This past Saturday, I applied my second application of henna on my hair. I can’t express how much I have fallen in love with dying my hair with henna. The entire process is like a meditation, painting yourself with this soothing green goo with a fantastic scent. Relaxing for 4 hours while it sets in your hair and then rinsing it out and letting it dry naturally. It’s like a personal spa session.

The last time I did this was June 30th, so it lasted about 3 and a half months. When I used to dye my hair blonde, it would cost me well over $100 each time. The henna I purchase costs $37, and I have excess to do touch-ups which could last me even longer.

At first my hair looked almost black, but it takes 2 or 3 days for the color to really set in. Today my color can be described as a dark chocolate with strawberry highlights. I feel silly saying that I go into the bathroom at work to admire it under the soft lightning.

The henna takes a few days to really shine, but it’s so ridiculously shiny and soft right now, I almost can’t stop playing with it. It’s the perfect color, the perfect texture, and is so amazingly healthy compared to a few years ago. When I was a blonde, my hair was so dry from all the bleach and could hardly grow from the ends breaking off. Now my hair is the way it should be.

It will eventually lighten up and become more strawberry brown, the tips that were still blonde will become more red, but it will still be healthy and beautiful. And I can just do another spa treatment in a few months.

My mixture consists of 1/2 henna and 1/2 indigo mixed with half lemon juice and half apple cider vinegar till they are the consistency of yogurt. I may switch to just vinegar as lemon juice always makes my hair feel course the first day or so.

I highly recommend just trying cassia if you don’t want color, your hair will love you for it.

Best part about it, it’s all natural.

I always keep a regular supply of tea tree oil in my house. My dad is allergic to neosporin (I always avoid petroleum products anyway), and this is a good alternative to fighting infection on any cuts or abrasions he may have. Which is crucial for him giving his leg ulcers condition.

I also keep it around in case any flakes start to show up from my shampoo, so I can add a few drops to my shampoo and conditioner and it sooths my scalp from any dandruff.

But lately I created a 1 tsp to 1 cup water ratio spray and spray it in my shower every night before bed (and sometimes after I shower). This was to help kill any mold spores since our house is so old and the trim around the edge of our shower needs to be redone as the wood is falling apart. I’ve noticed after a week or two, with no effort on my part, that it’s killing any mold that might develop from the humidity and dampness in the wood.

Not only that, but I’m often plagued with big wolf spiders in our shower. Sometimes I don’t even notice them till I close the shower curtain and it’s RIGHT THERE DANGLING and I flip the fuck out. Well not really, but I don’t like spiders in my shower.

But I had read that tea tree oil helps deter ants, so my theory is perhaps it does for spiders as well. Which is just fine by me, you can guarantee I’m going to be keeping up with the spray then!

It also gives the bathroom a nice fresh clean smell, which I like.

I’ll also note that mothernature.com has 1 oz for sale for under $8. Which is a pretty decent price considering drugstore.com has 1/2 oz on sale for over $8

Tea Tree Oil has like 10,000 other uses too, so it’s a worthy investment: teatreeoiluses.com

The Preserve Toothbrush was developed with dental professionals over a two-year period and represents the latest in toothbrush design and function. It is constructed with environmentally friendly materials to let you replace without the waste. The Preserve is available at natural food supermarkets such as Whole Foods Market, Wild Oats, and Trader Joe’s.

The Preserve’s handle is made of polypropylene. This plastic material was chosen for its strength and flexibility. It is an efficiently recycled material–its strength does not break down in the recycling process. Polypropylene’s recycling efficiency means it is commonly reprocessed and cleaned, and we have been able to hire the best in the business to recycle our plastics.

Presently our main source is from recycled Stonyfield FarmŽ yogurt cups.

– Preserve

Might have to give this one a shot.

It’s Mosquito Season. (I worked at Terminix far too long, I think)

Provided by my friend Renee. She has used this herself and says it works great and she was not bothered by mosquitos for at least 4 hours while outside.

As a base/carrier oil, you can use grapeseed, almond, jojoba, apricot kernel, or even olive oil.

(Yes this is the exact recipe, do not bug me about the amount of essential oils)
5 oz carrier oil

Essential oils:

1/2 oz citronella oil
1/2 oz texas cedarwood oil
1/2 oz eucalyptus oil
1/2 oz lemongrass oil
1/2 oz peppermint oil
1/2 oz neem oil

mix ‘em all together, shake before using. it can be put into a spray mister bottle.

She also mentions that Clove Oil and Tea Tree Oil mixed together (or experiment with the recipe above) also helps repel bugs.

An additional set of homemade recipes I found:

INSECT REPELLENT SPRITZER

Materials:
lemon peels and/or orange peels
mint leaves and/or pennyroyal leaves and/or sage leaves
rubbing alcohol or witch hazel

Directions:
(Note Do Not use penny royal if you are pregnant or wish to become so.)

Make a strong tea with the peels and the mint leaves. You can use each ingredient separately if you like or combine them to suit your sense of smell. Its best to soak the ingredients over night in a covered pan. The next day strain. Mix the strong herbal tea half and half with either witch hazel or rubbing alcohol and put in a spray bottle. Spray your self down before going outside in the evening.

