Category Archives: Natural Personal Care

Soft Plastics? No Way!

Soft plastics. Unlike fallen leaves, decomposing bodies and mineral stones, soft plastics neither break down nor healthfully assimilate with the natural environment. This is a pickle for Mother Nature.

I love Mother Nature.

Here’s a cute snap of me hanging out in one of her glorious trees.

Aren’t we just loving the fact that this little hollow looks like a vaginal canon? Perhaps the caption could read “greetings from Mother Nature’s hoo-ha’, or ’emerging from the womb-tree’.

She has asked me to have a word with you about ending your long-term love affair with soft plastics. She’s also asked me to use lots of F-bombs to emphasis the seriousness of her plea. I have altered the spelling to protect sensitive eyes. To be clear, it’s pronounced ‘far(k) and far king’.

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Skin Foods

In this post, we talked rituals that nourish the skin from the outside in. Now we flip the bird. Not literally – keep those middle fingers in check. Let’s go from the outside in to the inside out.

Here’s a budget-friendly truth bomb; as fun as face masks, naked backyard body scrubs and pissing your cat off by taking the time to cleanse your face before you feed them brekkie can be, the simplest way to foster glowing skin is to up the antioxidants and beneficial fatty acids in the diet.

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Love thy skin

Let’s have a quickie.

Calm your farm, not that sort of quickie – I meant a quick blog post.

A short and sweet (like me) post about skincare. Heck Yes!

The skin is our largest organ. That’s right – an organ. It absorbs topical applications quicker than the digestive tract absorbs ingested substances. It pays to invest in chemical-free skincare products and show the skin some R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

This is not an affiliated post. I do namedrop Twenty8 and KORA organics but only because I’ve been using them for yonks. KORA since I was 15 and Twenty8 since 18. Both are organic, Australian companies that combine the magic of aromatherapy with plant medicine to create ethically natural personal care products. I may also have a girl crush on Miranda Kerr (who doesn’t?) and Kim Morrison (Twenty8 founder) is a friend and mentor of mine and I enjoy helping an amigo out with a candid plug. Anyhow.

I find it frightening that between artificial fragrances and the plethora of chemicals in hair products and cosmetics, the lay person is exposing themselves to thousands of artificial ingredients daily – before they even step out of the bathroom in the morning.

What pacifies this chilling reality is that it’s stupendously easy to make a few simple swaps and displace these thousands of chemicals. Organic products are potent and end up lasting you twice as long as the regular stuff. While it may seem like an investment initially, you aren’t spending extra money overall. Winning!

Below is my regular skincare regimen + some tips on how to save dollars and still have glowing skin. I know I’m only 22 – but I still manage to look like a sweet 16 year old – minus the ‘problem skin’ -so I must be doing a few things right skincare-wise.

From back left; soothing facial moisturiser, toner, cleanser, crystals (for a face massage) and eye cream. All organic, local brands (except crystals – they’re probably from overseas).

My Morning ‘quickie’

First thing every morning – no matter how much my dear sweet Carly Cat is screaming at me for her brekkie – I take a few minutes to cleanse and moisturise. I cleanse with my Twenty8 cleanser, pat my face dry and then spritz my face and neck with Twenty8 toner. I have had the same toner concentrate for 4 years and I’ve still got plenty! How? It’s a concentrated solution that you dilute in water, a wee bit goes an extraordinarily long way. I then moisturise my damp face and neck with KORA organics soothing moisturiser. I only use the tiniest little pump and which is all I need. This cream lasts me at least 4 months. I then finish with the tiniest smear of Twenty8 firming eye cream. I use this morning and night – right before bed. This tiny jar lasts me about 6 months – sometimes longer. Ok Carly Cat, time for brekkie – thanks for waiting. Meow. Scratch, scratch. Meow.

Why not give yourself a tarot reading with one hand and a crystal massage with the other? Snaps to multi-tasking. I know what you’re thinking. Rach is a fucking hippy cliche. Ain’t nothing wrong with that dear ones. At least I’m a happy hippy cliche – with happy skin to match. Boom shakalaka.

