I know a lot of people are worried about the cost of health care and the effects of modern medicine. I see many people turning to ‘natural’ cures like herbal concoctions instead of going to the doctor and that honestly scares me.
I’m actually a big believer in healing from within, but natural cures shouldn’t be done willy-nilly without consulting a health professional. Just because it’s “natural”, doesn’t mean it’s safe. Herb and supplements ARE medicine too, they’re just not regulated by the FDA like Big Pharma’s are. Not to mention that many common supplements can actually interact with life saving medications.
For the love of Pete, do some real research before you start popping any pill, including a supplement. And I do mean real research, not just looking up any old article on the intertubes. Look for real scientific studies done for peer-reviewed journals and ask an honest-to-jebus medical professional about it. No, that hippy chick at Whole Foods doesn’t count. There are many natural things you can do for your body that are extremely helpful and there are just as many that are toxic and potentially deadly.
In any case, here are 5 Cheap (or Free), Natural, and SAFE things you can do for yourself to improve your health:
- Get enough sleep. How much is enough depends on the individual, but 7-8 is a good guideline. Lack of sleep seriously affects many aspects of your life, including your general health. If you aren’t getting enough sleep and you’ve already tried the usual remedies, it is time to talk to a health professional.
- Drink enough water. Again, how much is enough depends on the individual. In general, 64oz is a good starting point, but remember that too much water can actually be dangerous, so don’t go guzzling several gallons a day. Dehydration affects a whole host of body functions, so get into the habit of bringing a refillable water bottle around with you.
- Eat a healthy, balanced diet. Vitamin supplements can certainly help, but getting your nutrients from your food (where they’re usually most easily digestible) is preferable. You can consult your doctor for more information.
- Get some exercise. 2-3 hours a week of moderate exercise is the current recommendation. You don’t need fancy equipment or an expensive gym membership. Go outside and walk briskly. Or play tag with your kids. Or climb up and down some stairs. Pop in an exercise DVD. Just get your butt in gear. As always, talk to your doctor before starting any exercise regimen.
- Brush and floss your teeth properly. You should be brushing at least twice a day and preferably after every meal. Poor oral hygiene has been linked to everything from bad breath to heart disease, so take 5 minutes a day and brush your teeth.’
If everyone in America did these 5 things, our health care costs would drop dramatically as our general health improved.
Got any ‘natural’ tips for staying healthy?
Popularity: 15% [?]
Slowly but steadily, I seem to be moving away from actual products and am replacing everything in my bathroom with ingredients from my kitchen. It’s a) cheaper and b) it works, so I’m not complaining, but I do get some weird looks when people ask me what product I use.
This video on making your own Rice Toner is from Michelle Phan. I’m not that big on her actual makeup looks, but she does give great advice on the actual application of products.
Popularity: unranked [?]
Product Page – This is NOT a paid review.
There was a BOGO free coupon for these in my coupon train, so I figured I would try the Color Quick Pens out. I like Sally Hansen polish and the pen design looked like it would be easier to use, so I figured there wasn’t much that could go wrong. I was mistaken.
First off, these things were $6 a pop at Walmart, and that was at the special ‘Rollback’ price (It’s selling at Ulta for $7.79)*. Not being a nail salon, I’m not willing to fork out mucho dinero for the privilege of having pink toenails.
Secondly, I picked one of the pens up and it felt like a cheap toy from a quarter vending machine. You know how you pick up some cheap party favor and you can hear the parts rattling around and you just know it’s going to fall apart in approximately 30 seconds? It felt exactly like that. I was honestly surprised that it worked at all.
Third, when I read the word ‘pen’, I was expecting something with a fairly fine tip. Instead, the brush was way too wide (about 2 times as wide as the other wands), really short, and the bristles felt cheap. It reminded me of the cheapo craft brushes you get when you’re going to use glue or let your pre-schooler use. It was actually so big I couldn’t paint my (admittedly deformed) pinky toenail.
To give credit where it’s due, I rather like the actual nailpolish itself. I only needed one coat to get a nice bright color and, true to form, it set in less than 2 minutes and fully dried in less than 5 minutes. Kinda makes me wish that I could get the stupid pen open so I could pour it into a better bottle. The pen itself was also easier to hold and control than one of the little ‘bottle top’ wands.
In conclusion: This product is NOT worth the money. Where would you have time to give yourself a manicure that you couldn’t have an actual bottle of nailpolish. Save yourself $3 and get yourself a bottle of Cover Girl 3-in-1 Step Nail Color
* Speaking of Ulta, nailpolishes are Buy Two Get One Free at Ulta.com.
Popularity: 16% [?]
*This is a review for personal purposes. I am not receiving any compensation.
I was in the market for a new lip color because convention season is starting and I need to look pretty for photos. I normally hate wearing lipstick because I don’t like having to run into the ladies room to reapply it all the time, and I certainly don’t want to risk getting it on one of the costumes I spent hours and hours making.
