Hair and Face Smoothie

At the end of this last week, I was feeling less than joyful. No particular reason, just a case of the blahs. To lift my spirit and do something nice for myself, I had a little solo 'Spa Day' without, you know, actually going to a spa.

I gave myself a mani-pedi, and I also gave made and used a nice hair mask and facial treatment. To further keep down my costs, I used only what I had on hand:

• Coconut milk
• Greens Plus Superfood Raw (link to blog post I did)
• Avocado
• **Desert Cactus honey (made from agave cactus)

Note that I left the Greens Plus out of the mix that I used on my hair. This is what the 2 different mixes look like (pardon my crappy photography skills). 

Lots richer colored with
Greens

Minus Greens

All the ingredients fit with my recent opinion about beauty products which is: If it's not safe for my insides, why put it on my outsides? Anyway, I assume you're probably too lazy right now to go back and read (or re-read) the post on the Greens Plus, so here are the ingredients again:

Other than the Stevia Leaf, the ingredients are all something I'd eat regularly. (I try to stay away from Stevia just because of the taste, but everything else in this Greens blend masks it from the taste buds!)

Still, I wasn't sure what would happen with all those greens when applied to my face. For all I knew, I was going to end up looking like an alien. That's one reason I did my 'spa' treatment on a Friday. I'd have all day Saturday to fix any mistakes and still make it to Sunday church service on time. 

As far as the hair mask, the results were not as moisturizing as I expected. In hindsight, I'm thinking that I could have added more honey and maybe a little bit of coconut or olive oil. What I did like is how clean my hair felt. I only did a really good rinse (not a shampoo) before and after applying the mask. Also, I think that a full hour might have been too long for leaving it on. (I got involved in a phone convo...). Like I said, my hair did feel really clean, and I didn't get any breakage. Afterwards, I went ahead and used a little bit of Aussie Moist conditioner to get some softening.

The 'green mix' went on my face like any other facial mask and I let it rest for 20 minutes. It was thicker than the hair mask because of the added Greens powder. (I like that for the face because it helped it stay in place, but wouldn't like it that thick for my hair. Just a little note in case you decided to try this.)One pleasant surprise in using the Greens in the facial is the very gently exfoliating effect. I generally only use super-fine grained things to exfoliate with because I don't want to damage my skin. The greens were so fine that I enjoyed massaging the problem areas of my nose and chin. There was no irritation at all. The mask rinsed well and left my skin feeling super clean and, I think, more toned. This was almost like a really gentle clarifying facial. After rinsing, I added a tough of Jojoba oil while my skin was still slightly damp. Wonderful!

Next time, the only thing I will change is the hair mask. I will definitely add something for softening. I'm thinking that a little bit of Coconut or Marula oil will do the trick. 

If you've been keeping up with the blog, you'll know that I'm taking a few tablespoons each day of blackstrap molasses. I can tell now without a doubt that this is helping my dark hair hold its color. My hair isn't growing much faster than usual, but it is thicker at the roots. I'll take it.

Peace

--Free

** Since I don't know much more about Desert Cactus Honey (other than that it comes not from bees but an agave cactus), I'm not sure if that affected the hair mask. Maybe I will do a comparison with some 'regular' honey next time. Notice there's not a lot of info about desert cactus online. I am seeing that it's a 'thing' to mix either types of honey with EVOO as a shine treatment. Hmmm...

Alternative Cleansers for the Skin

An acquaintance of mine was asking the other day about things I use on my skin. She's having problems with adult acne and blotching. I had mentioned that I don't use soaps on my face or neck. Ever. guess she didn't want to check out the blog posts I've done about my skincare routine. Whatever. This is what I told her, and if I missed anything, well, she should have read all my posts. (By the way, most of what I learned, that didn't come from my mama, came from other blogs and skincare sites.)

• Oil - olive, coconut, sesame, cactus. I've even used Crisco if there was nothing else around. (I don't use Vaseline or other petroleum jellies just because they feel way too heavy.) 
• Baking soda
• Brown or raw sugar
• Coconut Milk (this is a recent addition to my skincare routine)

With the oils, what I do is apply one of them and massage until my hands get tired. For removing eye makeup with the oils, I apply it with my fingers (gently), let it sit for a moment, then blot with a baby wipe. I apply again and then wipe remaining traces of the makeup as gently as I can. (I pay attention to the warnings about not pulling and stretching the skin in the eye area.) I did try using my Jamaican Black Castor Oil as a cleanser, but it can be sticky (at least, the Mango & Lime brand I use) and I don't like the way my skin pulled when as I tried to apply the oil.

When I use baking soda, I only use it on areas where I have issues with blackheads. I make a paste with a few drops of water and dab the mixture onto my nose and chin. With as little pressure as possible, I do circular motions on the problem spots. I make sure to rinse away every little bit of the paste. If you try this, don't even think about rubbing the skin dry. Blot, blot, blot - which is best no matter how you choose to clean your skin. Blot it and then let air do the rest.

The sugar is not really something I use to cleanse my skin. I mainly just use this for exfoliating my lips. I have tried dabbing honey on my face, tapping on some sugar and letting it sit for a few minutes as a moisturizing mask, but I once got sugar in my eye and.... Well, I just use the sugar as a lip scrub now.

Like I said, the coconut milk is a new thing I'm trying. I originally heard about using it on natural hair as a conditioner. I actually love using it to flavor my coffee, tea and cocoa drinks. I can't remember what made me think to use it on my face except maybe wanting that wonderful smell to be on my skin. What I do is warm some in the palm of my hand, then dab it all over my face. I massage it in, enjoy the delicious smell while I kill time filing my fingernails or something. I remove it with a warm rinse of water. I can't really say yet what it does for my skin (except make it feel super-soft), but it's a very relaxing routine. And that amazing smell! Ummm... I'd just love to be able to afford taking a whole-body bath in that stuff! 

I love that baby wipes are so inexpensive and versatile. Other than baby wipes or the oldest, softest towels, I try not to use anything else on my face and neck. 

As a side note, let me explain why I don't use baby oil on my face: it's just too, too oily. With the other oils (especially cactus oil), you don't get that greasy feeling left behind. Cactus oil is about to become more of a fave than coconut or JBCO for everyday use on my skin. Great absorbency and makes the skin feel more hydrated than oily.

And that's it. Nothing too fancy. I don't deny that I keep some Avon Anew around (along with some Walmart or Walgreen brand sunscreen) but, if I had to give up one or the other, I'd keep the oils and milk. If you look at a lot of products on the market, you'll notice they incorporate a lot of "natural" items. My question is: why would I pay so much for all the fillers and preservatives if I can just cut right to the good stuff? Or, ask yourself this: Could you use your face-care products to cook and/or flavor your food with as well? If it's too toxic to put inside you, why put it on you at all?

I'm just saying.

The great thing about most of these skincare items is that many women can use them on their hair as well. On that subject, I don't know for sure, but I'd think that women who have or wear their hair straight (non-kinky) could use the oils as wash-out conditioning treatments. 

Peace

--Free