Hair, Body, & Skin | Bearfruit Basics | Simple Christian Living

Easy DIY Natural Lip Scrub Recipe With Sugar and Honey

BearfruitBasics — Sat, 16 Oct 2021 00:48:53 +0000

Homemade, All-Natural, DIY Lip Scrub Recipe? Don’t Mind If I do! Putting things on our skin (let alone lips) without reading and understanding the ingredients is a big risk. These days, we are fortunate enough to be educated on toxins and how they effect our bodies and health. If you are looking for a quick, simple – and most importantly – healthy way to keep your lips soft and smooth, this DIY, all-natural lip scrub recipe is perfect for you! Why Should You Use a Natural Lip Sugar Scrub? Did you know that your lips are part of your throat? Not only does a lip scrub help improve the look and feel of your lips, but an exfoliating lip scrub helps remove dead skin. Your lips will be able to easily absorb a moisturizer you put on after you have exfoliated. How Often Should You Be Exfoliating Your Lips? Great question! The answer depends on your skin type. You can exfoliate once or twice a week if that is sufficient for you. If your lips tend to be on the dry and flaky side, you can use a lip scrub on them daily. According to the American Academy of Dermatology Association, your lips should not feel irritated or raw after using a lip scrub. If you experience any discomfort, you may be scrubbing too often or too harshly. A great tip from Chapstick for when to use your lip scrub, is to pick a dedicated time for your beauty routine. This can be done either in the morning or for your bedtime routine. Sticking to a schedule means you are less likely to forget about it. Best Ingredients for Your Natural Lip Scrub Recipe A huge advantage of making your own lip scrub is being able to use healthy and natural ingredients. Not to mention, if you are frugal and enjoy saving money, making things your self is a great way to be financially savvy! The best ingredients for a lip scrub consist of two elements. The first being something that you can exfoliate with. The second element is something you can moisturize with. The reason both parts are vital in your scrub is because you want to remove dead skin, while at the same time replenish and hydrate your dry lips. Recipe for DIY Sugar and Honey Lip Scrub Below is a lip scrub I have personally made for myself and find the results to be quite lovely! We will be using sugar as the exfoliator. We’ll use organic virgin coconut oil and honey as the moisturizer. Make sure to use regular coconut oil and not fractionated coconut oil. Fractionated coconut oil removes the lauric acid naturally present in virgin coconut oil. This means it does not have the antimicrobial properties that regular coconut oil has. Ingredients: Other Ingredient Alternatives Exfoliators If you don’t have sugar or prefer to use something else, you can experiment with coffee or ground spices. You can also use brown sugar over white sugar for a gentler scrub on your lips. Moisturizers If you don’t have coconut oil, consider using jojoba oil, sweet almond oil, olive oil, or another carrier oil you have on hand. Directions Mix all ingredients together and store in an airtight container. Apply by gently scrubbing your lips in a circular motion. Rinse your lips with warm water and pat gently with a face towel. It’s recommended to use a spoon to scoop out your keep your lip scrub fresh. Your DIY lip scrub should keep for about 3-6 months if you use a clean spoon and keep it sealed. Let me know in the comments below if you tried it! Stay connected with Bearfruit Basics by following us on instagram and signing up for our newsletter!

The post Easy DIY Natural Lip Scrub Recipe With Sugar and Honey appeared first on Bearfruit Basics | Simple Christian Living.

