I can’t say enough about silk pillowcases.  I love mine because I don’t wake up with creases in my face from my pillowcase.  I no longer have to go through the morning with my face looking like I just got up!  I also love my silk pillowcase because it seems to be better for my hair which needs all the help it can get.  I’ve found that putting my hair up at night and sleeping on silk allows me to go longer between shampoos.  My theory is that I’m not pulling my hair and stimulating the roots during the night and therefore my hair doesn’t get as greasy.  My daughter tells me that her baby with curly hair gets fewer tangles sleeping on silk.  I’ve been pleased with the durability of silk.  I don’t give it special treatment and it has held up perfectly being washed with the cotton sheets and towels.  I gave several as gifts before I indulged myself and bought my own. It’s an affordable luxury.   I purchased OOSilk brand on eBay.

If you’re brunette and tend to have oily hair, here is a simple hair rinse you can make yourself.  I’ve used it for years.  Simply brew a tea with a handful of Rosemary sprigs from your garden, or buy them at the grocery store in the herb section of the produce department.  Place sprigs in enough boiling water to cover plus an inch or two and steep for 24 hours.  The water will turn a reddish brown.  Take the sprigs out and pour the tea into a glass jar and refrigerate.  Fill a small plastic travel bottle with the tea and keep it in your bathroom, refilling from the refrigerator when necessary.  (It may develop a ‘mother’ like vinegar in the fridge, but this doesn’t matter.)  Work a little of the tea through your hair after shampooing.  Especially take the time to massage it into your scalp.  Don’t rinse out.  You can also apply a little to the oily parts of your scalp between shampoos to gain a day before the next shampoo.

If you’re a wanna-be chemist, you’ll enjoy making your own cosmetics.  When I was little, I knew I wanted to be a chemist.  I had a small collection of glass beakers, test tubes, etc. that I played chemist with.  Much later I actually took Chemistry and quickly realized I wasn’t chemist material!  But apparently, there is still some latent interest there, because I like concocting my own make-up, skincare, and hair products.  Yeah, a bit geeky.  I do have to force myself to measure, but overall, making my own beauty products has been a good experience.  I buy my ingredients from www.makingcosmetics.com.  Because I’m buying medium sized jars of ingredients, sharing with someone is essential.  I doubt one individual could use up the cream and vitamin additives before they lost potency.  So if you love to experiment, (or you want to follow recipes provided) to make wholesome make-up that has no dangerous chemicals, you might want to try this approach.  I cheat and order one of their base creams for make-up that is already mixed with ingredients I like.  Then I add colorant, vitamins, etc, to make a foundation.  Or I order one of their base creams with ingredients that suit my skin for a night cream and add Vitamin A (Retinol) myself which is far less expensive from Making Cosmetics than buying a night cream with Retinol off the shelf at the drug store or department store.  And I know exactly how much Retinol I’m getting.

I check each item I purchase to make sure there are no harmful chemicals.  The site I use to determine safety is http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/.  This site is a non-profit that rates the safety of chemicals used in cosmetics, skin care products, etc.  You can look up by brand and item name or by specific ingredients.  Such a helpful resource!  So far, only one ingredient I wanted to purchase from Making Cosmetics had any concern and it was minimal.  Making Cosmetics provides healthy ingredients and I’m so grateful to be able to slather cream and make-up on my face and not worry what harmful chemicals I might be introducing into my body.