So many people forget about their oral health, and it seriously grosses me out sometimes. But as a former Dental Assistant and Admin assistant in a Dental Lab, I've seen a lot  of people loose their teeth as a form of neglect. Sometimes we forget what we can't always see, or what we don't know how to take care of properly. I don't want you to have to loose your teeth, or be in pain for the rest of your life. I want to share my oral hygiene routine along with some tips for when you get into a sticky situation. 

Most days I start off with oil pulling for 15-20 minutes. Oil pulling will help release toxins from your body, whiten your teeth, help bad breath and improve gum health.  You can learn about oil pulling on my blog! (To the left, is my oil pulling tabs that I've made)

After I oil pull I floss and then brush with my Sonicare tooth brush. I like the Sonicare a lot, I've had one for about 4 years now. It's definitely a great investment for your health. I use my own toothpaste with 2 teaspoons of coconut oil, 2 teaspoons of baking soda and 10 drops of peppermint oil. Mix the coconut oil and baking soda first and then add the peppermint oil once it becomes a paste. I love the grit with this toothpaste, feels like it's really getting me clean. A lot of people don't know the correct amount of time to brush their teeth either, dentist's agree that 2 minutes is the best amount of time to brush your teeth. Brushing 30 seconds per quadrant is an easier way too look at it, (top right, top left, bottom right and bottom left)  I hope to get a water flosser this upcoming year, because that will help gum health too.  But in the mean time, flossing is very important, A lot of people I know, do not floss! That's where a majority of the cavities come from, because food stays between the teeth. So get that food out every single day! 

After I brush and floss, I use my homemade mouth wash. Which is 1/2 cup of distilled water,  2 teaspoons of baking soda and 2 drops of tea tree oil. I thought it would taste gross and I wouldn't be able to keep it in my mouth. But it's not bad, and I don't mind the taste at all. It breaks down sugar and protein from sticking to the gums, teeth and tongue. It is also a great way to reduce bad breath. And the tea tree oil helps with, inflammation and is a great antiseptic and reduces plaque!  Lastly I like to use my tongue scrapper, to get out any additional bacteria  
 and plaque.  I also bet you didn't know that tongue scraping will help clean your taste buds by getting the plaque off. So you will taste things more vividly! 

I usually try to brush mid-day as well, just so that I feel my best. Because sometimes I have coffee with my lunch and I don't like when my coffee stains my teeth or leaves me with coffee breath! I always have a to-go toothbrush, toothpaste and floss with me!

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At night I do most of what I do in my morning routine. I usually don't oil pull at night but if I'm not feeling well, I will oil pull again. Then I brush, floss, mouthwash and tongue scrape! If you're not into DIY toothpaste, and floss you can still use store bought ones and you'll still have an incredibly healthy oral hygiene routine. 

But why do we need to take care of our teeth and gums?  Because the healthier our mouths are the healthier our bodies will become. According to Colgate.com,  heart disease is a something associated with oral hygiene when gum disease makes it's way through the blood stream eventually reaching the heart. It is known to cause infections, strokes or even heart attacks as well.  Some other health conditions are, dementia, respiratory infections and can cause complications maintaining blood sugar levels for diabetes patients.   

So there is my little lesson on oral hygiene and how I keep my mouth, gums and tongue clean as well as the rest of my body. 

There are are many other things you can do on a daily basis to ensure you're best health. First one being, having a low sugar intake. The less sugar you ingest the less sugars that will attach to your teeth and potentially cause decay.  

Go see your dentist, your orthodontist or your hygienist. They are professionals and want to get you out of any pain that you're in. If there is something you're especially concerned about, then it's best to seek a professional opinion sooner rather then later, because the sooner you go in the better chance you will have at being able to protect more of your gums and teeth. They are also able to get plaque and tar-tar build up removed a lot easier then we are able to. Go to your follow up appointments and learn how to properly keep your mouth clean. 