Summer Hair and 10 Easy Tips How To Protect It

BearfruitBasics — Mon, 07 Jun 2021 11:38:32 +0000

Summer Hair Don’t Care! Summer is finally here, and as ecstatic as you may be to see the cold, icy winter come to an end, your hair might still be in need of some TLC. Because the winter wreaks havoc on our hair in different ways than the summer does, looking after your hair during the Summer requires different techniques than wintertime. Here at Bearfruit Basics, we’ve compiled a list of top 10 tips on how to take care of your locks this summer! 1. Be Proactive With Your Summer Hair Care Before you even leave the house, think about what activities you’ll be doing and how you can be proactive with your hair. For example, if you are off to the pool, wet your hair before you go for a swim. Dry hair is like a sponge, so if it’s already wet before getting in to the pool, it won’t soak up as much of the chlorinated water. If you are a blonde, don’t let the dread of having green hair keep you from enjoying your summer days with a refreshing dip in the pool. A cool trick is to apply a leave-in conditioner in your hair after you’ve rinsed it with cool, fresh water. This will help prevent your hair from drying out your hair when swimming in the salty ocean or the pool. The more you baby your hair beforehand, the less chance salt or chlorine water have to enter and penetrate the hair shaft and cause more damage. 2. Going Outdoors? Wear a Hat to Protect Your Hair When you are outside for a long period of time, you can cover your hair with a summer hat or a scarf to protect it from the harmful, ultraviolet rays of the sun. Wearing something on your head keeps your hair protected from the environment and the sun’s damaging results. A fun advantage of using a hat is being able to make it fashionable. There are plenty of options that will pair well with your swimsuit or beach attire that will keep you looking stylish and chic. 3. Don’t Wash Your Hair Every Day When it comes to washing your hair, less is more! During the summer days, we may think that washing our hair more often is best, but it can actually cause the adverse outcome. If you wash your hair too frequently (every day), you are cleansing your scalp of the natural oils needed to protect your hair strands. With humid summer nights, it may be tempting to shampoo your hair every day. A lot of gals extend the time between washing their hair by using a dry shampoo in-between hair wash-days. Use this powder to soak up extra grease to revamp your hairstyle and extend your look. If you do indeed need to wash your hair more frequently than not, you can use a gentle cleansing cream that’s not as a harsh as your shampoo. Read labels, and buy shampoo and conditioners that help encourage hair repair in the areas that you need them. 4. Keep Your Hair Away from Heat Another thing you can do this summer to shield your delicate mane is to ditching the heat all together! It’s no secret that heat is damaging for your hair. When it comes to using heat appliances during the summer, it’s extra damaging – now you’re heaping heat damage on top of the sun’s damaging rays. Use the summer season to rock your natural look by letting your hair air dry and embracing your summer care-free style. If you are going to use your blow dryer or flat iron, make sure you use a heat protective product to minimize the harm as much as possible. 5. Get a Trim for Unhealthy Split Ends Another vital hair care tip for the summer – don’t forget to trim your ends! I know it sounds counterintuitive (especially if you are trying to grow your hair longer), but it’s crucial to remove any split ends, and cutting them is the only way to get rid of them, unfortunately. Most people believe you should trim your hair every six to eight weeks but that’s debatable, as some stylists say you can trim your hair every three to six months. Keep those pesky split ends at bay by following these tips: 6. Give Hair Coloring a Break If you have gray hairs, dyeing your hair might make you feel youthful and cheerful – and you deserve to feel happy with yourself. Whether you color your hair due to grays or just want to change your hair color for a brighter, summery look, take a hiatus and stop dyeing your hair for a while if you feel like your hair might need a break. In addition to allergies and hair loss hair dye dries out your hair. Skip a touch up or forego the exciting color for a little while if your hair is brittle and dried out this summer. Nurse your hair back to health before you book your next appointment at the salon or buy your at-home hair dye. If you dye your hair yourself, I love to use ammonia-free hair dye. 7. Use a Hair Mask When your summer hair is screaming for attention, a quick life vest you can throw on is using a hair mask. (My curly hair loves this Black Castor Oil Hair Mask.) Using a hair mask formulated specifically for your dilemma is another great summer hair tip to help maintain healthy locks. Many cosmetology experts agree in using a nourishing mask once a week to condition your hair. Soften and rebuild your hair with moisturizing hair masks with protein. If you are into making DIY hair masks, here are some easy and simple ingredients that you can whip together in the kitchen and apply to damp hair: Use any combination of these to keep the sun from making your hair dry and frizzy. 8. Use Protective Hairstyles During The Summer Using protective hairstyles this summer is another great way to keep your hair sheltered from the destructive sun’s rays. Loose mermaid braids, messy buns, or French braids are all great options to keeping your hair tied back without causing extra stress on your strands. Experiment this summer with new hair styles. Go natural this summer by going easy on the rigorous hairstyling and living a more relaxed lifestyle for the summer. 9. Use Hair Sunscreen I know, I Know. I didn’t even know this was a “thing” either! We’ve all been told that we’re supposed to be wearing sunscreen on our skin under the hot summer sun, but what we didn’t know, was that we could have been extending that protection to our hair as well! Sunscreen for your hair can be weightless and non-greasy with nourishing ingredients – making your hair look shiny and smooth. Scalp and hair sunscreen can come in many different forms, such as: mists, oils, primers, veils, and even powders. If you won’t be covering up with a hat or scarf this summer season, consider getting a sunscreen formulated just for your hair. You can check out this article from allure to learn more about hair sunscreen. 10. Nourish Your Hair From Within Lastly, the most important summer hair tip we can give you, is to nourish from within! The best tip I’ve learned is to fill a large water bottle early in the morning, and try to empty it throughout the day. I love these daily water intake bottles. Our hair is a reflection of our health. Treat your body right by drinking more water and eating a healthy, balanced diet. Promote healthy hair growth by eating fruits and vegetables, spinach, eggs, nuts, berries, and healthy fats – such as avocados and fatty fish like salmon. The summer sun brings conditions that promote dry, frizzy hair with split ends and color fade. To combat the majority of these problems, make sure your hair stays hydrated by not washing too frequently, and moisturizing your hair with deep conditioners and protecting it from heat damage. In conclusion, it’s vital to enjoy yourself all season long with beautiful, shiny hair with these tips to keep dehydrated and frizzy hair at bay. Embrace simplicity by letting your hair dry naturally and enjoy your summer hair. Stay connected with Bearfruit Basics by following us on instagram and signing up for our newsletter!

