Category: Natural Cosmetics

Brush Your Way To Better Skin


A few months ago, I became interested in “dry brushing”. Now that I’m in my 40s (*gads!*) it takes more effort to make my skin look its best. This means eating clean, drinking lots of water, NOT tanning, moisturizing regularly, etc. Dry brushing is purported to promote healthier skin by removing dead skin cells on the surface of the skin, allowing it to breathe and absorb more nutrients. It also stimulates and increases skin cell production, stimulates the lymphatic and circulatory systems, and boosts your immune system. The gentle pressure and brushing sensations are said to have a calming effect; increasing your blood flow reduces stressed areas of the body and stimulates nerve endings in your skin which in turn rejuvenates your nervous system. Last but not least, dry brushing supposedly reduces cellulite by increasing blood circulation to the skin, helping to break down and release toxins that cause cellulite in legs and hips.

This I had to try.

I went on line (amazon.com) and purchased a Yerba Prima Tampico Skin Brush. If you’re going to try dry brushing, you want a natural bristle brush or loofah. Look for bristles that are made from plant fibers. Synthetic bristles can be too harsh and cause irritation. The brush I chose has a removable handle so you can use it in the palm of your hand, or use it with the handle for harder to reach areas like your back.

So how do you do it? It’s best to dry brush when you first wake up in the morning, before you jump in the shower. Here is the recommended dry brushing process:

1. Start with your feet, moving in soft circular movements (always moving towards the heart) first on the bottom of the feet, and then on the top.
2. Work up each leg, one at a time, first the back of the leg (using the same soft circular, always towards the heart, movements) up through the buttock and then the front of the leg. Avoid any delicate skin, like the skin on the insides of the thighs.
3. After you are finished with the lower half, start at the fingertips of one arm; move up the arm (palms of hands, back of hands, forearm, bicep) and towards the heart. Repeat on other arm.
4. Move to the back working your movements towards your stomach, starting and finishing with one side of the back and then the other.
5. When you get to your stomach, start at your lower abdomen and work your way up (make sure to steer clear of delicate areas like the nipples) and end at your chest in an upward stroke.
6. Rinse off and shower as normal.

Skin brushing Tips:
1. Avoid the face! While dry brushing is excellent for exfoliating skin, this body brush will be too rough for the delicate skin on your face.
2. It’s sometimes best to dry brush in the shower (with the water off) since there may be a lot of dead skin brushed off.

How often should you dry brush? For best results dry brush at least two times a week.

I started looking into some of the grand claims of dry brushing. It DOES get rid of dead skin cells, increase circulation (as a brisk walk would) and help the lymphatic system work better, and decrease bloating (as a massage would). However, the grander claims are more suspect. Even if done religiously over time, will dry brushing reduce the appearance of cellulite? Experts like Dr. Carolyn Jacob, a dermatologist in Chicago, feel probably not. Why? Cellulite is a complex problem that involves thin skin and the kind of fibrous bands holding in women’s fat. Dry brushing “won’t change fibrous bands at all,” Dr. Jacob said — a dagger to the hearts of women with cottage-cheese thighs. Twisting the dagger, Dr. Jacob cautioned that avid dry brushers put their skin at risk for inflammation, redness and an eczema-like itchy rash.

So is dry brushing for you? As long as you don’t have any severe skin irritation (acne, rash, eczema, open sore/cut, etc.), I say yes. It is an invigorating way to start the day, and it really does make your skin feel smooth and healthy.

Last Minute Gift Idea



Need a last minute gift idea AND a way to keep the kids busy AND not have it involve baking anything? Well I have the solution for you: Bath Fizzies.

These effervescent little fellas are easy to make, fun and remind the person to whom you are giving them, “Relax. Take some time out for yourself.”

Rather than writing the whole thing out myself, I decided to reference a link which I thought was pretty good. Let Martha Stewart tell you how it’s done!

http://www.marthastewart.com/280275/how-to-make-bath-fizzies

My New Big Thing



I’ve been reading a lot about coconut oil recently, and how it’s good for everything from healing acne to losing weight. Naturally, I had to try it.

