Why would I do a photo shoot without make-up and when I haven't shaved in 3 months? Find out here: http://bit.ly/beautifulwithbodyhair (at Red Lodge, Montana)

Modeling in these photos was done completely without the use of makeup, razors, wax, shampoo, lotion, conditioner, and other cosmetics or body modifications. In addition, the photos were not retouched or edited in any way. 

Photography is courtesy of Kevin McCLane.

Healthful Beauty Recipe: Lavender Olive Oil

Olive oil is a wonderful and healthful alternative to lotions and hair stying products. It's less drying than coconut oil, and full of good nutrients. Just remember to be careful: it can stain clothing and a little goes a long way. Spread it lightly over skin in need of moisture, or rub it into the ends of your hair to gently tame it between water-only rinses. Light haired girls in particular will find they that only need to use a very small amount. It also works great on lips and cuticles!

To make a beauty olive-oil that smells amazing and even helps keep the bugs away, simply gather:

organic, virgin olive oil

&

dried lavender buds.

Simply grind the lavender and combine a generous amount of it with the olive oil. The amount you add depends on how much lavender scent versus olive scent that you prefer. Once mixed, you can either keep it stored away in a jar for six weeks to let the lavender scent soak into the oil gently over time, or you can speed up the process by cooking it in a Crockpot for an hour or two on low. Either way you choose, the last step is simply to strain the ground lavender from the oil and, viola! You have a beautifully scented oil to pamper yourself with! Enjoy!

I love you all!!

Thank you for reading!

