Pre/Post Beauty: Cleansers, Lotions and Toners

Cleansers, lotions and toners! I searched high and low for the best recipes, with ingredients I had already and these are the products I came up with and have been using for the past month. I am in LOVE with the Peppermint Chamomile face wash. The minty smell and tingle feel so good on the face. It's gentle yet removes dirt and makeup off my face so easily. I have been using this as my nighttime cleanser but lately have been using this in the mornings because the invigorating peppermint smell gets me going for those early AM runs. After I wash my face, morning or night, I follow with this ACV & Green Tea toner and then I use my Green Tea Face Cream which really works. I do not have a pic because I need to make more. Cleansing Grains make my skin so soft. It is different because it is an alternative to soap cleansers. It does not remove makeup so I like this as a morning cleanser or days I go makeup free. I also follow this with toner. Just use a small cup and sprinkle the grains and add your liquid of choice for mixing. Cleansing grains take a little getting used to but it is very versatile because you can customize to your skin: oily (use water or witch hazel), dry (use goat's milk or cow milk), and normal (use rosewater). I use water. So just mix the grains and liquid and let it sit for a second until it gets a little more thicker. Now scrub on your face. To make a mask, just make a thicker paste and apply on your face and let it sit for 20 mins. Wash. Once a month I do a facial of some kind. The Orange Facial Exfoliate is good. I mix it with my face wash and scrub my face. Another thing I do is micro-dermabrasion with lemon juice, organic baking soda and an automatic toothbrush.  Apply toner after of course.

I used to remove my eye makeup with Vaseline and then I read about how it was made and what it is. Yuck. Now I use olive oil or coconut oil. Coconut oil has many beauty benefits so I always keep some in a separate container in the bathroom. I love this face cream because it is like a beauty balm made with aloe, Vit E, jojoba oil, cocoa butter and beeswax.

Going Curly

It has been a month since to starting using chemical fire beauty products and I do have to admit I was skeptical but very much surprised at the results. My complexion has gotten better and my skin has never felt so soft and smooth for a while. Two weeks ago I dumped out my liquid makeup for a DIY recipe I found on Scratch Mommy that I tweaked to fit my skin tone. I also found an awesome powder foundation recipe by Live Simply, also tweaked to my liking. My skin feels like it could breathe and my breakouts have been minimal. I make the video below so that you guys can see. I do use a few store bought products like mascara, brow powder, VS face flash (LOVEEE this product) and this lip gloss I really love. There are recipes online for making this items but I did not venture down that path yet. Soap Delicatessen has great beauty DIYs and also sells her products if you do not have time to make your our stuff.

HAIR: I have written a draft about my hair issues. 20+ years of hair dying, flat irons, curling irons, blow drying, many many products with lots and lots of chemicals etc., started to take its toll on my hair. It was lifeless, dry, broken, damaged. Fearing that I would wake up one day and have no hair I had to make a stand and save this hair of mine. The hair I got loads of complaints for during my teens and 20s. I had thick curly hair that I straightened both chemically and with heat tools. Noticing that my thick beautiful hair was becoming thin and dead I had to bring it back to life. My husband LOVES my curls and had been telling me to embrance them but then I listened to others that were like your hair looks bad curly make it straight. But I was going against the...curl. It was more work to keep my curly hair straight so I decided to put my old products and tools to rest and start reviving this hair.

HAIR JOURNEY: I starting research online mostly on YouTube looking for demos on how to care for curls. Yep that's right, this curly girl had no idea how to care for her locks. I found that all these girls had one thing in common, they all raved about The Curly Girl Handbook, a bible for curly girls. The last time this hair felt a flat iron was in November 2013 and my hair has been getting more healthy. It took some self control not to reach for the flat iron a few times in the beginning but my hair has gotten used to it and it is growing!! But it still has a long way to go. What I did was I changed my normal hair gel that was drying my hair to a cream curl enhancer and purchase a more conditioning conditioner and used coconut oil in my hair before shampooing.

