How To Enhance Your Bathing Experience

Relaxing in a tub for even just ten minutes can significantly reduce stress and anxiety, with beneficial results for both your beauty and your weight. The water in your tub should be warm and comfortable - never too hot. Extreme temperatures drain energy, rather than restore it. Very hot water can dry out skin oils. Here are a few ideas to enhance your bath experience:

1. Toss a packet of powdered milk under running bath water. Milk’s lactic acid will remove dead skin cells, leaving your skin’s texture baby soft.

2. Add a quarter cup of pure vanilla extract to a warm bath. Vanilla has the ability to lift spirits and revive.

3. Brew three cups of very strong chamomile tea and add it to your bath water. Chamomile has soothing, healing properties that ease tension.

4. Mix half a pound of sea salt with one pound of baking soda. Add to warm tub and soak until water cools. This bath not only soothes skin but also helps it dispose of toxic wastes.

5. Use face treatments while you’re bathing. The steam speeds the penetration of nutrients into skin. Plus, the treatments will work faster.

In light of the benefits and enjoyment offered by baths, it makes sense that the Japanese add the honorific prefix “o-” to the word for bath in that language.

Sunburn Relief

Roman Chamomile - 6 drops
Lavender - 6 drops
Peppermint - 3 drops

Mix the above well, then add to Sorbolene Cream - 1 ounce. Blend well, then add Distilled water - 1-2 teaspoons to thin this blend down a little. Apply to sunburned area as often as needed.

Summer Hair SOS
Emergency Fixes for Damaged Locks
By Carly Young, Special to LifeScript
Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Although you may enjoy basking in the summer heat, your hair is likely less thrilled. Between humidity frizzies, salt water and chlorine damage, and the sun’s tie dye-like effects on hair color, your tresses may be nostalgic for spring. However, it IS possible to enjoy summer and have healthy hair.

With damaging elements all around, summer is the time to nourish your hair with botanical - not chemical-laden - products.

“Natural, plant-derived ingredients are more compatible with our bodies than synthetic agents,” says Pat Peterson, executive director of Aveda Research and Development. “Another benefit is their minimal impact on the earth.”

In other words, you can appease your hair and your conscience at the same time.

Dry or Damaged

Salt water and pool chlorine leave your hair begging for moisture replenishment.

Luckily, many organic shampoos and conditioners include mineral-rich ingredients like avocado, vitamin E and oil extracts to hydrate hair.

A great hydrating product is Avalon Organic’s Awapuhi Mango Moisturizing Shampoo and conditioner of the same name ($8.95, AvalonOrganics.com; also carried at Wild Oats, Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods). Ingredients include: awapuhi, derived from Hawaiian wild ginger, to soothe, soften and add shine; mango, which moisturizes and promotes cell rejuvenation; and aloe vera, which repairs parched strands.

You can also take an at-home approach to solving dry hair dilemmas, using items found in most markets. For example, avocados can be your hair’s best friend - they are rich in vitamin E and moisturizing oils.

Try this deep conditioning treatment from beauty guru Rona Berg’s Fast Beauty: 1,000 Quick Fixes (Workman, 2005):

Mash an overripe avocado until it looks ready for guacamole.

Mix in one beaten egg yolk and 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

Massage into damp hair, tuck strands under a shower cap, and leave on for 15 minutes to an hour.

Rinse, shampoo and condition as usual.

Frizz

Wayward strands don’t just plague curly-haired women. When humidity rises and hair is dry, anyone can be attacked by the frizzies. Unfortunately, “static-electric chic” is not on the list of sexy summer styles. However, a number of beauty lines offer frizz remedies, many with natural ingredients that will tame your mane. Two to try:

Aveda’s Be Curly Curl Control ($17.50) - This product uses Tamanu oil, which comes from the island of Vanuatu in the South Pacific. Used to treat dry, course hair for centuries, this oil’s moisturizing properties will put frizz in its place.

The Body Shop’s Brazil Nut Define and No Frizz ($10) - Brazil nut oil (combined with three other natural oils) helps condition the hair while keeping frizz under control.

Dull

Nothing deflates some women’s hair faster than the combination of sun, heat and sweat. Make lifeless, lank hair pop with these two at-home remedies:

Home tip #1: Combine the juice of one lemon and one cup of water, and use it as a final rinse after shampooing to brighten dull locks.

Home tip #2: Instead of your regular conditioner, massage two beaten egg yolks into your hair, then rinse for instant sheen.

Not in the mood to play at-home beautician? Over-the-counter products can bring dull-looking hair back to life, such as Avalon Organics’ Ylang Ylang Glistening Shampoo and conditioner of the same name ($7.95). They contain mica (rock) minerals, which boost shine, and coconut and palm kernel extract, which hydrate.

An entire herb garden goes into celebrity hairstylist Robert Hallowell’s product line, prawduct (TheKitchenBeautician.com). His “love that shine treatment elixir” ($10.50) combines natural proteins with green tea, fennel, lavender, and basil to add sheen to your hair.