On our trip to Target I noticed that the Outlast Lip Color was 10% off of the retail price of $5.99 and I coincidentally had a $2 off coupon that was expiring soon. I figured ‘why not’ and picked out what I thought was fairly subtle shade of pink.
Turns out that I should have paid more attention to the name of the color because ‘pink pearl’ turned out to be way too opalescent and the unpleasant purple undertones that showed on me made me look like someone’s granny all dressed up for a day-trip to Wal-mart. Unfortunately, I should have realized that putting it on just to test the color was not a good idea because this stuff just does not come off short of make-up remover and 5 minutes of scrubbing.
So yes, Covergirl isn’t kidding when they say ‘all day’. I tried the lip color on again for shits and giggles and put it through the kiss and dinner test. It passed with flying colors and didn’t even budge when I went after my lips with a moistened washcloth.
The application process is a little annoying, but not too bad. You’ll notice that there are two applicators in the picture. You apply the color (which goes on with a wand like a lip gloss) and stand around for a minute with your mouth open looking like an idiot. Once it’s dry (and sticky as hell), you use the clear ‘top coat’ that comes with it. The box says to ‘use it like a lip balm to refresh your look and feel.’ Most of my lip balm ends up melting into my clothes in the dryer because I never remember I have it, so I have no idea how often they expect you to apply this stuff. I ended up needing it about every 2 hours or so, but you don’t need a mirror to apply it.
Overall: Although I hate the color I bought, I’d be willing to give the product another try if it goes on sale again. The color did last for over 10 hours on me, and the price isn’t unreasonable for a product you can put on once and forget about.
Popularity: unranked [?]
Giant recently had Almay products on sale at 30% off and I had a $1 coupon, so I had a little splurge and bought some eye-make up remover. They seem to retail at abut $5.99 for 80 pads but I’ve seen them as low as $4 online.
The pads big claims are that they’re oil-free, 100% fragrance free (true), hypoallergenic (no problems here), and that it contains aloe, cucumber and green tea (in case you are having tea party while removing your make-up).
My big concern was the hypoallergenic and fragrance free part because I’ve got spectacularly sensitive skin. around my eyes After several days of use, I haven’t had a reaction to them.
The container also claims that the ‘oil-free formula leaves no greasy-marks’. This is true, but it does leave an almost sticky residue that I have to wash off with water. The residue is not visible, so you could use these pads on-the-go if necessary.
The ‘pads’ themseves are both quite small and thin. I have to use two pads on each eye, but that could be because I have a tendency to wear enough mascara to put Tammy Faye to shame. The pads also had trouble removing mascara close to the lash line, but that’s a problem I’ve found with all make-up removers.
I do prefer the pads because they allow greater control over the placement of the pruduct. My old method was to use the remover on a cotton bud, and that usually ends with me getting it in my eye and swearing. I have no idea if the Almay pads burn if you get any in your eye, but I have no intention of finding out.
Overall, I found the pads to be very conveninent (I’m amzingly lazy about taking off my make-up) and they did a satisfactory job for a decent price. They currently reside in my travel bad for my costume conventions so I can scrape off days worth of theatrical make-up. I’m not sure that I would by the product at full price, but I know they’ll go on sale again eventually.
Popularity: unranked [?]
There is nothing worse than seeing a gorgeous pair of sandals on a pair of nasty, dry, cracking feet with grody toenails. Ladies, it is NOT hard to take care of your feet with a little bit of effort once a week, and if you do it at home you can definitely fit it into all but the very tightest of budgets. For the price of one pedicure at the nail salon or spa, you can buy the necessary tools to do a self-pedicure for months.
The Pros of a DIY Pedicure -
- The Price – It cost me $30 to buy all the stuff I need. I might have to replace my buffer or
filer for $2 in a few months, but it’s still cheaper than a professional pedi. - The Time Saved – There’s no travel to and from the salon. You don’t have to wait for the technician to finish with a previous client. You can read e-mail, watch TV or write a blog post while you wait for the polish to dry.
- Convenience - You don’t have to work around business hours. If you want a pedicure at 8am on a Sunday, you’re fine. Only get peace and quiet when the kids are in bed? Give yourself a pedicure at 10pm.
Popularity: 6% [?]
I love how the media likes to pretend that acne is a teen problem and that people magically grow out of it when they hit their college years. Yeah, right. I suffer from hormonal acne and right now my hormones are crazy because of the miscarriage and so is my acne. Why don’t you rub a little more salt on my wounds, Nature? *shakes fist*
Usually I can control my acne quite easily (and without crazy chemicals) by gently exfoliating daily with a light baking soda and water paste. If it’s that time of the month, I’ll sometimes add a sliver or two of bar soap, but I don’t use any actual ‘acne’ treatments. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been cutting it for the past week or so.
