Hello everyone! The past few weeks, I've been stuck inside most of the time due to the nonstop rain that has been effecting central Texas. Even as I write this, there is a major downpour accompanied by severe flooding. Hopefully this rain spell will stop sooner than later so I won't be stuck inside for the rest of summer.

I wanted to talk about a product that I've been using lately & have been loving; oatmeal! Most people have easy access to it & it's super affordable. For the past month or so, I've found dozens of uses for oatmeal & I wanted to share some with you.

This summer is all about saving money for future expenses, so make sure to add oatmeal to your grocery list, if you haven't done so already! I can't stress enough how much money can be saved by using this product in your daily routine.

Incorporate it into your morning routine.

Everyone knows breakfast is the most important meal of the day & sometimes it can be challenging trying to balance this particular meal, due to lack of time for preparation or downright pickiness (like me.) Either way, I highly recommend adding oatmeal to your breakfast because it'll give you loads of energy & it's super healthy. It's just an additional five minutes of your time to add it to your breakfast, which is quite reasonable. It's perfect for adding any kind of fruit, along with a dash of brown sugar. If you need more ideas, here's a few other recipes you can make using oatmeal. Ever thought of adding mango to oatmeal? Yum!

Add oatmeal to your smoothies.

Oatmeal is my favorite ingredient to add to smoothies. It gives the smoothie a perfect texture & adds a sweeter taste, which I love. I add about a half cup to a cup (64 to 128 grams) to attain the perfect blend. Adding this to your smoothie can make it go a long way. It fills your stomach, so you'll be less hungry throughout the day. You'll end up consuming less calories & more protein. (1 cup of oatmeal is around 10 grams of protein.)

Add oatmeal to facial & hair masks.

If you suffer from breakouts or noticeable pores, I highly suggest adding oatmeal to your skincare routine in some capacity. Every few days I like to make my own simple oatmeal scrub using honey, oatmeal & sometimes coconut oil. After applying it to my face, I wait about 10 minutes and scrub whatever is left on my skin. It removes dirt & oil, reducing pore size & preventing acne. Oatmeal also protects your skin from harsh chemicals & keeps it moisturized if you suffer from dry skin. Here's an amazing mask that incorporates oatmeal.

If you struggle with thinning hair or just need a boost, use oatmeal for deep conditioning. Oatmeal replaces many vitamins & nutrients in the scalp, giving life to your strands. If you want more information on deep conditioning using oil, you can find it here. All you have to do is add a few tablespoons of oatmeal to do the trick.

Hope you enjoyed all these wonderful uses for oatmeal. I'm eager to find more ways I can incorporate oatmeal in my life. That's all for now!

-Mars

Hello everyone! Hope you all having a wonderful December so far! I have a very exciting post for today. I've been looking forward to sharing this with everyone for a long time & that is my natural, affordable seaweed facial & hair mask!

I first had the bright idea to create my own seaweed mask when I went swimming at Barton Springs Pool, which is a natural springs here in Austin. There's tons of seaweed-looking stuff floating around everywhere, so it made me curious about how seaweed can be helpful for skin & hair.

I'm not a fan of sushi, but I do love the taste of seaweed in some dishes. Seaweed or nori, as it's often called, is super rich in vitamins, minerals & antioxidants. It has tons of omega-3 fatty acids that contribute to the elasticity of the skin and healing acne scars. If you've been having a major breakout like me due to the stress of finals, the seaweed will greatly help reduce the size of the breakout.

Seaweed helps prevent hair loss & contributes to thicker strands. It also prevents split ends all with the help of those wonderful omega-3 fatty acids.

For the mask I like to used dried, non-roasted seaweed to make sure it contains all of its original nutrients. Roasted is fine too, if you don't have easy access to non-roasted. You can also use kelp powder if you have access to that, which is seaweed in powder form.

Along with the seaweed, I add some aloe vera because it has amazing benefits on skin & hair. It helps with hair growth by stimulating the scalp & works the same way with skin. It decreases acne scars, moisturizes & gets rid of bacteria collected underneath pores that contributes to future acne.

I also add some honey to the mask to give it a smoother texture for application. Honey helps moisturize & repair damaged hair. It also has several nutrients that get rid of acne & give the skin a healthy glow.


2 sheets of dried seaweed (or 1 tbs. kelp powder)
1 tbs. Aloe Vera (15 grams)
1 tbs. raw honey (15 grams)

Start by grinding the sheets of seaweed as fine as possible. The finer, more powder-like the consistency, the less messy it will be. Add the aloe & honey to the mixture, stirring very well until it has a pasty consistency.


For hair, just add a tablespoon of coconut oil to the mixture.


I prefer doing this hair mask with day old hair because you'll have to wash out the mask. Start off by dampening the hair with warm water to make the mask easier to apply. This will also help the ingredients absorb into the scalp & hair follicles. Make sure it's not dripping wet, but lightly saturated with water.

Hello everyone! I'll be leaving for vacation in a few days & I don't want to have to deal with a face full of blemishes on my trip. I'm doing a kale & honey mask that will help clear my face & prepare it for the dryness of the plane & stress from traveling.

Kale & I have a love-hate relationship. Basically, I hate that I don't love it or even like it because I'm missing out on its rich nutrients.

I really wish I was one of those people who actually enjoyed eating kale. I have a hard time eating bitter foods because, well, I just don't like them. My sweet tooth is out of control, which makes me crave sweets all the time.

Hello everyone! I wanted to let you all in on one of my not-so-secret, multipurpose weapons; castor oil! I know, right? When I first heard through the grapevine about this amazing substance, my first thought was "isn't that a laxative?"

Needless to say, I was unaware of all its magical powers. So, here are a few ways I use castor oil & why it's one of my necessities. One of the main reasons for castor oil's effectiveness is it's ability to penetrate deeper than other natural oils. The benefits seep deep into the skin, which is why it's been used for many centuries to cure dozens of ailments.


For Hair:: Castor oil is one of the most important natural oils that I use to deep condition my hair. Here's my post about how I use natural oils, including castor oil. Basically, castor oil helps stimulate hair growth & contains tons of goodness that contributes to the strengthening of strands.

Makeup Remover:: Waterproof eye makeup can be a total pain to remove. & it almost never comes completely off (at least in my experience). Castor oil works miracles at removing even the toughest of waterproof eyeliners/mascaras.

Moisturizer:: Sometimes I use castor oil on my face & lips because it is extremely beneficial for the skin. It improves the elasticity, which delays the occurrence of wrinkles. It doesn't make me breakout at all, which is awesome because everything tends to make me breakout. It's actually supposed to prevent acne, as well. Since it is rather thick, I rinse it off after I've rubbed it into my skin.
Tip: Warm it up in between your fingers before application. The skin always absorbs better through warmth.

Longer lashes:: Part of my nightly routine is rubbing a bit of castor oil on my lashes. Not only does this remove all my eye makeup, leaving the castor oil on overnight will stimulate lash growth. It also helps with getting rid of dark circles!

Thicker Brows:: Add a little to the brows overnight & overtime they'll end up growing thicker. The castor oil penetrates deep into the follicles, allowing them to grow faster. This is perfect since bushy brows are a huge thing on the runway lately.

Nail growth:: It's always important to make sure the nail beds are hydrated. I like to add a bit of castor oil to help each nail grow faster (even the toenails). It's extremely moisturizing & able to penetrate deep within the nail bed to be extra effective. Just a tiny bit around the cuticle & you're good to go!

I hope I'm not leaving anything out. Make sure the castor oil is cold-pressed, otherwise it won't have the same benefits. I purchase mine at the grocery store or health food store. Get It Here


-Mars