Ok, so we've all read a magazine article toting, the benefits, of mayonnaise, lemon juice, avocado or whatever for your hair, I've tried a bunch of things and let me tell you from experience some are good, some are awful and some make you smell like a salad. Here are my recent favorites I've been doing.
Hair: To get super shiny awesome looking hair use tea. Go with a brew that is near the color of your hair, I'm blonde and I have this funky orchard white tea blend that I can't stand the taste of so I use that. But any herbal like chamomile is fine. Dark hair any regular black tea will do. Reds go with something that is orange based or something light colored.
- Heat about 2 cups of water for tea like normal. Put like 3 tea bags or servings in a cup. I use a big plastic measuring cup. Let steep for 10-15 minutes.
- Remove the tea bags. Check the temperature, you are going to dump it on your head so boiling, is bad. Add a couple ice cubes if you need to.
- For extra moisturizing, add a tablespoon or so of olive oil.
- Take your prepared tea and a hair clip and get in the tub. Apply mixture to your head. I have long hair so I dunk the length of it in first and then pour it on my head. Run your fingers or a wide tooth comb through your hair to get in worked in and clip your hair to your head. Enjoy a hot bath.
- Let sit in hair for at least 15 min and rinse out well then shampoo like normal.
The tea you can use a couple of times a week with no problems, as for the oil, unless you have really dry hair, once every other week is good or it can get gunky.
Face: My skin likes to be ok for a little while and then just totally freak out. A really good acne scrub is to mix about 1 tbsp regular table salt, with 1 tbsp baking soda and 1 to 1.5 tbsp of honey. Stir the salt and baking soda together first and then stir in the honey. Add a bit of hot water a tiny bit at a time if it is too thick to spread on your face easily. You can let it sit like a mask in the tub or just use it like normal face wash.
Plain baking soda and water makes a really simple mask also. Just add water slowly to the baking soda to make something past paste but before liquid and rub it on your face. Let it dry before you wash it off.
Skin: A hand full of epsom salts and plain body wash make a fancy scrub. But for awesomely smooth moisturized skin, a milk bath is the way to go. For me I tend to drink just under a gallon of milk before it goes bad, so when I have milk left and the date is near or past I make a milk bath. The measurements are really flexible, this is just a guide, work with what you have.
- In a container with a lid (I use a 2liter soda bottle rinsed out w. soap and water) pour in 1/4 cup of baking soda, 1/4 cup of epsom salt (or table salt).
- Add 1/2 to 1.5 tbsp of olive oil, a tablespoon honey (optional) and a fragrance. I have a massive bottle of vanilla so I just pour in like a tsp or two of vanilla, but any extract, or even a bit of fresh fruit juice (I've done tangerine) if you have fancy essential oils or any of that they would obviously be a good fit. A bit of bubble bath or body wash works too.
- Then pour in like 1.5 to 2 cups of milk, seal tightly and shake like crazy. Let the water start to fill in the tub add the milk mixture and hop in.
- (Go heavy on the oil and you can shave in the tub without any shaving cream or anything)
- Wash off in the shower after or you tend to be a bit filmy from the oil.
PS. If anyone has tried the banana thing and had it not make you cry and want to shave your head I want to know what kind of hair you have and how it worked!!
Stale bread is great! You can make croutons, bread crumbs, and stuffing mix from it!! Today I am making some croutons from some old bread.
Chop the bread up into relatively even sized squares and lay out on a baking sheet in a single layer. Melt a tablespoon of butter in the microwave and lightly press it on to the sheet of bread squares with a pastry brush. Don't let too much sit in any one place. Sprinkle them with spices. I used salt, pepper, basil, rosemary, oregano, garlic and onion powder, along with some parmesean cheese. Put them in the oven on a low rack. Either turn the oven on to a low heat or put them in a cooling oven after cooking. Let them hang out over night. The next day when they are relatively dry dump them in a paper grocery sack and sprinkle a second layer of spices I just put garlic and cheese this time. Shake the bag several times then melt another tablespoon of butter. Shaking the bag continuously drizzle the melted butter in. Lay them back on the baking sheet and pop into a 225 or so degree oven remove when they are the desired level of crunch. Put up in a Tupperware for delicious salad topping.