22 Weird Things You'll Experience when You Stop Shaving

1. In our culture, it’s still terrifying at first.You look around at everyone else with their smooth, bare legs and armpits and realize how taboo body hair really is. Stepping out naturally hairy feels like a social death sentence. It seems certain that each person you encounter will look at you with disgust and that no one will see you as sexually attractive ever again. Still, in the back of your mind you remember how natural it really is, that some other cultures do find it quite acceptable, and that you hate shaving all the time. You might even break down and shave every so often, but in the end, you persist and let your hair grow no matter how frightened you still are. 2. It’s strange, but you keep looking at yourself and thinking it isn’t that bad.As you watch your little leg hairs get longer and longer and feel the prickles of your once-forgotten armpit hair soften, you’ll look in the mirror or down at your legs and feel calmly okay about it. It’s different than when you shaved, but looks and feels very...normal. 3. You want to touch and play with your legs a lot.Touching your smooth legs right after shaving used to seem nice, but by the end of the day they felt like a cactus with a million sharp, tiny prickles. With the hair grown out, your legs feel soft. And the skin beneath still feels silky smooth. You wouldn’t have guessed it, but all that gentle texture is downright tantalizing. 4. A lot of people don’t really notice.You were afraid that you would look like you have furry man-legs, but the hair on your legs is actually much more sparse than you thought. And your armpit hair is hidden in, well, your armpits. Many people can’t even see your body hair while you are out and about. And when the weather is cold enough, it’s all covered up anyways. This might be easier to get away with than you thought. 5. Did it get warmer out here?You used to get chilled by the breeze so easily, even in the summertime. That was the joke: “women are always cold.” Now your exposed, naturally fuzzy legs feel a lot more comfortable out in the elements and the shivers have become rare. 6. Natural hair starts to look comfortingly normal when you see it on other people.After all, there is just something so completely natural about it. It appears as if it is meant to be there. You find yourself looking at photos of models and celebrities who have been brave enough to show off their body hair and it looks right. By contrast, the mass amount of people who shave start to look artificial and edgy...like they are missing something. 7. Many of the people who do notice don’t seem to really care.Okay, so your leg hair was glistening a bit in the sun or you lifted your arms up in excitement and your little puff of armpit hair was revealed. Everyone definitely saw. Yet no one says a word. They don’t look at you funny. They don’t even treat you any differently. Huh. That’s kind of nice. 8. You’ll feel the need to hide or throw out your razors in order to strengthen your resolve.It’s still so tempting to shave, just to end the mental discomfort. If you shaved, maybe you wouldn’t have to think so much about feminism and unrealistic physical expectations and time wasted on materialism anymore...you could just be blissfully ignorant… And then you are disgusted by your own thoughts and throw out every razor in the house so as not to succumb in moments of weakness. Besides, you can’t bear to let the people who do know about your decision to be “au naturale” think you are a wuss who gave up. 9. You start to actually prefer how you look with all of your body hair.It begins to matter less to you what other people think about it, because you start to think you look and act sexier with it. It shows you are an adult woman with enough inner strength and personal confidence in herself to make a difficult decision and let her body be exactly as it is. And that attitude is very sexy. Plus, it’s all so soft and mysteriouslooking... 10. When people do notice and do care, it actually makes you feel kind of smug and powerful, which is fun.You were talking with a stranger and when you lifted your arm to gesture, she caught a glimpse of your armpit fuzziness and was clearly mortified. You kind of laugh inside. She has no idea how good you feel, how much less effort and stress you experience from trying to be “good enough”. You find yourself hoping that the memory sticks with her and plants a seed that grows into doubt about her own shaving habits. 11. You’ll find yourself being surprisingly truthful with your partner and male friends.It starts with your partner, because you can’t hide it from him. When he questions you about it, you find yourself spilling your guts about the stress of getting ready in the mornings, the ugly and painful razor burn, the feeling that you can never please a man unless you do so much to make your body “just right”, the fears that hair-removal encourage a youth-focused sexuality that borders on pedophilia… It was easy to gripe with other women about these things, but once you've already been that vulnerable with your man, you find yourself being able to share these difficult, oppressed feelings with other men too. 12. You will feel strangely more equal to men.Now that giving up shaving has encouraged you to openly share your female opinions and emotions with men, they start to look at you in a different light. They start to question why they've found shaved hair attractive and expected. When you have body hair and are willing to share why, men see your humanity and not just your polished appearance. And this creates the compassion which paves the way for equality. 