Another major negative factor to oral hygiene in both men and women is the use of tobacco products. Cigarettes alone have over 4,500 chemicals, that you are inhaling into your mouth ever time you smoke. Tobacco use sometimes lead to oral lesions, cancer or death. 

Eat healthy, drink water, brush, floss, mouthwash, oil pull and tongue scrape every day. Oral health is often forgotten and neglected, and I'm trying to help people realize how easy and important it is to keep up with. There are so many recipes for mouthwash and toothpaste that I hope to try as I cycle through my current supply. After I try some new ones out, I will for sure post so you all can enjoy as well! 

I hope I've brought some insight into your world  on how important oral health really is for our entire health and well-being. 

Benzylparaben, Triclosan, Hydroquinone and Petroleum. Do you know what these ingredients are or where they are found? No?' I didn't either until I looked into it, but these are the ingredients in your beauty products. Most of us don't even what these are, how to pronounce them or how harmful they can me.  Unfortunately most side effects of these are tumors and cancer! And we are putting that on our skin and it's soaking in through our pores every single day, most days multiple times a day. How gross is that? And we trust the beauty industry that what we buy and use will be healthy for our skin and for our overall health but I don't want to put anything on my face unless I know every single ingredient and  how it will effect my health. This is why I started to make my own face wash, toner, eye cream and face masks. 

Here are a few of my go-to's: 

Face Wash:  Equal parts baking soda and coconut oil. Stir until it becomes a paste. I like to also add, tea tree oil, a sprinkle of coffee grounds and a little bit of lemon oil. 

The baking soda helps exfoliate and balance out your pH levels. Coconut oil is a great antibacterial, anti-fungal and an amazing moisturizer. Coffee grounds, although it may seem silly it increases the metabolism and circulation which helps prevent wrinkles and cellulite. And lemon oil is very high in vitamins so it will make your skin glow!

Now you know what's in my face wash and what it will do for you. 

I love this face wash so much that I haven't tried anything else in about a year. I think you'll love it too! 

Face Masks: I have a couple of masks that I rotate through! 

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar and 2 teaspoons water. In a separate bowl 1 tablespoon of baking soda, slowly add in the vinegar. Add the juice from half of a lemon, and a teaspoon of honey. I would leave on for 5-15 minutes. 

Apple cider vinegar will remove dead skin, help with age spots and will fight against acne. 

Honey will act as an antibacterial for acne. It will help with age spots and wrinkles due to the antioxidants. 

Clay mask, 1 tablespoon of bentonite clay, 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar, and a few drops of lavender and tea tree oil. Leave on your beautiful face for 30 minutes. 

Bentonite clay will remove the toxins from your skin through your pores. Helps heal acne scars as well as reducing inflammation. 

Avocado mask, try not to eat your face on this one! 1/2 of a avocado, 1 tablespoon of honey and 4 drops of tea tree oil. Blend ingredients together and  let it sit for 15-20 minutes. Put the remainder in the fridge, this mixture will last 5 days. And you can eat the other half of the avocado! WIN-WIN. 

Avocado is great for protecting your skin from radiation. It will decrease inflammation, especially for acne, psoriasis and eczema.  There are so many vitamins, A, E and C! So you will continue to look young! 

Eye mask: 
1/2 a teaspoon coconut oil, 1/2 a teaspoon baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon coffee grounds, and 1 drop of aloe. Mix and put under your eyes for about 15 minutes and you can do every other day if you want! 

Aloe will prevent dryness and even wrinkles due to the amino acids. 

Face Toner: 
1/2 cup of filtered water and 1 1/2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar. I use this 2 times a day!

Moisturizer: coconut oil!
 
I live by these products that only cost pennies to make and I usually have most of the ingredients at home. These won't cause tumors or cancer and they will make you glow. I make them for my friends and family too! I really encourage you to give it a try, just try for one week and see how you feel. Store bought products are designed to also create acne so that we keep buying their products! And then we are stuck in a viscous cycle!  Please let me know how you and your skin feel after a few weeks of using some of your homemade products. And if you have another recipe, I would absolutely love to give it a try!

