Senza Limiti - Real hair gems

Hello Lovelies!

Back when we were at beautiful real life Rapunzel Nessa a wonderful little craftship store specialised in hair jewellery visited and we had the chance to try out different hair accessories. I planned on getting one hair fork that would go with everything and ended up purchasing an additional hair stick in form of a gold rose with an amber stone which reminded me of the Beauty and the Beast somehow... The colours resemble Bellas gown and the rose had so much power throughout the movie. The third hair stick with a little crystal on top was a gift from Gundula and Guieseppe. 

Here I have some actions pics for you :)

Three hairstyles in auburn ginger hair with sense limit KPO, Rosa and the Crystal Heike

These are really easy effortless hairstyles that I like to wear day to day to stay chic and neat at work and have my mane out of my face as well :) I am curious to see what the other girls have styled their hairsticks with and especially Heike who got such a beautiful half up clip. I am unsure though if she will show it today, she might end up preparing a separate post. Andrea got the same style rose hair stick but in very different colours and Nessa has a real stone hair fork which is so stunning in her beautiful elegant huge bun.

All of Senza Limits hair jewellery comes in rose gold, gold and silver. I am such a golden girl so I picked gold of course (pun intended ^^). Their hair sticks also come in black. I picked mine to be hazel because I like them to disappear in my up-do's. They have a variety of stones, real gems and glas crystals to choose your favourite colours too.

Do you like hair jewellery or do you tend to wear your hair loose and down a lot? 

A little life update:

I know it has been awfully quiet on the blog. Lately I feel that I want to step back a bit to try spend some more time with my loved one's and still manage my exhausting job. I know that I have to change something about it but the real difficulty for me is to know what I want. After that it should be easy chasing your dreams and working towards them.. I will keep you updated!

Woven Fishtail Braids!

Woven Fishtail Braids.

This beautiful braid was done by Nessa on me. It is a very intricate and complicated braiding pattern and nearly impossible to do on my own unless I am doing a side braid :) Nessa and Heike did most of the braids on us girls, although I am so happy to say that Andrea and me did Nessa's braid :) It was quite a challenge such beautiful long and thick silky hair!

Woven fishtail braid an very long hair.

Below there is Heike's braid and mine (1st picture) adorned with flowers. I think it looks best and medium to fine hair, thick hair with curls like my hair does some problems to the pattern, making loose and bumpy in some places. I am helping with Andreas Braid putting in some flowers as well.

Woven fishtail braids in multiple colours and hair structures :)

Have a look at the other post's I am excited what picture they are going to share. All the photo credits go to Heike and Nessa by the way, they are excellent photographers and make me think about getting a professional camera as well,.. One of my project for 2016 I hope :)

Nessa's signature pose - so beautiful! 

Flechtwerk - Pretty Up - My Boho Braids

Boho Braids on long auburn red hair - easy effortless messy hair styles.

Hello Lovelies!

I often think in the morning about spicing up my everyday pony tail. If you are like me than you will mostly be in a hurry and throw your hair back in a simple high pony or easy bun. Lately I have loved to side my braids up. Coachella is nearing and I love the easy hippie, messy festival hair styles. I have textured my hair before with volume spray, aloe vera and argan oil to get a good structure and grip in my lengths. I have firstly applied volume power all over my hair, then put some aloe gel and lately oiled the ends to get nice curls in my ending ponies.

I know some of you prefer the really neat buns and braids but my hair is so stubborn even if I wanted to achieve that, it would never cooperate :D 

I am curious how Melanie, Heike, Wuscheline, Andrea, Lenja and Nessa have prettied up their hair do's. 

Sadly this will be our last Flechtwerk post together. Over the years we have evolved a little different and it did change a lot since we started. So I do have to say that there will be no Flechtwerk Cooperations anymore. I am sure there will be further collabs with some girls, as the long hair blogging scene is quite small :) I have a very busy and stressful schedule, I will have to see how much I can cooperate in the future. 

I hope you all had a lovely weekend and I am wishing you a blessed week.