Coconut oil is an edible oil extracted from the kernel or meat of matured coconuts harvested from the coconut palm (Cocos nucifera). It is very heat-stable, which makes it suited to methods of cooking at high temperatures like frying. Because of its stability, it is slow to oxidize and, thus, resistant to rancidity, lasting up to two years due to its high saturated fat content. Multiple studies on Pacific Island populations who get 30-60 percent of their total caloric intake from fully saturated coconut oil have all shown nearly non-existent rates of cardiovascular disease.

But how can that be if coconut oil is so high in saturated fat? The fact is all saturated fats are not created equal. The fat in coconut oil is largely made up of medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA). Unlike other saturated fats, MCFA doesn’t heighten cholesterol and it can help to protect against heart disease.

You may have heard that coconut oil has antibacterial, antimicrobial, and antiviral properties. This is because of coconut oil’s high percentage of lauric acid, a “miracle” compound because of its unique health promoting properties. On absorption, the body converts lauric acid into monolaurin, which has anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties.

If that wasn’t enough to spark interest, Victoria’s Secret supermodel Miranda Kerr says she has been using coconut oil since she was 14, consuming up to 4 teaspoons a day. Have you SEEN what this woman looks like?!

I went to the health food store and bought organic extra virgin coconut oil. If I was going to do this, why not work with the good stuff? It was about $15 for a decent sized jar. I didn’t know if that was reasonable or not, because I didn’t know how much product I was going to have to use for my experiments.

Experiment #1: Sugar scrub. One of our Facebook friends mentioned she used coconut oil to make a sugar scrub, which sounded yummy. Now this time of year, I have alligator legs. My skin is SO dry. I can moisturize over and over, but within hours, my skin looks reptilian. I’ve used salt scrubs that had some nice oils in them and kept my skin smooth for a bit longer, but never more than 12 hours. Anyway, I decided to melt 2 tablespoons of coconut oil in the microwave. Since coconut oil melts at about 76 degrees F, this took only a few seconds. I had some regular cane sugar that had been sitting in my pantry forever, so I decided to add 2 tablespoons of it to my now clear liquid. I mixed it up, but felt like I needed more sugar. I wound up adding about 2 additional tablespoons of organic brown sugar, and stirred thoroughly. Coconut oil remains liquid for a pretty long time (a few hours maybe?) so it’s not like you have to work fast. I poured the sweet smelling concoction into a plastic container and took it upstairs to use in the shower the next day.

Morning came, and after feeding my hoard of cats (because Lord knows you can’t do ANYTHING upon waking before you feed them), I stepped into my shower. After washing with my natural bar soap, I tried the now hardened sugar scrub. I scraped out about a teaspoon full and massaged it into my legs. The sugar melts quickly and rinses away. I did the same with my arms. As I was drying off, I noticed how smooth my skin felt. Not oily, not sticky, but protected. Needless to say, I expected to see dry flaky legs when I got home from work that night. But to my surprise, my skin still looked great. Not as perfect as they did after I had just stepped out of the shower, but WAY better than they normally do. Now it’s been several days of this cookie-scented sugar routine, and I see a big difference in my skin. I don’t have to moisturize at all. And the texture of my skin is softer and smoother than it’s been in a long time. I’m going to keep doing this AT LEAST through the winter months.

