Natural Beauty Tips!

While this blog tends to focus on organic and all-natural beauty products, I don't want to lose sight of the fact that some of the best beauty products come from the grocery store. Here are some natural beauty tips to follow!

Apple Cider Vinegar

• The acidity level of apple cider vinegar so closely matches your hair's level that it makes an excellent hair conditioner. Just mix 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar with 1 liter (or 1 qt.) of water to make a rinse that will remove buildup from other products and make your hair shiny and smooth.

• Mix with buttermilk and smooth onto your face to kill germs that cause acne, and moisturize your skin. Rinse thoroughly.
  
  
• Drink 1 tsp per day mixed with a glass of ice water and 1 tsp honey to maintain a good acid/alkaline balance in your body for overall good health.
  

Olive Oil

• Mix a small amount of olive oil with one or two drops of an organic essential oil for use as an all natural moisturizer. You can also add a few drops of vitamin E oil for added benefit.

Witch Hazel

• Forget pricey toners, witch hazel will work with any skin type to improve tone and remove excess cleanser.
  
  
• Wake up with puffy eyes? Dab a little witch hazel on with a cotton ball to reduce the puffiness.

Raw Foods

• Add more raw fruits and vegetables to your diet and watch your skin begin to tighten up and glow. People will think you've had a facelift!

Tip From Reader Melinda Roberts Tyler:

• I give myself a home facial by taking boiling water and putting it in a bowl with some herbs--usually rosemary and thyme--and then put a towel over my head while it is over the bowl of hot water to steam out my pores.
  
  After my face has steamed for about 10 minutes, I take a homemade scrub made of egg white, oatmeal and honey, and rub that into my skin - exfoliating for about 5 minutes. Then rinse with warm water with a little rose extract and follow with my favorite moisturizer (I recommend organic Zia products).
  
  Your skin will be refreshed and you will look radiant--all for free!

Also, check out an article Borzack posted on turning your own home into a natural spa!

There are many more natural beauty aids, and I'll be adding to this post as I compile the info. In the mean time, feel free to comment your favorite all natural beauty tips!

-Kat

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Affordable "Green" Fashion

I love clothes... in fact, there are few things I would rather do than spend hours browsing through clothing racks at the mall - whether or not I'm actually buying anything (a rare occurrence with my two boys in tow; but still, I love it). With my interest in all-natural living, I have begun searching out organic cotton clothing and other green fashions, and thankfully it is becoming easier and easier to find!

Being on a budget narrows the search results of course, because at the moment, organic clothing items are still a bit pricey. Thankfully - I found that I can buy green, be cute, and still stick to a budget... at Wal Mart.

(did she say Wal Mart?)

Yep, I said Wal Mart.

Say what you will about the major corporation (and it probably won't be anything I haven't already thought), but they are making an effort to give the masses what they want, and they want organic clothing products. Wal Mart has teamed up with a non-profit group called Organic Exchange to offer affordable, organic cotton clothing.

Obviously Wal Mart was not one of the first to offer organic cotton clothing - but for me, it was the first affordable avenue available. Happy shopping!

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Smell Any Lung Damage Lately?

I have a very sensitive sniffer... to be honest, it's a curse. Having the ability to smell EVERYTHING can be overwhelming sometimes; when I was pregnant, I considered wearing a bandana over my nose (bandito!) just to block it all out.

Accidentally leave your clothes in the washer overnight? I can smell it. (ewwww - ugh, I do it all the time) Walk through a cigarette-smoke filled service station this morning? I can smell it.

One thing that has kept me sane is scented candles. Oooh, sugar cookie candles? My fav! Then I found out that burning a regular craft store 5 for $5.99 candle releases toxins galore into your home...crap!

I was pretty bummed until I discovered soy candles - and now it seems that they're everywhere! I even found some at Wal Mart of all places :-P. If you can find it at Wal Mart - you know it has entered the main stream, lol.

What's your favorite candle scent? The one you just can't resist?

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Almay Mascara Review - Allergy Alert

Almay - not an "all natural" company, but a company well-known for its hypoallergenic cosmetics. Anytime I have had an allergy issue with a makeup, I've turned to Almay for a replacement; but apparently that ship has sailed...

