DIY Make-up Remover and Facial Cleansers

Hey guys!

I wanted to write today about facial cleansers and make-up removers.

Earlier I posted my own Facial Scrub recipe that I use in the shower.

However, what about the daily light cleansing and make-up removing task?

In the past I’ve spent a fortune buying the brand name make-up removers and loved them. However, there are better ways. Have you ever looked at the back of the bottles at the ingredients? I have and it is daunting. First, most of the time the ingredients are in french. Second, even if they aren’t in French, they may as well be because I have no idea what they are.

So I’ve decided to list my inexpensive and easy facial cleansing solutions and make-up removers.

Make-up Removers

Coconut oil– I swear this is just the number one product to have in your house at all times!

(if you need proof check this list of 101 coconut oil uses)

Above is the brand I use. I love it! It’s simple and easy to use.

Step 1: Open Coconut Oil Jar

Step 2: Stick fingers in and wipe

Step 3:Rub oil on make-up covered area

Step 4: Wipe off gently with warm wet towel

Coconut Lotion Bars- I use these when I need something a little heavier to remove my make up.

Here is my recipe.

I keep one in my shower and one on my sink ledge at all times. These are great for nights where I put a little more mascara on.

The best thing to do is take it in steps. Get some on your fingers, apply to eyelashes and gently rub with warm wet towel and repeat.  Now its not perfect and there is sometimes left over residue, this I take care of in the shower in the morning, same process.

All in all, no raccoon eyes and no harsh chemicals.

Baby Lotion- I used this before I realized the wonders of coconut oil. However, beware! Read the ingredients people!

Unfortunately a lot of baby lotions are laced with iffy chemicals, and we only want plant derived and not modified. The brand above is a great brand and unfortunately Johnson’s is not. I know this because I used to use it.  I really like it because it was gentle on my skin, but then I looked at the ingredients. 😦

Lesson learned, ALWAYS LOOK AT THE INGREDIENTS!

Also, checkout this great make-up remover recipe!

Easy Facial Cleansers

Thayer’s Witch Hazel Formulas- I use this before going to bed. Squirt it onto a cloth and wipe my face, dirt comes right off. Just remember witch hazel is a natural astringent so moisturize afterwards.

The best thing about this particular brand, is that there is a ton of different options. This is the most basic witch hazel aloe combinations. Some of the others have rose hips, cucumber, lemon, etc.. It’s awesome. So do your homework and pick your favorite.

Oatmeal- Oatmeal is a wonderful cleanser, really loosens and grabs the dirt. Just mix with water.

Yogurt- Yogurt has tons of protein, lactic acid, and fat; all of which are great for your skin and great for cleaning. Just use it plain or add lemon, your choice.

Honey- Another super multi-purpose ingredient. Honey is my favorite cleanser of all time. The quality of clean as well as the feel of your skin afterwards is amazing. Its easy to use too, just squirt some on your hand and wash.

And I always encourage buying honey from your local beekeepers! We do!

Of course there are tons of other complicated recipes and products out there that are natural and safe. However, I prefer simple and cheap. Hopefully this was helpful!

Morning Rock Yoga Routine

Found this routine at Yoga Journal 

Did it this morning to my yoga rock playlist and was wonderful!

Try it out, this is my playlist:

Fall For You – Secondhand Serenade

The Reason – Hoobastank

My Last Breath – Evanescence

Pushing Me Away – Linkin Park

Headstrong – Trapt

You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid – The Offspring

Going Under – Evanescence

Suck My Kiss – Red Hot Chili Peppers

On Top Of The World – Imagine Dragons

Daughter – Pearl Jam

Bleeding Out – Imagine Dragons

Broken (Feat. Amy Lee) – Seether

Here Without You – 3 Doors Down

Island In The Sun – Weezer

Landslide (Acoustic) – Fleetwood Mac

Tea! What you should know!

Hey!

As we all know, allergy season is well on its way. If you’re on the East Coast like me it has come and gone more than once; making life difficult for the allergy prone, like me!