Popularity: unranked [?]
I’m going to skip the ‘we’re all beautiful in unique ways’ and get straight to the practicalities of our beauty routines. They can get really expensive really quickly if you’re not watching your spending, usually as a result of a ‘it’s only X amount of dollars’ syndrome. Sure $10 for a new mascara isn’t expensive, but then you add a new lipliner, lipstick, foundation, concealer, blush, eyeliner, eyeshadow, hair cut/dye, mani/pedicure, shampoo, conditioner, bodywash, facial soap, styling product, styling tools, moisturizer…
- Get pretty from the inside out. You’ll need less product on the outside if you’re healthy. Drink lots of water for healthy skin (and to avoid nasty dehydration headaches – which is what hangovers are). Get enough sleep and you’ll naturally minimize the bags under your eyes. Get enough exercise so you’re not piling the makeup on your eyes to draw attention away from a double chin. Eat properly so your nails, hair and skin get enough nutrients and you don’t need to buy fancy products to put them back in.
- Adjust your ideals. The beauty ideal in the US is unrealistic unless you have a full-time styling team to spend 4 hours doing your hair end make-up in the morning and to follow you around all day for touch ups. Oh, and you would have to somehow Photoshop yourself in real life. Get a grip on reality and recognize that it’s our ‘flaws’ that make us look human and unique features can actually add to your face.
- Know that you’re one hot lady. If you know you look fabulous, you will look fabulous. If you slouch and look like you think you’re an eyesore, you will be one. You can look ‘polished’ without makeup if you have the bearing and confident attitude of someone who spent hours in front of the mirror that morning.
- Consolidate and Reduce. Do you REALLY need the entire new MAC eyeshadow palette or can you settle for just 3 or 4? Can you use one of the 3-in-1 blush/lipcolor/shadow products? Do you really need 5 kinds of soap in the shower? How many different fragrance lines from Bath and Body Works do you really need? A lot of the time we buy into the consumer frenzy and buy a million and one ‘new’ products that are really just the same thing in different packaging. Pigment is pigment and soap is soap.
- Only use what you need. Don’t slather everything on. You only need a quarter sized amount of most hair products, and you don’t need half a cup of bodywash to make a satisfying lather.
- Use every last bit. Dont’ waste the last 1/4 of a product because of poorly designed packaging. Scoop the last of the lipstick out and put it in an old lipgloss pot (this is also a fun way to combine multiple colors into a new one). Swish some water into your shampoo bottle and get that last wash out. Turn that lotion bottle upside down and shake, shake, shake.
- Let your hair grow. No, I’m not advocating you stop shaving your legs. Longer hair styles need fewer maintenance cuts. A pixie cut needs work every 3-4 weeks, but long layers only need a trim every few months. Shorter styles also generally need more product to style.
- Work with your hair. If your hair is naturally stick straight, don’t aim for a wavy or curly style for daily wear. Curly-haired ladies, don’t try to straighten your hair everyday. You’ll use less product, waste less time, and won’t require fancy heat styling tools or chemical treatments in order to get what you want.
- D.I.Y. There are plenty of salon treatments you can do at home, ranging from dyeing your hair to waxing to a manicure. A quick google search will bring up tons of tutorials and videos on how to do these yourself. (If you are bleaching blonde or going red, get your hair dyed at the salon, you don’t want to mess those up.)
- Make your own. If it exists, someone has made a homemade (and possibly green) version of it. Try bathnbodyrecipes.com.
Popularity: 2% [?]
No, this is not a post about my record breaking constipation.
I’ve been gradually trying reduce the chemicals in my life, and I took the leap to removing as many extra beauty products out of my routine as I could. Two weeks ago (two weeks and 2 days, actually) I decided to see if I could remove commercial shampoo and conditioner from my life.
I was quite hesitant to try it because my hair was so greasy as a teen that it looked like I hadn’t washed it hours after my shower. My hair is also ridiculously unmanageable. It’s half curly and half straight (no, not wavy, half of my hair is stick straight, the other half does spiral curls) and so far nothing has been able to tame it.
I do admit to not going completely cold turkey. Some of the more granola among us choose to just stop all treatments. I’ve been using a weak baking soda wash every other day or so and an occasional cider vinegar or beer rinse.
The results, thus far, have been wonderful. There’s usually a transition period where your hair looks a little gunky because your scalp is still overproducing oil, trying to make up for what gets stripped away when you shampoo. For most people it takes a few weeks to a few months to get past this stage. Mine was over in about three days. I’m not sure if it’s done anything about making my hair more manageable, but since I don’t have to wash my hair everyday anymore, it’s a lot less pouftastic on the second day.
I’m not sure if the savings are significant because I used to use a $.99 bottle of Suave anyway, but I’m using less water and I feel a little better each time I take another baby step towards going greener.
Popularity: 13% [?]
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