My shipment from Chagrin Valley finally arrived! I haven't tried all of them, so I will add the reviews as I use them.
Here was what I bought:
Shampoo bars:
Herb Garden
Neem & Tea Tree
Nettle
Chamomile Citrus
Babassu and Marsh Mallow
Olive Babassu
Summer Sunshine
Soap bars:
Dead Sea Spa
Shea Rose Clay
Others:
Squalane Face & Eye Mousse
Reviews
Nettle Shampoo Bar
After reading all the rave reviews about this bar, I decided to start with this bar from my CV stash. It lathered very well, and did not dry out my hair. I lathered and rinsed three times in total. None of the squeakiness I got from my previous bars. My hair was easy to comb through when wet, when dry it did not feel rough, just a tad dry but that's because of the chemical damage. I did not use an acid rinse, but I don't think there is a need to at all with this bar. Very gentle cleansing. Only problem is that my hair is starting to feel a little oily, and it has been less than two days.
Olive Babassu
I love this bar even more than I do the Nettle bar; this bar is even gentler than Nettle in terms of cleansing capability, which makes for softer hair but also hair that gets oilier quicker. It has a very, very faint scent that goes away minutes after washing,
Neem & Tea Tree Body and Hair Shampoo
I bought this to use on my face and not on my hair. It gives off a very strong smell that I initially found off-putting, but I have gotten used to it. It has worked wonders for my complexion and I am very happy with this bar. It can be a little drying though, so combat the dryness with a good moisturiser.
Dead Sea Spa Soap
It is a dark grey colour which is a little scary but it doesn't have a strong smell at all. Didn't lather very well even after I softened my water. I guess it is an okay bar but I will not repurchase.
Squalane Face & Eye Mousse
It has the texture of whipped cream, it melts easily upon contact with the skin and gets absorbed very quickly. I have been using this as an eye cream and night face cream and I love it. It keeps my skin super moisturised. The only drawback is that this product has a shelf life of only two months so constant repurchase is necessary.
Showing posts with label body care. Show all posts
Showing posts with label body care. Show all posts
Monday, April 11, 2011
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Homemade Beeswax Lipbalm
I've been searching for a natural replacement for Vaseline and chanced upon a recipe from this website.
The recipe calls for 1 ounce of beeswax and 1/2 cup of baby oil. I replaced the baby oil with organic virgin coconut oil because I didn't want to use mineral oil in my lipbalm.
To fill up a 2 oz jar, you will need:
1/2 ounce organic beeswax
1/4 cup organic virgin coconut oil
Melt the beeswax in a double boiler. I just put it in a bowl over a pot of boiling water on the stove. After the beeswax has been melted, stir in the coconut oil. You have to keep stirring till it cools completely, and because I am such a lazy person I put the bowl on ice so that it would cool faster. As you stir, you will realise that the mixture is solidifying. When it reaches the consistency of Vaseline, it is done. The beeswax I used was a golden yellow, so the mixture was pale yellow in colour. Store it into a 2 oz glass jar.
I tried it on my lips last night, and I woke up with very moisturised lips. I am very pleased with this recipe. Other recipes on the web add shea butter, Vitamin E oil, and other essential oils, but this simple recipe does it for me.
I bought my beeswax from here, in case you were wondering! The shipping was quick, and the beeswax is of a good quality; it is a pretty golden yellow colour, with a strong honey smell.
The recipe calls for 1 ounce of beeswax and 1/2 cup of baby oil. I replaced the baby oil with organic virgin coconut oil because I didn't want to use mineral oil in my lipbalm.
To fill up a 2 oz jar, you will need:
1/2 ounce organic beeswax
1/4 cup organic virgin coconut oil
Melt the beeswax in a double boiler. I just put it in a bowl over a pot of boiling water on the stove. After the beeswax has been melted, stir in the coconut oil. You have to keep stirring till it cools completely, and because I am such a lazy person I put the bowl on ice so that it would cool faster. As you stir, you will realise that the mixture is solidifying. When it reaches the consistency of Vaseline, it is done. The beeswax I used was a golden yellow, so the mixture was pale yellow in colour. Store it into a 2 oz glass jar.
I tried it on my lips last night, and I woke up with very moisturised lips. I am very pleased with this recipe. Other recipes on the web add shea butter, Vitamin E oil, and other essential oils, but this simple recipe does it for me.
I bought my beeswax from here, in case you were wondering! The shipping was quick, and the beeswax is of a good quality; it is a pretty golden yellow colour, with a strong honey smell.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Homemade body sugaring recipe
I want to retire my razor and shaving cream in favour of body sugaring, because it is cheap and natural, and I have all the things I need for it in my kitchen, including a candy thermometer- lucky me!
Got the recipe from here; sugaring is essentially a mixture of sugar, lemon juice and water that is boiled till it becomes a paste, and after it cools, it is spread onto hairy arms and legs and the hair is removed with the aid of cotton strips.
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup water
Combine the ingredients, boil till the mixture reaches hard candy stage (250F), remove from heat and pour into a jar, and let it cool. After that, your paste is good to go.
My experience
I had to boil my mixture till 260F instead of 250F; you'll know it's done when the smell and colour of the mixture changes- the colour will become a dark brown and it will smell a little like caramel. I cut up a few old cotton rags and used those as the cloth strips. I applied the paste in the opposite direction of the hair growth, smoothed the cloth strip over it with the back of a spoon, then pulled in the direction of the hair growth so that the hair is pulled out completely. If you do it the other way round, you risk breaking the hair strands instead of pulling them out by the root. After I was done using a strip I dropped it into a basin of hot water next to me, which will help with the clean-up. Plus, you can reuse them so it's totally eco-friendly. Sugaring both legs took me an hour, which is significantly longer than shaving, but I think my inexperience (first time!) was a contributing factor. Nonetheless, I am very pleased with the results! My legs look really clean, and I know the regrowth will take at least a couple of weeks (that's what I'm hoping, anyway). I'm itching to try this out on my underarms... Probably the only drawback of this method, apart from how time-consuming it is if you're new at it, is that the hair has to be long enough so that the sugaring paste can grab hold of it and yank it out.
Got the recipe from here; sugaring is essentially a mixture of sugar, lemon juice and water that is boiled till it becomes a paste, and after it cools, it is spread onto hairy arms and legs and the hair is removed with the aid of cotton strips.
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup water
Combine the ingredients, boil till the mixture reaches hard candy stage (250F), remove from heat and pour into a jar, and let it cool. After that, your paste is good to go.
My experience
I had to boil my mixture till 260F instead of 250F; you'll know it's done when the smell and colour of the mixture changes- the colour will become a dark brown and it will smell a little like caramel. I cut up a few old cotton rags and used those as the cloth strips. I applied the paste in the opposite direction of the hair growth, smoothed the cloth strip over it with the back of a spoon, then pulled in the direction of the hair growth so that the hair is pulled out completely. If you do it the other way round, you risk breaking the hair strands instead of pulling them out by the root. After I was done using a strip I dropped it into a basin of hot water next to me, which will help with the clean-up. Plus, you can reuse them so it's totally eco-friendly. Sugaring both legs took me an hour, which is significantly longer than shaving, but I think my inexperience (first time!) was a contributing factor. Nonetheless, I am very pleased with the results! My legs look really clean, and I know the regrowth will take at least a couple of weeks (that's what I'm hoping, anyway). I'm itching to try this out on my underarms... Probably the only drawback of this method, apart from how time-consuming it is if you're new at it, is that the hair has to be long enough so that the sugaring paste can grab hold of it and yank it out.
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