Thank you for taking the time to learn about my beauty regime. 

 We've all been there a time or two, when one thing needs to another and you swore you would only have one drink but here you are 3 drinks, 2 shots and no lunch later we are going wild and not thinking about what might happen tomorrow. We know water and food is a good key to avoiding a hangover but what else can we do?

Here are a few tips for before, during and after to ensure that you're feeling you're best self. Because no one wants to be hungover on a couch all weekend.

Before you go out there are a few things that are very important and can lay out the results of your night very quickly. Eat! Eat a full meal before you go out, a full stomach will help slow the alcohol down. Stick to grains, meat and greens! Taking a multi-vitamin or a vitamin  B3 will also slow the alcohol down. I also hydrate before I go out, I try to drink a gallon of water and some electrolytes.

During the evening there are also many important tips to ensure the hangover doesn't appear the next day.  Make it a rule for every alcoholic drink you have you match it with a full glass of water.  Try to stick to lighter colored drinks with less fizz. Know your limit of drinks, and do not exceed that amount. Don't go crazier then you need to,  you don't need to send your liver into shock thus making it harder to recover from your hangover. Eat again! Keep snacking, eat some bread, fruits or nuts they will help slow the absorption  of alcohol.

Okay you're home but what do you need to do before you go to sleep? I love to drink a Gatorade before bed to get some more electrolytes in my system while taking 2 Tylenol. Personally I try to do my regular routine as I would any other night.

You're up now, you're thirsty and a little hungry but everything isn't spinning anymore so that's a good sign.  But you're not feeling 100% great yet, so lets get you there.  Start by oil pulling, swish around oil in your mouth for 20 minutes to get rid of all the toxins. Get yourself a smoothie or a juice for some vitamins and it's usually a lot easier to get down. If you're still feeling nauseous, try some ginger or peppermint tea. Keep drinking water too though, and make some eggs with some more fresh fruit. After you eat a full breakfast, go on a walk. If you're feeling up for it, try some yoga, biking, dancing or whatever you like to do.

These are a few things that I do every time I drink, and if I forget something I make sure I do absolutely everything on my morning after list and I'm feeling 100% better.  We've all been there the morning after when you just want to go back and drink 10 gallons of water and have 3 full meals before you drink only clear drinks all night but the fact is sometimes that doesn't happen and that's okay because life isn't flawless. But I don't want you to feel like you're dying when you had big hopes for the rest of your weekend. I promise I am the queen of abolishing hangovers! I can't wait to see what you think, especially with all of these holiday parties coming up. 

I had seen the words "Oil pulling" in scrolling through Pinterest, but I hadn't paid much attention to it. I had seen some good stuff on it, that there were health benefits and people loved it! But it wasn't until my own mom told me she was going to do it that I started reading more on it! It seemed so easy, and SO there are so many benefits! I at least wanted to give it a try for a month to see how it went, so I did and I'm going to tell you all about it. Let me begin by telling you what oil pulling is. It's  take oil, (any kind will work) I love to use coconut oil because it has so many benefits as it is, and it tastes good! The pulling comes from pulling bacteria and toxins from your body, how incredible is that! By swishing oil around in your mouth for 20 minutes ( that's how long it takes for the toxins to cycle through your body) you can get clear skin, rid of headaches, improve oral health, get your energy levels up, asthma, diabetes, bronchitis, diseased teeth, chronic blood disorders such as leukemia, arthritis, eczema, heart and kidney disease, meningitis, hormonal disorders.

You do not want to swallow or, spit the oil into your sink. The toxins can be very harmful for yourself and your pipes. So I just spit into my trash can! 

