Homemade Fuller's Earth Clay Mask

My commercial clay mask ran out, so I decided to make my own detoxifying clay mask.

Did a little research, and found out about this clay called "Fuller's Earth", which is perfect for my skin's needs because I have oily skin, and I want a mask with skin-lightening properties.
According to MountainRoseHerbs.com, Fuller's Earth is "a sedimentary clay that has been widely used as a skin-lightening agent and is best known for its ability to be applied as a 'facial bleach'. Because of its enormous drawing capabilities, Fuller's Earth is the number one choice for oily skin and those prone to acne. It literally draws oil from the skin and has been used industrially for this exact purpose." Purchased a bag of cosmetic grade Fuller's Earth from MountainRoseHerbs.com, and when I received it I started experimenting with a few ideas on the web to come up with a suitable mask.

Some said honey would be good if you don't want the mask to be too drying, others added tea tree oil, or mixed it with rose water. For my first batch, I mixed the clay with honey, lemon juice and tea tree oil, but I didn't really like the end result because it was a little too moisturising and I did not feel the tightening effect at all. Made the mask again today, and I think I have a winner:

1 heaped tea spoon of fuller's earth clay
concentrated green tea
a few drops of tea tree oil (I added three)

Mix the green tea with the clay till you reach the desired consistency, then add tea tree oil. Apply onto a clean face. When the mask dries completely, rinse off with warm water.

Initially, I decided to go with water and tea tree oil. As I was mixing it all up in the kitchen, it suddenly crossed my mind that I could use green tea instead because of its wonderful benefits: apparently, when it is applied topically, it has detoxifying and antihistamine-like effects. I put a green tea bag into a mug, added a small amount of hot water, and started "mashing" the tea bag with a spoon to get really concentrated green tea really quickly. Added the green tea to the clay in small amounts till I got the consistency I desired, then added the tea tree oil. Applied the mask with my fingers, then sat around and waited till the mask started to dry and I began to feel the tightening effect characteristic of clay masks. The tea tree oil made the mask really tingly and had a "cooling" effect on my skin. One thing that I observed though, was that parts of the mask turned bright green, effectively showing me that the water had evaporated, while parts remained dark green, indicating that it was still relatively high in water content. I put quite a thick layer on my face because I made a little too much, but I think the next time I'll apply a thinner layer.

My skin felt really clean and refreshed after I washed off the mask. I'll probably have to try this a few times to see its long term effects, but for now I am very pleased with it!

Homemade Beeswax Lipbalm

I've been searching for a natural replacement for Vaseline and chanced upon a recipe from this website.

The recipe calls for 1 ounce of beeswax and 1/2 cup of baby oil. I replaced the baby oil with organic virgin coconut oil because I didn't want to use mineral oil in my lipbalm.
To fill up a 2 oz jar, you will need:

1/2 ounce organic beeswax
1/4 cup organic virgin coconut oil

Melt the beeswax in a double boiler. I just put it in a bowl over a pot of boiling water on the stove. After the beeswax has been melted, stir in the coconut oil. You have to keep stirring till it cools completely, and because I am such a lazy person I put the bowl on ice so that it would cool faster. As you stir, you will realise that the mixture is solidifying. When it reaches the consistency of Vaseline, it is done. The beeswax I used was a golden yellow, so the mixture was pale yellow in colour. Store it into a 2 oz glass jar.

I tried it on my lips last night, and I woke up with very moisturised lips. I am very pleased with this recipe. Other recipes on the web add shea butter, Vitamin E oil, and other essential oils, but this simple recipe does it for me.

I bought my beeswax from here, in case you were wondering! The shipping was quick, and the beeswax is of a good quality; it is a pretty golden yellow colour, with a strong honey smell.

Snowymoon's Moisture Treatment

I haven't fixed my hard water problem, and poo bars have been making my hair really dry. I've been avoiding the heavy coconut oiling that I used to do as a hair treatment, because of the trouble I have to go through trying to get the oil out of my hair with the poo bars.

I finally found an alternative hair treatment: Snowymoon's Moisture Treatment from The Long Hair Community forums.

