Naturalism

Lately I have been getting into natural products. Not products that are necessarily labeled natural, but products made exclusively from all natural ingredients. I thought it was kinda silly before, but when I switched chemical cleansers and started wheezing and coughing everytime I washed my tub, I began to reconsider.

That was maybe 6 months ago, and it took this long for me to give au naturel a try. Boy am I glad I did! I have been using vinegar, baking soda, and lemons to clean my bathroom and kitchen for a few weeks now. The vinegar cleans, the baking soda scrubs, and the lemon brightens and freshens. I have to say it works just as well, if not better than what I was using. Plus no more wheezing or coughing! It's cheap, easy, and makes me feel old school. Let's face it. I'm kinda stuck in the wrong century, so using these things reconnects me to the past I must have lived. This natural trend, however, doesn't stop at cleaning tiles and toilets. No it also has moved to my face.

I've been using Lush products for a little over a year, and while I still love them, they are quite pricey and frankly I still get breakouts. Sporadic breakouts and monthly ones too. So in the midst of my natural cleaning spree, I researched natural face masks, cleansers, and moisturizers. Here's what I found out and even tried.
You can make a face mask out of pretty much anything! Fruits, veges, oatmeal, sugar, olive oil, any dairy product, plain honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, etc. "Wow...really?" I thought. Smear some yogurt on my face and it will soften my skin and help prevent breakouts? I was skeptical. But, I went to the store and picked up two 1-cup containers of Stonyfield Farm organic plain yogurt. That night, I steamed my face to "clean" it and then applied the yogurt. 20 minutes of Lexulous playing later, and I was ready to wash it off. I applied a small amount of coconut oil as a moisturizer. My face felt wonderfully silky and soft. Hmm...

Two night later, and no new blemishes, I decided to try this weird honey mask everyone raved about. I had a blemish from before the yogurt that I wanted to get rid of and apparently honey has amazing antibacterial properties! SO I squeezed come into my hand and spread it over my face. It was a little awkward to apply. Sticky mess, actually, but it rinsed off my hands quickly with a little warm water. Now this one was supposed to stay on for 30 minutes. I decided to use that time again playing Lexulous, Chess tactics trainer, and other things. Then, drip, drip, drip. Honey on my bra, honey on my couch. Umm...honey does not play nice. It refuses to stay on your face, and basically starts to flee as soon as you put it on. Some people accept this and spend the time laying on the floor with a towel under their heads. I need to use all of my time. So I decided to try a new mask that incorporated honey.

Tonight, I got home around 11:50. I steamed my face and applied a new mixture I made based on people's other masks - the leftover yogurt, about 1.5 tbsps of honey, about 1 tbsp of cinnamon, and the juice of 1/4 of a small lemon. This combo is supposed to brighten, lighten, tone, moisturize, and inhibit blemishes. I stirred it all together, and then applied it to my face, massaging it in a bit first and then letting it dry for 15 minutes. I just washed it off and applied coconut oil, and my face feels like velvet! I can't wait to mix up some body masks soon!

There you have it. Three masks that work. It just depends how much effort you want to put in. Nex I plan to make a cleanser/scrub with organic brown sugar and olive oil. We'll see how well that works!

Until next time...