Get Active With Activated Charcoal: Part 1

I have a very long list of DIY beauty recipes that I'm dying to try and tweak to my satisfaction. Recently I decided to use my activated charcoal in different ways other than for teeth whitening. I found two recipes that looked very promising and that has pretty decent reviews. I spend way too much time reading reviews. It's funny how some posts have reviews with mini cat fights under them. Makes for good entertainment.

What is activated charcoal, you ask? Well, it's a tasteless, odorless, non-toxic powder that can be used as an antidote for poisons because of its high absorption properties and it also aides in digestion. I've read that it works topically on bites as well. Wellness Mama has a great post with a lot of detail and history about activated charcoal.

The first recipe I did was for an all natural homemade mascara. Why bother making my own mascara? Well, Food Babe reminded me recently of all the unnecessary "ingredients" that go into most store-bought mascaras:

• PARABENS - Used as a preservative and is an endocrine disrupter that messes with your hormones. (Top Offenders: L’Oreal, Cover Girl, Avon, Bobbi Brown, Clinique, Maybelline, Neutrogena, Revlon, Chanel, Lancome)

• PARFUM (a.k.a. fragrance) - Why do you need parfum on your eyes – that’s crazy. Oh it’s to cover up the smell of coal tar! This is even in some products marketed as “unscented.” Some fragrance ingredients can trigger allergies, asthma and acne, linked to cancer and neurotoxicity, and are harmful to fish and other wildlife.  (Top Offenders: Neutrogena, Lavera, Milani)

• ALUMINUM POWDER - Considered a neurotoxin and linked to Alzheimer’s disease and other cancers. (Top Offenders: Cover Girl, Estee Lauder)

• BHA and BHT: Used as a preservatives and is an endocrine disruptor and may cause cancer (BHA). Harmful to fish and other wildlife. (Top Offenders: Maybelline, Rimmel)

• PROPYLENE GLYCOL:  Linked to acne, eczema, and other skin allergies. (Top Offenders: L’Oreal, Mineral Fusion, Rimmel, Avon, Maybelline)

• COAL TAR DYES: p-phenylenediamine and colours listed as “CI” followed by a five digit number. The U.S. colour name may also be listed (e.g. “FD&C Blue No. 1″ or “Blue 1″). Potential to cause cancer and may be contaminated with heavy metals toxic to the brain. (Top Offender: Maybelline)

• FORMALDEHYDE RELEASING PRESERVATIVES -  Look for DMDM hydantoin, diazolidinyl urea, imidazolidinyl urea, methenamine and quarternium-15. Used in a variety of cosmetics. Slowly release small amounts of formaldehyde, which causes cancer. (Top Offender: Almay)

• RETINYL ACETATE (VITAMIN A ACETATE) - Biochemical or cellular level changes, Cancer, Developmental/reproductive toxicity, Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive) (Top Offenders: Elizabeth Arden, Almay, Revlon)

  *Ingredient research provided by The Environmental Working Group and David Suzuki Foundation*

  
  

I always had an issue with the mascaras I bought. I realized that all those fancy rounded brushes didn't make my lashes curl, the skinny one didn't make the bottom lashes much thicker, the waterproof mascara meant that my lashes would fall out in a few days and so [I had kids and] I gave up. I haven't worn mascara in a long time until I saw this recipe. I LOVE it. Best mascara I've ever used, seriously. I curled my lashes super close to the lid a few times and applied two coats. One eye, than the other allowing time for the first to dry and so on. It was so easy to apply. There were no pieces of mascara flying everywhere as I brushed it in. My lashes didn't feel like I was applying Elmer's Glue either. It all went on really nicely without having to do any touch ups or follow up with an eyelash brush to remove any clumps. Can you believe that? NO SMUDGES! It didn't dry immediately but it was set after a few minutes.



This is what the recipe calls for:

• 2 tsp of coconut oil (not shown in pic)
• 4 tsp of aloe vera
• 1/2 tsp beeswax (or more in humid climates)
• 1-2 capsules activated charcoal (or you can use cocoa/cacao for brown)

Directions:

1. Put coconut oil, aloe, and beeswax in small sauce pan over low heat and stir until beeswax is melted.
2. Remove from heat and add activated charcoal, stir until smooth. 
3. Put your mascara in the bottle. I got mine from Amazon. 

