 Hello Sisters! Today I am sharing another hack which targets relaxation. In turn assisting dandruff and an itchy scalp. Lavender Essential Oil This ancient herb is very popular within aromatherapy practitioners in modern day, however it has been used for thousands of years among many different cultures including Arab, Greek, and throughout Europe. Probably the most renowned, in France. How do I use it...? I use it to relax and calm my senses. This in turn assists in keeping dandruff under control. I have found that being stressed can have a number of different effects of the body and its important to have quality down time. I find that adding a few drops of organic lavender essential oil in my hot bath or coconut rinse is very beneficial for my relaxation. Adding to a much healthier head of hair. I also use Lavender Essential Oil as a nice perfume, sleep assistant and I also use a few drops in my oil burner to spread the beautiful scent throughout the house.  Conclusion...
Ancient cultures were not wrong to take full advantage of what this amazing flower can offer to us. Not only is Lavender Essential Oil great for relaxation, it is also a proven antidepressant, nervous system tonic and even has antiseptic properties. The humble Lavender Essential oil has certainly proven it has many uses around the house and has certainly earned it's place in my bathroom cupboard.
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 Oh Hello Sisters! How was your Monday?
Hair Cuts and Brushing I know, so obvious right? But I just wanted to point it out. Getting your hair cut is so important when in comes to hair health. Maybe every month go and get a little trim off the ends of your hair, this will rid any split ends and allow your hair to grow longer. If you don't get a trim every now and then when you are trying to grow your hair, it will be a very long process. This is because when you go to a hair dresser after a year they will want to trim off any split ends, and chances are if you haven't been to the hair dresser in a while you will have a few cm of em. (But if you are lazy with the hair dressing like me, its great to have that coconut and avocado oil on hand). Regularly brushing your hair is very important, I would recommend using a wooden brush as the wood will soak up any excess oils left in your hair. How cool is that? Oh Oh! I would also suggest keeping the heat to a minimum. Cut back on the straightening, your hair is perfect as it is! Conclusion Well I hope you take on these tips, this little blog post sums up the 7 Hair Hacks for Natural Bellydancers. I hope you enjoyed the series! Let me know how you go with any of my 'secrets' I wold love to hear about it.  Hello Sisters! I do hope you are enjoying your weekend. Here is my 5th Hair Hack I hope you enjoy it!
Avocado Oil The Mayans had discovered the amazing benefits of Avocado since ancient times. To the Mayans, this green fruit was not only thought of as food, but also highly intertwined with their spirituality and healing. Avocado is rich in Vitamin A, B, D, E and also has high amounts of protein, amino acids, iron, magnesium and folic acid - it has all the vital nutrients for the body. The Mayans believed that Avocados had many positive effects for the human body, internally and externally. And so it become a huge part of their everyday life, avocado was added to almost every dish and also used by the women for beautification. How I use it... I have been using avocado oil on my hair for a few weeks now and in this short time I have noticed many benefits. I dampen my hair with warm or cold water and apply a small amount of the oil to my scalp and give my head a good massage. This is great for reducing dandruff, but it is also nice and relaxation and stimulates your blood vessels which improves the circulation. After I have washed my hair normally with shampoo and conditioner, I will let it dry and then rub about a teaspoon of the oil into the tips of my hair. This method combined has improved the overall health of my hair. It has strengthened and nourished, added shine, and I feel as though it has prevented hair loss. I have read that Mayans and other cultures apply mashed avocado straight to their hair. I am yet to try this, at this point I'd rather get the benefits from my fresh Avocados by eating them! So yum! I eat a lot of avocado and I believe that has also had a positive impact on my overall health, skin, and hair. I also use avocado oil for my facial scrub. I get crushed avocado seed to exfoliate and the avocado oil as a moisturiser and combine the two together to create my scrub. I absolutely love it! When I come out of the shower and feel my skin it feels so soft and smooth. Ever use a chemical based facial scrub which leaves your face feeling unnaturally tingly? Yeah, me too, and I don't particularly like it. I feel so happy after using my avocado scrub because I know I am environmentally friendly and also it it totally natural for my skin. No nasty chemicals. Apparently avocado oil even has SPF properties! Conclusion... However you take avocado, I believe it is very beneficial for your hair, scalp and overall health. Don't mind the price, you're worth it! I AM NOT A NATURAL PRACTITIONER NOR CONSIDER MYSELF AN EXPERT. THESE STEPS ARE DRAWN FROM MY OWN EXPERIENCES. 7 Hair Hacks for Natural Bellydancers - Natural Instinct Shampoo/Conditioner & Earths Waters12/8/2016  Hello sisters! How are you going today? have you tried any of my hacks so far? If you have let me know how it turned out! My 4th hair hack is a natural, environmentally and cruelty free shampoo and conditioner. Natural Instinct Shampoo & Conditioner My mum introduced me to this specific shampoo and conditioner, I love it. It is Australian made, cruelty free, has all natural ingredients and smells and feels great in my hair! You can get this from any chemist in big value bottles or small ones if you go through shampoo and conditioner slowly. Below I have listed all the ingredients that you should avoid when picking the right cleansing and nourishing products for your hair. Luckily, Natural Instinct products don't use these products at all! Yay!
