I set out on a challenge. A letter a day. And today, with just a few minutes to spare, I am about to reach the finish line.

To be honest, I wasn’t very keen on taking up this challenge. Already pressed for time, with a toddler to look after, forever exhausted, it seemed impossible to me. But as they say, there’s always someone watching over you. For me, it came in the form of my dear friend and confidante Tamanna. She encouraged me to join, pushed me to keep going and motivated me to finish the challenge. Thanks Tammy!

This month has been about rediscovering myself as a writer. I still have miles to go but at least I have started.

I remember April 1 and 2 and 3 and maybe more, when it took me two days just to write one blog. When staring at a blank screen was all I did. And thinking about these last few days when I have written on over ten topics. Some in less than an hour.

I remember feeling under-confident, doubting myself. What if I am not able to write anything? What if no one likes my work? What if I end up making mistakes, etc etc. All those worries are now miles away.

In the last four weeks, I have rediscovered my own grit and level of determination. Deep fire within me egged me on. There were days when I felt that I was wasting my time if I wasn’t writing. All my focus and thoughts were on this challenge which kept me away from harbouring negative thoughts or dwelling on meaningless worldly concerns.

The last few days – the determination of completing this challenge, of staying awake till 4 AM to write blogs and waking up at 7 AM to look after my toddler – have felt nothing less than an adventure-packed, fast-paced movie.

The excitement I felt last night when I realised I was just two blogs from successfully completing this challenge was akin to staying awake on the eve of the maiden international vacation. My mind simply refused to switch off and I kept thinking of what I wanted to write on next.

Thanks, Blog Chatter for giving me an opportunity to feel the zeal again.

The post Zip Zap Zoom appeared first on Raising Rehaan.

I remember writing this letter to myself sometime last year. Motherhood is a 24/7, exhilarating yet exhausting job. Bottle and Breastfeedings, diaper change, laundry, cooking, organizing activities for the child, home schooling and later school homework. Sometime during this time, life passes you by. Mommyhood is a never-ending responsibility. One that consumes all your time and energy. While initially, the child is totally dependent on the mother and his only solace in this big bright world, being completely immersed in the role is inevitable.

When the celebration of the arrival of the new baby fades away, when the excitement of the latest addition becomes old news, when the responsibilities of motherhood take over, is when the tug of war starts. The war between a woman and a mother.

We look in the mirror yet we cant find ourselves.

WHY?

Often mothers lose themselves in the world of motherhood. Our priorities move from ourselves to the baby long after the baby turns into a toddler and then a young child. We immerse ourselves so deep into looking after and caring for the baby that we end up neglecting ourselves. We are often so busy taking care of everyone else that we neglect to take care of ourselves. And if we fail to take care of ourselves, how can we take care of our children?

Many mothers find themselves at this crossroad where they are torn between taking out time for self vs spending time with the baby. And if somehow they do manage to grab some time out for themselves, they are ridden by the guilt of having prioritized themselves over their children. They demonstrate to the kids that they are low on their own list of priorities.

Mommies! STOP! BREATHE! RELAX! It doesn’t have to be a tug of war! Small things make a huge difference.

• Hand over the baby for a few hours. Your baby is loved just the same by your husband and family as you.
• When they offer help, grab it!
• Stop multi-tasking as if your life depends on it.
• Learn to say no
• Do not judge yourself
• Go for a walk
• Exercise
• Meditate
• Go to a coffee shop – even if you are not a coffee drinker
• Go on a date night with hubby
• Meet friends
• Listen to music
• Go for a movie
• Read a book
• Sleep
• Take out time for that hobby you loved
• Go for a spa
• Oil your hair
• Remember who YOU are.

Remember you cannot pour from an empty vessel. Take care of yourself. Start giving yourself time. Spend time rediscovering the most important person in your life – YOU.

The post Why YOU Matters appeared first on Raising Rehaan.

Once you graduate, the constant pressure to get married (especially for women) starts piling up. When you get married, the next barrage of well-meaning advice is to have a baby – complete your family – they say. Oh well, alright. And along comes a baby.

The baby hasn’t even started walking confidently yet and look, there’s the bombardment again – yes. You guessed it right. The baby needs company. Complete your family. You don’t want him to be alone after you’re gone. Blah blah.

Even before I got married, when my husband I were dating, we were clear on how we wanted our family to grow. That’s where communication plays a major role. Talk. Discuss. Agree (or agree to disagree). There were two things we both agreed to:

1. We will not rush into starting a family
2. We will have only one child

I am glad that we were able to stick to our commitments.

