I figure by now, many of you have picked up some activated charcoal to whiten your teeth with (which, by the way, has gotten rave reviews ... check the comments). So, with your excess supply of the powdery black magic, I wanted to give you all another great way to use it. Bug bites and other itchy situations - namely things like poison ivy! Since you've already learned about activated charcoal's goodness over here, let's just move immediately into talking about how to access its power to ... Continue Reading
Crunchy Home
Dazzle! Whiten Your Teeth With Activated Charcoal
Today, I'm going to tell you to put charcoal on your teeth to whiten them. ONLY I DON'T MEAN REAL CHARCOAL, PEOPLE. We have to get this out of the way - at the very beginning - so that no one reads the first four lines and goes, "Okey-dokey, Jimbo, open up that thar bar-BE-que 'n let me fish out a brick 'n shove it in meh mouth. Crunchy Betty said to." I DID NOT SAY TO DO THAT. Stop it. We're not talking about charcoal. We're talking about activated charcoal. Huge difference. And ... Continue Reading
Historic Beauty Days: Snippets From A Magazine Past
I've spent 40 of the last 80 hours immersed in this gosh-darned ladies' magazine from the 1800s. Fascinating, eye-opening, and sometimes a little frightening, Godey's Lady's Book belongs in the annals of history, to be sure. It's not so much that I've received life-changing tips and ideas on beauty, it's more that I've realized how true that frustrating axiom is, "The more things change, the more they stay the same." But we'll talk about that tomorrow. Today, let's just have some ... Continue Reading
Turn That A/C Off: Clever Ways to Keep Your Sanity When It’s Sweltering
It started a few weeks ago, when temperatures were still in the low 80's. My bedroom window overlooks not just one air conditioner - not just mine - but four of my neighbors. And one of them, one blessed sensitive soul, found the need to turn on the air conditioner - at night. It was, like, 50 degrees outside. That's 15 degrees plus a bucket of hamburgers for those of you who use Celsius. I don't know how to convert to Celsius, but I'm sure it involves buckets of hamburgers. Fast ... Continue Reading
Still, Don’t Actually EAT Your Dishwasher Detergent
This is a true story. Or, rather, it's true insomuch as I wasn't there, and I heard it third hand, so I'm going to embellish a little on the unimportant parts. Why? Because it makes me feel important. I am the creator of this story. Although, technically I'm not. The creator of this story, the instigator of this inspiring tale of relief, the mastermind behind all the knowing is none other than my 1-year-old niece, Holly Ann. Last week, my sister, Lindsay, called ... Continue Reading
Thyme and Again – Guess What Else It Does? Goodbye Inflammation!
Two weeks ago, we talked about a study done on thyme that showed it to be superior to benzoyl peroxide in treating the bacteria that causes acne. SO many of you were elated at the thought, and many of you vowed to do the experimenting yourself - to see if it worked on you. To date, two of you have checked in to tell us how it's going. If you've been experimenting and haven't checked in ... YOOHOO? WHERE ARE YOU? Probably too busy admiring your gorgeous visage. Ah, such are the perils of ... Continue Reading