I thought it would be fun to share a few of my favorite personal care products. I am going to split it up into three categories; skin care, hair cleanser, and perfume.
I hope you find this interesting! :)
Skin Care:
A skin care product that I use all of the time and find makes a positive difference in how my skin feels and looks is a luffa sponge. I use very few skin products, but I consider having a luffa sponge to be a worthwhile purchase.
I usually pay around $1.50-$2.00 for a luffa sponge. I can sometimes find them for the $1.50 price at Big Lots and closer to $2.00 at Walmart. The most recent one I purchased was actually 25¢ at a garage sale, still in the original packaging! (I wouldn't have been interested if it was not brand new, gross!) I was really excited to find such a good deal on something I consider a luxury item.
Luffa sponges are actually not sponges at all. They are part of the cucumber family! The sponge part of the luffa is from the inside of the squash-like fruit. The sqaush is dried and then the inside is harvested. It is a light, rigged, porous substance.
Luffa sponges are great at exfoliating the skin. The scrubbing action can stimulate blood flow, which is great, because your blood is how your body carries nutrients and oxygen to your skin. This makes your skin healthier. And healthy skin is beautiful skin!
I replace my luffa sponge about every six months. It starts to get dark spots, which I believe to be mold growth, at around that time. I will sometimes soak my sponge in vinegar to kill the mold, but eventually it needs to be replaced. Another thing I try to do to extend the useful life of my sponge is let it dry between uses. I try not to store it in the shower where conditions are always damp and moist.
When it is time to replace my luffa sponge I throw the old one in the compost. Luffa sponges are 100% natural and biodegradable.
I wear lipstick from time to time, but I wear either A+D ointment or lanolin on my lips all the time. Both products are not exactly marketed as lip moisturizer.
A+D ointment is found in the baby care section of stores next to diaper rash cream. A+D ointment is a very good diaper rash cream. It is also a good healing ointment to put on minor scrapes and cuts. It also makes a good lip moisturizer and gloss.
Lanolin is also sold in the baby department of most stores. It is next to all of the nursing supplies. Lanolin is know for being a soothing, protective saav to use on dry, cracked nipples. Lanolin is safe to be consumed by the baby and that makes it great for nursing mothers. Lanolin also makes a really good lip moisturizer and gloss, as well.
I usually carry Lanolin in my purse and A+D ointment stays in the bathroom cabinet. Both products are pretty inexpensive and have multiple applications. I use such small amounts that each tube will last for several years.
Hair Cleanser:
I use a cleansing conditioner as my only hair product.
I used to do the no shampoo method with just baking soda and vinegar. (I even wrote a blog post about it
here.) I did that for well over a year. I started running into problems with my ends getting really brittle (pH imbalance?) and really gross grease or mineral (or both) build ups matting my hair.
I discovered Renpure Cleansing Conditioner about a year ago. The product is made in the United States and contains zero sulfates, parabens, phthalates, and propylene glycol. It comes in four scents, that I am aware of, Rosemary Mint, Vanilla Mint, Lavender, and Sweet Pomegranate.
The product is kind of pricey. A 16 ounce bottle is almost $7.00 at Walmart. One bottle lasted me exactly one year, though. For us, $7.00 a year for hair care products is affordable. Keep in mind that how long a bottle of shampoo will last has a lot of variables like your hair type, hair length, frequency of washing, ect. My hair is a little dry and course and frizzy. It is down to my waist. And, I only wash it every 5-6 days.
I have really enjoyed using the Renpure Cleansing Conditioner. The Conditioner does a really good job at keeping my hair clean and hydrated. The product is designed to be used in between washes with real shampoo. The suggestion on the bottle is to wash your hair with shampoo every sixth wash or so. The brand also has a shampoo that is sulfate and paraben free.
With my particular hair type I have never felt the need to use a shampoo at all while using the Cleansing Conditioner. I liked the Rosemary Mint scent. The new bottle I purchased is the Vanilla Mint scent. They are both nice, but I like the Rosemary Mint best.
Perfume
I started wearing perfume a year ago. My husband and I went to a 18th century historical reenactment of life in a French and Native American fort in the wilderness last October. At the reenactment there were vendors or "suttlers" who sold period supplies and such. One of the suttlers was an appothecary business from Wisconsin. Here is a link to
their Etsy store. They sell many different authentic personal care products. Some of their perfumes are made from actual recipes from the 1700's and others are just made with techniques and ingredients from the time period.
The LCC Historical Appothecary sells an Austin (as in Jane Austin) perfume collection. Each scent is named after one Jane Austin's famous heroines and is formulated to accentuate her particular characteristics. After sampling the perfumes we settled on"
Jane", which is very fitting in many ways. (Those who know me closely will understand. 😁) The perfume is very floral with notes of rose, Lily, and jasmine.
When sampling a perfume it is important to actually put it on your skin. The various chemical make up and oils of your skin can make the perfume smell different than it does in the bottle.
After coming home with my very first perfume I wanted to make sure I used it properly. I read several helpful articles on line that gave some guidelines and tips. I also learned that wether a scent is called a toilet water, perfume, or cologne is based solely on the concentration of the fragrance, and not on the gender for whom it is intended.
These are the guidelines I follow when applying my perfume.
1. Always apply perfume to clean, dry skin. I apply perfume every time after I shower and have thoroughly dried off.
2. Apply a small amount of perfume on three areas of the body. Your scent should not be wafting off of you in your wake. The scent should be something that only people who are very close to you might smell, like when you give a loved one a hug.
I usually apply perfume at the base of my neck, under my ear, and at my collar bone.
3. Allow your perfume to dry on you skin before dressing to avoid your clothing crushing the scent. You do not want to rub your perfume into your skin. That can diminish the more delicate notes of your scent.
I have really enjoyed getting to wear perfume. It is one of those things that makes me feel grown-up and sophisticated. I, also, really like how Mr. In The Mid-west notices my perfume. :) He loves it and always tells me how nice I smell. :)