13. You’ll desperately want other women to join the fight.Okay, admittedly, a big part of you wants all the other women to quit shaving just so that you don���t have to feel self-conscious or alone anymore. There is comfort in conformity. But the more noble piece of you wants all women to stop shaving so that they feel like less of a sex object and more like a person, and at the same time know that they can be completely irresistible just as they are in their natural, female form. You imagine what more women could achieve in art, science, and technology if they spent less time and mental energy on material appearance alone. And you begin passionately expressing this vision to other women. 14. So many men shave their faces. You start to believe that they should stop too.After considering the sexual oppression you have undergone as a woman in being expected to shave and wear makeup in order to fit the cultural beauty standard, you realize that our society does the same thing to men. You look around at the shaved masculine faces and consider that these men are fighting a perfectly normal bodily expression of their masculinity in order to appear more professional, less threatening, or more attractive to certain women. And you begin to want men to stop shaving and embrace their true selves just as much as you want the same for women. 15. You will feel more like yourself.You can’t quite pinpoint why it works this way, but you feel more at home inside of your body. You are more present and drift off in thought a little less. You gain a better sense of who you are and what you believe in and feel more comfortable expressing that. 16. You will feel less nervous and more grounded.With that newfound ease of being in your own skin comes a sense of inner stability. You start to feel calmer and you actually move with more grace and certainty. Maybe your body hair acts like antennae, allowing you to read the environment around you and make subtle adjustments in how you react. Surely there is some biological or metaphysical explanation – you sense this intuitively – but really you are just glad to feel better than you have since before adolescence (probably around the time you caved to the social requirement of shaving in the first place). 17. Armpit hair on women is somehow so alluring.As you look at yourself in the mirror and at beautifully done photos of au naturale women, you start to realize how sensual women look with armpit hair. There is a wholeness and an ease to these women. And something dark, playful, and seductive about that tease of fluffy hair. Maybe it’s their breezy confidence, the lack of worry about being technically “sexy”. Or maybe armpit hair is what we actually find more visually appealing deep down, once we rid our mind of what society has told us we are supposed to like. Either way, you now personally find it very attractive and feminine. 18. And did you know you can feel the wind through your leg hair?You are walking outside, bravely baring your natural legs and a new, tickley, wonderful sensation brushes through you and takes you off guard. You’ve never felt that before and it feels almost as amazing as when wind blows through the hair on your head. It makes you feel very connected to the earth and sky, both physically and spiritually. 19. It makes people more uncomfortable to hear you talk about keeping all of your body hair than it does for them to actually see you do it.When you simply go about your business as your hairy self, most people don’t seem to care. But as soon as you verbally point it out, people start to squirm. Not everyone wants to delve into the real reasons behind their long-standing habits or standards for attractiveness. And it is difficult for anyone to admit that they may have been carrying unhealthy or oppressive opinions, or that they have been doing something purely out of physical insecurity. 20. Your legs stay so much more moisturized.You assume it is because the hair allows your skins oils to wick down along your legs or simply because you aren't tearing up your skin with razors. Whatever it is, you never get the dry, scaly legs you used to and you no longer have to use oil or lotion on your legs. They keep themselves smooth and soft. 21. Razor burn is forgotten forever. No more itching. No more burning. No more hideous red boils on your armpits or legs. You don't miss any of it. 22. Others will support and applaud you, and it will feel very humbling.You start to receive admiration where you thought you would find disgust. Friends tell you that what you are doing (or rather what you've stopped doing) inspires them and this surprises you. It becomes clear that more women than you realized are longing for permission to put down the razor and be accepted for who they can’t help that they are. And more men than you had hoped are looking for women who are confident enough to be comfortable in their bodies and not constantly get distracted chasing a false, and ultimately pointless, ideal of sexual attractiveness. Your partner tells you he never wants you to feel again that you won’t be loved, accepted, or considered beautiful unless you fight your body's ordinary state every day. He doesn't think anyone should feel that way. You start to feel loved. You start to feel supported. You start to feel hopeful. You even start to feel like things are changing for the better. And this fuels you through each and every day as your gorgeous, natural, hairy self. I love you all!! Thank you for reading!

