Home-made: High Protein Scalp Conditioner

This is a home made recipe I got from Thriftyfun.com. Check it out for some more home made hair miracles.:)

This high-protein, all-natural hair conditioner will help to dislodge any debris or pollution that may be clogging the tiny openings in your scalp. This conditioner will open the tiny openings for better passage of nutrients into your hair. This scalp conditioner also enriches the hair, helping to make it stronger and more lustrous.

Blend together, preferably in an electric blender:
1 cup fresh skimmed milk
1 egg yolk (separated from the egg white)
2 capsules of wheat germ oil contents (you may have to open up capsules and squeeze the contents out)
1 Tbsp. of fresh wheat germ
The contents of 1 Tbsp. of lecithin granules (you may need to open capsules)
1 Tbsp. natural wheat bran (available in bulk also)

Note: You may find all of the above ingredients at a health food store. It is unlikely that your local grocery store will carry most of the ingredients other than the milk and eggs.

Slowly and firmly massage the mixture into your scalp. Leave the mixture on for about 10 minutes. If you cover your head with a shower cap or you drape a towel around your head and lie on a slant board while the conditioner does its work, you will benefit even more because of the gravity effect. After 10 minutes, thoroughly rinse the conditioner from your hair with warm (not hot) water. Follow with your usual shampoo and conditioner.

Get A Natural Face Lift

Need an instant face lift the non-surgical way?

You COULD spend a wad of cash at the beauty counter by purchasing firming creams to tighten your face up. But try this instead.

Step 1:
Crack one egg, remove the yolk and beat the egg white until frothy.

Step 2:

Apply the egg white froth generously to your face and neck and it allow to set for at least twenty minutes. Don't eat or move your face though.

Step 3:
After a few moments, you’ll immediately start to feel the ‘tightening’ effects. Lightly rinse with tepid water when finished.

Tips For Shiny Hair

Here are some tips I put together for those of you who want to get shinier, better looking hair.

• DRY HAIR: Mix mehandi/henna powder , coconut milk and coconut oil to get a paste. Apply it to your hair and massage gently. Leave it for one hour. Then wash your hair to get shiny silky hair. It also prevents hair fall. Do this twice a week.

• For black hair: Dry curry leaves for one day (in the sun), heat coconut oil and add dried curry leaves to it. Leave the oil for one day. Now its ready for use. For health hair add curry leaves to your food. (My dad actually read about this and recommended this for people who are trying to stop their hair from falling excessively!)

• Use Strawberry hair mask: mash eight strawberries with one-tablespoon mayonnaise. Massage this into washed but damp hair. Cover it with a shower cap and then a warm towel. Wash out with a shampoo and then condition. It's meant to give your mane a glossy sheen.

• For blonde hair use a few tablespoons of lemon juice to your rinse water. This will make your hair shiny.

• For brown and red hair add a few tablespoons of apple cider vinegar to your rinse water.

• For shiny hair you can also mix one teaspoon of honey into 4 cups of warm water. After shampooing, pour the mixture through your hair, but do not rinse. Dry as normal.

Beauty tips from around the world

Here's a handy video I found with a few of the easiest home made beauty tips from around the world (India, Puerto Rico, Norwegia, Brazil, China, etc).

A few problems adressed in the video are:
Cellulite
Beautifull, shiny hair
Highlighting brown hair
Beautifull skin/hair
Face masks

Check it out lovelies!

Coconut Oil And Hair

Coconut oil is one of the best natural sources of nutrition for hair. It helps in aid in healthy hair growth providing extra shine. Regular scalp/head massages with coconut oil is said to keep scalp free of dandruff and other annoying ailments, even if your scalp is dry. Coconut oil is extensively used in the Indian sub-continent for hair care. It also provides the essential proteins required for nourishing damaged hair. So it's no wonder it's also used in conditioners and dandruff relief treatments.

Directions:
Evenly run fingers through hair and rub oil into hair. Using a comb to distribute evenly is also possible, but massaging your hair with help stimulate blood circulation helping hair to grow a bit faster. Usually, I put it on dry hair at night before, go to bed and put a small towel over my pillowcase. Then in the morning I wash it out with shampoo. Some people have even reported thicker, stronger hair after using it. And I may just start using it more regularly to lessen hair falling out, which is natural- but is always nice to reduce.