I have dozens of articles on my mind, just so little time. A few Khadi hair care reviews will be coming up for sure. I have been loving the Amla oil again :) I am moving this month so this is a very packed month for me and between looking through pinterest for decor inspo, painting walls and working long hair is just a nice thing in between :)

Do you have simple easy ideas to spice up everyday hairstyles?

Lange Haare, liebe Menschen und tolles Essen im Allgäu

Hallo ihr Lieben!

Mein erster Post seit langer Zeit auf Deutsch :) Am Wochenende waren wir bei Nessa im Allgäu, dem wirklichen Rapunzel. Es war wunderschön bei ihr, ganz entspannt. Wir haben viel gelacht, gegessen, geflochten und bis in die Nacht hinein gequasselt.

Andrea

Nessa

Heike

im Allgäu

Wieder einmal getroffen habe ich die liebe Heike mit ihrem goldblondem Feenhaar. Von Heike habe ich wahnsinnig tolle leckere und gesunde Rezepte gelernt! Heike isst glutenfrei und dabei extrem erfinderisch! Vor allem die tollen Haferbällchen haben es mir angetan <3 Schaut bei Heikes Rezeptseite vorbei, ich bin schon ganz schön munter am quer lesen! 

Nessa ist ein wahnsinnig toller Mensch, wir kennen uns schon eine Weile aus der Ferne und nun auch persönlich. Sie ist einer dieser Menschen, die man glaubt schon sehr lang zu kennen, sehr herzlich und warm. Und diese Haare. Nessa hat absolute Ausnahmehaare. Ich habe noch nie so schöne, dicke, lange, gesunde Haare gesehen. Sie hat auf Knielange kein einziges gebrochenes Haar und 5mal soviel Haar wie ein Normalsterblicher. Ein echtes Rapunzel eben ... <3 Der Name Haartraum hat es sehr gut getroffen.

With Nessa. Such a Beauty - inside and out!

Längenziele..

Ich bin jetzt wieder so glücklich das ich richtig Lust auf die Klassische Länge habe,.. das heisst ich möchte wieder den Klassiker. Mindestens. Und vielleicht sogar mehr, eventuell Mitte Oberschenkel.

Ihr seht auf den Fotos übrigens meine Naturhaarfarbe. Die letzte Schaumtönung ist 4 Wochen her. Es ist ein relativ kräftiges mittleres Kastanienbraun. Der Rotschimmer verstärkt sich im Sonnenlicht, im Kunstlicht verschwindet er fast ganz. Ich bin froh das die letzten Hennarote weg sind, Färberei zu sein ist so erleichternd, man hat keinen Ansatz mehr und irgendwie ist man es auch mehr selbst. Es fühlt sich authentischer an und irgendwie runder. So im Gesamten. 

Spring is in the Hair

I am so glad that spring is around the corner. I love to sit in the sun and soak up some sunrays.

Boho Fishtail Braid and Flowers.

I have done a fishtail braid and adorned it with flowers - I just love fishtail braids! They have a boho vibe that I absolutely adore.

Favourite activities during spring:

A Bucket List

• Watch Birnenkuchen mit Lavendel
• Read me before you
• Watch the sunrise
• Keep up eating healthy, enough and regularly
• Continue to do Kayla Itsines sport Programm BBG
• Spend more time with my friends - make time even when later after work
• Learn to say no without an explanation
• Go hiking in a natural parc
• Learn to cook a vietnamese dish 
• Make homemade Icetea with Strawberries and Mint 

What are your plans for spring? My theme should be '' Do more of what makes you happy '' :) It is easy to get caught up in work, stress, life and obligations. Doug you have a bucket list? I would love to hear what you are up to!

Spending some time in nature. 

I am curious how Spring is at my girls Melanie, Heike, Wuscheline, Andrea, Lenja and Nessa. <3

Flechtwerk - Hair Fails

Hello Lovelies!

Today's topic is about the daily hair fails that happen all the time.
I think hair fails can be pretty funny, most of the time you think oh this will just look great and once you are done : nope. That ain't pretty.

