Hippie Jean Strikes Back
Jan. 28th, 2012 11:12 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bluejeans07Reaching the end of a 'use up products' week and I thought some pictures would be good to show what I'm currently using.
These are my current commercial lotions and cleansers. The ones to the right are St Ives commercial products but don't have parabens or SLS but apparently still contain chemicals that have been linked to Alzheimer's, which is a little disappointing. But St Ives is cruelty free, their packaging is made from recycled materials, and they're trying harder to find vendors that are environmentally sustainable, so if there's one commercial brand I'll keep using, it'll be them.
The Burts Bees sunscreen is a bit disappointing, it smells very strongly of beeswax, it doesn't apply easily (it has to be REALLY buffed in), and it just feels like a cakey, dry layer of blah on your face. I haven't used it at a pool or the beach yet so I can't tell how well it protects my skin, but it seems fine for my walks.
The most expensive product in this group is probably the Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream, online it costs $24.50 for 1.7 fluid oz jar. I received this as a gift from my aunt, but I probably never would've bought this on my own. It is very moisturizing and it does work well, but I have to admit, I don't see a difference between how well this works and how well the St Ives lotion works.
I haven't looked up in detail the ingredients list for the Trader Joe's cleanser yet so I've included it in this picture with the more organic/natural stuff. The stuff in the pink capped bottle is a mixture of jojoba oil, frankincense and witch hazel, which feels REALLY nice on my face and absorbs well compared to just plain jojoba oil. However, it absorbs a little too well after a shower and I do miss the creamy consistencies of lotions so I'm thinking of cutting off a chunk of the cocoa butter, melting it, and mixing it in and make it more like lotion and more moisturizing. I've been using the cocoa butter on my stretch marks, I was a chubby kid and I'm still chubtastic, and the stretch marks are in embarrassing places. So far, no change but I've only been using it for four days.
And the most expensive product in this group is the 1/2 oz bottle of frankincense which is $17.25! Ouch! However, I've only used a few drops in my little 'potion' since frankincense has to be diluted with oil and I bought this from an independent company called Mountain Rose Herbs , so I understand why it's so expensive. Also, I'm only using a few drops per potion so this will last a LONG time, and considering I'm using this in place of various eye creams and anti-aging products, it's actually a lot cheaper. The women in my family tend to get heavy under eye bags as they age and frankincense is anti-aging and improves skin's elasticity so the potion is meant to do just that. I have an extra bottle so I may make a plain potion of just frankincense and jojoba oil so that it's stronger and just use that for my eye area.
As for routine, I've been washing my face at night with either the St Ives of the Trader Joes cleanser, then applying on the potion and then occasionally putting a moisturizer on top of that. In the morning, I just splash some warm water on my face, apply witch hazel with a cotton pad, and then put on moisturizer. This seems to work best for me anyway, my skin feels nice and smooth and the coloring is more even and less blotchy and my eyes are less puffy.
My mom's been giving me weird looks as I've been telling her about the various things I've been trying, which isn't anything new since I am the crazy of the family. I did explain why I was trying to find alternatives to commercial products (cruelty free, trying to lower my risk of dangerous illness, sustainable, better for the environment, etc), but I still got a raised eyebrow and a sigh. After thinking about it, she is from a generation that just used stuff and threw it away, recycling is still very difficult for her to comprehend. Ahh well, at least she's not stopping me and hey, if all of this works, I'll be the one that was right! XD
These are my current commercial lotions and cleansers. The ones to the right are St Ives commercial products but don't have parabens or SLS but apparently still contain chemicals that have been linked to Alzheimer's, which is a little disappointing. But St Ives is cruelty free, their packaging is made from recycled materials, and they're trying harder to find vendors that are environmentally sustainable, so if there's one commercial brand I'll keep using, it'll be them.
The Burts Bees sunscreen is a bit disappointing, it smells very strongly of beeswax, it doesn't apply easily (it has to be REALLY buffed in), and it just feels like a cakey, dry layer of blah on your face. I haven't used it at a pool or the beach yet so I can't tell how well it protects my skin, but it seems fine for my walks.
The most expensive product in this group is probably the Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream, online it costs $24.50 for 1.7 fluid oz jar. I received this as a gift from my aunt, but I probably never would've bought this on my own. It is very moisturizing and it does work well, but I have to admit, I don't see a difference between how well this works and how well the St Ives lotion works.
I haven't looked up in detail the ingredients list for the Trader Joe's cleanser yet so I've included it in this picture with the more organic/natural stuff. The stuff in the pink capped bottle is a mixture of jojoba oil, frankincense and witch hazel, which feels REALLY nice on my face and absorbs well compared to just plain jojoba oil. However, it absorbs a little too well after a shower and I do miss the creamy consistencies of lotions so I'm thinking of cutting off a chunk of the cocoa butter, melting it, and mixing it in and make it more like lotion and more moisturizing. I've been using the cocoa butter on my stretch marks, I was a chubby kid and I'm still chubtastic, and the stretch marks are in embarrassing places. So far, no change but I've only been using it for four days.
And the most expensive product in this group is the 1/2 oz bottle of frankincense which is $17.25! Ouch! However, I've only used a few drops in my little 'potion' since frankincense has to be diluted with oil and I bought this from an independent company called Mountain Rose Herbs , so I understand why it's so expensive. Also, I'm only using a few drops per potion so this will last a LONG time, and considering I'm using this in place of various eye creams and anti-aging products, it's actually a lot cheaper. The women in my family tend to get heavy under eye bags as they age and frankincense is anti-aging and improves skin's elasticity so the potion is meant to do just that. I have an extra bottle so I may make a plain potion of just frankincense and jojoba oil so that it's stronger and just use that for my eye area.
As for routine, I've been washing my face at night with either the St Ives of the Trader Joes cleanser, then applying on the potion and then occasionally putting a moisturizer on top of that. In the morning, I just splash some warm water on my face, apply witch hazel with a cotton pad, and then put on moisturizer. This seems to work best for me anyway, my skin feels nice and smooth and the coloring is more even and less blotchy and my eyes are less puffy.
My mom's been giving me weird looks as I've been telling her about the various things I've been trying, which isn't anything new since I am the crazy of the family. I did explain why I was trying to find alternatives to commercial products (cruelty free, trying to lower my risk of dangerous illness, sustainable, better for the environment, etc), but I still got a raised eyebrow and a sigh. After thinking about it, she is from a generation that just used stuff and threw it away, recycling is still very difficult for her to comprehend. Ahh well, at least she's not stopping me and hey, if all of this works, I'll be the one that was right! XD
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no subject
Date: 2012-01-28 08:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-28 08:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-28 09:10 pm (UTC)I remember my mum using a jojoba spray on my hair when I was little! She must be more or less in the same generation as your mum, but she was definitely a whole-foods natural-products reducing reusing hippie when I was growing up, so there must be more at play than age ...
no subject
Date: 2012-01-29 05:03 am (UTC)Yeah, I have no idea why my mom is this way, I'm mostly guessing it's the generation thing especially after watching Supersizers' Go Seventies, and Mom's admitted that recycling and stuff wasn't really big in Korea when she was growing up. Come to think of it, I'm not sure if it is at all now either. Probably should ask. XD
no subject
Date: 2012-01-29 05:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-29 08:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-29 08:49 pm (UTC)