Musings from the Junque Pile "Dyeing my Hair naturally, part 2

In "Dyeing My Hair Naturally, Part One," I attempted a rinse of all natural cranberry juice, with absolutely no results.  After further researching, I found out that that rinsing color into your hair is something that shows results over time.  But I found other things to try, as well as ways to make the natural "dyes" thicker in order to have it sit in your hair, and not run or drip off.  Olive oil was a good choice, and something that I had on hand.

Last weekend, I made a paste of Paprika, olive oil , cranberry juice (hey, I had to use it up, yanno?). I let this paprika gunk sit in the fridge overnight, and then took it out a couple of hours before I planned to shower, so that it would come up to room temperature. I then washed my hair, using my usual No-Poo method, and while the hair was still wet, I slathered this paprika mixture all over my head, from root to tip. I have to say, it sure looks like it was going to do some good.  Not all of the paprika dissolved into the liquid, so it was a tad gritty, but not too bad.

I decided to let it sit on my head until it dried fully. It took about 4 hours.

After rinsing my hair, I looked at it wet, and I don't know maybe it me being hopeful, but there was a reddish tinge to my hair.  After letting it dry, I checked the mirror again, and nope...really no difference.

DaHubster and my mother both said there was a bit of red in my hair, but I think they were just trying to make me feel better.

It's widely reported over the interwebz that using herbs, flowers, teas and spices to color your hair means doing it frequently, and the color builds up over time.  I'm lazy and I don't want do much more than wash my hair, scrunch it a bit of hairspray, and call it done. I was hard-pressed to dye it with real dye any more than once every 3-4 months.

So, my next experiment will be with Henna. It's apparently come a long way from the 70's when you were told not to use it if you have processed your hair in any way.  I've researched the different companies and looked at reviews, and I chose one company. I should get my order early next week, and I'll let you all know how it goes after I goop it on my hair.

In the meantime, I'm just going to have too look like a mongrel: half blond, half dishwater, and sprinkled with silver. blech.

I want my red back.

You put that Junque on your Face?

I have the worst winter skin – alligator skin – crepe skin – whatever you want to call it, I have it.  It feels thin and dry and OH MY GOD itchy.  It has been suggested that I don’t scrub enough in the shower. The problem is that the more I scrub, the more my skin hurts and feels tender.  Most lotions make my skin feel heavy and suffocated, so moisturizing is a pain. And I’ve spent waaaaay too many $$$ trying out lotions and face scrubs and not liking anything.

So after a long time of trial and error, I’ve come up with a system that works for me. And the best part is, it’s cheap. My first love is Grandma’s Lye Soap. I find it at my local hardware store sells it, but I see it can be bought online (link to Amazon thru site.  Despite what you might think about lye, this soap doesn’t burn my skin. The only ingredients are: Lye, lard, water, and very little else.  My husband likes it because it doesn’t smell like anything, especially anything girly.  I like it because it doesn’t make my skin feel tight or like there’s any residue on it.

Step two in my attempt to ease the Winter Skin Blues, is my favorite product of all time: Baking soda. Is there anything this stuff cannot do??? (You might think me silly and immature to use multiple question marks, but when it comes to this miracle product, it’s totally relevant, and despite that I am sticking my tongue out at you right now).  Now, my first few forays into attempting to use baking soda resulted in skin that was scrubbed too raw, so I caution you to use in a gently swirling motion. And rinse twice. Anyone who has used baking soda to clean their tub knows that when it’s dry you always find a line or two of dusty leftovers. Don’t do that to your skin. And another note of caution: I really only use baking soda a couple of times a week, not every day.

And lastly is step three in my brand new winter regime - Glycerin. You can find it in at the drug store. I think this sized bottle cost me less than $2.00, and that was about 3 years ago.  I got it because I had heard that it was great for getting oil based stains out of clothing. Yeah, tell that to my favorite mock turtleneck that had a run-in with a dish of linguine and clam sauce. The turtleneck lost. However, I love it for my feet and face.  I slather in on my feet right out of the shower, and put on socks. I slather it on my face, let it sit there for a minute. It’s very thick and viscous, and it doesn’t really sink in. Then I rinse it off with cool water, and pat my face dry.  My face feels great all day.

As with everything, your mileage may vary.  I found that pricy products hurt my skin as well as my wallet.  Of these three things, Grandma’s Lye Soap is the most expensive at around $6.00 a bar. but I found it at Amazon for a little over $3.00 a bar...I'm buying it there from now on!

Musings at the Junque Pile - Home Made Beauty Products

I thought I'd give you, dear readers, a break from my garden for a minute.

I have a confession to make. I'm cheap.

No, really.  I hate to spend money on myself. Ask anyone. And I have a seriously hard time remembering to do girly things like get a haircut (yes, we won't talk about that here), go get a manicure (I'm actually a few weeks overdue for a fill - this is my one vice, but I'm ignoring it right now) or a pedicure. I buy the cheapest facial scrub I can, only because it is cheaper to buy it than make it (except for the stuff I will tell you about below). But I do have a few on the cheap things that I do here at the micro-mini ranch that proves that yes, I am a girl. A girls gotta get a boost every once in a while, right?

The bestest gentle facial astringent/toner out there: Witch Hazel. No kidding. It's like what, a buck a bottle? My current bottle is going on 3 years old. Wash your face, grab a cotton ball soaked in this stuff, and go to town. Cleans your pores, tightens said pores, and doesn't burn or smell overly astringent. Leaves your skin feeling cool and firm, but not dry or tight. LOVE this stuff, especially in the summer time, when I produce enough oil on my face to fuel my car for a week (Oh, I wish).

The bestest cheapest foot soak for cleaning your feet without scrubbing: 2 cups of vinegar in warm to lukewarm water. I am a diabetic, and I have a condition called neuropathy, where the bottoms of my feet and toes feel like they are always asleep. It is not recommended that neuropathy sufferer's get pedicures, as you can't feel how hot the water is, and any cuts, bumps or bruises may go unnoticed and get infected. As a result, I am very careful with my feet. I have found that a vinegar foot soak is a great way to exfoliate my feet without major scrubbing. It also helps alleviate mild cases of athlete's foot (when done every day for up to 2 weeks). I still scrub, but I don't have to really scrub hard. Most of the dead skin cells are whisked away by the vinegar. And I'm sure that I don't want to know how that happens. I'm just glad it does.

For scrubbing rough, dry skin patches on your feet or elbows (or where ever you might have them), the bestest cheapest body scrub is: mix up 1/4 cup of sugar and just enough olive oil to saturate the sugar, but not dissolve it.  Then rub briskly on your dry patches, followed by a good soaping and rinsing.  If you do this to your feet, DO NOT shower afterwards. Your feet will be too slippery, and I don't want to hear about anyone falling and knocking themselves senseless. Put on some socks and go to bed.

Try these things out and see if they do just as good a job as some of those spendy commercial products. I believe you will be pleasantly surprised. If you find you do like them, make up small batches and add a drop or two of your favorite essential oil to give yourself a special spa-like treat.