Healthy things that are easy and do not cost a lot.

(Commonly referred to as my favorite healthy things.)

Part Two of a three-part series in which I, in all my inexperience and unqualified-ness, suggest how you can integrate healthy habits into your lifestyle.

Part II: External Healthy Things

Olive Oil

Cook with it because that’s obviously better than canola oil, but I also like to use this as a mane booster. When my hair starts looking drab I take a generous amount of olive oil in my hands and run it through my locks, letting it soak for about 30-45 minutes. Then I shampoo, condition, dry, and a miracle! Drab hair no more.

Coconut Oil

There are two things I like to use coconut oil for besides cooking. The first is as a moisturizer. The jars of unrefined virgin coconut oil you see for sale in the supermarket for like $6? I take that and transfer the contents directly to my face. As someone who as tried and tried and tried fancy and overpriced moisturizers, let me tell you that nothing has worked better. The second thing I like to use it for is something called oil pulling. If you’re not familiar with this practice, it involves taking a spoonful of coconut oil first thing in the morning—making sure not to ingest anything else beforehand, not water, not anything—and swishing it around in your mouth for twenty minutes, after which you spit the oil out into the trash, rinse your mouth with salt water, and scrape your tongue clean. Is it super grody? Yes, a little. But what this routine is supposed to help with is drawing out the bacteria in your gums and teeth, thus improving your overall health. Is this true? How the hell should I know, I’m not a doctor. What I can attest to is the fact that ever since I started doing this two years ago, I haven’t spent more than five minutes with a dental hygienist. There is virtually no plaque, no nothing, in my mouth. Which is a big deal, because the closer I get to thirty, the more cleanings feel like someone’s taking an ice pick to my enamel.

Castor Oil

If you were a 90s kid you may, like me, have partaken in the popular look of chola brows. That was peachy keen at the time, but now that I’m older and my eyebrows have begun to thin out and have weird patches in them, it’s turned into an “oh shit” situation. To help ameliorate this problem, I take a dab of castor oil and spread it over my eyebrows, and using a clean wand, sweep my eyelashes with it as well. Whether the oil helps regenerate hairs is up for debate, but it does make them nice and plump so that they fill in patches better.

Raw Honey/Buf-Puf

Exfoliate, exfoliate, exfoliate! An action that does not require expensive scrubs. Two easy solutions: raw honey or Buf-Puf sponges. The coarseness of raw honey lends itself to great exfoliation, yet is still kind to the skin. Or if you’re concerned with allergens, the gentlest version of a Buf-Puf sponge is a viable alternative, and available for purchase at most drugstores. I like to use it with Mario Badescu's Glycolic Foaming Cleanser. At $16 it's a tad bit on the pricier side, but completely worth it: it lasts a long time and works marvelously. Just remember to moisturize everything afterwards, and don't over do it! Go easy easy easy on your skin: it's actually doesn't take much to slough off dead cells, so there's no need to sandblast your visage. Plus, even though it gets a bad rap, you don't want to strip your skin of oil. A weekly facial treatment should be fine. Also, don’t forget your lips! Gently brushing them with a dry toothbrush will help rid them of flaky skin, that in turn can help you avoid overly chapped lips. Again, just remember to moisturize after.

Jergens

Don’t laugh. As a born and raised Texan I am a natural sun worshipper, but I’ve come to realize that cancer kills, and the UV rays from the sun don’t seem to help much in preventing that. Nevertheless, I’m not a fan of the plague-ridden look, so I use a bronzer. Jergens has a really great one that is very affordable, smells very good, and does not make you look weird. As in, you look like you actually have a tan, and did not trip and fall into orange paint.