I have a book that I bought at my old elementary school's book fair a couple years ago called "Do-It-Yourself Beauty". It was created by a company called "Alloy" and is composed mainly of beauty tips/recipes teen girls emailed to their website (it's http://www.alloy.com/index.html if you're interested). Then they had experts put in their responses to the emails, and thus, a few beauty myths were debunked. It has sections for each beauty category, including makeup, hair, and inner beauty. Along with all that, it's full of interesting facts, beauty horror stories, and celebrity interviews throughout.

I really liked the overall attitude of the book, as it emphasized wearing natural and fresh looking makeup (if any at all) that suits your features and skin type, creating your own beauty supplies instead of breaking the bank for the store bought stuff, and overall, embracing and loving your true self, inside and out. That's something I'm all about.  :)

Unfortunaty, the hair section of the book is a little lacking. Alot of their tips and facts (albeit very interesting) have already been posted here and are quite well known. But I did find a few things I thought I'd share with you guys.
                                       -----------------------------------------------
A girl wrote:
"In the summer and spring my friend and I always make this hair mask to make our hair soft and shiny! We got compliments on our hair the fist time we used it. Ever since, it's been a tradition. You put chicken fat, oatmeal, avocado, sesame oil, coconut milt, and honey into a bowl in equal proportions. Dip in a comb and apply an even coat through your hair. After about 20 minutes, rinse. If you have light brown to blond hair, put lemon juice in as well. It makes you hair lighter."

And a professional wrote back:
"Natural ingredients like avocado, oatmeal, and coconut milk are used in a lot of hair and beauty products, and they will do your hair good. But chicken fat is a different story. It's likely to clog the pores of the scalp and the hair follicles. Modify the recipe by cutting out the chicken fat and just using avocado, coconut milk, and oatmeal. Your hair will get a boost of protein, extra moisture, shine, and body."
                                        -------------------------------------------
Another girl wrote in:
"I've got some great advice for all you girls out there who love to hang out in the sun but hate that fried look it can give to your hair. All you have to do is fill a plastic spray bottle with one cup of water, one tablespoon of your favorite sunscreen (SPF 15 or higher), and one tablespoon of your favorite gel or leave-in conditioner. Then shake it up really well and stash in your beach tote. Spray it in your hair before and during your time in the sun to keep your hair from being scorched by the rays. The conditioner will keep your hair soft, and the gel will keep your style in place. Your hair will thank you."

And the expert responded with:
"the sunscreen idea is good, but don't use hair gel in the sun. It contains alcohol, which is drying, and the sun makes this worse. You can also coat your hair in conditioner and braid it, which is a very cute style. The heat from the sun will open up the hair cuticles so the conditioner will penetrate and make the hair softer."
                                       -----------------------------------------------

And some interesting hair facts that you may not know about are:
- Celtic warriors washed their hair with limewater to create fearsome white spikes.
- In ancient times hair dyes were sometimes made from the blood of black cows.

I hope these recipes work for you if your try them out.  :) If I find any other interesting bits of information on DIY beauty treatments, I'll post them - if anyone is interested.  ;D

Quote:

In ancient times hair dyes were sometimes made from the blood of black cows.

YEESH!   :o

I'll skip the blood routine, but the rest are good!

Hmm...those are some cool tips, Lollie. Thanx for sharing.  :)

Gives me a few ideas.