Dairy Good...

Milk is one of the most gentle yet effective cleansers nature has to offer. It is safe and effective to use as a daily facial cleanser for morning and night. Mix 1/2 a cup of cold milk and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir the mixture well and pat gently onto your face and neck with a cotton ball or soft white towel/cloth. Leave the mixture on your face for 2-3 minutes. Apply again and gently rub in small circular motions. Finally, rinse your face and moisturize with your favorite moisturizer.

This

cleanser hydrates, soothes and exfoliates. It is suitable for all skin types.

-Nasirah

Scent sense...

I love the ritual of spraying on a light, beautiful body spray after a shower. There are few more refreshing moments during the day.


We all love to smell good and scent can transform our mood. Certain scents can also have an affect on our health and well being. Essential oils have been used for years in aromatherapy. Oils such as grapefruit are said to contribute to weight loss and lavender is soothing and relaxing while peppermint is invigorating and revitalizing.


Making your own signature scent with essential oils couldn't be easier. Simply add ten to fifteen drops of your favorite oil to every one ounce of distilled water in a small spray bottle. Shake well each time before you spray. This body spray is all natural with no additives or synthetic chemical fragrances. It can also be used as a room mist. Here are just a few oils you can customize your body spray with:

• 
  
  lemon- uplifting and energizing


• 
  
  lavender- calming and soothing


• 
  
  rosemary- stimulates memory


• 
  
  grapefruit- uplifting, aids weight loss, confidence


• 
  
  peppermint- invigorating and revitalizing


• 
  
  chamomile- peaceful and relaxing


• 
  
  orange- relieves tension, lifts mood


• 
  
  franckincense- excellent for skin, calming

Note: Essential oils are very strong. Be sure to dilute oils with water before applying to skin to prevent irritation.

-Nasirah

Homemade Facial Exfoliant

photo by Jane Hian

Exfoliating sloughs off dead skin and clears the pores of dirt and debris leaving you with youthful, glowing skin. It is an essential part of a skincare routine. which should be performed once a week. Homemade facial exfoliants are extremely cheap and easy to make. To make a basic exfoliant you will need an exfoliating (abrasive) ingredient and a base ingredient.

Exfoliant:

corn meal

corn flour

sugar

kosher salt

ground almonds

steel cut oats

Base:

oil i.e., olive, almond, apricot kernel, coconut

egg white- good for toning and tightening

pureed fruit, i.e., berries, cucumber,tomato- acid refines skin

yogurt- smoothes and refreshes

milk-smooths and refreshes


Additions:

honey-for moisture and antiseptic property

glycerin-for moisture



To make exfoliant combine 1 part exfoliant, 1 part base and 1/4 part additional ingredient if desired. Chill if desired for a refreshing effect. Pat mixture onto face and neck and rub gently with small circular motions. Leave exfoliant on skin for five more minutes. Rinse with warm water until all traces of exfoliant have been removed. Do a final rinse of cool water and finally, moisturize.


-Nasirah

Simple Lip Balm

Recipe featured on makeyourowncosmetics.com

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon grated beeswax
1 vitamin E capsule (400 mg)

Blending Procedure:

Place grated beeswax (or beeswax beads) into a heat proof cup. Add olive oil and liquid from the vitamin E capsule.

Place the heat proof cup into a hot water bath until the beeswax is nearly melted. Remove from heat.

Pour into suitable screw top or other lip balm containers. Allow to solidify and cool before using.

Enjoy and tell your friends!


source:http://www.makeyourcosmetics.com/recipes/viewrec.asp?id=288&cat=facial
submitted by Kena

Simple Makeup

This excerpt from Doctor Hulda Clark's 1995 book The Cure for All Diseases gives step-by-step directions to make your own cosmetics. While I have not tried these yet, I have used beet powder as a blush with success.

-Nasirah



Eye liner and Eyebrow Pencil

Get a pure charcoal pencil (black only) at an art supply store. Try several on yourself (bring a small mirror) in the store to see what hardness suits you. You may need to wet it with water or a vitamin E perle first. Don't put any chemicals on your eyelids, since this penetrates into your eye. To check this out for yourself, close your eye tightly and then dab lemon juice on your eyelid. It will soon burn! Everything that is put on skin penetrates. Otherwise the nicotine patch and estrogen patch wouldn't work. Not even soap belongs on your eyelids! Charcoal pencils are cheap. Get yourself half a dozen different kinds so you can do different things.
You could also use a capsule of activated charcoal. Empty it into a saucer. Mix glycerin and water, half and half, and add it to the charcoal powder until you get the consistency you like. Use a brush for eyelashes; use a finger for eyebrows.

Lipstick

Beet root powder100% vegetable glycerin
Combine 1 tsp. vegetable glycerin and 1 tsp. beet root powder in a saucer. Stir until perfectly smooth. Then add 1/2 tsp. of vitamin oil. Snip open vitamin E capsules or buy vitamin E oil. Very thick olive oil can be substituted. Apply liberally with your finger or a lipstick brush. Do not purse or rub your lips together after application. To make the lipstick stay on longer, apply 1 layer of lipstick, then dab some cornstarch over the lips, then apply another layer of lipstick. Store in a small glass or plastic container in the refrigerator, tightly covered in a plastic bag.

Face Powder

Use cornstarch from the original box. You may also try arrow root starch or potato starch. Use your fingers or a tissue to apply because applicators can carry bacteria.

Blush (face powder in a cake form)

Add 50% glycerin to cornstarch in a saucer to make paste. Slowly add beet root powder to the desired color. Use part of a charcoal capsule to darken it, if desired. A drop of food grade alcohol will also darken it. To make 50% glycerin, add equal parts of glycerin and water. Try to make the consistency the same as your brand name product, and you can even put it back in your brand name container.

Burt's Bees Baby Bee Buttermilk Lotion

For years, before I realized how hazardous parabens are, I was addicted to the scent of baby lotion. We are all familiar with the pink "baby" scented lotion that honestly smells really great. Giving up baby lotion was a major blow, but one I had to take. Until now, I hadn't discovered another lotion that captured the characteristic "baby" smell and passed my safety test.

I don't know why I didn't find it sooner, but, Burt's Bees Baby Bee Buttermilk Lotion passes both tests. One sniff of the light, creamy lotion and I forgot all about the pink stuff. Baby Bee Buttermilk has a clean, light, sweet, but -not-too-sweet, scent that can melt anyone.

Check out Baby Bee Buttermilk at burtsbees.com.

-Nasirah

Basic Body Scrub

We all love smooth skin and exfoliation is essential to achieve silky, baby soft skin. There are many commercial exfoliants available, but many of them are pricey or contain additives. It is amazingly easy to make your own exfoliants for a fraction of the retail price. With the holiday season fast approaching, a beautifully packaged, scented, homemade body scrub is a great gift idea.

This recipe from prairielandherbs.com makes a simple yet highly effective body scrub.

-Nasirah

1 part salt or sugar

1 part oil

For the salt or sugar: sea salt or raw sugar are best, but you can definitely use plain table salt, white sugar, or brown sugar too.

For the oil: use any mild, unscented vegetable oil - olive, sunflower, safflower, sweet almond, etc. Herbally infused oils work wonderfully too.

Mix ingredients together and scrub onto damp skin; rinse off and pat dry with a towel.

Optional additions: honey, dried or fresh herbs or flower petals, oats, essential oils or fragrance oils.


Note: Sugar scrubs tend to be more mild and less drying than salt scrubs.


-Nasirah