DIY

Do it yourself or DIY has been the talk of the town, at lest the Pintrest town. I want to discuss some of the DIY ideas I have personally tried. Some were awesome and others well lets just say some things are meant to be store bought.

Sugar scrubs:

A sugar and coconut oil based body scrub for the shower. The ingredients? Sugar and coconut oil. There are endless recipes you can find on Pintrest that include orange zest, lime, essentials oils, coffee, etc. When first trying DIY beauty hacks, I stick to the basics. I started by mixing white granulated sugar with some organic coconut oil I had on hand. Three worlds: Oh. My. Scrub! What an amazing little potion. I loved everything about it! It went on smooth and due to the sugar disintegrating slowly it didn’t feel so rough. Some store bought scrubs have a tendency to feel like sandpaper. When I rinsed it off my skin was a silky smooth and I didn’t have to put on lotion after the shower. Very moisturizing. Take it from me, sugar scrubs are a perfect DIY product. I can’t wait to try more and use different scents. Next on my list: sugar-coffee scrub, yummy! Sugar scrubs: SO approved!

Shea butter lotions:

I had really high hopes for this next one, but alas you can’t always get what you want, right Mick Jagger? All right so at the time I was really into basic ingredients. I didn’t want to put too much on my skin. I read a few articles about how there are hundreds of chemicals in store bought lotions. I thought, “I don’t want to put any of that on my body”. So I researched a few different recipes on how to make your own lotions. I picked one with shea butter, coconut oil, jojoba oil and your choice of essential oil. Seemed easy enough. Well... turns out shea butter that has a good texture or smell is not the easiest to come by. If you know of one please let me know, I would be more than happy to give it another shot. The shea butter I found was at Whole Foods and not only was it a little on the pricey side, but when I opened the jar I couldn’t scoop any out. To my surprise it had a wax like consistency and a strange odor. Almost like a plastic smell, imagine smelling the inside of a Ziploc bag. I took a knife, yes a knife and tried to cut out a chunk of this smelly waxy shea butter. Maybe it would melt down a bit and loosen in texture once mixed with the other oils. It was a good try, but no, it stayed solid. I added it to a great concoction of jojoba oil, coconut oil, a drop or two of essential oil (careful they can be irritating to the skin). I attempted to mush it down as best I could. I tried with my hands, the knife, a fork, an electric mixer, etc. The shea butter didn’t want to cooperate with me. I was stuck with an iceberg looking chunk of shea butter surrounded by oils. It was no natural lotion for me that night. Moral of this DIY story: if you want to stick with an all-natural lotion I suggest stick with a one ingredient like plain ol' coconut oil. Shea butter based DIY lotions: SO not approved! (at least for now, always willing to try again with any suggestions)

Tanning:

            Tanning mixes! Yay! It’s summer time and you want to have that perfect glow without the cancerous side effects, right? Well, how about a DIY tanning solution? You mean I don’t have to over pay for fancy tanning products that just leave me streaky or looking like a cheesenip? Nope, you can make one yourself and it’s fun!  First, let me tell you some recipes that are SO approved and some that are SO not! Let’s get started!

            Coffee. The best part of this mix is the smell. Mmmm, freshly brewed cup of joe? I’ll take one! This one requires one part coffee, one part water (optional), and a tablespoon of oil. Any oil you like, coconut, jojoba, almond, castor, grape seed, up to you. Brew a nice cup of coffee, once cooled transfer into a spray bottle. Then add your choice of oil and one part water if desired. The coffee will stain your skin giving you great ‘off the beach’ natural look. Only caution: Be careful with spray bottles because they really put the ‘spray’ in spray on tan. Be sure to really rub the solution in after you spray it on as to avoid those less than hot tanning streaks.)  Coffee tans are SO approved! Link below for other great recipes.

            Another DIY tanning solution I found was tea. Let me start off by saying: No! Just say no. I followed a recipe that required cooled black tea and oil. Maybe I didn’t use enough tea bags (I thought eight would suffice), but this did not work. It left me feeling sticky and there was no visible tan! When it comes to DIY spray tans just stick with good old black coffee. Other suggestions welcomed!

Hair:

Let’s talk about hair baby, let’s talk about you and me. Come on sign with me!

All right ladies and gents here it is: Apple Cider Vinegar! Yep, there it is. The secret to great hair, well I’m not so sure if it’s much of a secret, but if you didn’t know about then isn’t it considered a slight secret? At least to you! I kind of hate to admit it, but apple cider vinegar really performs miracles on hair. I use it once every two weeks or so and my hair is shinny, soft, and has a light feel. It’s like a facial, yet for your hair. If you can bear the smell, try using an organic apple cider vinegar and just pour a little over your head while in the shower. I usually use it as a shampoo, rinse, and then use a little conditioner to mask the scent of ACV. My hair combs out smooth, no tangles or knots and no detangler needed. Blow dry or air-dry and see the amazing results. Soft, silky, smooth hair.* Have scalp problems? Try ACV, my sister has sarisis, little scabs on her scalp, and ACV has completely taken care of the problem. My sister swears by it. She used to use it twice a week, but now since the sarisicist has cleared up she uses it on occasion. SO approved

* I don’t use ACV much as I use to because of the smell. Some people are fine with the it, but I just can’t deal with it. To me it’s smelly feet gone bad!