Simple Beauty - Black Soap

I love a good hot shower, especially when I am stressed. But hot water can dry out skin, so I have to be careful how I cleanse. I also don't like complex beauty rituals, so when I find a product that can solve several issues at once, I gravitate towards it. My latest obsession is African Black Soap.

African Black Soap is just what it sounds like - a black bar of soap, and the recipe originated in Africa. While it was originally created from plantains to nurture Nubian skin, it has been found to be fantastic for those of us with super fair and sensitive complexions. It helps control acne, improves eczema, and it moisturizes. It is even gentle enough to use on your face.

I am at the age where acne and wrinkles meet. Since I began using the black soap, I have noticed that that my skin is not as dry and flaky, my wrinkles have slightly smoothed, and my blemishes have decreased. I still have to use a moisturizer after I shower, but it is for maintenance. I no longer feel like my skin has to be soothed directly out of the hot water.

Soap stored upright in a cup

I also love the black soap because it is free of a lot of additives and it doesn't have any synthetic fragrance. Since one of the main ingredients is plantains, it has a faint banana smell. The soap does make black lather, but don't worry; it won't dye your skin or your bathtub. Just remember to rinse your tub well after using it or you may be scrubbing later if you are like me and don't like stray marks!

Black soap isn't as cheap as the national brands. At about $1 an ounce, I want to make it last as long as possible. To keep soap from melting away, I store it vertically in a cup so it can dry as completely as possible between uses. Storing it in a tall cup also helps to keep it dry while the shower is on so my soap bar isn't being washed down the drain.

My children are just as fair skinned as I am, and I have used the soap on them occasionally when they had eczema outbreaks that I felt like were from environmental factors. I noticed great improvement with just one or two uses.

I picked up 2 8 ounce bars from Amazon for $15.95. Target has 3.5 ounce bars for $3.97, and I noticed that Wal-Mart is getting ready to stock it. Look for this soap in the skin care aisle, not with the nationally branded soaps.

Have you ever used African Black Soap? If you have, I'd love to hear your thoughts, so leave a comment!

Simple Beauty - 30 Day Water Challenge

Spring brings a sense of renewed vigor for me. I just have a great desire to improve my home, my activities, and my health. So while searching Pinterest for a little inspiration, I kept seeing posts about water challenges and how they could change a person's life. They could improve skin and digestion, improve circulation, and even help with weightloss with no other effort other than drinking a gallon of water a day. Well, that sounds like a great deal to me!

But there was a problem. Link after link showed no follow up to the challenge. I don't know about you, but I like empirical evidence. I want to know that someone else has tried something before I put myself through the agony. Because of this, I am going to be your guinea pig.

That's right. For 30 days, starting today, I am going to drink a gallon of water a day. I am going to photograph my face each morning to see if there are any visible changes. I will also document if I notice any other side effects like weightloss or energy or digestion improvement.

This isn't going to be without a little suffering on my part. I stay pretty busy with my family, so it's going to take concentrated effort for me to drink that much water. I also have quite a bit of traveling coming up, so I am going to have to work around that. But I'm will to do it if for no other reason than to have some documented evidence about how this challenge works for someone.

*Disclaimer - I am not a physician, and I make no recommendations for anyone's personal health.

Simple Beauty - Product Review - Cliganic Jojoba Oil

I have sensitive skin. It's oily and dry and prone to eczema, especially when juniper trees or ragweed are blooming. Almost every conventional beauty product I try causes some sort of reaction, especially if I leave it on for too long, so for a long time I either avoided wearing much make up or I had to remove it almost immediately after I got home. But after discovering organic Jojoba Oil, those problems are gone!

Jojoba oil is produced by the seed of the  Simmondsia chinensis plant which is native to North America. It is high in vitamin E, so it is excellent at repairing skin and healing wounds. It is also close to skin's own sebum, so it does not clog pores like coconut oil can do. Jojoba oil is also a great base if you apply essential oils. 

I love jojoba oil because it removes makeup while soothing irritation. For a long time I couldn't even wear eye makeup during allergy seasons because my eyelids would swell with eczema. But the jojoba oil removes eye-shadow, eyeliner, and mascara easily (even if it's waterproof!) and it soothes the eyelid to decrease and prevent swelling.  It also helps to heal acne and it soothes irritated skin after tweezing (goodbye uni-brow!).  

If you have never cleaned your face with oil before, be prepared for some skin adjustment. It can take some time for oil production to regulate, so you may experience a few extra blemishes during the first week of use. After that though, be prepared for a beautiful glow! If the jojoba oil agrees with your skin, you should find that your skin is softer, your acne has decreased, and your fine lines have diminished. 

Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with any jojoba oil company or any included links. I have not received any compensation for this post. I merely love to share what works for me!