Basic Wisdom

Coffee break?

www.waterintakecalculator.com is pretty decent. It asks basic question such as hours of exercise, climate you live, and a couple more good ones. You can also just search "water intake calculator." About.com has one that can seem tedious when browsing from your phone, but it has more considerations like, are you pregnant, or how much alcohol do you drink? All things to consider.

I’m that weird person who hates the taste of water, I knoooow I knooooow…weird! However my curls and body demand it for healthy looking skin and hair. Here’s an amazing little article that helped me drink more water throughout the day. 

Avoid the unsightful drama (did I mention it’s hard to rock my Vapour Organic Beauty Siren Chere lipstick with flaky lips) and get your fill of the agua with these tricks I learned to spruce up the taste and kick in some nutrients.

Change your habits – Instead of ordering juice, soda or even a cocktail when you’re out to eat, stick to your glass of water. All will be fine and you’ll even save on the calories and sugar you’ll be avoiding. If you can’t stand to skip your afternoon or evening guilty pleasure you have my permission to order whatever you like AFTER you’ve consumed at least one entire glass of water. Keep it as close to room temperature as possible, so at least ask “no ice." Remember its for your basic health, not necessarily for pleasure. Keep a good mind about it.

Add frozen fruit – Frozen fruit is the perfect treat to keep in your freezer. It helps me kick my sugar cravings and they’re perfect for making smoothies. Drop a few frozen strawberries, mangos, blueberries or even bananas into your water. Their coolness works like an ice cube but the flavor they bring to your water makes them a perfect summer time treat. And don’t forget the loaded anti-oxidants you’re packing in there as well.

Try sparkling – Sometimes I just crave a soda. I have to have a sip of a Coke or Sprite to get my fix for a few months and I’m fine. I have my concerns that for optimal aging purposes, that I should probably even just leave that behind. If you’re an intermittent flirt with soda like me, try sparkling water that gives you the carbonation without the icky artificial flavors or tacky ingredients. It curbs that craving and you can still meet your H2O goals. Although there are studies that show carbonation does in fact deplete calcium. If you take calcium supplements it is best to span them in doses throughout the day, because calcium is not best absorbed in large does.

Warning! Lots of companies are toting their “enhanced water” products all over the super market and bodega shelves. Don’t be fooled people. Many of these enhanced water products are either full of sugar, questionable ingredients, dyes and other classless things you don’t want running through your veins. Steer clear of products like Crystal light, Vitamin Water, etc. that are often made with aspartame – the crack that gives you the sweet taste without the sugar and has been linked to blood cancers and tumors.

Many of you may wonder why you would even consider raw honey in the first place. Raw honey is a universal beauty tonic for all skin types because of its potent yet gentle healing benefits for skin. Raw honey does wonders for acne, rosacea, eczema, hyperpigmentation, enlarged pores, sensitive, mature, and dull lifeless skin.

With so many beauty products on the market, we sometimes think that every product that we use must be extremely complicated and/or full of ingredients. That notion however is not always necessary and in some cases completely wrong (as many of you already may know). Although what we wash our face with doesn’t stay on our skin that long, soap based products quickly strip the skin of its natural oils and create an imbalanced in the skin’s pH which causes many skin problems and forces the skin to produce excess oil.

When you find people who have beautiful skin that claim to wash their face with only water, yes they do have good genetics, but they are also not creating any imbalance in the pH of their skin with harsh cleansers and toners. Maintaining a consistently balanced pH in the skin will allow your skin to do its job much better and with less obstacles then so many of us already have. For teens this could be not washing your sheets often enough to simply touching your face too much throughout the day. Products that dry, strip, then replenish the skin continue the cycle of skin distress. Less really is more.

Maintaining a healthy pH in your skin is an important anti-aging secret. The less the stress your skin endures from drying cleansers and toners, the more elastic it will remain over time. Any thing with a pH of 4.5-7 is usually considered pH balanced. Distilled water is a neutral pH of 7, but most tap water ranges from 7-8, which to some may not seem like a big deal, but if your having issues with your skin then it may be. The skin is rated at 5.5 on the pH scale, so naturally it thrives when using products with a pH 4.5-5.5. 

Raw honey has a natural pH ranging from 3.4-6.1 with an average of 4.1. If you want to get a little expensive you can buy Manuka Honey with an Active Level of 20+ which can be found in whole foods stores. Manuka honey has such a concentration of these antiseptic and antimicrobial properties that it makes good for healing cuts and burns by killing bacteria and fungus. Raw honey also contains gluconic acid, a mild alpha hydroxy acid that is amazing at brightening the complexion, evening out the skin tone, and lightening scars and age spots.

Most honey contains iron, silica, copper, vitamin B, manganese, chlorine, potassium, calcium, sodium, phosphorous, aluminum and magnesium depending on where the honey is collected from. This rich mineral content makes it excellent for skin. Raw honey’s intense moisturizing abilities with gentle cleansing agents makes it perfect for even very sensitive skin. When honey is mixed with water it released peroxide properties which helps heal fades and also prevent bacteria causing more acne.

Not all honey is created equal. Most of the honey found in grocery stores is “adulterated honey" meaning it literally has no nutrients. When honey is processed and refined with heat the live healing enzymes are killed. You are instead left with liquid sugar. Raw honey will give your skin the healing benefits that it needs and you will also experience the best results.

To use raw honey as a face wash simply add a quarter size amount of honey or more to wet hands and massage into your skin. Rinse your face, then tone and moisturize as usual. You can also leave honey on your skin for as long as you like as a honey mask, or combine it with other ingredients for more cleansing and brightening. My favorite ways to use raw honey is with rhassoul clay or as anexfoliating treatment with sugar and lemon juice. I’ve also used raw honey in place of vegetable glycerin in my DIY hair recipes. Raw honey has been used for centuries for medicinal and cosmetic purposes. There truly is such beauty in simplicity.