How I use it.... Like any normal shampoo and conditioner. (I won't take up your precious time but explaining how I wash my hair). I do try to limit washing my hair any more than once a week, other wise my body can over compensate on oil production if I wash in any more frequently and cause extra oil and the need for more frequent washing (no body wants that). One other thing I would recommend for your natural hair beauty is to indulge in natures wonders by swimming in the ocean or a fresh water river. This can seriously assist your hair growth, reduce oil and dirt build and naturally nourish your hair. Ever notice beach babes rarely have the need to wash their hair? Conclusion... I would suggest to find the right products that work for your unique hair. Natural Instinct works really well with my hair but over time I will still need to 'reset my hair with bi-carb or nourish it with coconut oil. Discover what works for you and your natural hair type! Have any questions? Leave a comment bellow. I AM NOT A NATURAL PRACTITIONER NOR CONSIDER MYSELF AN EXPERT. THESE STEPS ARE DRAWN FROM MY OWN EXPERIENCES.   Hello again Sisters! I hope you enjoyed my last post about my personal benefits of Bi-carb Soda. If you did not get to read that one - just press 'previous' down bellow. Today, I am sharing my 2nd hair hack which is... Coconut Oil The idea of using coconut oil has been around since the dawn of time. Coconut oil has made a name for itself all throughout the different cultures especially, Papua New Guinea, India, Samoa, Ancient Egypt...Coconut oil is high in antimicrobials and high moisture content which acts as a fat fighting, illness fighting, dryness fighting super oil! The acnient Egyptians and Indians used it for moisturising and hair care. Samoan mothers would massage there children with the oil to promote healthy skin, strong bones, heal scars more efficiently and even sooth a babies teething pain. How do I use it....? I use coconut oil for a number of different things, it has proved to be very beneficial for my hair personally. When it comes to my hair, I mainly use it for moisturising then ends of my hair. Although I have read from other cases that the oil can be used to help fight dandruff caused by fungal infections, I personally would not take the coconut oil heavily throughout the scalp. The reason for this is because for some hair types it can clog up your pores and leave your hair very oily until your next wash. Which isn't ideal. So I will usually take coconut oil from the bottom of my hair where it needs the most attention and then slowly take the oil up the the scalp and give it a little bit of a massage with the residue that is left on my hands. For combination/oily hair, coconut oil can be hard to work with as it gives you a heavily moisturised scalp. To prevent this I sometimes like to use sodium bicarbonate straight after a coconut rinse or bath soak. this will reduce the amount of oil and balance the pH of your scalp. Resulting in a happy head of hair! I will do this whenever my hair feels it is necessary, perhaps ever 2-6 months. This is keeping in mind that important mantra...balance & moderation. I also use Coconut oil for many different beauty and health benefits e.g. cooking, massaging, oil pulling, bath soaks, moisturiser, shaving cream, make-up remover. Seriously, this oil is an amazing gift from the earth to keep in your cupboard. TRY IT! Conclusion.... I love coconut oil, it is amazing. Just like bi-carb, it has more than one use around the home. But don't just get any old coconut oil. What you want is the 'organic, first cold pressed' oil - better for the envieonment and better for you. This oil is amazing for living an inexpensive minimalist lifestyle, living naturally while not missing out on much! Do you have any questions? Or do you have a use for coconut oil that I haven't discovered yet? I would love tk know, pease let us know in the comments bellow!  Samoan beauty  Hello Sisters, I thought I'd share some of my secrects within the health and beauty department. I'll be posting for 7 days on some of my hair hacks for natural girls. I hope you enjoy the read! Many people ask me about my hair - How do I grow it so long? Why doesn't it frizz? Which product do I use? Well girls, I'll let you in on my -not so secret- secret. To be honest, the amazing stuff I use for my hair is probably already hiding in your cupboard or even in the backyard! When you want to heighten your hair health, I have found that there are 2 basic aspects of care. #1 Normal hair maintenance (brushing, regular trims and shampoo and conditioner) and #2 medical hair maintenance (treating head and hair issues caused by other factors. One example is dandruff - resulting from stress). There are many ways you can take care of your hair. Unfortunately a lot of people don't actually realise that some issues don't just come from your head. Issues like excess oil, dandruff, split ends and weak hair can be directly caused by other unknown/underlying factors such as; nutrition, stress, anxiety and depression. I believe you can combat most hair issues by taking a naturalistic approach and focusing on treating the cause, rather than the symptoms. Everything I will be listing in these articales is from the category #2 - which means they are to be taken seriously and used in balance and moderation. If you are totally clueless right now, that's okay! Luckily for you, over the next 7 days I will be unlocking 1 'secret' hair care ritual each day for all my sisters to enjoy!
