My favourite natural/ home-made beauty remedies

I can remember when I was about 10 years old, experimenting with ingredients in my grandmothers' kitchen and concocting messes full of natural hair and beauty treatments that I had read in some
magazine that I was too young for.
I wasn't allowed to dye my hair, so I improvised with a raspberry-jam type recipe to give myself pink "streaks" I thought they looked pretty cool and my hair smelled awesome. Unfortunately, Mum just saw a sticky mess and washed it out. A few times. With a fine-toothed comb. And then chopped off way more of my hair than we agreed on.
Another experiment of mine, almost as unsuccessful as my sticky, fruity stripes... was inspired by my grandmas' arts and crafts hobby. She had stained paper and dyed material using tea-bags. So, obviously, I was going to give my young, white a pasty skin a fake tan! I used a whole packet of tea-bags in a mixing bowl with COLD water ( I have a fear of boiling water, fire, stove-tops etc. and was obviously not going to ask anyone for help and blow my cover on my secret production-line I had going on in the kitchen). I then proceeded to rub these tea bags all over my arms and legs. It didn't really work... except the few areas I paid particular attention to, which resulted in some strangely shaped marks on my skin that looked like black coffee had stained me. All my grandmother was worried about was that I used all her tea-bags...
But luckily with my age, and um *cough* wisdom, I have gotten a bit better at experimenting with kitchen ingredients and making home beauty and hair remedies. Some are pretty common-sense, but at least they are not as OTT as my masterpieces as a 10-year old. Here are a few of my favourite tips and tricks that can be done at home:

1. Milk and Honey Eye Soak for sore, tired, red and puffy eyes. 

Image from spaflyer.com

Method: Mix equal parts of warm (not boiling) full-cream milk and honey in a small bowl (old yoghurt containers are the size you are looking for). Hold the bowl up to your eyes and blink a few times, making sure the liquid goes into your eye like eye-drops would. Then/ Or dip cotton pad in the liquid and hold the wet pads over your eyes like a compress for as long as you have time to spare.
Why: Milk is fantastic for reducing the puffiness and redness of sir, tired, and itchy eyes. It is also incredibly moisturising, relieving dryness and itchiness. Honey has superior anti-bacterial properties and if your eyes are sore and itchy due to allergies, it will prevent or even help counteract any viral or bacterial infection you could get in your eyes.


2. Lemon Sugar Exfoliant.

Image from figsandhoney.com

Method: Mix 1/2 a cup of white sugar with 1/2 a cup of some sort of nut oil; Macadamia or Walnut oil is ideal. Add a 1/4 cup of lemon juice and if you have some, add a few teaspoons of peppermint oil. Let the mixture stand for a few hours. The oils should rise to the top but the grains should remain saturated and heavy. Use a wooden-stick (like the icy-pole sticks) to dispense the mixture and rub it on your skin in circular motions. This recipe is wonderful for hands and feet especially. Rise off with cold water. Pat skin dry and use your favourite moisturiser as after-care.
Why: This exfoliant is grainy and natural and makes a wonderful, natural exfoliant. In fact, for hands and feet I prefer this over any store-bought product. Lemon juice is an antibacterial agent which is why it makes such a good recipe for hands and feet, to kill all the germs you pick up and kill all the sweat and bacteria, making for happy, healthy, awesome smelling hands and feet! Nut oils are good for their fatty properties which are natural moisturisers and promote skin renewal. Peppermint oil has a soothing and cooling effect on the skin.

A really good product very similar to this that I cam across over summer is Beauty in a Bottle Body Scrub. This small company uses all natural ingredients and knows their stuff! I have been using this product weekly since Christmas ad I absolutely love it! But I am most thankful that I picked up their moisturiser! It is the best moisturiser for hands and feet that I have ever tried! Check it out here!

3. Aromatherapy Steam Cleanser

Image from scanfree.org

Method: Pour about 2 litres of boiled water into a heat-resistant bowl/ container. Add a couple of drops of your favourite essential oils if you like, but I usually just use clean water so I don't aggravate my allergies.  Get a towel and place it over your head, over the top of the bowl. BE CAREFUL NOT TO BURN YOUR FACE! TAKE MOMENTS TO COME OUT OF THE STEAM TO BREATHE! Yes pretty self-explanatory but just-in-case.
Why: The steam will open your clogged pores and kill and infections (pimples). Wait until face is wet with steam and then pat your face with a cold- wet face washer. Don't apply any moisturisers after this process. The idea is to give your face a really deep clean and a fresh start.


Tips to live by:
1. Never touch your face during the day! Think of all the germs you've picked up and if you contaminate your face you will cause break-outs.
2. Obvious and I will sound like your mother, but Drink lots of water and eat lots of fresh fruit and vegetables and eat organic and clean whenever you can. Our bodies can process natural ingredients so much better than processed and food full of preservatives. Natural ingredients won't imbalance your hormones the way man-made products will, and voila! Less pimples!
3. Let your hair dry naturally whenever you can. If you are like me, you already put your hair through enough with hot irons, hair-ties, hair spray, chlorine and harsh Australian climate conditions. Let your hair dry naturally instead of blow-drying it, just to eliminate a little bit of the heat-stress you put it through!

I'd love to hear some of your natural beauty remedies. Email them to me via Facebook and I will definitely try them out! You might even see them here soon!


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