The bad news first: homemade deodorant FAIL
I've given up on the homemade deodorant. Even with all the changes I'd made, my underarms were still red, and the itchiness was relieved but not eliminated by moisturizing before applying. So now I'm trying out Tom's of Maine's Crystal Confidence. It's a roll-on rather than the stick I used before, and has fewer ingredients than Tom's of Maine's stick deodorant. So far, so good in terms of keeping me drying, odor-free, and non-itchy. Let's see if my underarms continue to tolerate it, and if it continues to work when the weather really gets hot.
Trial and error with homemade hair products
I have shared before that I've been successful in making my own products to clean and condition my hair, but have had a difficult time creating my own styling products. As a result of not having the funds to get my hair done often by professionals, and struggling to make my own styling products, I usually opt for the simple ponytail style, which gets boring after a while.
I've had my hair professionally done twice in the past two years, and both times the hair stylists (at two different shops) used products on my hair that they recommended I buy to manage my curls. I bought Beyond the Zone's Noodle Head at the first shop, and was very unsatisfied with how hard and dry it made my hair.
At the second shop, where I had my hair done about a month ago, they used and recommended Miss Jessie's Curly Pudding. I'm familiar with Miss Jessie's because my sister, who lives in New York where it's made and sold, uses it, and it is a good hair product. But it's expensive, and although it hasn't been reviewed by the Safe Cosmetics Database, I looked up the ingredients, and a few are high hazard (like this one).
And now, homemade hair product good news!
Having curly pudding used on my hair inspired me to search for a different curly pudding recipe than the earlier one that had failed so miserably.
Most recipes I found on natural hair care sites were similar, and most involved combining a commercial styling product for curls (most with toxic ingredients) with natural oils. One person, however, wrote down this formula:
holding gel + moisture + shine = voila!
And that formula was the key.
I realized that I have the ingredients on hand for the formula:
Flax seed gel & beeswax + aloe & glycerin + natural oils/butters
Here is the recipe I came up with:
Ingredients
1 Tbsp beeswax
2 Tbsp coconut oil
2 Tbsp unrefined shea butter
2 Tbsp pure aloe vera gel
3 Tbsp flax seed gel (see directions for flax seed gel below)
1 Tbsp vegetable glycerin
1/2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
10-20 drops essential oil for scent (I use peppermint and sweet orange)
10 drops of liquid grapefruit seed extract (as a natural preservative)
Directions
-With a shredder, shred beeswax until you can fill a tablespoon.
-Add shredded beeswax, coconut oil and shea butter to a small saucepan over a low flame, stirring constantly, until completely melted.
-Add the rest of the ingredients.
-Blend with a hand mixer until thick and smooth.
-Add to a small glass jar. Makes 4-6 ounces.
Once cool, it will look a little like and have a similar consistency to margerine.
Flax seed gel directions
-Bring 1 cup of filtered or distilled water to boil in a small saucepan.
-Add 1 TBSP whole flax seeds.
-Return to boil, then reduce heat and simmer until thick, stirring frequently.
-It may take 10-20 minutes to thicken until it drips slowly off a spoon.
-Strain out seeds.
-Add 2 Tbsp pure aloe vera gel (room temperature), and if desired, 10-20 drops essential oil for scent. Stir gently.
-Allow to gel overnight. Store in a small jar in refrigerator. Makes 4-6 ounces.
Note: Although I store my gel in the fridge, I'm not storing the curly pudding there. I suspect that because of the coconut oil and shea butter, it would become very hard if it were chilled. If contamination is a concern for you, cut the curly pudding recipe in half, or store half in the freezer and then allow to thaw at room temperature when you're ready to use it.
The result: hair product success!!
To use, rub a dollop in your hands and apply to damp, moisturized hair. Rake through hair with your fingers (especially the ends) and allow to air dry. Gently brush the hair with a natural bristle brush (such as boar's hair), and brush out the ends with a shampoo brush or paddle brush. I've used it on both my own and my daughter's hair, and it curls it up nicely.
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My new hair routine--for the girl with dry, curly hair
Regular cleaning
Add 2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar to an 8-oz squeeze bottle, and fill the rest with warm water. Shake gently, squeeze on hair, and massage well through hair and scalp. Allow to sit on hair about 2 minutes, then rinse well.
Regular conditioning
Add 1 Tbsp. olive oil and 1 Tbsp. scented vodka (I add a few drops peppermint essential oils to the vodka) to an 8-oz squeeze bottle, and fill the rest with warm water. Shake gently, squeeze on hair, and massage well through hair and scalp. Allow to sit on hair about 2 minutes, then rinse well.
Deep conditioning (occasional)
Add 1/4 cup of mayonnaise, 3 Tbsp. water and 2 Tbsp. olive oil to a glass dish. Stir until smooth. Cover and microwave for about 30 seconds, and stir again.
Apply throughout hair, especially at the ends. Cover with a plastic shower cap, followed by a hot towel. (I take a small clean hand towel, wet it so it's thoroughly damp but not dripping, and heat in the microwave for about 45 seconds. Then I wrap it around my head). Keep all this on your head 15-20 minutes, then rinse thoroughly. Follow with an apple cider vinegar wash.
Deep cleansing (occasional)
Add 1 Tbsp. baking soda to an 8-oz squeeze bottle, and fill the rest with warm water. Shake gently, squeeze on hair, and massage well through hair and scalp. Allow to sit on hair about 2 minutes, then rinse well. If you're prone to dandruff like I am, follow with an apple cider vinegar wash.
Daily styling
Comb out damp hair after spraying generously with detangler. Use daily conditioner, followed by curly pudding.
Daily conditioner ingredients
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. pure aloe vera gel
1 Tbsp. vegetable glycerin
3 Tbsp. of your favorite natural conditioner (I'm currently using Alaffia's Everyday Shea conditioner)
10-20 drops of essential oil for scent, and 5 drops of liquid grapefruit seed extract as a preservative.
Add all ingredients to a small glass dish (except the essential oils and grapefruit seed extract), stir gently, cover and microwave for about 30 seconds, and stir again gently until smooth. Add the oils and extract, and pour into a small squeeze bottle. Makes 4-6 ounces.
Each day, squeeze into your palms and rub gently into your hair.
Follow with curly pudding.
Detangler directions
Mix one part of the daily conditioner with three parts distilled or filtered water in an 8-oz. spray bottle. (In the winter, warm the water for about 20 seconds in the microwave first). Shake gently to mix, and shake gently before using each time.
The kiddie hair routine
My daughter washes her own hair with Burt's Bee's Baby Shampoo or Alaffia Everyday Shea shampoo. We use generous amounts of my homemade detangler and daily conditioner, and style. If the style is loose (e.g., not braided), use curly pudding.
Showing posts with label skin care. Show all posts
Showing posts with label skin care. Show all posts
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Mmm... more great homemade skin care
I got a great suggestion for a homemade facial cleanser from a friend at church. This feels heavenly when applied to your face!
Almond-grape facial cleanser
Add 1/2 cup of slivered almonds and 1/2 cup of white grapes to a blender and puree.
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Because the resulting mixture can spoil easily, I split it up between several 2 oz containers and froze all but one. I placed the remaining container in my refrigerator. I take it out at night, wet my face with warm water, massage a little of the mixture all over my face, and then rinse off with warm water again. Moisturize when complete.