My common fail fails include:

• Too much oil from a prewash treatment that has not rinsed out too well. Mostly it is due to a too rich conditioner. For my future self: Heavy hair treatment: Use a shampoo with strong cleaning properties and steer away from too heavy conditioners. 
• Puffy, fluffy, too dry hair. Happens all the time. Then it is time for a good leave in like the Sheabutter cream or Aloe Gel.
• Unclean braiding... Usually I am pretty ok with braiding nowadays. I can manage 5 strands well and it does not take too long usually. BUT you know these small accent braids? They usually go wrong with me, I can't make a good small parting to save my live. Usually I notice this after I have braided them too the end.. 

My usual hair fail is pretty funny I have to say. It is a combination of too dry fluffy hair and then too much oil. How does this happen? Hair is either oily or dry? No not with me. My hair is first too dry, too puffy because I combed out my curls, and then I over do it with the leave in and oil and yep there you go :

Oily puffy & crunchy and dry hair. Feeling like Hagrid from harry Potter quite a lot sometime. Maybe we are related. I always felt a connection to Hagrid anyways. 

If you are a curly girl you have some trouble with humidity as well.

Source: Someecards

Source: PlayBuzz

Hair: Expectation vs. Reality by Diply

Let's see what other hair fails the girls have, Melanie, Heike, Wuscheline, Andrea, Lenja and also Nessa.

LOC - The Leave-In + Oil + Cream Method

Hello Lovelies!

Today's post is great for all my curly girls out there! Yes say good-bye to frizzy and coarse dry hair that does what it wants and does not listen to you. Do you know my favourite quote...?

'' When your hair won't listen to you and it's a mess and ur just like:
I grew you myself??
I gave you life and this is how you
repay me?? ''

source: un-known genius girl.

I feel you girl. :D So this method is originally invented by my beautiful black afro american haired gals with super curly and coarse hair. And it works like a charm for everyone who's hair is is a similar state of dryness and frizziness. I am not sure who came up first with it, but the girls form naturally curly website have been raving a lot about it. This will work for thick, curly, wavy and dry hair. If your hair is super smooth, straight and silky it may weight your hair down, but why nevertheless give it a try. Just use minimal amounts and you should be fine. You always start with freshly washed wet hair.

The basics of LOC-Method are :

1. Leave in. Use a leave in you love. It is important that is mostly water based. I use Aloe Vera Gel (100% organic I switched it now to Urtekrams, which a great Aloe Gel!) You ca also use a rose-water leave in, line seed gel or even very watered down conditioner (like one drop conditioner and a glass of water). I start at my chin and go down all the length.
2. Oil. It is simple, oil and long hair go together hand in hand, they are the best couple on the planet. My favourite at the moment is almond oil, But there are tons of great oils, just find the one that makes you most happy, have a look at my top 5 hair oils. I apply 5 drops of almond oil starting and my ends and work it up about 25 cm. 
3. Cream. Use a good organic body butter. I have a wonderful one from Bioturm with a Vanilla Scent. It works great on your bumpy legs and dry spots as a real body butter but is also amazing for your hair. There are a few different organic options, even DM has two, one with Avocado and one with Vanilla too. Just stay away from Body Butters containing silicones. make sure your body butter contains generous amounts of shea butter or cache butter. You don't want that on your body and hair - it is like a plastic coat. I just ran out of my original hair butter, I have the DIY recipe here for you. I need to order some shea butter to make a new batch.

Results:

Moistutzed soft hair, defined waves. I usually brush my curls out,
but they were much more defined.

Why LOC? Does it matter in which order I apply?

Well yes it does. Applying a liquid moisturiser first and then applying an oil and cream will help you seal moisture in. You will notice that drying your hair will take much longer when you use the LOC method. But the results are worth it, your hair is much softer and finally moisturised.
If you do it the first time I recommend you to use a light hand when dosing your products, start with much less than you normally would. Otherwise it might be too much and you will end up with limp, oily and sticky hair. All happened before -.-
Let me know how this worked for you, lots of happy hair days to you,

Current Length - April

Hello Lovelies,

Just a quick hair length update - I am currently at 98 cm and very happy with my layers. This length I think is my favourite. I am quite petite just 1,63 cm and too much hair makes me even shorter and smaller :D 

More layers...?