4 parts conditioner
1 part aloe vera gel
1 part honey

I used Renew Skincare Australia's Everyday Nourishing Conditioner because it is SLS, paraben, and cone-free, Fruit of the Earth Pure 100% Aloe Vera Gel, and organic raw honey. Mixed them all together, then nuked the mixture for 20 seconds- when it first came out of the microwave the mixture was watery, but after letting it cool and stirring it a little it got back its thick pre-microwave texture.

Washed my hair with a soap bar because I'm out of poo bars, dried my hair, then applied the treatment. Sat around with it in my hair for about 2 hours, and I've just washed it out. Maybe I've been going with the poo bar and lemon juice routine for a little too long, but my hair feels wonderful. There is that slip I miss SO MUCH from conventional shampoo and conditioners... Kinda makes me wanna go back to them, as much as they are not good for my hair. Sigh. I love this treatment. I'm gonna see how my hair feels once its dry, but if my wet hair is any indication, I'm going to be one satisfied girl.

Update: 06/04/11
My hair is so silky right now that my hair forks aren't holding very well in them! This treatment is definitely a keeper. I'm going to do it at least once a week from now on!

Homemade natural hair mist

My hair has been feeling really dry lately, so I decided to make my own leave-in spray/conditioner. I turned to the Long Hair Community forums, and found this little gem of a concoction.

Kimberlily's Defrizz Spray

4 oz distilled water

2 tablespoons aloe vera gel

1 teaspoon jojoba oil

(If you refer to the original recipe, you can put in vegetable glycerin and essential oils, but I didn't have any of those on hand.)

Sanitise the mister you're going to use, so as to prolong the shelf life of your spray mixture. I just poured boiling water over all the utensils, mixing jugs and bottles I was going to use. This spray mixture works really well, I use all over the length of my hair, but I tend to go overboard so I try not to spritz it on hair near my scalp. It's lovely for moisture, and I go crazy on it for the damaged ends of my hair. It really helps!

Homemade body sugaring recipe

I want to retire my razor and shaving cream in favour of body sugaring, because it is cheap and natural, and I have all the things I need for it in my kitchen, including a candy thermometer- lucky me!

Got the recipe from here; sugaring is essentially a mixture of sugar, lemon juice and water that is boiled till it becomes a paste, and after it cools, it is spread onto hairy arms and legs and the hair is removed with the aid of cotton strips.

2 cups sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup water

Combine the ingredients, boil till the mixture reaches hard candy stage (250F), remove from heat and pour into a jar, and let it cool. After that, your paste is good to go.

My experience
I had to boil my mixture till 260F instead of 250F; you'll know it's done when the smell and colour of the mixture changes- the colour will become a dark brown and it will smell a little like caramel. I cut up a few old cotton rags and used those as the cloth strips. I applied the paste in the opposite direction of the hair growth, smoothed the cloth strip over it with the back of a spoon, then pulled in the direction of the hair growth so that the hair is pulled out completely. If you do it the other way round, you risk breaking the hair strands instead of pulling them out by the root. After I was done using a strip I dropped it into a basin of hot water next to me, which will help with the clean-up. Plus, you can reuse them so it's totally eco-friendly. Sugaring both legs took me an hour, which is significantly longer than shaving, but I think my inexperience (first time!) was a contributing factor. Nonetheless, I am very pleased with the results! My legs look really clean, and I know the regrowth will take at least a couple of weeks (that's what I'm hoping, anyway). I'm itching to try this out on my underarms... Probably the only drawback of this method, apart from how time-consuming it is if you're new at it, is that the hair has to be long enough so that the sugaring paste can grab hold of it and yank it out.

Homemade natural deodorant

I found a recipe for natural deodorant, comprising of ingredients I already have in my kitchen:

1/4 cup baking soda
1/4 cup corn starch
5-6 tablespoons coconut oil

I've never liked the host of chemicals in antiperspirants... Apparently aluminium is used in them, and has been linked to a number of diseases including breast cancer. Some proponents of this natural deodorant recipe swear by its stink fighting properties... I'm going to try it out and see what happens; while many people rave about it, my main concern is that it is going to stain my clothes. Guess I'll be wearing cotton t-shirts over the next few days!

