Joy & Austin 28: loss and mourning

[Smash!]

I love the Kinky Curly products. Especially the Knot Today conditioner can be used as leave-in conditioner which is pretty great for dry hair. I also use their styling gel. Curly products have really made the difference for my dry and curly hair and they are thankfully sold at some afro-stores. I also switched to natural cosmetics products where possible. Shower gel has proven being great for my skin and I have to very rarely use body lotion. It failed with make up tough. The eye shadows and lipsticks don't last a day at work and this is why I don't use them anymore.
I also try not to buy plastic anymore, which is pretty hard as the alternatives are so much more expensive.

[JustEnough]

4 hours ago, allthegoodnamesrgone said:

My biggest issue with the natural deodorants is how hard they are to put on, I have some of the Schmidt's, Native & Tom's they about rip the skin off on my underarms, I've tried "warming" them up with my body heat, or a hair dryer nothing seems to help, that stuff is just HARD. I bought this product called Lume It works OK, but it is very sticky, it comes in a cream form, the problem is it smells like rotten ass, I HATE HATE HATE lavender so I got the unscented and I just can't get past the stink, and how sticky and difficult it is to use. It works, once you get past the initial application and drying, but you have to get through that. 

Thanks for sharing this perspective. I'd really like to switch over to personal care products that have less stuff in them to irritate my skin and be better for my health and the environment. The problem being I have really sensitive skin so finding something my skin accepts is a process, and a not fun process at that. 

[Beermeet]

5 hours ago, allthegoodnamesrgone said:

My biggest issue with the natural deodorants is how hard they are to put on, I have some of the Schmidt's, Native & Tom's they about rip the skin off on my underarms, I've tried "warming" them up with my body heat, or a hair dryer nothing seems to help, that stuff is just HARD. I bought this product called Lume It works OK, but it is very sticky, it comes in a cream form, the problem is it smells like rotten ass, I HATE HATE HATE lavender so I got the unscented and I just can't get past the stink, and how sticky and difficult it is to use. It works, once you get past the initial application and drying, but you have to get through that. 

I know what you mean about the consistency of Schmit's. I do find it absorbs in quickly tho. Again, I only used the charcoal ( which makes sense, the absorbency/dryness).  I've tried many natural ones and whoever said they seemed to stink more as use went on,  I agree!  It was weird. Like, geez, I don't reek even without.  I work close to people's heads so I'm extra paranoid. Some of those natural ones made me reek, absolutely not my normal smell. Weird! 

[allthegoodnamesrgone]

3 hours ago, Smash! said:

I also try not to buy plastic anymore, which is pretty hard as the alternatives are so much more expensive.

I just invested about $35 in these and These and a few other bags, after dd went grocery shopping yesterday & complained about needing plastic bags for the produce. She's my activist/environmentalist, and I've always tried to be as "green" as possible, but little kids, jobs and crabby tight ass husbands can make that difficult to be all in, but now that she is older and has taken over the grocery shopping duties this summer, she FINALLY sees what I'm talking about so she's all on board so it helps to have another one in the house to keep everyone on task. She also works at Starbucks and really sells the metal straws to customers and has gotten all of us metal straws for the house and to carry with us, after seeing this video.   So I spent 

1 hour ago, JustEnough said:

Thanks for sharing this perspective. I'd really like to switch over to personal care products that have less stuff in them to irritate my skin and be better for my health and the environment. The problem being I have really sensitive skin so finding something my skin accepts is a process, and a not fun process at that. 

Our laundry soap has always been dye/fragrance free, dh has sensitiveness skin and sweats a lot working out side and the fragrance free detergents work the best. DD had eczema as a child, and that helped as well.  DH & I use Ivory soap, most of the time, it is inexpensive and doesn't have all the fragrance in it. I loved their body wash until they changed something and the unscented now smells horrible. I love the body washes but hate the plastic bottles they come in I feel guilty using them, so I really only have them for travel as bar soap is hard to tote around. 

