title: You’re a Natural Beauty!
We all are! Embrace it.
For clarity sake, i should say that i’ve never been the kind of woman who worries about her looks, i’m a ‘wash my face with water (sometimes soap) and throw my hair in a ponytail (usually brushed)’ kind of woman. However i’ve wanted to focus more on it in the last few years; i’m getting older, coming up on 7 years marriage, 2 kids, i just found some grey hair! I needed to freshen up!
My preference: Natural, Homemade methods!
Isn’t that too much work?
Well, that’s what i thought! Either i don’t have the ingredients, they are too hard to make or they take too long to be ready to use. So i did some googling (naturally) and i found some amazing recipes that were SO simple and only took a few common ingredients. Of course, there were harder ones, but i’m new to this so i’m still on the easy ones.
No Poo!
This is where it all started. I have PCOS (Polycystic ovarian syndrome – the name is misleading, but that’s another post) and one of the symptoms (which i happen to have) is thinning hair. I’ve tried several “hair thickening” shampoo’s and none of them are really as affective as i’d like. Enter: No Poo, a hair care approach that does not include shampoo! There are several different methods for No Poo (this is a fantastic instructional that guides you through the most common, basic method)
What’s your method?
As i said, i follow a basic method so far but am always open to change!
- I rinse my hair with clear warm water to soak it all to the roots
- I rinse my hair to the roots, massaging it into my scalp as i do this to make sure my entire scalp and hair is soaked, with a solution of 2 Tablespoons of regular Baking Soda dissolved in 20oz of water (consensus is, less baking soda is better than more as too much will dry your hair)
- Turn the shower on and hop in to rinse the baking soda solution out (or if i’m not having a shower at the time, i just rinse it out with several cups of luke warm (or cool) water)
- Some days i do a rinse with rosemary tea. 1/4 cup dried rosemary boiled and steeped for about an hour (or more if i’m not ready to use it yet) then i use about 40oz of it to rinse my hair and massage in, it smells amazing and is a natural conditioner.
- Some days i will do a lemon juice rinse. Half a lemon of juice in 10oz watter, rinse my hair making sure to massage into scalp.
That’s it! Towel dry and i’m done. I do this a few times a week.
The outcome?
I’ve been doing this for about a month but i have not had a single moment of wanting to go back to shampoo! My hair is noticeably healthier, noticeably THICKER and fuller! And i feel so much more confident and beautiful now! Family members (of course… i’m a hijabi!) have commented on how gorgeous my hair is now and i may have even converted a few people!
Beauty isn’t all in the hair!
I decided i wouldn’t stop with No Poo, i knew there had to be similar methods for skin care (which i was not putting any effort into) So, once again, i did some googling and for the past week i’ve been using an almost daily Baking Soda scrub (instead of soap or plain water) and a few times a week Oat meal and Honey face mask and i also use the rosemary tea to rinse my face as it’s an astringent (tightens your pores)
Steps for those too please!
Baking Soda Scrub
- Use a few tablespoons of Baking Soda
- Mix just enough water to make a paste (not too thick, not too thin)
- Rub in a circular motion on your skin to scrub away dead cells
- Rinse well.
- Do scrub before a mask.
This can be done daily instead of soap! Read here for more easy homemade scrub recipes.
Oatmeal and Honey Mask
- Mix 3 tablespoons of ground (to a powder) oatmeal with 2 tablespoons of Honey
- Pull your hair back and wash your face with hot water or put a hot facecloth on your face to open pores
- Put the paste on your face (avoid your eye area) and leave for 15 minutes (or more if you like)
- Wash well (it’s sticky!)
- Use an astringent (like rosemary tea) and/or rub ice on your skin and/or wash with very cold water to close your pores
I do this a few times a week. Read here for more homemade easy face mask recipes.
Inti Jameela (You’re beautiful)! MashaAllah.
Share your natural beauty secrets in the comments!
Comments
14 Responses to “You’re a Natural Beauty!”
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the details
Posted by Emma Apple
See all 149 posts by Emma Apple
Posted on
Jul 6, 2009Rate
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Durriyyah
4:02 pm
MashaAllah, these are some great tips and inshaAllah I will be using them too! I use ProActiv for my face right now and the expense definitely adds up. InshaAllah this face scrub can replace that and fight my adult acne. Jazak Allah khair!
UmmHend
6:24 pm
Asalamualekom sis, thanks! I suffer from adult acne too (cystic acne even!) one of the PCOS side affects i didn't mention in the article. I can't say yet whether or not this routine will help significantly, and i'm sure it's different for everyone, but i can say my skin is clearer and healthier looking since i started this, i think look 5 years younger!
If this one doesn't work out for you there are a bunch of other recipes out there, i'll add a couple of links to the Article.
UmmRiyam
1:04 am
I am thinking of trying these methods! Thanks so much for posting about this. I really hate using products that are full of chemicals. And, this is sooooo much cheaper than buying organic or all natural beauty care products that are on the market!
Zein aka MissPink
1:19 am
I've been doing it too and am SOLD!!! Thanks for your lead.