After I use up this container, I'll take another out of the freezer.
Almond-grape facial cleanser
Add 1/2 cup of slivered almonds and 1/2 cup of white grapes to a blender and puree.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Because the resulting mixture can spoil easily, I split it up between several 2 oz containers and froze all but one. I placed the remaining container in my refrigerator. I take it out at night, wet my face with warm water, massage a little of the mixture all over my face, and then rinse off with warm water again. Moisturize when complete.
After I use up this container, I'll take another out of the freezer.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Update on deodorant
I now apply Alaffia Everyday Shea lotion to my underarms before applying my homemade deodorant. Itchy underarm problem solved!
Friday, October 22, 2010
My deodorant's not working so well...
Sorry I haven't blogged lately. I started a new job at the beginning of October, one with a long commute, so my free time is much more limited.
So, the homemade deodorant I raved about a few months ago? Not working out so well.
Not because it's not effective. On the contrary, it still works better in preventing wetness and odor than most deodorants I've ever tried, natural or otherwise, and almost as well as most antiperspirants. (Antiperspirants are typically stronger than deodorants, because they stop you from sweating).
However, I started breaking out in a red, itchy rash under my arms a few weeks ago. After googling, "rash from homemade deodorant," I learned that it is a fairly common problem. The major culprit is the baking soda, which, as I discovered when I used to wash my hair with it,§ can be very drying to scalp and skin.
Here are the changes I've made, which have helped the problem, but not completely eliminated it yet:
Revised homemade deodorant recipe:
* Place 2 T of unrefined coconut oil and 2 T of unrefined shea butter in a pot and liquify over low-medium heat. This happens fairly quickly.
* Remove from heat and add other ingredients:
-- 5 T of corn starch (CHANGE: more corn starch)
-- Slightly less than 1 T of baking soda (CHANGE: much less baking soda)
-- 1 T of witch hazel
-- 1 T of pure aloe vera gel (CHANGE: added to improve moisture)
-- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon peppermint oil. (CHANGE: peppermint instead of orange, because citrus oils can irritate. Note: you can choose a different type of essential oil, based on whatever scent you prefer.)
* Stir continuously until smooth
* Pour into a 4 oz canning jar.
*Leave lid off until cool. Re-stir once cooled, as essential oils sometimes float to the top. Can refrigerate for a couple days to solidify.
======================
The other change I've made is that after showering, I apply some of my olive oil/shea butter facial moisturizer to my underarms before applying the deodorant. It has definitely helped--the rash and itch are much better, but not completely gone. I'll update again about this in a couple of months.
======================
§ This post describes how I currently wash and condition my hair, although now I generally wash with apple cider vinegar & water, and condition with olive oil/vodka/water.
So, the homemade deodorant I raved about a few months ago? Not working out so well.
Not because it's not effective. On the contrary, it still works better in preventing wetness and odor than most deodorants I've ever tried, natural or otherwise, and almost as well as most antiperspirants. (Antiperspirants are typically stronger than deodorants, because they stop you from sweating).
However, I started breaking out in a red, itchy rash under my arms a few weeks ago. After googling, "rash from homemade deodorant," I learned that it is a fairly common problem. The major culprit is the baking soda, which, as I discovered when I used to wash my hair with it,§ can be very drying to scalp and skin.
Here are the changes I've made, which have helped the problem, but not completely eliminated it yet:
Revised homemade deodorant recipe:
* Place 2 T of unrefined coconut oil and 2 T of unrefined shea butter in a pot and liquify over low-medium heat. This happens fairly quickly.
* Remove from heat and add other ingredients:
-- 5 T of corn starch (CHANGE: more corn starch)
-- Slightly less than 1 T of baking soda (CHANGE: much less baking soda)
-- 1 T of witch hazel
-- 1 T of pure aloe vera gel (CHANGE: added to improve moisture)
-- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon peppermint oil. (CHANGE: peppermint instead of orange, because citrus oils can irritate. Note: you can choose a different type of essential oil, based on whatever scent you prefer.)
* Stir continuously until smooth
* Pour into a 4 oz canning jar.
*Leave lid off until cool. Re-stir once cooled, as essential oils sometimes float to the top. Can refrigerate for a couple days to solidify.
======================
The other change I've made is that after showering, I apply some of my olive oil/shea butter facial moisturizer to my underarms before applying the deodorant. It has definitely helped--the rash and itch are much better, but not completely gone. I'll update again about this in a couple of months.
======================
§ This post describes how I currently wash and condition my hair, although now I generally wash with apple cider vinegar & water, and condition with olive oil/vodka/water.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
The Safe Cosmetics Act: where do you stand?
On July 21, three Congressional Reps introduced the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010 (H.R.5786), "which gives the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authority to ensure that personal care products are free of harmful ingredients." In many ways, this bill is very necessary and overdue, as "The Story of Cosmetics" video (created by the same makers of "The Story of Stuff") reveals. The Safe Cosmetics Campaign provides information about how the act will protect consumers going forward.
However... The Indie Beauty Network, a coalition of small businesses that create and sell personal care products, opposes the bill, citing the following reasons:
-- Small cosmetic businesses have a history of producing safe cosmetics.
-- The requirements of the law, including scientific testing of all their ingredients and reporting of trace elements found even in natural ingredients, would be onerous to small businesses. They give the example of having to identify and label everything in water, if that is an ingredient of the given cosmetic, noting that water "contains a number of chemicals, including nickel, lead, copper, silver and dozens more — depending on the water source."
-- The law allows individual states to add requirements to the federal law, compounding the burden to small businesses.
The Indie Beauty Network adds that this law would decimate the small cosmetics industry at one of the worst times possible, when we are trying to rebuild the American economy.
Here, however, seems to be the crux of all the above concerns:
What are your thoughts? I definitely think a Safe Cosmetics law is long overdue. However, wouldn't it make more sense to amend the bill to include an exemption for small businesses, than to fight against the bill altogether?
However... The Indie Beauty Network, a coalition of small businesses that create and sell personal care products, opposes the bill, citing the following reasons:
-- Small cosmetic businesses have a history of producing safe cosmetics.
-- The requirements of the law, including scientific testing of all their ingredients and reporting of trace elements found even in natural ingredients, would be onerous to small businesses. They give the example of having to identify and label everything in water, if that is an ingredient of the given cosmetic, noting that water "contains a number of chemicals, including nickel, lead, copper, silver and dozens more — depending on the water source."
-- The law allows individual states to add requirements to the federal law, compounding the burden to small businesses.
The Indie Beauty Network adds that this law would decimate the small cosmetics industry at one of the worst times possible, when we are trying to rebuild the American economy.
Here, however, seems to be the crux of all the above concerns:
H.R. 5786 does not contain an exemption for small business owners. Many laws in this country exempt small companies because compliance would put them out of business without any real benefit to society. The same is true in this case. H.R. 5786 treats the smallest company making 50 products a day the same way it treats our nation’s multi-million dollar companies. While there is an exemption from the annual payment of fees, the testing and paperwork requirements in this bill place burdens on very small businesses that are unfair, overreaching, unnecessary, offensive and intrusive.
What are your thoughts? I definitely think a Safe Cosmetics law is long overdue. However, wouldn't it make more sense to amend the bill to include an exemption for small businesses, than to fight against the bill altogether?
