January beauty in review.

You may recall in this post on January 1st, I wrote about my plans for beauty use and simplification. I thought I would update everyone here on what has been happening.

Sad to say I neglected my skin a tad and didn't use Pond's quite nearly like I should have been and boy can I tell! Being that I wear little to no makeup anymore, sometimes it was just easier to wash with soap and water or breeze with witch hazel on a cotton ball. It's actually getting cold and dry here in the land of Kenosha and my skin is horrible. Dry, tight, and flaky. Pond's today for sure!!

As for my hair, I am happy that I stuck with lemons! I even tried the baking powder wash! I am in love with the combination of the two! However I believe I will only be able to use this combination once a month. As you'll read in a bit. The combination kept my hair and scalp perfectly clean! Sure my hair wasn't fragrantly fresh as with a regular scented smooth, but it didn't stink! It didn't smell at all. My sets benefited from this combination as well! My hair stayed curled for a week and looked amazing with just a brush out! I only had to reset my front pin curls every other day and I was good to go!

I did, however, notice that after the 3rd lemon rinse (1 in Dec, 2 in Jan) that my hair did feel a tad dry. Not dried out... not even fried... just a bit too clean (if that is possible). In the original post, dear reader, Sissy mentioned using coconut oil and that reminded me... I HAD COCONUT OIL! So on my 3rd wash of January (first 2 washes of January being 2 baking soda washes and 2 lemon rinses) I decided to do a baking soda wash and a coconut oil condition. For this I washed as normal and then heavily coated my hair in coconut oil. I put on a plastic shower cap and sat under my bonnet dryer for an hour before I rinsed out the oil with just water.* The next day my hair was... eh. I was hoping for softness that only the most lavish conditioner commercials seem to have, but my hair was just eh. So I waited one more day and it somehow turned into a grease ball. Maybe that is a good thing? However the next day I couldn't take the greasy roots and the dry ends and hopped in the shower and did a baking soda wash. No rinse. The day after that my hair was dry and crunchy! Perhaps I didn't wash the baking soda out enough, so later that night I tried to wash out more with just water. It wasn't crunchy any more, but you can feel that there is still baking soda there. What the heck? Is this stuff glue? Hahahaha Looks like it is a lemon rinse for me again. My last two washes of the month, I ditched the baking soda all together. This definitely helped. My last wash I did use a regular shampoo with the lemon rinse. The shampoo fluffs and poofs and frizzes my hair far too much for my liking. So as I enter February, I will be on the hunt for a better "shampoo". I will baking soda wash it once and keep the lemon rinses for each time, but will still experiment with finding the right combination for me and my hair. In the end I am surprised what a difference the way I cleanse my hair makes with the way my styles come out.

The hardest task for me was simplification! I did end up tossing 2 bottles of lotion that I knew I would never use, but kept forever and just told myself to use up. In the trash they went. The back of my toilet looks less crowded already! I am also using up my body sprays to get them the hell out, but I always lag on lotions! I completely forget to use them! I didn't buy anything else as far as beauty/health products were concerned but my sister did give me some LUSH soap for Christmas, so I can't be too mad. :) It is LUSH afterall!

So how boring was this post? I didn't even think to take photos of my hair cleansing journey. But not wanting to be a complete blog sinner... here is a picture of Marilyn. She is much prettier to look at than I am at the moment.

 

*This will make your tub SLIPPERY! Please be careful and clean shower or tub thoroughly after.

Adopt a hat.

I somehow got my fingers to press the submit button on Etsy to list my first hat from my personal collection. *cue dramatic music* Ooooh that pain of saying good-bye to an old friend! Such a lovely friend too! Hopefully someone will "adopt" my hat and give her a loving home full of wear and life. A life, I couldn't give her myself.

Here is the Etsy listing... Adopt a Hat!

Lolita Haze for Arthelia's Attic's new hair flowers!

Just when you think Arthelia's Attic can't get any better, Naomi adds hair flowers to her shop! Wonderfully full blossoms that will stay secured in your hair make a delightful addition to your snood wearing! When you want something a bit more "pinup" and feminine, a rose is always a classic choice! Wear them with your snoods or alone! You will look the part with another winner from Naomi and Arthelia's Attic!

Retail Therapy

Just some quick retail therapy. Even the smallest purchases can pick up the spirit! What have been some of your recent retail therapy pick me ups?

Never give up!

I have been called a hair guru by my friends. I think they are just being super nice, but I know there are many hair-dos I can achieve that are better than average (she says so modestly), but the one technique that has eluded my skills has been the dreaded pin curls! Those bastards that are used not just to create curls, but to shape and form styles that are envied by others. For years I have been defeated by them damn things and just gave up -- until the next time I got a feather in my ass telling me I'll be able to do it this time!! Unfortunately the pin curls would win again and laugh at me as I cried with a crappy hair do.

