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!
Showing posts with label lemon juice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lemon juice. Show all posts
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
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.
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.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
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!
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!
Monday, March 8, 2010
Eggplant and garlic spread
I've been crazy over a particular recipe lately.
If you love eggplant, you’re gonna love this; I got it from Student’s Vegetarian Cookbook by Carole Raymond. It features easy, quick recipes perfect for the lazy, hungry, broke vegetarian student, like me! This recipe has a lot more garlic in it because I love the garlicky flavour; if you don't like garlic that much, cut the garlic down to 1 clove only.
Eggplant and garlic spread
1 eggplant (approx. 1 pound)
2 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 tablespoons onion, minced
Salt and pepper
I didn’t follow her instructions exactly; I pricked the eggplant all over with a fork, sliced it into half and zapped it in the microwave till soft. Then I scooped the flesh out and threw the eggplant flesh, tahini, lemon juice, garlic and onion into the blender. When it was done I seasoned it with salt and pepper to taste. Makes things a lot easier; you don’t have to mince the garlic cloves and onions! I hate mincing. Mincing is terribly tedious. The blender is my best friend!
If you love eggplant, you’re gonna love this; I got it from Student’s Vegetarian Cookbook by Carole Raymond. It features easy, quick recipes perfect for the lazy, hungry, broke vegetarian student, like me! This recipe has a lot more garlic in it because I love the garlicky flavour; if you don't like garlic that much, cut the garlic down to 1 clove only.
Eggplant and garlic spread
1 eggplant (approx. 1 pound)
2 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 tablespoons onion, minced
Salt and pepper
I didn’t follow her instructions exactly; I pricked the eggplant all over with a fork, sliced it into half and zapped it in the microwave till soft. Then I scooped the flesh out and threw the eggplant flesh, tahini, lemon juice, garlic and onion into the blender. When it was done I seasoned it with salt and pepper to taste. Makes things a lot easier; you don’t have to mince the garlic cloves and onions! I hate mincing. Mincing is terribly tedious. The blender is my best friend!
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Easy Hummus
I made the hummus for dinner tonight; this recipe makes a medium sized bowl, which should be able to last a few days in the fridge:
Hummus
1 can chickpeas/garbanzo beans (i used chickpeas because they were cheaper)
2 cloves garlic
1/4 yellow onion
2 heaped tbsp tahini
1 tbsp brine from can of chickpeas
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt
Pepper
Paprika
Throw everything into a blender and blend; season with salt, pepper and paprika. If you feel the hummus is still a little thick, add more lemon juice or brine till you get your desired consistency.
Hummus
1 can chickpeas/garbanzo beans (i used chickpeas because they were cheaper)
2 cloves garlic
1/4 yellow onion
2 heaped tbsp tahini
1 tbsp brine from can of chickpeas
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt
Pepper
Paprika
Throw everything into a blender and blend; season with salt, pepper and paprika. If you feel the hummus is still a little thick, add more lemon juice or brine till you get your desired consistency.
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