In the meantime, take a bunch of selfies with gunk all over your face, because whythefucknot. 

I washed the mask off with warm water and then patted my face dry with a towel, and viola! Clean, awesome-smelling, vibrant skin. Woot woot!

*PS- I use rollers now, rollers are cool. 

I made this toner months ago, but I wanted to make sure that it worked well before I did a post on it. Then I made more, and more, and finally realized that I never did the blog post. Whoops. Here it is now! So that counts for something, correct?

I didn't really know what purpose toner served until I was in my early twenties, was working at McDonald's, and had the oiliest skin known to man. It was gross. There was a guy that I worked with who would dump straight witch hazel on a washcloth, then rub it all over his head and neck once he clocked out every day. Yep, we took drastic measures. 

Eventually I quit the fast food business, but the oil never really quit my face (how rude). I get a little oily around my hair line, and have gone through several different face washes, toners, you name it to help get rid of the oil. I actually bought a pretty expensive, rosewater scented toner back in February, and it  was so strong, it dried my skin out to the point where it burned. Not good. I didn't want to spend that much money on something else, so I tried my hand at making my own. 

Get

1 part apple cider vinegar

2 parts water

4-5 drops of tea tree oil

Mix everything in a bottle, and apply with a cotton ball. That is it! This is hands-down the best toner I have ever used. It leaves my face feeling clean, and the acidity from the ACV makes my skin all tingly and I just love it. Of course you can alter the amount of vinegar to your own personal needs, and I am sure that a different essential oil would work fine too. I have a small obsession with melaleuca oil, aka tea tree oil. It helps to reduce the amount of oils the body produces naturally, it helps dry out pimples, and most recently I discovered that if you put a little bit of it on a mosquito bite, it gives instant relief to the itching. There are loads of other uses for it too, and I also really love the scent. 

The best part about this toner? It is all-natural and super, super cheap! It has also helped so much with my skin, that I no longer have the need to use it twice per day, I use it only once and it lasts pretty long. Can't beat that! 

I still have a few products that I would really like to try making myself, but I now have a completely all-natural face cleansing routine that I will have to do a post on soon. Maybe in the next couple of weeks? I have a couple things that I am working on that I have sitting in draft now, so stay tuned.

After many weeks of trying out different washes for my hair, I have finally got it. There were a few days where I walked around with questionable locks, I even went to work reeking of apple cider vinegar (much to my coworkers delight). I wanted to make sure that I had it down completely before sharing, and after four weeks of success, a blog post was in order. 

Because I have very, very fine hair that tends to get oily rather quickly, there is more than just washing it to get it manageable. So I thought I would just go ahead and include my entire routine, because why the hell not?

First off, let me start by saying that very fine hair is high-maintenance as hell. Every shampoo that I bought for oily hair did nothing. Most shampoos that you will find in stores for this hair type will tend to contain sulfates, which work to absorb the oils initially, but by the end of the day my hair would be limp, and my forehead covered in sebum. Why? Because your skin produces oil naturally ,and when you strip it all out, it will overwork to replenish all of the oil that should naturally be there. I was also often told to skip conditioner, as it tends to weigh fine hair down, and the result was boring flat hair that did nothing despite the amount of back-combing that I did. That and the ends would split like crazy, yay! 

I was also told to not wash my hair every day, because my skin would stop producing as much oil, and it would be more manageable. Of course, this advice always came from individuals who had thick manes. Not washing it every day only really worked when my hair was long enough to put in a bun, and I still had to wash my bangs or they would slick to my face, despite the dry shampoo I used. I tell you, fine hair is SO MUCH WORK. 

So where am I at now? I use only the items in the picture below. Baking soda will weigh your hair down, but the apple cider vinegar will bring the PH balance back and leave your hair looking nice and shiny without all of the oil. Bonus: It doesn't smell like anything. 

There are different ways of going about this process, but this is the procedure in which I found best for my hair: 

Baking soda + water as wash: I leave a small, air-tight plastic container in the shower full of baking soda. All I do is scoop small amounts out, get it a little wet, and  gently scrub it into my scalp. I do this several times until all of my scalp is covered, you don't need to wash the middle, or ends of your hair, the baking soda will take care of it when it rinses out. Make sure to rinse it very well before moving on to the next step. 