1. No matter how long you’ve known your partner and how deep your love is, the real compatibility test starts when you start living together. There are behaviours you discover, quirks you try to accept, and a family you get to know. There are agreements and arguments, celebrations and compromise, love and lash-outs. The child changes the equation between a husband and wife. From “two is company” you jump to “three is a party”, leaving you with no time for yourselves for a while. It is a journey that challenges you and tests you at your most vulnerable point. And until the man and woman cruise on smooth waters, getting a child into this world is a risky matter (purely our opinion).

We had been married three and a half years before we embarked on the parenthood journey with all our valour. And even then, there are days when we find ourselves not on the same side of the court. But we’ve learned and we’re still sailing.

2. Only one child (whether by choice or through necessity). Phew! Now this one is a little difficult to explain especially to those who think one is not enough. If you and your partner have decided to have one child, you will find a lot of people offering you unsolicited advice. After all is said and done, how many children you wish to have is solely your decision as parents. Given the times we are living in, and how unpredictable this world is becoming, this decision took a lot of thought.

• We, as parents, are happy to have one child. And as parents, it’s our decision to decide how many children we want to get into this world
• With the way the world is progressing (read a study that by 2050, all aquatic life will disappear), pollution, global warming, natural calamities on the rise, forest fires etc, why would I want to bring more lives on this planet that is already struggling to live.
• Any newspaper you pick up is full of violence, of shootouts, of abductions and rapes and murders. Living in the times of fear. Is this the society I want to raise my children in? Nope.

Yes, we were aware that no matter what decision we make, there will always be another to counter. Sharing with you a few points we as parents often ponder upon before making that humungous decision. A few benefits as well as challenges of having an only child.

Plus / Pros / Benefits –

• More time to devote to your child so the child gets undivided love and attention. Quality time with the child helping him focus more intimately on these relationships.
• Better quality of life. Let’s face it – if only incomes would increase in direct proportion to the family size! The inflow of funds is unaffected by the family size, however, the outflow and expenditure totally depend on the number of people dependent on that income. So one child = more financial stability, hence better life quality for all. An only child gets the best of everything – material things and otherwise.
• More energy – this one is a no-brainer!
• More independent child – without an elder sibling to support every step, the child will find his own footing, make friends outside of his first circle, become more social
• No sibling rivalry
• No comparisons 

Challenges:

• Growing up alone – it depends on what kind of environment do the parents foster at home. Are they around to fill the gap?
• Companionship – We all crave company our age, so do children.
• Sharing – Living with someone means sharing their space and stuff. Siblings learn that lesson pretty quickly.

Just like there are two sides to a coin, there are two perspectives towards everything. You just got to decide which one will make you happier. In the end, how a child turns out to be is totally dependent on how the child is brought up.

The post Only child? appeared first on Raising Rehaan.

It is one of the first things a couple starts to think about even before their child is born. While some couples take a lot of factors into consideration, some want the most unique name for their child. Some like it trendy, some traditional. As expectant parents, we too were super excited about what or rather who was to come. Not knowing the gender of the unborn baby only added to that excitement. Fortunately for us, neither of our families believed in consulting the pundits for a letter to pick a name from, so our options weren’t limited.

And so started the task of jotting down names that we both already liked, asking for recommendations from family and friends, picking names off our favourite TV series (skipped GoT though, imagine Tyrion or Hound going down in that list!) and movies. My friends shared excel sheets with thousands of names in them. No kidding! I am guilty of skimming past most of them though.

My husband and I looked up meanings, pronunciations, and variations of quite a few names. We discussed and disagreed, ooh and aahed and kept narrowing down the list.

Finally, around the eight month of my pregnancy, we narrowed down the names to five. Five boy names and five girl names.

And by the time it was time for the baby to arrive, we had zeroed in on one name – each for a boy and a girl.

I had really, like really wanted and prayed for a baby girl, right from the time I suspected I was pregnant till the time I was in the OT (yes C-sec because my baby refused to let go of the umbilical cord) till the very moment the doc brought the baby in front of my eyes. My gynaec asked me then “Sejal what do you think? Boy or Girl?” Even then my response was GIRL! And then she showed me my baby’s face and before she could tell me who had arrived, I was already head over heels for the little, pink bundle in front of me. That point in time, it didn’t matter what I wanted. What mattered was that I had been blessed. Blessed with the most adorable baby boy I had ever laid my eyes on. And my heart called out and welcomed the baby.