 


CHEM FREE HAIR: For the past 2 weeks I held an experiment with my hair, I wanted to see how it would be if I only used natural shampoo, conditioner, and gel. I have an herbal shampoo for dry scalp and a apple cider vinegar rinse as the conditioner (it goes hand in hand with the shampoo because the vinegar rinses out the shampoo and anything else but keeps your natural oils). Dr. Bronner's liquid soap is great for making natural shampoos and facial cleansers. Before I shampoo, I detangle my hair with coconut oil and my fingers. Then I shampoo and rinse with the ACV conditioner and then I use Mane & Tail and comb out my hair in the shower with the conditioner in my hair and then rinse out. Wrap my hair in a cotton t-shirt. I did more YouTube research to find a natural hair gel. Now if you do not have the time or the items to make these products you can purchase them at whole food stores, but really it only take some time and then you can store in your frig for 3-4 weeks keeping only a week's worth in the bathroom and it really saves money. So I found a really cool video on how to make hair gel using flax seeds. OMG!!!!! so easy and it works!!!! I was also very, very skeptical. I watched so many videos about this gel and everyone seemed pleased with the results so I figured what the hell. Boil some water and add flax seeds, how easy. Check out Natural85 and search for more videos about this gel while your there. Yes, it was and the gel works so nice. It enhances your curl and feels natural. I don't feel like my hair is weighed down with product. And you can customize to your liking. This is my recipe and it lasts for 3 weeks in the frig. Using the gel right out of the frig works great to seal my cuticle and the curl - frizz free curls. Apply the gel and DO NOT touch your hair until it dries and then flip your head upside down, shake curls and you are done. I also made a lavender spray for next day curls. I put in a little honey for hold and it's also good for your hair, a tablespoon of coconut oil and a few drops of lavender essential oil. I try to keep a black tea rinse in my frig (it lasts for two weeks in the frig) to keep those grays at bay. Check out the video below.

July 2013 Curls

May 2014 Curls

This is my first real video hope you like it and sorry about the audio being so low. Still trying to get the hang of this. And don't forget to subscribe!

Beauty Product Series: Intro

Out with the old and in with the new. I never thought that I would be tossing out my makeup and to go chemical free, but that day has come. For the past two weeks I have search the internet high and low reading about the chemicals we use and looking for the best natural recipes. I did loads of internet research for you guys also with the help of a book a good friend lent us called, Organic Body Care Recipes by Stephanie Tourles. This book is great because it covers a lot. For 2 days I had my head stuck in this book soaking up lots of info to share with you guys.

There are a lot of scary chemicals in many of the products we woman use. And women use a lot more product then men so we really need to be careful. Just like the prepackaged food sitting on the shelves of the supermarket so does our beauty products, sit on the shelves with preservatives and things that were made in a lab and now we put them on our bodies and face. We get sick, have no idea what happened, go to the doctor and get more chemicals. Now we are eating chemicals, taking chemicals and putting chemicals on the body. Chemical overload. My mom has allergic reactions to many of these products and I never bothered to do any research because my reactions to these chemicals were not too bad. Recently, I started using liquid makeup mixed with lotion to reduce the amount of foundation on the face. I will address this more in the second part of this series. You choose what you buy and use and eat. Do you care about what you put on yourself? Yes? We need to be more wise and look at those ingredients because no one cares about you only your dollars. Don't believe me? Here are few sites to check out on the leisure:

List of harmful chemicals found in cosmetics
Treehugger
Cleaning With Ammonia
Clinique Makeup Ingredients
Breast Cancer and Cosmetics
Chemicals in Cosmetics to Avoid
Baby oil is Mineral Oil and Fragrance

And it all started trying to find a body scrub recipe online. Searching for one thing led me to fall down the rabbit hole into a whole plethora of new information that I was absorbing like a small child. For the past two weeks, I tested out a bunch of recipes. Some were good, some not, and some I had to do over. But through it all, you can see a difference in my face (skin is so clear), hair and nails alone within days of changing products. I have broken this up in a series because I have so much to tell and show. All the store brought deodorants, lip balms, hair dyes, cleaning products are not welcomed here anymore. We have more products to get rid of still to be totally chem free in this home. First in the series is Pre/Post Beauty: cleansers, lotions and toners. Second is Makeup Madness: liquid, powder, blush cream, lip balm, with links to DIY mascara, shadows and liner. Third is Get Clean: toothpaste, shower soap, shampoo and conditioner. Fourth is Men: shaving cream, aftershave and more. Fifth is Get That Place Clean: detergent, scouring scrub, and various cleaners.

Yesterday, I finally purchased my first essential oils; lavender and tea tree at Nature's Pantry. Some tea tree EO in toothpaste because it is a very safe essential oil that has antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral properties. Some drops of lavender EO in a jar half filled with Epsom salts makes a great room deodorizer. Be creative.

Enjoy the series!

My "Plastic Surgery" Story | SunKissAlba

Dirty Beauty Gone Clean: Clean Deodorant

Why natural deodorant? Here's the story. Deodorant has always irritated my skin, always, but I don't wanna stink right, so I continued to wear it. Who hasn't heard people say the same, in fact my husband does not like wearing it and does not because of the aluminum in the stuff. Ah yes, added chemicals, how can I forget it is in everything we buy. So since I cleaning up my food, why not try to clean up my beauty products as well.

