At Home Teeth Whitening: Does it really work?

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Hey you! If you’ve been following my Instagram stories over the last several weeks, you may have seen me mention that I’ve started whitening my teeth using Smile Brilliant’s teeth whitening system. I’ve worked with the brand in the past when I tried out their cariPro Ultrasonic toothbrush which I reviewed in a blog post and can be seen here. Vien and I were so happy with our experience with that product that when they reached out asking if I wanted to try their teeth whitening system, I was more than happy to go for it.

First thing to note is that I have never tried any teeth whitening product except for toothpastes that claim to whiten teeth (which of course they don’t). The reason for this are (1) I’ve always seen teeth whitening as frivolous and expensive and (2) I didn’t think I actually needed it. It wasn’t because I thought my teeth were white at all. It was more like I never really looked at my teeth like that. I drink a lot of coffee and tea so I knew I needed it. I just didn’t know how much of a difference it will make.

I was excited but nervous to begin since I didn’t know the first thing about it. I also heard it can hurt both from people who’ve tried both at-home kits and those who’ve tried whitening at the dentist’s office. I already have sensitive teeth to begin with so needless to say I was worried.

When the kit arrived, the instructions were clear enough to follow. I needed to make a mold of my teeth and send it back to them so they can make the customized trays I needed to use for whitening. I took no photos while making my molds since it was explicitly stated that working quickly was important before the paste hardened.

When the trays finally arrived, I started immediately. I was given a few whitening syringes along with some desensitizing gels to be used right after whitening. It’s advised to keep the trays on for 45 minutes to 3 hours depending on teeth sensitivity and I was so eager when I started that I kept it on close to 3 hours. I remember thinking, “It doesn’t really hurt. I should be fine.” I was so sure that I skipped the desensitizing gel afterward. Boy, was I wrong. My teeth became crazy sensitive after. I wouldn’t say that it hurt. It was more in the lines of annoying, really. Lesson learned, follow directions. They’re there for a reason. Also, one of the tips mentioned was to do it at night before going to sleep. Not only does it prevent your teeth from becoming re-stained from eating after, but it does help with the sensitivity since you’ll be sleeping through most of it. I learned this soon after and have been doing at night ever since. It was also recommended to whiten your teeth every other day for best results but I didn’t do this either. My teeth is incredibly sensitive so it was hard for me to do it more often than once a week. I was also advised separately by a hygienist to allow my teeth to heal between whitening so I erred in the side of caution.

After 5 sessions, I decided to take a photo. I took a photo before I started to compare and I’ll be honest and say that I wasn’t expecting a noticeable difference because I had done so little, each with a shorter duration due of sensitivity and also because I was only doing it once a week as opposed to every other day as recommended.

These were my results.

As you can see, my teeth were definitely NOT white to begin with. But clearly after a mere 5 sessions, my teeth are noticeably less yellow. I did my best to take both photos around the same time of day at the same spot in the apartment to get as similar lighting as possible. I will continue with a few more sessions since these have been encouraging to say the least.

And now, as some of these reviews go, Smile Brilliant is offering one of you a chance at winning your own Teeth Whitening System!

SIGN UP HERE TO WIN $149 Smile Brilliant Credit - The value of their T3 Sensitive System

Giveaway is open to residents of the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. Winner will be contacted via email.

If you can’t wait, feel free to use the code KARILOPEZ15 for 15% off your order. Happy whitening!

Vacation Plant Care

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If you’re reading this, then it’s likely that you follow me on Instagram and you know how many plants I own. Whenever I go away even just for a weekend, I’m often asked how I care for my plants while I’m gone. What I do with my plants while I’m away depends on two things: How long am I gone and what season it is. During the colder months, most of my plants can survive no more than a week between waterings. During the summer months however, my plants tend to need a bit more help due to the heat. This is where my watering tools come in. I use two things in particular and they are described below. Links to where I bought them are available and full disclosure, they are affiliate links.

Hydro Spikes

I will cheat here and have Summer Rayne Oakes of Homestead Brooklyn explain hydrospikes for you. I found out about them through her and everything I know about them I learned through this episode of Plant One on Me. You can purchase the original Hydrospikes here. I have bought cheaper knock-offs through a variety of sellers and have had generally good success with them.