How do I use Bi-carb?
I do a hair rinse. I get about a teaspoon of the white holy goodness and dissolve it into a little jar of water (about half a cup). Once I am in the shower I will wet my hair and apply the dissolved bicarb into my scalp and hair, giving my head a nice massage. what this does is strip your hair of all the dirt, fluff and oil, giving a good reset to your hair. According to my research, because Bi-carb is Alkaline (9.0) so it will open the cuticles on your scalp - allowing more moister in. This is some useful information - as now we know how to balance it. I usually rinse my hair with room temp/cold water which will close the cuticles (preventing too much moisture entering the hair). You can also add a ACL rinse to this method which acts like a conditioner and pulling back your pH down to a balanced level again. ACL = Apple Cider Vinegar (acidic). Honestly, its up to you find your own personal method. Other uses for bicarb... I have also found that bicarb can be a totally awesome deodorant! When I'm in the shower, instead of washing my underarms with soap, I will wash them with Bi-carb! Throughout the day of normal activities I do not sweat and I feel fresh and free! Seriously I love this one more than the hair rinse!! I will use this for a couple days and then let my body balance itself out again. I only use when I feel it is necessary. This is a great secret weapon to keep in mind - especially if you are travelling and only have limited space for items or don't feel like shaving/can't - bi-carb is great, alot better than supermarket deoderant (me personally). Sometimes I use bi-carb as a great toothpaste and I also use it every now and again for a facial scrub and body scrub. It is abrasive and easily washes away dead skin cells, dirt and oil. Although keep in mind...with anything great, the key is balance and moderation. Conclusion.. You can use Bicarb for a number of things. Like the beauty experts of ancient Egypt, you might fancy using it as a body wash with almond oil. Or like the Chinese, you could try brushing your teeth with it (which btw whitens them - naturally baby!). Why not play around with some of these methods or try experiment with your own ideas (a relaxing bicarb foot soak?) Let me know how they turned out. I would love to hear about it! Oh one last thing, I have not tried this myself - but some women seem to think its a great idea to mess around down there...before you think you have hit the holy grail - please please please DO NOT use bicarb or any other chemicals on your sacred Yoni! She knows how to look after herself. Thank-you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it! See you tomorrow. With love, Marta x *DISCLAIMER* I AM NOT A NATURAPATH NOR CONSIDER MYSELF AN EXPERT. THESE STEPS ARE DRAWN FROM MY OWN EXPERIENCES, I SHARE MY JOURNEY OF KNOWLEDGE OUT OF PASSION FOR A NATURAL AND HOLISTIC LIFESTYLE AND I HOPE YOU CAN LEARN SOMETHING NEW. I HAVE CREATED A LINK LIST BELOW WHERE YOU CAN RESEARCH FURTHER WITH SOME TRUSTED WEBSITES. ●http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2015/02/02/11-health-benefits-baking-soda.aspx ● https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebers_Papyrus  Hia Sisters! You will love this hair hack!
Rosemary Rinse Aside from the amazing tastes this herb can bring to the kitchen, it also has amazing benefits in the bathroom! Many cultures have been using rosemary water to improve memory, reduce dandruff, improve skin condition, darken and strengthen hair and also said to heal cuts much quicker! How I use it... Rosemary hair rinse is a very easy, anyone can do it! Some people like to add all sorts of different things to their rosemary rinse like black tea or essential oils, But honestly rosemary water rinse is so beneficial for your hair you don't really need to add anything else. All you need it water, a pot and some freshly picked rosemary from the garden. Boil the water and add your rosemary sprigs, lower the temp and cook for about 10 mins. Strain your water into a plastic jug and take it int the shower with you (don't worry if there are some little leaves left over - they feel good in your hair). Wet your hair and slowly add the rosemary water to your scalp. Massage the water into your head all over. With the remaining water I like to fill the jug up a big with more water and then pour all over my head. Other uses.. I also like to have a rosemary bath, also adding a few drops of lavender essential oil makes this bath especially relaxing. When I emerge from this bath my brain is recharged and my skin feels very nourished and soft. When I am out in the garden pottering, I love to get some rosemary and smell it. It heightens my senses and studies show that it also improves memory which is pretty exciting! Conclusion... Such a great herb, It has many uses in the kitchen and bathroom. I think it is a stable herb to have in your garden. I AM NOT A NATURAL PRACTITIONER NOR CONSIDER MYSELF AN EXPERT. THESE STEPS ARE DRAWN FROM MY OWN EXPERIENCES.  Photography: Cecilia Hackett Dance is creation, what is creation? Love.For those of you who have never taken a dance class before, or even danced before...you may be thinking to yourself - Well...whats so good about it? Why might dance be better for you/your children than Air Cadets, Cooking Class, Gymnastics, Soccer etc. Well, honestly I could talk for a few days. However I will leave you with a little blog post to ponder on..