Day one: It was quite the experience! It didn't taste good, it was clumpy and stuck to my gums. But I did it! I made it through the whole 20 minutes! And I didn't think I would ever be able to do it again! ICK! How did people do that? And daily? I would find another way to release my toxins! Because I didn't think I could do that day after day! So I began to look into alternate ways to oil pull, different methods that I could do that wouldn't be so gross. After just a few minutes of researching on my favorite site, (Pinterest) and found that people make oil pulling tablets!

They looked so easy to make! I had all the ingredients in my kitchen, so what the heck! I gave it a try! 

Here's what you need: 
An ice cube tray, both silicone and standard plastic work!
1 cup of organic pure coconut oil
10-15 drops of peppermint or orange or lemon or frankincense essential oil (I usually use peppermint)

Step one: Scoop out 1 cup of oil, and place it in a microwave safe bowl
Step two: Microwave for 30 seconds or until melted
Step three: Add oil and stir together
Step four: Use a spoon to pour evenly into ice cube tray
Step five: Put ice cube tray into freezer for a few hours so that tablets can form
Step six: Pop out of tray and keep in a jar, I keep them in my fridge to keep them from melting!

The tablets will slowly melt in your mouth, so you will progressively get more oil to swish around as is melts. It doesn't stick and it tastes so much better!

Here's what I experienced in the first month, my body felt so refreshed and I felt so good! I didn't have migraines, I was way more alert, my skin was pretty clear, I was happier, my hormones seemed to be more balanced, I was more alert, and felt like a new me everyday! I started oil pulling in March of 2017 and I am still doing it 5-7 times a week!

I don't think I'll ever stop, such an easy way to make sure I'm always feeling my best! I encourage you to give it 30 days, keep a journal and keep track of your body and how it's detoxifying every day!

BONUS TIP: Oil pulling will get rid of a hangover! I woke up feeling a little gross after a night of drinking a few weeks ago, I oil pulled and felt SOOO much better. I then convinced Tyler's mom to do it, and her hangover disappeared as well! 


I'm so excited for you to try!

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1.  Tooth paste with Peppermint oil! 
- 1/4 cup of coconut oil, 1/4 cup baking soda, 10-20 drops of peppermint oil.
Mix the ingredients into a paste. I put mine into a toothpaste travel tube, but I don't think i'll do it next time. It's pretty hard to squeeze! 

2. Oil pulling tablets with Peppermint oil!
-1/2 cup of coconut oil, 10 drops of peppermint oil.
I've been oil pulling for a week now and I love it. Mix a 1/2 cup of oil until it's liquid (I heated mine up) Added the 10 drops of oil, stirred with a wooden spoon.  After it's mixed, pour it into a silicone ice cube tray. Slide it into the freezer so it can mold into tablets. I put mine in a mason jar and keep them in the refrigerator so they don't melt!

3. I love my diffuser so much! Typically I sleep with mine every night, I put lavender and a sleep blend in it along with spraying my pillow and sheets with lavender! 

4.  Conditioner with Tea Tree Oil!
-1/2 cup of distilled water, 1/2 table spoon of apple cider vinegar and 10 drops of tea tree oil! Not much to explain in this one, just to mix together! I put mine in an old conditioner bottle!

5. Shampoo with Tea Tree Oil!
-1/4 cup distilled water, 1/4 cup castile soap, 1/2 teaspoon olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon tea tree oil. Same as the conditioner and just mix all ingredients together.

6. Dusting spray with Lemon Oil! 
- 1 cup water, 1/4 cup vinegar, 2 teaspoons of olive oil, 10 drops of lemon oil. 
Mix together and pour into new or clean spray bottle. 

7.  Detox bath with Eucalyptus and Lavender!
-Hot bath, 1/2 cup of espom salt, 1/2 cup of baking soda, 10 drops of lavender oil and 10 drops of eucalyptus oil. Turn the lights off and enjoy for 20 minutes. 

