Faze out Shampoo!

Shampoo isnt good for your hair, anyways. Most shampoos contain harsh, drying sulfates that are extremely damaging for curly hair and your body (ammonium laureth sulfate, ammonium lauryl sulfate, sodium laureth sulfate, sodium lauryl sulfate, etc.). They are only  foaming agents that can make hair frizzy and uncooperative.Sulfates are dangerous but unfortunately in almost everything we use daily (Even baby washes and shampoos) so be careful. The strip your hair of the oils that it creates in order to naturally HEAL and STRENGTHEN your hair - Once again your body already knew better than you do! ;)

As usual the winners of the "safe cleaning products" resides in Vinegar and Baking soda. (Remember this entry, Things to keep around?) These don't strip your hair of natural oils. Companies sell you conditioner WITH their shampoo because after you use shampoo (I'm sure you noticed) your hair is dry and unmanageable. Traditional soaps are very harmful because of how rough they are, and (another "unfortunate) we are becoming conditioned to need to feel that harshness on our skin and hair (Squeaky clean) in order to actually trust that it is clean!



Organic and safe shampoos are either just a ruse OR are very expensive.

Vinegar actually balances the PH level of your scalp, too! This alleviates dry AND oily skin! Not only will your scalp feel nice but your hair will be shiny, manageable, and alleviate your need for many other products (like defrizzers and such)

In order to recycle I suggest saving those shampoo and conditioner bottles youre currently using when they are empty and applying these new tactics, see how they feel (Stick with it for about a week and see what you notice) and then enjoy how much money you saved in the process.

Here's a quote from http://mamammalia.blogspot.com:
 "After about 6 weeks (!!!) of using baking soda and vinegar, my hair magically transformed. The change from icky to beautiful hair happened quite suddenly. I was relieved because, like I said, I almost gave up a few times. Maybe my hair took that long to adjust or maybe I finally hit the right concoction. Or both."

This recipe I got from http://nourishedandnurtured.blogspot.com and its almost exactly what I have been doing for years.
Make the baking soda and apple cider vinegar mixtures:

1. Thoroughly clean out an old shampoo bottle and and an old conditioner bottle. 
2. In the shampoo bottle, add 1 Tb baking soda for each 8 oz (one cup) of water.  In the conditioner bottle, add 1 Tb raw apple cider vinegar for each 8 oz (one cup) water.   A funnel is very handy for preventing a mess if your bottles have small openings.  
3. Add water and fill to the top of each bottle. Put the lids on and shake well.  

 Let me know how it works out for you!

Dia De Los Muertos! CAKE AWESOME

I threw an awesome Dia De Los Muertos party the other day!

I got some rave reviews about the cake I made for it (And it was so delicious it didnt even require frosting! There were barely crumbs left toward he end of the night!) so I decided Id show you guys how its done!

 
This is the first time Ive ever actually drawn into cake with the cakes own batter.

 Im not going to go into the actually cake process because you have a lot of choices here - Either make your own favorite WHITE CAKE recipe or buy a boxed one. Make sure you know how much the recipe makes so that you know the right size of the pan!

*Just a side note* I was actually short an egg for the recipe, but never fear! Half of a banana and 1/4Tsp of baking powder can be substituted! I LOVE CHEMISTRY!

You'll also need:

• 6 bowls (one for each color)
• 6 spoons (So each color can be mixed separately)

• Food coloring (I combine NEON colors with the regular ones, or you can just buy a basic pack and combine colors to make Orange and purple.) Here's a kit you can buy online with a LOT of colors, if you wanna get really serious!

• A cake decorating kit. There are the bag ones or the plastic ones: Mine was the syringe type. a bag seems like it would be way too hard to switch back and forth between colors.

Line up your bowls and dyes! Mine happen to be rainbow Ikea bowls (I ended up not using the small square bowls) so I color coordinate.
Make the cake batter, divide it evenly between the bowls, and then add the food coloring to each. Mix em up! Dont make them too dark, we are going to darken them later!

 


Here's the fun part! Drizzle the colors either randomly like I did - I pretended the cake was an 80's party coming to life - Or in some pattern if you prefer. Alternate between colors and it builds up. DON'T USE ALL OF THE BATTER YET. (The hard part is knowing how much batter you're going to need at the end - decide how much of each color you may need for your planned design in the end and reserve that amount of that color) I reserved probably about 1/4th of each color simply because I had NEVER done this before and have never heard of it being done so I had no idea where my right-brained random creative ingenious was about to take me!) But you should end up with this, and a little left over:





Here's kind of the hard/messy part. Fill up the cake decorator you have with whatever color comes first in your design. Mine was purple for the outline of the skull, eyes, nose, teeth, etc. I did one color at a time and tried to do EVERYTHING in my picture that needed to be that color so I didn't waste cake or have to refill the syringe later with that color again. As you can see here There are extra squiggle lines around the skull - this is what I did with the batter that was left over after I knew I had done everything I could in my picture with that color.