Friday, July 30, 2010
Praising Alaffia yet again
Earlier this year, I blogged about discovering that my daughter has the same dry, sensitive skin, especially on the face, that I have. My homemade shea butter and olive oil moisturizer caused her to break out in little pimples, and plain aloe vera didn't provide enough moisture to keep her skin from becoming dry, red and itchy.
At Super Supplements, a clerk recommended and I purchased Earth's Best Organics' Calendula Extra Rich Therapy Cream, designed for babies' skin. It worked for a while, but after about a month (as was always the case with me, using commercial moisturizers), my daughter started reacting to the product, breaking out in rashes.
Well, my resourceful child has come up with her own solution. She started applying Alaffia's Everyday Shea Body Lotion to her face. It has been working beautifully for months now, keeping her skin soft and smooth with no reactions or breakouts.
I encourage my readers to support Alaffia*, including their Everyday Shea products and their upline skin and hair care products. They're an awesome company, not only for the quality of their products**, but also for the values and principles they espouse and practice. Alaffia products are available at Whole Foods, Super Supplements, Marlene's (for those of you in Tacoma), and other natural food and personal care stores, as well as online.
=======================
* I have no relationship with Alaffia other than being a satisfied customer, and I receive nothing from them for my endorsement.
** Something else I love about Alaffia are the 2-oz glass jars they sell their pure shea butter in. I reuse these jars to make my homemade moisturizers, deodorant and (my latest experiment) toothpaste. They're the perfect size in which to make and store small batches.
At Super Supplements, a clerk recommended and I purchased Earth's Best Organics' Calendula Extra Rich Therapy Cream, designed for babies' skin. It worked for a while, but after about a month (as was always the case with me, using commercial moisturizers), my daughter started reacting to the product, breaking out in rashes.
Well, my resourceful child has come up with her own solution. She started applying Alaffia's Everyday Shea Body Lotion to her face. It has been working beautifully for months now, keeping her skin soft and smooth with no reactions or breakouts.
I encourage my readers to support Alaffia*, including their Everyday Shea products and their upline skin and hair care products. They're an awesome company, not only for the quality of their products**, but also for the values and principles they espouse and practice. Alaffia products are available at Whole Foods, Super Supplements, Marlene's (for those of you in Tacoma), and other natural food and personal care stores, as well as online.
=======================
* I have no relationship with Alaffia other than being a satisfied customer, and I receive nothing from them for my endorsement.
** Something else I love about Alaffia are the 2-oz glass jars they sell their pure shea butter in. I reuse these jars to make my homemade moisturizers, deodorant and (my latest experiment) toothpaste. They're the perfect size in which to make and store small batches.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Making my own deodorant
Here's another reason why small steps are a good thing: each time one small step results in success, it encourages me to take another.
My latest is making my own deodorant. A few years ago, learning about the toxins in many antipersperants, I switched to natural deordorants. Most I tried didn't work well at all, leaving me wet and a little stinky at the end of eat day. Finally, I tried Tom's of Maine's long-lasting deodorant. It worked very well, except on very hot days. Thus, I began carrying a deodorant stick with me during the summer in case I needed to reapply it.
Last week, I read an article about unhealthy substances in deodorants that fingered many "natural" deodorants as culprits. One of the bad ingredients listed was propylene glycol--which turns out to be the first ingredient of my Tom's of Maine deodorant. Wikipedia states that propylene glycol is not harmful to humans in small amounts, but that it can be a skin irritant, and I wonder if that was the case with me. My underarms have had red, itchy patches on them lately.
It was time to try making my own. After googling and looking at several recipes on the web, I decided to try this one, found at the blog Cheap Like Me:
======================
* Place 5 tablespoons of coconut oil (unrefined from natural food store) in a pot and liquify over low-medium heat. This happens very quickly.
[Amy's note: I used 2 T of coconut oil and 3 T of shea butter, since I love shea so much! Shea takes a little longer to melt.]
* Remove from heat and add other ingredients.
* Add 1/4 cup of corn starch
* Add 1/4 cup of baking soda
[Amy's note: I added 1 T of witch hazel to the mix, which the first article (on toxins in deodorants) recommended as a good ingredient. So I also added an extra tablespoon each of corn starch and baking soda, to retain the mixture's consistency.]
* Stir continuously until smooth
* Add essential oils drop by drop until desired scent is reached
[Amy's note: the blogger used lavender and tea tree oil. I used sweet orange oil.]
* Pour into a 4 oz canning jar.
*Leave lid off until cool. Re-stir once cooled, as essential oils sometimes float to the top. Can refrigerate for a couple days to solidify.
======================
Once more, the results have been awesome! The homemade deodorant has kept me dry and smelling good all day. I've carried a small amount with me in case I need to reapply it, and I haven't had to. And the red, itchy patches have gone away!
So many natural products I make myself work just as well, and usually better than the commercial varieties, without the toxins or (for my sensitive skin) the side effects. Other than the time factor of making them, why would I ever go back?
My latest is making my own deodorant. A few years ago, learning about the toxins in many antipersperants, I switched to natural deordorants. Most I tried didn't work well at all, leaving me wet and a little stinky at the end of eat day. Finally, I tried Tom's of Maine's long-lasting deodorant. It worked very well, except on very hot days. Thus, I began carrying a deodorant stick with me during the summer in case I needed to reapply it.
Last week, I read an article about unhealthy substances in deodorants that fingered many "natural" deodorants as culprits. One of the bad ingredients listed was propylene glycol--which turns out to be the first ingredient of my Tom's of Maine deodorant. Wikipedia states that propylene glycol is not harmful to humans in small amounts, but that it can be a skin irritant, and I wonder if that was the case with me. My underarms have had red, itchy patches on them lately.
It was time to try making my own. After googling and looking at several recipes on the web, I decided to try this one, found at the blog Cheap Like Me:
======================
* Place 5 tablespoons of coconut oil (unrefined from natural food store) in a pot and liquify over low-medium heat. This happens very quickly.
[Amy's note: I used 2 T of coconut oil and 3 T of shea butter, since I love shea so much! Shea takes a little longer to melt.]
* Remove from heat and add other ingredients.
* Add 1/4 cup of corn starch
* Add 1/4 cup of baking soda
[Amy's note: I added 1 T of witch hazel to the mix, which the first article (on toxins in deodorants) recommended as a good ingredient. So I also added an extra tablespoon each of corn starch and baking soda, to retain the mixture's consistency.]
* Stir continuously until smooth
* Add essential oils drop by drop until desired scent is reached
[Amy's note: the blogger used lavender and tea tree oil. I used sweet orange oil.]
* Pour into a 4 oz canning jar.
*Leave lid off until cool. Re-stir once cooled, as essential oils sometimes float to the top. Can refrigerate for a couple days to solidify.
======================
Once more, the results have been awesome! The homemade deodorant has kept me dry and smelling good all day. I've carried a small amount with me in case I need to reapply it, and I haven't had to. And the red, itchy patches have gone away!
So many natural products I make myself work just as well, and usually better than the commercial varieties, without the toxins or (for my sensitive skin) the side effects. Other than the time factor of making them, why would I ever go back?
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Oh yes! The Seattle Organics mystery has been solved
I heard back from Ballard Organics. My guess was correct: they do produce the Seattle Organics castile soap. They produce it as a special discounted product for Grocery Outlet. So in addition to my road trip to Alaffia in Lacey, I have to take a trip up to Seattle to visit the Ballard Organics store.