In my experience of dance it does so much more than give you dance steps. Over time you suddenly discover that a whole dance staircase of life has been built! In my earlier years, I was honestly afraid to dance, even with my friends, afraid to allow people to see ME. Vulnerable. When I started Bellydancing, it freed me, shaped me, defined me, undefined me, instilled self acceptance & confidence, inspired, empowered. It has also taken me to places that I would never have been able to go and experience without dance - internally and externally. Not like in a Military kinda way, but in a soft loving and nurturing way - dancing has given me a greater understanding of discipline, problem solving, socialisation, self trust, self love, confidence, team importance. Dance has given me the ultimate gift of accepting vulnerability, accepting myself. Dance provides these experiences because dance is creative. -What does creative mean? What does getting creative do? Creativity is: Love, inspiring, change, adaption, transitioning, vulnerability, promotes change and growth, creates 'something' from 'nothing', educes emotion, open mindedness, allows/accepts emotion & public display of emotion, forming yourself into a physical 'thing'. Creativity is love, love is life and life is a Dance. This is where dance becomes even more exciting! Dance is literally a gateway to self knowledge. As you dance, you present yourself. You are presenting the emotion you feel to a particular piece of music. Whether you have an audience or not, you are conveying yourself. You are allowing yourself and onlookers to witness your personality, witness you. This is very empowering. So dance does not only offer great fitness, heath and life skills, it also offers a gateway to self-discovery and knowing yourself on deeper level. And of course this is very important for great quality of life and success in life. And..this of course is why I teach dance. I wish to share this will everyone! If you liked what you read, feel free to share with your loved ones for a thought provoking read as well. With love, Marta x  Amazing time as soon as I hit PERTH |
| Oriental Modern, Westernised Bellydance Usually performed as a solo, dancers will wear a two piece costume displaying a lot of skin. This form of dance has elements of Baladi, Shaabi, and Turkish which is usually a choreographed performance. Drum solos are usually seem in Oriental dance, usually performed with a solo dancer and a solo Darbuka Drummer. With intricate isolations synchronised with the drummers beat. A drum solo can be improvised or choreographed. |  Marta Hackett - Oriental Dance, Busking |
| Egyptian Bellydance Saidi, Shaabi, Baladi This form is a folkloric style of dance, said to be the heart of Bellydance. The costuming involved in Egyptian Bellydance is quite different to what we expect as Westerners. Long traditional dress which covers the belly, (The flashy dress worn on stage embellished with coins) has evolved from Egyptians everyday clothes - the Kaftan. Egyptian dance is usually associated with a particular rhythm and instruments such as the Baladi drum beat and the Sitar. Baladi by Serena Ramzy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUTwaWYGw2M Saidi by Sabrina https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oz52A2XWFKM |  Marta Hackett Saidi - Cane dance |
| American Tribal Style (ATS) Is America's own form of Bellydance, this style is very distinctive, usually wearing coined bra's and huge circle skirts. This form is usually done in a troupe of dancers with no set Choreography, improvised. But how do they look so in sync? How do they turn at the same time?! Well, there is a method to their madness. They have a secret communication system while they dance. The leader has a set of verbal and visual cues which signals to the other dancers that it is now time to do a turn and change the direction of the movements. Fat Chance Bellydance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4062YvVXlZg Al-Humbra Tribal Bellydance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfrGVmtSe4g |  Devi Mamak ATS |
| Fusion and Contemporary Bellydance This style is becoming more an more popular, and for good reason. Fusion really allows belly dancers to take what they know and form their own individual style. This form often incorporates other dance style elements including contemporary, jazz, hip hop, locking, Also, we can use any music we like to dance to rather than being restricted to traditional music. This is a very fun aspect of fusion and contemporary Bellydance as performers are able to create a whole new dynamic to Bellydance. Once again, setting up the evolution of this utterly awesome art form. Carola Apsara https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8sY71BogwA |  Rachel Brice - Contemporary |
 | I was selected to be the face of my home towns very first 'Fraser Coast Street Life Festival'! How cool? Thanks Maryborough! xx |
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