After that bake it according to your recipe instructions!

There it is! My famous cake! A beautiful lady at this party actually called me "The Michelangelo of cakes!" What an amazing compliment! I'm pretty sure fireworks came out of my ears when she said it.

If you make this recipe (no matter what your design is) Please send me a picture! Id LOVE to see your creativity!

Heal your skin from your pantry! Nutmeg!

Quiz time. Whats been used for hundreds of year to help with skin diseases, scars, aging, and can most likely be found in your pantry? (Especially in Autumn)
 Nutmeg!
 Frontier Nutmeg Ground ORGANIC Fair Trade Certified 1.90 oz Bottle

Nutmeg has anti-inflammatory properties and can help to heal scars and minimize their appearance. Nutmeg has been shown to help increase the volume of adipose (fat) tissue found underneath the skin.
This can fill in wrinkles. 

As an aromatherapy ingredient, nutmeg oil has protective, clearing and immunity boosting properties.

"Due to its strong tonic, stimulant and anti-bacterial properties, nutmeg had been present in natural healing and medicine. In small doses it is calming and soothing for stressed nerves. It supports digestive system, strengthens immunity and resistance to colds, enhances healthy skin and hair, alleviates arthritis pain, heals varicose veins." -  From http://delicious-skin.com/

Its also an Anti-inflammatory and has been used in history for Ringworm and Eczema (Which I will try if for next time I get an outbreak from washing the dishes too long!) It ALSO has chemicals in it that can act as a cellular protector!
So it can also can reduce and eliminate acme scars on your skin.

Remember this isnt a miracle cure so it may take a while. Its all natural, and may not show immediate obvious results depending on your skin types and sensitivity.

Try this:
Wash your face first!
Mix about half a teaspoon of nutmeg with about a quarter teaspoon of honey into a paste.
Apply some of it to acne marks or areas of infection.
Leave it on for at least 30 minutes (If you have super sensitive skin I would start at 20 and see how it feels from there.)

It shouldnt sting (the honey helps with this) but it should have some great results!


I also found this lovely recipe (which I havent tried) From http://blog.myskin.com
"Honey+ Cinnamon n’ Nutmeg mask:  Just mix one teaspoon each of grounded cinnamon, grounded nutmeg and honey together into a thick paste. Apply on your face for 20-30 minutes and then rinse off with warm water. Apply your moisturizer thereon.  The Cinnamon in this mask is a known antiseptic, astringent, anti-fungal and anti-viral agent. With its exfoliating action, cinnamon opens up your skin pores helping the other ingredients to work better. Nutmeg is recommended for its anti-inflammatory properties. Use this mask daily when ridden with an acne flare-up. Once your acne has calmed down you could use it 2 or 3 times in a week. If you have sensitive skin, this mask is not meant for you! Apply this mask gently. No rubbing and scrubbing recommended as the ingredients could hurt your skin."

The Eightfold path

Here is the promised continuation of the last post, on the path to Enlightenment.

The Eightfold Path

1. Developing a deep understanding of the Four Noble Truths to inspire us to engage with the rest of the path.
2. Making a commitment to self improvement.
3. Speaking in a kind and truthful manner
4. Developing right action through behaving with compassion toward others.
5. Earning a living without harming any being.
6. Banishing negative thoughts to conquer ignorance and desires.
7. Encouraging wholesome thoughts, because all that we say and do arises from our thoughts.
8. Developing and strengthening the depth of our concentration.

The 5 Precepts

I resolve not to take life.

I resolve not to steal.

I resolve not to mistreat others.

I resolve not to tell lies.

I resolve not to indulge in Excess.

The 4 Noble Truths

In Buddhism there is a beginning point known as the 4 noble truths. No matter your religion, morals, ethics, or thought patterns there is truth in the idea that we cause our own suffering.

The 4 Noble Truths

1. Life means suffering.

Struggling is part of Everyone's life.

