Posts Tagged ‘homemade beauty products’

Beauty Recipe: Homemade Tasty Herbal Toothpicks!

Thursday, May 5th, 2011

Beauty Recipe: HoToothpicksw to make your own flavored tooth picks the natural way to keep your teeth free of debris!

Flavored toothpicks are found in health food stores and sometimes in restaurants, but why not make your own? You can use them to keep your teeth clean after a meal and it also freshens  your breath as well. This is a very simple recipe–my kind of recipe!

You’ll need a half or full box of toothpicks (depending on how much you want) of any style you want (round or flat) of a wood toothpick, a small lidded glass jar and enough of your favorite edible essential oil (sweet orange, fennel, anise, peppermint, spearmint, clove, cinnamon bark, tea tree, or tangerine) to cover the toothpicks.

Place the toothpicks either vertically or horizontally in the glass jar, pour in enough essential oil to completely cover them, tighten the lid, and allow them to absorb the essential oil for a couple days. Next, remove the toothpicks with tweezers and lay them on a plate covered with several layers of paper towels so they can dry for an hour or so. Store them in an airtight glass jar or tin. The leftover essential oil can be used for other beauty recipes.

Happy Tooth Picking!!! And don’t stab yourself while using them!

 

Beauty Recipe: Lavender and Almond Skin Cleanser!

Friday, April 22nd, 2011

Lavender and Almond Skin Cleanser (this is a good recipe for oily skin):

2 tablespoons beeswax granules

1 tablespoon almond oil (health foods store, Mountain Rose Herbs, Living Tree Community Foods, and other online sources).

1 tablespoon mineral water (grocery stores)

1 drop lavender essential oil

Melt the beeswax granules and almond oil together very gently. Take them off the heat and add the other two ingredients, whisking them all together rapidly. Once it has turned into a cream, put into a sterilized and dried pot (a glass container with a lid–I reuse the same container over and over again). Gently apply to your face with a washcloth or cotton cleansing pad. Remove with any gentle toner or water.

Lavender Farm Tasmania Australia

Beauty Recipe: More Natural Tips on Taking Care of Your Teeth!

Friday, April 15th, 2011

Caring for Your Teeth Naturally: More Toothpastes, Foods That Clean Teeth, Mouthwashes, More.

Last week I shared an awesome video on how to make your own tooth powder (or toothpaste, however you want to call it) as an alternative for the toothpastes you buy in the store. It uses all natural and organic ingredients and that’s what this blog is all about. We can naturally take care of our skin, hair, nails and more just from using ingredients in our cupboards or refrigerators. Not only will these recipes save you money, but they are natural too. Let’s start with two more recipes for a natural toothpaste.

Strawberry Toothpaste

Strawberries have gentle cleansing and bleaching properties, and help remove stains from the teeth (especially coffee and tea). Just crush strawberry and rub the pulp directly on teeth.

Hydrogen Peroxide Toothpaste

Mix 1/2 tsp of hydrogen peroxide with 1 teaspoon baking soda. Use this tooth-whitening mixture once a week. This formula is a strong stain remover and tartar reducer. If your teeth are really sensitive, do not use this recipe.

FOODS THAT CLEAN THE TEETH:

There are foods that stain the teeth such as coffee, tea, red wine, etc., and there are other foods that work on the teeth like detergents. Foods that require a lot of chewing like apples, celery, and carrots whiten teeth naturally.

Foods like spinach, lettuce, and broccoli prevent staining by creating a film on the teeth that acts as a barrier.

BRUSH YOUR TONGUE

Make sure to brush your tongue after brushing your teeth, as your tongue harbors germs and bacteria there. Just brush your tongue with a natural toothpaste as described above and save yourself the money of those overpriced tongue scrapers.

HOMEMADE MOUTHWASHES:

Tea

Boil a strong cup of peppermint or spearmint tea. Drink in a slow, deliberate manner while rolling the tea around in your mouth, or let cool and use as a regular rinse.

