Welcome to Part 3 of The Poor Girls Beauty Trifecta. If you need to get caught up, here is Part 1 and Part 2.

In this last entry, I’ll be talking about….

Coconut Oil

Coconut Oil is best known as a cooking product, so you’ll only find it in the baking section or supplement section of most grocery stores. I purchased the above Jarrow Formulas jar at Whole Foods for just 8 dollars.

Since it’s a sunny 65 degrees outside right now, I want to make this entry as brief as possible, so I’m going to provide some links to some great articles I first read about using coconut oil as a replacement for all of my face and body creams (along with my conditioner).

Why is coconut oil the only type of oil you should use on your skin?

Coconut Oil for your Skin and Hair

Livestrong.com recommends Coconut Oil

If you search around the internet a bit more, you will see that the amount of articles and research that has been done on coconut oil is vast, and like me, you might be confused as to why you’ve never heard of it before.

I think the answer lies in the fact that the beauty industry doesn’t really want you to know about it, because then everyone would just go out and buy a huge tub of coconut oil for under 10 dollars. In fact, after looking at the ingredient labels of the creams I used to use, I found coconut oil as a main ingredient in almost half of them.

Since using coconut oil, my skin feels great, and although it seems like the type of product that would clog pores, I have not broken out once since I started using it over three months ago. I also use it in my hair as a pre-shower hair mask, and I sometimes use it on dry hair to get rid of flyaways (just use a dot though, or else it will be too greasy). It smells incredible too (sort of like if Smith’s Rosebud Salve were to come out with a coconut flavor).

All and all, it is an extremely gender-neutral and versatile product, and keeping a tub of it in your bathroom will help eliminate a lot of other over priced products.

Here’s a view from the inside:

As you’ll notice, it’s very solid, but over time the heat of the bathroom helps turn the top layer into a Vaseline-like texture.

I keep meaning to buy a second jar just for baking, because I love the taste of coconut, and I bet this stuff would taste insane in homemade cookies or oatmeal. I also keep coming across articles on the endless health benefits of incorporating it into your cooking.

So there you have it, THE ULTIMATE POOR GIRLS BEAUTY TRIFECTA….

If you ever have any questions on using any of these three products, or want to know a bit more about my experiences with them, feel free to email me at caitlyn@thetinyadventurer.com

Alright, I’m off to try and fit in a few outdoor adventures before this gorgeous day is over.

If you missed Part 1 of this series, you can read it here.

In part 2 of this series, I’ll be talking about….

Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap

I re-discovered this product really recently. And when I say re-discovered, it’s because when I was a Junior in college I decided to rebel against society and get my lip pierced, and Dr. Bronner’s was the soap the tattoo parlor made me purchase to wash the piercing until it healed.

So in retrospect, it was because of Dr. Bronners that I was able to pull off the “I’m so different and unique, I swear!” look.

Me circa 2006

Sadly, the end of my lip ring marked the end of Dr. Bronner.

I didn’t come across it again until last month at Whole Foods, when I went searching for a multi-purpose soap that was all natural with no synthetic foaming agents or preservatives (my skin is extremely sensitive). While scanning the aisle, I immediately recognized the Dr. Bronner soap again, because they have a very distinct label which sort of looks like someone tried to transcribe the Old Testament onto it. I figured if it was once mild enough to put on a lip piercing, it was worth giving another shot.

I’ve now been using if for over a month, and I’m really happy with it. Although an all natural soap with no-foaming agents takes a while to get used to, it’s worth testing out, especially if you have sensitive skin. The best part is that this stuff goes a long way. I paid about $10 for a 16 ounce bottle, and after a month of heavy use, the liquid line has barely gone down a few centimeters. And this is with me using it as my shampoo, body wash, and shaving cream.

I can’t wait for my next adventure that involves traveling, because the thought of having to pack just one item to take care of all my shower needs it quite exciting.

There’s just one product left in The Poor Girls Beauty Trifecta, and it’s edible, so check back for Part 3.

