.png "English"){kind=small}
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...