Stunning and illustrative photos.

Back to Bush

I've spent a lot of time this Spring experimenting with Red Hot Hope and thinking about the mission I am on to empower women by helping them embrace their natural beauty, which I believe creates stronger and more authentic relationships between men and women. Now I realize that I have no right to share my opinions on any of this if I don't practice what I preach. Not only that, but otherwise, I myself won't reap the benefits of experience. I've been doing pretty well on my journey toward becoming real and loving myself as I am inside and out. I've removed my piercings, I don't wear makeup, I've been using coconut oil instead of lotion or conditioner and eating healthier, and I let my once pixie-style hair grow out... Most of my hair. I can't believe that I am writing or sharing this, but this blog is all about confidently embracing natural beauty in fullness as a woman. I'm just going to pretend it's only people I don't know reading this. Now... Around the time I started obsessing over piercings and makeup and body image in general in my life, I also started shaving my pubic hair. I have done that most of my post-adolescence with the exception of a few years after high school. Today, my wandering mind made me realize that there was one key difference in my way of living in those few years. When I had pubic hair (healthfully groomed, mind you), I never struggled financially. Whenever I've kept smooth, I've felt some kind of material lack. Does that seem like a crazy correlation? Of course it does! But let's consider this... Some of you know about chakras and the way they correlate to different needs, ways of experiencing life, and places on our bodies. Down in the nether regions is the root chakra which corresponds to our ability to survive, create, and be grounded. Presumably, any physical changes we make to this area of our body are a reflection of our mental and spiritual state in these areas of life. I can only say it makes sense when I look back at my own experiences. During the time I allowed myself some perfectly natural, womanly pubic hair, I had a great credit score, extra money every month after supporting myself and another, a good car, bills always paid early, extra money for clothes and frequent eating out, an expensive laptop, and money in savings. I felt confident and unconcerned in my ability to care for myself materially. Granted, there were plenty of other mistakes I was making at the time that led to an eventual health collapse and breakup that was much harder than it needed to be, but I can't help wondering if accepting my lady-hood in its natural state was the one and only thing I had no idea I was doing right back then. These days, as partially explained in my last post, my life and sense of spiritual health has improved a hundred times over and I am filled often with gratitude for it all. I have fallen in love with my body as it is and learned to be confident within it. Yet one excessive and vain grooming habit has remained-shaving where hair is actually needed to protect and attract. And curiously, one struggle has remained-not feeling entirely stable financially. Weird, yes. But it's hard to argue the evidence with myself. It applies in every memory I have of my adult life: when I had pubic hair, I simply didn't worry about money or material needs and there was somehow always enough. When I've stayed bare-down-there, I've found myself worrying about money and feeling scarce, bizarrely even in times when there should have been more than enough. I'm now convinced that I was unknowingly altering my unconscious thoughts about my ability to survive and to feel confident in having enough - my root chakra - by shaving. Pubic hair is a sign of adulthood and thus a signal that one can care for one's self and potentially for a family. Removing it seems to have sent the undesired signal to my mind that I am still a girl, not ready to stand strong and fend for myself, let alone others,  in the world. So, for integrity's sake, I am trying an experiment. I still prefer shaving my legs and armpits, hypocritical as it may be. I think some grooming is natural in and of itself and I feel comfortable this way for now. But if a little hair truly is intimately connected with my ability to make my way in this life solidly as a woman, then it's worth having and probably actually sexy as heaven. Anyone who has ever seen a classic vintage nude knows how beautiful and elegant natural can be. Here is a good article which expresses the natural reasons for intimate hair. This is an article with a few convincing arguments for going natural in the nether regions. Here is an article that helped inspire me by a woman who felt truly empowered when she accepted her natural pubic-covered beauty. I love you all!! Thank you for reading