To live means to suffer, because the human nature is not perfect and neither is the world we live in. During our lifetime, we inevitably have to endure physical suffering such as pain, sickness, injury, tiredness, old age, and eventually death; and we have to endure psychological suffering like sadness, fear, frustration, disappointment, and depression. Although there are different degrees of suffering and there are also positive experiences in life that we perceive as the opposite of suffering, such as ease, comfort and happiness, life in its totality is imperfect and incomplete, because our world is subject to impermanence. we are never able to keep permanently what we strive for, and just as happy moments pass by, we ourselves and our loved ones will pass away one day, too.

2. The origin of suffering is attachment.

The cause of our Suffering is our own greedy mind that constantly wants “more” and “better.”

The origin of suffering is attachment to transient things and the ignorance That they are impermanent. Not only Material things, but also Ideas., and -in a greater sense- all objects of our perception. The reasons for suffering are desire, passion, ardour, pursuit of wealth and prestige, striving for fame and popularity, or in short: craving and clinging. Objects of attachment also include the idea of a "self" which is a delusion, What we call "self" is just an imagined entity, and we are merely a part of the universe.

3. The cessation of suffering is attainable.

Suffering can be overcome.

This means that suffering can be overcome through human activity, simply by removing the cause of suffering. Attaining and perfecting dispassion is a process of many levels that ultimately results in the state of Nirvana. Nirvana means freedom from all worries, troubles, complexes, fabrications and ideas. Nirvana is not comprehensible for those who have not attained it.

4. The path to the cessation of suffering.

There is a path to the end of suffering - a gradual path of self-improvement, This is the Eightfold Path. It is the middle way between the two extremes of excessive self-indulgence (hedonism) and excessive self-mortification (asceticism); it leads to the end of the cycle of rebirth. because these do not have a final object. The path to the end of suffering can extend over many lifetimes, throughout which every individual rebirth is subject to karmic conditioning. Craving, ignorance, delusions, and its effects will disappear gradually, as progress is made on the path. The Buddha taught that through diligent practice, we can put an end to craving. 

Ill write more on the eightfold path in a later entry! 

DIY Facemask

AT Womansday.com I found a large list of different DIY Facials and tried some out. Heres my favorite one, with tweaks that I included after trying it out.

A nice Brightening Mask: This recipe I halved, and even after halving it I had WAY more than enough, and since its a bad idea to do it every day, its kind of a waste unles you are doing it with a group of friends.

Combine:

• 1 Tbsp sour cream
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 1/2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice.

Apply to your cleansed face and leave on for 20 minutes. Rinse with lukewarm water followed by a cool (not cold) rinse.
I Applied with the back of a spoon and smoothed it on.
This mask can be done twice a week.

“This mask heals, exfoliates, brightens and moisturizes skin. It refines pores, fades acne marks and prevents blemishes from coming up,” says Macan-Graves.

Read for more: Home Facials - Get Natural Skincare Ideas at WomansDay.com - Woman's Day

Hair care tips for the day!

Summer has been destroying ym scalp and in turn my hair. My hair isnt naturally oily, plus I bleach and dye it squite a bit so not washing every day is not usually a problem for me, but in the summer (Here in Arizona its 109 degrees today) there is a lot of sweat to go around and excessive moisture can really irritate your scalp (and the rest of your skin, too) so my scalp is too moist and my hair is too dry.

Here are some tips for correcting common hair problems no matter what hair type.
(FYI, Im actually doing these methods then typing about them after... come along for the journey!)

First, If just your scalp is dry put on some Braggs Organic Apple Cider and rub it into your scalp. leave it on for a minute or too. This will absorb oil from your skin, noirmalize your ph balance, and help rid your scalp of excess skin flakes.

BUT
If youve been swimming in a pool or the ocean, use a lot of hair product, ect. this recipe will suck impurities right outta your hair!:

• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon Arm and Hammer Baking Soda
• 2 tablespoons Braggs Organic Apple Cider 

The itchiness in my hair immediately went away and I felt happier right away!



Now lets condition and heal that hair!
 I found the following recipe online (Pinterest of course)

• 1/2 cup plain yogurt (or vanilla for a slight smell)
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• egg whites from 1 egg
• (Since this isnt my first time making a hair mas I also added a little Oliver oil and Coconut oil - If you have it also smash up an avocado!)

 Whip it up then massage into hair making sure to get it completely covered from root to tip. Put on a shower cap (in my case a plastic bag) and then let it sit for about half an hour. Make sure to put a towel around your neck because it will melt and drip. I Even spent some time outside since its over 100 degrees outside. The heat really helps it absorb.
This recipe is more than enough for my hair which is pretty short right now, so if you have long hair you'll have plenty still with this recipe.