Homemade Facewash That's AMAZING!

Back story: I've had bad skin ever since puberty and have tried everything under the sun, I almost have a virtual checklist of things that haven't worked that eliminates every product on the shelves in stores, and even several prescription topicals and pills. I have oily skin, an uneven complexion, acne, and permanent dark purple lines under my eyes. On my way back from California I bought several magazines to read on the flight. One of them was Whole Living magazine, the front cover was colorful so I bought it on a whim. Apparently it's all about green living which is right up my alley. In the magazine I found the article about this facewash and I had to try it.

This article caught my eye cause it sounded completely preposterous. Basically it was saying that most facewashes you can buy strip the natural oils from your face; of course, that's the idea right? Only problem is it can make your skin over react and cause your face to produce even more pore clogging oil. Well they recommended actually using oil to clean your skin, specifically oils that attach themselves to the sebum on your skin while not offsetting the natural balance. There's even several "oil cleaners" on the market, but they're pretty pricey.

Luckily this magazine is all about DIY and it includes a kinda recipe: a 50/50 blend of fresh, cold pressed olive oil and castor oil. If your skin's particularly oily like mine do 75 castor/25 olive, or for dry skin 75 olive/25 castor. Later in the magazine it had an article on "Nature's Remedy" that included Lavender as an antimicrobial and Eucalyptus as a potent anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial; it also includes Cornflower as good for eye puffiness and Rose for an even complexion, but I couldn't find those two in my town.

So I took 3/4 cup castor oil, 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon lavender oil, and 1/4 teaspoon eucalyptus oil. I massage it in for 2 minutes all over my face like the magazine said and use a warm wash cloth to gently wipe away the oil cleanser. I've been doing it for a week and was almost startled at the results. My complexion is already improving, my skin isn't near as oily as it used to be, my acne has had a dramatic improvement and the dark purple lines under my eyes are almost completely gone!(and not from getting more sleep, if anything I'm getting less cause classes have started back up).

I just had to share since it's been working so well. It smells fantastic right before bed, feels great, and it's been working so well! Not to mention saves me a ton of money which is great for our budget!

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I'm an Aunt!

I was lucky enough to have the opportunity this past month to go to California to be with my sister while she got ready to have her first baby. I ended up being out there from July 21st to August 21st because the little squirt decided to go 1 week overdue. It was such an amazing experience. I love that I got to spend such an important time with my sister and help out as best I could, and it was sooooo much fun getting to spend a week with my niece, even though I did have to share her with 7 other people :P I know I have a built in bias, but she is the most beautiful little girl I've ever seen, I'll be happy if our kids are even half as pretty as she is :) Now I just gotta get my life in order so that she can be proud to call me her aunt :) :) :)

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Day 1 Of the new me!

I use the excuse that I've been trying to figure out through looking at studies and reading books exactly what the ideal healthy lifestyle is and as such have not made the steps the change the way I am now into a healthy person. So here I go, no more delays! There's no day but today and this is the starting mark. One of the most basic tools in diet choices is a food diary, try as I might I can't seem to keep up with one, so what's one thing that'll keep me accountable and will help me keep track of what I'm eating? This blog! Since I always have my phone on me I'll be posting pictures of what I'm eating so I can keep track of it and it'll give me a layer of accountability since everyone will be able to see it. My goal has always been to be able to show people that you don't have to do a fad or crash diet or pills to get to your goal, just make healthy choices. So now you'll be able to see the choices I'm making and see if it makes a difference.

So here we go. My name is Melissa Crooks, I'm 24 years old and I am 251 pounds. My goal is to be 140 pounds or lighter and live a healthier more active lifestyle. Welcome to my journey.

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