Skin care/bathing

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Permalink Reply by Manuel Lugo on January 21, 2009 at 12:31pm

Thanks for the info! I'll try it out.

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Permalink Reply by Meditating on January 21, 2009 at 1:16pm

I dry brush regularly and vigorously. I use fresh lemon juice for deodorant and, if needed but always in the summer, puff on a little cornstarch afterwards.

I use Dr. Bonner's as a hand soap. If I engage in any heavy activity or get really dirty doing something else and feel like I need it, I will use an all natural goat's milk soap which is scented with essential oils. When I do shower, I usually don't use soap; however, about once weekly I will use a homemade salt scrub with coconut oil or sunflower oil. That is really nice and I since I have a shower filter my skin is never dried out by that nasty chlorine so my skin is very soft.

I quit using shampoo about a year ago and my hair has never looked better. I rinse it with vinegar with a few drops of essential oil. The lady who cuts my hair agrees it has never looked healthier. She asked me not to talk about my absence of shampoo out loud in her salon because she sells so much product, but most people can't consider the possibility of not using soap or shampoo. It really freaks them out.

I too oil pull and it really does help with keeping your skin well moisturized. The difference is amazing. I alternate between sesame and coconut oil for that. I am almost 50 and I get comments all the time about the condition of my skin. Most people are surprised at my age. Although it is obvious to me that I have the signs of gravity on my face that are appropriate for my age, my skin alone does look like it belongs to someone in their late 20's or early 30's. I don't even have a single crows foot, no lines around my mouth or lipline. I have one small vertical line between my brows and one forehead line that is 1/2" long close to my hairline on the right side of my face. While I don't know to what degree my genetics plays in this, I know how I clean my skin and what I eat plays a big role. My skin looks better now than it did 15 years ago.

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Permalink Reply by aishwarya on January 21, 2009 at 1:31pm

hey beautiful! thanks for sharing!

how much vinegar do you really use? am like asking all over the place now! teehee!

i too dont use soap ...dont feel the necessity to use one unless i have been in the dirt or have come from outdoors, which is all pollution. and natural options are the best! yeh! cheers to that

its funny how people sell things they dont believe in, all of the time. it really freaks me out when i see movie stars endorsing cheap soaps and health drinks, as though they would use them every hour! lolz!

thanks again!

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Permalink Reply by Meditating on January 21, 2009 at 4:19pm

I have a plastic bottle with a hook made to hang in my shower on a suction cup. I probably put 3 cups of white vinegar in it and, depending on the essential oil, just a drop or 2 of essential oil. I squirt it on my scalp with my head tilted back. I put on whatever amount I feel like but usually enough to feel the cold vinegar all over my scalp.

Your hair has scales all over it and they are often pulled away from the shaft of the hair. I then lean my head forward under the spigot and run some cold water through it. The cold water makes the scales lay flat against the shaft of your hair and it will make it shinier because it reflects more light. This also helps keep your hair from breaking off too.

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Permalink Reply by Meditating on January 21, 2009 at 8:50pm

It is changing due primarily to my age I think. All over my head my hair used to be extremely thick and the individual hairs were thick with a good bit of wave in them.

Now, the individual hairs are much thinner but the hair atop my head is what I would call fine hair. It is also thinning there like female pattern baldness. SUCKS. The hair on the side and back of my head is much thicker and there is so much of it I have to have it thinned with a razor every few months. It is not nearly as wavy and coarse as it used to be, but I would not define it as limp.

I wish there was something I could do to recover my previous hair but, what can you do?

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Permalink Reply by WhoRaw on January 21, 2009 at 1:40pm

very interesting topic. I just pulled up oilpulling website and will look into it.


thanks for the insight

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Permalink Reply by Colleen on January 22, 2009 at 8:40pm

I can't shower just once a week. I go one day without showering or washing my hair, and I stink and my haid is soooo greasy and flat. :(

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Permalink Reply by VibinOnLife! on January 21, 2009 at 3:14pm

I use black soap on my hair, face and body. I've spend years looking for something that I could use everywhere. I have a thing about bottles and jars in the shower. LOL. It's all natural and really good for keeping the pores open and complexion smooth. I use shea butter as a moisturizer.

Black soap is made from the ash of locally harvested plants and barks such a plantain, cocoa pods, palm tree leaves, and shea tree bark. First the leaves and bark are sun-dried and then roasted in a kettle or pot at an even, constant temperature, which is important to ensure color, texture and smell. Then water and various oils - palm oil, coconut oil, palm kernel oil (including shea butter and cocoa pod powder) - are added to the mixture and stirred for at least a day. After that, the "soap" is left to set for two weeks to cure. Oftentimes the soap is made by women and is fair-traded, though not always.

Black soap is traditionally made in west Africa, typically Ghana, from secret recipes. Different tribes and communities have adopted their own specific (secret) blend of oils and cooking techniques, which can be seen in the different color variations among black soap. The ash itself was often used to heal cuts. Varieties of black soap actually made in Africa tend to be pure, while soaps made in Europe or the US tend to have added artificial ingredients.

The plantain skins give the soap Vitamin A & E, and iron. Because the soap has the highest shea butter content of any soap, it also offers UV protection.

I know you said NO SOAP methods, but this technically is not a soap. It is made from plants and natural oils, and it's more natural that even Dr. Bonner's which I used faithfully for years.

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Permalink Reply by Anne on January 21, 2009 at 3:20pm

Hi Manuel,
I don't use soap to clean.
I find rainwater cleans the skin very nicely.
I also love the sun, as a cleanser; it seems to clean the skin better than any soap I have ever used.
Love and peace XX♥

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Permalink Reply by Manuel Lugo on January 21, 2009 at 4:00pm

Very good to know! Thanks.

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Permalink Reply by aishwarya on January 22, 2009 at 3:46am

yes ! i have noticed this thing about the sun too! it happens when you are raw that you feel energised and clean! awwesome!
sun bathing and moon bathing! i wish i could do both more!

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