INSECT REPELLENT OIL

Materials:
Salad oil of any kind (but olive is preferred)
lemon peels and/or orange peels
mint leaves and/or pennyroyal leaves and/or sage leaves
glass jar sterilized
pan to heal oil

Directions:
(Note Do Not use pennyroyal if you are pregnant or wish to become so.)

Place torn leaves and peels packed in a sterilized glass jar. Heat oil to 160 degrees F. Pour over herbal mixture in the jar to completely cover. Place top on, and let sit in a dark place for at least a week. A month is better. Rub this oil on before hikes or out side activities where one might sweat off a spritzer.

FLEA REPELLENT FOR DOGS

(NOTE: Do not use this on cats. Citrus is toxic to cats in large amounts.!!!)

Materials:
citrus peels
water
pan

Boil left over citrus peels in a pan of water. Pour over your dog after a bath rubbing into the coat. It will make your dog smell like an orange. It will kill fleas AND keep them off your pet.

Besides the adorable words like “Dodgy”, “Posh” and “Bloody Hell”, I’ve recently found other reasons to love the English.

On cable in the states, we have this channel called BBC America. I don’t ever watch it, but I was flipping through channels on a lazy Saturday noon the other day, and ran across How Clean is your House.

I immediately fell in love with this show because obviously it makes my house look like a gold tooth in a mouth of foulness, and because of their ridiculously awesome cleaning tips. And we’re not talking the Americanized cleaning tips where you drench your house in Clorox and Febreeze, but many eco-friendly and frugal cleaning tips that WORK.

That and the tall woman has a lot of british sass, which I love. Watch a sample episode here (and this isn’t the worst episode I’ve seen).

I wish America could catch up the UK regarding being eco-friendly, but I imagine that’s far from happening.

Some tips from the show:

Mix salt and baking soda into a clogged drain, pour hot vinegar on and let sit for an hour.

Put coffee grounds in your fridge to neutralize odors.

Put bicarbonate of soda on your mattress and let sit before vaccumming up to help get rid of odor.

To stop the bottom of your shower curtain from becoming discoloured or mouldy, coat it with baby oil. (though I recommend getting a fabric shower curtain)

When you wash the kitchen floor, use your rubbish bin instead of a bucket to hold the water. This way you get a fresh bin without the hassle of washing it.

And there are tons others, but I may compile them all into its own post at some point.

I have successfully completed my first henna hair dye experiment. Not only did I do my full scalp with henna/indigo mixture of equal parts for a dark brown that matches my natural color, but I mixed a lot of henna with a little indigo to give my sister BEAUTIFUL red highlights on her reddish-auburn hair.

My blonde tips are gone, and my hair looks and feels amazing. Soft, sleek, shiny, no frizz, and all natural.

My sister and I went outside to take pictures, but my camera died halfway through, even with the new batteries I put in it. It’s so dead I am unable to get the awesome pictures I took of even her hair, let alone the one I wanted to take of mine. So it looks like purchasing a new camera is on the list for sometime fairly soon.

I have found a new obsession.

I also started doing more research on Roth IRA’s this morning, and should hopefully make my decision this weekend on whether or not I will be going through Vanguard, TRowePrice, or ING for my IRA, and putting a large portion of my bonus towards that.

In addition to this, I have ordered my virginal order of LUSH products, as I have never ordered from them before. But I wanted to treat myself to something, and it was either that or an order from Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab. But before I can make an order from BPAL, I want to make a list of scents I’m interested in, and find some cheaper imps for sale to check and see if I like them. That way I will be sure before I spend the money on the more expensive sizes.

Homemade Facial Scrub

Ingredients
1 Lemon
1 dish of organic yogurt
Salt

(they didn’t provide specific measurements, so play around with them)

Best to use when you first get out of a warm shower due to all pores being open.

Homemade Facial Mask (anti-aging)

Ingredients
6 tsp of Evening Primrose Oil
1 tsp of melted honey (still warm)
2 drops of neroli essential oil
2 drops of mandarine essential oil
2 drops of orange essential oil
Enough Ground Almond to make a smooth paste (about two teaspoons)

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, add enough ground almond to make a smooth paste, and apply as needed. Leave on for at least 20 minutes, rinse with warm water.

My weekend was spent being productive. I love the feeling of completing tasks and getting them out of the way. It’s almost addicting, and often problematic, mainly because I will disappoint myself if I do not finish all the tasks I set for myself.

So I am learning that smaller daily and weekly todo lists are most beneficial.

My father picked up some more baby keets (baby guinea hens) on Saturday. We had a bunch about a year and a half ago, but something carried most of them off. I will probably have my father pick up a few more next weekend, and a few extras to donate to Highland Farms if I can afford it.

Incidentally, and since this was recently brought up on not only the naturalliving livejournal community, but also the naturalists guild for ADF, but guinea hens are by far the best tick preventative available, as it is their main meal course. At first our neighbors were fairly uninterested in our guineas, and sometimes even upset that they were running around their yard. But once they realized they hadn’t seen a tick all summer, they all now enjoy the company of our feathered friends.