Recipe for natural, chemical free leave-in conditioner spray

It is surprising to me that it took me this long to start making my own hair products, especially after 3 years of working as a shampoo girl at a hair salon that caused me to develop mild eczema. I was cursing life, hating my job that forced me to be exposed to chemicals for hours on end. Luckily, when my days at the salon were up, my hands cleared up and my skin went back to normal. Strangely enough, it's my new job at ABC Carpet & Home that has made me realize that I'm not ok with pouring ingredients I can't pronounce over my head and down the shower drain. At ABC, they sell loads of beauty products that are mostly organic and natural, but the prices are steep and I'm a college student and cashier, so 80 dollar bottles of conditioner are out of the question. So I did a little research and came to the conclusion that making your own shit rocks. I'm still tweaking my shampoo recipe, but here is a great one for leave-in conditioner spray.


You'll need

1. a refillable spray bottle (mine is about 8 ounces, less than $2 at Bed Bath, & Beyond)
The great thing about this is that you can reuse this bottle as much as you like. You can even use an old spray bottle if you have one handy.

2. an aloe vera leaf (about $2 at Whole Foods) and a knife to scrape out the goo
Aloe Vera is a natural conditioner, often used to help heal sunburns and stimulate hair growth. It can also be used as a preservative, delaying the growth of undesirable mold and bacteria.

3. filtered water

4. jojoba oil (found a bottle that will last me forever for $6 at Trader Joes)
This is the best stuff, the closest oil to skin's natural sebum. It's non-greasy, odorless, and a natural carrier of vitamin E plus other things that I forget but are apparently awesome. And if you decide to switch back to the dark side of store-bought conditioners, you can use the remainder of your bottle as makeup remover or moisturizer that will hydrate the beejesus out of your dry feet (I'm talking to you, New Yorker City folk, I know all that walking is reeking havoc on your footsies).

5. a bottle or two of your favorite essential oils (mine were $6 each at Whole Foods)
I used rosemary and lemongrass essential oil, which combined together to create a heavenly aroma that stimulates the hair follicles. The possibilities are endless though, so chose whichever oils appeal to your little nose best. Usually these come in teensy bottles, but we'll be using a very small amount so you won't run out for awhile.

6. a blender/food processor/something that will liquefy your aloe vera goo

7. a big bowl

The process

Grab your aloe vera leaf and crack the baby open. I made a mess at this point, so be careful of where you are doing this. Use your knife to scrape out the clear jell inside of the leaf into a big bowl. When I did this I just assumed that the goo inside the leaf was going to be like the aloe goo I've used on my sunburn-prone skin since childhood, but it's actually more like jello. This is why we need the blender to make to improve the consistency for our purpose. So get to it, blend it up until it gets a bit frothy. Fill the spray bottle about half way with the goo. Then drip in about 15 drops of your essential oils and 10 jojoba oil drops. My hair is on the dry side, but it is also very fine, so 10 drops of jojoba oil works just dandy, but if you have extremely dry hair you might want to add more, less for fine hair that doesn't need so much moisture. I would start with less and add more if you feel like your hair needs more loving. Then just fill the rest of the bottle with filtered water and TADA! Some good hair shit.

This recipe can be tweaked in a number of ways to suit your needs. Jojoba oil can be interchanged with other oils (such as olive or avocado), though I prefer jojoba because it has no scent, so the essential oils can speak for themselves. I'll post more recipes soon!