The post Summer Hair and 10 Easy Tips How To Protect It appeared first on Bearfruit Basics | Simple Christian Living.

How To Make Homemade Natural Deodorant

BearfruitBasics — Sun, 07 Mar 2021 09:33:01 +0000

Homemade Natural Deodorant That Actually Works! Did you know that it’s healthy to sweat it out? Okay, great, but that doesn’t mean you have to smell your BO either. Natural deodorant allows you to still sweat (which is actually healthy and necessary for your body to flush out toxins) while killing the nasty bacteria that produces odor at the same time. Are you looking for a natural, homemade deodorant that actually works? If so, then this simple recipe is for you! Why Is Store-Bought Deodorant Bad For Me? Firstly, store bought deodorant isn’t BAD for you–it just depends on what kind you buy and the brand that makes it. When I am not using my homemade natural deodorant, I personally use this natural deodorant alternative. Not only does it smell amazing, but they promise to be free of “aluminum salts, artificial fragrance, filler ingredients, propylene glycol, phthalates, or parabens.” Most stores carry antiperspirants or deodorants, some made from naturally derived and others not. Unfortunately, many of these products contain harmful ingredients that are not good for your health. Antiperspirant blocks your body from sweating. We actually have to sweat in order to get rid of toxins. Some of the ingredients inside store antiperspirants, such as a metal called aluminum, is for blocking perspiration. The problem with this (and many other unsafe ingredients), is that it may cause gene instability in breast cancer. Does Antipersperant Really Cause Cancer? According to the National Cancer Institute: “Because underarm antiperspirants or deodorants are applied near the breast and contain potentially harmful ingredients, several scientists and others have suggested a possible connection between their use and breast cancer. However, no scientific evidence links the use of these products to the development of breast cancer.” Although there is no clear link to cancer, many institutions are declaring that more research is needed to find more solid answers. If you are wanting to not take that risk, a natural deodorant helps eliminate that threat. Ingredients In Antiperspirants Parabens, Aluminum, Phthalates, Triclosan, artificial colors and fragrances, are some of the ingredients you can find in antiperspirants, just to name a few. These are preservatives, metals, and chemicals that can cause symptoms such as allergic reactions, gene instabilities, unusual hormone activities and skin irritation. How Long Will It Take For My Body To Get Used to Natural Deodorant? A reason why many people quit a natural deodorant, is because they don’t give their body enough time to adjust to a natural deodorant. It can take as little as a few days to a few weeks for someone’s body to reset its ecosystem. For example, if you are hoping to transition into using a natural deodorant, something you can try first is doing an armpit detox. The gist of it is to reset your body by removing any build up from previous antiperspirants and to flush out previous toxins in your body to give you a fresh start. Ingredients in Homemade Natural Deodorant The ingredients in natural deodorant are not only safer for you, but also contain antibacterial ingredients. Coconut oil and tea tree oil acts as a natural disinfectant, since both contain antibacterial properties. Baking soda is a popular option for natural deodorant due its well-known ability to absorb odors. Arrowroot powder or cornstarch helps to combat moisture, while essential oils (such as lavender or sandalwood for a more earthy tone) provides a pleasant scent. Please Note: When it comes to using citrus oils (such as orange, lime, or lemon), please be aware that citrus oils are among the most common essential oils to cause photosensitivity. These oils greatly increase UV sensitivity. Be safe in the sun by either omitting citrus oils in your DIY recipe, or make sure you are using sunblock and protecting yourself from any negative reactions. Deodorant Recipe #1 Homemade Deodorant (Regular Version) I have been using this recipe for homemade deodorant for years. You can use either arrowroot powder or corn starch (whatever is in your kitchen!) Mix all the ingredients together, and store in an air-tight container. I use a mason jar 🙂 Deodorant Recipe #2 Homemade Deodorant (For Sensitive Skin) Unfortunately, there are some drawbacks for using baking soda in your deodorant. According to an article in Healthline.com: “Baking soda isn’t designed for the skin. It’s much more alkaline than your skin, which could disrupt your skin’s natural pH balance.” If you find yourself having some kind of reaction to this formula–such as itchiness, redness, scaly skin or a rash–you can try the recipe below with less baking soda and more arrowroot powder or cornstarch. Regardless of which recipe you choose, it’s important to do a patch test first. This will help you see if you experience any discomfort with natural deodorant. Remember you can adjust the recipe accordingly so that it suits you! Stay connected with Bearfruit Basics by following us on instagram and signing up for our newsletter!

The post How To Make Homemade Natural Deodorant appeared first on Bearfruit Basics | Simple Christian Living.