50th Day Raw and my natural beauty routine...

Wow, I haven't blogged in quite some time! Sorry folks! In 15 minutes (when the clock strikes midnight) it will be my 50th day eating 100% raw foods. My diet has consisted mostly of raw fruits and veggies with an emphasis of eating a low amount of nuts, and oils. I have been having lots of fruit smoothies, green veggie juices, big salads with avocado and fruit, banana ice cream, zucchini pastas with various different sauces, and lots of fruit. I am finding that my body is moving away from wanting the large amount of fats that I used to crave. Now I crave the fresh fruits and veggies filled with lots of water content. I do occasionally eat some gourmet raw but my body just doesn't want it like I used to. This week I am experimenting with adding more herbs to my diet. I bought rosemary, basil, mint, and cilantro. Tonight I made a basil, avocado, sea salt sauce with my zucchini pasta, it was delicious :-).
What I have noticed eating raw foods: My skin is very clear, I very rarely break out unless I eat a high amount of oil (for example an oil vinaigrette dressing on a salad). My average weight has settled around 123 lbs and I notice when I eat cooked food my weight settles around 130 lbs. I feel very comfortable at 123 lbs. I have noticed that when I eat a high amount of gourmet raw foods my weight goes back up near 130 lbs. I am told I have a vibrant look about me which I was not told when I wasn't eating completely raw foods. I don't have gas compared to when I eat cooked foods and things flow out of my body without any effort (if you know what I mean). So, to be honest mostly the changes I notice are that I like the way I physically look eating raw foods. I am easily able to stay a weight I feel most comfortable in, I don't have to worry about break outs, and I do feel that I have a glow about me. However, I have noticed that I tend to be moody and I don't really know if it is due to the raw foods or just my current life circumstances. I am still working on this issue in my life and am looking to experiment with different ways of eating raw foods (adding more green juices, cutting out the fats, etc) to see if I have improvements. I do believe that raw foods is only one facet to a healthy life style and it may be that I need to change other things in my life to feel more balanced emotionally. I have at times had cravings for cooked foods but mostly I think about the side effects I get from veering off the raw food diet and that is what keeps me on this 60 day challenge.
Natural Beauty Care:
Soon after getting interested in raw foods I realized that not only is it important what I put into my body but it is also important what goes onto my body. I found out that a lot of the popular beauty products out there are filled with all kinds of chemicals and soon became attracted to healthier ways to take care of my body looking for healthier products to use on my skin. So, here are some of my favorites!
Shampoo: I buy my shampoo from Trader Joe's. The pictures above are the two kinds that I rotate between. The tea tree tingle and the balancing spa. I love these shampoos because they cost around three dollars each and are very low in chemicals and have lots of wonderful organic herbal ingredients. My favorite is the tea tree tingle. It really makes my scalp tingle!
Shaving Cream, spf protection and Moisturizer in One: A recent discovery I have made in the past month is using coconut oil to shave with! I buy a big tub of organic virgin coconut oil at my local farmers market for around $3 and apply it to parts of my body I want to shave! It works great and doesn't dry out my skin. After I shave I apply another application of coconut oil to my body as a moisturizer, wash it off in the shower and my body is soft and smooth for the entire day! Also, it has an spf of 20 and so it keeps me from getting burned in the sun! I love coconut oil so much, it smells amazing and it works wonders for my skin! A tub lasts me about a month. This is my new favorite thing!!!
Highlights and facial rejuvenate: I use fresh lemons and squeeze them into my hair a few times a week to get my hair a little lighter for the summer months. It works pretty well at making my hair lighter! I also will put a little splash of fresh lemon juice on my face every now and then.
Make up: I don't wear a lot of make up and never have been one to wear much make up. With raw foods my complexion stays pretty clear and so I stay away from using bases or powders on my face. If I want an extra glow to my skin I will apply a little coconut oil to my face and wash it off. Mostly for make up I use tinted lip gloss and mascara. I like to use Bert's bees tinted lip glosses and lip sticks. They are somewhat affordable and I like how natural the product is! For mascara I don't use anything healthy. Honestly I don't even remember what brand I use I just try and get a kind that is water proof. By the way a nice tip is that olive oil is a great eye make up remover!
Bath Salts: Every now and then I like to take baths and I just recently bought some bath salts from trader Joe's that I really like. It is a very natural product using sea salt and wonderful organic herbs like lavender, st johns wart, etc.
Some things to try: I want to do an avocado face mask as I have heard it is excellent for your skin and it is on my to do list! I also would like to find out how to make my own shampoo. I know some raw foodies stop using shampoo altogether but if I don't shampoo my hair daily it doesn't look so great. So I am still on the search for a more natural shampoo but for now enjoy using trader Joe's!
Well, thanks for reading and hope you enjoy some of these natural beauty tips!