Lemon Ginger Fizzy Detox Drink

I LOVE fizzy fancy drinks. Personally kombucha is my favorite drink but it's very expensive. I also enjoy wine but alcohol can't be sipped throughout the day (well... it can but.....anyway) and then sodas are just way too unhealthy. So I've come up with a healthy AND cheap alternative! It's also a detox drink. Yay! :-)

INGREDIENTS

- 1 tbsp honey

- 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar (acv)

- 1 tbsp ground ginger

- 1 tbsp lemon juice

- 12oz of sparkling water (club soda works too)

STEP 1 - Ginger and lemon

Grate the ginger and mix it with the lemon juice. Make sure the juices from the ginger are added also! Let this sit for a few minutes and then strain it.

STEP 2 - Honey and ACV

Mix the honey into the acv thoroughly and add to the ginger lemon mixture.

STEP 3 - Add it all together!

Pour the lemon, acv, honey, and ginger mix into a glass over some ice. Pour your sparkling water over the mix and stir lightly.

There you have it! If the drink it too sharp or sour then add more honey and less acv. If you want more bite then add more acv and less honey.

Enjoy! :-)

Brown Sugar, Coconut, and Vanilla Body Scrub

I've been posting a lot of recipes with coconut oil lately as I just bought myself a HUGE tub of it. So here is my latest recipe. I  LOVE it. I used it on my hands just a while ago and I can't stop smelling them. They smell like dessert!

This body scrub is great for using at the end of your shower routine, especially on your legs and arms after shaving. I also like to use it all over my booty cause, well, why not.

Here's my recipe!

- Brown sugar -- exfoliates dead skin, thus exposing your new, healthy skin to more oxygen!

- Coconut oil -- mosturizes and heals. Supposedly helps with cellulite and skin cell regeneration too. Nice!

- Vanilla extract -- just cause I like vanilla and it smells AMAZING in this mix.

Since you just mix this all up I feel like having a step by step explanation is unnecessary, so I'll just give you the picture play by play with some short comments.

In retrospect I feel like adding the coconut oil first may have let me blend the sugar in more easily but it doesn't really matter. It works fine either way!

At this stage you can mix it up and THEN add the vanilla, or you can just do like I did and add the vanilla before mixing. 

Now, there is no benefit at all to the vanilla apart from making it smell like heaven. I LOVE brown sugar and vanilla. Mix that with the wonderfully sweet and rich smell of coconut oil and you have the best smelling body scrub ever! I almost want to eat some! I mean, it's food grade coconut oil... I guess I could! :-P

Here's the result! Just rub it all over your skin and then rinse off the sugar. Your skin will have a sweet smell and a smooth, soft texture.

Enjoy!! :-)

Coconut Conditioning Treatment

I love coconut oil and I have recently discovered coconut milk as well! Put them together and you have not only an amazing conditioning treatment but also the best smelling DIY beauty product ever!!

My recipe is very simple. Really I just mix the two together.

- Coconut oil
- Coconut milk (make sure you get unsweetened!!)

You can make your own coconut milk if you'd like but I have not attempted that yet. As soon as I do though I will share my experience and give a step-by-step guide of what to do (and not to do.)

STEP 1 - Coconut oil!
I always put in my oil first because then I can slowly add the milk and blend it as I go. This gets you a much smoother blend. I really recommend that you leave the coconut oil room temperature. Don't melt it down because when you blend the milk it will thin the mix. Having everything already at room temperature will let you know how firm or fluid your mix will be at room temperature. If you melt the oil then it will be harder to gauge how thick the end result will be.

STEP 2 - Milk!

Slowly add the coconut milk and blend as you add. If your coconut milk is chilled then make sure you let it reach room temperature (or put it in the microwave for a few seconds) so that it doesn't harden the oil.

Step 3 - Blend together

I use a whisk because I feel that it blends everything together better. Remember that coconut milk has water in it (if you look at the ingredients it should have water, coconut, and guar gum*) so you have to battle the oil/water separation.

*Speaking of guar gum... that is one reason why making it homemade is better. Cuts out unnecessary things.

Step 4 - Bottle and keep in the fridge

Your mix should last you a few weeks if kept in the fridge. Since its so easy to make, I tend to do this in small bi-weekly batches. I keep my extra coconut milk in the freezer so it lasts longer. Make sure you shake well before you use this on your hair. It WILL separate unless you can find an emulsifier to use in it.

This can be applied to wet or dry hair. If you add honey or vegetable glycerin then be sure to only apply it to wet hair. Otherwise though I recommend you apply it to dry hair and let it sit for a while. I tried putting it on wet hair and it got very runny.

Enjoy! :-)

Rosemary Infused Olive Oil

Olive oil is used in MANY things. From deep conditioning treatments, to body scrubs, to soaps. Rosemary is not only aromatic but it also helps your skin and hair. Rosemary can help to stimulate hair growth and increase blood circulation in your skin. So why not infuse your olive oil with rosemary and use THAT in your products?

