I promised a better picture. So, here it is. Be nice. It took a lot of will power to post a no-makeup picture up here without retouching my imperfections. I also realize that after pictures don't mean much without before pictures but, too bad. I can't. I have to draw the line somewhere.
I look totally different without makeup, right??? SCARY! But, I am super happy with the results of going 100% crap free.
Low down
Face: Progress after 3 weeks of the OCM. My skin is MUCH clearer with a much better texture. It's well balanced; never too dry or too oily. However, there are still some other things I want to address with it and I will talk about that more later.
Hair: This is my hair after 3 weeks without using traditional shampoo. All I did was let it air dry after the shower ((I had to pull my bangs back like a 4 year old because I'm trying to grow them out and they are a really super weird length)). My hair isn't fabulous yet but I must say it looks much better than this if i brush it (totally forgot to do that). The waves gets much softer and shinier and my roots have more lift!
What now?
I have every intention of keeping up with this routine in its entirety. I love it. I love being able to pronounce everything I put on my body and having positive results is a huge plus. I CANNOT use chemicals on my face. Every acne medication and cleanse I've ever used (seriously everything: proactive, clear and clear, prescriptions etc...) ends up worsening the issue. As far as my hair goes, I'm super happy as well. I know it doesn't look like a hair commercial YET but, my hair used to suck. It was wavy when I was younger, got super curly in middle school and then, after much abuse, was just damaged and was pretty much straight/frizzy (not so cute). Now it carries a consistent wave and I'm very excited to see how it will look in weeks to come.
Back to my skin.
If you read my last post, you know that I mentioned starting WAP me Pretty. I read about this through cavegirleats. So far, I have addressed the issues with my skin topically through the OCM. WAP me pretty will help me deal with my skin internally. It's based on using known complexion beautifiers in their natural state (sulfur, antibiotics, and vitamin A) as opposed to using them in chemically altered commercial formulas. I will be taking a cod liver supplement, brewers yeast, and sauerkrap sauerkraut. YUM!!!
Last week I started with the brewers yeast and sauerkraut. Today, I got my cod liver oil in the mail (YAY!) and took my first serving about 2 hours ago. Brewers yeast is GROSS!!! OMG! But I started putting it in my smoothie in the morning (find my recipe in the archives) and that helps a TON. Sauerkraut is actually really growing on me and I totally don't mind a serving everyday with lunch.
As far as the cod liver oil is concerned, it's DELICIOUS!!! I even documented my first dose!!! (My face is yellow because I'm wearing that turmeric mask on my face... I'm not in liver failure.
YUMMM YUUMMM cod liver oil
That's definitely going on my shake in the morning!!! HOLLY nasty!
As my mama always said, "SUFFER for beauty, baby girl!"
Chelle xoxo
Oh, hush! You are beautiful. Your nicely toned skin makes your eyes pop!
ReplyDeleteI sprinkle brewer's yeast on my popcorn, but I'm sure you could hide it in a sauce.
Michelle H.
You're too sweet. I can hardly taste the brewer's yeast in my smoothie but I added the cod liver oil and it RUINED the whole smoothie lol... I guess I'll just have to tough it out and take is by itself. I'm sure I'll get used to it. Thanks for reading Michelle!
ReplyDeletechelle xoxo
You're a rock star! I can't tell you how gratifying and FUN it is to read about someone else's experiences with a regimen I've had so much success with. And it's NOT an easy road. I have had to make some trade-offs for the "natural" regimen. When I was on birth control, topical benzoyl peroxide/antibiotic combo, oral antibiotics, topical sulfur, and Retin-A I certainly had lovely skin. But after learning what I've learned in this community, keeping those things in my life just wasn't an option! So I've persisted in the detective work and have hopefully landed on something that's going to continue to work better & better. It's a major shift to go off BC and sometimes it takes awhile. Something I've added lately is a high-quality zinc supplement. As much as I hate supplementation, there are just certain things I'm not sure I get enough of, and after taking a "zinc tally test" I did find I was deficient despite my weekly oyster habit. Zinc is helpful in wound healing/skin regeneration so we'll see. I'll let you know what I figure out with that.
ReplyDelete-Liz
OMG!!! I'm dying right now! Thanks so much for reading! Your blog is amazing. My mama and I read it religiously!!! I'm glad that your flattered and not furious that I steal all your shizz and just repost it on my blog because I think I'm as cool as you in my head. I'm interested in the zinc supplementation though. Let me know how it goes I used to take one (before I went paleo) and I never noticed a differece. I'd love to try one out now that i'm all cleaned out. Definitely keep me posted on what you find with that :)
ReplyDeletechelle xoxo
Okay so I finally took the plunge and started today w/ no poo, coconut oil, OCM, and am trying no DO. I have a question though: how does the oil + baking soda work for the stink/sweat? I moved to Oregon, so at least I don't have to deal with the humidity any more, but I'm a teacher and sweat a lot in the classroom and there is only so much I can take w/ sweat stains and stink. So for real. . . does it actually help with the sweat factor? I'm starting today to test it out, but won't really know till I get back in front of the class :) Thanks for all the tips and recipes and BTW you look great!!!
ReplyDelete