Hafsa
1:09 pm
You mentioned PCOS – and though the article was really about beauty tips, I wondered if you have been checking out the various adjustments you can make to your diet that can help with the condition? Increasing your Omega-3 and magnesium intake (through supplemements particularly are you near your period), eating smaller/less frequent amounts of meat and dairy (and making sure what you do eat is organic), avoiding trans fats, fried and junk foods. There are also herbs that can help. Seeing a naturopath…I know from experience that it can be rough – so am not preaching…
Hafsa
1:17 pm
Re the beauty tips, though you might mention these traditional goodies:
Henna/mehndi conditioning pack for the hair. Adds shine and thickness.
Coconut oil left on the hair overnight and then shampoo in the morning.
Pure shea butter for skin and hair.
Pure cocoa butter for skin – especially great for getting rid of dark spots (like those left behind by an injury or pimples).
Ubtan – flour, tumeric paste for the face. Leaves a nice glow, but have to be careful – wear gloves to prevent staining fingers.
Rhassoul clay – mineral rich clay from Morocco. Use it to wash skin/face or hair. Has a very rich feel to it.
"Rhassoul can be used for a variety of professional applications, it is an invaluable enhancement for spa treatments and for personal use. Its extraordinary power of absorption makes it more effective than other clays for cleansing, de-toxification, and general skin treatment.
It can be used as soap, skin conditioner, shampoo, and facial and body mask and it washes like soap and leaves a unique, sweet scent on the skin.
Rhassoul contains higher percentages of silica and magnesium along with potassium and calcium. Rhassoul appears to be far more effective than other clays. In addition to this, due to its greater smectic qualities, (i.e. its ability to swell with the addition of water)
Rhassoul achieves better results in skin treatment. "
Emma Apple
4:40 pm
Jazaki Allahu khairun sis Hafsa for the tips and advice!
Yes i have looked into the natural methods of managing PCOS and the medical methods as well some years ago, i tried the medical ones (easy way out ;) ) but they didn't help. At the moment i'm not doing anything and alhamdolillah having kids helped with some of the symptoms, not all and i certainly don't subscribe to the belief that it does or that there is a cure, but at this point i'm not doing anything for it
Looking forward to more of your feedback and contributions to the posts sis! If you're interested in writing let us know!
Hafsa
4:31 pm
Alhamdullilah, the PCOS must not be too bad right now, if you aren't doing anything to manage it. I'm really enjoying the Oasis and looking forward to seeing and contributing more, insha'Allah.
Hafsa
4:34 pm
Re: additional natural beauty solutions for hair:
Yucca powder mixed with water as a shampoo/rinse.
Shikakai powder mixed with water as a shampoo/rinse(can get this at a lot of Indian groceries)
Emma Apple
6:49 pm
Alhamdolillah my case is what i'd call Moderate, it's not really mild and it's not severe. The problems i deal with would probably be helped by my focusing more on ways to help them, but at the moment, i just manage them or deal with them (i certainly don't mind the lack of period while i'm not TTC)
Jazaki Allahu khairun for the tips!!! I'll have to look for some of these ingredients.
Lucy
1:04 pm
Salamu Alaykum
I skeptically tried your suggestion for No More Poo with my middle child who has very thin hair and would love to have hair like Rapunzel :) She normally likes fancy packaging etc but I sold her on the idea by naming it "Rapunzel Shampoo" ;) I was amazed that it actually cleaned her hair and am looking forward to seeing the other effects!
Jazakum Allahu Khairan and thank you!
Lucy
Umm Hend
3:22 pm
Wa Alekom Asalam Lucy!
MashaAllah that is fantastic! Alhamdolillah and may Allah continue to let it benefit your daughter so that she can have hair like Rapunzel one day amin ;)
Just an FYI (and this may not apply to your daughter since she probably doesn't have the same hormonal issues I have with PCOS) I'm now using a specialized shampoo for thinning hair, No Poo unfortunately wasn't helping me anymore (or the problem was getting worse for other reasons, it's hard to say) so I gave it up (reluctantly)! If not for the thinning hair I would absolutely not have stopped it.
I think if you do find it's not working as well after a while, alternating between a gentle/mild shampoo (like baby shampoo) and No Poo would probably work really well too. Also some people use a mild conditioner with No Poo.
Sara
4:26 am
Great article! Sisters, for adult acne, try eliminating sugar from your diet for a few weeks (or going with sweetness from fruit, and honey in moderation). Add 8 cups of water daily and some moderate exercise.
Tasneem M. Raja
1:50 pm
I noticed the discussion started with acne and treatments with ProActiv. I am an acupuncturist by profession, and it makes a huge different what you put on your skin. SMB Organics, is a company that makes organic, non-alcoholic, vegetarian skincare, which is excellent for problematic skin. But also, when you treat the outside, you need to treat the inside as well. Some readers have mentioned PCOS. Since condition affects the hormones, balancing the hormones, inturn helps the acne. If possible, try the natural approach to balancing hormones, using acupuncture and Chinese herbs. I have successfully treated patients with PCOS, that have infertility issues, with great success. The moral of the story, use good skincare (www.Smborganics.com) and use natural medicine.