Diatomaceous Earth - My new miracle mineral for yeast infections

You may think I am crazy.  I am moving toward a more natural way of life and enjoying all the research and all the knowledge that I am gaining through the experience.  Some people just don't understand those of us changing our routines and our habits to ensure a more healthy beneficial lifestyle.

But I don't think I am crazy.

And those ladies that have ever experienced a yeast infection. Stay tuned - you will want to read on about my recent find, my recent miracle mineral.

Diatomaceous Earth

It's like gold if you have ever experienced a painful yeast infection that got way out of hand.  I have repeatedly experienced these and begrudgingly take the prescription flouritcian.... each time.  That was until I got my last one.  I was tired of taking those meds and tired of dealing with the symptoms and wanted to dig deeper to find what was the root cause of their persistent return.

That's where the research came in.

And thanks to this wonderful healthy blogger, Wellness Mama and more and more research, I was able to find a healthy natural recourse.

When I found out about diatomaceous earth, I researched it to the point of wanting to try it confidently.  I bought some and tried a teaspoon in a glass of water 3 hours after I had my last meal and voila... I had relief.  I mean like that same evening I was starting to feel true relief.

So what is it?  Tiny microscopic fossilized diatoms (skeletal remains of hard shelled algae). They attract via their negative charge and then remove the yeast organisms from the body.

There is more to my story, however.  More than just diatomaceous earth.


The quick fix wasn't my only intention for retreating this persistent nuisance.  I found out through more research and helpful information from Wellness Mama what I need to include in my diet AND exclude from my diet to put the nasty yeast varmints completely at bay that were causing this problem for me.

They had gotten out of control so I was taking back control of what went in my body to keep them from "feasting" on the sugars and overpopulating.

And here I am months in to trying my new routine with no recent yeast infections.  This new routine has been excluding white sugar when possible and including probiotic full foods like kefir, sauerkraut, and probiotic supplements on a daily basis.

Writing that paragraph makes me giddy because - it was frustrating how often I was dealing with a yeast infection.

So there you have it.  Your quick fix and your mainstream maintenance routine and the resources for you to do your own research.


The battle for change is worth the end result.

First natural hair care and now natural makeup

You remember my big claims for soap nuts.  If not you need to read about them.  I still use them in this natural hair care journey I am on.... but now, I am mixing them with Shikakai and Amla and I like that combination EVEN BETTER!

Going "no-poo" has been quite the journey.  And I will share more about the ups and downs and the trials and ERRORS in another post.

But now I have started to branch out into replacing more and more products that I use on a daily basis.  Especially those products that I apply to my face and body.  With that I am venturing out into some DIY recipes for foundation and makeup.  I like some that I am experimenting with but I didn't want to have to purchase the "extra" natural chemicals that I needed for the 'sunscreen' factor.

So that led me to the big new find:  Joppa Minerals.  I just found out about them and researched their ingredients and I am impressed.  And with all their COLORS, I decided to purchase some samples to get me started and try out a few.

I can't wait for them to come in.  I am totally psyched too because they are $10 dollars cheaper than the SAME size in the Bare Escentuals brand (which I have heard bad things about).  So with them being a safer more natural product AND TEN DOLLARS CHEAPER for a full size- How can I go wrong!?

As soon as I can try out my samples, I will post my reviews.

To visit JOPPA MINERALS Click Here.

Till next time, my DIY friends......

Soap Nuts - Shout from the house top - I LOVE SOAP NUTS

As i continue on my no-poo journey, I am making some headway - Ha get it!? head-way... anywho, I digress.  I wasn't yet crazy with how my hair "felt" after the rosemary/borax wash combo.  And I will probably still do a rinse with the rosemary 'tea' but I won't have that as my first choice of wash anymore with the Borax.   But i will know if I need to switch to something - it's a possibility.

So after I wasn't crazy with the results, I continued to read and read and search about no-poo and low-poo methods online.  I found tons of stuff and testimonials and alternative "no-poo" recipes and options.  I was especially hooked on all the information they have on a Facebook page, for No Poo / Low Poo .  Here is where I learned more about my new found love "Soap Nuts" and their links that lead me to more and more information, which convinced me to buy them and try them......

I love my soap nuts.

And they really aren't nuts, (and btw, neither am I) even though my husband might tell you differently right now as he watches my obsession play out with all my endless research and hours on the internet.

They are soap berries.  All natural dried berries from trees that are found in both the eastern and western hemispheres, but are native to India and Nepal.