Nope... just visited the web site. They're closing their retail store and going to all wholesale operations.
Nope... just visited the web site. They're closing their retail store and going to all wholesale operations.
Alaffia continues to impress me
I've shared about how much I love Alaffia's Everyday Shea body lotion, not only for the product, but also the values of the company that produces it. I was telling someone about it recently, and it prompted me to visit their web site again. They've updated it since I last visited, and now the company's founder, Olowo-n'djo Tchala, has written on their web site about the company's commitment to moral responsibility, environmental, social and economic sustainability, and fair trade. It's worth a read, starting here (see the right side bar for other topics).
Our friend Michele has suggested a small road trip to Lacey, WA to visit their company operations. We have to plan that sometime soon!
Our friend Michele has suggested a small road trip to Lacey, WA to visit their company operations. We have to plan that sometime soon!
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Mystery solved? And more about hair
Remember my Seattle Organics castile soap mystery? I have an email in to a company called Ballard Organics, asking if they were once called Seattle Organics, since I haven't been about to find anything about the latter. It's possible, since I've been seing Ballard Organics soaps on the shelves in several stores, and the labels of the two products looks the same.
In any case, I wish I had heard of them sooner. I just received an order of AAA shea butter, which I ordered online because as much as I want to buy shea butter from a local company, Alaffia, $10 for 2 ounces doesn't compare to AAA's $25 for 16 oz. But on Ballard Organics web site, they sell 16 oz. of shea butter for $24.25. Even cheaper and local! I would need to find out more to know if their shea butter is unrefined and as good quality as Alaffia's and AAA's.
I know I talk a lot about hair, but it's a black woman thing! So, I went to get my hair done last week (for the first time in more than a year), along with my daughter, with a hair dresser who works in the barbershop where my husband gets his hair cut. I told him that I don't want to use chemicals on either of our heads, and I want to find something I can do with my hair naturally and easily, and that daughter wanted her hair straightened. He gave me a nice cut, and applied a product called Noodle Head, which he said would keep it curly. I like the cut, hate the product. It contains, of course, a list of unreadable ingredients (although a quick scan on the Safe Cosmetics Database shows that many of them are low hazard), and alcohol is the second biggest ingredient (after water). My hair looked great at first, and an hour later, was dry and rough to the touch.
I think I'll stick with my homemade products, thank you. I really like Green Barbarian's hair recommendation -- washing with 2 T. apple cider vinegar in 8 oz. water, and then conditioning with a mix of 2 T. olive oil and 1 T. vodka in 8 oz water, with a little essential oil for scent. And my conditioners are working well.
The hair dresser did recommend a product that I purchased and do like: a paddle brush, which is great at detangling curly hair (when wet). I also just invested in a better flat iron, which a woman at Sally's Beauty Supply said for very curly hair, needs to heat up to 450 degrees. The one I bought was far from the $240 the woman at the mall tried to sell me at Christmas time--only $40. I won't use it often, but I'd like the option to straighten my hair or my daughter's on occasion.
In any case, I wish I had heard of them sooner. I just received an order of AAA shea butter, which I ordered online because as much as I want to buy shea butter from a local company, Alaffia, $10 for 2 ounces doesn't compare to AAA's $25 for 16 oz. But on Ballard Organics web site, they sell 16 oz. of shea butter for $24.25. Even cheaper and local! I would need to find out more to know if their shea butter is unrefined and as good quality as Alaffia's and AAA's.
I know I talk a lot about hair, but it's a black woman thing! So, I went to get my hair done last week (for the first time in more than a year), along with my daughter, with a hair dresser who works in the barbershop where my husband gets his hair cut. I told him that I don't want to use chemicals on either of our heads, and I want to find something I can do with my hair naturally and easily, and that daughter wanted her hair straightened. He gave me a nice cut, and applied a product called Noodle Head, which he said would keep it curly. I like the cut, hate the product. It contains, of course, a list of unreadable ingredients (although a quick scan on the Safe Cosmetics Database shows that many of them are low hazard), and alcohol is the second biggest ingredient (after water). My hair looked great at first, and an hour later, was dry and rough to the touch.
I think I'll stick with my homemade products, thank you. I really like Green Barbarian's hair recommendation -- washing with 2 T. apple cider vinegar in 8 oz. water, and then conditioning with a mix of 2 T. olive oil and 1 T. vodka in 8 oz water, with a little essential oil for scent. And my conditioners are working well.
The hair dresser did recommend a product that I purchased and do like: a paddle brush, which is great at detangling curly hair (when wet). I also just invested in a better flat iron, which a woman at Sally's Beauty Supply said for very curly hair, needs to heat up to 450 degrees. The one I bought was far from the $240 the woman at the mall tried to sell me at Christmas time--only $40. I won't use it often, but I'd like the option to straighten my hair or my daughter's on occasion.
Friday, January 22, 2010
My daughter's skin
I had been wondering if my daughter would have the same skin problems I have, and it seems the answer is yes. The skin on her face has started becoming dry, red and easily irritated.
My next question, of course, was whether what works for me would work for her, being a child. I tried my homemade shea butter/olive oil moisturizer, and she broke out in little pimples. So I tried pure aloe vera gel, and it helped, but didn't seem to moisturize enough.
So a visit to Super Supplements was in order. I have been applying witch hazel to the pimples to clear them up, but I wanted something to moisturize without causing a reaction. A clerk recommended Earth's Best Organics (which makes baby food and products) Calendula Extra Rich Therapy Cream. Calendula is an extract of the marigold plant.
According to the Safe Cosmetics Database, it has a 3 rating (out of 10, with 10 being the most toxic). Most of the ingredients are very safe, and the rating seems to have been brought down by the addition of benzyl alochol, which has a rating of 6. Alcohol, I believe, is used in a lot of skin and hair care products because it prevents the ingredients from separating. (Since I don't use it in my homemade stuff, I usually have to shake or mix them again before use). I have seen several natural products use cetyl alcohol for this purpose, which has a 1 rating on the database.
Since the product seems to be working, perhaps a letter to the company, asking them to find an alternative to the benzyl alcohol, would be a good thing to do.
My next question, of course, was whether what works for me would work for her, being a child. I tried my homemade shea butter/olive oil moisturizer, and she broke out in little pimples. So I tried pure aloe vera gel, and it helped, but didn't seem to moisturize enough.
So a visit to Super Supplements was in order. I have been applying witch hazel to the pimples to clear them up, but I wanted something to moisturize without causing a reaction. A clerk recommended Earth's Best Organics (which makes baby food and products) Calendula Extra Rich Therapy Cream. Calendula is an extract of the marigold plant.
According to the Safe Cosmetics Database, it has a 3 rating (out of 10, with 10 being the most toxic). Most of the ingredients are very safe, and the rating seems to have been brought down by the addition of benzyl alochol, which has a rating of 6. Alcohol, I believe, is used in a lot of skin and hair care products because it prevents the ingredients from separating. (Since I don't use it in my homemade stuff, I usually have to shake or mix them again before use). I have seen several natural products use cetyl alcohol for this purpose, which has a 1 rating on the database.
