*insert IDK Maybe I'm Weird But I Have Just Never Liked Store Bought Pesto Girl* The Way I Would Devour

Primal Chic Beauty Part Two: Beauty From Food... No, Really!

I was planning on doing this post a little later, after my introduction to my Paleo-based, but not strictly paleo diet and what I regularly have stocked in my fridge and pantry. However, I've gotten a few more asks recently about skincare, and this post got moved up in the content planner to now!

In this post, you'll learn about some pantry staples that can be utilized for skin care, a few basic recipes for skin care products, long-lasting tools that compliment homemade & natural skincare, and why making the switch can benefit you and the environment. I'll cover some at-home-created makeup at a later date, but you should know, it doesn't last very well and it's often easier to simply buy clean, natural makeup from a company specializing in it.

Something you need to know for this to make sense is that I consider my own diet Paleo-based, but it's not strictly paleo. This means I largely am eating unprocessed foods, I'm not playing with artificial sweeteners and using natural sweeteners sparingly (usually Honey or whole sugar cane), and have cut out unfermented dairy, and most grains & grain foods, with occasional rice & oat consumption & my weekly communion at Church. I personally advise anyone who's dealing with food and gut issues to start with an elimination diet such as FODMAP or a strict Paleo, and then gradually reintroduce foods & food groups to figure out what works for YOU! Whole30 is a great introduction to this concept.

So, with that out of the way, let's talk about making your own skincare and some things to keep in stock for skin care.

Stocking Up

Pantry Staples for DIY At-Home Skincare & Haircare:

𓃠 Avocados & Avocado Oil

𓃠 Coconut Oil

𓃠 Almond Oil

𓃠 Honey

𓃠 Unsweetened Greek Yogurt

𓃠 Cocoa Butter

𓃠 Eggs

𓃠 Lemons and/or Lemon Juice

𓃠 Jojoba Oil

𓃠 Shea Butter

𓃠 Oats

𓃠 Rice

𓃠 Milk (Goat or Whole Cow Milk)

𓃠 Beef Tallow

𓃠 Ghee

𓃠 Baking Soda

𓃠 Apple Cider Vinegar

𓃠 Dried Rose/Rose Hips

𓃠 Cacao Nibs

𓃠 Mugwort

𓃠 Green & Black Tea

𓃠 Orange Peels

𓃠 Calendula Flowers

𓃠 Catnip

𓃠 Dried Witch Hazel

𓃠 An Aloe Vera Plant

𓃠 Table Salt or Himalayan Salt

𓃠 Unrefined Sugar

Non-Food Ingredients:

𓃠 Aztec Clay

𓃠 Castile Soap (in liquid or bar form)

𓃠 Epsom Salts/ Magnesium Salts

𓃠 Essential Oils in your favorite scents, I recommend Lavender, Lemongrass, & Mint, if you don't have pets you can also do Tea Tree & Eucalyptus but they are Nephrotoxic (toxic to the kidneys) for Cats, Dogs, and some small animals such as ferrets.

There are some things I still recommend you purchase commercially such as:

𓃠 Toothpaste (I'm not here to talk the fluoride vs MI paste vs Ozone vs hydroxyapatite vs charcoal vs no anti-cavity measure debate, if it's requested I can do a breakdown on the pros and cons of all of them, but it's really not my area of expertise and I'd recommend talking to your doctor, dentist, and local complimentary or holistic dentist or doctor about your individual needs)

𓃠 Floss (if you can, opt for silk rather than plasticized floss, and rolls of floss over single-use floss picks, if you're dedicated to floss picks, aim for a bamboo or wooden handle instead of plastic)

𓃠 Mouthwash (I've found the homemade varieties of this do not sufficiently treat dry mouth or gum issues)

𓃠 Deodorant or Antiperspirant (Thai Crystal deodorant works very well as a non-antiperspirant option, and I recommend solid stick antiperspirants over aerosolized ones for your indoor air quality and lung health)

𓃠 Sunscreen (I have never found an effective DIY Sunscreen)

Tools:

𓃠 A Mortar and Pestle

𓃠 Boar or horse hair fan brush with wooden handle

𓃠 Glass bowls in multiple sizes (from a small spice bowl to a large bowl for doing facial steams)

𓃠 Measuring Cups (You can use your food ones, just make sure to wash them well)

𓃠 A stone roller and Gua Sha

𓃠 A small skincare spatula in stainless steel

𓃠 2 Small Spoons (spare stainless steal teaspoons work well)

𓃠 Wood & Boar Hair dry brush

𓃠 Undyed, untreated Cotton Washcloths & Hand Towels

𓃠 Mesh Tea Infuser Ball

𓃠 A small spice wisk

Recipes:

A Sample Routine:

𓃠 Start with a Coconut & Almond Oil Cleanse (about 1/2 tablespoon of coconut oil & Almond Oil to desired texture) apply to dampened skin with hands, rinse with lukewarm to hot water

Tip: Utilize a reusable cotton round moistened with a bit more of the above oil cleanser to wipe away stubborn eye makeup

𓃠 Soak a cotton hand towel with water that is as hot as you can tolerate, wring it out, and wrap around the face, leaving the nostrils exposed, leave on until towel has cooled.