Here are some other picks for natural home made remedies using coconut oil:
For Dandruff.

• Apply the warm mixture of olive oil, lemon juice and coconut oil. Do a steam -towel- wrap for 15 minutes and wash the hair with a shampoo.

For Healthy and Shiny hair

• It is better to apply castor oil for a healthy growth of hair.
• Wash hair with tea once in a week.
• Soak a handful of gooseberry in a cup of milk for two hours. Make it as a paste and apply in the hair.
• Apply the mixture of an egg white, 2 spoons of castor oil, 1 spoon glycerin, in the scalp and hair. Wash it after some time.
• Massage hair with warm coconut oil an hour before washing. Let it soak. Cover your head with a hot towel and wash your hair after an hour or so.
• Boil a few hibiscus flowers in coconut oil. Filter and use this hair oil to control hair loss and thinning.
• Do a 'steam-towel-wrap' once in a while, if your cuticles are damaged, as this steaming opens out the pores and absorbs the oil.
• Deep condition with curd, beer and egg.
• Mix a little vinegar in warm water and rinse your hair with this solution. This will add bounce to dull and lifeless hair.

Also, check out this blog post from Beautylogic about "the miracles of coconut oil" and Mildreds's experience with it. :)

Drink your way to clear skin. (No! I'm not talking H2o)

Here is a yummy treat which will also give wonderfull results. Multi tasking:)! A friend of mine told me she tried it and she ended up with such clean, glowing and clear skin. It's called a Creamy Mango Smoothie.

Ingredients:
1 mango
1 bannana
wedge of fresh coconut
1 orange (freshly squeezed)


Instructions:
Blend the mango, banana and coconut. Add the orange juice, mix well and serve. That and use a good acne face wash/regime.

Also: Drinking hot water and half of a freshly squeezed lemon first thing in the morning before eating is a really good way to boost the metabolism and clear your pallette.

Skin: Strange Beauty Tips (That Work Of Course!)

Here are a few beauty tips from which your skin will benefit:

1. Customize Body Lotion
Instead of sheling out alot for an expensive perfumed body product, you can make your own by pouring a few drops of fragrance into any scent-free lotion. Rub it on-the scent will last for hours.
If you don't have time to book a self-tanning session, mix a few pumps of body bronzer with regular hand lotion and pat it on your legs for a gradual dose of sexy, beachy color.

If you're craving shiny legs that aren't greasy, blend a drop of baby oil into your normal body lotion for extra luster.

2. Exfoliate Your PitsIf your underarms start to look dry and flaky, an easy trick is to exfoliate them with a gentle face scrub/loofah to keep that skin pretty when going sleeveless. Not only that but it will get rid of all the residue left behind by deodorant and helps skin re absorb it properly.

3. Shave with ...
Ran out of shaving cream? Do double duty by coating your stems with a thick hair conditioner or even body lotion. It softens the hair so it's easier to shave off and makes legs feel amazingly silky.

4. Press a Tea Bag on SplotchesIf your skin is sensitive or just looking irritated and puffy for some reason, steep a bag of green tea for a minute or two, let it cool down, and dab it over your face. The antioxidants in the tea take down inflammation.

5. Put Diaper-Rash Cream on Dry SpotsSlather on a thick layer of diaper-rash cream to heal cracked elbows and feet.

6. Scent your clothes
You know those fancy bars that are actually too pretty to use? Toss them in your underwear or tee-shirt drawers to make your skin smell delicious.

7. Soften Your Bod with AvocadoTake a ripe avocado, remove the pit and skin, and mash it up in a bowl. Slather it all over your body, let it sit for 20 minutes, then rinse off. Your skin will be sooo soft — avocado is a natural moisturizer.

8. Cure Calluses with Vaseline
Slather on the petroleum jelly, and put on socks before bed to dissolve tough calluses overnight.

Watermelon Face Mask

Verdict: I have oily skin. Your supposed to "crush the watermelon/mash it and then apply to face."

