an easy hair mask for frizzy or curly hair

It’s been a while since I wrote about anything to do with homemade products, so I thought I’d show something simple that I used on my hair last night.

I have curly hair that tends to dry out easily. I wake up with freakishly frizzy hair that looks like the stylists for Whitesnake and Motley Crue broke into my house while I was sleeping and teased my hair. The dad is kind and averts his eyes and says nothing. Usually I am able to beat it into submission with a shower and some kind of hair product, but lately it was getting a little out of hand. Last night I made a quick hot oil treatment and the results are nice, submissive shiny curls this morning. Mostly. The curls tend to do their own thing. I call it a good day if I look less like Richard Simmons and more like Phyllis Diller. But it was shiny. And soft. And more importantly, it wasn’t frizzy.

I used coconut oil, honey and apple cider vinegar; each ingredient on its own has conditioning and moisturizing qualities. The apple cider vinegar also removes hair product residue from hair, works as a natural de-tangler and leaves hair soft and smooth. I’ve used it in the past as a rinse after shampooing (mixed with water in a squirt bottle) and my hair always felt great afterwards. And you stop smelling like a french fry as soon as your hair dries.

This made enough to cover my chin length hair, so if you have longer hair just mix a larger batch. The measurements don’t have to be precise, just in approximately the same ratio as below.

Moisturizing Coconut Oil, Honey and Apple Cider Vinegar Hair Mask

• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 tbsp honey
• 2 tsp apple cider vinegar

Mix together in a glass jar or container that can be heated. Warm in a hot water bath or place in the microwave for a few seconds until the oil and honey are warmed and runny. Apply to dry hair, cover with an old towel or shower cap and leave on for at least 30 minutes before washing hair.

I had to borrow the new cap that I bought for our new bathroom caddy (a wine bottle holder that we found hidden in our bathtub after our annual ugly gift exchange).

Linked to Wildcrafting Wednesday, Frugally Sustainable, GNOWFGLINS

getting ready for Christmas – a spiced chai sugar body scrub

Christmas is getting closer and I really don’t have much of a plan. In fact, knowing that we are moving in January, I didn’t put up any lights or greenery outside of the house. We always have a real tree inside, so we don’t decorate until a week or two before Christmas to avoid having a needle-bare tree by Christmas. This year I am reluctant to do even that, knowing that the Christmas decorations are the only boxes that I already have packed. But somehow I doubt that I will win that battle.

I made a head start today on an idea for teacher’s gifts. I’ve started knitting a few dish cloths with an apple pattern (I know, exciting, right?) and I thought that I would include a sugar scrub of some sort. This is one that doesn’t require refrigeration, making it easy to give as a gift. It’s also pretty easy to customize according to ingredients that you have on hand.

You can make this in any quantity you like, to fit any container you have on hand. The basic rule of thumb is 2/3 sugar to 1/3 oil – and then you can add any scents/additions that you think would go well together. I used Celestial Seasonings Bengal Spice tea because I think it smells like Christmas.

Spiced Chai Sugar Body Scrub

• 2/3 cup sugar (white or brown or half and half)
• 1/3 oil of your choice (olive oil, grapeseed, almond, etc)
• 3-4 bags of Bengal Spice (or your preference) chai tea

Cut open the bags of tea (use more bags if making a larger batch or you want a stronger smelling scrub) and mix it together with the sugar and oil in a jar. Use it anywhere on your body that needs a little scrub, moisturizer or general healthy glow. This should keep indefinitely without the need for refrigeration – just give it a stir to mix in the oils and sugar occasionally.

Linked to Frugally Sustainable, Wildcrafting Wednesday, Simple Lives Thursday

slow living – October

October went by quickly, but I am happy that it has been the start of the slow season for us. Once we get all of the vehicles that have been dropped off in the storage yard put away and our place starts looking more like home again and less like a used boat and trailer dealership, we will start to settle down for the winter and enjoy the quiet.

I’m following the example at Slow Living Essentials again this month, and using her categories to summarize my month and list some things I’d like to accomplish.