[QuiverFullofBooks]

To loop our ostensible topic of conversation back in, I use the Duggars’ recipe for homemade laundry detergent, and it’s much more natural than the commercial detergents. Plus it’s cheaper and I don’t have to lug it home from the store.

[Topaz]

I used to get dark stains under the arms of my coloured tops, which wouldn’t wash out. I found out from Googling that it was likely due to a reaction between my sweat and the aluminium in deodorant. I switched to aluminium free about 4 years ago and it fixed the problem.

[Ticklish]

Speaking of using less plastics in general in our homes, do we have an actual thread for that somewhere? Overall going greener is another area I'd love to hear people's thoughts and tips, but it'd be nice for to be it's own separate thread to refer back to in the future or to add to as someone finds new products, etc. 

[Beermeet]

@allthegoodnamesrgone  Yes! I use og Ivory bar soap. It's the only soap my skin likes.  It's the only cleanser I use on my face. Literally everything else gives me a rash or red irritated skin.  It's Ph is alkaline and ingredients pretty basic. 

[Kelsey]

23 hours ago, llg1234 said:

And aluminium has been proven safe time and time again for people who are not allergic, so my question still stands. 

For me personally, the aluminum reacts funny and makes me have a weird stench after wearing it for two days (and the stench takes several days to wash away). It also stains the armpits of my clothes. 

I like to buy cruelty free and vegan products (and ethically sourced) products as often as I can. 

We have been slowly transitioning.

[Glasgowghirl]

I'm trying to cut out as many chemical's and plastic in my daily routine and have purchased a deodorant bar from lush that I have used along with the deodorant's I'm using up and it's been ok so far, Lush is not perfect by any means but there was one right next to my work and another one near it. 

[JustEnough]

8 hours ago, Ticklish said:

Speaking of using less plastics in general in our homes, do we have an actual thread for that somewhere? Overall going greener is another area I'd love to hear people's thoughts and tips, but it'd be nice for to be it's own separate thread to refer back to in the future or to add to as someone finds new products, etc. 

If there is I'd totally be in for that too!

[Cheetah]

So the fam and I are in Interlaken on vacation and we did the chocolate class today that Joy and Austin did on their honeymoon.  I had to laugh... when I signed up online they asked how I'd heard of it and I didn't want to mention that I'd seen it on Counting On.  I put TripAdvisor which was also true.  It was a lot of fun... my teens really enjoyed it.  And no, we are not going to try parasailing.

[Ticklish]

FYI- I started a "green" topic over in Quiverfull of Health and Wellness. I wasn't sure where else to put it, so hopefully that works for everyone. 

[WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo?]

7 hours ago, Ticklish said:

FYI- I started a "green" topic over in Quiverfull of Health and Wellness. I wasn't sure where else to put it, so hopefully that works for everyone. 

And now I'm following it. Thanks!

(For anyone else who is interested, here's a link.)

 

[Beermeet]

23 hours ago, Ticklish said:

FYI- I started a "green" topic over in Quiverfull of Health and Wellness. I wasn't sure where else to put it, so hopefully that works for everyone. 

Would you mind tagging me in it, please? Idk why, but I have the hardest time searching and finding those parts of FJ. 

[mollysmom]

@Beermeet, @WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo? posted it on the comment directly above yours. If you click on the box it will take you there. That's what I did!  

[Beermeet]

27 minutes ago, mollysmom said:

@Beermeet, @WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo? posted it on the comment directly above yours. If you click on the box it will take you there. That's what I did!  

Thanks!  How did I not see that?  How embarrassing! 

[dawbs]

On 7/29/2019 at 10:23 AM, allthegoodnamesrgone said:

My biggest issue with the natural deodorants is how hard they are to put on, I have some of the Schmidt's, Native & Tom's they about rip the skin off on my underarms, I've tried "warming" them up with my body heat, or a hair dryer nothing seems to help, that stuff is just HARD. I bought this product called Lume It works OK, but it is very sticky, it comes in a cream form, the problem is it smells like rotten ass, I HATE HATE HATE lavender so I got the unscented and I just can't get past the stink, and how sticky and difficult it is to use. It works, once you get past the initial application and drying, but you have to get through that. 