Since the product seems to be working, perhaps a letter to the company, asking them to find an alternative to the benzyl alcohol, would be a good thing to do.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Quick, cheap skin and hair care tips
Pimples and Blackheads
I saw a list of tips somewhere recently for dealing with adult acne. Despite having very dry skin, adult acne is a problem I occasionally have, and blackheads was a problem I regularly had before I started making my own skin care products. In addition to recommending commercial products and retinol (which you may need a prescription for), the list of tips told readers to avoid using any oil on your skin, since acne is aggravated by oil. From personal experience, I disagree.
Many thanks go out to the original web site (which I can't recall) that inspired me to make my own products. That site suggested using organic, cold-pressed cod liver oil to cleanse and moisturize skin. Due to the fact that I couldn't find cod liver oil anywhere that was both organic and cold-pressed, I went with shea butter instead, and started melting it and mixing it with an equal amount of extra virgin olive oil to make it creamier and easier to use.
The reason the cod liver oil recommendation impressed me was a test the blogger suggested. She wrote that it may seem counter-intuitive, but the truth is, oil attracts dirt and oil, and if you use a non-pore clogging oil on your skin, it can actually help rid your skin of excess dirt and oil, while cleansing and moisturizing your skin. (Consider this also: back in the days when people made their own soap, what did they usually make it out of? Lard. In other words, animal fat. And according to wikipedia, lard and other oils are still used to make soaps commercially).
The test was to put a little oil on a pimple or blackhead and wait for a while and see what happens. This is what I did: I put a little of my shea butter/olive oil mixture on the biggest, most stubborn blackhead on my nose, and covered it with a small bandaid. I waited 24 hours and removed the bandaid. Then I placed a hot washcloth over the spot, and the blackhead popped right out! This was a blackhead that I had never been able to rid myself of using commercial skin masques and products such as Biore nose strips. From that point on, I was a believer.
So here's my adult acne tip: cover the pimple or breakout area with a very hot damp washcloth, followed by a very cold damp washcloth. This will reduce the swelling. Apply witch hazel to a cotton ball and pat the pimple(s) very gently to cleanse. Then add a pure moisturizer to the spot several times a day: I alternate my shea butter/olive oil mixture with pure aloe vera gel. Using this method, any pimples I have disappear within a day, usually with no blemish. This process has also worked with other blemishes or itchy spots on my skin.
(And btw, I no longer get any blackheads!)
=======================
Itchy scalp
I have written before about how, alternating between baking soda washes/apple cider vinegar rinses, and "Curly Girl" recommended conditioner washes (using Trader Joe's TeaTree Tingle Conditioner) with apple cider vinegar rinses, I have cured my lifelong dandruff problem. However, being a curly girl, I wash my hair once a week and sometimes get itchy scalp in some spots between washes.
A quick way to ease that is to soak a cotton ball with vinegar and wipe the itchy spot with it, then apply pure aloe vera gel to the spot. The vinegar smell dissipates after a few minutes.
I saw a list of tips somewhere recently for dealing with adult acne. Despite having very dry skin, adult acne is a problem I occasionally have, and blackheads was a problem I regularly had before I started making my own skin care products. In addition to recommending commercial products and retinol (which you may need a prescription for), the list of tips told readers to avoid using any oil on your skin, since acne is aggravated by oil. From personal experience, I disagree.
Many thanks go out to the original web site (which I can't recall) that inspired me to make my own products. That site suggested using organic, cold-pressed cod liver oil to cleanse and moisturize skin. Due to the fact that I couldn't find cod liver oil anywhere that was both organic and cold-pressed, I went with shea butter instead, and started melting it and mixing it with an equal amount of extra virgin olive oil to make it creamier and easier to use.
The reason the cod liver oil recommendation impressed me was a test the blogger suggested. She wrote that it may seem counter-intuitive, but the truth is, oil attracts dirt and oil, and if you use a non-pore clogging oil on your skin, it can actually help rid your skin of excess dirt and oil, while cleansing and moisturizing your skin. (Consider this also: back in the days when people made their own soap, what did they usually make it out of? Lard. In other words, animal fat. And according to wikipedia, lard and other oils are still used to make soaps commercially).
The test was to put a little oil on a pimple or blackhead and wait for a while and see what happens. This is what I did: I put a little of my shea butter/olive oil mixture on the biggest, most stubborn blackhead on my nose, and covered it with a small bandaid. I waited 24 hours and removed the bandaid. Then I placed a hot washcloth over the spot, and the blackhead popped right out! This was a blackhead that I had never been able to rid myself of using commercial skin masques and products such as Biore nose strips. From that point on, I was a believer.
So here's my adult acne tip: cover the pimple or breakout area with a very hot damp washcloth, followed by a very cold damp washcloth. This will reduce the swelling. Apply witch hazel to a cotton ball and pat the pimple(s) very gently to cleanse. Then add a pure moisturizer to the spot several times a day: I alternate my shea butter/olive oil mixture with pure aloe vera gel. Using this method, any pimples I have disappear within a day, usually with no blemish. This process has also worked with other blemishes or itchy spots on my skin.
(And btw, I no longer get any blackheads!)
=======================
Itchy scalp
I have written before about how, alternating between baking soda washes/apple cider vinegar rinses, and "Curly Girl" recommended conditioner washes (using Trader Joe's TeaTree Tingle Conditioner) with apple cider vinegar rinses, I have cured my lifelong dandruff problem. However, being a curly girl, I wash my hair once a week and sometimes get itchy scalp in some spots between washes.
A quick way to ease that is to soak a cotton ball with vinegar and wipe the itchy spot with it, then apply pure aloe vera gel to the spot. The vinegar smell dissipates after a few minutes.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Saving my skin and hair (and money!)
I've posted before about making my own skin and hair care products, in part because my concerns about the environmental impact and toxicity of many commercial products, but also out of desperation. For years I had tried various commercial products, and nothing seemed to cure my severe dandruff or extremely dry skin that was prone to blackheads on my nose and chin, flaking on my forehead, and itchy, red, scaly patches all over.
Not only have I cured those problems myself by making my own products from natural ingredients, but I'm spending so much less money to do so. I sat down last night to add up what I'm spending now, compared to what I spent before. Included below are just the products I used/use for basic (face) skin and hair maintenance, without including costs for styling or makeup.
What I spent before:
Cetaphil gentle skin cleanser: $10 for 16 oz (6 mo. supply) = $20/year
Cetaphil moisturizing cream: $14 for 16 oz (4 mo. supply) = $42/year
Olay Total Effects Moisturizer: $23 for 1.7 oz (1 mo. supply) = $276/year
Bioré pore strips: $10 for 6 (1 year supply) = $10/year
Neutrogena T-Gel anti-dandruff shampoo: $16 for 16 oz (2 mo. supply) = $96/year
Queen Helene Cholesterol Hair Conditioner: $3 for 15 oz (4 mo. supply) = $9/year
African Pride hair relaxer: $8 for 4 mo. supply = $24/year
Total: $477, or about $40/month
What I use now:
AAA Pure Shea Butter: $25 for 16 oz (1 year supply) = $25/year
Powdered milk: $6 for 16 oz (2 year supply) = $3/year
Extra virgin olive oil: $6 for 32 oz (1 year supply) = $6/year
Pure aloe vera gel: $7 for 32 oz (4 mo. supply) = $21/year
Vegetable glycerin: $7 for 16 oz (6 mo. supply) = $14/year
Apple cider vinegar: $1.50 for 32 oz. (1 year supply) = $1.50/year
Trader Joe's TeaTree Tingle Conditioner: $4 for 16 oz. (3 mo. supply) = $16/year
Jojoba oil: $6 for 4 oz (1 year supply) = $6/year
Vitamin E oil: $2.50 for 2 oz (1 year supply) = $2.50/year
Essential oils for scent: $10 for 2 year supply = $5/year
Other ingredients: flax seed, yogurt, yeast, green tea, baking soda, mayonnaise: These are ingredients I have in my kitchen. They cost so little to begin with and I use so little of them in skin and hair care (just small amounts, either once a week or once a month), that the cost is negligible. So let's say $2/year.
