When I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease I learned quickly that I needed to read every label, including the labels for skin and hair products. I was kind of grossed out, and a little embarrassed that I had never really read my body care product ingredients before. I bought mostly "organic" products and thought that was good enough. Apparently not! While using these organic products, or chemicals on my body, I struggled to keep my skin clear. I suffered with painful little bumps around my hairline and ears, I was always battling a breakout on my face, chest, or back, and had annoying little bumps on my upper arms and thighs. I also had to wash my hair every other day to keep it from looking dirty.
178 ingredients here
Now my skin is clearer, I mean seriously clearer than it has ever been. My hair is healthy and shiny, partly due to my natural (grey) highlights, staying fresh for over 3 days without washing! How did I do it you ask? Slowly, with a lot of trials along the way. Every person is different so you have to figure out what works best for you.
I started by doing the no-poo method for about 3 months. It worked, but I longed to use "normal" shampoo and conditioner again. I purchased some gluten-free shampoo and conditioner and started using it immediately. After about a week I started to notice the painful little bumps showing up around my hairline and ears again. Ugh! Back to the drawing board.
After much trial and error, I finally have a routine that works for me. I make my own shampoo with 1/2 cup Dr. Bronner's almond pure-Castile soap and 1/4 cup water. My conditioner is 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, 1 cup water and 2 drops of lavender essential oil. Once or twice a month I will use 1 tablespoon baking soda with 1 cup water in place of my shampoo.
My hair holds style and doesn't look greasy, even after 3 days of not washing. It took some getting use to though... I really had to work hard on my perception of beauty.
As far as my body goes, I dry brush to clean my skin. I use Castile soap for the parts you don't want to dry brush and use coconut oil for removing my mascara (the only make-up I wear). I also use coconut oil to moisturize my body, along with Primal Body Butter for extra help in the drier months.
I no longer need to use deodorant in the colder months. In the summer months and/or when I plan on working out hard, I will dab some coconut oil on and dust it with baking soda. I truly believe that my body doesn't omit bad odors anymore due to my clean eating habits, which includes drinking plenty of water. This goes for everything, my skin and hair can only be as healthy as I allow it to be by nourishing my body from the inside.
Take care!
~Tracy
I started by doing the no-poo method for about 3 months. It worked, but I longed to use "normal" shampoo and conditioner again. I purchased some gluten-free shampoo and conditioner and started using it immediately. After about a week I started to notice the painful little bumps showing up around my hairline and ears again. Ugh! Back to the drawing board.
21 ingredients here
After much trial and error, I finally have a routine that works for me. I make my own shampoo with 1/2 cup Dr. Bronner's almond pure-Castile soap and 1/4 cup water. My conditioner is 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, 1 cup water and 2 drops of lavender essential oil. Once or twice a month I will use 1 tablespoon baking soda with 1 cup water in place of my shampoo.
My hair holds style and doesn't look greasy, even after 3 days of not washing. It took some getting use to though... I really had to work hard on my perception of beauty.
From left to right, day 1,2,3,4
As far as my body goes, I dry brush to clean my skin. I use Castile soap for the parts you don't want to dry brush and use coconut oil for removing my mascara (the only make-up I wear). I also use coconut oil to moisturize my body, along with Primal Body Butter for extra help in the drier months.
I no longer need to use deodorant in the colder months. In the summer months and/or when I plan on working out hard, I will dab some coconut oil on and dust it with baking soda. I truly believe that my body doesn't omit bad odors anymore due to my clean eating habits, which includes drinking plenty of water. This goes for everything, my skin and hair can only be as healthy as I allow it to be by nourishing my body from the inside.
Take care!
~Tracy
Amazing account! Thank you for sharing. I am going to try your method! I'm also going to share on my page on Facebook.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing! I am always looking for new healthy alternatives. What essential oils do you use and have heard of doTERRA? If your interested in trying them I could send you a free sample. Best of luck!
ReplyDeleteHi Nicole, I use Aura Cacia right now. I have not heard of doTERRA, but I will look it up. Samples are always welcome :-)
ReplyDeleteYou can go to iheartoils.net if your interested. It's a team website that I helped to create for more information. You can fill out the form or email me at nicole@iheartoils.net and let me know what you want to try and an address to send to.
ReplyDelete