Whiten my teeth, please, and don’t charge me a zillion dollars for it.
Posted by: Bean on: December 8, 2011
We all do it. Daily doses of coffee, tea, wine and other beverages that have the potential to make your teeth look like big kernels of corn. Of course this is a gradual process. It’s not like you’ll wake up one day and be slapped with the realization that the petrification process of your teeth happened overnight and now you’re left with teeth grunge. It’s more like one day you’ll pick up those pictures of you and your friends hanging out somewhere and you’ll notice that your teeth have a healthy yellow glow, instead of a nice pearly sheen (like your friends who might already know about this tip I’m about to share with you).
So what can be done about this? Lots of things, for sure. You can stop drinking beverages that can stain your teeth (but at this point, don’t worry about yellow teeth, because your caffeine withdrawal attitude will get rid of any friends left to judge said yellow teeth). You can go to your dentist and have them zap the yellow out of your teeth and a healthy chunk of money from your bank account. Something a little more reasonable is to buy a home-whitening kit at Target and have white teeth in anywhere from 2 hours to 2 weeks. They do work. I’ve done it. In fact, this is where I drop my tip on you. Read the rest of this entry »
Royal Jelly: Rub it on your head or eat it?
Posted by: Bean on: December 7, 2011
I recently picked up some new shampoo and conditioner boasting the use of ‘Royal Jelly’. I’m usually not too picky when it comes to shampoo, more so with conditioners, but I have to admit that I was intrigued by the idea of lathering something royal into my head. I assumed it would automatically give me princess hair (never mind that I’m a brunette and everybody knows that practically the first rule in being a princess is to have BLONDE hair, according to the movies anyhow). I liken the feeling I had upon purchasing this product to another experience I had while purchasing a new body wash that contained ‘diamond powder’…. never mind that I paid under $6 for the bottle, I was going to be scrubbing my armpits with diamonds–Mom, I’ve made it to the top! Ok so I didn’t really believe that there were diamonds in my soap, but the whole scheme worked for me. And it smelled pretty darn good, so what could it hurt.
Anyways, back to the shampoo…
After a couple weeks of using both the shampoo and conditioner, I needed to take a quick shower and skipped the conditioning process. When my hair air-dried it was unbelievably soft. Just as soft as if I’d used the conditioner. But I hadn’t. 
So it works (for me). How does it work exactly? Royal Jelly is a substance secreted by bees and subsequently fed to other bees in order to make queen bees. In actuality, this is an over-simplified version of where it comes from and what it is used for in nature, so please don’t quote me with the hopes of passing that upcoming science test. Royal Jelly contains vitamins, amino acids, protein, minerals, enzymes and fatty acids (and all sorts of other magical powers) that can be used in various ways such as ingesting it to make strong queen bees with majorly impressive reproductive capabilities or to ease symptoms of several diseases, and of course, applying it topically to make your hair soft.
I usually dread washing my hair and going through the process of combing chemically-treated wet hair, drying, and then styling the whole mess. Nothing makes me more cranky than trying to get my fingers or worse, a comb, through my wet clumped hair that tends to be very curly while wet (of course, when it dries, it’s half straight and half curly, so it’s not good curl, just enough curl to be cruel). It’s not the way I would prefer to start my day. Using the shampoo and conditioner with Royal Jelly in it significantly lessened the pain of finger-combing my wet strands, and then regular-combing my wet strands in order to then roll-brush my wet hair into a beautiful, shiny, soft, bouncing perfect ‘do. Ok, so my hair has never been bouncy, and it wasn’t after this either, but it was shiny and soft and at least I don’t have the painful cranky start to my day any longer.
*After a couple of weeks, I switched up my shampoo for a couple of days because as with most other shampoos, build-up does occur and it’s effectiveness and results are reduced.
Please note, Royal Jelly is known to act as an allergen, so go easy with products that contain it if you have/may have allergies. If you’re allergic to pollen, this may not be a good idea for you. But, do not despair! For those of you who can’t use royal jelly, or those who just want an added boost of smooth and shine, check out my blog about moroccan oil!