Damnit, I had hopes for that one.  I work, doing physical labor, without AC, all summer.  But still have to be 'professional' and I liked that it was a cream that I could use in the stinky places that aren't my pits...but I share your feelings on lavender (UGH, stupid lavender) in stuff, so I had held off because of the lack of other scents.

[mollysmom]

34 minutes ago, Beermeet said:

Thanks!  How did I not see that?  How embarrassing! 

Eh, no worries! I thought maybe you were just "electronically challenged" like me & didn't realize that you could just click on the box!  

[jqlgoblue]

I LOVE Native deodorant. It is a bit hard the first couple times you use a stick but it is fine after that. I thought it worked a lot better than Tom's and even the unscented works great! Nothing works for everyone but I'd highly recommend trying it. (I used to think I could only use antiperspirant so I am not a low sweat person).

[OldFadedStar]

8 hours ago, jqlgoblue said:

I LOVE Native deodorant. It is a bit hard the first couple times you use a stick but it is fine after that. I thought it worked a lot better than Tom's and even the unscented works great! Nothing works for everyone but I'd highly recommend trying it. (I used to think I could only use antiperspirant so I am not a low sweat person).

I just started using Native deodorant a few weeks ago and I LOVE it. I too am a sweaty person, living in Jackson MS in the summer. I've mostly worn tank tops right now as I'm adjusting to it but so far so good

[MargaretElliott]

I've been trying different natural deodorants, Native seems to always be the one that comes up as the best. Tom's just went on wet and slimy, and didn't last ten minutes in the summer heat. I'm currently using the Humble frankincense & vanilla scent, which is fine, though it smells more like licorice than frankincense or vanilla. I'll need to check out Native once my stick runs out.

I've also been on the hunt for new shampoo. I've been using Function of Beauty (which actually Jana was shilling on Instagram a while back) and it was great for a while, but my scalp has been crazy dry lately (like, might be psoriasis dry), and I want something paraben-free, SLS-free, and maybe silicone-free as well. Burt's Bees may be natural, but it made my hair fall out in clumps ( which is another example of how "natural" ingredients does not automatically mean it's good for you!). Anyone have any recommendations for fine 2B hair?

[Glasgowghirl]

Joy, Austin and Gideon appear to be away for a few day's with Austin's sister and her family I think the break will be good for them.

[mstee]

2 hours ago, MargaretElliott said:

I've been trying different natural deodorants, Native seems to always be the one that comes up as the best. Tom's just went on wet and slimy, and didn't last ten minutes in the summer heat. I'm currently using the Humble frankincense & vanilla scent, which is fine, though it smells more like licorice than frankincense or vanilla. I'll need to check out Native once my stick runs out.

I've also been on the hunt for new shampoo. I've been using Function of Beauty (which actually Jana was shilling on Instagram a while back) and it was great for a while, but my scalp has been crazy dry lately (like, might be psoriasis dry), and I want something paraben-free, SLS-free, and maybe silicone-free as well. Burt's Bees may be natural, but it made my hair fall out in clumps ( which is another example of how "natural" ingredients does not automatically mean it's good for you!). Anyone have any recommendations for fine 2B hair?

I really like Alba- especially their Hawaiian scents. I have fine hair and it doesn’t weigh it down  

ex: 

Spoiler

https://smile.amazon.com/Alba-Botanica-Hawaiian-Conditioner-12-Ounce/dp/B00D3QJTR8/ref=mp_s_a_1_16?keywords=natural+shampoo&qid=1565063426&s=gateway&sprefix=natural+sh&sr=8-16

 

[Daisy0322]

1 hour ago, Glasgowghirl said:

Joy, Austin and Gideon appear to be away for a few day's with Austin's sister and her family I think the break will be good for them.

It would be nice to know how they are doing and if anyone is being truly supportive. I may not  agree with them on a lot but the situation is heartbreaking. I'm 19 weeks pregnant now with my second and I just can't imagine let alone the many other pregnancies she may have and the retraumatization that's possible