Now, unless you have someone applying it for you this method doesn't work. I think a better idea would be to just take a small 1 inch cube and run it all over your face, or just apply the juice which drips after you mash it.
I applied the juice which was cold, so it felt nice and refreshing. Smelled great too.Then I lay down for about 10 minutes and relaxed, then rinsed off. It left my skin soft and clean.:) I *think* my pores are a bit tighter, but nothing too noticable.

I think these 1-fruit-face masks are great pick me ups but maybe not as good as the ones with more ingredients.
Still.. I would use this one again if I had watermelon lying around the house. This mask was easy to prepare and refreshing.
Here is another skin home made trick which uses watermelon:

Watermelon Toner
Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons fresh watermelon juice
1 Tablespoon vodka
2 Tablespoons witch hazel
2 Tablespoons distilled water

Instructions:
Strain the watermelon juice to get rid of seeds and fruit pulp. Combine all ingredients in small bowl and stir well. Pour into clean containers with tight-fitting lids. To use: pour a small amount on a clean cotton pad and apply to face. Rinse off with cool water after a few minutes.
Store in fridge between uses to retain freshness. Will keep approximately one week.

Skin + Olive oil

 Extra Virgin Olive Oil is considered an ancient beauty secret that was used for thousands of years by the Egyptians, Greeks, Phoenicians and Romans.

Nowdays more and more products on store shelves are using this ingredient, since it's an antioxidant which helps protect the skin from the harmful action of free radicals, delaying aging skin. When shopping around for olive oil, always choose "extra virgin" because it hasn't been refined and conserves all its nutritional values.

For removing eye make up, put a few drops on a cotton ball and you have some cheap eye make up remover: it's natural and it moisturizes your extremely delicate eye area too! I just make sure I wash my face after this with my regular face wash. It doesn't cause me to get any pimples or anything of that sort.

.
..I mostly use it as a pre-make up remover (I think I just made that word up). But it works great to remove foundation, powder and any other make-up buildup before I use my Pond's Cold Cream. I feel like it removes most of the gunk so so my make-up remover is free to tend to more deep seated impurities.

It's also better then baby oil too in case you use that for moisturizing your body. From what I have read baby oil has chemicals in it so it has a tendency to dry out certain skin (this actually happened recently to a friend of mine when she used it on damp skin right after getting out of the shower.)

A good idea is to simply find a nice bottle for it, maybe tie a bow or some decorations around it and keep it in your bathroom instead of in the bottle it comes in.

For home made facial mask: To maintain your skin elastic, hydrated and smooth: mix olive oil with an egg yolk and some honey. Put this mixture over your face and leave it on for fifteen minutes. Rinse with warm water.

**While writing this blog post I just found a really good link with some other wonderful home made tips for your face, a foot moisturizer, your hair, lips, hands... and pretty much every other part of your body:

Naturalskincaresecrets.com

Thefrugallife.com

Homemade Mask For Smooth Skin

 Here's a home made facial mask which exfoliates too and which will leave your skin softer then a babies bottom: milk cleanses pores deep down and it's a great moisturizer to boot! It's perfect for dry skin. You can even bathe in it.
Milk rejuvinates skin and leaves it looking fresh and healthy. The brown sugar will exfoliate your skin.


Ingredients:
1/4 cup brown sugar
1-2 tablespoons of milk (best not to use skim milk though)
Feel free to add some honey to this mask too.

Instructions:
Mix the two ingredients well. Apply to freshly cleaned face and massage gently for a full minute - leave on for 15 minutes. Wash off with warm water and maybe also a clean washcloth and pat dry. Beware with washclothes though as they tend to collect bacteria easily.

Another extremly effective mask ingredient somebody once told me about is Watermelon! Yes plain ol' watermelon..
I haven't really tried this out but I saw various people put this on their face. One girl rant and raved to me it left her skin completely smooth and clear. It's meant to cleanse skin and tighten pores.

I really want to try this out right now. Guess I will be taking a trip to the supermarket soon...

Nourishing Homemade Mask

Skin care... make up, potions and lotions, creams, gels, sprays, mouses... It can all be a bit confusing, so let me simplify things and try and guide you thru it with what I have learned thruout my last years of experimenting.

All facial masks (homemade and also store bought) should stay on for 10-15 minutes, should be followed with a cleansing and a thin layer of moisturizer. If you have make up on, remove it before applying the mask of course.