And here is the link where i found a great recipe....from Wellness Mama's blogsite.

I followed it precisely and haven't frozen any of it yet from my batch made Tuesday night - but have washed twice with the results and may wash again this weekend to use it up.   Next time I plan to modify it a little in order to use less "berries" by simply adding boiling water to a "thermos," let it "brew" overnight, allowing it to steep and come to room temp.  This may give me enough for only 1 wash, potentially, so I don't have to let it spoil.  If that doesn't work - I will start to freeze portions of my batch so I don't have to add a preservative.

Basic Recipe Soap Nuts "no poo" hair wash:

5 Soap "nuts" / berries... placed into a muslin bag and tied up.

Use distilled water...

 3 cups total of distilled water.  But start with 2 cups....

Boil in your pot: the muslin bag in 2 cups water.
Then lower heat and cover to simmer for 30 minutes before adding that 3rd cup.
Let steep after adding last cup till liquid is room temp.

And that's it!  You should end up with a brownish liquid.

When I use it to wash my hair, I use about a cup's worth of this tan/brown liquid and apply it to dry hair and start at my roots but let it run down the length.  Then I massage it into my scalp and clamp my hair up on top my head and let it sit for 10 minutes before I rinse in my shower.  During this time, I oil cleanse my face. 

And beware - do not get this in your eyes.  It will feel like pepper spray from what I have read.

Keep on keeping on your hair journey - DIY friends.... It gets better!!!

No-poo continues....

Okay we are about a month in with this NO-POO thing!  For the last few weeks I have been removing sulfates and commercially common shampoos from the regimen and in-turn almost having to remove the use of "cones" found in most of the products and processes applied to my hair.

The cones did their job but they also would continue to build up and require sulfates to remove them.  So I am trying to eliminate them, for the most part, also from my regimen.

"Cones" are in everything from the conditioners I used to the leave-in detanglers, to the heat protectant serums. EVERYTHING that I loved most when using my hair products has some form of "cone" in it.  So this experiment/change for me, is drastic and I am still trying the experiment to judge for myself my own satisfaction with the results.

So at about a month trying no-poo, what do I think?

I think there is A.L.O.T of information out there of attempts and trials and grand results of going no-poo.  From the extreme water-only washing to the co-washing (conditioners only) and natural ingredient shampoo bars to making concoctions of my latest find using none-other than BORAX.

So I am going to try Borax diluted with water as my next attempt at no-poo.  

My Original Borax and Rosemary Hair Wash Recipe 7/6/2014 = 

Boil 1/2 gallon of water and add 1 1/2 tablespoons (roughly) of dried rosemary herb. Let that come to a full boil for about 20 minutes.  Strain the herb (after doing this recipe I realized I should have let the rosemary steep longer to get a more intense color for helping with the grey hair and that might help the scent to be stronger in the after effects; oh well- so next time...) and in a glass bowl while the water is still warm add a cup of Borax.  Let the Borax dissolve by stirring.  Then use a funnel to poor the solution into a gallon size jug.  Add distilled water to complete the gallon for proportion (pretty close).  Refrigerate the solution.

Up until now I have been happy with my results of using the natural only ingredient conditioning cleanser I found from the folks at Renpure.  But I wanted to try to get this strategy a bit more 'economical' with all the reviews I have read about less washing and using simple products.  I don't use the ACV rinse as much anymore because I have been using the natural conditioning cleanser, but I may have to add ACV to the routine with the Borax (there are mixed reviews on that). However, the biggest change for me as I continue this will be the delays in washing my hair.  I have only went a couple days or so (without washing my hair) during the transition period and now I am on day 3 from my last hair/scalp wash (which was following my root touch up with permanent color -- I know -- don't judge). And my scalp is still clean, not flaky and to my surprise - NOT OILY AT ALL.  And that last wash was using a Renpure product with Argon oil.

All my life I have had to shampoo by the next day and at the most by day 2 after washing because of the oil buildup on my scalp being unbearable.  So this is the best part for me. That and the fact I haven't had to deal with dandruff since this started.  That was an infrequent issue for me anyway, but still something I had to deal with every couple weeks or so when i would get flakes and build up on my scalp.

Another recent find I like -- but remember a LITTLE goes a LONG WAY with this product -- is grapeseed oil.  I don't recommend it for cooking - from my research finds, but for hair and skin it has the reputation of being AMAZING.  and it is cheap!  I am liking the results so far.