I am even thinking about adding more layers in? I don't know yet I will have to see when I can get an appointment with my hairdresser. She has cut my hair since I am 12 and I never trusted anyone else since, she is a real miracle and a very lovely lady. Do you have a favourite hair dresser as well? As the long hair ladies know finding a good one is really difficult and once you have one they are a real gem. I have heard so much about cutting too much - just a nightmare. Why would anyone intentionally cut your long hair too short? I will never understand this. 

Gym Hair Problems

My hair has been again a little on the dry side lately. I am working out a lot in the gym - the downside is that I wash my hair too often now. I usually wash it once a week but I am now up to every second day.. Do you have a solution for this? I think I need to pamper it with some almond oil treatments a lot more. I would love to hear how you deal with sweaty gym hair ^^

Flechtwerk: Ice and Snow

Little sparkling hair stick!

Pearl and Snowflake Earrings. Have been a favourite this whole winter.
I think snowflakes have such delicacy to them - very lovely and simple.

Simple Cinnamon Bun with Snow Queen Shelot.

Hello Lovelies,

Todays topic is Hair in Snow and Ice! Since I have not seen one single snowflake this winter it was really hard for me! But I remembered that I had a Snow-Queen Shelot which is a hair accessory that can hold a cinnamon bun and I decided that picture with this beauty will do justice to our topic :D 

It is made by Ravenslair - she is very talented and a great artist. Most of her pieces are inspired by fantasy, fairytales and magic. Very well made and she does custom orders as well. Go have a look at her Etsy-Shop, she is currently on vacation though. 

https://www.etsy.com/de/shop/RavensLair

As for winter hair care, I have been following the Liquid/Oil/Cream Method lately. I am sure most of you have heard about it - it is a way to seal moisture and oil in your hair. First you apply your favourite liquid - can be aloe vera water or a hydrosole, then your favourite oil and then a light hair cream. Stay tuned for an entire blogpost on the topic :) I wish we had more snow. I remember my days in Canada when the temperature dropped below -20 and even breathing was hard and pinched like a thousand little icicles. Do you like the colder seasons? I am actually excited for spring and summer, when the days get longer and are lighter. 

News:
We have an addition to our Flechtwerk Group! It is the lovely and beautiful Andrea from www.echtandrea.de I am super happy that she joined us! We met sometime ago and I am amazed how much her hair has grown. She has a beautiful blog and a very lovely instagrampage as well.

Meet and Greet Andrea from www.echtandrea.de

I am curious about Melanies idea, Heike's, Wuscheline's, Lenja's and also Nessa's Ice and Snow Hair!

About Loving Your Hair

Me happy and content, at peace.

Hello Lovelies!

I have been planning this post for the longest time and finally found the right words.

About the time I was fighting against my hair..

Some years ago, actually quite a long time ago after I finished high school I just had a moment when suddenly I understood what loving your hair really means. See, I have very coarse curly and thick hair that is super dry when not properly taken care of with sheabutter leave in and coconut oil. 

But my hair type is not really common in Europe - I had no idea what to do with my hair or how to take care of it. The girls in my high school class all had blonde fine and shiny super/straight hair with lots of layers. And you know what - I really wanted to look like these girls! I was flat iron my hair to get my curls and waves out, damaging my hair nearly beyond repair. And this was not enough - I dyed it bleach blonde as well. My structure became even worse of course in between washes and I was never able to achieve the silky smooth look I wanted so badly. Leave alone that when my hair is too short it curls and frizzes even more leaving me with the look of a little hedgehog.

It took some time for me to realise that I should really appreciate what I do have and start making the most out of it. Once I embraced my hair structure, colour and thickness and started growing my hair long, it really only then revealed it's beauty. Before believe me - it was a hot frizzy mess. 

No matter what type of hair you have - if straight, curly thin or thick, firstly you got to start loving it. It will only make you unhappy if you are trying to be something that you are not and it will always look fake as well. 

You can take baby steps, this is what I did. 

