Before the After!

This is for perspective sake. Few will ever know where we came from. And this was one of the good days!

Happy Mummy!

Now that hair worries are seemingly a thing of the past, I have my own worries that I am going to be focusing on. Weighty ones! Lol... It's all about control I know but today I was craving a Napoleon slice from Cafe Nush and I went and bought 3 for me and my two friends. There being comfort in numbers and all! Kikiki... I really wanted to know I wasnt the only one eating that delicious fat ladened treat. They loved it coz it is divine! Anyways, I am trying to change and be more responsible and not undo all the hardwork from gym with a slice. I will document my journey to my happy weight, more for encouragement and to shame me into good behaviour. That said I am still working on a plan and will only officially start my journey on Monday. I'm currently warming up on the sidelines lol... Any tips that have worked please pass on. Need all the help I can get to shed theses 16kgs....
p/s Today was a slow day at the gym and worked off 340calories....

Happy Hair!

So it's been 2 weeks since the rice milk trial and I haven't gone back to it. I guess I should officially declare it a miss! Thankfully Mikie's hair has been thriving inspite of the misses! At the moment we are using a made to order cream from Bare Naturels Cosmetics. It works wonders on her hair and smells divine too with a subtle blend of rosemary and cinnamon. Soft and manageable hair were words I would never have associated with my daughter but now I so proud of it I cant keep my hands off her hair. I even get questions on whether its natural or relaxed. For hair that was on its way to the barber, my little girl's locks are a delight. If you have issues with hair, I recommend Bare Naturels Cosmetics. Get in touch and maybe they will be able to assist you get delightful locks!
Cant wait for our next batch! It so lovely its moreish!

Castor oil challenge - will my daughter's hair respond?

So, my eldest daughter's hair is dry, thin and grows at snail's pace so I thought the castor oil challenge might just be the way to go. You might think that I am a little crazy but I am quite serious - I am not even going to try and reinvent the wheel with this one! One of my favourite natural hair bloggers NenoNatural has a well-documented castor oil challenge so I shall just follow hers.
Here are the details of the challenge NenoNatural's Castor oil challenge.

I shall not be using the essential oil for my daughter, I got my castor oil from Bare Naturals Cosmetics. I will document the progress here. Wish us luck!

Day 1 Before the challenge

What every man thinks about apart from sex - book review

My husband bought me this book, didnt realise that it was going to be quick read. The pages are blank, yes all blank. Amazon is selling it, people are buy (I live with one of these people) and even leaving book reviews , check this one out http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/RPCBBAFI16UEG/ref=cm_cr_dp_title?ie=UTF8&ASIN=1849531986&channel=detail-glance&nodeID=266239&store=books.

My comment? #SMH

What say you?

Coconut oil to treat nappy rash

Bare Naturels Cosmetics Coconut oil

So my youngest daughter has just turned 1 and we transitioning from formula milk to cows' milk. I have not yet quite figured out why but this just seems to coincide with the onset of nappy rash, it happened with my first daughter as well.
At the first sign of bum redness out comes my Extra Virgin Organic coconut oil (Supplied by Bare Naturels Cosmetics). I apply the coconut oil directly to the affected areas. Coconut oil works well to treat mild cases of nappy rash.
Of course if the nappy rash is severe consult a doctor.

Weekend of pampering - the hair

The hair Shea butter

I love this recipe because my daughters' hair is extremely dry and responds really well to this cream. It leaves her hair nice and soft, making it easy for me to plait it. I have used Shea butter, a great moisturiser and added coconut oil in addition to the avocado oil.

Ingredients (Supplied by Bare Naturels Cosmetics )

• 1 cup Shea butter
• 2/3 cup coconut oil
• 4 tablespoon avocado oil

Whip everything together until a nice texture is formed.

Directions for use

Apply to damp hair as often as you deem necessary

Weekend of pampering - the body

I really need a body scrub, back to the kitchen it is then. This weekend lets start with sugar

Sugar and jojoba oil body scrub

Jojoba oil is an excellent moisturiser

The ingredients  (I got all my ingredients from Bare Naturels Cosmetics, exception the sugar of course which was in my kitchen)

100ml jojoba oil

500g  sugar

5-10 drops of lavender oil

Mix ingredients together.

Direction for use

Rub on skin, massage, relax in a warm bath and rinse. I figure this will be a good one for the relaxing evening bath. Lavender will have me sleeping like a baby.

Comments after first use

Skin felt really silky after a nice soak. Loved it.

The body butter

In my recipe I have used Shea butter, a great moisturiser and added coconut oil in addition to the avocado oil. Coconut oil has many benefits but the reason its in my face cream is because it contains anti-oxidants that help prevent wrinkles. The rosemary will make my cream smell nice.

Ingredients (I got all my ingredients from Bare Naturels Cosmetics)

3 tablespoons Shea butter

1 tablespoon coconut oil

I tablespoon avocado oil

2 tablespoon Glycerin

2-3 drops of rosemary essential oil

Whip everything together until a nice texture is formed.

Directions for use

I plan on using the cream twice a day as I would any other body butter

Comments after first use

Loved the texture and provided the moisture my dry skin needs.

Weekend of pampering - the face

So now that the facial skincare products that I loved have run out, I have decided to make my own. When I was deciding on a skincare brand back then, I remember reading that at my age (I shall not say what the age is) an avocado based face cream is best. Avocado is an excellent moisturiser and contains sterolins which help the skin produce collagen. I am using avocado oil where I possibly can (So no collagen fillers for me hopefully.).