Why I Don’t Wear Jewelry

A couple of years ago, I made the decision to no longer wear any jewelry that was weighted or made of metal of any kind (all I wear is a cloth wedding band). I intend to keep this as a spiritual practice for the remainder of my life. Why? Well, the answer is somewhat complicated and grounded in intuition with a dash of metaphysics, but I'll do my best to explain. I used to have a total of six piercings, acquired at various times throughout my young life. I had the standard one in each earlobe, one in my navel, a "monroe" above my lip on the left side, an "anti-eyebrow" below my right eye, and one... You know what? Let's just continue. Each of these piercings marked a very difficult time in my life and I held onto them with a sense of pride. Boasting those elegant little faux diamonds in my skin meant I could take the pain. They made me both appear tougher and more beautiful, so I was convinced. And no amount of pus, swelling, or salt baths could change that. Looking back, they were a way to prove that I didn't need anyone and could make decisions for myself. I asked to have my ears pierced at two years old when my due attention was threatened by the imminent birth of my brother and my dad's multiple affairs. Asking my mom for this and picking out my blue teddy bear earrings is one of my first memories. When I was eighteen and choosing to no longer live with family after a falling out, I had my navel pierced. When my heart began to suspect that my long - term boyfriend had been doing hard drugs and possibly cheating on me behind my back for some time, I distracted myself by getting a charming monroe piercing. I stayed with him even after the truth came out. And finally, when that relationship inevitably crumbled into disaster, I got the anti - eyebrow and the, um, other one to feel like I was interesting and try to reclaim control of my own sexuality. The point is, I got pierced, physically wounded myself again and again, because I felt inadequate. More dangerously, I had them done to avoid fully feeling and processing the emotions that I needed to experience, however painful, that I needed to grow and heal. So, what changed and caused me to open up to it all and stop running from myself? Two men changed it: Garrett (my loving now-husband) and Joshua (my brother). I was very much in love with Garrett, and still am. We met and came together in a whirlwind and less than a year later moved from all we had known to Montana, near my family. I didn't know why he loved me and would move so far away with me, practically on a whim, and it made me love him all the more. And for my brother, there was a time just before that move that I thought I would lose him completely. He had been my best friend, the person who understood me the most. As he struggled in his own life (as most of us do early on), I took his pain and balled it up and away in my own heart. Because I hadn't allowed myself to travel through the necessary heartache in order to learn and change habits from my past, I slowly began to realize that the way I had been acting was hurting Garrett. I wanted a life with this man and I knew I had to change. With that, my unexpressed grief mounted the pressure within me and I avoided people and the world in order not to feel it. That could not go on forever. Interestingly, around this time weird things began happening to me physically. My body began to reject one of my piercings and I began to feel very aware of them. It felt like they held up a clear, but thick plastic wall between me and the world. I also became aware of a strange and increasingly uncomfortable feeling that cut down and through the length of my body, like it was splitting me into two uneven pieces. Odd as it sounds, I really felt like an electrical current had broken in my body and there was this dead, static space where nothing could function properly. Thus, it was time to do some research. I sat at my laptop with the thought of misdirected electricity in my mind and began to study what I could about Chi flow and acupuncture. What I found was a variety of Eastern and Native based beliefs that our body is indeed filled with a running energy that can be disrupted or manipulated by the constant presence of metal, which conducts energy. Among what I found was an opinion from one culture that metal wedding rings interfere with a man's virility and ability to protect because the left ring finger has a connection to that energy. Combine this electrical confusion with an actual piercing and a person's natural energy may be thrown off even more. Many of us are aware of pressure points along the body and the way the human responses can be manipulated through them. A piercing placed for cosmetic reasons (rather than therapeutic acupuncture) could be placed in a location that has an unknown and undesired effect, because of the weight it puts on a specific location on the body. I found that many practitioners of acupuncture and acupressure advise against piercings, as do a variety of spiritual philosophers. Intuitively, it began to make sense. I felt like I needed to let go of these tiny, sparkly, metal bits of materialism that I had held onto for so long. It may sound strange. After all, piercings and jewelry of all types are commonplace in our society and daily wardrobe. Some of us may not even know a woman who does not have her ears pierced. And for better or worse, piercings and jewelry of all types are used to express an artistic sense of uniqueness. As unique as I may have felt, I must also confess that the visual signal I was sending with my piercings was not attracting the people or career opportunities that I truly desired. On a quiet, lonely summer day, I finally took a deep breath, went into the bathroom, and slowly, thoughtfully removed each piercing, earrings included, with an internal commitment never to replace them. This was how I would come back to myself, improve my health, connect to my spirit, and allow myself to be restored. This was how I would free myself to change and gravitate toward what I truly yearned for. Instantly, a flood of relief swept through my body and I felt like I could breathe for the first time in ages. Yet, upon facing the world I also felt strangely naked. Vulnerable. I knew that the easy part had passed and I must now allow all of the suffering emotions I had stored within my body to rise up and out, to cleanse. Over the next couple years, that is exactly what happened. I found my subconscious releasing memories from my past from time to time and I would become overwhelmed with emotion as my body flooded with aching and I hid sitting and sobbing on the bathroom floor, knowing this would have been easier if I had let the tears flow back when they had first needed to. Knowing I wouldn't have wasted so much time before improving myself and my relationship. But every time, after thinking I might die, a new feeling of peace and contentment and understanding would settle into my being. My behavior began to change. My life began to change. I finally began to grow and sometimes it felt like all at once. Garrett and I got married on a snowy mountain top. My brother healed and fell in love. And now I find myself blessed enough in life to be enjoying the friendships and pursuing the opportunities I always wanted to. I feel whole and true to myself, willing to be real. And never having to agonize over what pair of earrings to wear or worry about my navel piercing catching beneath the laundry basket I'm carrying and ripping out in a gory spew of blood? Well those are just perks... ;) I love you all!! Thank you for reading!

Naked Face, Bare Soul

Without makeup on my face It can't smear into disgrace Without heels that make me stagger I can walk with natural swagger The ones I don't want ...They don't look And as I bury my nose down in a book Someone somewhere is checking the mirror But it's not themselves that they see clearer She sees sparkles... Not in her eyes but on them And gold hangs from her wounds Time is tossed and pain is taken She thought to make them swoon But love is not the stuff of lies Of picture-perfect styled and dried Love cares not of trend or youth And always seeks the purest truth So clothed yet bare I'll sit under the sun Boldly honest for my the One I love you all!! Thank you for reading!

