Monday, November 19, 2012

Homemade Vodka tea lemon toner

So if you're like me you start out the day with beautiful glowing skin and by mid-day you look like someone's slapped a chicken all over it. That's okay, you're not alone. Although buying a combination-skin moisturizer is a very good first step, you most likely need to take others. Which is why I've researched a very fun, innovative approach to taming oily skin.

Vodka tea lemon toner

4 tablespoons of Russian vodka
4 tablespoons of Rose hips tea (or a blend that contains it)
4 tablespoons of Lemon juice
4 tablespoons of aloe vera gel

How it works

1- Mix all of the ingredients and place in a clean, dry container. The measurements gave me enough toner for a 60ml bottle
2- With a cotton ball, apply the toner to your face, after cleaning and before moisturizing.
3- Store your toner in the refrigerator as it will help with conservation (a few weeks) and with the tightening of your pores because of the colder temperature

Why it works

- Vodka: is an astringent, we're just not used to thinking about alcohol for beauty related purposes. It works the same way as vinegar.
- Rose hips tea: is also astringent as it has a very high concentration of Vitamin C and helps protect your skin from damage as it contains antioxidants
- Lemon juice: The antibacterial properties makes it perfect to combat acne and it will exfoliate your skin to remove the excess oils
- Aloe vera: will keep the skin hydrated and will prevent the burning sensation of the toner being too concentrated with astringents. It also helps heal scars.

This recipe is pretty straight forward but maybe this video tutorial can help:

Youtube video tutorial



Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Homemade turmeric face mask

Is it just me or most Indian women are gorgeous?! This is why this next recipe was inspired by an Indian tradition. This recipe is traditionally used on brides to be before the wedding. It basically helps to prevent breakouts, fights acne, blemishes and dark spots.

Turmeric Face Mask

1 Tablespoon of Gram flour also know as Chickpea flour
1 Tablespoon of Turmeric Powder
2 Tablespoons of Milk
1 Teaspoon of Honey

Directions

Put all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix well until you get a pasty consistency. Apply on your face and be careful not to get any in your eyes. Let it sit for about 20 minutes, then rinse with warm water and towel dry.

Notes:
1- I could not find any Gram flower so I simply ground Chick peas with the Magic Bullet and I passed them through a strainer for finer grains.
2- Apply the mask over the bathroom counter as this can be quite messy.
3- It's normal for the face to feel stiff after a few minutes as the mask hardens.
4- It's recommended to do this mask no more than twice a week
5- If you need anymore help or you're more visual, check out this video tutorial:

Youtube video tutorial

Friday, November 2, 2012

Homemade flax seed hair gel recipe

I've been looking for an alternative for store bought gels, that either flake or make my hair sticky and yuk because I have to use so much and I came across this recipe on Youtube but made a few changes to make it my own and ensure that it would have optimal results on my hair

Moisturizing Flax seed gel

1/4 cup of flax seeds
2 cups of water
1 tablespoon of aloe vera gel
1 tablespoon of vegetable glycerin
1 teaspoon of argan oil or argan oil treatment
5 drops of Vitamin E
1 pantyhose (to use as a strainer)

Step by step guide

1- Bring the water and flax seeds to boil all the while stirring
2- Wait a couple of minutes until a gooey film develops on the top of the pan; that's when you know to turn off the oven
3- Place the pantyhose over a container so that the gel passes through the hose but the seeds stay in the pantyhose
4- Let the gel cool down before adding the other ingredients
5- After mixing them all together, place the gel into dry, sterilized containers. Since this needs to be kept in the fridge for conservation; I placed some in a bottle and the rest in a bigger container. The gel is a little runny so it's better to use it from the bottle. You can even use it in a spray bottle
6- Keep the seeds in a separate container as you can reuse them for another batch.

Note that you can do this recipe just with the first 2 ingredients. The gel is great for styles like twist outs, braid outs and does not dry out the hair. Also, it's inexpensive since a bag of about 500g of flax seed will cost you about 5$ and you need about 50g per recipe that you can reuse at least once so you can have for about 0,25$ you can make a batch. You can keep each batch in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.

Enjoy!



Thursday, November 1, 2012

Exfoliating Sugar and honey scrub recipe

Exfoliating is an important part of a good beauty routine as it allows regeneration of the skin while getting rid of yukky dead skin cells. This little recipe is simple and effective to leave your skin feeling smooth and hydrated

Sugar honey scrub

1/4 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of brown sugar
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon of sweet almond oil
15 drops of jojoba oil
1 teaspoon of honey
1 teaspoon of cinnamon

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and store in a clean dry container. Do not let water come in contact with your mix as it will cause bacteria to form. You can use this on your elbows, knees and even for mani/pedis and it's good for up to 6 months

Sugar facial

To use this as a facial, simply lather your face with soap using warm water (if you have oily skin add lemon to the water) and add a nickel sized piece of scrub on your face. Gently massage in circular motions for about 10 minutes. Rinse off using cool water to close pores. Pat your face dry with a towel and use your favorite moisturizer.

Homemade anti-aging/acne-fighting night cream

Night creams can be quite pricy! You could buy a really expensive not assuredly effective night cream or... you can create an easy multi-beneficial cream from natural ingredients:

Best night cream ever

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon sweet almond oil
1/2 teaspoon jojoba oil
1/2 teaspoon tea-tree oil
1/2 teaspoon bergamot oil

Place all of the ingredients in a clean, dry container. Store the container in a cool dry place, away from sunlight. If you do not have acne or breakouts, you can skip the bergamot and tea-tree oils. Use a few drops applied evenly, every night on your freshly washed face. If you can, it would be beneficial to add a few drops (maximum 15) of carrot oil and grape seed oil to the mix.

- Olive oil benefits the healing and fading of acne scars much as it does for other scarring. The best part is that olive oil does not clog pores so it will not cause zits to form
- Jojoba oil is great for all types of skin problems such as dryness and oily skin as it regulates the secretion of sebum. It also has anti-wrinkle properties as it boosts the elasticity of the skin. I also contains Vitamin E which protects the skin from free radicals
- Tea-tree oil and bergamot oils both effectively fight and prevent acne
- Grape-seed oil has anti-wrinkle properties, works to lighten the skin and regulates sebum secretions
- Carrot oil has anti-wrinkle properties and works for skin tone regulation

By now you're probably thinking; you MUST be crazy, my skin is already oily which is why it's acne prone, I'm not putting oils on there! At first I was thinking the same thing but these oils are very light weight and will not make your face feel greasy. Also, since it's a light film you apply on your face, it's almost completely gone in the morning. At that point you simply wash your face and apply your day cream or moisturizer.

***Caution:

1- Tea tree and bergamot oils are photosensitive therefore it's REALLY important to use this concoction as a night cream. You should not expose yourself to the sun or UV rays after using this.
2- Beware of essential oils if you have food allergies
3- Bergamot oil is not recommended for women that are pregnant or nursing.

Let me know if you would like a list of addresses where you can purchase these oils in the Greater Montreal area and don't forget to subscribe :)