Being someone who has had allergies all my life, I’ve become intimately acquainted with the plethora of allergy medicines that are offered. They’re great sometimes, but I hate relying on any medicine; so I stopped.

Now, I control all my allergies and sicknesses with food.

Tea is always my first step when I feel like I am getting sick, because it’s AMAZING!

But why does it work so well? I’ll tell you 🙂

According to WebMD, some teas:

• can help with cancer, diabetes, and heart disease
• encourage weight loss
• lower cholesterol
• bring about mental awareness
• are antimicrobial

Purists consider only green tea, black tea, white tea, oolong tea, and pu-erh tea the real thing. However, no matter the type (with the exception of herbal tea) they all come from the same plant; the tea plant or camellia sinensis.

The tea plant is full of flavonoids and tannins, which have significant anti-inflammatory properties as well as high antioxidant power.  The most powerful of these antioxidants is ECGC which can help against free radicals. These free radicals contribute to cancer, heart disease, and clogged arteries. The more processed tea leaves are, means the have less of the flavonoids and tannins. An example would be Black and Oolong teas which are oxidized and fermented. This doesn’t mean they are bad for you, in fact they still have high anti oxidizing powers. Also, if you have any sensitivities to tannins, these may be the tea types you want to try.

Here is WebMD’s info on Tea

• Green tea: Made with steamed tea leaves, it has a high concentration of EGCG and has been widely studied. Green tea’s antioxidants may interfere with the growth of bladder, breast, lung, stomach, pancreatic, and colorectal cancers; prevent clogging of the arteries, burn fat, counteract oxidative stress on the brain, reduce risk of neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, reduce risk of stroke, and improve cholesterol levels.
• Black tea: Made with fermented tea leaves, black tea has the highest caffeine content and forms the basis for flavored teas like chai, along with some instant teas. Studies have shown that black tea may protect lungs from damage caused by exposure to cigarette smoke. It also may reduce the risk of stroke.
• White tea: Uncured and unfermented. One study showed that white tea has the most potent anticancer properties compared to more processed teas.
• Oolong tea: In an animal study, those given antioxidants from oolong tea were found to have lower bad cholesterol levels. One variety of oolong, Wuyi, is heavily marketed as a weight loss supplement, but science hasn’t backed the claims.
• Pu-erh tea: Made from fermented and aged leaves. Considered a black tea, its leaves are pressed into cakes. One animal study showed that animals given pu-erh had less weight gain and reduced LDL cholesterol.

WebMD info on Herbal teas-

• Chamomile tea: Its antioxidants may help prevent complications from diabetes, like loss of vision and nerve and kidney damage, and stunt the growth of cancer cells.
• Echinacea: Often touted as a way to fight the common cold, the research on echinacea has been inconclusive.
• Hibiscus: A small study found that drinking three cups of hibiscus tea daily lowered blood pressure in people with modestly elevated levels.
• Rooibos (red tea): A South African herb that is fermented. Although it has flavonoids with cancer-fighting properties, medical studies have been limited

It is important to note that there is a lack of concrete research on many herbal remedies. However, this is not because they don’t work. Most of the time, pharmaceutical companies are the ones who fund research, and they won’t want to fund something they can’t sell.

Now, not everyone has a tea plant in the backyard so we have to buy our teas. This seems simple enough right?

Wrong.

This is where the consumer faces problems. Unfortunately due to the large demand of tea, more tea crops are needed. And how do they keep the tea plants from being eaten? Pesticides. These pesticides find their way into our tea, sometimes at levels that far exceed the regulations. Food Babe did an article not too long ago that investigated what exactly was in our tea and which brands to buy. These were her results:

Numi, Rishi, and Traditional Medicinals are the best brands to buy.

 To see the full chart and the worst offenders click here.

So what are the different types of tea packaging?

Loose leaf tea

Loose leaf tea is just like it sounds, loose. No bag or anything. There are multiple steeping methods.

Click on the photo below to go to a review of the best steeping methods for loose leaf tea.

Silk Bags

TOXIC!