Rosemary infused olive oil is actually very easy to make. All you need is:
- Olive oil
- Rosemary
- Pot
- Glass bottle/jar for storage
- Spoon
- (You may also want a funnel if you're using a bottle for storage)

Step 1 -- heat your oil. Do NOT make it very hot. You aren't trying to make deep fat fried rosemary here! Just warm enough so that you can touch it but if you left your finger in too long then it would start to burn. Probably about 105 - 110 F is good.

Step 2 -- chop your rosemary. Don't chop it TOO fine because then you'll get little rosemary chunks in your oil that are hard to remove.

Step 3 - add your rosemary to the oil and stir it well. Let it sit on the heat for a minute or two and then move it from the heat.

Step 4 - after about 5 minutes of steeping, add the oil AND the rosemary to your container. You could use it right away but it's better if you let it infuse for a day or two.

Use it in your soaps, on your hair, and on your skin!
Enjoy! :-)

The Importance of Natural Beauty

When breaking into natural beauty you are often confronted with questions and statements of doubt. Some of these are from peers but a lot of them are also in your own head. Stuff like:

 "Why not save money and just buy the generic XYZ?"

 "Commercial products haven't really been shown to cause major issues, right? Why not be easier on yourself and use those?"

 "That takes so much time... why not just buy it?" 

"I just feel like the commercial stuff works better for me..."

 And so on and so forth.
Here are my answers to some of those.

 As for the money issue. Yes, in SOME cases it will be a higher initial investment that just buying the cheap shit at Wal-Mart. HOWEVER!!

- If you use extremely high-end salong quality products then going DIY will save you a ton of money. I calculated that making my own conditioner cost about 18 cents an ounce whereas salon quality conditioner could be as much as $2 an ounce. What the hell, right!?

- Sometimes DIY is actually cheaper even than the generic brands. Using the 97cent baby oil and baby shampoo travel bottles and using a little old conditioner to make a DIY shaving gel? You can get months of gel for just a $2!

- It's a lifelong investment. Yeah it may be a little more money now, but think of the money you'll save when you have kids or get older and have avoided all those expensive health issues that come from chemicals? 

That brings me to the next issue. Health. A lot of people try and say that commercial, chemical filled products are usually safe and don't cause issues. Here's the thing though. They don't cause any super OBVIOUS issues like rashes or hair falling out. But they have been linked to various health issues.

 Don't believe me? Here are just a few sources for proof. And I only use reliable sources, mind you. No opinion blogs or anything.

Hair dye could cause cancer.

More facts about things like hair straighteners and UV nail lights.

A list of toxic and harmful ingredients and why you should avoid them.

Things that may be in your shampoo that could mess you up bad.

These are only a few of the more definite things. Also, think about this: There is currently an allergy epidemic in the world. More and more people are getting allergies as well as chronic issues like asthma. Some doctors have attributed this to more exposure to chemicals both in the environment and in the products we use and consume. I myself have severe allergies as so my brothers and many of my friends. I would like to limit my own exposure to iffy chemicals so that I decrease the risk of my children having such issues. If you're expecting a baby in your future (EVEN IF YOU'RE THE DAD!) then remember that what you use on your skin matters! A lot of stuff is absorbed through your skin and as a result absorbed by your growing little one (or your sperm even.)

So we know why it's economically better and why it's crucial for your health. But what about time? DIY takes time right? This is the one question that shouldn't be too hard though. If you're like me then you love crafty things like this and it will become a fun hobby. If that's the case then who cares about the time!? :-)

If you enjoy it then it shouldn't be a huge concern. But if you AREN'T the DIY crafty person, or if you simply don't have the time to devote, then fear not! You don't have to do it all DIY in order for it to be natural. You can also buy organic and all natural products from your health food store or online. Just check the ingredients first!! Also, check places like Etsy for smaller companies that sell homemade products.

Last but not least -- the argument that "natural products just don't do it for me."
Okay so... I'm sorry but this is the lamest excuse I've ever heard. It makes me mad when people say this. Your hair and your body is natural. How can your hair or skin just magically NEED commercial products with chemicals? How did people ever manage without chemicals back before the 20th century? Huh?

The thing about most of the people who say this is that they have never even given natural alternatives a shot. They just assume that the chemical versions are better. Or, if they have tried natural alternatives then they likely didn't give it much of a shot. As my last all-text post stated -- you have to have patience in natural beauty. If your body is used to the commercial chemical products then it will likely take AT LEAST a week before your body can adjust and regulate. It's like when you've had a bunch of fatty, sugary foods and you get a breakout. Even if you start eating well again, the breakout will take a while to go away. You can't switch to natural products overnight.

Another thing to keep in mind -- just as with commercial products, you have to play around until you find what suits you. Say your friend LOVES using coconut oil facial scrubs but it just made your skin worse. That doesn't mean "natural products don't work for me." That means "coconut oil isn't good for my face." You just try something else. There IS something out that for everyone. Don't let one or two failed attempts make you write off everything natural. Keep trying!

Hopefully I've helped convinced you to try all natural alternatives. Or, if you're already an all-natural junkie then hopefully these facts and tid-bits have helped you think of responses to some of the questions your peers and family may ask you.

Thanks for reading! :-)