Yesterday was my last day with the natural beauty routine. And I wanted to share my thought on how it was....
It was LONG !
Though it was only a week, it seemed like forever. My only guess for why it felt like so long is that I was conscious of everything I was using. Everything had to measured put in a cup and used knowing what it was and what its suppose to do. On a regular day, I usually don't think twice about the cleanser I use or the moisturizer that follows. Things went on like a drill but not on the natural week.
I Missed My Moisturizer
Had I planned well in advance I would have thought about getting pure Shea butter. But then I really don't like the smell of it. It wasn't the greatest thing to depend on my cleanser and masks to keep me moisturized. Yogurt was a life saver in terms of moisture and my Almond mask helped a lot too but this was all for the face. My body was dry and not loving the sudden overdose of chick pea flour. I ended up using an organic moisturizer on the body because it got dry to a point that I was itching all over.
Not pretty.
Rediscovered Ice Therapy
Ice, man....ice !
Who knew it was this good for the skin. I don't know what it does, but it relaxes me and my skin. The redness gets minimized and the skin just looks plump and happy. I also discovered the ice my freezer makes is just the right shape and size to fit my eye. So I took one cube or should I say oval with flat side ? Anyhow, I took one piece rolled it in a cotton cloth, slightly wet the cloth over the ice and gently rolled it all over my face and eyes. I did this every night for 5 days and intend to do it from now on forever.
Face Masks
I am creative in the kitchen so making my own face mask was fun ! I don't think I've twittered about anything as much. When I started out with the Natural Week, I did want to try lettuce toner and cucumber toner and all that jazz but washing my blender a million times got real boring. So I made this mask - made it well and used it every night just before my ice therapy. I plan on continuing this mostly because I see instant results !
(And it uses up the Ground Flax seeds I've had forever)
Became My Mom
I love my mom. So " I became my Mom" is fun for me.
But, I became my MOM !
Every time I cut a lemon to squeze it over my salad, I'd roll the left over rind on my face. I saved a couple of cucumber pieces and placed it on my eyes. I cut Potatoes, I'd roll one half of a potato all over my face and throw it off. Same with Tomatoes.
Each one, an instant mini facial ! And its all natural !
Changes
Frankly I think one week is too less of a time to see something major especially if you have normal good skin. My whole reason behind doing this, was to do it. To see if I could stay all natural with my beauty routine. I did and I also saw a few surprise changes.
The redness around my nose and cheeks has reduced . Because of this my face on the whole looks a lot more even and clearer.
The oils I used to moisturize were not liked by my skin. I got a couple of these real tiny white-ish spots that look like pimples but arn't painful and generally vanish without scarring in a couple of days.
I don't have plenty of blemishes but I do have a couple - no change on them.
Face feels a lot more tight. As in the pores feel smaller and my skin looks a bit more alive than it used to.
My lashes are shiny because I oiled them every night !
No Eating Out
It was hard but not very hard. Every meal was at home or home cooked. I did not eat out the whole week ! Which is why I am going out for dinner tonight. I shall binge.
I'll have everything on the menu please.
Any specials tonight ?
Yea I'll have a side of that too.
Overall
Overall it was fun ! If I save some of the enthusiasm I plan on going natural for a week every month. Next time I hit Whole Foods, I'll remember to buy some pure Shea butter, store it in the refrigerator and see how effective it is ! I also should do a little more research so I can replace the chick pea flour for body cleansing. It got boring after three days. And I stopped using turmeric after the first day because cleaning out the tub was becoming a huge task.
And I don't like huge tasks that involve my bath tub.
Did you go natural with me ? Congratulations on makin it !! I know it was hard....What changes did you see ? Was there a favorite part about all this for you ?
Love,
Indian Girl
7 comments
Wow, congrats for making it! I really want to try out the masks you made--they seem like such gentle, pampering treats. About the shea butter: I have a tub of it from L'Occaitan, and it's mostly gone now. I used to use it religiously as a special dry-spot moisturizer (I have dry skin), and it worked wonders. I also dabbed it over my lashes, brows, and lips. I swear, it makes my lashes and brows grow thicker and fuller. Now, I use Egyptian Magic, but it's more of an all-over moisturizer for me. If you try the shea, just dab it over your eyes, or any other dry spots; don't use it over your entire face, because it's a little thick.
I used the chickpea flour for my bath routine and it got very tiresome to use it after about 2 days!!(not to forget, the icky feeling after using it) I used my regular body wash instead...but I am definitely sticking with the OCM for my face, my face has'nt broken out in a while since using this and it feels much better!!
congrats!! well, i could never do all natural though i used to incorporate some masks n stuff which are natural. i think i finished the natural phase craze, yup! i had one too!:)
somehow my skin responds well to other stuff more than natural.
chick peas is quite drying if u use it frequently. anyway congrats on completing it successfully!
Did you wear makeup during the week at all? Not to undermine anything, but maybe some of the changes in skin resulted from that?
Did you wear makeup during the week at all? Not to undermine anything, but maybe some of the changes in skin resulted from that?
I suggest using jojoba oil for your face and coconut oil or olive oil for your body. Shea butter is nice, but it's awfully heavy.
well done for making it through the week!!
i know what you mean about the turmeric...so much hassle to clean the tub :o\
i'd like to try more natural stuff but i'm such a lazy bum..the nearest i get is going to Lush.
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