Ivy’s Beauty Routine

Beauty and Hair Care Tips:

I am not your average girl when it comes to my beauty routine. I value quality products but also am a minimalist who values her savings account. Truthfully, I have never totally understood fancy make up products and hair products. If it looks good, who cares how much it cost or the brand name, am I right?

First and foremost, the Daily:

I use a few products every single day that I can’t do life without. Most of these items can actually be found in your kitchen.

Apple Cider Vinegar

First, Apple cider vinegar. Not all apple cider vinegar can be created equal. It must be the bottle “with the mother” It must be unfiltered and unpasteurized. You will usually see it cloudy and with settlement at the bottom. I swear by Braggs brand, but I know many stores have an in-house brand that is indeed ” with the mother”. Traders Joes and Sprouts do both carry their own motha worthy cheaper brands.

Apple cider vinegar is such a powerhouse for your pantry and beauty cabinet. ACV works WONDERS on your face at night as a toner. I swear, when I use it on my face and wake up in the morning I look so evenly toned as if I got a long day in the sunshine or a nice spray tan or facial. It gives you a great glow and reduces redness and dark spots. Now, I can’t say much about the fragrance factor. ACV does stink and if you hit the gym in the AM as I do when you sweat you get to experience it all over again. It is a less than “glamorous process” but I will smell like feet for a few hours to have glowing skin. I don’t mind, the guy on the treadmill next to me might mind, however.

Apple cider vinegar number two. ACV for SKIN TAGS. YES! Is this the most beautiful thing to talk about? No. But it is real. I bet you 9 out of 10 people reading this have one and are cringing as they read it but want to read more to see how to treat them. Am I right? Skin tag prescriptions are in the hundreds of dollars! The silly thing is if you take ACV, dab it on the skin tag, dab it on the cloth padded section of a small bandaid and cover in a few days your skin tag IS GONE. Say WHAT? Yes. GONE.

For best results, re-apply a fresh band-aid and fresh dab of ACV after the shower or in the evening before bed depending on the location of the tag. You are welcome. Rejoice quietly in the bathroom alone with the rest of the 9 people who also are excited about this too.

Lemon Juice

LEMON JUICE. Where you expecting expensive items? Have we met…? Hi, I am Ivy and I like to save money and be natural. Nice to meet you. Lemon juice as a hair lightener. Yes. Ironically the store bought kind of lemon juice works best in this case. A great way to do this hack is to fill a small spray bottle with 3/4 full of lemon juice and the rest water. Spray on ends of hair just before hitting the sunshine or going for a run. This will gradually lighten the hair without adding chemicals or seriously damage your hair like bleach, Aint nobody want split ends. The 99 cents store has spray bottles AND lemon juice. Natural ombre girl, you are welcome.

Coconut Oil

Coconut Oil as a moisturizer. Do I even need to explain this? I’m pretty sure every girl out there is drenching themselves in this already. Make sure you are using a high-quality brand, however. You are not frying your kale girl, you are putting this ON YOUR BODY. Anything that goes directly on your skin also goes directly into your bloodstream. There is no liver for the skin. I highly recommend Kopari Beauty as it is clean and It never makes me break out. Save less quality oils for the ends of your hair or cooking those veggies.

Homemade Dry Shampoo

Dry shampoo/ homemade powder. At home powder for oil reduction. Now, you can’t always choose natural when you are on the go. Pouring flour on your head in the car between jobs or headed to lunch with your girlfriend is not always convenient or smart. When I am at home and have a little more leeway, I use a mixture or 3 parts arrowroot root powder and 1 part cocoa powder. I add the cocoa powder because my hair is dirty blonde and it really helps the powder blend, plus it smells delicious. The arrowroot flour is so fine and smooth it feels so luxurious. If you have darker hair you would want to add additional cocoa powder and for lighter hair more arrowroot. I apply it with a large foundation brush. It is perfect.

Rush n Brush

When I am on the go or headed somewhere after the gym I use easihair pro’s Rush n Brush. I love this stuff. I will be totally honest when I first used it I didn’t love it but that’s because I wasn’t using it correctly. YOU MUST SPRAY at least 6 inches from your head. I was failing this part. Once I figured it out (user ERROR) I realized I went like 6 days without washing my hair, not even on purpose. It just still looked good and full. I typically am a daily washer due to the oil in my hair. This stuff really helps me to get by in the in between, especially when I am on the go.

Ladies I hope you are saving your money for the beauty MUST haves and saving your sweet liver of unnecessary chemicals. Talk to you sweet friends soon!

To keep up with Ivy and learn more about a healthy and balanced lifestyle, visit her site here.