Oily

Although it’s important to keep your hair hydrated in the summer, falling victim to “the greasies” is another problem. And while many shampoos for oily hair do remove the grease, they may also strip your hair of the natural oils it needs. The solution? Try something gentler.

Here’s a tip from The Black Book of Hollywood Beauty Secrets: Brew five bags of mint tea, then cool. Shampoo and condition (if necessary), then pour the tea over your head as a final rinse. The mint is a natural astringent.

Need to de-grease on the run? Try witch hazel oil when you’re in a hurry - there’s no need to get your hair wet. Saturate a cotton ball and then wipe your entire scalp, moving your hair out of the way as you go. The witch hazel will absorb excess oil.

For a store-bought option, try Burt’s Bees Rosemary Mint Shampoo Bar ($6, available at beauty supply stores). It pairs mint with rosemary and oat proteins to banish extra oil, while moisturizing at the same time.

Fading Color

Whether natural or dyed, your hair color takes a beating during the sunny summer months.

To foil the fade, color-protecting products are essential. Try Aveda’s Color Conserve Sun Protector ($14), which contains sun filters derived from cinnamon bark and wintergreen to protect hair color, and quinoa, a staple grain of the ancient Inca civilization, which fortifies hair.

The summer is no time for harsh dyes - salt water, chlorine and UV rays do enough damage on their own. Use a natural formula, like henna, or make one of these color-boosting remedies with ingredients from the kitchen:

- Fast Beauty recommends mixing a teaspoon of Hershey’s unsweetened cocoa into your palm with a few squirts of shampoo, then washing your hair.

- Redheads can use a half-cup of cranberry juice as final rinse to enhance their highlights; brunettes can also do this for a subtle red look.

- Fast Beauty author Rona Berg hails the properties of chamomile tea, which has been used since the Victorian era to lighten blond hair. Brew a pot using three tea bags, then let cool. After shampooing and conditioning, gently massage the tea through your hair. Leave on for 15 minutes, then rinse.

Sweet Strawberry Facial Mask (oily skin)

8 - 9 whole strawberries
3 tablespoons honey

Using a fork mash strawberries into a pulp, add honey. Mix. Don’t over blend or it will be runny. Apply directly to the skin, let sit for a few minutes then rinse off.

Original Recipe By: Pioneer Thinking

* Strawberries - The Romans prized wild strawberries for their medicinal properties. Ounce for ounce, strawberries have more Vitamin C than citrus fruit. According to the American Cancer Society, foods rich in Vitamin C may lower the risk of cancers of the gastrointestinal tract. Source: American Cancer Society

* Honey is primarily composed of fructose, glucose and water. It also contains other sugars as well trace enzymes, minerals, vitamins and amino acids. Source: Honey Board

* Storage: Most recipes require refrigeration since they don’t contain preservatives. Shelf Life is approximately 1 week.

Soothing The Itch - Natural Remedies For Itchy Skin

By Ololade Franklin
Visit her blog at ofranklin.wordpress.com

Has your scalp or skin ever been uncomfortably itchy? Do you know someone who has an itchy scalp or itchy skin? Itching can cause extreme misery for the sufferer, however many causes of itchiness can be solved with simple remedies. There are many reasons why the scalp or skin may be irritated. So before you seek a dermatologist? Ask yourself the following:

1) Are you using a shampoo or shower gel made from detergents like sodium lauryl sulfate or sodium laureth sulfate? Although these detergents lather wonderfully they can dry your scalp or skin out to the point of being extremely itchy. Consider switching to a natural soap-based liquid or bar cleanser, or try making your own cleansers yourself. Natural soaps are much kinder to the skin and scalp because they are made from vegetable oils instead of petroleum derivatives.

2) Is your laundry detergent making your skin itch? Laundry detergents are made from harsh cleansers and they are so strong that some of the residue may be left on your clothes even after the rinse cycle. When you dry your clothes, that laundry detergent residue is left on them. When you wear your clothes the laundry detergent residue comes into contact with your skin. As an alternative try a natural laundry powder available at health food stores or make your own soap, grate it, and use it as a natural laundry powder.

3) Are you suffering from allergic reactions to one or more food items? Commercially prepared foods contain many different ingredients which can sometimes cause allergic reactions. Try changing your diet by eliminating one food item at a time and see if this helps.

4) Has your skin come into contact with a bacteria or fungus that could cause itching (like athletes foot) Try applying tea tree oil, or a product containing tea tree oil to the spot that is irritated. According to Dr. Ruth Winter, M.S., author of A Consumer’s Dictionary Of Cosmetic Ingredients, tea tree oil is ‘eleven to 13 times stronger than carbolic acid’ and is non-toxic to the skin.

5) Are you suffering from bug bites? Bites from mosquito’s and other insects usually swell and cause intense itching. Try applying several drops of lavender essential oil directly on the bug bite itself to soothe the itching.

Welcome to the ‘Do It Yourself’ Bath & Body Recipes Blog!