8. Shower melts with Eucalyptus, rosemary and Peppermint!
-1 cup of baking soda, 1/3 cup of distilled water, 25 drops of eucalyptus and peppermint oil!
Mix well and spoon into a silicone mold and let sit 18 hours.  Works great for colds or allergies, any sort of congestion.  But if you need something for your morning shower to help wake up, try replacing the oil with, grapefruit, lemon and orange! 

9. Face Wash with Lavender and Tea Tree Oil.
- 1 cup castile soap, 1 teaspoon sweet almond oil, 1 teaspoon rosewater, 2-3 sprigs of rosemary, 10 drops of lavender and 5 of tea tree oil. Mix well and pour into a face wash bottle!

10.  Migraine roller with Lavender, Lemongrass and Peppermint Oil.
- 5 drops of each oil, and a carrier oil ( I use almond oil) Use funnel to pour into roller bottle and rub on temples and forehead when your migraine comes. 


Thank you for reading my 10 most favorite essential oil recipes, give them a try and let me know what your favorite ones are!  

​Most of the time my skin is so sensitive and as a teenager I was always trying new products because I kept getting hives from the face washes I was trying. It was so frustrating! Even as an adult if I use the wrong lotion or anything with scents or harsh chemicals I break out in a rash that won't just go away with some extra TLC. I started to look at the ingredients and noticed that I couldn't even pronounce most of them, and that's what's going into our skin a bunch of chemicals that out skin gets addicted to. Now I use homemade products on my face and though I still have the occasional break out from stress, hormones or lack of sleep I know my face is so much healthier this way! 


My face wash: 
1/2 cup of baking soda
1/2 cup of slightly melted coconut oil
stir together until blended into a cream

I used this on my face every night, I'm still looking for a good morning wash recipe. 


Break out Face Mask:
2 table spoons of honey

1 Tea spoon of cinnamon
1/8th teaspoon of lemon juice

Mix together, lather on face and neck for 15 minutes and rinse off with warm water
Repeat when needed



 Puffy Eye Mask:
1 Tablespoon coconut oil
1 table spoon coffee grounds
1 table spoon baking soda

Mix together, apply to under eyes, leave for 10-15 minutes, rinse and repeat weekly.


I also use aloe-Vera under my eyes after I wash my face in the morning and night

I try to drink a gallon of water a day, which helps keep my skin healthy too!

Who has time to work out these days? I know I don't! But I love working out and I love feeling like I've accomplished something for myself. But working 10-12 hour days and commuting 2.5 hours a day doesn't leave much time for long work outs. I've always been a fan of workout plans which are 30 minutes or less, because anyone can make a 30 minute workout happen for at least a few days a week! I love my Fitbit too! How many of you guys use your Fitbit on a daily basis? I love challenging my friends and hitting my daily steps. I make an effort everyday to hit 10,000 steps even though I sit at a desk most of the day! I walk around the office, quite frequently. I also take 3 breaks a day taking walks outside for 15-30  minutes. Not only do my walks help me get some exercise and work on my cardio, it helps me refresh my mind after a few hours of sitting in front of a computer and answering to phones. 
I love keeping my body, mind and soul happy and healthy. The other day I was on my Fitbit dashboard and I saw something new, (or maybe something I just never noticed) it was a workout program called Fitstar! I checked it out, and let me tell you I love it!  As soon as I downloaded it I was already picking a workout to do! The app and workouts are free but if you want to do the premium package it's $39.99 a year which comes with a personal trainer. For new I'm just going to see how well I do with the free program. So let me tell you how it works... there are a list of workouts you can pick from all in the range of 20-50 minutes which is amazing! Once you find your workout for the day you can click the title of the workout and it will play a video on exactly how to execute it! I loved that because I don't always follow still photo's well and love to see videos so I can understand how to do the exercise correctly. All of the exercises tell you either how many reps or seconds to do each one and it goes by really quickly! I'm on day 3 and I've done two of the programs ( Quick Strength and Hard Core ) and I'm definitely still sore today!    I am very excited to try more of the workouts and see how well they work for me! I hope you give it a try too! I'll update you in a month with my progress!