Crystal Facial

A few times a week I’ll grab one of my smooth finished crystals and massage my face and neck with it in circular motions. Not only does it feel relaxing, I dig the ritual of taking the time to give myself a crystal facial. This is a great one to do on a short stroll in the morning (two birds, one stone) or even when having a conversation with someone. It can be pretty mindless. A simple act of self-care. Plus, once you’ve invested in the crystal, it’s free. Every time.

Twenty8 clay mask featuring my snazzy unicorn shower cap. Me sexy.

A Mask

I try to do a mask once or twice a week. At the moment I have the twenty8 clay mask but if I’m opting for the DIY option, I’ll simply combine some tahini (ground sesame paste) and raw cacao. I buy both in bulk from The Source Bulk Foods – so it’s a dirt cheap option. It is a bit messy, so I’ll apply it starkers (yes, naked) and just pace back and forth on my back lawn (or lie down and listen to some tunes) while my skin soaks up the oils and antioxidants. Then I hope in the shower and wash it off. My skin feels like a baby’s bottom afterwards – minus the poop smears. Glorious.

Additional Budget Friendly Tips

  • An easy body scrub (apply naked on back lawn or on an old towel in the bathroom if you have snoopy neighbours or don’t have a back lawn) is a few spoons of rapadura (or coconut) sugar mixed with extra virgin olive oil and a drop of your fave essential oil. Use as an exfoliant from neck to toe. Give yourself a good massage with it and then rinse off in the shower. Your skin will feel amazing and smell effing divine. Sexy feels get around you!
  • Extra virgin olive oil and organic coconut oils make the cheapest and easiest body moisturisers. Spike with a tiny drop of essential oil and you displace the need for perfume.
  • Olive oil is a great eye treatment overnight. I got this tip from one of my heroes; Lola Berry (thanks Lols). Apply a drop around the eye area and massage in before hitting the sack. It soaks in overnight. Antioxidants in the olives rejuvenate skin cells.
  • Wear a cap. Seriously, Vitamin D is bloody important, but having a cap will shield the face and neck – arguably the most sensitive areas that receive sun exposure – from too many sunny vibes.
  • Eat antioxidants. Veg the fuck up dear ones. Bright coloured fruits and veggies, as well as nuts, seeds, legumes, herbs, spices and organic wholegrains such as oats and brown rice are your skin’s best mates. Antioxidants slow the ageing process, whilst the natural plant oils feed the skin. A list of heroes to get you started; avocados, walnuts, berries, greens, sweet spuds, apples turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, paprika, pumpkin, figs and prunes.

It’s Not All Doom and Gloom

If you’re listening to health-conscious thought-leaders and paying attention to the media sources daring to inform us of  inconvenient truths, then chances are you’re at least vaguely aware that we are living in a pretty toxic world.

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5 Easy Rituals for a Better Day

Oh how I love me a good ritual. They take ordinary tasks to the next level and remind me to take some time for myself, even if it’s just a few minutes out of a whole, full, busy day. Below are my 5 favourite quick and easy rituals that don’t really take any extra time out of your day (maybe a minute here or there at the most!), but will leave you feeling uber pumped and full of warm fuzzies!

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I’m On FULL GAPS!

Oh hello there. You’ve found some very old content. Please read the disclaimer on this page before thinking I’m still a total sheep who has been sucked into a bone-broth worshipping fad diet. Been there, learned from that and am now a much less rigid human.

It’s been crazy these past few months. Full time study takes up a lot of time! To be honest with you, I’ve even had times where I’ve considered leaving the blogosphere. I didn’t want the ‘added pressure’ of maintaining a website. It’s okay my new pals Emma and Carla snapped me out of that. Real Soup HQ is here to stay.

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Introducing … ‘The Healthy Exception’

Hello Lovely Ones and WELCOME to ‘The Healthy Exception‘ – the podcast for teenagers choosing to be the ‘healthy exception’ to the ‘unhealthy rule’. My new podcast is finally ready and available to listen to here.

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my liver is happy again!