Experiment #2: Face wash. When I was a teen, I had acne. Not just a few pimples, but nasty patches of cystic acne. The dermatologist put me through years of chemical treatments including (progressively) antibiotics, Cleocin, Retin A and finally Accutane (which was new drug at the time, and I remember having to sign release forms). God knows what damage it did to my body, but I was a kid and didn’t know better. But since then, I have always kept anything containing oil far away from my face. Contrastingly, for years I would dry out my skin with alcohol and harsh soaps, trying to make the acne ‘go away’. So the concept of using a greasy substance to wash my skin was a tough pill to swallow. I always wash my face with natural bar soap and water before going to bed every night. Reluctantly one evening, I used a dollop of coconut oil instead of my soap. It felt like I was smearing Crisco on my face. The only redeeming quality about the experience is that the stuff just smells so darned good. Anyway, I rubbed the oil into my skin, and rinsed with warm water…for about 10 minutes! I felt like I had to get that oiliness off my skin. And water wasn’t going to take that away. I dried off, and went to bed, fearing a breakout to rival all breakouts the next morning. Well, I can tell you that after having done this for a few days now, not only have I not gotten one single blemish, but those dry blotchy patches I’ve been battling on my skin are going away too. AND my make-up stays on better throughout the day because my skin is actually moisturized. This is almost too good to be true.

Experiment#3: Body lotion/Massage oil. Having had such luck with its other uses, I decided to use coconut oil as a body lotion. It’s hard when you first scoop it out of the jar, but begins to melt instantly from the warmth of your skin. I allowed some to melt in my hands, and massaged the oil into my legs and feet. I don’t feel it has enough of a long term ‘slip’ to make a great massage oil, unless you’re giving a very short massage. But it rubs into skin nicely, making it an effective body lotion alternative. AND it keeps my skin moisturized longer than anything else I’ve tried thus far.

Last Experiment (for now): Hair conditioner. I’ve read about people massaging gobs of coconut oil into their hair, starting at the scalp and working all the way to the ends. Some even do this and then sleep with a shower cap on. While I’m sure it makes a great deep conditioning treatment, I haven’t had the guts to try that yet. But what I have done is massaged the oil into the ends of my hair (about the last two inches) and kept it on my hair for several hours before shampooing out. My hair is notorious for having fly away ends and looking frizzy. I’ve only done this experiment about three times so far, but I can tell you that each time, my hair does look better on the ends, and behaves better throughout the day.

I guess next will be cooking with coconut oil. If I ever get a chance to cook again (this time of year is so busy). Or maybe I’ll come up with a NEW use for it. How do YOU use coconut oil? Let us know. And if you haven’t tried this miracle product, by all means give it a shot. I’m sure you’ll be delighted by the results.

Will I Ever Learn?



Like many of you, I’ve recently become acquainted with Pinterest. Oh the hours I could spend perusing the yummy recipes, viewing the gorgeous landscaping ideas or checking out the latest style trends. Unfortunately, I don’t have that many leisure hours. But when I do go on the site, I am struck by some of the cool make up techniques folks post. I’ve noticed that some of these techniques are using liquid eye liner to get their sleek, cat-like lines. Now I haven’t played with liquid eye liner in years. But this past Sunday while at the local grocery store, I decided to buy some.

It’s been a while since I’ve shopped the cosmetic section in the grocery store. Apparently a long while! I could not believe the prices on brands like Maybelline, Cover Girl and L’Oreal. Wow. Anyway, being the frugal shopper I am, I looked for the least expensive liquid eye liner to serve my whim.

The next day, while running late for work, I decided to try the new product. Yes, I’m almost always running late for work, and that’s probably the most stupid time to try something new, but what can I say? It seemed simple enough; black liquid on the end of a thin brush. I carefully tried to get underneath my lower lashes to apply a thin, even line along my lower lid. Of course the now 14 lb. kitten had to be on my lap at the time, prancing back and forth, sticking his tail in my face. My line wound up a bit heavy and uneven. And I got some of the liquid on my lower lashes. “No big deal”, I thought. “I’ll just use a cotton swab to even things out”. I swiped the swab along my lash line and the liner didn’t budge. Hmm….odd. So only then did I take the time to read the package. Waterproof! UGH! “Okay,” I thought to myself, “I’ll use my old standby, our unscented aftershave to clean up my mess.” Now my liability insurance carrier would want me to add the disclaimer that you should never use our aftershave in or around your eyes. There, I said it. Anyway, I dipped the cotton swab in the aftershave and proceeded to use it to even out my mistakes. Again, the eye liner didn’t budge. What the heck was in this stuff?! I didn’t want to know. My only option was to do my best to even things out using our eye shadow (Falon, from the Smokey Eye palette), and get my butt into work. Despite having raccoon eyes, no one in my office said a word about it. They’ve probably seen me coming in looking worse. I decided not to analyze it.