Apple Cider Vinegar + Water + Melaleuca (tea tree) oil as rinse: I decided that a spray bottle would work best here, and I was correct. I filled it up 1 part APC and 3 parts water. Here is where you can add essential oils if you want a scent (like lavender, or citrus). I added tea tree oil because it helps absorb oil, and i only added about 5-6 drops to my 5 oz bottle. Shake it up, and spray all over roots, and the rest of your hair, making sure to get all of it. It will really smell of vinegar at this point, but once you rinse and dry your hair, it won't smell. I usually wash my body at this point while leaving the rise in for a few minutes. Again, make sure that you rinse it all of the way out (otherwise you will smell). 

Next I towel-dry my hair a little, then add a few more products as it is needed. 

Argan Oil leave-in conditioner: I decided to bleach the ends of my hair a few weeks back, and because my hair is so fine, it tends to dry out really fast. Argan oil is a very light, unscented oil and it works great in moderation. I only use one squirt, rub it on my palms, and rub it into the very ends of my hair. Anymore and my hair won't dry because there is too much oil. 

I usually let my hair air-dry about 80% of the way before I take the blow dryer to it. If I am washing my hair in the morning, this is all I have to do. But since I tend to wash it at night to save on time, there is one last step. 

Corn starch dry-shampoo: Baby powder is also an alternative, but I don't like the scent unless it is on babies (go figure). All I do is take a little bit and dab it along my hair line, part, or anywhere else that might look like it will get oily by the end of the day. I do this in the morning, btw. It will be white, so I just let it sit for a few minutes, then comb it back out. It also give my hair a little lift, which is always nice. 

*Tip: If you wash/dry your hair at night, you can move the part to the side in the morning to help it have more lift the next day. 

That is about it! My hair has been loads better since I have switched to this routine, and I couldn't be happier. Oh, and it is CHEAP. Being economical, FTW!

What we have here folks is the laziest of DIY's, I don't think this even counts, so, um, don't tell Pinterest or whatever. Anywho, my house is infested with three smelly beasts, and Kyle, so I tend to burn a lot of candles. I also clean with vinegar, and as much as I actually don't mind the smell, it grosses everyone else out. Seriously, even Louie will come in the room and just stare at me while I am cleaning, going "WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS MOM?!" but, I digress. 

I bought the above wax burner from Partylite,  because one of the women in our office sells Partylite things, and I always say 'no', but when I saw the owl, I caved and finally bought something. I do like the little wax pellets, but I just bought a bunch of essential oils online, and so I thought I would try using them in the wax burners. They work pretty well! 

So here is what you do: 

1) If you don't have a wax burner, head to your local thrift store. They always have them (that is where Kyle found the second one you see here). If you can't find one there, Target or eBay will have them. 

2) Get some essential oils! I have been using orange in the bathroom in the mornings to help waken us up while we are getting ready, and lavender in the living room to relax with. 

3) All you need to do is add a few drops of oil to the top part, and add some water to dilute it. I use about ten drops of the orange, and about five of the lavender. You can add more or less to your preference, but the oils will be a much lighter scent than the wax pellets that normally are used in these little guys. 

4) Eventually the water will evaporate, so you will want to keep an eye on it. 

So, yeah, not a real DIY by any means, but a good way to get some more use out of your essential oils without having to spend a lot of cash on a fancy-pants diffuser. 

Next: Make a stupid face! 

All you have to do is mix all of the ingredients together, and let it sit on your face for a few minutes. I recommend putting a fine strainer over your sink when you rinse, because clogged sinks are bad news bears. 

Why this mix? Well, I wanted to try something that I had around the house, plus it called for used coffee grounds, so there is plenty of that around. Coffee and cocoa are a good combination because they reduce puffiness in the face and eye area, brighten skin, and wake up your complexion, because COFFEE. 

There you have it, some tips from a half-ass city gardener who seems to do okay despite not really knowing what she is doing. It is beyond gratifying making tomato soup with our own tomatoes, or adding a few leaves of basil to our pasta sauce. I honestly wish that we could own another plot of land and grow more and I could quit my job and just be an urban farmer, but that might be too much for me to handle with the book I am going to write and the coffee shop/bar/bakery/resale shop I am going to open and all.