Skin Care for Hot Summers

19/05/2013 by Natural Beauty Recipes

Skin redness, “clown nose”, white spots on my skin, increased sensitivity – that’s how I know that the summer is here.

My skin acts very weird: Sometimes it is extremely oily, sometimes it is dry and sensitive…What do I do?

After some research, I’ve finally established a daily ritual for taking care of my skin in the summer.

On top of a regular regime, this is what I do:

1. Sunscreen – a must.

The sun is responsible for the skin ageing, it has been proved already. It adds ugly age spots and wrinkles – and we don’t want them, do we?

The sunscreen blocks the UVA and the UVB rays from the sun and protects it from premature ageing. Scientists have already proven it, so it is hard to argue with that fact.

Plus it preserves the natural balance of my skin. Because sometimes my skin decides to become oily – I don’t put any cream on my face before that.

When to put? Every morning, on the exposed parts of my skin. If I am going to spend the most of the day outside – twice a day.

2. Aloe Vera – after the sun treatment

Each time I return home, I wash my face and put some aloe Vera on my face. It stabilizes the skin color, adds freshness and balances the skin pH. Whenever if your skin is dry, oily or sensitive – it is an excellent solution for the redness and the skin sensitivity.

Any aloe Vera gel will do, as long as you are not allergic.

It is excellent for all the skin types.

3. In the evening: Vitamin A

Retinoids -or vitamin A (doesn’t matter how they put it in the skin creams) – is a vitamin that stabilizes the skin moisture, color and metabolism. It is important to use it in the evening, because it will make your skin more exposed to the sun.

When to apply? Before bed, after a homemade scrub or a regular face washing.

The lotion that I use contains also vitamin E, B5 and essential oil extracts. It is important to pick the one which doesn’t have an oily feeling, even if you have a dry skin. Because as it appears there is no difference between a body and a face cream (they have been lying to us…) – I put the same cream on my face and body.

Any lotion with the above vitamins will do – as long as it doesn’t have an oily feeling and absorbs quickly.

A Homemade Cure for Dry Lips

05/02/2013 by Natural Beauty Recipes

Honey: For dry and scaly lips

If you are looking for a cure for your dry lips, just try couple of homemade mask recipes on this page.

After I’ve learned those tips, I stopped having dry scaly lips. Even in the winter.

What causes dry lips?

You probably don’t drink enough water.
Not enough vitamins A, B or E. A poor diet can cause chopped lips and dry skin.
Bad habits like smoking
Extreme weather conditions

How to prevent dry chapped lips

The good news are, that many effective lip moisturizers already have the ingredients I am about to describe to you in the below recipes. The better news are, that these recipes are very effective.

If you see that your problem doesn’t solve, then you probably have a skin condition that causes you scaly lips. At that case, just visit a dermatologist and you’ll be fine.

#1 simple lip mask

Put on a sunflower oil and honey on your lips for about 15 minutes. Rinse with a cool water.

I usually just use the honey, but for extreme cases the sunflower adds a value.

The sunflower oil has vitamin E, which improves dry skin and keeps its moisture. It is excellent moisturizer for any dry skin area.

The honey has a soothing effect. It has polyphenols, anti aging amino acids and minerals that will keep your skin balanced.

#2 simple lip mask

Coconut oil and fruit mask. I recommend a grated apricot, but any other fruit with vitamin A can do the job (you can see the full list in this page). Mix the apricot and couple of drops of coconut oil, but on for 15 minutes, then wash off.

The coconut oil has essential fatty acids, and apricots have a high percentage of vitamin A. The both nutrients are excellent in soothing dry lips.

To be on a safe side – you should try on these recipes on a hidden part of your skin before putting it on your lips, to check any sensitivity to the contents.

Organic oils: A must for your dry skin

On a side note

The facial mask recipes on this page can also treat other dry areas like scaly feet and hands. It makes sense, because all of our skin needs the same nutrients: Just some parts are vulnerable more, while others – are less prone to dryness.

A Lavender Oil Bath: Recharge Your Energy!

16/01/2013 by Natural Beauty Recipes

Not many skin care experts will say that, but you can have an excellent skin treatment with Lavender oil, all by yourself, pretty easily.

The Lavender oil is often found in many organic online stores. You can also find it in your local pharmacy in the herbal treatment section, now that this subject gained so much popularity.