Clove Rinse

Heat one teaspoon of cloves with 1/4 cup of water. Cool and rinse.

Now let’s have some fun with our teeth the natural way! Your teeth enamel will thank you!

Royalty Free Picture of a Tooth

Beauty Recipe: How to Make Your Own Herbal Toothpaste!

Friday, April 8th, 2011

Beauty Recipe: How to Make Your Own Herbal Toothpaste (or rather your own tooth powder!)—using all natural ingredients!

With permission granted by Mountain Rose Herbs, I am very excited to present to you a video on how to make your very own teeth cleaner! With just a few ingredients you can clean your teeth without having to buy expensive toothpastes in the store. The ingredients that you will be using can be used for other beauty recipes and they store for a very long time, so no worries on the ingredients going bad quick.  Also these ingredients are all natural and organic, and there are no petro- chemicals or any bad substances in this tooth powder.

Many teeth cleaners (toothpaste) and including the so called natural toothpastes that you buy in the market are filled with harmful ingredients. Some of these ingredients include Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (same ingredient used in garage floor cleaners!–isn’t that gross?), artificial sweeteners (such as saccharin), preservatives, colors or flavors, amongst other dangerous substances which I will not list as that is meant for another post.  All you have to do is to look at the ingredient list on the toothpaste and you’ll see a whole list of bad stuff. Doing a bit of homework on what is in your beauty products, you’ll quickly find out that a lot of beauty products are loaded with cancer causing bad stuff!

Enough of the “bad” stuff! Let’s get to the “good” stuff! An instruction video on how to make your own teeth cleaner! Mountain Rose Herbs carries all the ingredients you need for this recipe, OR you can go on a hunt for these items, but to save time and energy I will using Mountain Rose Herbs. I trust what they stand for (being all organic and from quality sources, etc.).

Just in case you are not able to see the video I have written down the ingredients and instructions below:
Ingredients:

1/4 cup White Kaolin Cosmetic Clay

1/4 cup Baking Soda

1/4 cup Dead Sea Salt (or other good quality sea salt)

1 tablespoon dried organic Sage (off of your spice rack is fine too).

30 drops Spearmint Essential Oil

Small storage jar with lid

Instructions:

Mix the white kaolin clay, baking soda, and sea salt together in a bowl (you can use your clean hands for this). Grind sage down to a fine powder using a mortar and pestle  or you can try using a coffee grinder. Add sage to the mix and then add 30 drops of the spearmint essential oil mixing together well. Pour into your clean storage jar.

Just shake a small amount of this powder into one of your hands, wet your toothbrush and pick up the powder in your hand with the toothbrush.

Have fun with your teeth!!

 

Beauty Recipe: Parsley Juice Preconditioner for Hair!

Friday, April 1st, 2011

Conditioning is a very important part of the hair washing process. Some of us use blow dryers, curling irons and other gadgets on our hair to get it to do things for us and as a result this often DRIES out our hair.

Usually I condition my hair after I shampoo but apparently you can PRE condition your hair BEFORE you shampoo! This is a very simple recipe using ONE ingredient! (but two ingredients if you count water).

Parsley

Parsley Juice Preconditioner (for all hair types)

3 cups of fresh chopped parsley

1/2 cup of boiling water

This treatment conditions the hair and helps to balance the sebaceous glands. It helps any scalp problems and boosts slow-growing hair.

Infuse about a quarter of the parsley in the boiling water for 30 minutes. Then put the whole infusion, leaves and liquid, together with the rest of the parsley into a blender or food processor.  Blend the mixture into a runny paste. If necessary, add a little more of either ingredient  to correct the consistency.  Then massage it well into your hair.  Leave it on your scalp or hair for an hour or so to do its work. It is easiest to wear a shower cap  while you have got it in your hair,  as it does look a little strange!  Then rinse and wash your hair as usual.

