Happy Monday, everyone! Meet Aubrey and her nifty routine. To help deal with the hard water on an Air Force base, she uses a cool lemon-juice wash for her hair. A lemony scent plus sandalwood soap… Judging from her routine, I have a feeling she smells amazing. Read on…
Name: Aubrey
Age: 25
Age: 25
Current weather: Heavy, cool, just barely humid…and dusty. Not a normal combination, but it’s spring in Post-Flood Minot, North Dakota and the weather manages to be just humid enough to not be dry, just dry enough to not be humid, and as soon as the snow is melted, its always vaguely dusty.
Hair: babyfine, stick straight, light ash blonde, shoulder length, tendency to be greasy at the roots. Currently growing out years and years of heavily processed platinum highlights which were the last “unclean” beauty addiction I was clinging to. I took the plunge a few months back and did what will be my last salon dye-job EVER…all over, to my natural ash blonde. It’s been growing out natural ever since and love not having to touch up my roots with toxic chemicals every four weeks!
Skin: Fair (natural blonde), oily t-zone, incredibly acne-prone and moderately acne scarred.
In the shower…
First of all, I shower at night. I hate showering in the morning, because its really freeking cold here, and I don’t want to be cold and wet in the mornings. I wash my hair once a week with Aubrey Organics Swimmers Normalizing Shampoo. My husband is in the Air Force, and our last three bases have been in states with hard water… at least, I thought the water was hard…until we got to Minot. This place has some of the hardest water in the country. Think, ‘turning on the shower and getting hit in the head with bricks’ hard. My hair suffered badly until I figured out it just had to be clarified with a swimmer’s shampoo (removing chlorine, minerals, etc) once in a while. After shampooing, I rinse with 2 tablespoons of Volcano Lemon Juice mixed into two cups of very cold water mixed in an old conditioner bottle. The rest of the week when not shampooing, I just rinse my hair with the lemon juice mix sans shampoo. If it feel dry or intend to blowdry my hair, I deep condition the bottom 1/2 of my hair with John Masters Lavender and Avocado Conditioner after rinsing with lemon juice. And whether it’s marinating in lemon juice or conditioner, I pull it up in a bun and leave it while I shave my legs with a Preserve triple razor and the lather from my Zum Bar Goats Milk Soap by Indigo Wild in Sandalwood Citrus. I am in LOVE with this soap; the smell, the lather, the moisture. I don’t wash my face the ‘traditional’ way very often (washing daily just seems to exacerbate the acne I’ve had consistently since age 14), but if I’m exceptionally greasy that night, I use my Zum bar to wash my face, too. Then, I use my dreaded acne scrub. The only thing I’ve ever used that has worked on my acne is Carly’s Clear and Smooth Kickass Scrub (used daily), which is NOT 100% clean (germall preservative and benzoyl peroxide are the only two offenders). Carly’s was like a miracle for me; I’m acne free for the first time in over 10 years. It’s hard to give up something you know has some nasty chemicals in it when the alternative is the cysts and scars and I’ve battled before. However, recently, after much research, I’ve started taking 1000mgs daily of Pantothenic Acid (vitamin b5), and I’ve cut down to using the scrub only 3x a week, still no breakouts/cysts. I’m hoping I’ve finally found the clean answer, but I’m cutting down on my scrub slowly to allow my skin to adjust. (I’d be happy to update No More Dirty Looks on how this process goes and if Pantothenic Acid is a possible clean acne solution!) The last thing I always do is rinse my hair.
Outside the shower…
I use organic, unrefined coconut oil with a few drops of tea tree oil to moisturize my legs and body. I also rub a good amount into my armpits; it replaces deodorant for me 90% of the time.( I carry a Thai Crystal with me in my purse, so if things start to get swampy, I’m prepared.) For my face, I use the same coconut oil (MINUS THE TEA TREE OIL!) to remove my eye makeup…rub it in till you look like a zombie raccoon, then gently wipe away. After that, I adore John Masters Mandarin Maximum Moisture and John Masters Vitamin C Anti-Aging Serum. I apply a few drops of the serum, let it dry, then apply a few drops of moisturizer. The combination of these two has been plumping my few deeper scar pits and I have noticeably less dark marks after a few months of consistent use…it looks like my skin is healing (dare I say, thriving?), not just surviving. I dab it under my eyes, as well. Finally, I take 100% pure, cold pressed argan Oil and use it on the ends of my eyelashes. I try to take extra care of my eyelashes because I wear mascara pretty much every day.
