Hair Care

I have been cursed/blessed with curly hair. I recently read a book called Curly Girl by a lady who specializes in curly hair at her New York salon. She suggested that the no shampoo (No-Poo) method of hair care is the best for curly hair. Shampoo strips hair of natural sebum, so you have to load on the conditioner which weights it down. Not to mention most shampoos and conditioners are full of nasty chemicals. This stripping and artificial moisturizing either makes your scalp produce too much or too little oil. It also wreaks havoc on curly hair. She suggests a routine scalp scrubbing with conditioner. So I decided to give it a try.

I have not used shampoo in two months. The first two weeks were a little weird while my scalp adjusted, but now my scalp and hair feel, look, and smell clean, my hair is super soft and healthy, and my curl has doubled.

Here's the routine:

No more shampoo! Let your boyfriend use it. Wet your hair thoroughly, then take a little conditioner on your fingertips and massage into your temples, the hair around your face, your part, your crown, basically give your whole scalp a good massage with your fingertips and conditioner. Next put a little more conditioner on your palms and smooth it over the mantel of your hair (the hair that is most exposed) Use your fingers to comb it through. Leave on for a minute or two, then rinse.

Rinse with diluted apple cider vinegar once a week to restore ph and make your hair really soft and shiny.

Make sure you choose a natural conditioner that is free of parabens, sodium laurel sulfate, and other nasty things.

My skin care routine

So, here's what has been working great for me. I have mostly dry skin with clogged nose and chin pores and redness around my nose and chin. But from what I have been reading, even those with oily skin or acne will see great benefits from using an oil cleanser as part of a double cleansing routine. The whole point is to not strip your skin of it's natural oils, so it doesn't feel the need to overproduce oil. See previous post and my next post titled Recipes to learn how to make the products I use.

Morning:

I wash my face with ground oatmeal and warm water, massaging it into my skin until it is creamy then rinsing off. Followed by a splash of witch hazel & rosewater toner, and then I moisturize with an oil combination (see Geranium oil cleanser/moisturizer in previous post).

Evening:

I massage the Geranium Oil Cleanser onto my face, then cleanse with the All Purpose Castile Soap Cleanser. Then I use an organic cotton ball with a squirt of witch hazel & rosewater toner to clean off any residue. Moisturize with the Nighttime Coconut Oil Moisturizer or Geranium oil.

Body:

Before every shower I skin brush. Since I have been skin brushing my skin is silky soft and smooth, and as an added bonus my cellulite is going away! It is pretty amazing! I use the All Purpose Castile soap cleanser for my body, face, and hands, and even use it to shave my legs. After my shower I use a little bit of the Yummy Cake Lotion (see next post) or an almond/olive oil combo. It is pretty oily so you only need a little.

And that's it! Pretty simple, and my skin has never looked or felt better. This is all with products that I made myself for very little money.