How to make a bath with Lavender oil

Fill a bathtub. Add some bath salts. When the bath is completely full, add about 7 drops of lavender oil. Stir thoroughly, so the bath salts and lavender will mix evenly.

Soak in for 15 minutes. Relax.

Gently wash your skin. Apply a lotion on your skin right away.

Your muscles will be completely relaxed, the skin full of minerals and hydrated from inside –out.

What a perfect day to end a day, isn’t it?

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The Lavender Oil Benefits

Since the ancient times, Lavender was known to be a skin softener, muscle relaxant and wound healer. It is a very common herb, that has been distilled to oil for ages and sold for beauty and medicine purposes.

Among other compounds, the Lavender includes Ursolic acid, which has these roles:

In the epidermis (the upper part of our skin) it reduces the skin ageing process – less and less wrinkles and brown age spot production. It also benefits the production of collagen in your dermis (the lower level of your skin), so it adds more strength to its structure.

Having a bath with lavender oil will relax your muscles after a long and stressful day.

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Some side notes:

Pure organic Lavender oil always should be diluted. Because it is very concentrated – using it directly on your skin might cause a rash or an itch.

Test the diluted Lavender oil on a hidden place of your skin for 15 minutes. If you have an itch or a rash, don’t use this oil at all. You might have an allergy to Lavender and you don’t even know it.

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For more ideas to do during or after your bathtub:

Essential Oil Guide – How to do wight with essential oils

How to Remove Blackheads Fast – After a bath, your pores are much wider: It is the perfect time to get rid of zits and comedones.

Rough Skin on Feet: Let’s Make a Homemade Scrub!

15/01/2013 by Natural Beauty Recipes

I got a little bit of rough skin on my feet… And no, I don’t have some sort of extreme-heels-obsession. And I don’t run in the wild fields with my shoes off.

The weather, non-orthopedic shoes for work, nutrition – you name it. My feet need some extra treatment, and that’s a fact.

So I decided to make a homemade treatment to my feet: They work so hard every day- they deserve some attention.

So… I have some olive oil, sea salt, “Kosher” salt (the bigger grains), sunflower oil, seaweeds…

Yep, I think that’s enough for now.

Why should I use these ingredients?

Sea salts – remove the dead skin cells. They are excellent for a rough skin removal. You can use a regular salt, whatever is stored in your kitchen cabinet.

Edible seaweeds – these seaweeds that we use for sushi is an excellent source for essential minerals for our skin, vitamin A and amino acids. They are smelly so I should probably wash my feet very carefully after using them.

Sunflower oil / olive oil – a feet skin moisturizer, during or after the scrub. These oils have vitamin E, which is essential for a smooth-babylike-skin, and other antioxidants (like polyphenolic acids…). Remember to wash off some of it, so you won’t clog your pores: Those oils are a 911 call for a rough skin, but should be diluted a bit.

So, what to do?

Prepare about half a cup of the salts (I added some larger- grains salt, the “Kosher” salt), seaweeds and about 3 tablespoons of sunflower oil. Mix it.

In the bathtub, massage the feet with the scrub for 15 minutes. Wash with a warm water. apply a body lotion.

Did it help?

It did add more softness and a fresh feeling, but it didn’t remove the most of the rough skin. – I didn’t use the foot pumice in the picture, so it removed only a small part of the rough skin.

The massaging with the scrub felt really good. I felt relaxed after this session.

See what happens after couple of these sessions – with that natural pumice-thingy… Coffee is also a good skin scrub ingredient, so I may use that too in the future.

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I will be glad to receive any other homemade recipes for rough skin scrubs!

The Lemon: The Best Skin Cleanser

09/01/2013 by Natural Beauty Recipes

There is a very easy way reducing freckles and the sebum from your facial skin (if you have an oily skin, like me).

The fresh lemon contains salicylic acid, which erases the dirt and the oily substance from your face. This acid also removes the dead skin cells from your face, which we need to remember doing as we get old.

Lemon also contains vitamin C, which is essential for our skin turnover. Many freshening soaps and skin creams contain this antioxidant. Vitamin C is also said to fight free radicals that cause premature aging (I didn’t have a chance yet to prove the last point…).

It’s a miracle recipe almost for everyone, with some guide rules to follow:

1. A fresh organic lemon juice is a very strong substance for a face cleanser or a mask. Most of us with slightly sensitive skin need to add water to dilute this stuff.