For Looks or For Life

Well, now that this site is mostly put together and running smoothly, I think it's time we venture into a little substance. Those of you that have read my Mission Statement know that I have a strong stance on the importance of appreciating a woman's (or a man's, for that matter) natural beauty (or handsomeness) and the effect this has on allowing people to be drawn to who they are truly meant to be with, someone who is attracted to them and whom they are attracted to from the inside-out, rather than the reverse. Here's a metaphor that often comes to mind when I am contemplating this subject: Have you ever been sitting in a stale waiting room somewhere and found your eye naturally drawn to the bright green in the corner? There stands a beautiful, emerald green plant, probably one of the only signs of creative life aside from a painting or two on the wall. As you sit there, perhaps a bit anxious for your appointment, the plant seems to be the only pleasant thing to rest your senses on. Yet still, something is wrong. You find yourself absent of the calming feeling usually offered by a taste of nature and the air in the room seems no fresher from this splash of green. What could it be? Perhaps you inspect the plant a little closer, reaching out to touch it. It's leaves, though perfectly organized and alike, feel thick, waxy, and void. It has no scent. And it isn't even sitting in dirt or water, instead the pot that holds it is filled with some stringy, decorative substance. The plant seems at first to be pretty and healthy; it's shining and colorful and not a single leaf has been chewed up by insects or yellowed by the light. Yet, instead of feeling the peace that usually comes with connecting to nature, you just feel...empty. Fast forward to later in the day. You're wandering aimlessly around a small shop looking at various trinkets and gift items. Out of the corner of your eye, you notice a small potted plant near the window. It's leaves aren't glistening and bright, but are a deep green. Perhaps you look at it somewhat suspiciously, remembering the odd disappointment felt from the last indoor plant. Still, you wander to it and reach out to touch it. It's leaves feel soft and damp. You take a breath and your nostrils are filled with fresh air and a gentle, earthy scent. It's thin branches are twisted or bent and you notice a very small critter munching a little hole right through one of the leaves. But, it doesn't matter. You are filled with the peacefulness of being so near something alive, something breathing, something real. My experiences have led me to believe that wearing makeup, jewelry, and body sculpting clothing is akin to choosing to be the artificial office plant rather than the imperfect, but very much alive indoor plant. When I was concerned with looking "just right" with the most flattering makeup and most fun hairstyle, I was focused not on what I could give to my community and the others around me, but only on the attention I could gain from being "attractive". I also was very tense, not wanting to smear my mascara and eyeliner (and end up not knowing I looked like I had a black eye) or to mess up my precisely gelled hair. I was always worried about how I appeared. At first glance, maybe I did look prettier than the woman next to me wearing no makeup and just a shirt and jeans, but I had nothing else to offer. My energy was already used up. Because of this, I also was not attracting people of substance, suitors and friends who wanted something real. Instead it was the ones who only wanted or related to my dolled-up shell who came to me. Things are different since I learned (through the wonderful love and truthfulness my now-husband) to set aside such shallow worries and adornments and simply be as I am. Sometimes I wake up with tired eyes or a pesky pimple, but I no longer spend half of my morning (and my energy) needing to cover it up. Instead, this extra time and energy allows me to connect with my husband and friends and work on creative projects or think of ways to better my community. I am much more relaxed knowing that I can rub my eyes or run my fingers through my hair and it won't make me look like a disheveled monster. And this peace of mind translates to the deeper conversations and friendships that I once craved. Like the real plant that puts oxygen in the air and provides food for the bugs, I find I have so much more of value to give. Most importantly, friends and love-interests no longer fade away when they become bored with my style or the image I presented. Instead, the amazing lover and wonderful friends I have found since letting go of the need to be "sexy" tend to stick around, because our bonds are deeply rooted in the soil of intellect and richly watered with honest emotion. I love you all!! Thank you for reading!