Total: $102/year, or about $8.50 a month. That's about one-fifth of what I used to spend!
The best part, however, is the results. I am in my early 40's now, and my skin looks better than it did a decade ago. It may be my imagination, but I'd swear that the wrinkles I had started to develop (basically, two lines on my forehead, and a couple of crow's feet around the eyes) have diminished. Meanwhile, I know for certain that my skin is softer, smoother and clearer than it's ever been. As for my hair, as I have posted before, I am still working on styling, but the health of my hair and scalp is fantastic!
For the skin and hair care recipes I use, please click here, here and here.
Not only have I cured those problems myself by making my own products from natural ingredients, but I'm spending so much less money to do so. I sat down last night to add up what I'm spending now, compared to what I spent before. Included below are just the products I used/use for basic (face) skin and hair maintenance, without including costs for styling or makeup.
What I spent before:
Cetaphil gentle skin cleanser: $10 for 16 oz (6 mo. supply) = $20/year
Cetaphil moisturizing cream: $14 for 16 oz (4 mo. supply) = $42/year
Olay Total Effects Moisturizer: $23 for 1.7 oz (1 mo. supply) = $276/year
Bioré pore strips: $10 for 6 (1 year supply) = $10/year
Neutrogena T-Gel anti-dandruff shampoo: $16 for 16 oz (2 mo. supply) = $96/year
Queen Helene Cholesterol Hair Conditioner: $3 for 15 oz (4 mo. supply) = $9/year
African Pride hair relaxer: $8 for 4 mo. supply = $24/year
Total: $477, or about $40/month
What I use now:
AAA Pure Shea Butter: $25 for 16 oz (1 year supply) = $25/year
Powdered milk: $6 for 16 oz (2 year supply) = $3/year
Extra virgin olive oil: $6 for 32 oz (1 year supply) = $6/year
Pure aloe vera gel: $7 for 32 oz (4 mo. supply) = $21/year
Vegetable glycerin: $7 for 16 oz (6 mo. supply) = $14/year
Apple cider vinegar: $1.50 for 32 oz. (1 year supply) = $1.50/year
Trader Joe's TeaTree Tingle Conditioner: $4 for 16 oz. (3 mo. supply) = $16/year
Jojoba oil: $6 for 4 oz (1 year supply) = $6/year
Vitamin E oil: $2.50 for 2 oz (1 year supply) = $2.50/year
Essential oils for scent: $10 for 2 year supply = $5/year
Other ingredients: flax seed, yogurt, yeast, green tea, baking soda, mayonnaise: These are ingredients I have in my kitchen. They cost so little to begin with and I use so little of them in skin and hair care (just small amounts, either once a week or once a month), that the cost is negligible. So let's say $2/year.
Total: $102/year, or about $8.50 a month. That's about one-fifth of what I used to spend!
The best part, however, is the results. I am in my early 40's now, and my skin looks better than it did a decade ago. It may be my imagination, but I'd swear that the wrinkles I had started to develop (basically, two lines on my forehead, and a couple of crow's feet around the eyes) have diminished. Meanwhile, I know for certain that my skin is softer, smoother and clearer than it's ever been. As for my hair, as I have posted before, I am still working on styling, but the health of my hair and scalp is fantastic!
For the skin and hair care recipes I use, please click here, here and here.
Friday, June 19, 2009
MyChelle Minerals Makeup
A shout-out to MyChelle Minerals, from whom I received a free makeover at Super Supplements yesterday. According to their web site, their products are "always free from phthalates, parabens, propylene glycol, ureas, EDTA, fragrances, encapsulated nano particles, and artificial colors." This is great, because while I'm happy with my skincare routine, I hadn't yet found a natural makeup line that I liked. And they did a really nice job with the makeover!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Great product recommendation
For some reasons, the skin problems that have affected my scalp and face have never affected the rest of my body, so I've always been able to use commercial body lotions without problem. I've been looking for a good eco-friendly body lotion for a while. I like Alba Botanica and Trader Joe's body lotions, both of which contain mostly natural ingredients and feel great on the skin. However, both contain parabens as preservatives, which are possible carcinogens.
On a recent visit to Super Supplements, I found an awesome product: Alaffia Everyday Shea body lotion. There are so many great benefits to this products:
~ It's made from all-natural ingredients, including and primarily shea butter, which has been such a healing product for my face.*
~ The company operates according to fair trade practices.**
~ The founder of the company is from Togo, and started the company as a way to help empower his fellow Africans. They donate 10% of sales to community development projects in Togo.
~ For me, the company is local: it's headquartered in Olympia, WA.
~ It's very affordable. I paid $10 for a 32 oz. bottle. (Note: Products sold at Super Supplements tend to be cheaper than I find them elsewhere, so it normally retails for $13.99).
Please visit the Alaffia web site to learn more about the company's great story, as well as about the wonders of shea butter.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* Shea butter has a distinctive odor reminiscent of both chocolate and almonds. I really like the aroma, but it takes getting used to.
** Fair trade "means paying a fair price or wage in the local context, providing equal employment opportunities, engaging in environmental sustainable practices, providing healthy and safe working conditions, being open to public accountability, and reducing the number of middlemen between producers and consumers." Please see the Alaffia web site for more information about fair trade.
On a recent visit to Super Supplements, I found an awesome product: Alaffia Everyday Shea body lotion. There are so many great benefits to this products:
~ It's made from all-natural ingredients, including and primarily shea butter, which has been such a healing product for my face.*
~ The company operates according to fair trade practices.**
~ The founder of the company is from Togo, and started the company as a way to help empower his fellow Africans. They donate 10% of sales to community development projects in Togo.
~ For me, the company is local: it's headquartered in Olympia, WA.
~ It's very affordable. I paid $10 for a 32 oz. bottle. (Note: Products sold at Super Supplements tend to be cheaper than I find them elsewhere, so it normally retails for $13.99).
Please visit the Alaffia web site to learn more about the company's great story, as well as about the wonders of shea butter.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* Shea butter has a distinctive odor reminiscent of both chocolate and almonds. I really like the aroma, but it takes getting used to.
** Fair trade "means paying a fair price or wage in the local context, providing equal employment opportunities, engaging in environmental sustainable practices, providing healthy and safe working conditions, being open to public accountability, and reducing the number of middlemen between producers and consumers." Please see the Alaffia web site for more information about fair trade.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Hair and skin update
One of my co-workers has a sister who braids and twists natural hair, so now I have two options!
I tried the methods I discussed in my last post: the avocado/mayo deep conditioning, and the witch hazel/jojoba oil scalp cleaning and conditioning. While my hair felt very silky right after the deep conditioning, it seemed frizzier than normal after it dried. I'm uncertain whether to blame this on the witch hazel, but after using it, an almost forgotten old friend returned: dandruff!