Update:
Making the deodorant
I started with 1/4 cup baking soda and 1/4 cup corn starch, and 7 tablespoons of liquid organic virgin coconut oil (I froze it so that it would harden, then added the solid coconut oil to my mix). The mixture was a little too watery for my liking so I added a couple more tablespoons of baking soda and corn starch, then threw in an extra tablespoon of corn starch for good measure. I did not use any essential oils to scent my deodorant.

Application
I used a pea sized amount for each side, but either I did not apply it properly or I used a little too much, because ten minutes later I had to remove the residue with tissue paper. Tomorrow I'll try rubbing it in a little more.

Smell
The deodorant, when applied, gave off a faint coconut smell that I actually found pleasant, kinda like the scent of coconut soap. This is in contrast to when I oil my hair with coconut oil and the smell gets really overpowering and unpleasant. While the scent lingered for the first half of the day, by the second half of the day it was gone.

Texture
I expected the texture to be oily, but it wasn't in the least! Rubbing it between my fingertips, it starts off a little creamy then fades to a powdery finish. It really feels like commercial antiperspirant.

Verdict
Generally I do not sweat a lot, and I didn't have a very active day today, but the deodorant passed the test! Stink free! I am amazed that it worked as well as it did. I am going to monitor it for the next couple of days, but I think it is safe to say I am a natural deodorant convert!

Update: 27/03/11
It has been almost a week, and I have been using the deodorant with no major problems. To prevent any stains on my clothing I have been careful to remove any excess with tissue paper, about ten to fifteen minutes after application, when the deodorant has "settled" into my skin. Also, because I live in a country with a tropical climate, the coconut oil in the deodorant is not really solid at room temperature.  Coconut oil melts at approximately 23ºC to 26ºC, so it does affect the texture of my deodorant somewhat. I have observed a thin layer of liquid coconut oil on the surface of my deodorant, so to make the texture of my deodorant uniform when applying, I use a small plastic fork to whip the deodorant. It takes a couple of seconds, and I then use the fork to take out the amount I want to use for application so that I don't contaminate the entire mixture. Right now my deodorant is in a plastic container, but I am going to transfer it to a glass container, which I believe may help keep the mixture cool and put an end to this problem. I will post any updates here, so keep your eyes on this space (:

Homemade natural facial scrub

I have been cutting down my use of chemical laden beauty products, as I try to go back to the basics. My skin reached a point where it couldn't take it anymore; I had been breaking out, badly, which was horrifying because never once have I had to go through such a situation, even when I was a teenager. In general, my entire family is blessed with pretty good skin. So I cut out most of the over-the-counter beauty creams, opting instead for organic face creams and toners.

My commercial facial scrub ran out recently, so I decided to make my own facial scrub. I used:

1 teaspoon of organic raw honey
Instant oats, blended to a powder
Lemon juice

Using the raw honey as a base, I slowly mixed in the instant oats till it became a spreadable mixture, and topped it off with a squeeze of lemon juice. I applied it to my face for twenty minutes then used the oats to exfoliate my face before I washed it off.

It feels good to cut all these chemicals out of my beauty routine... I want to start using cucumber pulp on my face eventually too, because it's good for making your skin look and feel like tofu. Mother nature is good!

Update:
I've started using blackstrap molasses instead of honey for my facial scrub because I'm trying to get rid of the huge bottle of molasses I bought to bake ginger snaps. I cut out the lemon juice too, so essentially all that I have in my mask are molasses and instant oats. I keep the mask on for half an hour, then splash my face with water and scrub off the dead skin with the oats. To finish, I wash everything off with lukewarm water. You HAVE to do this over a sink because it is going to get messy, and blackstrap molasses stain everything. I've been doing this for a couple of weeks now, and I realise that after I wash off the molasses mask, any clogged pores I may have can be easily unclogged. It is pretty amazing. Try it for yourself and see if you get the kind of results I did!