Why did we choose that name? Where did it lead us? Click on the link to finish reading the story:

https://bit.ly/2r2jZS3

This blog was originally written for World Of Moms.

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There’s no guidebook to the motherhood journey. It solely relies on instinct and experience.

When I became a mother (still has that fresh ting to it :)), I had no idea what modern-day parenting was, I didn’t know what BLW or sleep training was, I had no clues about attachment parenting or gentle parenting, I was unaware of baby-wearing and the evolution of cloth diapering, I was clueless about Montessori learning methodologies, and the list can go on and on.

All I knew was that I had been blessed with a healthy, adorable little bundle who will undoubtedly demand all my time and love. All I knew was that I was going to do the best I could for my child. I wasn’t a part of any race or a competition. I wasn’t out there trying to show “how it’s done”. I wasn’t trying to earn the title of a “good mother” or a “hands-on mother”. All I was trying to do (and still do is) what I feel is good for my child’s well-being.

As my journey progressed, I learned from my experience, I learned from those around. But the biggest and the most important lesson I learned was to listen to my mom-instincts. I confess, when I was a new mommy, there were times when I had been influenced by how other moms were dealing with motherhood. I gained insight, learned a lot of things I had no clue about, and I am forever grateful for those who made me aware and shared their experiences. But there were also times I regretted not following my gut. There were times when their hit, sure-shot formula backfired when I tried it. I realized what my elders expected me to do wasn’t always the right or the only way to do it.

When you become a mother, there are as many pieces of advice as the well-meaning people you know. It is easy to get lost in the sea of unsolicited advice you receive.

Here are my biggest learnings from my motherhood journey I have been on so far.

• TRUST your instincts. It doesn’t mean turn a deaf ear to what other experienced mothers have to say. It simply means, follow your heart. If you feel, what they say is what might work for you, go for it. But if you feel it’s not right, no matter how pressured you feel, don’t follow that advice. My golden rule has been to – Listen to all, do as your heart says.
• It’s not a race! It’s an experience. Enjoy your journey. Don’t let how others are raising their children overwhelm you. Like no two pregnancies are the same, no two children are the same. And hence, the way they are brought up will also differ.
• There is no such thing as bad parenting or good parenting. Only parents doing what they consider is the best basis their experience and capabilities.
• Learn, try, move on. Yes. There will be failures along the way. And that’s absolutely fine. Learn from your child. Get up and start walking again.
• Social media is not an expert. There is only so much an Instagram account can tell you. Yes, there are tons of insta-moms (including myself) out there, thousands of blogs (including this one) that will give help you understand this journey, but only a mother can truly understand what her child truly needs.
• Motherhood journey: Document if you want to. Maintain privacy if you think that’s how you will be comfortable. Don’t get influenced by others.
•  If there is one person you should follow, follow your doctor’s advice. And your child’s pediatrician.
• Make life simpler for yourself by blocking anyone who makes you feel inferior. Without meaning to do so, some people end up making you feel bad. Instead of feeling inspired, you end up feeling miserable. Ctl+Alt-Del. End task. Or at least distance yourself till you become stable.Unless they inspire you.

And lastly, ignore these points if you feel they won’t and don’t add value to your journey. It’s as simple as that.

We’re always learning – it doesn’t matter from whom, others or your own experiences. As long as we do what’s best for these tiny humans, is what matters.

Would love to hear about your experience and what helped you or is helping you stay a positive person. Or what have your challenges been and how are you dealing with them.

The post Motherhood appeared first on Raising Rehaan.

Parents are the biggest influencers in a child’s early age. Everything they do or don’t do will have a direct impact on the development of the child. The first five years are known as the formative years of a baby’s life. These growing up years play a fundamental role in the child’s physical, cognitive and social skills and development. It is these years that will later define your child’s personality, health, and interests.

My husband and I are like-minded in many aspects. We were both very clear about the way we wanted to raise Rehaan even before the baby arrived in this world. He is now a 28 months old toddler who adores his father and follows his every move.

So this post is dedicated to Rehaan’s father. His role-model.

And honestly, I am not surprised as Mr, Husband is an extremely involved father. He works full-time in a dynamic role that requires all his energy and time. Yet, he manages to lead a life he is happy and content with.