Finishing touches…
When I wake up in the morning post-shower, I make myself a piping hot cup of green tea. When I take the tea bag out of the hot tea to drink it, I use the tea bag like most people use a toner-soaked cotton ball. It takes any greasy residue from the night off and wakes my skin up beautifully; no soap and scrubbing required. If it was a rough night, I use two tea bags and let them sit on my eyes for 10 minutes (steeping my swollen under eyes in hot, steamy, anti-oxidant goodness) before I pat my face dry and apply Vapour Atmosphere Luminous Foundation, shade 115. Then…my eyelashes. Now, I love my hair color; light natural blonde. I love not having to shave my legs, really, at all if I don’t want to. I love that I have no arm, knuckle, or upper lip hair to speak of. But this comes with a price; and that price is that I have no eyebrows or eyelashes unless I coat ‘em in makeup. So I use Dr. Hauschka Volumizing Mascara in Black and (and if I want to be able to demonstrate facial expression along with having eyelashes), I color in my eyebrows with Gabriel Cosmetics ZuZu Luxe Eybrow Pencil in Flax. If I’m feeling exceptionally vampish I’ll add Zuzu Luxe Liquid Eyeliner in Raven to the mix. Hair wise, it lives in a messy bun on top of my head most of the time; but if I happen to style it, I pat in some Aubrey Organics B-5 Design Gel before it gets the curling iron. I spray Indigo Wild’s Zum Spray in Sandalwood Citrus or Frankincense and Myrrh (both are orgasmic scents) or Pacifica Waikiki Pikake on my wrists and my hair, add some cat hair, and I’m good to go.
Thanks, Aubrey! Is anyone else dealing with especially hard water and have any tips?
Image via
The other day we announced an open call to help beef up our Morning Routines…Exposed! series and, well… Ask and you shall receive, I guess! We got so many responses that we created a special folder for all of them, and we invite you to keep them coming (especially if you are a guy, since we know naturals has a bit of a boy problem,* and we’ve only gotten one of those so far). Now, without further ado, meet M.
Name: M (I’m male)
Age: 32
Current weather: Cold and rainy Toronto
Hair: Short
Skin: Acne-prone, but oily and dehydrated
Before the shower….
I shave with an electric corded razor (no battery = no harm to the environment when disposing) and I use an organic cornstarch-based powder from Hugo Naturals before shaving. The powder dries whiskers down so the electric razor can do its thing. Humidity + electric razor usually equals razor burn and missed patches. Most commercial powders sold for this purpose are talc (yuck) and fragranced-filled (double yuck) so I gave the Hugo Naturals powder a try and I like it. Works great and washes right off in the shower. Once or twice a week I also use a body brush to exfoliate.
In the shower…
I like Vanicream Cleansing Bar or A-Derma Soap-free Dermatological Bar w/ Oat Milk. I have very hard water, so real soap tends to not foam and turn into scum here. If I’m somewhere with nice soft water, I prefer to use Whole Foods 365 brand fragrance-free glycerin soap or any other pure clear fragrance-free glycerin soap (a Canadian company called The Soap Works does a nice one from vegetable glycerin). I only wash my hair a few times a week and use a Rx dandruff shampoo for that, but mostly go water only.
Outside the shower…
I use alcohol-free witch hazel (Garden of Wisdom brand, which is online only, or the more ubiquitous Thayers Fragrance-Free Alcohol-free Witch Hazel). The key elements for me are a) no alcohol and b) no fragrance. I also use organic grapeseed oil mixed together in palm of my hand and applied with both hands. For sunscreen, I like BurnOut Clean & Clear SPF 32 (zinc oxide only). I try to use this most days.
Finishing touches…
I mostly don’t wear cologne, but I like Pacifica’s Mediterranean Fig, which is pretty gender neutral. On my hair I use Kiss My Face Upper Management Styling Gel when I’m off to work…but most days a bit of grapeseed oil will keep it in place nicely.
Now weigh in, people. Have you used any of the products M uses? Any other recommendations for him? I’ll say I was intrigued by the powder before shaving thing. I didn’t know people did that!
Image of Richard Burton getting his hair combed by Elizabeth Taylor via
* We promise that at some point soon the boysturizer reviews will come.