I did a little research on deodorants and the ingredients that make it up. I found this:

"Many popular store bought deodorants have some of the following ingredients that are harmful for our health, increasing our chances of breast cancer, possible Alzheimer’s and other diseases and illnesses:
Aluminum - linked to Alzheimer’s and breast cancer; the risks increase when added to the skin AFTER shaving! Propylene glycol - shown to cause dermatitis, liver and kidney problems in animal studies. May inhibit skin cell growth and cause skin irritation Butane - ingredient in aerosol deodorants, is listed as a skin irritantPropane - ummm, what? Enough said. Talc - Acute to chronic lung disease (talcosis), contributes to ovarian cancers

 Why are these ingredients so dangerous? They are applied to shaven skin (hair acts as a protective barrier), and to the underarm which is a location where a group of lymph nodes are gathered to help fight infection. We apply these toxins directly to an area of our body that has already been compromised because of shaving and to an area where these toxins are easily absorbed into breast tissue, into our lymph nodes and into our blood stream helping us to compromise our systems in life-threatening ways.

 What's the alternative? NATURAL DEODORANT using common products..."


We women use so much product, WAY more than men and we do not stop and read what is in these products we use everyday. Makeup, lotions for everything, DO, nail polish, all sorts of hair products etc have harmful chemicals and these products are not regulated by FDA so you have to take a stand and be more wise. It was hard to read about the ingredients in deodorant having links to breast cancer. These chemicals soak into the breast tissue which extends up into the armpit area. Scary because we use DO everyday for years. Do not trust what the ad or packing on the box tells you, research. I did a few more reviews and experiments of those expensive eye creams you get at swanky shops and beauty boutiques you can make your own at home. Stay tuned for that post.

So back to this DIY deodorant. It was super easy to make and this will last me 2 months. The hardest part was cleaning out the old DO container. Did you know that soap did not even help cleaning the gross DO? Goes to show all the garbage it was made from. So I searched high and low for the perfect natural DO to try for you guys. One that will not make me smell, one that will not melt or separate, one that would smell nice without using essential oil (I am wanting to buy some soon, I am just beginning here). The base of natural DO, I found, is always cold pressed virgin coconut oil, organic baking soda (no aluminum), organic cornstarch or arrowroot powder. Why organic? Because we want to make sure there are no GMOs defeating the purpose of natural. Kathleen's blog Becoming Peculiar, has a great post with pictures on how to make you own DO that won't melt in the summertime. I tried this recipe and tested it last night at the gym and it happened to be a warm day here in NY, it worked great and smelled delicious. I tweaked the recipe a bit because I did not have any essential oils on hand. I was very pleased with the results because I sweat crazy and if I did not wear DO I'd be stinking. This does not stop the sweat but controls the odor. I really love it. If you are wearing black or sleeveless anything, wait until it dries and maybe wipe off excess.

LEMONY FRESH NATURAL DEODORANT
1/4 C arrowroot (or organic cornstarch)
1/4 C organic baking soda
3 T coconut oil
1 T grated beeswax
zest of one lemon
cleaned out deodorant container

Double boiler: Use a medium pot and a recycled glass jar. Fill pot half way and bring water to a boil. While waiting for water to boil put coconut oil in the jar and zest the lemon if you have not done so (only the yellow part no white). When the water is at a boil turn down to low. Take a few minutes to put oil in the jar and place the jar in this water bath. Use a chopstick to stir the coconut oil until it melts fully. Now put in the zest and let it sit in this bath for 15 mins. Use a cheesecloth or coffee filter and strain the zest and oil. Squeeze the oil out of the zest and discard. Put oil back in the jar and add the beeswax and place this jar back into the bath and stir until the wax is fully melted. Combine cornstarch and baking soda together in a bowl. Pour this mix into the jar in the water bath and stir until fully combined. Working quickly pour this mix into the DO container and place in the frig to harden. Smells deliciously lemony fresh!

PERKS
arrowroot (for sensitive skin)/cornstarch - absorbs moisture
baking soda -  eliminates odor
cold pressed virgin coconut oil - has antibacterial, anti-fungal and antiviral properties
lemon - smells nice, eliminates odor, has antiseptic properties

Hope you guys try this and let me know what you think. 