 

 

 

Beauty Recipe: Cleopatra’s Milk Bath!

Thursday, March 24th, 2011
Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra, 1963

Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra, 1963

In honor of Elizabeth Taylor, (may she rest in peace), I am posting this beauty recipe! I remember her most in the movie CLEOPATRA when I was a kid. I thought she was absolutely stunningly beautiful in it and did a fantastic job playing the part.

I don’t know if indeed the real Cleopatra actually had milk baths but what’s a little fantasy to hurt? Maybe she did or didn’t! Let’s just have some fun!

From what I have read, milk is very soothing to the skin, and if you do a search on Google you will see all kinds of variations on milk baths, in adding baking soda, essential oils, etc. Do as you wish, but for this simple recipe it’s just plain old powdered milk and that is it. The reason for the powdered milk is only because it won’t spoil if you leave a jar of it in your bathroom. You can certainly use regular milk in the fridge though should you have some. Personally I do not drink milk, but I wouldn’t mind trying the powdered milk in my bath.

Ingredients:

You just use 1 and a half cups of powdered milk or 2 pints of fresh milk.

While the bath is running add the powdered milk under the fast-running tap.

This will help you relax and soften the skin! Lie back and pretend to be Cleopatra!

 

March, 2011 Featured Artist: Lisa Turkel, “RAW” Beauty Artisan!

Saturday, March 5th, 2011
Lisa Ann Turkel with Shimmer Organics

Lisa Ann Turkel with Shimmer Organics

Featured Artist of the Month: Lisa Ann Turkel with Shimmer Organics-Raw Beauty Products!

Many of you who follow my blog know that I love to post a new natural beauty recipe once a week. I also love to try out new beauty products that other people create, especially and ONLY when they really benefit me and my health. I try to use only the best products for my skin. Products that are made from natural earth made ingredients without unnecessary petro-chemicals and other substances that are harmful for my health and the health of my pets and anyone around me. The best beauty products are not the kind that last forever on a shelf somewhere but the kind made from fruit, vegetables, mineral clays, and other raw materials that are from the earth, trees, and plants.

This month I’d like to feature a natural beauty artist, Lisa Turkel with Shimmer Organics. Lisa and I met on Facebook through a mutual friend. I was attracted by her presence from her picture and I wanted to be her friend. I also noticed that she created raw beauty products, the kind of product I wanted to try, and we immediately became friends right away. She offered to send me samples and I am happy and thrilled to be sharing with you what I experienced along with her interview of her journey as well as her future goals for her homemade raw soaps, masks and more.

First I want to say that my face felt so soft and vibrant after trying Lisa’s Mandarin and Honey Rivitalizing Facial Mask! My favorite by far! And I had no reactions on my skin as I am prone to allergic breakouts due to synthetic fragrances and other strong chemicals that are often put in products, even so called natural products on store’s shelves. I can always tell by the smell of a product if I will like it or be allergic to it, and anything strong to me tells me that it is far from being natural, unless it has essential oils in it which is of a different smell that is either welcoming or not, depending on what you like. I personally love the clean, earthy smells and often times vanilla and cinnamon spicy smells. I don’t like strong flowery smells very much or even fruity smells. Lisa’s products look and smell like they are from the earth (made from clay) and my skin soaked up every bit of it very nicely.

Mandarin and Honey Revitalizing Mask in 2.5 ounces and 4.5 ounces

Mandarin and Honey Revitalizing Mask in 2.5 ounces and 4.5 ounces

I also tried her soaps and I love them! Again, very earthy and clean and it left no residue on my skin. I felt like I was using a very good quality product that was good for my skin as many soaps leave my skin feeling dry.