The mask for today is called an "Orange Smoothy" mask.

Ingredients:
1 tabelspoon of Honey
1 tabelspoon plain yogurt
juice of 1/4 orange

Honey is a natural antiseptic/anti-bacterial, so it's helpful with blemishes. It's also a moisturizer and it calms and soothes inflammation and swelling.

Yogurt: it's best to use plain, organic, whole milk yogurt! Yogurt masks are cooling and calming for the skin; they are also a probiotic and are good for sensitive skin. It cleanses and nourishes skin you deep down to the pores.
Fun fact: Yogurt masks are very Eastern European, where skincare is passed down from generation to generation.

And the orange is full of Vitamin C and Alphahydroxy.
This mask will leave your skin feeling soft and healthy.:)


Instructions:
Mix all ingredients together. If the honey is a bit hard, put it for a few seconds (not more then a FEW or else honey gets to hot) to make it runny. Apply it to your face and lean back or lie down, since honey tends to drip. At least it does smell sweet. You can leave it on for 10 or even 30 minutes. Get your fave magazine, sit back and relax... Then simply wash it off.

Want some exfoliation as well? Add some grated apple. It's also bursting with Vitamin C and AHA's.

Homemade Deep Hair Conditioner

As I promised I will be posting tried and tested home made recipes with ingredients you can easily find in your kitchen. Not to mention you save money while getting spectacular results, minus the harsh chemicals. Most of these recipes need to be refrigerated since they don't contain preservatives (-shelf life is approximately 1 week).

Today recipe: "Avocado & Mayo deep conditioner" which will leave your hair soft and shiny.
Avocados contain vitamin B6 & vitamin E, and mayonaisse is loaded with Vitamin K.
As you know Vitamin E is vital for moisturizing and restoring dry or overprocessed hair. It's recommended to use a deep hair conditioner at least 2 times a month.

Ingredients:
plain mayonnaise
1/2 an avocado


Instructions:Put together the mayonaise and avocado in a bowl and squish them together with your hands other utensil till the whole mixture looks minty green.
Smooth it all over your hair- all the way to the tips. (If you have oily or fine hair, my hairstylist said to never apply any conditioner on your scalp. Avoid the scalp but apply it to the rest of your hair.) Put on a shower cap or wrap your head with saran wrap and leave it on for 20 minutes.

For deeper conditioning put a hot, damp towel around your head -over the saran wrap.

For really long hair: you only really need deep conditioning at the ends so cut the ingredients in half and apply only to the ends and just wrap them.

Acne Fighting Egg Mask

Most home remedies and tips will prevent future pimples from forming which is great. But if you want to try and clear up existing acne and dry up existing blemishes, for oily skin try an egg white mask. It's also extremely cheap and who doesn't love that right? (costs about $0.25-$1.00).

Use it as an extra along with any other acne regimen you are using.

Crack an egg and seperate the yolk and the white... Then beat the egg wite. Use a cotton pad to dip into the egg and apply generously to face or any area. Leave on for 15-20 minutes.

Your face will feel tight while the mask is on. Wash it off and your skin will immediately feel soft and rejuvenated. The mixture should stay good for 2-3 days.

Like I said in another post, don't use this every day! Your skin does get immune to it and you don't want that happening until your acne clears up.

The only con of this mask is the smell, but I think you will get over it pretty quick.

Click here for reviews from hundreds of other users of this method.

Also: want to get rid of blackheads?? Your perfect choice for a face mask is adding a few drops of lemon juice to the egg white. Just keep in mind (for dry skin) that these 2 ingredients do have a drying effect. Lemon contains natural astringents.

Say Bye Bye To Acne - For Good

As someone who has suffered in the past from acne I will provide you with some vital tried and tested tips.

***CLEANSE your skin***

It's really, extremely important to wash your face twice a day- morning and night- with a gentle, oil and frangrance free cleanser. Don't wash your face with the same body soap while in the shower as it will dry out your skin and clog your pores causing more pimples.