That night, I did my normal routine of washing my face with natural bar soap and water before going to bed. When I looked in the mirror after the wash, the raccoon eyes were still there staring back at me, mocklingly. Round two of soap and water. Still there. At that point I was too tired to mess with it any further, and went to bed.

The next morning after showering, I sat at my vanity to apply my morning ‘mask’, again, with a squirmy kitten (it’s his routine now to bug me endlessly until I actually leave to go to work). Looking at the black rings it finally occurred to me – I have no make-up remover. Why would I? I never use waterproof make up. Great, now what to use to remove this stuff? Thinking back to the good old days, I remember my mother using Noxzema to remove make up. Well I don’t even know if they make that stuff anymore, and I didn’t have anything even close to that in my house. I started to panic. Will I have these ringed eyes forever? And it looked worse by this point. Little bits of it were flaking off into my eye. What was the harshest solvent I had in my house that I could use? Before reaching for the bleach I use to scrub my toilets, I fortunately thought of the organic tea tree oil I use when I break out. That stuff is strong enough to remove nail polish. Now you’re not supposed to use it around your eyes either, but I really didn’t have a choice any longer. The tea tree coated cotton swab was wiped gingerly along my lower lid, as my eyes watered and burned. It worked! I suffered, but it worked. I was happily raccoon ring free.

Until I put the liner on again ten minutes later. Hey, I never said I was bright. And I was DETERMINED to make this stuff work. Long story short, I tossed it into the garbage after the second equally-as-horrific attempt. I’m not looking forward to the tea tree treatment this evening…..

It’s Probably Time to Toss It



When was the last time you cleaned out your make-up drawer? Be honest. Six months ago? Sometime last year? It’s probably a good idea to go through your stuff and throw some of it out. Make-up doesn’t last forever.

To get maximum longevity from your cosmetics, store them in a cool, dry place, away from direct sunlight. Always close the lids tightly after use. Here are some common cosmetics and the recommended shelf life for each after it has been opened for the first time. These recommendations apply to conventional cosmetics, though some natural cosmetics may not last as long.

• Mascara: Toss your mascara after 3 months. Mascara has the shortest life span of all make up because the risk of transferring bacteria back and forth from your eye into the mascara tube is so great. If your mascara starts to dry out before its 90 days is up, throw it away. Don’t add water or saliva to your mascara to rewet it. Doing so will only increase your chances of getting an eye infection.

•Eye pencils: Eye pencils can be kept up to 2 years. To make sure you’re using a clean tip, sharpen before each application.

•Eye shadows: Powder shadows will keep 2 years.
If you’ve had an eye infection, you’ll need to throw out all the eye make-up and applicators you used from the time you developed symptoms. The virus or bacteria that caused the infection has probably taken up residence in your make up, so using those cosmetics again could cause you to develop another infection.

•Lipsticks: You can keep conventional tube lipsticks and lip pencils for 2 years. As with eye pencils, sharpen your lip pencils before each use. Natural lipsticks should be discarded after one year.

•Blushes and powders: Discard your powder blushes and powders after 2 years.

Think of your make-up a bit like you do your food. If it smells weird, develops a film, or has a mold-green tint to it, it’s gone bad and needs to be tossed out.

Using clean brushes and sponges will help lengthen the life of your cosmetics. Be sure and wash or replace your applicators frequently. See our November 8, 2012 blog post about proper care of your cosmetic brushes.

Here’s a tip: when you open a cosmetic for the first time, write the date on the product. It will help you keep track of how long you’ve had the make up so you’ll know when it’s time to throw it away.

Okay, no more excuses. Take an hour out of your weekend to go through that make-up drawer and the make-up in your purse. Not only is it healthy, but then you can make room for more stuff!!