Skin Care

From Antivist

Revision as of 17:02, 20 August 2007

Bath Products

   *  Bath oil- A few drops of cooking or olive oil in the bath leaves the skin feeling smooth and silky. I like to fragrance oil I pour into a bottle fur bath use only.
   * Baking soda soak- a little baking soda sprinkled in the bath also leaves skin feeling softer.
   * Oatmeal bath- this is refreshing to the skin and relieves itching.
   * Milk bath- this has become popular in the commercial bath aisle but why spend that much when a little powdered milk poured into the bath water works just as well?
   * Body and baby powder- put cornstarch in a shaker and you will never need to buy powder again, particularly one containing cornstarch that costs more than a package of cornstarch. This is one of the products I like to scent.

Beauty Products

Face Scrubs

   *  Dove soap and a washcloth- I have never found anything that works as well as running a towel under hot water, applying it to my face to open pores then rubbing Dove soap on to wash my face then rinsing. 

Facials

   * Oily skin- Beat an egg white and add 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice. Apply to face and rinse when dry. Be sure to test this in a small spot before applying to the whole face, some people are sensitive to certain products.
   * Milk and yeast- I have long forgotten the exact measurements but I mix a little milk and yeast for a facial that softens my milk and leaves it looking healthy. Just as the egg and lemon juice one, I rinse when the mixture has dried

Beauty

   * Tired eyes- two slices of cucumber on each eye for several minutes refreshes eyes.

Moisturisers

   * Hands and feet- I apply vaseline like a lotion to my hands and feet at least twice a day. Nothing softens and cares for my hands and feet better than this does.
   *  Lips- Vaseline works as a lip balm or lip gloss as well.

Shaving Gel

   * Conditioner- This isn't a natural product but it certainly is cheap. Just a dab goes a long way and it leaves legs feeling silky smooth.

To make a simple skin exfoliant, combine:

1 cup of raw sugar 1/2 cup olive oil

Mix the sugar and oil together to make a paste. Rub it into your skin using a soft wash cloth, bath sponge, or loofah. Rinse well with warm water. If desired, you can add one teaspoon of your favorite kitchen herb. Try ground ginger for a nice oriental scent, or thyme or rosemary for a nice herbal smell.

The best way to save money making your own salves is to grow the herbs, but the second best way is to buy them in bulk. You can buy a whole pound of herbs in bulk for about the price you would pay at the health food store for a tiny fraction of that amount.

Have you ever thought you would like to make your own balms and salves and put the exact herbs in them that you would like to use? I will give you the basic recipe for making a salve or balm and you can make any herbal salve you would like to have.

First you have to "infuse" the herb in pure olive oil. To do this, fill a canning jar (either pint or quart) almost full with your herb. Then pour pure olive oil over the herb. I like to let mine sit near a heat source, not hot, just warm for a couple of days to get the infusion moving. If you have a pilot light on your stove, you can sit it in the middle of the stove and let it soak up the heat. If not, a window sill in the sun is a good place to put it while it infuses.

After two weeks of infusion you are ready to make your favorite salve or balm.

You take some bee's wax, start with about two ounces or so in the top of a double boiler. Let it melt over slow heat, not to let the water boil, but enough heat to melt the bee's wax. Start adding the infusion to the bee's wax and mix. You will want to use the back of a saucer to "check" your slave or balm until it is the right consistency. Here is how you do it. Put a few drops on the back of the saucer and then rub a piece of ice on the other side of it..... it will cool down the salve quickly.

You can see if you need to add more bee's wax or more oil by feeling it. When the consistency is the way you like it, put it in little glass or plastic jars and use as you like.

You can add other things to your balm, like cocoa butter, shea butter, essential oils, sweet almond oil and a large variety of other ingredients, but the basic recipe is always the same; bee's wax with infused oil.

Some of the herbs you might like to consider are:

   * comfrey

   * black walnut

   * citronella

   * peppermint

   * eucalyptus

   * camphor

   * calendula

   * rosemary