Moroccan Chamomile Pure Luxury Cleansing Bar

Moroccan Chamomile Pure Luxury Cleansing Bar

Here is the interview with Lisa and her journey with Shimmer Organics:

 

1. Lisa, please tell us about yourself and also how you stand out from other companies who create beauty products, and how we can contact you for information on your wonderful skin products:

My name is Lisa Ann Turkel and my website is: http://ShimmerOrganics.artfire.com. My contact info is ShimmerOrganics@yahoo.com.

I create handcrafted organic and raw skin care and body care products – and they are created with love using pure and raw ingredients. I put my heart and soul into every product that I make, and my products are handcrafted with Love.  Each ingredient is added by hand, blended by me… and the finished product is uniquely original and contains the loving energy I put into them. I care deeply about my customers and I am very passionate about creating pure skin care and body care products.  What makes my products special is that they are handcrafted with Love – are very balancing and great for all skin types – and I only choose ingredients for their healing and restorative properties.

2. Lisa, give me a brief history about yourself and how you came about creating Shimmer Organics:

I studied to be an esthetician, and that’s when I realized that I had a strong interest in creating pure skin care and body care products. My motivating energy is creating pure products and making a positive difference in the lives of others.

3. Lisa, can you explain in more detail why making these products means a lot to you, why it is so special?

I started creating my organic and raw clay mask in October 2008.  I used to have problem skin with acne and I have tried many different products on the market, including prescription medicine from a dermatologist and over-the-counter products.  Nothing worked—and many of them irritated my already sensitive skin.  So, I decided to make my own skin care line using organic, raw, and pure ingredients.  I did a lot of research, purchased my ingredients and started formulating my mask. And that’s how I created the Mandarin and Honey Revitalizing Mask. I decided to make my organic masks as Christmas gifts for my friends and family, and everyone loved them!  They all encouraged me to sell them, and that’s how ShimmerOrganics was born!

My skin is healthier and looks better than it has ever looked, and it is such a wonderful feeling helping others to have healthy, youthful and beautiful skin! Many people who have been using the Mandarin and Honey Revitalizing Mask started asking me when I was going to have an organic cleanser to go with the mask. I use the mask twice a week… and I also wanted to have a pure, gentle, deep cleansing cleanser that is wonderful for our skin and can be used daily. I started researching, and then ordered the Organic, Raw and Wild Harvested ingredients. Then I started formulating… then formulating again and again and again… until I finally created ShimmerOrganics Pure Luxury Cleansing Bars. And they are multi-purpose, and can be used on our face, body AND hair! I love the deep cleansing, softening and smoothing benefits that I get from using the Pure Luxury Cleansing Bars.

Oh wow, Lisa! I didn’t know those cleansing bars could be used on hair too!! That’s awesome! I will have to try that on my hair next!

That brings me to my next question….

4. Lisa, what are the main ingredients in your product? The “raw” ingredients that  you use? And please tell the people that are new to “raw” what that means?

The Key ingredients in the Mandarin and Honey Revitalizing Mask are: pure clay minerals, raw and organic aloe vera, raw and organic antioxidant rich oils, raw and organic honey and an organic blend of healing essential oils.

The Key ingredients in the Pure Luxury Cleansing Bars are: Virgin palm kernel oil, pure, unrefined shea butter, potash produced from the ashes of plantain leaves and local tree barks and organic, raw and wild harvested ingredients blended in at a low temperature to keep the life energy within the ingredients practically untouched.

Raw ingredients are not prepared by the action of heat, and they are not altered from their natural state.

The raw aloe that I use in the Mandarin and Honey Revitalizing Mask is from certified organically grown Aloe Vera plants. Raw and Organic aloe contains amino acids, vitamins and minerals, live enzymes and essential fatty acids. Raw and organic aloe has so many therapeutic qualities. It is very soothing, anti-inflammatory, healing, moisturizing, and is especially beneficial for sensitive and dry skin. The aloe that I use was created by hand and is cold pressed.

I use a wonderful spa quality and mineral rich clay blend in my skin care and body care products. This special clay blend is 100% naturally occurring, unprocessed and sun dried in nature.