Tweakage:

I used 1 teaspoon of beeswax and I'm very happy with the hold, even in this Bahamian heat. The aloe did separate like the comments under the Thank Your Body: Homemade Mascara post, but it still worked great. You just need to mix it up with your brush a little while its inside the tube.
I didn't have activated charcoal capsules so I used a heaping 1/4 teaspoonful of the powder I had on hand.

I used a syringe to get the mascara inside. I was able to draw it up and out with one hand while holding the sauce pan on and angle. You can get one for free usually at local pharmacy. Just ask them at the counter for an infant syringe. Or if you happen to have one already, just make sure its clean. Oh, then keep it with your cosmetic making goodies so it doesn't get mixed up with baby medicines.

I think next time I might try it with only 3 teaspoonful of aloe, although I may have to cut back on the beeswax. It also made a bit more than what the tube could hold, so I will double it next time and fill two tubes.

Take Note:

Try to be sure that all of your tools are dry before you start because any water added can cause the mascara to get mildewy. This is all natural with only aloe acting as a preservative and coconut oil as an antibacterial. No artificial preservatives are added so if I find that something turns out gross like that, I'll be sure to post it.

Making mascara was a messy task for me. I say, if it wasn't messy, than it wasn't fun! But if you don't care for messy-fun than the easiest way to clean up is with a wet cloth. You may need a few. Try to wipe and than use another clean part of the cloth or else you'll just rub it in.

Tiny Extra Tip:

After I had both of my babies I experienced hair loss. After my second pregnancy I noticed a lot of my lashes fell out making spaces on my lids. I started brushing coconut oil on them at night and sometimes after a shower during the day. I notice a drastic change within the week! Happy to say they are much fuller now.


TADA! The results are in: beautiful lashes!

I put this on before a date night to watch some comedy. I laughed so hard that I cried and wiped my face a few times. When I got home and looked in the mirror there were still no smudges. So I wore it to bed to see what would happen. I usually sleep on my back and not on my face, but with my eyes closed all night, still no smudges. So to really test it out I went on a run in the morning. It was super humid and  I sweat like nobody's business. Still no smudges BUT the sweat that dripped into my eye burned! Not enough to run to water and wash it out but enough to be annoying. After a few hard blinks it went away. :)

So happy I took the time to do this that I did something else too: (to be continued)

Pudgy to Fit Really Quick

My second pregnancy was pretty tough on me. My body couldn't handle it and in the end of the 9 months, I could hardly walk. After my daughter was born I was in the worst shape of my life. I am 5 ft and I was 149lbs. Looking in the mirror made me terrified that I was going to look and feel that way forever, but then looking at all the beautiful clothes in the closet that I wore before my first baby made me furiously determined. That's when I promised myself I'd get back to how I was (or as close as I could). Below are some Pre-Baby shots.

Catching dinner

Enjoying life with my husband

Of course I want to be healthy and live a long life but sometimes people, like myself, need short term goals. I'm pretty hard on myself and even though I'll feel better after losing 5 pounds, I'll still be sad that I'm not as comfortable in my body as I used to be. I don't feel better mentally until I look better physically. Superficial, I know, but I never had weight problems growing up so I had to learn ways to deal with the extra weight physically (tired faster, not able to hold my baby for long periods while standing up...), mentally ("Why am I so fat? My husband should get rid of me"), and emotionally (feeling sorry for myself, envious of people who don't have these issues).

After having my son

After having my daughter

GOAL 1: Eating Right

First I just want to mention that before starting this mission I had a great understanding of what healthy food was and what it could do for me because of the book Clean by Alejandro Junger. This was an amazing jumpstart to great health in addition to the already active lifestyle I had before I got pregnant. I didn't do his 21 day cleanse but rather used his guidelines for food and smoothie making. If you're new to eating healthy I recommend starting there. 

Luckily I don't live near any chain restaurants, so if I want to eat I have to cook! Cookbooks were my first investment. My favorite one is Well Fed by Melissa Joulwan. I've already pre-ordered her second book. Not only did she introduce me to the Paleo Diet but she also has some amazing tips to save time making nutritious meals. With two babies under two, I could use some time! I'm over-the-moon happy with this book. 