𓃠 Combine 3 drops of Liquid castile soap with 1-2 tablespoons of warm water into a small glass dish, work into a foam with a fan brush or whisk, then apply to face with either hands or a reusable face scrub sponge or applicator. Rinse with Warm water

𓃠 If dealing with redness, puffiness, or inflamed skin, prepare a large glass bowl with ice and cold water, dip face for as long as tolerable 2-5 times.

𓃠 Dry the face, and utilize a small boar bristle dry brush to gently exfoliate the skin with light pressure, working away from the nose towards the outside of the face.

𓃠 Utilize a Rose & Witch Hazel Green Tea toner for the face (Steep Green Tea, dried rose petals, & witch hazel in distilled water for 3-5 minutes, allow to cool, and store in an amber colored glass spray bottle or dropper top bottle, store in the refrigerator for longer shelf life & a more cooling effect)

𓃠 Apply 2-4 drops of a preferred liquid oil such as almond or jojoba to the face, the amount should be enough to provide glide for a Gua Sha to run across the face

𓃠 Do a gua sha massage, paying attention to the forehead, the hollows of the cheeks/cheekbones, and the jawline, and any areas of tension, you can also utilize a mushroom shaped stone to work tension out of the temples or TMJ.

𓃠 Moisturize with a preferred semisolid fat such as Ghee, Tallow, Coconut Oil, and utilize a facial roller until absorbed, for the eyes, gently heat your preferred semisolid fat until it is liquid or near liquid between your finger tips, and apply gently with the ring fingers.

𓃠 Utilize a face roller to assist in absorption of your semisolid fat moisturizer

Avocado, & Oat Hydration Mask

𓃠 Materials: 1/2 Avocado, 1/4 cup of rolled oats, 1/8 cup goats milk or yogurt, 1 tablespoon honey, a mortar and pestle

𓃠 Remove the skin of the 1/2 avocado and Mash thoroughly with food processor or mortar and pestle, once thoroughly mashed, add honey, & milk or yogurt, whisk together until thoroughly combined, and add oats, folding gently to combine, apply to face excluding the eye area and let sit for 15-30 minutes. Avocado and honey can also be utilized as an under eye pack for a similar duration to help with dry, tired under eyes.

Inflamed Skin Honey Helper (I use this for acne and post-sun burn relief)

𓃠 Combine equal parts honey, goat's milk, and aloe vera and mix until thoroughly incorporated, apply to dry, itchy areas of the skin, and leave on for up to an hour

Body Scrub

Combine 1/2 cup of Epsom salts with 1/4 cup unrefined sugar & 1/4 cup of Himalayan salt and mix well, add 1/4 cup of preferred carrier oil such as jojoba, almond, or avocado oil, 1 tablespoon of Mugwort, and 10-20 drops of Lemongrass or Lavender Essential Oil, store in a sealable glass jar (such as a mason jar or a bale wire jar) in a cool, dark place until ready to use.

Apply with light pressure using the hands to exfoliate the body or as a pre-shave scrub

This also works very well on sore joints as a sort of pre-bath pack or wet-bandage by slathering it on thick to a dampened joint and surrounding the affected joint with a hot towel for 20-30 minutes to draw out heat and inflammation from arthritic joints.

There will be videos for these coming out as I hit the point of needing to remake them and I'll keep you all updated on how to watch those once I figure out some new platforms post tiktok ban and my leaving meta.

(pics from Pinterest)

Okay, so I am still on muscle relaxers, but at a lower dose than the ER gave me so here goes:

By eliminating caps on corporate donations to political PACs, candidates, and proposed legislation, we essentially handed over our governmental system to corporations and super PACs, while this has been visible since Citizens United, the new Pseudo-feaudalism was the most clear its ever been during the 2024 Presidential race, while the Harris Walz campaign did have corporate donations, the Trump Vance campaign had Elon Musk, who had not one, but multiple corporations actively interfering in the election, between the algorithmic changes to Twitter favoring Trump-backing voices as well as voices sowing discontent and apathy among leftists, and reducing Moderate and main line democratic voices, the million dollar check raffles to essentially buy votes, and buying himself a governmental appointment (as a immigrant who, before being naturalized, was infact here illegally via immigration fraud during his Zip2 era). We are not longer a governmental priority, and while some more cynical people than me believe we never were, I would argue that the rapid degeneration of American Politics is directly linked to uninhibited campaign donations, corporate personalization under Citizens United, apathy to history and civic duties, and the rise of Infotainment over academia.

