cream because it has no added scents and is great for the more sensitive-skinned people.

Nivea Soft Moisturizing Cream
Photo Courtesy of : Chandigarh Store

If I want to become the best athlete I can be, I need to keep my body replenished as well as I can.

Stay tuned for more posts coming soon, and make sure to keep replenishing the works!