|
Hair Gel
1 ½ teaspoons gelatine
250 ml warm water
10 drops essential oil – use your favourite ones.
This uses gelatine which is actually collagen and full of protein so it can double as a hair strengthener as well.
Mix gelatine with water until it dissolves. Add 10 drops of your favourite essential oil such as lavender or I use sandalwood for a blokey smell. Put aside for a few hours to set and then tip into a blender and blend until smooth.
If you like your gel a little less firm just use a teaspoon of t gelatine. You can also dilute the gel with water in a sprayer for a natural holding hairspray.
Easy liquid handwash.
This is one of my favourite and quickest recipes to make and while the mixture is a bit gluggy as it comes out of the dispenser the glycerine in it keeps your hands wonderful moisturised and they smell amazing.
250 ml boiling water
2 Tbsp grated Sunlight soap
2 tsp glycerine or glycerol (from the chemist or supermarket)
2 tsp rosewater (from the chemist of the specialty food stores)
Melt the grated soap in the boiling water and then stir in the glycerine and rosewater. Pour into the soap dispenser while still warm as it sets as a jelly.
Quick and Easy Make-up Remover
There’s no excuse for smudged mascara when there’s a potato in the house. Peel it first – or you’ll get mud in your eyes – then slice thinly and wipe away. You’ll be amazed at how good this is. Wipe off excess potato juice with a tissue.
Romance Pillow Spray
80 ml water
20 ml rosewater
1 tsp vodka
2 drops ylang ylang essential oil
1 drop bergamot essential oil
1 drop jasmine absolute essential oil
Add all the ingredients together in a glass jug and whisk together with a kitchen whisk. The vodka will help the oils disperse in the liquid. Pour into a spray bottle and enjoy.
A note about the jasmine oil, it is very expensive but please invest in just 2 mls as you will use it time and time again. If it is diluted in another oil it won't have the same effect.
Sunscreen
One of the most chemically loaded substances we put on our bodies is sunscreen. A simple natural alternative is zinc oxide cream which you can get at your chemist and I advise using that on children under six months old. This recipe works well for me and I usually wear about a factor 20 sunscreen. I reapply after a couple of hours or after swimming and at the end of the day you are left with wonderfully moist skin and not that gunky feel you get from commercial sunscreens. Do be cautious with this and test it yourself as everyone’s skin differs:
75ml sesame oil
15gm beeswax
45gm coconut oil or cocoa butter
120ml water
2Tbsn zinc oxide (from chemist)
1 Tbsn wheat germ oil
1 tsp citric acid (from supermarket baking aisle)
20 drops lavender oil
In a double boiler (or put a bowl over boiling water in a saucepan) melt the oils and the beeswax together. Take off the heat and add the water, mixing with an electric mixer until thick and creamy. Then add the zinc oxide,wheat germ oil, and citric acid. Stir then add the lavender oil. Over time this will start leaching water – just drain it off.
Hair rinses.
In the old days Nana used to put rinses through her hair all the time. Stale beer was great for giving body to thin hair and rinsing your hair with vinegar washes out any soap residue and leaves your hair shiny and soft. I like these simple herb rinses because they are cheap and easy to prepare and leave the hair feeling so soft and smelling great.
Rosemary or Lavender hair rinse.
Get an old Agee jar and pack if full of rosemary or lavender branches. If you want lots of fragrance include the flowers but make sure there branches are in there too as the wood seems to add something to the mix. Pour boiling water on top, put the lid on and leave it overnight. Use one cup rinsed through your hair after washing and conditioning. Store this in the fridge and it will last a few weeks.
Body Scrub
Getting back to that part about your skin being your largest organ, it can also get clogged up with old skin cells. So once a week it’s a good idea to give it a good scrub with a loofah or this fantastic body scrub. You’ll love using it and it leaves your skin breathing free while the lemon juice acts as a bleach for your fingernails and toe nails..
Fill a small jar or bowl with 200gms good coarse sea salt. Pour over 4 Tbs olive oil and the juice of a lemon. Mix together and rub over your body vigorously before rinsing off.
Bath Soaks
Nothing beats a good soak in the bath as far as I am concerned. As long as the family leave you alone you always emerge feeling refreshed and goddess like. These are my two favourite soaks. One for after you’ve exercised well and ache all over, the other for the ultimate Cleopatra indulgence.
Muscle Soak
The only thing you need here is a big bag of Epsom salts which have a high magnesium content and that helps to clear out the lactic acid released during exercise. Throw in at least two cups per bath or ramp it up to four cups if you are really aching.
Milk Bath
The lactic acid in milk dissolved dead skin cells and the result is wonderfully smooth, silky skin. The honey moisturises your skin and acts as an anti-bacterial agent. And the lavender oil? It just relaxes you into a heavenly state.
3 cups blue milk powder (no place for skim milk here)
½ cup runny honey
10 drops lavender essential oil
Put in your hot bath, light a candle and soak away.