I washed my hair with baking soda a few days later followed by an apple cider vinegar rinse, and the dandruff went away. I've decided that I'll deep condition with hot oil instead (by warming up olive oil in the microwave, applying it to my hair, and covering with a shower cap for a half hour, then rinsing out), and I'll return to my old scalp treatment: cleaning itchy spots with white vinegar on a cotton ball, followed by applying pure aloe vera gel to moisturize.
Jojoba oil ($6.99 at Trader Joe's for 8 oz; also available but more expensive at natural and health food stores) does have other great uses, however. It's perfect for removing eye makeup (apply to a cotton ball), and for moisturizing and reducing the appearance of fine lines around the eyes (apply with your pinky or ring finger, since those are your gentlest fingers). I use it at night, because it looks shiny on the skin.
Note on the use of vinegar on the hair: it has a strong smell when you first use it, but it goes away after you rinse it out. Even when you're not rinsing (as when I clean my scalp with vinegar on a cotton ball), the smell dissipates after a few minutes. Vinegar, I've found, is a great deodorizer: use it on something that smells bad (say, your garbage can). After you rinse, the scent that remains is very fresh and clean.
I tried the methods I discussed in my last post: the avocado/mayo deep conditioning, and the witch hazel/jojoba oil scalp cleaning and conditioning. While my hair felt very silky right after the deep conditioning, it seemed frizzier than normal after it dried. I'm uncertain whether to blame this on the witch hazel, but after using it, an almost forgotten old friend returned: dandruff!
I washed my hair with baking soda a few days later followed by an apple cider vinegar rinse, and the dandruff went away. I've decided that I'll deep condition with hot oil instead (by warming up olive oil in the microwave, applying it to my hair, and covering with a shower cap for a half hour, then rinsing out), and I'll return to my old scalp treatment: cleaning itchy spots with white vinegar on a cotton ball, followed by applying pure aloe vera gel to moisturize.
Jojoba oil ($6.99 at Trader Joe's for 8 oz; also available but more expensive at natural and health food stores) does have other great uses, however. It's perfect for removing eye makeup (apply to a cotton ball), and for moisturizing and reducing the appearance of fine lines around the eyes (apply with your pinky or ring finger, since those are your gentlest fingers). I use it at night, because it looks shiny on the skin.
Note on the use of vinegar on the hair: it has a strong smell when you first use it, but it goes away after you rinse it out. Even when you're not rinsing (as when I clean my scalp with vinegar on a cotton ball), the smell dissipates after a few minutes. Vinegar, I've found, is a great deodorizer: use it on something that smells bad (say, your garbage can). After you rinse, the scent that remains is very fresh and clean.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Making my own skin and hair care products
Two things motivated this. First, after my daughter was born, I started thinking much more about the environment and the impact that toxins and pollutants could have on her health, and I wanted to make changes in my lifestyle for her sake. Second, I had to make changes in my beauty routine out of necessity.
Skin Care
As teenagers, my siblings and I had very little acne. What we suffered from instead was red, scaly rashes the frequently spread across our faces. My mother took us to a dermatologist every other week, who kept prescribing different medications, which might or might not work for a while, but which often had side effects, for which he'd prescribe something else. And our skin issues never really went away.
Well, I went off to college with my skin care prescriptions in hand and tried to get them filled at my college pharmacy. The pharmacist stared at me and refused to fill them. "There is NO WAY any reputable doctor should have prescribed so many medications for you," he said. And he added, "I think most dermatologists are talking out of their neck anyway. Most of the time, they have no idea what's wrong with your skin; they're just guessing."
I am not trying to disparage dermatology as a profession, but as you can imagine, that soured me on dermatologists. But now I was stuck: what to do about my skin? One night, when my red, itchy face was driving me nuts, I thought, "What if nothing is wrong with my skin? What if it's just dry and sensitive?" And I grabbed a jar of petroleum jelly and slathered it over my face.
The next morning, my skin was clear and soft. No red patches, no itching, no scales. I had found the answer: nothing was wrong with my skin that keeping it well-moisturized wouldn't handle.
Of course, petroleum jelly is horrible for your skin, clogging pores (and I now know, is also bad environmentally). So I started trying different moisturizers. The problem was, after a few months, my skin would start to react again to whatever product I was using, even those labeled "hypoallergenic" (e.g., Eucerin, Cetaphil, etc.).
Enter my new interest in the environment. In the process, I discovered a lot of DIY homemade product recipes online, many of which I've modified to best suit my needs. Here are a few:
Skin care routine:
1. Cleanse with a mixture of powdered milk and water.
2. Tone with green tea.
3. Exfoliate with a mixture of baking soda and water (once a week).
4. Do a homemade facial mask once a week. I've tried a few different ones. My favorite so far is a mixture of plain yogurt, milled flax seeds, and yeast.
5. The best part: the moisturizer! I mix equal parts (usually 2 TB) pure shea butter (a company in Georgia, AAA Shea Butter, sells a 16 oz. jar for $25; it lasts me about a year) and extra virgin olive oil. Shea butter is a solid, so I melt it in the microwave. I also crush a couple of Vitamin C tablets in a pill crusher and add that, as well as about a tsp. of Vitamin E oil. I mix all this in a small jar with a good lid. I tilt it on its side overnight (otherwise, the Vitamin C will all sink to the bottom). By the morning, the mixture has the consistency of a cream. This amount lasts me about a month. Then I clean and disinfect the jar and make some more. Every morning, I apply it generously to my face and either rinse several times with warm water, or take a really hot washcloth and place it on my face so it absorbs in.
Since I've been using this routine (almost 2 years now!), my skin is soft and smooth, and I've had NO recurrences of the red, scaly itchy skin.
Hair Care
OK, I'm an African-American with lots of other stuff in my ancestry, and I have very thick, dry, curly, hard to comb hair--a nightmare for my mother as a child! (And I'm experiencing the same issues, trying to care for my daughter's hair). I have also suffered from really bad dandruff since I was a child as young as eight, something no dandruff shampoo seemed to alleviate. I'm still working on my hair care routine, but here is what I'm doing so far:
1. I've been 'poo free for almost two years. I used to use the baking soda/vinegar method, washing with 1 TB. baking soda in 8 oz. of water (applied with a squeeze bottle), letting it sit a few minutes and rinsing with warm water; followed by 2 TB. apple cider vinegar in 8 oz. of cool water as a rinse, letting it sit for a few minutes, and rinsing with cool water. For more than a year and a half, that worked well and eliminated my dandruff. Then my scalp started to itch like crazy! The odd thing was, my dandruff didn't return. In the past, if I scratched my head, a shower of flakes would fall on my shoulders. No flakes this time around, but boy, did it itch!
I have recently started reading about the "Curly Girl" method, in which you wash your hair with conditioner instead of shampoo (recommended since curly hair tends to be naturally dry). I started washing with Trader Joe's Tea Tree Oil conditioner (awesome, all natural product, 16 oz. is $3.99) mixed with water, and I still do the apple cider vinegar rinse. I've been doing this for six weeks now, and it's working out well. The itch is gone! I've since read that baking soda is a great cleaner for oily hair, but not so much for dry, but that occasionally (maybe once a month), a baking soda wash should be used to get rid of any build-up. I currently wash my hair about once every five days.
2. I make a daily leave-in conditioner from 1/3 part TJ's Tea Tree Oil conditioner, 1/3 part extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), and 1/3 part filtered water. Very nice, keeps my hair well-moisturized without feeling greasy.