As you know there are 4 skin types: oily, dry, combination and sensitive skin.
I have oily/acne prone skin, so I always use a cleaner with either: benzoil peroxide or salicylic acid.
I also use a very gentle scrub (rounded mini beads which are not grainy and will hurt your skin.. I mean I know it's called a scrub but your not trying to scrub your skin OFF.) Scrubbing too hard will irritate and dry out skin making the pimples and pores redder as well.

I also use a toner because of my oily face. I used to use an astringent (from Clearasil, Clean & Clear, etc. I've tried em all) but found them way too drying.

My tip: Believe it or not.. Before bed I have started using witch hazel (my fave: HUMPHREYS Maravilla Witch Hazel available at most drugstores for a few bucks) on my face. I was extremely skeptical about using it when someone told me about this.

All you do after washing your face is: rub a cottonball drenched with witch hazel over your entire face and let dry. It acts as an astringent and helps eliminate impurities and will help dry the skin (so it is only to be used on oily skin really) and shrink the pimples.

Applying it before bed is the best idea. As you sleep your body goes through a lot of things: you're skin, metabolism and other organs are all restoring and naturally repairing. It is also noticable that if you do your beauty regimens at night, you will wake up pretty pleased after a good nights sleep.

***TREAT your pimples***

Apply an acne treatment containing benzoyl peroxide, glycolic acid, or salicylic acid over your entire face, not just where you have whiteheads and pimples. It takes pimples about 2 weeks to show up, so by applying to your whole face you stop future breakouts from forming.

If you wear make up, apply an oil free moisturizer with SPF of at least 15 (higher is better!) in it and then apply all your make up. At night I do the same. I also apply some moisturizing eye cream under my eyes.

Actually I used the Proactive system for about 4 years. It's only recently that I stopped (since I started using Witch Hazel). But the Proactive system helped break my break-out cycle and reduced my acne remarkably, I can't complain. It takes 2 weeks to clear your skin up though, it's not some overnight miracle as some people claim.

***CONCEAL your pimples***

If I have a pimple I use some foundation over my moisturizer and and make up powder. I apply the foundation with my fingers or with a small make up brush/sponge onto and around the blemish. Use your clean fingertip to wipe away excess concealer around the blemish and, if necessary, apply another coat of concealer. Then brush powder (I use a big make up brush) on top of the concealer.


*Extra tips/home remedies:
-Apparently Visine (eye drops for red eyes) helps calm down red blemishes. Also ice cubes/cold compress.

-Keep your bed linens clean: dead skin, oil, cosmetics, hair products and dirt on bedsheets will be picked up by your skin while you sleep and will clog pores. -Keep your hands away from your face or other affected areas. They contain oil, dirt and bacteria that promote acne. Wash your hands often.

-A high-fiber diet of whole grain breads and cereals, bran, legumes (beans, lentils and split peas) and lots of fruits and vegetables is a good way to minimize eating the wrong foods. Often skin problems are rapidly improved when more fiber is added to the diet. Reduce your consumption of junk food and limit your total fat intake to no more than 20% of calories. Cut out hydrogenated oils. It helps give you a healthy digestive system and it's also believed that diets high in refined carbs promote acne.

-(!) It is very tempting to pop whiteheads, blackheads and pimples. Whiteheads are clogged pores below the outer layer of skin and should not be squeezed. By following the program outlined above, the whiteheads will disappear in a few weeks. Pimples may be squeezed when they are infected and have yellow pus if the proper procedures are followed---> Apply a warm compress to the area for a few minutes to open the pores, then squeeze with a clean tissue until all the pus runs out. This will allow the pimple to heal properly. Using fingernails will promote scarring and may be covered with bacteria that will enter the area and cause inflammation making your pimples worse. Lol, If I have a pimple I just stay far away from mirrors whenever I can for a few days till it dries up.:/

-Egg white mask: Clean your skin thoroughly and apply egg white with a cotton swab. Let it sit for 15 minutes. The egg white tightens pores and helps dry out your pimples. Don't do this every day though. Try it at the most twice a week since your skin will eventually just become immune to it.

-And of course: Never ever(!) sleep in make up. Drink your H20/water.

-Try to not wear makeup when you aren't leaving the house or are doing something like going to the beach or exercising; makeup may cover up bad skin, but I am convinced that it also makes it worse.