Mandarin and Honey and Cacao Mint Pure Luxury Cleansing Bars

Mandarin and Honey and Cacao Mint Pure Luxury Cleansing Bars

5. Last by not least, please tell us about your future goals for Shimmer Organics…

To have a simple, raw and organic beauty skin care and body care line that is effective and affordable – to help people have healthy, youthful and beautiful skin – and beautiful, healthy and shining hair.

I want to have raw and organic beauty skin care and body care parties, and have my products available in natural spas, salons and other health and beauty businesses and institutes. I also want to have my own charities to help women, children and animals. Staying connected with my customers is very important to me. I care deeply about my customers and about creating high quality products.  I am passionate about using only the purest and highest quality ingredients. What we put on our skin is absorbed into our body.  And just as eating healthy is so important, so is using healthy and pure products on our skin and hair. Natural, pure and raw is always best!

Lisa, thank you so much for this awesome interview! I thoroughly enjoyed using your product and I wanted to post your wonderful natural “beauty” creations to share with people that we can use healthy beauty products without the harmful ingredients. Your product is perfect for people who are limited on time because of their busy schedule, people who don’t particularly like to spend time in the kitchen, for people who have sensitive skin, people who have acne or other skin problems, and for those who are concerned about the environment, who want to be ethical in choosing what is best for the earth and themselves.

If you have any questions for Lisa, please leave a comment below and she will be happy to answer them for you. Also, leave a comment to show support and love for Lisa! Thank you Lisa!


 

Beauty Recipe: Rosemary Foot Bath!

Wednesday, March 2nd, 2011

Herbal Foot Treatments: Rosemary Foot Bath

Ingredients:

1 cup rosemary leaves

1 cup salt

2 and a half cups boiling water

Simmer the rosemary and water together in a pan for 5-10 minutes. Then strain through a fine sieve. Fill two bowls with water, one with cold water and one with hot water. Stir the salt into the basin of warm water and add the rosemary infusion to the cool water.

Soak your feet in the salt bath for 5 minutes, then soak them in the rosemary bath for one minute. Put your feet back into the salt bath for another 5 minutes and, finally, into the rosemary bath again for the last minute.

Briskly rub your feet dry with a towel and massage them with a little moisturizing lotion. This should cheer up tired feet!

At the end of a hard day’s work it feels good to pamper your tired feet!! Have fun soaking!!

 


Beauty Recipe: Lavender Foot Bath!

Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011

Herbal Foot Treatments: Lavender Foot Bath

What a way to end a day! With a soothing foot bath, especially if you’ve been on your feet all day working or whatever.

Ingredients:

2 cups lavender flowers and leaves

1 and 1/4 cups boiling water

Simmer the lavender and water together in a pan for 5-10 minutes. Allow to cool, then strain through a coffee filter paper or a piece of muslin or cheesecloth draped over a sieve. Add half the finished quantity to a bowl of warm water and soak your feet for 15 minutes.

Happy Soaking!

GORGEOUS Lavender Fields!!

GORGEOUS Lavender Fields!!

Beauty Recipe: Almond Milk Scrub!

Wednesday, February 16th, 2011

Beauty Recipe: Almond Milk Skin Scrub!

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons very fine almond meal (you can buy almond meal at Trader Joe’s or grind your own in a food processor using whole or sliced almonds–make sure to grind it down to a fine powder)

4 tablespoons white clay (Buy from Mountain Rose Herbs) or (Texas Natural Supply)

1 tablespoon organic milk powder (buy from health foods store or grocery store)

Add all ingredients to glass jar and shake well to mix the contents. To use, pour 1 tablespoon in the palm of hand, massage gently into the skin, rinse off with lukewarm water, and pat your skin dry.

Almonds are very softening to the skin, and fine almond meal makes this scrub gentle enough to use as a regular cleanser.

HAPPY SCRUBBING!!