Hello everyone, sorry it’s been so long since my last post (although I did make a point of saying how I’m being gentler on myself and that includes putting study, fitness, family and friends first before this blog … not that I don’t highly value you all, but I’m sure you can appreciate the pace of life and needing to prioritise. I’d be a pretty shocking role model if I was telling all of you to look after yourselves and yet running myself into the ground wouldn’t I?).

Anyways, for today, my pharmacology assignment can wait (I’ve only got 400 words to go and I may or may not be procrastinating … it’s a pretty heavy report and I’m brain-dead just thinking about it) and besides …I’ve got some news to share! Guess who’s liver is basically 100% regenerated and only has a bit of scar tissue remaining that will peel off over time? ….. MY LIVER that’s who’s!!!!!!!!!

As most of you know, in December 2010, when I was 14, I was diagnosed with a chronic autoimmune disease of the liver and there were times where it seriously looked like I needed to have a transplant. Just over 5 years later and 7 months before my 20th Birthday, I can proudly say that I’ve turned this illness around beyond what was ever expected. I was one of those “you’ll be on medication for the rest of your life” cases (and as you know this did NOT sit well with me).

I was told by my well-meaning doctor that there was nothing that I could do when it came to food/lifestyle, other than abstaining from alcohol (and let’s be honest I was 14 … it wasn’t like I’d even reached an age where I drank on a regular basis … mum may have made me some sneaky rum and cokes at home but that’s as wild as it got). I couldn’t accept this though, and went in search of anything and everything sans the medication that would improve the state of my liver (and this was a time where I was deliriously clueless about nutrition … we’re talking about a sadly manipulated young girl that thought flora proactive was healthier than pure butter and that “wholegrain” breakfast cereals were “healthy options” … I had a lot of learning to do).

It took me a year and a half to actually understand what “healthy” was. It also wasn’t until this point that the ridiculously high dosage of medications I was on began working. As soon as I got onto whole foods and ditched the processed breakfast cereals (even if they were “wholegrain”), muesli bars, flavoured milks and questionable frozen yoghurts the improvement in my liver function tests were amazing. At this point I wasn’t even gluten or sugar free … but I was mostly eating real food and my body was responding exceptionally well to all the subtle changes.

By the time I made the decision to give up all refined sugars, food additives, modern wheat, vegetable oils and GMO foods (it can take a while to understand just how many things these guys are in … as well as why they’re necessarily bad for you) my liver was consistently improving in leaps and bounds. Then I added a St Mary’s thistle supplement and boom … my blood tests were in the “normal” range!

I was loving my new diet (I mean banana pancakes for breakfast, chicken and mango salad for lunch, crispy salmon for dinner, and snacks of bliss balls and fruit with nut butter … who’s going to complain about that?) and, liver aside, I noticed that I was a happier, more resilient person when I wasn’t weighed down with refined carbohydrates and processed trans fats, that I’d unknowingly been consuming in what I like to call my “past life”.

As I’m sure you’ve either heard on a podcast or read in my “transitioning to whole foods” series, everything was a transition and I’ve never stopped learning or evolving things. Ever since I made the decision to heal with food and environment, I’ve had this inner voice telling me that I can do it … guess this intuition was right!

The point of this little rave … your doctors are amazing … and when you’re in a crisis they know just the pill that will save the day (I don’t think the medication would’ve worked without me changing my diet, but I also don’t reckon the diet would’ve worked (initially) without the medication being there to prevent autoimmune flare ups). However it’s just not in their training to expect alternative therapies (such as nutrition) to assist in the healing process. So if you find yourself in some hot water (or preferably before then guys … prevention is so much easier than cure!), don’t be afraid to trust your instincts and clean up your lifestyle … even if a professional with years of clinical experience laughs you off.

So here’s to the power of food as a medicinal option in it’s own right (you can’t see but I’m holding up a bottle of coconut water in celebration as I finish this post). And here’s to autoimmune hepatitis … for scaring me enough to change my world for the better (I clearly needed a good ass-kicking … let this be a lesson to you all … wake up and kick your own ass to make the change before autoimmunity strikes you down!).

Yours in medication-free clarity,

Rachie xxx