In my quest to lead a more adventurous lifestyle, I’ve tried to cut down on “things”.

I suppose it first started at a tag sale my parents held last summer, in which I was ordered to remove all of my old things from storage in their basement.

After I left for college, my parents did what most only dream about doing….they mourned me for a few weeks, then packed up my room, knocked down some walls, and successfully turned my bedroom into an extension of their “master suite.”

True story.

So after six years, there were items from my old bedroom that I forgot I even had. About 10 boxes of forgotten things to be exact, and being forced to go through them was really tough. I was overwhelmed by the amount of things I had accumulated, and even more overwhelmed by the idea of having to let them go.

Eventually though, I learned to let go, and rather than feel regretful, I felt really free.

And so I began cutting down on other things like clothes, jewelry, shoes, etc… I basically had a five second rule, where if it took me longer than five seconds to decide if I wanted to keep something, I tossed it!

Objects involving skincare and haircare were a lot more challenging to cut down on though, especially since I’m somewhat of a Sephora junkie.

Without being too specific, I used to use the following products over the course of a day:

Make-up remover, face wash, face scrub, toner, face moisturizer, a second face moisturizer with salicylic acid in it, body moisturizer, eye cream, shampoo, conditioner, shaving cream, body scrub, body soap, leave in conditioner, mousse, and some sort of styling cream.

It’s taken me a while, but over the course of a year I’ve managed to cut down about 16+ products into just three, and by the end of this three part series I hope to inspire a few others (including the guys) to do the same, and not because your skin and hair will look better (because they will), but because no one should have to feel bound to so many things over the course of a 24 hour period, especially when most of them are serving the same purpose. And just in case you need further motivation: the combined cost of all three of these products is as much as my old eye cream.

First product up: Thayers Witch Hazel

Why I like this product:

• It’s a face wash, toner, and moisturizer all in one
• It removes make-up
• It smells fantastic
• It makes my skin feel good
• It makes my skin look good
• It’s mess free (No water. No suds. No headbands needed to keep my hair from getting wet).
• Justin TImberlake uses it, so it must be legit.

Cost: $9.95 a bottle, but it lasts.

My Thoughts:

I had often heard about the medicinal properties of witch hazel, in fact I even remember by grandma having a generic bottle of it in her bathroom, but I had never known it to be something that works well for skincare.

I was re-introduced to the benefits of this product by my moms friend, Joanne, who after listening to me complain about the fact that I still breakout at the age of 24, recommended this product.

I was a huge skeptic (as people with bad skin often are), but I decided to try it.

At first I was a little baffled by the idea of using an astringent to wash and moisturize my face, but after a while it began to feel natural, like this is how cleaning my face should have always been. Rather than uncomfortably splashing myself with water (and destroying the sink area in the process), I was simply soaking a cute little cotton ball with toner. It smelled amazing, it felt amazing, and I didn’t even need to put that much effort into cleaning my face at the end of a long night. Best of all was that, as  Joanne had claimed, it improved my skin.

As you can see, I am now the proud owner of four bottles (Buying multiples of the same product doesn’t count towards my “three,” right?).

Some quick tips I’ve learned since using this product:

• Thayers is hard to track down in stores, so you might want to order off their website.
• For troubled or oily skin, definitely use the lemon witch hazel, but keep in mind that this is the one product in their witch hazel line that is alcohol based, so if you naturally have patches of dry skin, you might still need a dot of moisturizer during the winter months.
• For sensitive, uneven, or red skin tones, choose any of the other witch hazel products (my mom is an avid user of the Cucumber Witch Hazel, and she loves it)
• For rashes, bug bites, small cuts, or burns, use Thayer’s Medicated Superhazel (I own this also, and use it like crazy during the summer months. It’s great to bring on hikes or outdoor treks)

I really have nothing further to add on this product, other than it works, and it will definitely streamline your skincare routine.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of the Poor Girls Beauty Trifecta, where I’ll show you a product which will help eliminate your body wash, shampoo, conditioner, shaving cream, and a bunch of other things depending on how creative you get.