My hair is down to my waist, so my ends are dry and challenged after so much over-abundance and abuse of the "cones" that I'm no longer making available to them. Every dimethicone known to man as been caked on my ends at some point... so I try to baby the ends of my hair with oils - but again - A LITTLE goes a LONG WAY peeps. (Place a few drops in your hand, rub your palms together till you just see a sheen coating, then rub your palms through the ends of your hair first and working your way up.  Don't apply this oil to your scalp unless you are doing  a scalp treatment for dander or dryness.

I have made my concoction as you see in the recipe above with the Borax and rosemary herb. (I saw the rosemary as an ingredient in someone's hair rinse.)  I am going to try them together as my next round for scalp washing.  And I do plan to follow with an ACV rinse (this time I have added coconut water) and see how I like those results.

If you care, follow my posts and keep up with my findings.  I will let you know what I think soon.

Are you co-washing, doing an alternate version of no-poo, or going fully no-poo?

Are you considering the no-poo challenge?

Share your experiences in the comments...

The Natural Hair Care Journey Continues

Well my "no-poo" strategy is not yet perfected, but I am continuing with the natural method of cleansing my hair sulfate free and even - "cones" free for styling and conditioning.

The "cones" free part seems to be the hardest for me because I don't like the fact I can't "wet comb" my hair like I used to when I was over-using all my products with dimethicones in them.

So as I have worked through and past my "waxy" stage (using the club soda recommendation, noted here) I have been concentrating my research on natural substitutes for my long-time love for silicones that closed my hair cuticle and gave me the sleek look (even when I hadn't used a flat iron).

This is what I found.  Again, I am sharing my information before I experiment, but from what I am reading, it will be worth a try.  It is grapeseed oil. I am not going to endorse a brand or anything, yet all indications point to buying the pure stuff. And I do plan to buy some in the coming days and try it out when using hot appliances to see if it truly protects my hair and gives me the wanted results.

Stay tuned and I will keep you posted on my latest natural hair care journey.

MINI diy MOM

formerly 

SOLO dot MOM

I can't stop touching my hair

At least, that is what I "used" to say....

This post is about the "transition" waxy period and my current saga of going without commercial sulfate shampoo to more natural methods and shampoo bar cleansing for my hair.  So this not an official "no-poo" post, but close.  At the very least I am dealing with the same issues as those in transition for completely no-poo hair care.

I have always been a fanatic about hair care.  I take pride in how my hair looks for the day and it has always been a top rated item in my list of "to-do's" for personal hygiene. This was true even before I was 15 and started working in a hair salon as a shampoo-girl.  But those few years definitely enhanced my hair faring obsession.

Now at the tender age of having two teenage children and 3 stepchildren, I am still going at it, trying to better my care of hair.

So with my current fetish with cleansing sans "bad chemicals," I started to try all-natural hair cleansers and moved on to the all-natural, made by hand, shampoo bars.  This is where the waxy gunk started to accumulate in massive proportions on the shafts of my "down-to-my-waist" length of hair.  There were days I was going to work and felt like I hadn't washed my hair in weeks. Even though I just washed and dried it.

I tried the diy-vinegar rinses, distilled water rinse, and even purchased a shower head filter (because I knew we must have hard water).  But I was still being left with the "waxies."

Those who have conquered their transition phase say this period of the waxies will pass over time. And yet, I have an important conference out of town next week where I will be working and I do not want this new "heavy waxed state" to be my hair's tale to tell. So I have decided to start again AFTER that event is behind me.

Admittedly I have already used some sulfate induced clarifying shampoo to get me past the waxies during this phase, so when I start again, I hope to be able to steer away from that temptation and take the time to weather the storm of the waxies and just wait it out.

I have continued to do a lot of research of trial and errors that people have done to get through this transition phase, whether they were using the shampoo bars that were all natural or going completely 'poo-free,' we all seem to be dealing with the same waxy buildup and the same description of our hair-mess.

So when I found this link:  http://no-poo.livejournal.com/586755.html, I was happy; and yes I do plan to try eggs next because she found them successful as a treatment in her attempts of many recipes. And here's another link: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/archive/index.php/t-73056.html   which is from a thread of responses about the same problem, and their find? Club soda! So I want to try that too!! (And here's a link for how to use the club soda on your hair.)

But if I have to carry sulfate shampoo with me to my conference next week, no judging, eh?

And when I get back and can restrict my hair care to the non-chemical methods, I will keep you posted of my journey to more natural tresses.

MINI diy MOM

Formerly SOLO dot MOM