2. Use at the evening, when our skin craves for some cleaning. It is also because our skin will be more sensitive to the sunlight after using the lemon.

3. Put on a face cream right after using the lemon as a facial mask. Right after the cleaning our skin pH is changed drastically. Because our skin is in shock, oily skin will start producing even more sebum if the skin pH won’t return to normal right away. For other types of skin – maintaining its pH is crucial for its moisture and health.

4. Have this mask one-two times a week at most, if you must. Overdoing strong facial mask recipes is never a good thing.

I personally never use too much lemon facials in winters, because it whitens the skin and I look like a ghost with my pale complexion . In the meantime, I use just the lemon soap I bought in discount (of course!). It does a lesser job, but my skin pores are alright with that.

A carrot it your best friend. Really.

05/01/2013 by Natural Beauty Recipes

The retinol reverses photo aging, fights acne and stabilizes our skin. The photo aging causes wrinkles, age spots, skin weakening and what not…

Most of us know that, but how not to get caught in the skin care commercials vertigo?

Let me introduce you the carrot. It’s the vegetable we all learnt to despise in our childhood and to fear its sight. Unless your mother is a 5-Michelin-star chef, even its drawing would cause an endless horror in our little eyes…

Why should we love it?

This cheap vegetable was condemned in vain. One cup of chopped carrot includes about 428 percent of vitamin A, and smaller amounts of vitamin K, vitamin C, and various minerals. It has only 52 calories – and is a very filling snack, if you decide to sit in front of the TV and want something to chew.

When does the vitamin A treatment work?

Whenever you moisturize your skin with retinol or taking it as a supplement – do it in the evening: When this vitamin is added to our body, it tends to be more sensitive to the sunlight and thus – less effective.

On top of that, this is the time when our skin responds well to the cosmetic procedures. The best time for a homemade facial mask – is after 20:00, when our dermis and the epidermis are more absorbent.

If you moisturize with this vitamin in a broad daylight – your skin will become more tanned and the treatment will be less effective.

More insight

The vitamin absorbs the best with essential fatty acids, which are found in vegetable oils: Like olive oil, sunflower oil etc.

You will notice that evening moisturizers are slightly oilier. The most important thing is not to overdo the skin treatment with oils. Our skin doesn’t need too much of them to sustain itself.

An easy homemade mask for a dry skin

Mix 1 cooked carrot, 1 tbsp. of yogurt and a spoon of sunflower oil. Apply for 15 minutes wile laying dawn. Wash gently.

For dry or regular skin – subtract the oil from this facial mask recipe.

Resources:

The online nutrition data – the website I can’t live without.

Homemade Masks – the guide. - The facial mask ABC.

When it’s the best time for a skin treatment?

01/01/2013 by Natural Beauty Recipes

The skin is not just a blank pallette: It is an organ that has a strict turnover schedule. No matter if we sleep, rest at home or working really hard it will keep working the same way.

What is the best skin treatment regimen?

In the morning

First thing to do after we wake up – we should wash our skin mildly with water, to wash out the toxins, which the skin pores accumulate during the night. Don’t forget to moisturize with a vitamin E and A cream right after washing your face or body.

When it is the best time to get up? Before 7 or after 8, while making sure we had a good night sleep: Sleeping well is an important key to our inside and outside beauty.

It is not the best time for cosmetic procedures, because the skin “doesn’t know yet” how to absorb the materials fully.

In the afternoon

Right after our lunch our skin becomes tired. That’s because our body is busy to digest the food. Our t-zone becomes greasier after eating deep-fried foods and the stressful hours show their sign. The stress and the skin’s suspended protection creates more wrinkles than in any other time of the day.

How to deal with it? Eat healthy foods, don’t overload yourself and relax: Even if you can’t get out of the office to breathe a fresh air, you can do some relaxation techniques to remain calm. Constant emotional overload will make you look older no matter what.

In the evening time

After 17:00, our skin is tired and usually craves for some cleansing. It is the best time to visit a cosmetologist to deep clean your pores, or to have a relaxing massage. It is also the best time for anti ageing skincare procedures both for the Dermis and the Epidermis.

A homemade facial mask will also be more effective, because the skin is more likely to absorb the vitamins in its natural ingredients.

Have a healthy dinner or a snack, and remember: After ten o’clock – forget about eating anything. The body prepares itself for sleeping, and who we are to argue with it?

Source: www.fashion-astrology.com