" I haven't shampooed in 10 years!"
Local Skin and Hair Care
Expert Admits
Deena Falconi doesn't look
dirty. To the contrary, her skin
glows with health and her voluminous tresses are pinned in a shiny bundle atop
her handsome head. I've met Deena several times at parties and events and I
know that she's the owner of Falcon's Formulations, a highly regarded herbal
body care company, and author of Earthly Bodies and Heavenly Hair. I've seen her handcrafted products for sale for over
15 years—this is a woman whose reputation precedes her.
This time Deena’s teaching
a holiday workshop for the Stone Ridge Public Library. She's promised to show a
roomful of adult students how to make luscious skin care products from
kitchen-cabinet ingredients. She's talked at length about the chemistry of
different types of oils, fats, waxes, herbs, and other ingredients and how they
affect human skin. She's shared formulas for scrubs and emollients. And now and
again she's hinted about her own beauty regimen.
Finally, she spills it. “I
never wash my face!” she laughs. “And I haven't shampooed my hair in 10 years!”
There's an audible gasp from the room. She goes on to share what keeps her hair
and skin vibrant with health. Soaps and washes are very drying, Deena patiently
explains. Her favorite facial treatment is honey, rinsed with plain water, and
she keeps her hair clean by working a tiny amount of oil from the roots upward
and brushing it through, rinsing with water only if necessary.
It turns out that Deena is
ahead of the pack on this issue. Just last month the New York Times ran a front-page article in their ultra-trendy
Sunday Styles section entitled
“The Great Unwashed.” According to the Times, people are showering and bathing less, fewer people
are wearing conventional underarm deodorant, and yes, many are shampooing less.
As Deena points out, your
body produces custom-made oils to keep your skin and hair healthy—why lather
yourself up to remove them and then replace them with commercially purchased
petroleum products that are less effective? Well, when you look at it that way,
it makes sense. If a magazine factoid I recently read that reducing your shower
by two minutes saves a gallon of water is true, imagine how much would be saved
if a shower was skipped completely. And, full disclosure, I discovered years
ago that showering every day in the winter turned my own skin into a human
version of a dust bunny. So, without listening to any experts or trend reports,
I reduced my showers to a couple a week, and slathered on as much Lubriderm as
my skin would absorb without my clothes sticking (And never told anyone.).
But that was before Deena
taught us how to make the creamiest lotion I've ever felt, from almond oil,
beeswax, water, and a tiny amount of scented essential oil. She carefully
warmed ingredients in a bain marie (aka double boiler) and poured them into a
food processor. After turning it on she explained how oils and water, naturally
repellent, would eventually emulsify and combine. As we listened the gurgling, whirring
sound suddenly shifted an octave lower with the phase change of the contents.
When she opened the lid we saw the transformation we had heard—what started out
looking like the contents of a lava light now looked like whipped cream and
smelled as yummy. Students filled small containers and passed them as Deena
reminded us that the natural ingredients are more perishable than synthetic
ones so be sure to use the cream within a few months. But this cream is so
nice, I know mine will be gone before the week's end—and then my food processor will be whirring.
Falcon's Formulations can be
purchased at High Falls Food Co-op, Sunflower Natural Food Market in Woodstock,
or from Deena directly by calling 845-687-8938 (ask for a catalog for a
complete list). Her book, which contains hundreds of formulas, is available
through bookstores, Amazon, and Deena. Information about her workshops on
natural body care can be found at www.wildearthprograms.org.
Maria Reidelbach is an
artist, author, and proprietress of Homegrown Mini-Golf on Kelder's Farm in
Kerhonkson, Accord, New York. She only looks dirty after tending the gardens.
Posted by Chris Hewitt
on 1:22 PM.
Filed under
Culture Features,
Lifehacker
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