henna · Herbs · natural beauty products

Herbal Hair Dye

Thinking of switching to natural hair coloring? Here are some pros and cons and how-to: https://botanicalalchemyandapothecary.com/coloring-hair-with-herbs

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Education · essential oils · food · food allergy blogs · food sensitivities · gluten free · gluten intolerance · gluten intolerant · health · henna · Herbs · natural beauty products · organic · supplements

New Blog Address

Hello everyone! I’ve been quiet here lately b/c I’ve been working on a new blog site which I can’t wait to share with you. I started Spice of Life Blog right after finishing grad school when I just wanted a place to write again in a way that wasn’t in the grad school genre and reclaim my personal voice. Now I’m ready to start putting more time into a blog and although I thought about just reworking this space a bit, it quickly became clear I needed a new look, new categories, new everything, and so instead of a remodel, I guess I’m moving houses. I so hope you’ll join me!

Much like this one, my new blog will be about herbs, food intolerances (both managing and healing them), essential oils, natural foods/products, and green beauty. In the future I hope to have links to other herbalists and wellness practitioners around the world as a kind of virtual healing center resource. I also intend to offer herbal classes and tutorials there as well, and perhaps even some products. This is just the beginning and I hope to see you there at my new site, Botanical Alchemy & Apothecary. Please subscribe and let me know what you think about the new look. I’m still in the setting up phase and welcome suggestions.

XOXO, Kristen

PS~ If you know anyone else who is interested in herbs, essential oils, food intolerances, natural foods and products, and green beauty, please share the address: www.botanicalalchemyandapothecary.com with them. I can’t wait to have a community of like-minded people sharing ideas and growing and learning together.

Happy October everyone!

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cosmetics · essential oils · health · henna · Herbs · natural beauty products

Natural Salon/Spa

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This is what I dream about making~ an all-natural salon and spa which only uses chemical-free dyes with henna and herbs,all natural hair products, and spa services with all botanical ingredients, nothing artificial or questionable or unpronounceable. I don’t know why these don’t exist already actually but I’ve searched and can’t find any place that is completely chemical free. Henna dying takes longer, so there would have to be WiFi so people can work while their hair color settles, and an organic coffee and juice bar for sure, and also the ability to do mani/pedis or other services to use the time well. I’d have all natural products to browse too, and be a real stickler on only bringing in the cleanest of the clean beauty companies out there, and really there has never been a better time for this because so many people are concerned about what is in their products that they slather on their bodies each day or soaks into their hair on a regular basis. Aveda started out trying to be as all-natural as possible, but if you look at their products now they may have a botanical component but the larger part is factory made chemicals. The book No More Dirty Looks discusses Aveda founder (the late) Horst M. Rechelbacher’s disappointment in what Aveda became after selling it to Estée Lauder. He went on to create Intelligent Ingredients  which went back to his all natural philosophy. The website for No More Dirty Looks is a great place to get good information for health and beauty products but I highly recommend reading the book if you are concerned at all about what is lurking in your daily beauty routine. I think it’s time to take these cosmetic industry concerns beyond the bathroom and level up to the salons and spas we use. It’s the ‘natural’ next step.

henna · Herbs · natural beauty products

Henna Haircoloring

As promised, a henna update~

I’m ridiculously awkward with selfies but this is my hair after using henna all over once and on my grey roots about 4 times over the course of the month:

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As you can see, the hair still has color variation which was important to me. The roots are definitely harder to color but it does stick after a few times. Worth it. It’s easy too~ don’t let the instructions intimidate you as they did me for quite a while! I’m hooked! All it really requires is washing the hair, mixing the henna with warm water, then putting the henna on and leaving it to set for an hour or two. When washing it out, you can just use water and reapply (for extra coverage on the grey) or if you are finished, use conditioner and then blow-dry. It’s healthy for the hair so it can be used as often as needed and the results are great!

I used henna color lab because their dyes are truly all herbal and they have a great variety of colors. The shade I have been using is medium brown. Natural beauty products have it all!