Monday, April 7, 2014

This Week On Instagram & Patch Test Results

Hey everyone! Happy (?) Monday! I hope the start of your week was kind to you. I'm back today with some pictures I posted on Instagram over the past week :) Trying to get back in the groove of my new posting schedule and I think I should be on track for this week!

Here's what I've been up to!


I finally had the time to sit down and attempt to do the water marble technique on my nails! It didn't come out too bad for my first real try! It is very subtle because I chose dark colors but I love how it came out. I'll try again with more springy colors next week and show you how it comes out :)


I also had the time to try to achieve some heatless curls using my new Flexi Rods. I used two different sizes and wasn't 100% thrilled with how it came out. My hair got BIG. Like Lady Marmalade big. Ridiculous big. It calmed down a little bit eventually but I think next time I'm going to try to do them all with the large size Flexi Rods and see what happens. And sadly that gray hair at the top of the picture is here to stay :( More on that in a minute.


I just saw this sign at an abandoned gas station near my house and thought it was kind of awesome.


I normally capture sunset pictures but as I wasn't sleeping all that much the past week I was able to get this amazing sunrise picture! It almost looks like fire! Love it.


Yesterday was an absolutely gorgeous day and I couldn't in good conscience sit in my house all day. I don't like going to Whole Foods any time after 9:30 am because that's when all of the self absorbed, entitled jerks in my area converge upon the store but decided to risk my sanity and take a trip at around 4:30 in the afternoon. It was a mistake in the sense that the store was a disaster and people were leaving their carts all over making it virtually impossible to pass. On the plus side I got to take a nice drive with a gorgeous blue sky above me and the spring air coming in through my open window. So beautiful.


For some reason I've been feeling really girly lately (see above hair and nail attempts) so I decided to go to my local beauty supply store (we used to have an Ulta but sadly not anymore) and pick up a few things. I grabbed a few bottles of nail polish for a cute springtime water marble, some clips to help tame my crazy hair when I attempt to style it, some empty travel pill cases that will be perfect for holding DIY crayon lipstick (which I discussed in yesterday's post) and of course cotton balls... because we all need cotton balls. Yeah, so between yesterday and today I decided that I really am curious about this crayon lipstick and really need to try it ;) Who knows, if it comes out well I may do a little giveaway. We shall see!

OK so I finally am finished with my allergist adventures and have two confirmed allergies to add to my extensive list of environmental allergies: P-Phenylenediamine (PPD) & GOLD! GOLD?! OK, so the PPD allergy was actually the reason I went in there. It is the ingredient in hair dye (it is in pretty much every single dark hair dye out there... including black henna, wtf?) that I reacted to several months back. Upon further research when I got home, I basically need to stay away from hair dye (except the one brand that supposedly doesn't have it in there but I've heard that people still react to it), and need to inform my doctors and dentist about the allergy because it can cross react with certain local anesthesias. It can also be found in black rubber, sunscreen, and for some reason a lot of websites I went to said to stay away from orange peel? I don't completely understand that one except it may just be naturally occurring in orange peel so I guess no more orange zest and I either need someone to peel oranges for me or I need to wear gloves. That's crazy.

The other allergy that popped up was to Gold. I find that amusing because apparently it is rare to be allergic to pure gold. Most people that are allergic to their gold jewelry are actually allergic to the nickel that they mix with the gold. Nickel is the most common metal allergy and I'm not allergic to it. I don't know why but I'm amused by that but I am.

As of now those are the only two confirmed allergies. The other one we were watching was for a textile dye (also dark colors) but while it turned red it didn't have any other characteristics of a full reaction. I have to watch for one more as well which could also be starting to show a delayed reaction. This one is for Chromate but for the most part I don't come into contact with most of the common sources (no thanks leather!). I think the only things I would have to be careful of is tattoo ink and some cosmetics.

I did skin testing today for some food allergies like tomato, potato, eggplant, corn, and soy and they all came out negative. Yay!

OK this turned into a very long post but that's what I've got for you today! I hope you all had a great Monday and I'll be back on Wednesday with a What I Ate Wednesday post! See you then!


8 comments:

  1. So interesting! There are so many minerals / chemicals that are out there! I'm so glad to hear that the food allergies turned out to be negative - as those are everywhere, too. There's something in Downy fabric softener sheets that I am allergic to; I break out in hives if I dry my clothes and where them with Downy. Thus, I have to use the expensive Seventh Generation brand...

    Oooh, I can't wait to see the lip balm project! And your nails are beautiful - it looks like a lot of work! I don't know anything about the Flexi Rod, although it does remind me of something from childhood. Now I'm curious!

    Beautiful scenic shots!

    I hope your week is off to a great start!

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    1. Interesting and a little sad for my poor gray hair ;) Supposedly there is a brand or two that claims to be PPD free but include other chemicals that are derivatives and cause reactions. I'm just scared to try them because from what I understand each time you react it gets worse. Oh no, that's crazy about the Downy. Interesting that it is just one brand, I wonder what they put in it that you are allergic to.

      Excited to try the lipstick for sure. The nails were definitely a lot of work but worth the effort :) Flexi rods are just bendable little tubes that you curl your hair around and you bend them so they will stay in your hair. They make heatless curls.

      Thanks!

      It's not but I'll survive!

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  2. Methinks someone will be calling Cash4Gold. At least there is always platinum to wear when the 'big day' comes. And that day sounds like it will be coming soon what with all the hair, nails and lipstick stuff going on.

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    1. Haha, I never wear jewelry so I don't even know if I have any gold to cash in. Lol! Not even close to "the big day" and not entirely convinced I want to get married but that's a whole different story :)

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    2. That sounds like an interesting story.

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    3. Nah not an interesting story. I've just never been into it. Working in the wedding industry hasn't helped!

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  3. So does this mean you can never dye your hair? That's unfortunate, and it's crazy how many things have PPD in them. :( I'm allergic to nickle, which is why I don't have my ears pierced. I did get them pierced at two separate times, and each time they became infected and closed up. I just painted my nails today--a funky peacock color.

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    1. There are supposedly two or three types of dye that don't have the chemical but in my research I've seen that A LOT of people that have the same allergy as me react to those as well. They have a similar chemical that may cause a reaction and I'm scared to risk it because people said it made their faces and eyes swell and some ever had their throats close! I'm not into my gray hair but it's not worth the risk to me. Nickel is in a lot of things too! I know some people that are allergic to nickel and it seems like it sucks because of the jewelry and other metal accessories! I've heard you even have to be careful with belt buckles and things like that! It is weird to be allergic to pure gold but a lot more avoidable!

      I'd love to see your nails!

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