{Nourish}:

We’ve been eating too well around here lately. Which means that we should probably try eating lighter, especially since I put on my protective layer of winter fat early this year. Like, in May (I know, I just said like. I’ve been spending too much time around tween girls. I used to have perfect grammar – similar to perfect pitch, but without the talent. Now I talk in sentence fragments. A lot.).

I wrote about Pumpkin Granola, Pumpkin Pie Muffins, Apple Pie Spice, (Almost) Buttermilk Drop Biscuits, and some Halloween Chocolate Spiders to make for a sweet Halloween treat.

{Prepare}:

I spent a weekend this month doing some advance cooking for hockey nights and stocked the freezer with bags of hamburger cooked with onion, carrot, zucchini, green pepper and garlic. They make it easy to make a quick meal of nachos, spaghetti or baked pasta – only a little extra assembly required. We even like the hamburger as a pizza topping on occasion. I also made some soups and chili to fill up the freezer. The only problem with doing the advance work is now I feel like I need a good excuse to raid my stash. I want to hoard it – and the husband has to provide a suitably hamburger worthy reason to take some from the freezer.

I managed to cut the last of the jalapeños in half and put them in the freezer until I can manage do something with them. I’d like to make some Louisiana style hot sauce, but I kinda came down with making-things-with-stuff-from-the-garden fatigue halfway through the month and just gave up. That also led to the rotting of several cabbages from the garden. I feel guilty, but I’ll work through it.

Fortunately, the rest of the pumpkin and squash can wait until I have time to do something with them.

Before I hit the garden produce wall, I wrote instructions for making and canning some easy applesauce and an easy way to roast and puree pumpkins, plus some pumpkin pie spice to use with the puree.

{Reduce/Reuse/Repurpose/Repair}:

We had plans for a new efficient furnace for this month, but we are at the mercy of the furnace man (who hasn’t shown up yet), so I guess it will be put off until next month. Not much else has been done along those lines, but then, nothing really was needed. We weren’t in need of anything new, and things continue to be used and re-used around here.

{Green}:

This is where I am supposed to write about any new green practices, cleaners or health and beauty products that I have made this month. I continue to use laundry powder that I made (though I also used store-bought when I ran out) and I attempted that cleaner that people seem to be making by leaving orange peels in vinegar for a few weeks, but the smell of it put me off so much that I’d rather just use plain vinegar.

I did make a cinnamon, orange and brown sugar body scrub. I’d like to make some other scrubs that would be suitable for Christmas gifts, but don’t require any refrigeration. Maybe in November.

{Grow}:

We’ve harvested cabbage, red jalapeno peppers, the last of the tomatoes and the pumpkins and squash this month. I also managed to use the last of the basil just after the frost hit. One part of the plant remained green, so we picked the rest of it and enjoyed it in a baked rigatoni and again in some tomato basil pesto for on top of pizza. The garden is now pulled up and plowed under. Whew.

{Create}:

I’m still working on the sweater for the tall kid. Actually, no I’m not. It’s gathering dust in my basket at the moment, but I did finish a cowl to keep me warm this winter, and I am currently working on my first ever pair of socks.

{Discover}:

I’ve been doing a bit more reading this month, though I didn’t take any photos this time around. I’m currently browsing through the Ina Garten Back to Basics cookbook that a co-worker thought I might like. I’ve got a bunch of sticky notes marking pages to try.

{Enhance – community}:

The dad continues to volunteer as a hockey coach and as a member of the local Ducks Unlimited committee. We continue to purchase locally when we have the opportunity - some apples and a pumpkin from a local orchard (yes, I know that we grew pumpkins, but none were big enough to carve).

{Enjoy}:

We’ve had some time to visit with friends this month, we had Thanksgiving over at my in-law’s farm with the city cousins and we’ve spent a couple of weekends with the girl’s friends here on sleep-overs.

This time of year is busy for our boat/RV/trailer storage business, so someone is constantly at the door or calling about drop-off times. Once the dad gets it all put away for the winter, we will be able to settle down and enjoy the peace once again. I’m looking forward to a little bit of hibernation.

Another busy, but interesting month.

Linked to GNOWFGLINS, FOY Update, Frugally Sustainable