PAMPER

Enjoy the benefits of this natural homemade beauty treatment from one of my new favorite resources Organic Body Care Recipes by Stephanie Tourles.


Strawberry Cleanser

Strawberry juice has very gentle astringent and bleaching properties and is best used as a light cleanser for those who do not wear makeup. It can also serve as a tooth cleanser and whitener-it's very refreshing and helps eliminate onion and garlic breath.

Ingredients:
4 very ripe, medium sized strawberries, sliced and green stem removed
1 drop peppermint or lavender essential oil (optional)

Recommended for: oily, combination, acne, or oily skin

In a small bowl, thoroughly mash the strawberries with a fork. Press the resulting pulp through a mesh strainer or squeeze through cheesecloth or nylon stocking and catch the juice in a small condiment bowl. Add the essential oil (if desired) and stir to blend. Apply juice to face and neck with a cotton square (avoiding eye area) and massage with fingertips for about 1 minute. Rinse with cool water.

Lemon Refresher

The tart, lemony aroma of this astringent is very refreshing and stimulating to use chilled on a hot, summer day. Avoid use on sensitive, dehydrated, environmentally damaged, sunburned, windburned, or irritated skin.

Ingredients:
Juice of half a medium sized lemon, strained
1/2 cup witch hazel

Recommended for :oily, combination, normal, or oily mature skin

Combine ingredients in a storage container and shake well to blend. Using a cotton cleansing pad, apply approximately 1 teaspoon to the face or more to the shoulder or back as needed throughout the day. Avoid eye area. No refrigeration is needed. Use within 1 to 2 weeks, then discard.

Yogurt Exfoliating and Bleaching Mask

Yogurt is great for a fading tan or for blotchy, uneven skin. With repeated use, it slightly bleaches and evens skin tone. Plain yogurt is also a very gentle, soothing, nonabrasive exfoliant that becomes more effective with repeated use.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon plain yogurt

Recommended for: all skin types except very sensitive skin

Using fingers or cosmetic fan brush, apply yogurt to the face. Leave on for 20-30 minutes and rinse.

Honey Mask

This is a delicious, sweet way to soften, deeply hydrate, and moisturize your skin. This treatment leaves skin with a rosy glow resulting from increased circulation.

Ingredients:
 2-3 teaspoons fresh, raw honey at room temperature

Recommended for: all skin types, especially dry, dehydrated, sunburned, windburned, mature, environmentally damaged skin

Using your fingers, apply a very thin coat of honey to your entire face and neck. When the honey is spread evenly, it will bead on your skin much like water beads on your car after a rain shower. Leave on for 15 minutes or longer while you lay down and rest. Your skin will begin to feel very warm and relaxed. Don't fall asleep. Before rinsing, for about 5 minutes, begin to pat your skin lightly with your fingertips in quick tapping motions, as though you were playing a piano. Rinse using a very warm cloth.


Avocado and Buttermilk Mask

This incredibly nourishing and moisturizing mask with slightly bleaching action leaves skin feeling velvety soft. Make a larger batch to apply to hair; it serves as an effective conditioning treatment for normal, dry, and chemically damaged or frizzy hair. After applying to hair, cover your head with plastic wrap or a shower cap and leave on for 30 minutes. Rinse and shampoo.

Ingredients:
1/4 very ripe, small avocado, buttermilk

Recommended for: normal to very dry and mature skin, especially rough, dehydrated, chapped, or environmentally damaged skin

Scoop out the avocado pulp and mash it with just enough buttermilk to form a creamy paste. This mask ca be a bit runny, so safeguard your hair and clothes prior to application. Using your fingertips, apply paste in upward strokes to the face and neck. If possible, use in the early morning and lie in the early sun to allow the oils of the avocado to warm and penetrate your skin. Rinse after 20-30 minutes.

Oatmeal Mask

This masks acts as a gentle exfoliant. Its slight bleaching action helps even blotchy skin tone is used at least twice per week.

Ingredients:
4 teaspoons ground oatmeal, 5 teaspoons buttermilk

Recommended for: all skin types except very sensitive, sunburned, windburned, or irritated skin

In a small bowl combine both ingredients. Allow the mixture to thicken for a few minutes, then give it a few stirs again to remove any lumps. If it's too thick, add a tab more buttermilk; if it's too thin, add more ground oats. Using your fingers, spread onto the face and throat. Rinse after 20-30 minutes.

Oatmeal Smoother
This scrub, gentle enough for a baby's delicate skin, leaves skin very smooth and soft. It doubles as a mask. Simply apply and leave on for 20-30 minutes to dry then rinse.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup ground oatmeal, 1/2 cup powdered milk, purified water

Recommended for: all skin types

In a small bowl, thoroughly mix dry ingredients using a spoon or small whisk or shake them in a small plastic bag. Pour mixture into a storage container. No refrigeration is required for the dry ingredients, but for maximum freshness, use within 6 months.

To mix the scrub, combine 2 teaspoons of scrub mixture with 1-2 teaspoons water until spreadable paste forms. Adjust water quantity as necessary. Allow the mixture to thicken for 1 minute. Using fingers, massage onto face and throat. Rinse.

Permission of Storey Publishing, LLC