• He exercises (cross-fit, muscle-building, calisthenics, yoga, running) for an hour or ninety minutes every day. The brutal winters cannot stop him, the humidity does not deter him, rain only motivates him more and holidays are an excuse to exercise longer.
  • Rehaan can be seen trying to do push-ups, asanas or generally stretching in his own toddler ways trying to imitate his father.

• He reads. From books to newspapers to articles. Being an English (H) student, that habit has stayed with him over the years.
  • Rehaan likes books. Yes, there came a phase (4-5 months) where he had lost interest in books, but its back now. His books travel with him wherever we go now.
• Mr. Husband didn’t own a smartphone until last year. Yes. He belongs to an almost extinct species of humans who are not very fond of technology and had stayed away from it all for the longest time. Even now, he accesses data-based apps only at night for a while before sleeping. TV is for matches only. And that doesn’t happen very often either.
  • Rehaan has no fascination with phones or TV. Because he doesn’t see his parents glued to the idiot boxes. Ahem.. here I  will unabashedly take the credit too as Rehaan and I are together 24X7 and I’ve managed to keep him away from any kind of screen. (saving that for another day)
• Mr. Husband is an outdoor person (we have that in common. Did someone say MFEO? But since this post is about him, I’ll mention only his interests). He loves walking through nature trails and parks and being close to nature.
  • Rehaan is turning out to be the same. Not a surprise as he is simply following his parent’s footsteps.
• Mr. Hubba is an ardent football fan.
  • If you’ve been following raising_rehaan’s insta stories, you will already be familiar with how much he loves playing the game too.
• Mr. Husband is a health-nut. He is a rabbit who can survive on veggies all around the year. He is one of those who would make sure to check the ingredients label on any packed food item. No, he is not finicky, he is simply conscious of what goes into his stomach and body.
  • Rehaan loved eating veggies too. His favourite these days is Orca (bhindi). Oh! he loves pasta too (that he takes from me, so I make sure I give him the healthy version of Pasta in Daal Sauce – recipe here)

This father-son duo is truly living up to the proverb – Like Father, Like Son.

And though there are days when I forget to appreciate Mr. Husband for his support (and there are a lot of such days), I couldn’t have asked for more. He truly inspires me and everyone around him to lead a simple and healthy life. I am a proud wife and a fortunate mother to have Mr. Husband as family.

The post Like Father, Like Son appeared first on Raising Rehaan.

Parties, club hopping, designer dresses and Stuart Weitzman. Ok, maybe not Stuart, that’s taking it too far. Guccis and Louboutins.

Fancy hotels, expensive Liqueurs, and postcard photos. A larger than life lifestyle.

Perfect pout, high heels, and salon ready hair. This – while working in the kitchen which doesn’t have anything out of place or even a stain to prove that anything has ever been used.

These photos portray a life one can’t help but wish for.

That is social media for you. Where everyone (well almost) is trying to portray a life so perfect that the gullible and unsuspecting might end up feeling like complete losers.

Their picture-perfect lives, spotless homes, fancy lifestyle is what people start wishing for. What they do not realize is that it’s more often than not a sham. That the “memories” are often staged, that the “moment” is specially set up for a photo-op. In a bid to maintain the “perfect” virtual profile, they sacrifice a lot more in their real life.

That kitchen.. it was cleaned especially for the photo. And all the items which usually decorate the slab, shoved into a corner and out of the camera frame.

That picturesque snap that made you yearn to travel to the place took him hours to edit and process.

Those adorable smiles in that candid shot? Well, that’s one out of the hundred shots which were clicked that day which wasn’t blurred or unbalanced in composition.

Those parties? Those check-ins? Well, how does you paryting, getting drunk and getting clicked in a hundred different poses interest me anyway?

If we start comparing us to what we see on social media, we would never be satisfied with what we have and how we are. It’s a facade. Next time you see a profile and wish for a life like their’s, think again. Think if you really want to live in an illusion. Or would you rather live a life that’s real?

Would you like to live in a grid or a bubble or would you rather keep it real?

The post Keep it real appeared first on Raising Rehaan.

All her life she had lived a certain way. A way that was about to be altered. She wondered how she would adjust to the new life. She worried if she would be accepted for who she was, how she was. She hoped that it wouldn’t be much different from the home she had grown up in. She didn’t have even a flicker of doubt that he would help her settle in. She knew he would be her rock if need be, such was the understanding between them already. Yet there were those apprehensions, those questions which would remain a mystery, the answers she would get only with time.

