Poor Girl's Latisse

RapidLash

Has anyone else looked at before and after photos of people using Latisse and wished their lashes could look like THAT? Well, wish no more!

Latisse is expensive, requires a prescription and some HMO’s do not even have it on their formulary. (Kaiser)

Latisse 

I have tried many lash and brow products in my quest to get my brows to grow back in (my bald patchy eyebrows will be another blog) and stumbled upon RapidLash. My sister first told me about it and even sent me some. I noticed a difference in my lashes the first day after using it-but thought I must have imagined that a product could work that quickly and gave it to my mom!

Two of my co-workers bought RapidLash and started using it and both of them had their eyelashes come in longer and thicker within a month or so. I literally could not believe their results and so put aside my brow obsession for a bit to try rapidlash again only on my eyelashes.

I wish I would have had the foresight to do before photos, but I had low expectations and had no idea my lashes would grow in like this. So, I only have ‘after’ photos-but you can see how long they are. Rapidlash also has before and after photos on their website and check the ingredient list: https://www.rapidlash.com/faqs.php. It has many botanical and natural ingredients in it!

I have included this photo of my friend Joey who uses Rapidlash and his eyelashes definitely came in thicker and longer. He then tinted them black and they look amazing!

Joey's eyelashes, just tint-no mascara! 

Within 30 days, people started commenting on how long my eyelashes looked and I was even asked if I used Latisse!

My eyelashes with mascara

Anyway-it actually works and they have it on Amazon for only 30 bucks!  In my opinion, if you are unable to buy Latisse-RapidLash is an excellent alternative and does the job. Just make sure you use it consistently every night before bed and track your progress with ‘before’ photos unlike me! 

Love,

Rae

How Do You Know Which Diet is Right for You?

Lose 20 lbs. in 10 days with BLANK diet! Sound familiar? Many diets out there make fantastic claims about losing a huge amount of weight in a short period of time. But, is this healthy or even realistic for us?

You want to choose a method of eating that works for you, right? There is actually a very easy and simple way to find out if a particular diet would work for you. All you have to do is ask yourself 1 question, “Is this something that I can maintain for life?” If the answer is no, then it is not the right diet for you.

What would be the point of losing weight on a diet only to gain it all back when you go back to your ‘normal’ way of eating? The goal would be to find a diet that you can transform into a lifestyle.

A healthy lifestyle would include a method of eating that can be maintained over time. Can you live without having any form of carbs forever? Does living without dessert for the rest of your life sound like something you can realistically achieve? If no, then you want to choose a diet that does not restrict entire food groups.

Some other things you want to examine regarding any type of diet you choose would be to make sure it includes a lot of fresh fruit and veggies every day. For example on The Atkins Diet, you can eat all the bacon and butter you want, but god forbid you eat a strawberry! Ridiculous! There is no better food for a human than fruit.

Another thing to look at is how overly restrictive is it? Are there entire food groups that you are not allowed to eat? Is that something you could really maintain forever? For instance, The Paleo Diet-also known as Caveman Diet, Stone Age diet and Paleolithic includes fruit and veggies, but it also excludes many food groups such as grains, beans, potatoes and dairy. It also could open the way for people to overdo it on nuts, which it does allow. Some people can gain excess weight overdoing it on nuts. Others can eat all the nuts they want and not gain an ounce. Again, you want to look at what works for you and see if it is something you can maintain.

Finding and maintaining a healthy weight may take some trial and error, but it is so worth it! Do the research and experiment with what way of eating allows you to eat the way that is most comfortable for you, but also lets you have optimum health and be the weight you want.

For me, I have found that by doing a combination of Fit for Life and following the 80/20 rule- I have maintained my happy weight for many years. I eat a ton of fruit and veggies every day. I do not feel restricted in any way and I actually crave healthy foods that I know will help my body be at its maximum potential. If I want dessert however, I have it. How can I do this? This is because 80% of the time I eat fruits, veggies, alkalinizing whole grains, healthy fats, and lean protein. The other 20% I can have dessert if I feel like it. I don’t eat meat, which is a personal decision and may not work for everyone else. I actually don’t miss it or feel like I am missing out on anything. I eat fruit for breakfast everyday as Fit for Life recommends. If there’s a time I want to go out for breakfast with family or friends and have some Belgian waffles, I do! And I can do it because the other 6 days of the week I had my fruit.

I am not saying that this is the way for everyone-what I am saying is that you deserve to find out what way works for you. It is possible. Do the research, fact checking, and experimenting, and you will find the healthy eating lifestyle that works for you.

Your energy level will rise, your body will find its happy weight, and you will be confident in knowing you can enjoy life and eating. I promise. 

                                                           Love, 

                                                           Rae

Cruncha ma-me!!!

More protein than an egg? As much fiber as an apple? What is it??? Cruncha ma-me. The best edamame snack I have ever had.

I was shopping at Whole Foods and tried a sample of them that the owner of the company was offering and I was happily stoked with the incredible taste and texture. Not to mention the edamame and other veggies in it are freeze-dried to preserve the vitamins and nutrients.

