What was life like before pharmacies and grocery stores in every town? So many simple things we take for granted – like handsoap. Or bandaids. Or ibuprofen. Or even shampoo! For most of human history, you just couldn’t go buy this stuff. It didn’t exist. There was nowhere to buy it. And once there were …
Thanaka Wood the Burmese Beauty Secret
I smiled at the woman sweeping the sidewalk. What WAS that yellow stuff on her face? Trying not to stare, and unable to communicate, but also ridiculously curious, I pointed at my cheeks and gave a questioning shrug. She pointed at her yellow-swirled cheeks and then pointed at the sun. Aha! Sun protection? From beautiful swirls …
Foraging for Beauty
Sometimes, what you’re meant to do just finds you. It turns out that I’m The Beauty Forager. Who knew? I never intended that to happen. In fact, when I first moved to England 6 years ago, my experience with foraging was limited to some wild strawberries and blueberries in our backyard. I remember my mother telling me to chew red clover …
6 must-have natural beauty ingredients
Don’t you need a lot of special ingredients to make your own beauty products? I’m asked this question a lot in my workshops. It seems like you’d need a ton of expensive oils and hard to find ingredients to make effective natural beauty products. I thought the same thing too, before I started making them myself. Much …
6 Natural Alpha Hydroxy Acids for Smoother Skin
“Is it supposed to tingle quite this much?” I remember asking the esthetician. Reclining in the treatment chair for my supposedly relaxing pre-flight facial, I wasn’t feeling very relaxed. As the ‘tingling’ sensation got even stronger, I debated about whether I should ‘tough it out’ and risk a red-face for the next few days, or ask …
5 easy homemade beauty recipes
I think I was destined to work in natural beauty, because I’ve always been fascinated by what’s in our beauty products. I remember sitting in the bath and reading the side of the shampoo bottle. The ingredients baffled me. Sodium laura what? What was that stuff in my shampoo? Where did it come from? Did they use …
Readers' winter skincare secrets
One of my favorite aspects of running this community is the connection with other natural health & beauty fanatics around the world. The comments sections on many posts have turned into lively discussions about making body creams, using honey in your beauty routine, eating excessive kale, traditional cough and cold remedies and the oil cleansing method! …
Top 10 natural health & beauty projects of 2013
Blogging is a balance of writing new, interesting articles and recipes … and trying to get more people to see the stuff you’ve already written! After all, just because I created my DIY Deodorant recipe months ago, doesn’t mean it’s any less effective, or useful, to a new reader today. So as we approach the …
A DIY hair rinse that darkens your hair – naturally!
I’m going gray. Ok, maybe that’s not worthy of a headline. It happens to all of us at some point (if you’re lucky enough to keep your hair!) Although only in my early 30s, I’ve been coloring my hair to hide these ‘natural highlights’ since my mid-20s. And just recently I stopped. I can’t say …
6 beauty boosting herbal infusions
Are you an herbal infusion convert yet? I write about herbal infusions (wrongly called “herbal tea” … but there’s no tea in these caffeine-free brews!) a lot because I love them! Herbal infusions are a simple, gentle, inexpensive and effective way to get more herbal goodness into your daily life. Even the busy mother or office …
Is inner skincare the missing link?
Every woman is searching for the ultimate anti-wrinkle cream. (I know this, because the TV ads and magazines say so!) So … have you found it? That one magic potion that makes your skin smooth and glowing, every day? No? Neither have I. In fact, as I’ve written about before, anti-aging products can’t deliver the …
![Make a luxe facial oil for normal/oily skin [video tutorial]](https://i1.wp.com/amandacook.me/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/IMG_1555.jpg?resize=350%2C263&ssl=1)
Make a luxe facial oil for normal/oily skin [video tutorial]
Who’s got oil-prone skin? I do! And if you do too, you’re going to love this light and toning facial oil. What?! Oil for oily skin?! Oh yes. Much like the Oil Cleansing Method, just a few drops of this light facial oil will keep your skin soft, without clogging your pores. I first shared …
3 tips for choosing healthier skincare products
This post was supposed to be about common skincare ingredients to avoid. You know the culprits … parabens, formaledhyde, SLS, BHA, triclosan …and especially our beloved fragrance! But as I tried to narrow down the list, to a few highly-memorable ingredients, I got stuck. Is probable endocrine disruptor worse than may be contaminated with known carcinogens? What about skin sensitivities and …
![Oil Cleansing Method [video tutorial]](https://i0.wp.com/amandacook.me/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/OCM_videotutorial.jpg?resize=350%2C263&ssl=1)
Oil Cleansing Method [video tutorial]
Sometimes I forget that not everyone has been on my natural health beauty journey for the last 4 years. Because how is it that I’ve gone 4 years without talking about the Oil Cleansing Method? This little gem (and internet cult sensation) is the cornerstone of my natural beauty routine. But I’ve recently learned that …
Anti-aging products don't work.
It’s something we all know deep down inside. But still we hope. Maybe I just don’t know enough. If I kept up with the trends, I’m sure that new breakthrough technology would help me retain my youthful glow. Maybe I’m just too cheap – if I spent more money on that fancy cream, it would …