1. What hair structure do you have? Straight? Great! Try out hair styles that will not change your structure and give you a silky smooth look - e.g. the lazy wrap bun which does not give you bun waves. Curly? Try to nuture your hair with aloe vera gel, use the t-shirt towel method and try conditioning only to keep your moisture in and your curls crunchy. Wavy? You are like me, I am sure your hair will be very happy about braids at night with some hair oil in it so that you hair can keep it's natural waves. You hair will be most happy when you let it be in it's own natural structure and reward you with shine and non/frizz :)
2. Colour! Are you in the silvery blonde or ashy blonde department? Try a silver shampoo that let's your hair shine and removes yellowing from the sun. You are a golden blonde or dark golden blonde? Wonderfull, try chamomile rinses and if you want to go lighter - lemon rinses to naturally lighten up your hair. You have black hair? You lucky one, normally you don't need to do anything. So many people are jealous because you have naturally the most shine. But why not try black tea rinses to add a burgundy glow to your hair and indigo once your greys start to show up. You are a brunette or red head? Wonderful you can use henna rinses, henna glow or henna treatments to intensify your own redness like I do. I use a hair treatment once a month with 2,5 cups of cassia (''colourless henna'') 1 tablespoon of henna and 1 tablespoon of Amla and 2 tablespoons of Shishakai. It gives my natural auburn just enough ginger shimmer in the sun without really changing my hair colour. 
3. Hair State! Well firstly we need to start pampering your hair. Try to be gentle. No heat please at all costs if possible, unless you live in the antarctica and are inuit. Be nice to your hair - take your time brushing, use a good smooth wooden comb or my favourite - a horn comb. Use good ingredients - there are affordable organic options for all budgets and even good affordable silicone free products.You don't need to spend a ton on expensive salon products or super high marketed organic options. Listen to your hair - is it dry? Do a deep conditioning treatment before each wash. Is it very oily? Use a mild shampoo and try to stretch your washes so it gets used to produce less oil. 

Wise saying. Beauty.

Now, it might be that you are still fighting against your hair in one or another sense. But I do have some tips for you. Believe me every hair type and colour is beautiful. You have trouble seeing that? Go to pinterest and google your hair type, you will find thousands of beautiful pictures of your natural hair state. Make your own inspirational board :) 

I believe that once you make peace with yourself - your hair you will always look beautiful. I find the most beautiful people are the ones that are content and always look at the bright side. Your hair might be super frizzy - but it sure does make a gigantic beautiful thick braid as well. Try to always focus on the good aspects. The bad things will vanish and mostly the things you find vaults in are beautiful for other people. Beauty always lies in the eye of the beholder. Such a very true wise saying. This also applies for other things, like your body type, your colours and complexion, your height and many other things. Never forget that we all struggle to an extent and even the prettiest person might be extremely insecure and awkward in certain areas. Once you radiate your own inner peace - you will always be beautiful. Inside and out. 

Current Hair Care Up-Date

Hello Lovelies!

I think it is time for a current hair care favourites post :) 

Here is an update of the products I currently love!

Aubrey Organics Island Naturals and Jojoba and Aloe for very dry and coarse hair

I love Island's Natural Shampoo from Aubrey organics - it is a very rich shampoo with lovely golden coloured herbal pieces in it. It moisturises the hair very thoroughly. In combination with Jojoba and Aloe Conditioner - great! - these two will be the death of dry and frizzy hair. The downside: if used too often in a row, they will weigh my hair down and leave an oily film. 

Mild clearing shampoo - Urea 5% Balea 2 in 1

That is why I use the Balea 5%  Urea Shampoo and Shower Gel. The Balea Shampoo doubles as a body wash is very mild and will remove any film or oiliness. The downside is that there are not a lot of nutrients - so I will just use this shampoo maybe once or twice a month as a clearing shampoo

Easy Gym Solution / Balea Professional

I have been going to the gym on a very regular basis every second day, since I gained some weight over the holidays :D  For the gym the very affordable Balea Professional Shampoo and Conditioner are a great easy solution. I am currently using the brown shampoo and conditioner because I love the smell of these so much - they smell like almonds,caramel and chocolate :) It is a heavenly smell. This duo also contains brown sparkling pigments and helps to intensify my auburn tones.