I was actually in a full-blown food emergency at the time and the cruncha ma-me immediately stabilized my blood sugar and I was able to keep going for a couple more hours!

They have several flavors. I tried the sea salt and black pepper, lightly seasoned, and the veggie medley. The veggie medley was my absolute favorite. It is freeze-dried edamame, corn and bell peppers. It is like a little fresh salsa with crunch right in your mouth!

I grabbed 3 packs and went to the register. They were only $1.89 per pack! They are also low-calorie, high protein, and high fiber! Now that is a snack I can get Purifoid on. It is perfect for my late afternoon, pre-workout snack and I had my last pack today.

So, off to the store this week to re-up.

Check out their website and see how you can find this awesome snack too! www.crunchamame.com They have them on Amazon too!

You will not be disappointed.

Love,

Rae

Skin and Body- Total Purifoication

Total purification of our bodies may be just slightly out of our reach. Despite our valiant efforts to do everything perfectly like eating right, exercising, and watching our sugar intake-we still have to deal with the impurities of the world around us. We cannot control environmental pollution, second hand smoke, smog, or unsavory toxins that may be in our water, right? What we can do is focus on the things that we can control like how we take care of our bodies and what we put into our bodies. I believe that by doing this we can achieve Purifoication.

Let’s talk about cleansing. Washing off dirt, grime, and sweat are imperative. Cleansing from the inside out is even more important. Of course drinking pure, filtered or reverse osmosis water is something we would do regularly. Although there are different points of opinion on how much and how often, what everyone can agree on is that when we are dehydrated, our body actually tries to counteract it by producing more oil through our sebum and can make us look greasy! We don’t want that! If you are drinking water as your primary fluid throughout the day-then you are doing fine. We really want to get hydrated by consistently eating high water content produce like lettuce, peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, juicy citrus fruits and melons. When you are keeping your digestive system light and clean, then your body can get to work on getting rid of all the toxins we are unfortunately exposed to.

Washing your face every night before bed is something we really want to strive to do. Not only does it enable our skin to more easily rejuvenate itself, it helps us to look and feel more refreshed in the morning! Skin cleansers that are gentle seem to work on most people. Cetaphil is about the best one I have found and Burt’s Bees cleansers and scrubs are top of the line for natural cleansers. If your goal is to wash your face every night before you go to bed, and once in a while you just don’t, it is ok! You are in the process of being Purifoid and the point is to take all the right actions as often as you can and soon it will become second nature and will not seem like such a chore. You will just do it, naturally.

Sweating is great for getting out the impurities of our system and very cleansing. To get the benefits though, we must wash the sweat off. After a steam, sauna, or workout we always want to do this. For thousands of years many people around the world have believed in some kind of hydrotherapy. Greek, Japanese, Turkish, Eskimos, Austrians, Russians, and Romans all have descriptions of how they did this written in their histories. The Finnish have been doing saunas cycled with ice cold water or snow afterwards for over 2,000 years! They must be on to something that it does for wellness and skin. In fact, it has been shown that it improves skin function. The sauna has cleansing properties besides helping our skin to matain a healthy pH and improving retention of moisture! After the sauna, Finnish people roll in the snow or take an ice cold shower. It closes the pores and feels invigorating. Now, we may not have access to saunas in our own home, but most gyms have some kind of steam room, showers, and or saunas. Those fortunate people with gym memberships can definitely check this out and try something new! We can even create a steam type shower in own bathroom and take an ice cold shower afterwards. Brrr!

Have fun trying something new and being Purifoid!

Love,

Rae

Rae's 'Tropical Heaven' Hair Mask-D.I.Y

Here is a D.I.Y hair mask you can make at home for shiny and bouncy hair! This one is not considered a protein mask, it is mainly for shine and bounce. I have many recipes for all different kinds-so I will soon give one that includes protein.

For the Tropical Heaven Hair Mask I use banana, coconut milk, honey, and coconut oil. Honey is not only an antimicrobial so that it aids in cleansing impurities, it is also a humectant so it attracts moisture to your hair, but more importantly it helps to smooth the cuticle. Banana is actually an effective moisturizer and it also increases elasticity. Coconut oil is used for its deep conditioning and softening properties and it also helps decrease the stickiness of the honey making them blend well together. Coconut oil has the essential fatty lauric acid and works well for dry hair.

Make sure the banana is thoroughly pureed in a Vita Mix or blender or you can use baby food bananas. Also, warm the coconut oil in the glass jar inside a pot of warm water (no microwaves!)

Put the mask on in the tub or shower and you can use whatever is left over on your whole body! Put it on dry hair as it absorbs more of the awesomeness than wet hair. Wrap plastic wrap over your hair and you can put a shower cap on top or warm a towel from the dryer and place that on top. Leave it on for about 20 minutes and then rinse it out completely.

Rae's Tropical Heaven Hair Mask

1/2 c. organic coconut milk
1 PUREED banana (or use baby food bananas)
3 tbsp. Organic Virgin Coconut Oil
2 tbsp. Organic Honey.

Puree the bananas completely. Add the pureed bananas and warm coconut oil to the blender (or whatever you are using) then pour in the honey and coconut milk. Blend until it becomes creamy. There should be no chunks of banana!