I've been getting so many questions on watering houseplants, so in this episode we talk about some watering hacks, like hydrospikes and humidity mats. Be sure to watch until the end, where I give you a quick mini tour of some of the watering tips/tricks in my home. Enjoy the episode!

Terracotta Stakes

If you’ve read my previous post about Basic Plant Care, you will have read that my preferred pot of choice is terra cotta because they are porous. Well terra cotta stakes work just because of that. It is recommended that stakes be soaked in water for a good amount of time, some say 15 minutes to half an hour and some say overnight. The stakes are then buried into your plant pot as deep as you possibly can without getting any of the soil inside it. Be careful not to damage your plant’s roots while doing so. Then you fill any long neck bottle with water and insert it upside down into the stake. it’s better to start with freshly watered plants for this. The water from your bottle keeps the terra cotta moist and because it is porous, the soil outside it will wick away moisture from the terra cotta as it needs it. Some have said this keeps gnats and other bugs away since they’re usually attracted to wet soil. Using stakes keeps your topsoil dry while keeping the soil at root level properly moist without it getting too wet, causing your roots to rot.

Do you still need to occasionally water your plants when you have stakes in them?

There’s no fixed answer for this. It depends on the plant. I once experimented with my Bird of Paradise. I kept a stake in its pot with a full bottle of water and stopped watering it altogether. It was fine and alive but it stopped shooting out new growth. When I restarted watering it normally, it gave out new leaves again. On the other hand, I have another plant whose name I do not know that has has a stake in it for over a year and I may have watered it a few times in that span of time and it’s still alive. It depends on how much water your plant needs, really. The stakes can be sufficient enough for some plants and for some, it merely helps you manage them in between your weekly waterings if you’re unable to water as often, specially in the warmer months. Again, it depends on the environment.

I use these from Amazon and chose them for their price and value per quantity. I’m sure others work just as well. They are made from terra cotta so just be gentle with them when turning your bottles over because they will break if you’re rough with them. Breakage seems to be the most common negative feedback in all of the ones I’ve seen on Amazon.


If all else fails, get a sitter.

If I’m leaving for a week or more in the summer, I usually ask a friend to come over to water plants a few times. In the winter, they can survive a little over a week before I need to have someone come. Plants are still a commitment, not unlike pets. Just a little less needy.

I’ve seen other plant parents on Instagram use pop-up green houses with grow lights and humidifiers set on timers while they’re away and they seem to work well for them. If I’m ever unable to get a friend to come over, then I may possibly try that as well.

Extras

These two aren’t required but have been helpful in getting my plants watered since I have so many. I used to haul and repeatedly refill a large watering can just to get everyone properly watered but since I bought this expanding garden hose, my weekly watering time has been cut down significantly because I no longer have to keep running to and from the faucet. I bought a special attachment that I use to attach it to my kitchen sink. You’ll need to figure out what works for your faucet.

Another thing that has helped a lot is this Moisture Meter that I use to check if plants need watering or not. I used to always stick my finger in the soil to check if its dry or still okay. With the number of plants that I have, that quickly turned into a messy affair. This meter tells me if a plant is dry, moist or wet simple by sticking it in the pot a few inches down. This helps the most with plants that are in high shelves or hanging planters. I no longer need to take them down to see if they’re dry or not. I just stick the meter in and I’ll know.

So there, hopefully you learned something helpful today. Happy plant parenting!


Custom Hair Care with Formulate

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A few months ago, I started using a custom shampoo and conditioner by a brand called Formulate. Personalized haircare has recently had a surge in popularity so when Formulate reached out to see if I would be willing to try them out in exchange for an honest review, I was more than happy to oblige. I was not paid for this post but was sent free product to test out.

So what exactly is a custom shampoo/conditioner?

Everyone has issues with their hair. Too thin, frizzy, itchy scalp, lacks volume or hydration and so on. Formulate’s website asks you a series of questions to determine the issues you have and what you want to achieve. It also takes your environment into consideration to see if it needs to adjust its formula to compensate for things like humidity. It is completely customizable including the scent’s level of strength.