3. I make my own detangler! The "Curly Girl" method says you shouldn't comb your hair, but I can't imagine that--my hair would be a rat's nest if I didn't. This is an AWESOME detangler. I fill an 8oz. spray bottle about 2/3 full with filtered water. Then I add (no set amounts, just until the bottle is full) some TJ's Tea Tree Oil conditioner, some pure Aloe Vera gel (I can purchase a large bottle at Super Supplements for $7.99), and some EVOO, along with about 10 drops each of peppermint essential oil and grapefruit seed extract to make it smell good. I can't believe how easy my hair is to comb after spraying this stuff on! It even works well on my daughter's hair, miracle of miracles! (Oh yeah, you have to shake well each time you use it)
4. Here's the area I'm still working on. I still use a chemical relaxer about once every 3 months. I recently learned about a product called Natural Laxer from a company called Treasured Locs, made from Saharan Clay and herbs. I'd like to try it, because I want to get away from chemical products altogether. The only thing is, it says that it could discolor light-colored hair (which I have). But I hope to still try it in the next couple months, and post about the results.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
UPDATE: I've also started adding a little vegetable glycerin to the above products. Vegetable glycerin is a humectant, which when used on the skin or hair, help them to attract and retain moisture. I purchased a 16 oz bottle of vegetable glycerin from Super Supplements for $7.19.
Skin Care
As teenagers, my siblings and I had very little acne. What we suffered from instead was red, scaly rashes the frequently spread across our faces. My mother took us to a dermatologist every other week, who kept prescribing different medications, which might or might not work for a while, but which often had side effects, for which he'd prescribe something else. And our skin issues never really went away.
Well, I went off to college with my skin care prescriptions in hand and tried to get them filled at my college pharmacy. The pharmacist stared at me and refused to fill them. "There is NO WAY any reputable doctor should have prescribed so many medications for you," he said. And he added, "I think most dermatologists are talking out of their neck anyway. Most of the time, they have no idea what's wrong with your skin; they're just guessing."
I am not trying to disparage dermatology as a profession, but as you can imagine, that soured me on dermatologists. But now I was stuck: what to do about my skin? One night, when my red, itchy face was driving me nuts, I thought, "What if nothing is wrong with my skin? What if it's just dry and sensitive?" And I grabbed a jar of petroleum jelly and slathered it over my face.
The next morning, my skin was clear and soft. No red patches, no itching, no scales. I had found the answer: nothing was wrong with my skin that keeping it well-moisturized wouldn't handle.
Of course, petroleum jelly is horrible for your skin, clogging pores (and I now know, is also bad environmentally). So I started trying different moisturizers. The problem was, after a few months, my skin would start to react again to whatever product I was using, even those labeled "hypoallergenic" (e.g., Eucerin, Cetaphil, etc.).
Enter my new interest in the environment. In the process, I discovered a lot of DIY homemade product recipes online, many of which I've modified to best suit my needs. Here are a few:
Skin care routine:
1. Cleanse with a mixture of powdered milk and water.
2. Tone with green tea.
3. Exfoliate with a mixture of baking soda and water (once a week).
4. Do a homemade facial mask once a week. I've tried a few different ones. My favorite so far is a mixture of plain yogurt, milled flax seeds, and yeast.
5. The best part: the moisturizer! I mix equal parts (usually 2 TB) pure shea butter (a company in Georgia, AAA Shea Butter, sells a 16 oz. jar for $25; it lasts me about a year) and extra virgin olive oil. Shea butter is a solid, so I melt it in the microwave. I also crush a couple of Vitamin C tablets in a pill crusher and add that, as well as about a tsp. of Vitamin E oil. I mix all this in a small jar with a good lid. I tilt it on its side overnight (otherwise, the Vitamin C will all sink to the bottom). By the morning, the mixture has the consistency of a cream. This amount lasts me about a month. Then I clean and disinfect the jar and make some more. Every morning, I apply it generously to my face and either rinse several times with warm water, or take a really hot washcloth and place it on my face so it absorbs in.
Since I've been using this routine (almost 2 years now!), my skin is soft and smooth, and I've had NO recurrences of the red, scaly itchy skin.
Hair Care
OK, I'm an African-American with lots of other stuff in my ancestry, and I have very thick, dry, curly, hard to comb hair--a nightmare for my mother as a child! (And I'm experiencing the same issues, trying to care for my daughter's hair). I have also suffered from really bad dandruff since I was a child as young as eight, something no dandruff shampoo seemed to alleviate. I'm still working on my hair care routine, but here is what I'm doing so far:
1. I've been 'poo free for almost two years. I used to use the baking soda/vinegar method, washing with 1 TB. baking soda in 8 oz. of water (applied with a squeeze bottle), letting it sit a few minutes and rinsing with warm water; followed by 2 TB. apple cider vinegar in 8 oz. of cool water as a rinse, letting it sit for a few minutes, and rinsing with cool water. For more than a year and a half, that worked well and eliminated my dandruff. Then my scalp started to itch like crazy! The odd thing was, my dandruff didn't return. In the past, if I scratched my head, a shower of flakes would fall on my shoulders. No flakes this time around, but boy, did it itch!
I have recently started reading about the "Curly Girl" method, in which you wash your hair with conditioner instead of shampoo (recommended since curly hair tends to be naturally dry). I started washing with Trader Joe's Tea Tree Oil conditioner (awesome, all natural product, 16 oz. is $3.99) mixed with water, and I still do the apple cider vinegar rinse. I've been doing this for six weeks now, and it's working out well. The itch is gone! I've since read that baking soda is a great cleaner for oily hair, but not so much for dry, but that occasionally (maybe once a month), a baking soda wash should be used to get rid of any build-up. I currently wash my hair about once every five days.
2. I make a daily leave-in conditioner from 1/3 part TJ's Tea Tree Oil conditioner, 1/3 part extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), and 1/3 part filtered water. Very nice, keeps my hair well-moisturized without feeling greasy.
3. I make my own detangler! The "Curly Girl" method says you shouldn't comb your hair, but I can't imagine that--my hair would be a rat's nest if I didn't. This is an AWESOME detangler. I fill an 8oz. spray bottle about 2/3 full with filtered water. Then I add (no set amounts, just until the bottle is full) some TJ's Tea Tree Oil conditioner, some pure Aloe Vera gel (I can purchase a large bottle at Super Supplements for $7.99), and some EVOO, along with about 10 drops each of peppermint essential oil and grapefruit seed extract to make it smell good. I can't believe how easy my hair is to comb after spraying this stuff on! It even works well on my daughter's hair, miracle of miracles! (Oh yeah, you have to shake well each time you use it)
4. Here's the area I'm still working on. I still use a chemical relaxer about once every 3 months. I recently learned about a product called Natural Laxer from a company called Treasured Locs, made from Saharan Clay and herbs. I'd like to try it, because I want to get away from chemical products altogether. The only thing is, it says that it could discolor light-colored hair (which I have). But I hope to still try it in the next couple months, and post about the results.
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UPDATE: I've also started adding a little vegetable glycerin to the above products. Vegetable glycerin is a humectant, which when used on the skin or hair, help them to attract and retain moisture. I purchased a 16 oz bottle of vegetable glycerin from Super Supplements for $7.19.
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