Something magical just happened. A sudden new understanding of the pin curl and my hair's own structure have come together for a successful front wave! Right around New Year's I cut my hair and gave myself a blind middy. I say blind, because I don't know how to cut a middy, I just went for it and chopped away. My hair use to be all one length, but now there are "layers" and my front is significantly shorter than the rest of my hair (though not short enough to be considered bangs or fringe). This past week and a half I have been practicing and setting my hair almost nightly to master these damned pin curls. With some tweeking and taking into account my hair's texture (cotton candy and pipe cleaners) I think I have finally got the hang of using pin curls to shape and style my do!

I still have a lot more practicing to do to get my hair to look cinematically glam, but hey... it's better than I have ever done!! I am quite happy with the front wave. FINALLY! Pin curl success!

Looking like a butterface. Her hair looks nice, butterface!

I know that vintage styles can be intimidating -- even for vintage hair experts -- so for all you new girls -- just keep on trying!! Keep practicing! Learn your hair's texture! Tutorials are great, but take them as a loose guide. What may work for some won't work for others and this is based on texture, thickness, length, and cut. And for friends of vintage hair newbies... if their hair looks like shit, tell them!! No good will come from false praise.

It's time to say good-bye...

One of the hardest things for me to let go off are my hats. I just adore them! After many years of collecting hats I feel it is time for me to finally let go of some. Some that I never ended up wearing or some that are no longer my preferred era or some that just don't fit my huge noggin no matter how much I pout.

Soon I will be listing a few of my hats that I am reluctantly parting with... It really does pain me. *cue dramatics* It's like parting with a child!

Here is a small sampling of what is to come. I have about 10-12 hats I will be listing. It's so hard to say goodbye, but I hope they go to nice loving homes where they are loved and cherished.

click to enlarge

My beauty products for January!

It's all about natural, simple, and simplicity for me!

This January I am going to focus on natural and simple beauty and health care products. So what will I be using this January?

Pond's Cold Cream. This doesn't work for everyone, but it is by far the best thing I have ever found for my skin! I don't know why I ever stray from it. I am always disappointed with any "new" products I try that promise to combat break outs, shrink pores and reduce wrinkles. They never work for me and if I even think of using a cold cream other than Pond's, I break out! Sure enough going straight back to Pond's clears me right up!

Lemons. Not too long ago I came across a booklet that someone had scanned from the 30s or 40s (I can't remember exactly) all about skin and hair care using lemons. I first tried the lemon ice on my skin and I am very pleased with the results. I try to use the lemon treatment daily, but I am a creature of lazy and most of the time I forget to use this glorious and natural product. So January is all about getting back in the habit. My skin isn't the only thing to enjoy the fresh squeezed juices... my hair is too! Honestly, I have only tried a lemon rinse once, but I love it! I am going to continue with these rinses to see just how well my hair takes to the claims of silky softness and super clean scalp. Last week I used freshly squeezed lemon juice in place of conditioner to strip clean my hair and scalp of all soap scum, build up, and just scalpy debris. I am sure my head is a giant fester being that I bleach my hair. While the booklet suggested diluting the small amount of lemon juice with water as a rinse... I went hardcore using 4 large lemons undiluted. I plan on continuing with this treatment in place of conditioner for January and see if it truly is a benefit to my platinum locks. Please note... lemon juice does sting! If you can handle a couple minutes of itchy sting (not so much painful as itchy) this could be for you! My scalp didn't sting, but my face and back did. Oh and careful NOT TO GET IT IN YOUR EYES! That is a bitch!

Baking Soda. Using the simple and natural lemons as a rinse, it got me to thinking what I could use as a simple and natural cleanser in place of shampoo. You can't get any simpler than baking soda. I haven't tried this yet, but it seems if you mix a tablespoon of baking soda with 2 cups of water, you have a weeks worth of "shampoo". I look forward to trying this out for all of January. If I enjoy the results, I will dabble a bit with the recipe to see if I can add a scent to it.

My Lotions and Potions. I am a want not waste not kind of gal. (Some may say hoarder.) I have a small lot of products that I have accumulated that I just can't seem to toss. So for January I plan on using all these old products up... Most are superficial products like lotions or hair serums, so I am not terrible worried of ill effects (like breakouts). I just want to use these up and get rid of them. No more new products until these are all gone!

January is all about streamlining for me. I look forward to these promising results! I will keep you updated and let you all know how well natural, simple, and simplicity worked for me.

Now how about you out there? Any beauty plans for January and 2013?