hair disaster! DIY solution.

so my hair is FRIED. which i can only blame on over bleaching and use of heat stylers, pretty constantly. unfortunately as a reflection, my hair is falling out all over the place - well not falling out so much as snapping off.

which means i'm pretty desperate to find a solution before i lose all my hair. insert a DIY hair mask, with ingredients i had in my kitchen. oil is a great moisturizer and will help my dry and fried hair. egg has protein which when your hair is over processed it is in great need of.

Ingredients:

2 Eggs

4 tables spoons of olive oil

Saran wrap

Mix the ingredients together, it will turn a light yellow and look a little fluffy when complete.

Once it's all mixed up, and ready to go, apply the mixture to dry hair, making sure to focus on the roots.  once all the mixture is in the hair, put your hair up in a top knot. i was really surprised, but the mixture doesn't drip and doesn't make the hair overly wet, nor sticky. it's actually a really perfect consistency for a hair mask.

once your hair is in a top knot, wrap your hair in saran wrap and leave on for 15 - 30 minutes.

 i left mine in for 30 minutes. when it was time to rinse it out, it was a little solid in my hair. easy to get out with a quick shampoo and conditioner to give the hair a little more moisture.

overall, the next morning i don't find it to be a miracle cure, but it is a little less awful - which given the state of my hair, is a great development! on the plus side, not being able to dye my hair will certainly help save me money in the long run.

let me know how it works for you - i certainly am curious to know how it works if you're not starting from such an awful place with your hair!

strawberry teeth whitener

hello friends!

three days into the OCM and my face hasn't broken out! while i still can't relax and anticipate that a massive reaction may still be in my future, i do have more confidence in this DIY beauty - and soft skin to boot!

and so, i continue the quest to save money through DIY products. next up? tooth whitener. 

i am a huge sucker for any and every marketing ploy and product out there that offers me whiter teeth. in fact, before christmas, i was very seriously considering getting my teeth professionally whitened. but, in the interest of being on a budget, i instead turn to my trusty friend Pinterest. and the potentials were endless - turns out a lot of people were having the same thought - how do i get white teeth without the big price tag.

the base for all "recipes" was baking soda, which as we know from the face scrub, i have. the specific one that caught my eye though used a strawberry. turns out the strawberry will bring the stains to the service, i'm not sure how that works but sounds like a plan - and at least it would hide the taste of the baking soda. 

- 1 strawberry, medium sized

- 1 tbsp baking soda

I brushed on with a toothbrush, and left for 2 minutes. i couldn't go past 2 minutes as the taste was AWFUL - so turns out i was wrong about hiding the taste. I spent the next 3 minutes brushing it around my teeth. which still didn't make the taste enjoyable, but was at least bearable.

the results were positive, my teeth feel silky and smooth - they are maybe a touch lighter, though certainly are brighter. which, for one application i can't complain about.

before/during/after (top to bottom)

I say, give it a try - most likely you already have the ingredients laying around the house, doing this once a week may not be the highlight but it certainly isn't difficult or time consuming! 

DIY Facewash / scrub

This week, super inconveniently for someone on a strict budget, I ran out of my face moisturizer and scrub. As I was scanning Sephora to restock, I had a thought - was there a simple DIY method to replace both of these for less?

And so the search began. The scrub was easy, within moments I had a recipe for a simple and gentle scrub - baking soda and water. Things that cost me nothing as they were already sitting in my pantry.

The recipe is straight forward:

- 3 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon water

Mix together, and rub on your face for a couple moments, then rinse.

I found that the mix didn't feel like a scrub at all, I will actually try a little more baking soda next time. Once off though, my skin felt smooth but a little dry - it's something I'll try again though I'm not instantly convinced this is a true solution for me.

The more difficult search was a new DIY face moisturizer. Olive oil was the solution I was being offered by the Pinterest community - but with a little more research I found that a lot of people were breaking out after a few days as a result. My skin is combination, and while generally it is clear, I have a history of being prone to breakouts - I was too scared to try the olive oil approach.

I kept looking, and then I came across castor oil, and the "Oil Cleansing Method" . Years of oil free facial washes, moisturizer and a wide variety of cosmetics had me initially shaking my head. But, I couldn't argue with the logic - your skin needs natural oils, and when you strip them out your body is forced to over compensate with oils which ends in an oily face and breakouts. I also couldn't argue with online reviews - people who suffered from mild to severe acne were writing rave reviews. Castor oil is the secret here - with anti-inflammatory and healing properties, it helps to heal the skin and prevent further breakouts. Mixed with olive oil, with the same pH level as the skin, and moisturizing properties - you have a great face wash for moisturizing the skin without breaking out.

While terrified of breaking out, I couldn't help but at least try. Castor oil cost me $6 at a health food store, and the EVOO I already had in the cabinet. Again, the recipe is simple:

- 1.5 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil (cold pressed)
- 2.5 teaspoons castor oil (cold pressed)
- Face cloth

** for dry skin 3:1 EVOO/Castor oil, for oily skin 1:3. 

Mix ingredients together and massage onto the skin. Once applied to the skin, run a face cloth under hot water, and apply for one minute (until the cloth starts feeling cold). Then rinse.

My skin instantly felt dewy, and glowed. I can't help but feel paranoid that I'm going to wake up in the morning with skin that has broken out from the oil - but so far so good, my skin feels amazing. I'll be sure to update you in the morning - but if this does end well, then the benefits extend beyond soft, clear skin - castor oil and EVOO are great for anti-aging.

Stay tuned for an update on both fronts.