After much research on Paleo, I decided to give it a shot. I found many books online for free with my Kindle on Amazon. Some good, some not but it was free so I just kept the good ones. I subscribed to some blogs like, Mark's Daily Apple, and Food Babe (not 'Paleo' but clean eating site) and they give me daily reminders to keep up the healthy eating and I get to see success stories from other people whose lives have change from this diet. 

RESULTS: 

With just eating Paleo for 3 weeks, with little to no exercise, my husband and I lost 10 pounds each. It was such a relief for me. My husband wasn't trying to lose weight but I can tell that he is now really motivated to go out and exercise by doing things he enjoys. 

GOAL 2: Workout Regularly

I don't get a lot of time to myself during the day. Most of my workouts consist of pretending I'm a bunny rabbit and hopping down the hallway. But even with two little ones, I force myself to stop looking at my to-do list of chores and open my laptop (forgetting Google and Facebook exist) to Blogilates. I recommend this site to ANYONE who likes to work out. It's based off pilates but I don't think there's one person out there that's too cool for this. She had tons of HIIT (high intensity interval training) workouts too. When I was going to a personal trainer before my wedding, he would have me do planks and leg lifts that are exactly what's done in her videos. Not only are they wonderful workouts, but she plans every month out for you (always different so you don't plateau), has links set up for you to get to them without searching YouTube, has a whole calendar for beginners, a new app for those on the go, but above all - she's an awesome person. You can tell that she truly cares about inner beauty first. Her inspiring videos are FREE and her radiant personality is motivating. You won't want to let her down. 

In addition to Blogilates, I like to continue educating myself by reading different types of fitness books. I really liked The Primal Fitness Blueprint by Mark Sisson. He talks about things like chronic cardio that really makes sense. He also pushes the fact that the best workouts are the ones that you're having fun doing. You can get his book free when you subscribe to his site.... He inspired me to get the paddle board that I've always wanted. I follow his primal fitness plan and mix it up with the Blogilates videos that correspond to what I'm working on that day.

My awesome inflatable SUP

I know running almost goes against The Primal Fitness but it's the "mommy time" that I get to myself early in the morning before the family is up. I don't run everyday, in fact, I'm just starting out. Two books that have motivated me are Hot (Sweaty) Mamas by Kara Douglass Thom and Laurie Kocanda. They truly pushed me out the door with my running shoes on convincing me that I need to do this for myself without feeling so guilty. Not feeling guilty wasn't something I thought was possible but I came home and feel like a wonderful, happy mommy which is what my family deserves. READ IT! I'm also in the middle of reading Run Like a Mother by Dimity McDowell and Sarah Brown Shea. This book so far makes me want to toss the kids in the stroller and GO!

I currently run with a Navy Diver and according to him, I run incorrectly. Yep. I started dancing when I was two and stopped when I was pregnant with my first. I don't have runner's muscles, I have dancer's muscles. Instead of putting one foot in front of another quickly, I take graceful leaps... something I have to work on I suppose. 

I can't forget to mention Yoga. It does a world of wonders for my body and my mind. Even though it's only an hour per week and some morning stretches, it really makes me feel like I'm taking great care of myself. Those last 5 minutes of yoga that I share with myself is better than any decadent molten chocolate cake I'll ever experience. 

I'm not going to lie, if there were a CrossFit by me then I'd probably be doing that but this plan that I have now is the closest thing, if not, better. 

RESULTS:

I am close to my second level in the primal fitness book, I can run two miles (almost) non-stop, balancing on the paddle board is so much easier,  I can do some awesome yoga pose holds, but most importantly, I can hop like a bunny rabbit for much longer. (I'll take some 'after' shots soon)

AND NOW:

After having built a strong foundation for my healthy lifestyle, I felt it was time to compete with myself. I made a 'goal weight' for a month. I wanted to reach 125 lbs. My birthday was the actual day to weigh in. I did it! I was so proud of myself that I made another goal. My husband is sweet enough to make sure that they are "realistic"  goals so I don't let myself down. The first month was 5 lbs and this month is going to be 4 lbs. I know from some reading that the first 10 pounds is the easiest to lose so I understand that the rest will be stubborn. It will all eventually be gone though. :) 

I'm so happy in this journey that not only do I feel accomplished and almost back to my old self, but I also learned to cook healthy meals for my family. Plus, working out in front of the kids daily shows them that it's an important part of life. It's amazing how the solution to my problem ended in benefits for the entire family. <3