Body Oil
It is so easy to make a gorgeous body oil using your favourite essential oil. Find a good carrier oil such as almond, olive, wheatgerm, apricot kernal or jojoba and mix 30mls of this oil with 30 drops of your favourite essential oil. Lavender is a great oil for relaxing after a night time bath, ylang ylang is good if you have romance on your mind or rose geranium if you are a little pre-menstrual. Or why not try mixing a few oils together to create your own signature scent.
Magic night face cream (very cheap)
This uses apple cider vinegar, which has a great reputation for curing everything that ails you. My husband and I tried drinking it every day as a tonic and felt really good, once we got past the taste. A lot of people do this and say that it has a great effect on weight loss, rheumatism, and promoting blood circulation. Now that we don't drink it, I try to use it in salad dressings and I also like it in this face cream recipe:
½ cup olive oil (extra virgin if possible)
3 tsp apple cider vinegar
Approximately 1 Tbsn water
3 drops lavender essential oil (optional)
Mix olive oil with apple cider vinegar. Add water slowly, mixing all the while, until a smooth white cream forms. If you don't want to smell like a salad dressing add the lavender oil. You will also need to shake it each night before applying, as it settles.
Simple night treatment
Vitamin E oil has long been heralded as a great antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and skin tissue healer. So why not treat your face to some every night, especially if you have older drier skin? It works out at about 40 cents a night or $12 a month, which is cheaper than commercial night treatments. Simply buy a bottle of capsules, making sure they are derived from a natural source (it should say ‘tocopherol' in the ingredients). Simply prick a hole in the capsule with a pin and rub on your face and neck. I love the simplicity of it and it never feels too greasy.
Rosehip oil
If you have a little more cash, then a bottle of rosehip oil is all you need for a night-time treatment. Or perhaps just use a little around the eyes as an extra special anti-wrinkle treatment.
Face masks
There is nothing quite like sinking into a hot bath with your hair tied back and some gunk on your face. Our bathroom is a constant witness to various female forms, including my 10-year-old, lounging around in hot water having a face mask. Here are some of our favourite concoctions:
Avocado
Simply mash one up and plonk it on. It is really nourishing for sensitive and dry skin and is a great use for an avocado which might have passed its usefulness in the fruit bowl. Spread on the face and leave as long as you like, then rinse off.
Or try mixing 4 tbsp avocado, 2 tsp honey and 8 drops cider vinegar together. Leave on for 15 minutes and rinse off for soft skin.
Banana
Mash it up with a little honey and put it on. This is a great cleansing mask if your skin is feeling a little lifeless. Spread on your face, leave for 15 minutes and rinse off.
Oats
Oats are the best thing for skin in my opinion. This mask leaves your face incredibly soft, and when you rinse it off into the bath it makes the rest of your body soft also. Oats are great for treating dry, itchy skin.
Mix one egg, ½ cup cooked oatmeal (leftover from breakfast) and 1 tsp olive oil together. Spread on your face and leave for 15 minutes.
Or combine all three of the above with a little unsweetened natural yoghurt for a luxury face mask. You won't regret it.
Mayonnaise
If you are in a hurry, you can simply grab your jar of mayonnaise from the fridge and put it on as a mask. It contains egg yolks, vinegar and oil - all great conditioners for the face.
Tahini
If you make a lot of hummus you'll have a jar of tahini in the fridge. Use some as a mask and feel how soft and moisturised your skin is.
Lips
Leftover lippie
My mother swears by this economy, and I have to admit that if you can be bothered it can save you money. Dig around in your make-up drawer and get out every lipstick which has that annoying centimetre in the bottom you can only reach with a lip brush. Scoop it all out, put it in a jar and heat it gently in a saucepan of water, or use a double boiler. When it all melts, you can pour it into a lip-balm jar and you have a new lipstick, which is vaguely the colour you like or an exciting new colour that you get to name yourself!
Lip balm
This is a fantastic recipe and the balm is especially good for your lips with the addition of vitamin E oil, which also acts as a preservative. I tested this on my daughter and her two friends one Saturday afternoon, and their favourite was orange, using sweet orange essential oil. Do not make the mistake of thinking that adding vanilla essence will work. It doesn't. You need to add the stronger-smelling essential oils.
20 ml sweet almond oil
½ tsp beeswax, grated, or beeswax pellets, cosmetic grade
½ tsp cocoa butter
1 tsp icing sugar
1 capsule vitamin E
5 drops essential oil (sweet orange, rose and peppermint all work well)
Melt oil, beeswax and cocoa butter in a double boiler (or use a bowl sitting on a saucepan of gently boiling water, making sure the bottom of the bowl stays above the water). Add icing sugar and stir to dissolve. Take it off the heat and add vitamin E by piercing the capsule and pouring oil in. Add essential oils, stir and pour into a lip balm jar.
|
[9] Visitors Currently Online
