Fanny: I haven’t used castor oil, but I trust this woman implicitly; she gets the facts before recommending anything:

http://www.cosmeticscop.com/cosmetic-ingredient-dictionary/definition/309/castor-oil.aspx

I use olive oil at night because it’s apparently one of the best things I can do for my skin. Much cheaper, too, even if you buy the fanciest brand.

http://cortneywithoutau.blogspot.com/2011/06/hygienic-hippies-giving-up-shampoo-and_14.html

I get compliments on my hair all the time, now and before (when I was using shampoo/conditioner, but only once a week). I don’t stink, either. On top of that, I wash my clothes with nuts, I use a salt stick for deodorant, and coconut oil as lotion- http://cortneywithoutau.blogspot.com/2011/03/salt-oil-and-nuts-how-to-be-hygienic.html

And yes, I know it’s a bit gauche to share links to one’s blog on another person’s blog and I usually avoid it like the plague, but it’s pertinent to the post and it’s the experience of a real person who does these kind of “hippy” things. Similar to the woman who shared her picture up above to put a face to all of this, I think a lot of people have just never seen/met people who do these things, so they draw their own conclusions.

I’ll be the first to say these practices don’t work for everyone, for various reasons, but they work for me, I don’t stink, and I promise I’m not Quasimodo’n ’round town frightening the villagers

I loved it and it worked great for me!

But yes, obviously getting an hour or so of cardio a day is a much better tip for looking good on a budget than anything in this article.

It’s interesting (and frustrating) to me, reading all of these comments, that people assume that those of us who are DIY are smelly and greasy and just don’t know it. Advertising works!

Also, stock up when there are sales.

Also, as others have said, surprising long hair is cheaper & easier to maintain. You just don’t have to get it cut as much. And if its dirty you can pull it up. I had short hair for a long time & spent $90 every 6 weeks to get it cut & colored. Now I have long hair, don’t color it & get it cut 2 or 3 times a year.

When I do buy things, I buy somewhat expensive things ($50-$80 haircut, Paula’s Choice shampoo), but I can do that because it’s not a frequent purchase.

So let’s say $200/year for all beauty stuff.

Except this year… I got tired of shaving so I’m in the middle of laser treatments for my legs. Is that frugal?

I stocked up on make-up at CVS a couple of years ago because it is so much more expensive here in Poland than in the US.

It doesn’t have to cost much to wash your hair or even wear makeup. There are ways to do it cheaply. Sales, coupons, flea markets, etc.

I’ve found if I don’t wash my hair the second day it is limp. If I skip and try to even go one extra day after that, I feel like everyone is looking at me cuz I know that my hair just looks terrible. I’ve seen plenty of Polish women with dirty hair. I think that many of them are from poor homes and don’t have running water in their apartments. I don’t have any desire to skip deo either as I can smell myself when I don’t. I’ve been around too many people on buses who don’t use it either…hmmm..

I didn’t think that any nationality would condemn Americans for being dirty–but they might condemn the women for not dressing up enough. I mean, Americans will go out in sweats, etc, but many other cultures would NEVER do that. But that isn’t necessary a ‘dirty/clean’ issue. That is something different.

I don’t use shampoo (my own allergies, couldn’t find something I could tolerate at a price I was willing to spend), just baking soda, occasional castile soap, and apple cider vinegar. It’s just as easy to do as bottled shampoo. My hair — previously oily, now not — is great. It doesn’t smell. I asked. A happy bonus is that I don’t get helmet head cycling back and forth to work anymore and I don’t need styling products. Otherwise, cetaphil, minimal makeup. Doesn’t seem to have affected my professional progress any.

And as for comments that the saved amounts don’t add up? I sure wish I’d known about this stuff when I was a student and pinching pennies for lentils.

I think a no soap/shampoo movement will only be possible for a very small segment of society.