Keratin Treatment Review

This past Friday I used a gift card my mother gave me for an express Keratin Treatment. The gift card was actually a door prize my father won at a golf tournament a while ago and it said "Express Keratin Treatment $50 value" on it. So I looked up what it was and saw that the Duchess of Cambridge...you know Kate, well she gets it done and that was all I needed to know. So I called and made my appointment right away. So they put this product in your hair and blow dry it in...like a really thick conditioner only it doesn't make your hair smooth to brush though...more like tree sap. My scalp still feels like it's bruised in areas where she kept brushing and brushing and brushing...it felt like sticky goop was all in my hair. I thought I would be leaving with silky shiny hair but instead left with thick greasy hair, because you cannot wash it for 8 hours. She tried to make it look nice so that I didn't look gross, but it didn't help out too much. I had plans that night as well! At this point I'm starting to think "I should have saved this for another day." So I put it in a pony tail and literally you could move it and sculpt it. Come to find out an express Keratin Treatment for my length of hair (a little past the shoulders) is $150 - thank goodness they honored the gift card value or I would have been out $100 for sticky hair. I did buy the special shampoo and conditioner is the smallest bottles for $10 each - she said the larger bottles would be best for value and when I get it done again. Yeah right...I'm not spending $150 a month to be tortured for 2 hours again. It took 2 days to wash out the goop completely and now feels normal, but to be honest there is not much difference. It does lay down easier but I still need to use my flat iron to make it really strait. My hair does feel good but there isn't a big enough difference for me to give this a great review. Maybe if I had curly hair, but I have a natural wave to my hair and it is really thick. So don't waste your money but if you have a gift card I would do it.

Learning to Run Week # 4

Yesterday was the start of week #4. I started the Couch to 5K program the week after Christmas, but instead of 9 weeks I had to shorten it to 7 weeks because I wanted to do my first 5K earlier. So I challenged myself to do more each week and run as far as I could each time. The circle in my neighborhood is a little short of 1 mile so I do it twice each time. I usually run each night somewhere between 4-6 before it gets really dark. Last week was week #3 and I could already run 2 miles without stopping! I was pumped! Of course now my knees hurt and it's harder but I'm not stopping. Tomorrow I am adding another mile to my training and hope to be able to run all three miles without stopping by the end of week #5. Then I will add another mile to that and try and complete all 4 miles without stopping by the end of week #7 to complete the 5K in a good time. My goal is get my miles down to 10 minutes each - right now they are at 12 minutes. It would be great to complete my first 5K in under 31 minutes, but 35 minutes wouldn't be bad either ;) I am also watching my calorie intake and doing Ripped in 30 on days I cannot run or need to workout. I was doing it 3 times a week but this past week I was lazy and did not do it - it's a great workout and really tough! I'm still on week #1! My plan is to do it a few more times this week and finally move to week #2. I have to keep reminding myself that it's totally worth it because nothing feels as good as being skinny and fitting great in your clothes. I am 5 pounds away from pre-baby weight, but I am 13 pounds away from being at my "good weight" and I'm 23 pounds away from "No way! You have kids?!". So I have a ways to go before I hit the "good weight", but I'm close enough now that I can see the difference running is making.