The face cream

In my recipe I have used Shea butter, a great moisturiser and added coconut oil in addition to the avocado oil. Coconut oil has many benefits but the reason its in my face cream is because it contains anti-oxidants that help prevent wrinkles. The lavender will make my cream smell nice.

Ingredients (I got all my ingredients from Bare Naturels Cosmetics)

3 tablespoons Shea butter

1 tablespoon coconut oil

I tablespoon avocado oil

2-3 drops of lavender essential oil

Whip everything together until a nice texture is formed. This formula made approximately 115g of cream.

Directions for use

I plan on using the cream twice a day as I would any other cream

Comments after first use.

Loved the texture, I had used the face serum so it was a little hard to judge if it had the right amount of oil.

The face serum

My serum has jojoba oil because its an excellent moisturiser and also helps reduce wrinkles.

Ingredients (I got all my ingredients from Bare Naturels Cosmetics.)

50ml Jojoba oil

50ml avocado oil

5 -10 drops of lavender essential oil

Mixed the oils together, shake vigorously.

Directions for use

I plan on using the serum at night before applying the cream

Comments after first use.

Loved it a lot. It reminded me of a serum I used to pay £48 for (I shall not name the brand.). I am so very excited about this one, I cant wait to see the long term results.

The face wash

Not too sure about the wash, oatmeal has excellent cleansing properties apparently

Ingredients (Can find these at you local supermarket)

1/2 peeled Cucumber

2 tablespoons Oatmeal

2 tablespoons Plain unflavoured Yogurt, with active cultures

Whip everything together until a nice texture is formed.

Directions for use

I plan on using the cleanser twice daily wish me luck

Comments after first use.

This was a lovely surprise. I had used the face scrub below so I wasn't sure how the cleanser was going work. It passed the test, all the sticky honey and sugar was gone after cleansing.

The face scrub

Ingredients (Can find these at you local supermarket)

1 tablespoon honey

1/2 tablespoons sugar

Mixed the 2 well

Directions for use

I plan on using the scrub twice a week.

Comments after first use.

It was rather sticky but it wasn't rough on the skin, I really expected it to be rough.

Hit or Miss???

I once more went experimenting in the kitchen with a recipe I chanced upon thanks to my trusted friend Google. Having kids with super kinky hair, anything with "soft hair" grabs my attention. Below is the recipe for the leave-in spray I made;


Rice Milk Spray

In a 250ml spray bottle add
2 tablespoons of rice milk -plain
2 tablespoons rosemary essential oil
2 Tablespoons of an oil of your choice... I used coconut oil
Then fill the rest of the spray bottle with water..

Make sure that this mixture is shaken prior to each use because the oils ,milk and water would separate.

  

When I used this on my daughter's hair, the mixture felt a bit thick and sticky. It didn't soften the hair but made it feel heavy. It was manageable and it was a painless process to get her hair done. I was left a bit disappointed by the whole adventure. This was two days ago...

Today I decided to redo her hair and when I undid the locks, I found really soft hair. It was a pleasant surprise because I was expecting straw like texture. Really confused now about my feelings on the spray... I might just try it again and use a different oil instead. Maybe avocado????

Please try it out and give me some feedback...

Laters...

Banana and honey foot treatment

So being the optimist that I am, I am already looking forward to summer. But my feet are no where ready for sandals, cracked feet are an eye-sore. After search the World Wide Web I was back in my kitchen cooking up a remedy.

Foot before treatment

The recipe

Ingredients
2 whole ripe banana
4 tablespoon Honey
2 tablespoon jojoba oil
Coconut oil (for massaging feet after treatment)

Preparation
1. Chop the banana and place in a mixing bowl
2. Add the honey, jojoba oil
3. Blend until the mixture is smooth

How to use
1. Soak feet in warm water for 20 minutes
2. Scrub feet thoroughly
3. Massage the banana mixture onto the feet and leave on for about 30 minutes
4. Wash feet with warm water and dry
5. Massage feet with coconut oil concentrating on the cracked areas. Wear socks overnight.

NOTE: I intend to use as often as necessary until you see results, I will update on progress.

Mud fun 2....

So my daughter didn't actually play in mud but school brings its own surprises! From glitter, sand, food particles, you can find almost anything in Mikie's hair. I needed a solution sooner than I expected. I've dumped the store-bought products which are saturated with bad ingredients especially for the kids and its a mission to find something natural. Its not easy! You know how we are! We LOVE the lather but I've had to let go (still on the look out though...). After scrounging frantically all over our lovely resources (=Google), I found something!

Would you believe Bicarbonate of Soda and Apple Cider Vinegar? I didn't as well initially. Thought to myself now that's a whole load of garbage right there! But having dumped all other options into the trash' I just had to go for it. I found these recipes as two separate solutions which you use one after the other. But if you have children you know that repeated thorough rinses are most likely not going to happen. EVER! So to save myself (and the little girl) the trauma of wash-day, I modified it a bit. And it worked well! No tears no fuss and her hair was soft and manageable. AND CLEAN!

Bare Naturels 2-in-1 (patent pending ;-)  )

1. 1tbsp Bicarbonate of soda
2. 1c Apple Cider Vinegar
3. 1c rosewater

Now the recipe called for 1c water but I was a bit sceptical about the apple cider vinegar so I made rosewater by soaking plenty rose petals in a cup of water overnight. I'm sure if I had soaked for longer I would have had a stronger rose scent but it was enough. You can add some essential oils of your choice I'm sure to get the scent you want.

After my success I really wanted to try this out on really muddy hair. I might just get my wish coz it just rained and tomorrow I might just run her head through the mud!!!!