From the Balea Professional line I have also used the Repair Hair Care Line and the Oil Repair Line - I do like all of these three versions although I love the brown series the most. Please beware that this line will dry your hair out on the long run because it contains PEG and film-bildners that coat your hair. The reason why I like to use it occasionally is because I get very easily detangled hair which is great after a quick Gym workout. 

Now my favourite oil is the Weleda Rose Oil - it is a great oil as a leave-in and deep conditioning treatment before you wash your hair. The smell is wonderful very herbal and not too sweet or flowery. It smells like wild roses. It is a great body oil as well gets absorbed easily and will leave your skin very soft and glowing! It is a very pricey oil and I usually get it for my birthday as a gift :)

It contains mainly jojoba oil, sweet almond oil and rosehip oil. A lot of cheaper organic oils are based on sunflower seed oil and do not contain these high quality organic oils. If you buy a rose oil make sure you check the main ingredients to ensure that your rose oil actually contains rose <3 .

The ingredients are wonderful as well:
Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Rosa Moschata (Rosehip) Seed Oil, Rosa Damascena (Rose) Flower Oil, Fragrance (Parfum)*, Limonene*, Linalool*, Citronellol*, Benzyl Alcohol*, Benzyl Benzoate*, Geraniol*, Citral*, Eugenol*, Farnesol*.

Flechtwerk: Review and Preview 2015 - 2016

Hello Lovelies! 

Looking back on the last year, so many things have happened in my life and hair just became a random aspect that was there but nothing I focused on. On the contrary, I cut back from 115 cm to 92 cm! Thigh length back to hip / waist length. I do like my new look, it is easier to manage but my up-do's became smaller and well my all time favourite braid is not great anymore because of the amount of layers that i got. 

This is a picture during summer before the new cut:

Beyond classic length, super long hair during summer.

Now this is my current length:

Layered new Hair Cut

I do have to admit that i enjoy my shorter tresses a lot. I think the length I was most happy with was about  1m. I still have 8 cm to go as a goal for 2016. About the layers I am not sure.. I love them when my hair is down or in a half up, but whenever I am trying an up-do they become  a nuisance..

This is how my hair looks now when it is all up:

Messy Up Do ficcare Primavera Red

Goals I want to reach in 2016:

• More length! 1 meter is my holy-grail hair length I think :o)
• Add more moisture with my Aloe-Vera treatments.
• Make more hair products! I am excited to do my first solid shampoo bars :)
• Add content on a regular basis.
• Learn more hairstyles - e.g. french rope braiding and french fishtail braiding. Maybe start a Youtube Channel?  

I am content with my natural hair colour at the moment. They are auburn and have some copper lights added by my rinsable goldenred toner that I use (Accent, Feuermohn).

I am excited to read the girls hair posts! Have a look at Heike at Haselnussblond , Wuscheline , Lenja our forrest fairy , Nessa from Haartraum and our Mermaid at Nixenhaar. 

Welcome to Instagram @growbeyondyourlimits

Hello Lovelies!

I am very freshly and newly on Instagram!I know I am probably the last one in the blogging world to join ^^ I was super happy to connect with fellow bloggers and long hair ladies and I saw that we nearly all have something in common besides the love of long-hair.

And it is the love for cats :D I do have a black tomboy called Chuck and that little guy is a joyful furry snuggle ball. I am excited to use Instagram - it is a world full of magical photos for sure :)

My favourite accounts are the one's of my Flechtwerk girls, @nixenhaar ( Bobby has two silver tabby cats BTW! They are adorable!), @wuscheline (also two little guys), Lenja @siri.lenja (two tomboys as well!) , @haselnussblond Heike with a little wolf baby, Heika has a great second account as well - all about healthy living and recipes which is @foodforhair_ and Nessa @haartraum. 

Oh and psssst I have a picture of my shorter hair on Instagram as well, it was taken during the New Year's Eve Night. 

#hashtag #hashtag #welcomezoey_to_theworldofinstagram 

#ifyouhaverecommendations #whotofollowalong #letmeknow #keepsmiling 

#ps_Iam_lovingit #letthehashtagspammingbeginn

#maytheiPhoneForceBewithYou