Simple tips for a younger-looking (& feeling) you!
Posted by: Bean on: June 15, 2011
Time-tested secrets to stay young-looking. If you read any of the hundreds of beauty mags circulating your grocery store, you’ll find lots of expensive products that are celebrity-tested and raved about. The truth is, aging well comes down to some pretty basic rules, and they don’t cost your first-born’s college education. In fact, following some of these rules will actually save you money.
- DON’T smoke ($$$ Saver!)
- DO wear sunscreen everyday
- DON’T do drugs ($$$ Saver!)
- DO keep alcohol use to a minimum–a glass of red wine a day is good for your heart
- DO exercise regularly, but not too much
- DO get plenty of regular sleep
- DO try to remember that plastic surgery almost never ends well–love what your mama gave you! ($$$ Saver!)
- DO eat balanced meals
- DO drink a lot of water, until you feel like you might just float away
- DON’T smoke ($$$ Saver!)
- DO wear sunscreen everyday
Those last two were added twice, you may have noticed, and no, it wasn’t a typo. Smoking & drugs and excessive liquor will make you look like a wrinkled, yellow-toothed hag before your time, and the sun will shrivel your dewy young skin like a sun-dried tomato. Just ask the following celebrities:
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- Beautiful Janice Dickinson, before some butt-wipe convinced her that she needed surgery.
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- Keith Richards, a man who over-did it all.
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- A little too much time in the gym + speed = Madonna.
The Jojoba Oil Guillotine: When psoriasis rears its ugly head
Posted by: Bean on: January 18, 2011
- In: Skin
- Leave a Comment
I have two words for my fellow psoriasis sufferers: jojoba oil.
When I moved from the dewy Midwest to the arid Southwest, my skin decided to punish me persistently throughout the Winter. Actually, from about October to mid-May (the cold months at the 6,500 ft. altitude I lived at, and the 5,300 ft altitude I now live at), I began having terrible psoriasis on the nape of my neck and behind my ears. I had never experienced this problem while living in IL, so I suspect that my skin and the drier climates of Colorado & New Mexico don’t get on so well. A wise friend of mine, whom I often turn to in times of natural remedy needs, suggested that I try jojoba oil. I had tried all of the OTC psoriasis meds and creams to no avail. My skin insisted on being dry, red, itchy and flaky no matter what kind of magic cream I generously slathered. I even tried a particularly stinky cream that smelled like tar and caused a colossal stinging sensation. Could it be that jojoba oil was really the simple answer? I was skeptical, as I usually am, but decided to give it a try one day after having spent hours shoveling my driveway with the end result being a nasty psoriasis outbreak and a seemingly endless night of alternate tossing, turning and itching.
I went to our local natural grocery store, because it sounded like the kind of thing you get at a hippie store and I was sure that if I were to ask an associate at the regular drugstore where the jojoba oil was, I would more than likely be greeted with a blank stare (too much pot in the brownies where I used to live, the recipe just wasn’t quite right–left almost the entire population of Durango in a permanent state of bewilderment and vacation-like dream land). I quickly found the aisle I was looking for and went into immediate sticker shock at the price of this seemingly miniscule bottle filled with what looked like the urine of a very dehydrated mountain man. Luckily, at that precise moment my psoriasis gently nudged me back to reality with an acute reminder that I was desperate.
Newly purchased bottle of jojoba oil in hand, I head home, armed with what felt like my last attempt at an itchless neck and restful night. When I got home, I flipped the top open and squeezed gently to dispense some of the oil into my hand. Here’s where I will share a little insight to you so you don’t have to experience what I did (jojoba oil in excess, on clothes, floor, in my hair, etc, you get the idea): a little jojoba oil goes a long ass way. And, once it touches something absorbent, you might as well just deal with the fact that your beautiful new sweater is now your beautiful jojoba oil stained sweater… So, what I’m saying is try to be conservative in your use, a little will do the trick. Since my psoriasis is near my hairline at the back of my neck and ears, I learned that jojoba oil will spread to your hair and make it look oily and about 6 weeks unwashed, so be careful. But rest assured, your precautions and careful usage will result in relief from the itching and irritated symptoms caused by psoriasis. It’s by no means a cure, but it definitely makes living with psoriasis a whole lot easier.
