Fiber Fool

If you’ve been around the last 6 months or so you know I’ve been transitioning to making a lot of my beauty products. I expect that’ll make my list a little different from many of the others out there as my list is mostly made up of my favorite ingredients or favorite recipes.

1. Calendula infused olive oil from Rose Mountain Herbs - this is fantastic for inflamed skin, from rashes or bug bites etc. I usually apply it twice daily to a few areas that cause me itchy troubles every winter. It hasn’t cleared the problem, but it is much less troublesome than in past years. You can also make your own.

2. Basic oils - my favorites are jojoba, grapeseed and sweet almond and I like to stick to Aura Caia or Now most of the time. I can get the sweet almond and sometimes the grapeseed from Aura Cacia from our local food co-op, so I just bring in my empty bottles and refill. Both brands in bottles are found at all of our natural sort of food stores - Whole Foods, Vitamin Cottage and Sunflower. I started using these as ingredients in some of my recipes, but I’m now using them straight as my body moisturizer. I alternate randomly through the three for my body and I use just a few drops of the jojoba for my face in the morning and the grapeseed at night. Jojoba is balancing and very similar to the skin’s natural sebum so it is a good moisturizer choice even for oily or combination skin. Grapeseed is a bit more “oily” but naturally contains a lot of vitamin E and is protective, nourishing and toning, making it a great choice for overnight skin “therapy.” I have to say that routine has been serving me quite well and much better than store bought products.

3. Thayer’s Witch Hazel - this is an ingredient in my favorite face wash (along with strawberries, jojoba and grapeseed oil and in the winter some oat flour), but straight it is a great facial toner, especially this one that has some aloe in it. It can also be blended with a flower water for a bit more gentle toner. Again, this is pretty readily available at natural food stores in the area.

4. Aveeno Positively Ageless Eye Firming - this is one the face product I’m still buying. So far I haven’t found a good anti-wrinkle DIY recipe so I’m continuing to use this product. At least for now. It does contain parabens so I’d like to find a paraben-free alternative once this one is gone (these types of products are too expensive to just toss on a whim).

5. Bare Escentuals/Minerals Make-up - I’m new to this make-up as of December, but I’m loving it. I don’t have the right color foundation at this point so I’m mixing and results aren’t consistent, but even though the color isn’t quite right I’m getting much better coverage with a more natural look and using less product. Wins all around! And while it is a bit early to tell, I think it really is treating my skin better than the drugstore mineral make-up I had been using.

6. Tassi - this was a Christmas gift from mom. I could do without pink polk-a-dots, but it is *very* handy. More so than I would have guessed. It is not the camera angle that makes the portion in the lower left wider. It really is wider. You out it around your neck, then pull it back up like a headband and that wider section will hold your long hair so it keeps *all* of your hair out of your face for washing or putting on make-up or brushing your teeth. Love it!

7. Exfoliating Gloves - I’ve been using a pair about every 4 days, dry. Before getting in the shower. That combined with the oils has my whole body baby-soft. I can’t believe the difference it has made! They are pretty inexpensive and can be found almost anywhere, from big box stores to drug stores, even a couple of the grocery stores have them in the health and beauty aisle.

8. Oscar Blandi Dry Shampoo - this I only picked up a week or two ago at Ulta in a small size to try. I’ve used it twice, but so far I’m impressed. With my hair color I’ve not found the DIY dry shampoos to work well, I always have residue left behind making me look gray-ish. My fine hair means I *have* to wash my hair daily or my hairline looks oily, but with it’s length, the rest of my head would be happier not being washed daily. This leaves behind no visable residue and the application is much easier and more controlled than the DIY version too.

9. Lotion Bars - I’m still making them, playing with somewhat different formulations, but they are all based off of that original. It is fantastic for during the day moisturizing applications. I use it mostly for my hands, but I’m finding it super effective for my dry heels at night too!

10. Sugar Scrub - this is essential when I’m spinning or working with fine yarns. I use it right before working with the fibers or yarn and often follow it up with a bit of lotion bar too, as I find the scrub helps remove dried out skin, but the beeswax in the lotion bar helps to seal down any bits of rough skin that were not dry enough for the scrub to remove.

To see what other people like for health and beauty products, head over to Carole’s!