Cosmetic things that worked for me - sharing girly stuff

apple You didn't need to point out which one is you. How cute.

Onvacation, use it one night on your face, and report back what you see in the morning. For me, it's an elixir of love. I have such a marked difference in the appearance of my skin when I use it-- it's as if it plumps up my skin.  I LOVE IT!

I also use Apricot Kernel Oil sometimes, and it gives great results as well.

Additionally, I actually don't think the oils will make you break out. I have skin that tends to acne, and the oil has actually helped with acne breakouts, for some reason. Could be the antibacterial properties of the coconut oil, I suppose. 

I haven't been able to find any! What department do you find it in? Grocery store? Pharmacy? Is it an oil or a hard block?

But what area of shelving am I looking for? Cooking?

Barbe. Got mine in a healthfood store in the cooking area.. Make sure it is organic, comes in a jar

Barbe,

At my local Whole Foods, they have jars (brown jars with 365 label) in the beauty / supplements section, but I've seen the same jar in the cooking oils section.  I keep mine in the bathroom, and it does get goopy in the warmer weather, but I don't put it in the fridge (don't think it would hurt, though).  

My hair frequently looks greasy, as it's long, and I sleep with the oil on my face, but I'll take it any day for the results it gives.  I'm a real believer in it, and I love the "glow" it gives. 

Hair dye - my oncologist told me I could dye my hair whenever I wanted, but my hairdresser said that for the first 18months after chemo, hair can be fragile, so he didn't recommend it. I dyed my hair for more than 30 years... Peroxide, henna, permanent and demi perm. I just stopped though when it grew back. It is partially gray, but I rather like it.



Anyway.. There are lots of dyes that just deposit color on your hair. They contain little to no ammonium but do require some peroxide or similar developer to make the color deposit or coat your hair. These are the 28 day wash out, semi perm, Demi perm, deposit colors. I've always dyed my hair myself...since my natural color was dark brown with red highlights, I'd use a neutral brown base and add a little red and golden brown.



My favorite was goldwell colorance, it's a professional product, not sure if you can get it at Sally. Wella, clairol and l'oreal all have similar lines. I also used herbatint, which I bought online or in whole foods. I can't stand the smell of ammonia and the permanent colors made my scalp sting, so I went to the semi perm. They can't lighten your hair though, and you need a good neutral shade to cover gray. But, I think they do a good job.

I've started to use Lush products...they don't have a lot of chemicals. I like their purple shampoo for gray hair and their soaps. Not sure if you can get them in the US.

I bought mine at an Asian market. It's food grade and is pretty solid in the jar. My first mistake was to buy a smaller jar that came in a ketchup style bottle with a small neck. I have to soak it in warm water in the sink while I take my shower. By the time I'm out there is enough liquified to get out of the bottle. I now have a jar with a wide mouth screw off top so that I can scoop out a tiny tiny dolop that almost instantly melts in my hands which I then rub together then rub on my face.

Onvocation: At my LGFB session they showed us that YELLOW concealer minimises dark circles. I have bought a Benefit concealing kit that has a yellow and it works well!



Jenn

Edot  All I know is my hair dresser dyed my hair with Framesi product like he always did 13 weeks PFC… and it came out a bit too red so we processed it again for another 1/2 hour. I had no issues. The next time we did change product because the Framesi didn't seem to cover gray at my temples too well and we went a bit browner. My onc too said when ever I wanted.

I love the coconut oil. I have tried it on my face at night for the last couple of weeks after reading this, and it seems to make my skin look great. I don't use much.

Lago - I love framesi, but could never get it to use as a non-professional. I had my hair colored once or twice with it in a salon. It makes sense that if you don't process it long enough it would be too red,especially if it has a red base.

Since I've stopped dying my hair, I notice all of these women with super dark hair, all one color, and it doesn't match their faces. We look for ways to justify our decisions, I guess. My post chemo hair is actually thicker and curly - pre chemo was straight.

I had a gorgeous wig - it was Japanese, I think. A dark brown bob with red highlights. It looked great, but I hated wearing it. I was really only seriously bald for 4 months. I walked around all last summer with a tiny bit of hair.  I just donated my wig to a  group that sends them to Eastern Europe -  in Switzerland, insurance pays for the wig. And these wigs are expensive! 

My skin on my body is definitley drier, but my face seems to be holding its own with regard to wrinkles, etc.  But then, I've only been on Arimidex for 7 months... haven't lost nearly enough estrogen yet, I imagine. Sigh......

Edot I too looked great last summer (started Anastrozole March 12011). Now I notice my skin face is dryer and sags more. Those commas are now long back & forward slashes from my nose to below my mouth… but I look good when I smile. As much as I would love to blame it on Anastrozole I also was put into chemopause. I was peri before so close but I'm pretty sure this is from chemopause. Given my age I was so close anyway that I know I would probably have been dealing with this in a year anyway.

I rather have a some sagging skin then managing mets.

The Framesi actually did have a brown base but we added a little red to it. It worked well on my old hair but not on my chemo hair. I'm not sure what brand he uses now but the temples are still a bit challenging and never fully cover.

i have pretty good luck painting on temporary hair color with a toothbrush.. it really works quite well.. it only lasts about 6 weeks and takes a bit of experimentation but one can do the temples, greys and touch up... (that is if one has hair).

Love this thread - what a good idea to share this info.  

crystalphm  Sorry to hear that Bare Minerals rated so poorly - I thought it was a natural line free of most of the bad stuff?    Did you get this info from EWG?   The mineral veil was rated poorly a few years ago but I think that it's better now.  

I have looked for paraben free, more natural cosmetics and haven't had an easy time finding products. I've been a lip balm addict my entire life, so felt it was important to start wearing something that had less of the bad stuff.  Tarte is a line that is all natural, but durn it's expensive - a lip crayon for $24 and there's not much there.  I like some of the Aveda line but not sure if all the products are natural.  

I love the Ahava dead sea products - the hand cream that I have is heavenly and paraben free.  

Also looking for facial sunscreen - have worn one that rates very poorly and I'm pretty disappointed as I stocked up in the States pre-BC and brought a lot of it with me.   The natural versions I've tried are goopy and greasy - anybody have a good sunscreen to recommend?