Beauty on the Cheap

Hair Care: Use warm oil to provide deep condition to your long hair or moisturize your damaged hair. This is cheap substitute for the V05 hair oil. Pour 1-2 tablespoons of cooking oil in a small container. Submerge the container in warm to hot water to gently warm the oil. After a couple of minutes, spread the oil through the ends of your hair. Let sit in your hair for 3-5 minutes, then wash your hair with your normal shampoo. Its amazing how shiny and smooth your hair looks and feels afterwards.

Highlights: Hydrogen Peroxide provides a cheap hair lightener. The basic brown bottle from the drug store won't change your dark brown hair to blond, but it will certainly lighten it. Spray a small amount through your hair, brush, and let your hair dry. When I started, I had dark brown hair. After about 2-3 days my hair was a light reddish, brown. It was enough of a difference that my male boss noticed.

I also used the hydrogen peroxide to lighten the hair on my upper lip, otherwise known as my woman'stache. Every morning, I dip a Q-tip into the hydrogen peroxide and cover the hair. It doesn't irritate my skin like the over the counter hair bleach, but still accomplishes the job. Not bad from a small brown bottle that comes in under $1.

Water-proof eye make-up remover: A tablespoon of simple cooking oil mixed with a drop of shampoo does the trick to gentle remove even the most stubborn of water-proof mascara.

Skin Care:
At Petit Elefant, she provides a tutorial to make your own pore strip, which is a cheap alternative to the name brand pore strips you get at the drug store.

In an earlier post, I provided a couple of recipes to make homemade facial and sugar scrubs, which I happen use quite frequently.

Beauty Scrub

I have sensitive, dry skin, so I need to be extra cautious with skin care products on the market. Instead of going through the testing phase to see if I'm allergic to a product or paying the extra costs for hypoallergenic, I learned to make my own using ingredients that won't cause an allergic reaction. They're really cheap and easy to make, while giving me a pampered feeling.

For sensitive, dry skin, try the Baking Soda Facial scrub a few times a week. I use this on my face to exfoliate, then wash it off with soap and water. It leaves my skin very smooth, and provides the moisture my skin craves. It'll keep in an airtight container for at least a few weeks. I only make small batches, so I'm not sure if it'll keep pass that time frame (I don't see why it wouldn't).

Baking Soda Facial scrub
3 tbsp Baking Soda
2 tbsp Oil (i.e. Canola, Olive)
1 tsp Vanilla Extract (or a drop of oil of essence). It's for fragrance only.

Mix all ingredients together to make a small batch to last a couple of weeks.

To exfoliate my body, I use a sugar scrub that I absolute love. I prefer more of a gritty scrub than the baking soda one. I knew I was onto something when my husband kept making remarks about how smooth my legs were (without me prompting him). This works well on tough spots like elbows and knees. Much like the baking soda scrub, this will keep for at least a few weeks. Because it is so easy to make, I only make small batches.

Sugar Scrub
2 tbsp Baking Soda
2 tbsp White Cane Sugar
3 tbsp Oil (i.e. Canola, Olive)
1 tsp Vanilla Extract (or drop of oil of essence). It's for fragrance only.

Mix all ingredients up and store in a sealable container.

For really tough spots like feet, the below is the pamper scrub I use, but I must warn you that it only keeps for a few days. It starts to harden after a while. This has real grit to sandblast my callous feet.

Sugar Salt Scrub
1 tbsp Baking Soda
2 tbsp Sugar
1 tbsp Epsom Salt
3 tbsp Oil
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Mix together and apply liberally to your feet. You can either let your feet soak or immediately wash the scrub off.

With all these scrubs, I wash it off with soap and water.