In Food Babe’s article, she also refers to an article in The Atlantic that covers the toxicity of silk bags and how when steeped, the plastic in the bags in being broken down by the high temperature. So while these bags may seem cool or pretty, they’re also poisonous.

Paper Bag

This is the most commonly used and well known form of steeping tea. I have yet to find any problems with this form of tea and it is the form I use. However, always read the labels and do your homework! Never assume anything.

So now you know!

Brew and Enjoy!

Cosmetic Ingredients

 

Everyday we hear about new things that aren’t safe, but still managed to get into our products.

So what do you do?

Read the labels!!

However, unless you’re in college level chemistry and biology classes, half the stuff on the back of the labels mean squat to you. It’s like they’re in a different language.

That’s because they are!

Oh great, now what? Do I have to enroll in a chemistry class just to understand what is in my product?

NOPE!

Because we on the blogger-sphere and world wide web are here to help!

Nature’s Pulchritude, one of my favorite blogs, has been posting about how to read the pesky labels and understand what you’re buying.

Here they give a comprehensive list of safe, beware, and avoid ingredients.

CHECK IT OUT!

Answer to poll here!

How To Make Almond Milk

Going to try and I’ll let you know how it goes!

Nature's Pulchritude

I tried almond milk several years ago and did not like it in the slightest.  It was way too thick for my taste so I continued drinking organic soy milk.  I recently came across a recipe for almond milk on EyeCandyPopper’s page; an online search yielded a host of information on how to make almond milk.  Who knew almond milk was so simple to make?!  Another shocker, almond milk is not naturally thick; additives or heating is used to thicken almond milk to the consistency of whole milk.  This recipe is a great way to control the ingredients, quality, and in flavor in your almond milk.  The almonds I used were not organic, but you can use organic almonds in your recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of whole raw almonds
• 2 Cups of water
• Splash of Flavor Extract (Optional)
• Raw Cane Sugar (Optional)

Tools:

• Blender
• Storage Container
• Cheesecloth/Nut Milk…

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Alcohol in Hair and Skin Products: Friend or Foe?

Very science based article, but definitely something to consider when using cosmetics.

Nature's Pulchritude

Navigating ingredient lists for ineffective ingredients and cancerous or toxic chemicals can be challenging.  Many personal care products, specifically hair conditioners, gels, hair sprays and various skin creams, contain alcohols, however, all alcohols are not created equally (figuratively speaking).  Some alcohols can be very drying to the hair, whereas others have the opposite effect and provide a feeling of softness.

Chemically, alcohols are organic compounds that have molecules that contain one or more hydroxyl groups (neutral -OH) attached to a carbon atom.  The oxygen (O) and hydrogen (H) atoms form a covalent bond, or share electrons.  Alcohols vary in chain length, with fatty alcohols having 8-21 carbon atoms and a high molecular weight, and ‘simple’ short chain alcohols having 1-3 carbon atoms with low molecular weights.

Fatty Alcohols

Chain Length of Fatty Alcohols

Fatty alcohols are typically derived from natural feedstocks, such as coconut oil and palm kernel oil.  These…

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Monday Mash-up Recipe

I found this recipe awhile ago and fell in love. It is quick, easy, and paleo 🙂  Also, added bonus, my boyfriend loves it!

I don’t know why but it reminds me of a BLT in the taste, most likely because I add hot sauce.

I also include avocado which gives it some green and have made it into a lettuce wrap before.

I have included the original recipe below, but I’ve altered it so here is mine:

Sweet Potato Bacon Mash-up

Original

Stevia

Hey guys it’s been awhile. Sorry I haven’t posted anything, the weather has been crazy making school crazy as well. Not to mention I’ve been sick and am now again. But I’m finally back! Woohoo.

Now let’s talk Stevia.

As far as I’m concerned, stevia is GOD. An all natural, zero calorie, low glycemic index sweetener, HECK YES!!

But with all foods, you still need to be careful. Just because a package says stevia doesn’t mean it’s 100% stevia.

Food babe, did this article not too long ago that I recommend everyone read. At the bottom she tells what brands are good and bad.

http://foodbabe.com/2013/04/25/stevia-good-or-bad/