She was born and brought up in a nuclear set-up. Space, independence and solitude were her dear friends. She didn’t know if she would meet them again anytime soon. So she packed up the thirty years of her existence in two suitcases and prepared for what was be her new home. Leaving behind the only life she had known, the people she had grown up with, the safety net of her home.. Parent’s home as how it would be called from now.

Before she knew it, she was there. Married to the man who loved her. With him. With his family. In her new home ready to begin the new chapter of her life. Surrounded by people she didn’t even know up until a year back and who were now her family. They say, when you get married, you don’t marry the man or the woman, you marry his or her family. And it was no different for her. As time flew by, she became one of them. She molded herself to their ways. She accepted them as her own. They reciprocated.

It was not easy for her. From a nuclear set-up to a joint family. To leave parents who had given her birth, who had held her hand while she learned to walk, who had loved her despite the tantrums and the tears, siblings she had run around the house with, had played pranks with, had screamed and sung with, all this had taken a completely different meaning.  She wasn’t scared of the responsibilities her new role brought in. She had handled much more in her life.

It was something else. She missed the sanctity of the room she was used to escaping to after a long day at work. She missed not having to smile when she didn’t feel like. She missed the peace and quiet her previous abode had allowed her for so long. She missed being her true self. She missed things she had not even noticed in the past. This paradigm shift in her life left her feeling unsettled at times. Almost dysphonic. Her “mom’s home” was no longer truly hers. Oh, she would always and forever be welcomed with open arms and without invitation. But it wasn’t the same. Her new home didn’t quite feel hers yet.

Smile – she told herself. For no one like to see a sulking face.

Such was the overnight transition of the princess to a queen.

You are a pampered Princess only in your parent’s castle. Becoming the quintessential Queen comes with responsibilities.

Over time she learned to look at what she had gained. The man who loved her and stood by her. Patiently. Holding her when she broke down missing her mom, encouraging her when she wanted to add her touch to her new home, introducing her to his clan, making sure she was a part of conversations she had no clues about.

She was fortunate to have been blessed with another father who not only treated her like his own daughter but also pampered her as one. She found a mother in law who was so unlike the typical saas that the Indian television portrays. She found another brother. One who was always there, who would always check in on her to see if she was ok, settling well into her new home. She found a sister, who made the world of a difference in making her transition easier. She had found herself a Joint Family

The post The Journey appeared first on Raising Rehaan.

A keen learner, she picked up the ropes of the corporate world pretty quickly. From a newbie to a professional, she soon garnered enough experience and appreciation to try for bigger and better roles. She got what she went after. There wasn’t an interview she wasn’t able to crack. She quickly rose through the ranks. A favourite among her audience and admired by her co-workers, she worked hard to prove her mettle. She saved most of her salary. She travelled, she explored.

Soon there was enough in her kitty to fulfil her dreams and support her family, she rewarded herself by buying herself a car. A childhood dream of being able to drive, sitting behind the wheel, zooming past the landscape, feeling the wind on her face (ok.. AC, given the unapologetic weather and pollution in her city), listening to the slight hum of music in the background.

Life was good. She had a loving clan, friends who were family. She had everything going for her. She even met someone who was perfect for her. In a whirlwind romance sort of way, they met, dated, got engaged and married – all within a few months. She was growing not just as an individual but also professionally. There was only one thing left to complete the picture. And God was kind enough to bless them with it – a baby.

She couldn’t have been happier. She was blessed. She adored her baby, spent sleepless nights making sure he was comfortable, made sure he got the best of upbringing. She was termed as a model parent. She was glad to be able to spend those crucial years with her son. Helping him through the formative years of his life.

But life changed.

As much as she loved her son, there was always something nagging her. Having worked almost all of her adult life, she didn’t know how to cope with being at home all day long. There wasn’t a moment to rest yet she felt the hours dragging by. There was something she felt that kept piercing her from within.

She felt caged. She felt suffocated. She knew she wasn’t happy. She could never be – for she wasn’t built that way. She wasn’t built to stay at home. It was the biggest dilemma she had ever faced in her life. But she admitted and accepted the fact.

She missed it.

She missed the independence. She missed working. She missed the environment. She missed the brain-storming. She missed nurturing in a different way. She missed the adrenalin rush that came with each presentation. She missed getting ready every day. Missed the appreciations her hard work brought in. She missed the financial independence, missed growing and learning.

She missed it.

