If you haven’t already done so, you may want to check out part 1 to get caught up.
So… what have I done to leave toxic ingredients and marketing ploys in the past?
Let’s start from head to toe.
—————————Hair—————————-
I wash my hair every 2-3 days. I water down a natural shampoo and add some castor oil and apple cider vinegar for added health benefits. This makes my shampoo stretch a long time and negates the need for a conditioner. In between washes, I scritch and preen, as well as brush with a boar bristle brush. Scritching is using your nails or a comb made of bone or horn to lightly scratch all over your scalp from front to back. This loosens up oil and exfoliates the scalp. To preen, you use your fingers to pull the oil down the length of the hair from root to tip. The boar bristle brush also helps with this. I use cornstarch as a dry shampoo on days I don’t wash.
For my kids, I don’t even use shampoo in their hair since it’s mixed and on the drier side. I simply scrub their scalps under running water and add a little oil. Not all hair types need to be shampooed.
—————————Face——————————
Right now I am using honey and jojoba oil to cleanse and moisturize my skin. I also have something called the Magic Mitt if I don’t feel like putting anything on my skin. I hope to get away from using products on my face altogether, also known as the caveman regimen, but for now I am using things that don’t disrupt my acid mantle.
———————–Underarms———————–
I don’t use deodorant anymore because many contain aluminum and a lot of natural ones don’t work for me. Instead, I repurposed an old roll on container and filled it with milk of magnesia. It’s absolutely incredible. It eliminates odor completely, even through the next day without reapplying. It’s very cheap, too. I wish everybody knew about it.
—————————–Body—————————
I actually stopped using soap in the shower quite a while ago. I just wash my body under the running water. I think I initially did this out of laziness, or I ran out of soap, but I realized that I didn’t need soap to cleanse the dirt and sweat off my skin, and I don’t stink. If I get something gross on my skin, I do have soap in the shower just in case. But yeah, generally just water!
—————————-Feet—————————–
A pumice stone and some coconut oil or raw shea butter for moisturizing.
**I want to mention that this isn’t soley about saving money or going as minimilistic as possible. You can have an incredible spa-like experience by using a sugar/salt & olive oil body scrub, adding epsom salts and essential oils to your bath water, lighting candles or incense… Make the experience healing to your body and soul and find freedom in the realization that you aren’t at anyone’s mercy to have these beautiful, healing experiences.
I encourage you to rethink the lie that you must shell out so much money for beauty. I think God intended us to use things in their whole, pure forms and definitely to stay away from toxic ingredients. Authentic beauty comes from the inside out. What you eat, how much water you drink, exercise, etc. all play a role in how healthy you look and what you smell like. Just as important, what you feed your soul is reflected in your countenance and the inner beauty that remains after the outer beauty has faded.
If you like the idea of using natural products, but aren’t ready to make the full switch, just try implementing one thing and go from there. The rest will happen naturally.
What about you? What does your beauty routine look like? Is it an enjoyment or an obsession?
Love & blessings,
Lauren