A few months ago, everytime I wore my Almay mascara, my lower eyelid would swell and hurt. I didn't make the connection at first, but then I decided to switch mascaras and lo and behold, the swelling and hurting stopped! I was baffled of course, it's ALMAY! Chalking it up to my weird physiology, I just threw it out and didn't think anything of it. A few days ago, I happened to mention it to my mom and she looked at me and said, "Did you say Almay? I had an allergic reaction to Almay mascara just a few months ago."

In light of the fact that both of us had reactions - I thought I would post this and see if anyone else has had an odd reaction to Almay... because if my mom hadn't mentioned her reaction, I would have just thought it was just me. (score one for the all natural-bat-poo-free mascara companies, lol)

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I rock, you rock, we all rock!

I was pleasantly surprised by fellow blogger Nicole from Juicy Alligator with a "You Rock" award! She is so sweet and a fantastic health blogger - you should absolutely check her out.

What I like about this award is that we are supposed to pass it on... and I always enjoy helping to promote bloggers with blogs I enjoy. I'm also supposed to share 8 "amazing" things about myself, which may prove tricky, lol.

Let's see... I created my blog, "Kat's Eyes" a couple of years ago, but have only really been seriously blogging for about two or three months. (This current blog being less than a month old).

In addition to blogging, I'm also a writer (non-bloggy writing, lol) - both fiction and articles (and I'm always available both for hire and for guest posting - cough shameless promotion cough)

I'm a homeschooling mom.

I LOVE yoga.

I love words completely; writing, reading, grammar, the works.

Okay, that's 5 and I can't think of anything else. :-)

So... I would like to pass this along to:

Filisofia, a great philosophy blog that really makes you stretch your mind!


-Kat

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Mama Cloth

So, if there are any guys perusing my site at the moment, you may want to skip this particular post... yah, just scroll on down and you'll find a nice manly post about body odor...

Okay, I think it's just us girls now.

With the resurgence of environmentally aware mamas, there has been a rebirth in the cloth diaper industry. Those things are more convenient than ever! You can find almost anything you want in cloth now - including cloth for mamas. Yep "mama cloth" or cloth pads are becoming all the rage even among the slightly crunchy, lol.

I know, I know, ewwww, right? That's what I thought too... but after reading all of these girls just ooh and ahh over pads of all things.. well... I had to check it out. I decided to support a WAHM from one of my parenting message boards and order from Something New Creations. While I was happy to support a WAHM, it was also REALLY inexpensive compared to other sites, so that was a bonus!

When they first came in the mail, my first thought was These are so cute!! I am SUCH a girl sometimes, but I'll tell you that having a pad that is color coordinated to your underwear puts a little swagger in your step for some reason. When the time came to actually use them, I got cold feet and used a regular disposable that first day, but then I decided to be brave and give it a go.

Ok, I'd had the disposable pad on for the first day, and when I switched, I could not believe how SOFT the cloth ones were. It was so comfortable! I was completely sold and have been using them ever since. I'm serious, if you have ever considered it DO IT! If you've never even heard of mama cloth, go to Something New Creations and have a look around!

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Review: Tom's of Maine Natural Deodorant

I like to smell nice, who doesn't? However, I've been concerned for some time about the ingredients in regular antiperspirant/deodorant. Just the way that antiperspirant makes my underarms feel let's me know that it's not "right". So in my quest for an all-natural alternative, I came across Tom's of Maine. I already really liked their toothpaste, so I decided to give it a try.

Now of course it's simply a deodorant and not an antiperspirant, but really, unless you have an actual medical condition that causes excess sweating - normal sweating is, well, normal. So I wasn't concerned about that.

Unfortunately -- no matter how much of that stuff I slathered on my poor little underarms, by the end of the day, I smelled like I had just returned from a long day of playing softball, or construction, or really anything that makes you smell REALLY BAD.

So I'm giving Tom's a big thumbs down....

And just so I don't end this post on a real downer -- I'll let you know what I found that did work. Salt crystal deodorant (Google it). Doesn't even seem to matter what brand. Cool eh?

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