Bonus: You can use jojoba oil as a moisturizer for not only your skin, but your nails, and your lips.
*Please note, before you start using any new product on your skin, test it in a small area in case of an allergic reaction.
..and just a club soda for my hair, thanks
Posted by: Bean on: January 13, 2011
- In: Hair
- 2 Comments
I recently heard on television that not only is club soda a refreshing beverage and an effective stain remover, it’s also good for your hair. I decided to do some research about this so-called ‘club soda miracle’. I happened upon many sites and forums where people said that they had heard that it was good and was supposed to work. I found nothing that said that anyone had actually tried it and had found that it had in fact worked. So I immediately prepared have a go at it. Always happy to self sacrifice for the benefit of others. 
I’ll proudly admit that I am indeed one of those girls who is constantly looking for home beauty remedies to try. Books, internet searches, t.v. shows, magazines- I’ve used them all to come up with ways to try and make myself glow from head to toe. Of course a lot of them were terrible, smelled bad or caused an allergic reaction. Out of necessity (read: pure vanity) I’ve been dying my hair for at least 8 years, which takes a major toll on the health of my hair. I’m also ‘fortunate’ enough to be ‘blessed’ with thick hair that is curly but not curly enough to be pretty and straight but again not straight enough to be pretty. Alas, what is a girl to do? Well, I’ll tell you: Buy products that claim to enhance curls (strike!). Buy products that claim to straighten and gloss? Strike. Use heat appliances and round brushes to bend hair to my will (meh..this one sort of works). Flat irons and curling irons or hot curlers are pretty much the only way I can make my hair behave. But my hair doesn’t like them and based on the damage they incur, I’m guessing they don’t like my hair, either. Now, equipped with more background on my hair woes than you could ever possibly need, you’ll understand why my ears perked up at the mention of an easy way to make my hair feel soft and look healthy.
The theory: The sodium properties in club soda act as a clarifying agent if used as a rinse after shampooing, leaving hair soft, shiny & manageable.
My experience: Yes!
I washed my hair with my normal shampoo and then just before getting out of the shower, I dumped about 3 cups of club soda over my hair, rinsed with cool water and when all was said and done, I had a pretty darn nice looking ‘do going on. I let it air dry partially and then blow dried with a round brush (a big mother of all mothers of round brushes) and it was great. I was very pleased. I still had to use the round brush, but much less heat was needed and I used zero styling products in the process.
I’ll have to conclude that it works–with a harsh warning:
Being the silly girl that I am, I automatically assumed that more was better and tried this procedure again just yesterday, only altering the procedure a bit. It didn’t work–not even a little. In fact, it was nothing short of a disaster. I thought (albeit, stupidly) that if I put the club soda in my hair and let it sit, that it would work EVEN better….right. This turned out to be very much not true. After leaving it in for about 10 minutes while I went about my shower, I rinsed as before with cool water, let my hair partially air dry and then used the round brush with the hair dryer to finish up. When all was said and done this time, I felt like a seagull had hovered over my head for a good length of time and proceeded to repeatedly shit in my hair.
DIRECTIONS:
- Wash hair with mild shampoo, rinse, do not condition
- Just before exiting shower/bath, rinse hair with club soda (amount depends on the length of your hair, but don’t overdo it, and don’t for the love of Craig T. Nelson use a flavored club soda)
- Follow club soda rinse with a cool water rinse
- Style hair as usual
- Walk around town like a sexy beast with bitchin’ hair
Happy washing, ladies!