Dirty Beauty Gone Clean: Scrubs & stuff

So, the other day I was thinking about getting back to basics with my beauty products. I know my grandmother had her homemade beauty "potions" and she always had amazing skin. And why pay all that money for high end scrubs and beauty products that also have added junk in them to preserve. I still use bad make up BUT I have limited the amount of liquid makeup I put on my face I just make sure I moisturize and keep drinking water and juicing. It has been a year and half of eating right and juicing AND it has done wonders for my complexion. Ok so anyways back to these fun products in the picture. I LOVEEEEEE scrubs, who doesn't? It's like a spa in my bathroom. Scrubs makes your skin soft and refreshed. But those good scrubs cost $$$$$. I had all this leftover sugars that I didn't toss in case I needed to bake something for someone. So I made a few scrubs.

Brown Sugar Scrub
This one smells so good you will want to eat it and you could BUT sugar is bad for you so don't. This was the first one I made and I didn't measure this one. But next time I will add less oil.
2 parts Brown sugar
1 part white sugar
zest of 2 lemons
honey about 1-2 Tbsp
oil of choice - half coconut oil half olive

Mix these all up and put in a cute glass jar. This scrub makes your skin feel so nice and the lemon zest mix in there smells amazing. The honey locks in moisture leaving your skin silky smooth hours after your shower. No need to use lotion after. Careful because since I put too much oil the bottom on my tub was oily so careful when showering.

After some more reading about scrub ingredients, I came up with this fun scrub:

Orange Spiced Black Tea Scrub
5 bags of black tea
1/2 C white sugar
1 tsp honey
6 Tbsp coconut oil
zest of one orange
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cardamon
pinch of ground clove

Empty the 5 tea bags into a mixing bowl. Add the dry ingredients. Then the wet and mix.

THE PERKS:
black tea - natural compounds found in black tea are excellent for your skin. Tea is a natural astringent, meaning it will dry up and tighten skin. This is really important when dealing with spots, acne, pimples etc
orange - orange peels contain significant amount of calcium which provides protection against pre-mature ageing of the skin. Removes blackheads, rejuvenates dull skin and gives you radiant skin.
cinnamon - riding acne and redness and really helps soften, tone, and fight the signs of aging such as age spots and wrinkles

honey - honey is beneficial to all skin types because it helps the skin add and retain elasticity and moisture without drying out the skin

coconut oil - it’s incredibly moisturizing and filled with vitamins and minerals, which it locks securely into your skin

This is a coffee scrub recipe. It is great for cellulite as it tightens and tones your skin. It's the main ingredient in a lot of high end products. Had a cool spa sesh other night and my skin felt rejuvenated and soft. Not to mention my bathroom smelled like a coffee shop. Mmmmmmm! And, I used it on my face as well the next morning. BTW all these scrubs are good for your face but either grind the sugar/coffee/salt finer or don't scrub too hard on your face. Use these scrubs once a week on your face and for you body no more then twice a week. You need to let your skin chill before you exfoliate again.

Mocha Scrub

1/2 ground coffee

1/2 C white sugar

1/4 C coconut oil

1 tsp cocoa powder

Mix these up in a bowl. Enjoy!

FACE

Apple cider vinegar is a cool item to have on hand. It has SO many uses, one being a great face toner. I found this recipe online from CoconutandKettlebells :

ACV and GREEN TEA TONER

For sensitive skin: Mix 1 part apple cider vinegar with 4 parts water
For normal skin: Mix 1 part apple cider vinegar with 2 parts water
For oily skin: Mix 1 part apple cider vinegar with 1 part water

Use green tea in place of water. Brew large cup with 2 tea bags. Let cool. ix with Vit E (¼ tsp or more ) to preserve. 1-2 times a day, after washing skin with a gentle cleanser, swipe your entire face with this toner using a cotton ball or pad. Do not rinse. Apply moisturizer afterwards, if needed. After a few days of using this toner after cleansing I noticed that my skin tone looked more even, my cystic acne calmed down and my skin cleared up. I’m definitely making this a permanent part of my cleansing regime.

source: http://coconutsandkettlebells.com/diy-apple-cider-vinegar-facial-toner/

And let me tell you this TOTALLY works. I had a few pimples on my face and this toner got rid of them so fast. I used it in the AM and at night. You def see results fast. Where have you been all my life!!!

The next item was I tried my hand at infused oils but I am not sure if it worked because my finished product did not smell of rose (well very faintly) or ginger. We always have sore muscles because we are always working out hard so I read that ginger (another wonderful ingredient to have on hand with many benefits) is great for sore muscles. So I read how to infuse oil. I need more practice doing this.

Olive oil is a great eye makeup remover!

Well, that's it for now.