Francesca Lia Block excerpt

By Liselotte Eriksson

"Do you know when they say soulmates? Everybody uses it in personal ads. "Soul mate wanted." It doesn't mean too much now. But soulmates- think about it. When your soul- whatever that is anyway- something so alive when you make music or love and so mysteriously hidden most of the rest of the time, so colorful and big but without color or shape- when your soul finds another soul it can recognize even before the rest of you knows about it. The rest of you just feels sweaty and jumpy at first. And your souls get married without even meaning to- even if you can't be together for some reason in real life, your souls just go ahead and make the wedding plans. A soul's wedding must be too beautiful to even look at. It must be blinding. It must be like all the weddings in the world- gondolas with canopies of doves, champagne glasses shattering, wings of veils, drums beating, flutes and trumpets, showers of roses. And after that happens you know- that's it. This is it. But, sometimes you have to let that person go. When you're little, people, movies, and fairy tales all tell you that one day you're going to meet this person. So you keep waiting and it's a lot harder than they make it sound. Then you meet and you think, okay, now we can just get on with it but you find out that sometimes your soul brother partner lover has other ideas about that. They want to go to New York and write songs or whatever. They feel like you don't really love them but the idea of them, the dream you've had since you were a kid about a panther boy to carry you out of the forest of your fear or an angel to make love and celestial music with in the clouds or a genie twin to sleep with you inside a lamp. Which doesn't mean they're not the one. It just means you've got to do whatever you have to do for you alone. You've got to believe in your magic and face right up to the mean nasty part of yourself that wants to keep the one you love locked up in a place in you where no one else can touch them or even see them. Just the way when someone you love dies you don't stop loving them but you don't lock up their souls inside you. You turn that love into something else, give it to somebody else. And sometimes in a weird way when you do that you get closer than ever to the person who died or the one your soul married."

-"Missing Angel Juan" by Francesca Lia Block

Sex is not the enemy.

So, I recently discovered a new website that I realize might seem controversial to post on my blog. But I really encourage anyone who sees this to check out this site. Most of the images really capture what sex should be all about: chemistry, intimacy, fun. It really makes me sad that we live in a society with so many negative attitudes toward sex.

Sex is not the enemy.



Found here.


Found here.


Found here.

"To hear many religious people talk, one would think God created the torso, head, legs and arms, but the devil slapped on the genitals." -Don Schrader

Su Blackwell

Just a few months ago I was at the Museum of Art and Design's Slash exhibit and I discovered a mesmerizing new artist, Su Blackwell. Just when I thought I couldn't love Alice's Adventures in Wonderland more, she comes around and turns the whimsical work of literature into an enchanting work of art.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Here are the facts. This movie is directed by Terry Gilliam (the marvelous fellow behind the stoner classic Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas), stars the lovely and enchanting model Lily Cole (who you can see here in an older post on photographer Tim Walker), and features Heath Ledger's final performance. Not enough to convince you to shell out 10 bucks to go see it now in theaters? Let me try to convince you visually.


Honestly, Lily Cole's outfits are enough to make this movie on their own. Everything was marvelous, from her silk floral embroidered robes to her lavish on-stage costumes.




I think I've found a new career path... traveling sideshow mistress.

"Nothing's permanent, not even death."

New Year's Resolutions that I Procrastinated on Making

20 Things I Want to do in 2010.

Yes, I actually do want to do these things. If you have something to say about them, read resolution number 5.

1) Take some burlesque lessons à la Dita Von Teese.

2) Work out (well, when I'm back in the city jogging will have to do) a few mornings a week to keep my energy up.
3)Fix up my sleeping schedule!
4) If I'm feeling overwhelmed with the amount of things I'm doing, try working on time management. If that doesn't work, cut out some of the bullshit random things I waste time doing.
5) Do things I fucking want to do! Living in the present. If it would make me happy to do it and I can, do it!
6) Try really hard to work out this spring break trip to LA.
7) Get a tattoo. I've been wanting to turn a few of my freckles into little brown hearts and I'd also really like a FLB quote, if I can find the perfect one.
8) Try to fit yoga in once a week.
9) Submit my head shots to FIT; $18 an hour modeling sure beats $9.50 at Urban Outfitters.
10) Learn to knit.
11) Have a fully operating website for my designs/crafts/etc.
12) Learn to press flowers.
13) Buy a bike.
14) Get my first apartment. Plus get my baby Tiger Lily back.
15) Ask me this one.
16) Don't have high expectations in the love department. Have some fun. If things get serious, that's okay, but don't go looking for it right now. Let it find you.
17) Learn to do my own waxes.
18) Try to remember that I'm in school for me, no one is making me do this. Don't let it become "work." This mostly means stop procrastinating so much that projects become overwhelming.
19) Philosophy book club?
20) Keep up with the "to-do" lists. Oh yeah. Actually do those things instead of just obsessing about the list itself. Goob.

Kurt & Courtney, ewy gooey grungy love.

You know what I love more than Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love? Photos of Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love. And kittens.