All Natural Shampoo

Inspired by Life Less Plastic, I kind of quit shampooing my hair a few months ago. I still used Jason's SLS free daily shampoo now and then, but normally I just washed my long wavy hairs with water and water only. My hair still looked fine but my scalp developed some minor redness (...guess the pores were clogged).

In order to clean my scalp well without using too much chemical stuff in the plastic container, I made a shampoo base on the recipe I found in Yunnan, China. It was cultured rice-soaked water (water that has washed/soaked rice). Just culture the rice-soaked water in room temperature for two days and the all natural shampoo will be ready to use. It smells awful, but my hair has become frizz-free after using it for a week. Weird thing is, I am growing more hairs too, which is a pleasant bonus.

November Skincare Regimen

AM:
Jason fragrance-free cleanser, Paula's Choice balancing toner, Replenix green tea serum,
Sheer Miracle SPF15，Jack Black Lip Balm

PM:
Grape seed oil（as cleanser）, Paula's Choice balancing toner, Reviva hyaluronic acid ampule.


Most of the products above are dirty cheap yet elegantly effective （Jason's cleanser is not recommended to hypersensitive skin, though）

Time to Buy Moisturizers?

Sephora's Annual 20% off Friends and Family event is coming again. I used to spend a lot of money (in order to save money) each year this time, but this year, I feel so tired of the skin care lines Sephora carries, well at least most of them. The reason is simple: expensive for what amounts to mostly mediocre products.

Last year I bought a few moisturizers by Dr. Brandt. I am a huge fan of DB’s antioxidant water boosters and I still think those water boosters are among the best tea concentrates in the market. Yet I should say, DB’s moisturizers are kind of below average. Even pure rosehip oil does a better job then them.

I don’t need any elixirs that could make me years younger, I just want something that helps prevent free-radical damage while at the same time won’t irritate my skin. Why is it so hard to find an antioxidants-enriched non-comedogenic fragrance-free moisturizer without parabens and problematic essential oils?

Recently I am using Skin Strengthening Complex by Nia24. It's choke full of vitamins and skin-identical agents, however, preserved by parabens. If I cannot find anything better than it, I might stick to it this winter.

Snow Fungus Pudding

Snow fungus is a kind of jelly fungus rich in various amino acids, minerals and glycogen. It has long been used as inflammation-fighter in Chinese medicine. Snow fungus pudding is tasty and easy to make.

Here’s my recipe.

Ingredients:
1 palm size of dried snow fungus
8-12 lotus seeds

1 tablespoon of agar powder

A few pieces of lily flowers or lily root

A few pieces of papaya or any fruit you like -optional

Method:

1. Soak the snow fungus in boiled water for 1 minute, cut the brownish fungus root and divide the fungus into small parts.

2. Pour the fungus in a juicer, add 2 cups of hot water and chop the mixture for 10-30 seconds.

3. Pour all the ingredients but the fruit in a rice cooker, click the “porridge” button or just simply simmer them for 30-40 minutes.
4. Turn off the rice cooker. Add in agar powder (and some milk if you can tolerate lactose) and your favorite fruit, stir and let the jelly-like fungus pudding cool down.

5. If you like, sweeten the pudding with honey. It's ready for serving now, but it will be even more delicious if served cold. Enjoy :~)