Monday, October 02, 2006
Making Do on Mondays: Homemade Skin Care
I thought that I'd share with you some of my own little economical ways of keeping my skin healthy. I don't know about you, but sometimes I just can't believe the price of all-natural cosmetic treats... $24 for a body scrub, $16 for lotions, etc... It'll make you broke! I have very sensitive skin, thus I can't buy whatever is cheapest and conventional. Even "natural" companies have irritating products. So I have to go REALLY pure and it just isn't affordable sometimes.Salt Scrub:
One day I ran out of my favorite scrub and couldn't bring myself to order another.. I checked the first few ingredients on the label of the scrub. Sure enough it was just oil and salt. Then there's the long list of the extra ingredients which make the product so extra luxurious... But the main ingredients were on my shelf. I took the empty container of scrub, filled it half-way with sea salt, added a bunch of extra-virgin olive oil and less than a teaspoon of the essential oil of Lavender, -That's 3 ingredients: mix them together and you have a perfectly decent scrub that smells heavenly. -I now make rose, peppermint, lavender, jasmine and sandalwood scrubs. (Not combined, of course!) These have made great affordable gifts, too.
~Olive Oil is an excellent moisturizer for your skin. I use it sometimes as an after-shower moisturizing oil instead of spending tons of money on the fancy spa oils in the stores. Pure Sesame Oil is good, too.
As some of you know, I am a potter. I have spent a lot of time in studios around giant slop buckets of clays and such... One time we face-painted with clay and rinsed it off, only to feel very refreshed. I started to do this on a regular basis. (Never more than once a day though!) A wonderful facial scrub is a handful of really wet "slop" (a smooth clay and water sludge) ... simply rub it all over your face, rinse off with water and you have a very invigorating facial scrub, leaving your face feeling almost TOO clean! This beats all facial scrubs I've tried. These also are easy ingredients: Clay and water. You can buy clay in powdered form from big clay suppliers and mix with water at home.
Honey has been been used for centuries as a moisturizer and to keep the skin younger-looking, diminishing fine lines... In some cultures it is termed as "the nectar of youth"...
For a honey treatment, this site suggests using 1 part honey to 1 part shampoo , working 1/2 cup of the mix through your hair and leaving for 20-30 minutes before the main shampooing.
Milk: "...the lactic acid in milk is an alpha hydroxy acid, a natural material that dissolves the glue that holds dead skin cells together. Milk can cleanse the skin down to its deepest layers..."
Milk Bath: "Add 2 to 4 cups of fresh milk or buttermilk to the bathwater as the tub is filling. Soak for a good 20 minutes. Gently rub your skin with a washcloth or loofa to slough off the dead skin. Rinse your body thoroughly after soaking." (~from Cleopatra's Milk Bath, found on Care2.com.)
Vitamin C, Vitamin E and Green Tea leaves are strong in antioxidants. Antioxidants help to fight the "free radicals". F.R form on your skin or in your body as a result from sun damage, air pollution and smoke. The damage can cause premature aging, ie loss of elasticity and collagen. Therefore these antioxidants are excellent for your skin.
For a Citrus Skin Freshener recipe, click here. For more recipe ideas I'm sure you will find some in the links toward the bottom of this post.
Oatmeal is excellent for dry skin and is wonderful added to a bath... This is especially nice for little little children with sensitive, dry skin or exema. For a Dry Skin Facial recipe including oatmeal, click here.
There is so much more, and there are actual recipes out there which I'm interested in learning more about. If any of you have your own ideas or recipes, please share them in the comments section.
~For toning and tightening recipes, click here.
~For moisturizing recipes, click here.
~For cleansing and exfoliating recipes, click here.
~For controling the oil recipes, click here.
John Edwards has some great tips on This site , including Fresh Tomatoes for oily skin, avocados for dry skin and baking soda for blackheads or a smooth, silky shower experience... interesting!
This site has tons of free skin care recipes, some which look really easy.
Of course, some of the best things you can do for your skin is to drink lots of water (at least 8 glasses per day; more if you're nursing/pregnant!), to eat healthy foods and to get regular excercise. Healthy skin is a result from cleansing from the inside out!
Whew... that's a lot!
~Sia , still up on Whidbey Island with Ellie
Labels: useful ideas
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