Now we find ourselves in a place politically and economically where the bootstraps simply do not exist anymore, we exist in a state of faceless corporations owning the majority of housing, production, recreation, and leisure. You cannot go a week without giving a dollar to a corporate conglomerate that owns everything from your deodorant to your cereal, to your utilities, to the land you are standing on. I'm not going to name too many names on this because a funny thing happens when you do that, you suddenly develop major mental health problems and end up dead "by suicide". Your boss's boss, what used to be the top of the corporate ladder, had instead become a lower manager compared to the shareholders and the hedge funds on Wall Street and in the pockets of your politicians. Have you ever tried to start a small business and looked to source your raw materials from a supplier? Have you ever looked into who owns that brand only to find it's actually the same owner of the very product you're trying to counter in the market? This is what corporate feudalism has developed into, there are very few raw materials you can outsource and stay away from them, you are dependant on them for the food you eat, the water you drink, the roof you sleep under at night. And that's just what it's become.

How do they keep making later and later stages of late-capitalism

It's Tuesday and I'm already 21 hours in 🥲 but patients need care so... what is one to do?

Reducing consumption over all is an obvious first step in supporting solidarity for women on a global scale. However, we can also take this a few steps further:

1. Cutting fast fashion out of your life entirely, major brand offenders are Shien, Forever 21, house brands for department stores (A New Day or Wild Fable at Target as an example), Instagram Pop Up Brands, Fashionnova, etc.

2. Where you do consume, look for certifications in regards to the labor and materials utilized Fair Trade, OkoTex, Rainforest Alliance Certified, Fair Wear Foundation, etc. Good on You is an app that simplifies a lot of the process though they automatically rate brands that utilize animal products as all equally bad in spite of varied practices on animal products (as someone who wears leather (bought and self processed) & fur (self processed) I find this a flaw with the app's ranking system) they have ratings for environmental impact, labor, animal products that makes shopping a bit easier.

3. When you do consume, aim for locally-owned and women-owned brands. Avoid allowing male owned and dominated corporate conglomerates to be the end point of women's dollars.

4. Look for quality products that will last longer than just a season, and try to avoid falling for trends that rise and fall, this is easier to do if you have a personal sense of style rather than one that is constantly fluctuating and changing with trends. I personally tend to stick with a more mature version of the "preppy" look somewhere between what would be considered Classic Americana and English Countrywear.

5. Avoid synthetic materials: most synthetics are petroleum based and shed microplastics affecting both your health and the health of our planet. If you do go for a synthetic or synthetic blend, try to aim for recycled synthetics. This has gotten increasingly difficult to do, but is still fairly easy to check for, just look at the labels and laundering instructions.

One facet of female solidarity that needs more discussion is anti consumerism and anti consumption. Our current western mindset is one of obtaining as much as possible, both as a show of wealth and for personal comfort. However, much of what we buy (for example, fast fashion) is produced in a non-transparent supply chain that frequently relies on female and Global South labor to make goods cheap and easily affordable, and thus more tempting for the consumer. These low wages that are paid to workers result in economic desperation and trap women in poorly paid, often abusive positions. Additionally, women and children are the most at risk from the negative effects of climate change, which is exacerbated by industrialization and over production.

By consuming less we reduce support for these predatory supply chains and their deleterious effects on the environment. Ideally if we buy goods, they are from female owned businesses whenever possible. Personally I also avoid spending money on items that enforce the beauty standard (this includes makeup, uncomfortable or impractical clothes or shoes, and cosmetic procedures). Essentially, what ways could you support female solidarity through consumption habits?

by elliothawkey

Boy Toy and I are headed to renfaire now okay bye!

Make a list of non-negotiables in your partner. I'm not joking either. Make a list of non-negotiables. Make a list of things you will not do for your partner with the following categories: Never-Dos, Will Not Do Before A Label, Will Not Do Before Rings, Will Not Do Without Marriage. Make a list of must haves and nice to haves as well as the inverse of must nots and should nots. If you want, break it down into categories of men: Male Friends, Men For Casual Dating, Men for Long Term Relationships, Husband Material. Don't even bother dating without building a solid network of platonic, mentorship, and familial relationships. Your familial relationships can absolutely be found family rather than blood, but ensure you have a strong social network foundation before getting into dating. Get comfortable being single, and if a man is having a negative affect on your quality of life rather than a positive one, drop him. Remember that men are on their best behavior for the first 3 months, and if there are problems before that, those problems will be significantly worse. Don't have fuck buddies, and if you do, don't develop feelings for your fuck buddies, and if you do, stop having sex with that fuck buddy. Do not chase these men. They are not worth it. The right men will work their ass off to be with you, and will do the work necessary to be with you if you call them on their shit and send them away to fix it. Do not be someone who's bar is in hell. These are grown ass adults and need to behave as such.

I sincerely don't want to get involved in the celibacy discourse but I will say this as a 35 year old bisexual woman. If you are a woman in your twenties who is attracted to men: Do not chase a man. Any man. Under any circumstances. He isn't special. There will be others. In chasing him, you will lose yourself.

warmly,

auntie Shellstrop