One of the most important things I've learned about natural beauty is that usually less it more. Your body naturally cares for its skin and hair and nails. You only need to help nudge it in the right direction or help it along the way. You don't need 500 face products to have perfect skin. If anything, that may make your skin WORSE because it's being bombarded with crap. Usually you just need to find those few products (sometime one is enough!!) to help your skin find the perfect balance between hydration and cleanliness.
This is especially true if you start to find your skin issues getting worse. I used to think that more products meant better results, so when my skin got iffy I just used more and more things on my face. This is NOT how you do it. I've backed down to just a few products (facial wash, a rice-bran and papaya enzyme scrub, and the occasional med) and my face is doing great! I do the occasional milk and honey mask but those are rare. So just keep that in mind. Less really is more, at least in the world of natural beauty!
PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE
One of the things that you have to accept when you're doing DIY and natural beauty is that it WILL take longer (at least initially) than just buying something from the store. Henna, for example, takes 5 - 6 hours!! Getting your hair colored at a salon or doing an at-home hair dye kit takes less than half that time. For making deep conditioning treatments you have to let the mix sit on your hair longer. That that isn't counting the actual process of making it! Soaps take a MONTH to be set properly. Talk about having to plan ahead.
At first this was really really hard for me because I am NOT a patient person. But I've come to learn that the wait is more than worth it and doing it yourself can also feel a lot more fun! Just telling people about how you use homemade conditioner on your hair or have your own homemade soaps can motivate you to keep on with the long process. It can also help you learn to appreciate the lesson that waiting often has its rewards, and I feel like in this day and age that is a lesson that all of us can benefit from.
NATURAL DOESN'T ALWAYS MEAN HEALTHY
There is a dangerous misconception out there that natural products are automatically good for you. This is not only the case for beauty products but food. (Cause those deep fried organic potato chips are so healthy...amirite?) This may be an extreme example but think of poison ivy. It's all natural! But I would NEVER want that on my skin. There are other things like that which are not as extreme and obviously dangerous as poison ivy, so be on your guard. If you see a recipe for a product that uses an ingredient (oil, extract, whatever) that you have never heard of before then research it first. Also, if you have sensitive skin or have allergies, then do a test of the ingredient before you have at it.
KNOW WHEN TO STOP
Okay if you're anything like me then once you find something new that you LOVE you tend to stampede full force into it. That's great for some things. NOT for something like DIY beauty. Especially if you have a limited work space (I'm in a 1 bedroom apt. with my hubby-to-be.) You don't want this stuff consuming your entire living space. Take is slowly. Try something new every week or two. Don't try and make soap, body scrubs, lotion, deodorant, conditioner, and the lot all in the same week!! That will be a HUGE project to undergo and it will end up being less fun because you'll be surrounded by a crazy mess. Besides, if you stretch it out then it's more fun cause you can look forward to something new every new week!
I also would like to talk about WHY you should start up the natural beauty method but that will make this post ungodly long so I'll save it for another day. :-)
Hope these lessons help you! Enjoy your natural beauty adventures!
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