Ex-squeeze me? Baking soda?

While reading the highly educational site buzzfeed.com, I came across a page with 27 DIY, 2 ingredient beauty supplies.  Most of them I don't ever want to try (lipgloss made with crayons?, yuck).  But a few of these caught my eyes and I have decided to experiment.

The first one I tried is the baking soda deodorant.  I maybe use deodorant two to three times a week, I seem to sweat the same amount if I'm wearing it or not so I don't really like using it that much as it ruins my clothes.  Years ago when I gave up the couch for regular exercise, I noticed that I would sweat more when active (not so much when inactive) but it was a cleaner sweat if that makes sense.  I also had my pits lasered quite a few years ago due to a never ending case of ingrown hairs and some armpit acne from waxing them.  There is much less smell now as I don't have hairs grabbing onto bacteria and holding it in (have you ever noticed a stronger smell when you forgot to shave for a few days?).

The obvious reasons for change is chemicals, a lot of chemicals that I don't know much about and don't want  them on my body.  There are the natural alternatives at stores but when I tried them it seemed like I sweated even more.  Plus, they are expensive for more trial and error.

My first batch is with lavender essential oil (partly because I had a lot of lavender, I'm really excited to try lemon) for the past week.  Applying seems a bit tricky, some of course falls on the floor, but since it's just baking soda it's not that big of a deal, it'll be good to get some on the feet.  I shower at night and apply it then and then once again when I wake up.  The lavender smell doesn't seem to transfer to my skin or clothes and it feels really fresh right away.  I'm still sweating a similar amount, but my pits feel cleaner, fresher.  They don't feel clogged like how deodorant can sometimes do that. 

I'm enjoying this alternative, cheap and healthy version (because even the health stores have ingredients that I can't understand on them).  If after more time this disagrees with me, I'll let you know.  After this week , I'm sold on it.

Update, I recently found this article, 101 uses for coconut oil.  Coconut oil is a product I have thought about introducing into our kitchen for a while.  Now seeing that it is a great binding agent for the baking soda, I will finally purchase some for our home.  I expect the application to be even easier.  PS, I'll let you know if it sucks.

UPDATE ;-)

I have had a bit of a social life over the past 8 weeks but not much of one. It's hilarious looking at the few pictures I've taken over this time (I usually have tons of pictures sitting on my computer), but there is only 4 more weeks to go and I can start job hunting! And I'll be able to go to the gym on a regular basis!

First off - Halloween. Spent the evening with my wife, bumped into the boyfriend and then her and I left him and went back to being fabulous. The best part of our costumes is that I'm 10 inches shorter than her (I'm Batman).

Topshop opened up in Western Canada, apparently it's the biggest one outside of London which is weird. I've been to the one in Manhattan and ours seems smaller. The layout is different than most stores, it does seem like you are going through an odd maze of medium sized rooms. I like their clothes, they look like a better quality then most brands but I don't know, it's very trendy. It looks like a higher end version of Forever21, which just opened up in Downtown Vancouver as well, so I don't know how much I'll spend at Topshop. But it is fun to walk through. Right across the street from Topshop is my fave, HandM, and lucky me I walked in during their $15 sweater sale, 2nd year in a row that I've caught it!

I'm very proud of myself over these past few months, my school is located exactly one block from these shops. I'm trying my hardest to not over-consume as it's not only hard on the wallet but also hard on the environment. Yes I donate as much as I can but what's the point of buying more so the companies have to make more clothes. There are too many shopaholics on this planet and I'm going to distance myself a little bit more from it.

I've invented a new meal during this busy time - the effortless omelet. I don't get to eat dinner that often (evening classes) and it's hard for me to keep food in the house when half of my week is only spent sleeping there. I really miss dinner, I really do. Eggs keep a bit longer than other proteins but sauteing and preparing vegetables can take away precious moments sitting with the tv. Simply whip up some eggs in a bowl, add a few chopped veggies of choice to the raw egg, maybe a bit of cheese and any spices you may like, pour it into a heated mini frying pan and you'll have an omelet in under 5 minutes. If you put a lid over the pan, keep it on lower to medium heat the egg should cook almost through and then flipping it over is no problem. No folding or tucking required with this guy, it's a college boys dream come true!

If you slice the veggies a bit thinner you don't really notice that they aren't fried, they still get nice and warm and the cheese melts and even gets crispy in some spots.

Wow, I can't wait to be done school. Accomplishments include not shopping and easy omelets?!? Haha, at least my relationships with friends and loved ones aren't being affected, they've actually improved and have become even stronger.

Chia Seeds!

I first tried Chia in the Holy Crap cereal.  I didn't notice a huge difference in my energy but after following Styleactivist on Instagram and seeing picture after picture of her preaching its amazing benefits, I decided to give it a full try.  It's amazing.  I'm a low energy, low metabolism type of gal, and even though I work out 4 days a week, bike commute to work and eat a very healthy diet, I get the yawns and need my down time (it's genetics, both of my parents don't have a lot of energy). 

They aren't that big at all, if anything they remind me of super teeny tiny pearls in bubble tea (they remind me of dinosaur eggs too).  They have no flavour but come with a bit of a crunch.  They only take a minute to soften and form a gel around them and you just drink 'em down.  I prefer them in my smoothie as it's already a thick drink.  It's been 3 weeks, I hardly yawn, don't need coffee (although I still drink it because it's awesome tasting), and my workouts are better than ever.  These little seeds are full of omegas and protein, all you need is a tablespoon a day, and hey, it's VEGAN!

Here is Style Activist's blog :-)