Being a parent is the most overwhelming reward ever. There are things you need to choose between. These decisions are not always as easy or as obvious as the society makes them be. There are expectations. There are restrictions. There are examples. There is unsolicited advice. It takes time to accept your own decisions.

Being a parent is life-changing. It takes time to give up the independence that was a part of you. 

One is your heart and the other is your way of being. There are no comparisons. There can never be. It is about finding the inner peace.

The post Inner Peace appeared first on Raising Rehaan.

What am I talking about? HAIR. MANE. TRESSES.

They say you realize the worth of something only when it disappears from your life. They’re not wrong. Hair Today. Gone tomorrow.

Back in heydays, I experimented a lot with my hair. Chemical treatments like colouring, highlighting and straightening – I tried it all. Multiple times. I rocked whichever way I styled my hair even though I didn’t take any special care of my mane, used any and every shampoo. Oil? What is that?

And then motherhood happened. Which, by-the-way, wasn’t any less than a roller coaster ride. And no, I don’t mean the pregnancy, I mean the physical and hormonal changes. By the 9th month of my pregnancy, thanks to the diet and supplements I took, my tresses were thicker than ever, luscious, long and shiny. Salon-ready! But that happiness was short-lived. Then life happened. Sleepless nights, sudden hormonal changes and the dreaded post-partum depression. I suffered from severe hair fall, deteriorated hair quality and rock-bottom confidence levels. I had to do something!

Cut to the present, I am making conscious efforts to save my abused hair. During the last two years, I’ve tried a lot of treatments – ghereloo as well as from those chic-looking salons.

If it interests you, here are some of the things I tried and I think they worked

• First! Chopped off the damaged ends, even if that meant losing half my hair length. Better to have healthy short hair than long, damaged hair. So snip, snap!
• A healthy diet. No matter how many times you’ve heard it in the past, there will not be a better answer. Eliminate junk and increase your vitamin and mineral intake.
• OIL! Religiously. Gone are the days when we had fresh air to breathe and chemical-free food to eat. If the pollution takes a toll on the skin, the same can happen to your crowning glory too.
  1. Homemade oil: Coconut Oil+Curry Leaves.

Wash the leaves and spread them on a plate to dry. Once dry, put them in a plastic bag and keep the bag in the sun for a day or two. The leaves will quickly dry and become crisp.

Heat the coconut oil in a pan. Add crushed leaves

Heat it until the leaves turn a dark shade. Stir frequently.

Let it cool. Strain the leaves out. Ready to be applied

2. A leave-in hair oil that can be used after wash.

• Sulfate free shampoo – No matter how much these big brands claim for their shampoos to make your hair look salon-ready, the true story is that they all have chemicals which bring long-term damage to your hair.
• Conditioner – A must. One thing I had never used in my life until last year, I am a strict advocate of regular conditioning now. Unless you live in a pollution free city, relying solely on organic food, hogging on home-grown fruits and vegetables and having nothing to stress about. You get the idea.

Brands – tried and tested

• Shampoo – Moroccan Oil moisture repair shampoo
• Conditioner – Organix Brazilian Keratin Therapy Conditioner
• Oil – Organix Moroccan Extra Strength Penetrating Oil

I do colour my hair even now thanks to premature greying. Yes, the curse of too many chemical treatments as well as the poor quality of water I had to make do with after I moved to Dwarka post marriage. The water was so harsh that within 2 years I had more grey hair than I should have had at my age. I am now stuck with regular touch-ups. It’s either that or looking like a clown with her hair on fire on a windy day. No thank you. At least not just yet.

Styling:

I avoid and discourage the use of heat treatment. I do not blow dry my hair and avoid the straightening iron or a straightening hairbrush like a plague. Even the best of the straighteners can cause significant damage to your hair, make it brittle and prone to breakage and no amount of serum can completely prevent that from happening.

I have naturally wavy hair which tend to become straight as they grow in length.

For styling, I twist my hair in a bun and leave them like that for a few hours before untying for a beachy look.

Or, braid my hair and leave them overnight for a slightly crimped look.

But mostly, you’ll find me in my mom bun. The quickest and simplest of hairstyles. And the only one I have time for more often than not.

On most days I am happy with what I see. I do make exceptions for special occasions, but they have to be really really special.

I wish I could say there was that one magic potion I drank that made my mane grow back to its former glory. But then I would be lying. What I did is succeed through trial and error. And it’s still work-in-progress, but we’re getting there.

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This is not a sponsored post.

All products mentioned are based on my personal experience.

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