Get in the tub and pour the mixture over your DRY hair. Smooth it all over your hair with your hands and comb it into the ends with your fingers. Wrap it up with the plastic wrap and pop the shower cap or warm towel on top of that. Relax for 20 minutes and rinse it all out. If you want your mask thicker, you can always add a little of your regular conditioner to it to thicken it up.

Have fun concocting!

Love,

Rae

Lusterful Locks and How to Get Them!

Lusterful Locks and How to Get Them!

Do you lust after shiny, bouncy, healthy hair?

Did you know it’s attainable?

We may not be able to do everything perfectly in this world with so many pollutants, toxins, and unknown environmental hazards-but we can eat the best foods that nature has to offer. We may not be able to be purified, but we can be Purifoid!

Here is a list of some vitamins that are vital for healthy, shiny hair and how to get them into your body through food.

• Omega 3 fatty acids- this fatty acid promotes healthy hair and gets rid of lackluster locks! Omega 3 fatty acids help to rebuild the follicle structure of our hair and protect it from environmental damage. It promotes shiny and radiant hair. You can get it by taking flaxseed oil which also has Omega 6, as well as Omega 3’s. An excellent topical solution is Moroccan Oil. (You can find it on moroccanoil.com )It not only has fatty acids for shine, but also has antioxidants for protection. Moroccan Oil even helps to dry your hair faster so that you can use less heat styling on it.
• Protein- Our hair is protein, so it makes sense that we would want to eat plenty of lean protein. You can get this type of protein from nuts, legumes (beans), tofu, soy milk, nut butters, or vegetarian protein powders like brown rice protein powder.
• Calcium- This mineral is essential for strong hair. Sesame seeds are a little known calcium source. There is over 35% of our daily value of calcium in a ¼ c. of them. Black sesame seeds have even more calcium than that at 85 milligrams in only 1 gram! They are super delicious in stir fry, salads, and sprinkled on veggie sandwiches.
• Iron- carries oxygen to our hair and assists in the growth process. Load up on kale, swiss chard, other dark, leafy greens and beans to get plenty of iron.
• Magnesium- is the 4th most common element in our body and helps in relaxation-promoting restful sleep, which in turn encourages hair growth. You can get magnesium in almonds, cashews, and other nuts. Another great way to absorb magnesium is through a mineral salt bath! Just put Epsom salts in your bath for a soothing soak.
• Biotin- is a B complex vitamin and a deficiency in this could actually cause hair loss and breakage. Some sources of biotin are found in red beets, cabbage, nuts and fruit.  
• Silica- It protects against breakage and has even been reported to assist in the production of collagen. Cauliflower and cabbage are a good source of silica. There is also a fantastic silica supplement that you can add to your water. They have it on one of my favorite websites: iherb.com.
• Zinc- a zinc deficiency has been reported to lead to hair loss, so make sure you are eating a serving of nuts every day and also some whole grains. Brazil nuts also have selenium in them which is the mineral that promotes a healthy scalp.
• Vitamin A- assists the natural production of sebum (substance responsible for keeping hair and skin moisturized). It helps keep hair from drying out and if you are eating carrots, spinach, arugula, kale, swiss chard and broccoli-then you are getting plenty of Vitamin A for shiny, silky hair!
• Vitamin E- is a powerful antioxidant that improves circulation to the scalp and also increases iron absorption. You can find loads of Vitamin E in olive oil, avocado (you will not get fat eating avocado), nuts, and dark leafy greens.

Are you noticing a theme here?

Every vitamin and mineral we would need for fabulous looking hair is found in the foods that we know to be best for us anyway! If you are eating moderate, balanced, and regular portions of fruit, vegetables, nuts, lean protein, and whole grains-you are getting everything you need to be Purifoid and live as clean as possible.

When you are doing this, you will notice your hair and skin naturally starting to look and feel better and better! Your skin will start radiantly glowing and your hair will become shinier, stronger and feel more bouncy and healthy.

Have fun choosing ‘good for your hair’ foods and finding ways to add to them to your Purifoid diet!

Love,

Rae

Rae's 'Look Alive' Rose Water Toner-D.I.Y

Has anyone else noticed how expensive face toners are in the store? Why not make your own to save some bucks and know exactly what’s in it?

Here is a recipe for one that is completely pure and natural and smells exactly like what it is-fresh flowers.

Rose Water Toner can be used on dry skin, oily skin, or sensitive skin and it also helps restore our skin’s natural pH.

During the summer is a perfect time for it as it refreshes sun touched skin and really brings some life back into it!

Rae's 'Look Alive' Rose Water Toner

1 c. Rinsed Rose Petals

2 cups Filtered Water (boiling)

Spray bottle (preferably an opaque glass one to keep it fresh longer)

Place the rose petals in a metal cooking pot and pour the boiling water over them.Cover and let soak for about 3 hours.

After it cools, strain rose water into the spray bottle.

After cleansing, lightly spray the toner over your face and then moisturize.

You will feel refreshed and look alive!

Love,

Rae