My Hair Issues

So the problem I’ve had with my hair was its lack of hydration, curl definition, oily roots and itchy/flaky scalp. If I was going to try a custom formula, then I wanted it to address most, if not all of these issues as much as possible. No other product I’ve used in the past had ever addressed all of these.

What have I used in the past?

I’ve been a long time serial product jumper. Meaning, I’ve tried multiple products directed for wavy/curly gals like myself. From drugstore brands to slightly pricier and specialized ones from brands like Ouidad. I have also tried my best to stick to a no/low poo method with products from DevaCurl and that has been the worst for me because I shed and lost so much hair using it. I was never loyal to just one brand because I was always in search for the perfect one. I deep condition my hair once a week and use a dry shampoo every other day during my no shampoo days to keep my very oil roots at bay. I use a curl cream while my hair is damp and air-dry my hair 95% of the time. I also always shower at night and typically sleep with slightly damp hair.

The Goal

Frizz, oily roots and itchy scalp are my top concerns. Curl definition and hydration were secondary to me since I use a curl cream after I shower and try to deep condition my hair once a week. I wash my hair every other day to prevent shampoo from stripping my hair of moisture. For the most part, my wave/curl is manageable with the use of a texturizing spray used the morning of a no shampoo day but I’ve been needing to use a dry shampoo because my roots tend to get oily and greasy.

Initial Thoughts

Formulate’s products are sulfate and paraben free and if you’re used to regular shampoo, you will notice that these don’t lather as well. I used a scalp brush to help distribute the product and it definitely helped. Formulate also suggests you rinse and repeat and the product should lather better the second time. The conditioner’s consistency was thinner and didn’t feel like typical conditioner which made me wonder if it would be hydrating at all. I stopped using all other products except my curl cream during this time so that any change to my hair can be directly attributed to Formulate. They had a few scent options and I picked one called Burgeon thinking it would smell just like orange blossoms as described but it smelled more like sweet orange creamsicle to me which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, just not what I expected.

Did it work?

Not immediately and I expected that. Like any new skincare routine, your hair needs time to adjust and for the product to work. I will say the first thing I noticed was how less oilier my roots were which then made me use my dry shampoo less until I stopped needing it altogether. At the two week week mark, Formulate sends you an email requesting feedback about your custom formula. I took advantage of this and was honest in my feedback. I didn’t think the conditioner was hydrating enough. My scalp itched less but I was hoping for it to no longer itch at all. The team at Formulate was responsive and offered to reformulate a new one for me taking my feedback into consideration. I also had them change the scent to one called Verdant which was a floral scent with hints of lilies and eucalyptus.

When I received my new bottle, the first thing I checked was the scent. It was much better than the first. In the shower I noticed the new conditioner was creamier than the first but still less than your typical conditioner. Three weeks into my new formula and my oily scalp is pretty much nonexistent. I wash my hair more often now because of the summer weather since I come home all sweaty and gross. Normally shampooing everyday can be drying for my hair but I haven’t had those issues at all. I will say that my scalp itch has reduced by 80%. Not quite the 100% I was hoping for but not scratching my head until it bleeds is a win for me. No other single shampoo/conditioner combo I’ve used in the past has did this much for me. Please note that these results were through a minimum of 6-8 weeks of continuous use.

Will I continue using it?

Most definitely. I’ll be honest and say I was ready to try the free product then go back to my cheaper shampoo but I can’t imagine going back to my frizzy, greasy and itchy hair. It is slightly more $$ than most shampoo and conditioners but in my opinion very much worth the price. Bad hair days are few and far between. I may not have thought it would work but the results very much speak for themselves.

I’m very happy with my experience using Formulate and they have extended their generosity to one lucky follower. They are giving away one set of custom shampoo and conditioner and you can join by entering through the link below.

Enter to win a Custom Shampoo and Conditioner set from FORMULATE

Giveaway ends on August 5, 2019. Winner will be sent an email with a coupon code to redeem their own custom set. Non winning entries will be sent a $5 off coupon code.

Giveaway open to US residents only.