Pamper Your Skin with Aloe Vera

The aloe vera plant (also called Aloe barbadensis) is unique among plants for its importance in the cosmetics industry. Cosmetic products made with aloe vera are used to treat everything from dry and scaly skin to chapped lips and dermatitis.

Aloe vera is most noted for it's gel and juice which is widely used in creams, lotions, shampoos and a variety of other cosmetic preparations. Aloe vera gel and juice are available commercially in liquid and in dehydrated form. An oil-soluble extract is also produced from the aloe vera plant.

 It is sold under the names aloe vera oil and aloe vera extract. Aloe vera pulp is the clear, thick substance inside of the aloe vera leaf. (It is often called aloe vera gel, but it is usually treated before it is sold commercially). Aloe vera juice is made by liquefying aloe vera pulp. Aloe vera gel is made by adding a thickener such as irish moss to aloe vera juice. Aloe vera oil is made by extracting oil-soluble portions of the aloe vera plant into a light vegetable oil, such as safflower oil.

Aloe vera juice, gel and oil can be used in cosmetics. Using Aloe Vera In Your Cosmetics. Here are some ideas for incorporating aloe vera into your cosmetic formulas.

 •Aloe Vera Bath Salts: Add a small amount of aloe vera oil or dehydrated aloe vera gel to Epsom salt or sea salt to make Aloe Vera Bath Salts.

 •Aloe Vera Bath and Body Oils: Add a small amount of aloe vera oil and your favorite essential oil or fragrance oil to a blend of light vegetable oils (such as corn oil, jojoba oil or sunflower oil) to make aloe vera bath oils, aloe vera body oils and aloe vera hair oils.

 •Aloe Vera Soaps: To make aloe vera liquid soaps add some aloe vera gel or aloe vera oil to liquid castile soap. To make aloe vera bar soaps from scratch replace some of the water in your recipe with aloe vera gel or juice or replace some of the oils in your recipe with aloe vera oil. To make aloe vera soap from premade soap you can melt down soap flakes, add some aloe vera oil or gel to the melted solution, stir well and pour into soap molds.

 •Precautions When Using Aloe Vera In Your Cosmetics Aloe vera gel and juice are highly perishable, and should only be used in cosmetics that are self-preserving (such as cosmetics that contain a high percentage of soap, alcohol, glycerin or other preservative) or in cosmetics that will be used up quickly.

Also, some people may be allergic to aloe vera, or the preservatives that are used in commercially available aloe vera gel and aloe vera extract. If in doubt, perform a patch test on yourself before using aloe vera in your cosmetics. To perform a patch test, apply a small bit of aloe vera on the inside of your arm. Cover it up with a bandage. Leave it alone for 24 hours. If you see a reaction, avoid aloe vera in your products

Making a Natural Homemade Salon

 

Natural Homemade Beauty Products

 

There's only one way to be absolutely sure your skincare contains just natural ingredients. Make it yourself. It cruelty-free is an important factor when it comes to shopping, you will like these homemade alternatives which also come without suspect chemicals, alcohol or animal by-products. Make enough for about a month - store in glass jars in the fridge for up to four weeks.

Rice Scrub 

A scrub once a week does more than slough off dead skin cells. It activates cell renewal and helps improve skin texture. We have all heard the story of how rice farmers in Asia wash their hands with the water from washing rice. Indians use the water from boiling rice to soften skin. Rice bran contains phytic acid, which helps exfoliate skin. In the old days, pure turmeric was also used by Indians to curb excessive hair growth. Turmeric has antiseptic properties and this simple scrub can even be used on sensitive skin.

3 tablespoon rice flour, 1/2 tablespoon ground or grated turmeric, Water, 1/2 tablespoon of sandalwood powder for fragrance (optional). First mix the ingredients into a thick paste. Spread a plastic mat or tablecloth over your bed, sofa or on the floor, so you have somewhere to sit, Turmeric is hard to remove. Coat your body with oil (baby oil or massage oil) before smearing the paste all over - this prevents your skin turning yellow. Leave to dry, gently rub the paste all over your body to exfoliate before showering.

Balinese Scrub 

Ginger, known to improved blood circulation, is mixed with galangal (blue ginger) juice to even out skin pigmentation. Use once a week.

3 cloves, 3 tablespoons minced ginger, 1 teaspoon coriander seeds, 1 & 1/2 tablespoons rice flour,1/2 tablespoon ground turmeric, 1 tablespoon ground nutmeg, 4 thin slices galangal (blue ginger), 1-2 tablespoons water, 1 medium carrot grated.

First pound or grind all ingredients except carrot. Spread a plastic sheet where you intend to sit, or place a plastic stool in the bathroom and read while waiting for the paste to dry. Rub the paste all over the body and leave for 5-10 minutes. Rub the mixture off like you are scrubbing yourself. Then massage grated carrot on skin. Relax for 10 minutes and then shower.

Candlenut Scrub 

Candlenut, rich in natural calcium, folic acid and vitamin E is good for mature skin. Nut oil is believed to draw dirt from the pores.

6 candlenuts in powder, 4 slices galangal (blue ginger) ground, 2-3 tablespoons water.
Pound the ingredients together to make a thick smooth paste. Use your palms to rub the scrub all over your body. Rinse under the shower

Body Glow 

Sesame seeds are mentioned in the Egyptian semsent discovered by famous German Egyptologist, Ebers - the Ebers Papyrus is a 65-feet-long scroll listing ancient herbs and spices. An Assyrian myth talks about the gods drinking sesame wine the night before they created the earth. Native to the East Indies. Just a half cup of sesame seeds contain over three times the calcium of the same amount of whole milk. Sesame seeds. rich in vitamins A and E, and proteins are used to make cold pressed massage oil. some mention an old folk's remedy involving thoroughly chewing and swallowing one tablespoon of sesame seeds per day to regulate Periods.

1/4 cup white sesame seeds, 1/4 cup honey.
Mix both ingredients well in a clean bowl. Get a plastic sheet read for sitting on. Apply small amounts on your body and rub in a circular motion. Relax for an hour before rinsing off in shower
Soothing Honey Cucumber Facial

Feel cool as cucumber while skin is hydrated with honey in this easy-to-make facial treatment
1 tbsp honey, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1 cucumber, very thinly sliced.

Cleanse face with warm water. Mix honey with lemon juice. Smooth over face, avoiding eye area. Wipe away the honey with a warm towel and dry face. Place cucumber slices all over the face and relax for 30 minutes

Milk & Almond Cleanser 

To perk up skin before a party, use this stimulating cleanser to remove dead skin, oil and grime. Suitable for all skin types.

1 tablespoon dried milk powder, 1 tablespoons ground almond, 2 tablespoons honey, 2 tablespoons rose water (optional). Mix all the ingredients. Pat on skin from the base of the neck up to the hairline (avoiding eye area.) Massage gently onto skin and leave on for 10 minutes before washing off with warm water.

Egg Mask 

Suitable for oily skin, this nutrient and vitamin rich mask helps to even out skin tone and smoothen fine lines. 1 egg white beaten, 1 tsp lemon juice.
Mix and apply on face with a brush. Leave it on till it dries off. Rinse off. The remainder can be refrigerated.

Strawberry Moisturizer

3 ripe strawberries, 1 tablespoon water.

Mash a few ripe strawberries, squeeze through cheesecloth or cotton gauze. Dilute with a spoonful of water and spread the juice on cleaned face. Leave on for about 30 minutes before rinsing off.

Whiten Teeth

3 tablespoons bicarbonate of soda, 2 tablespoons fine sea salt.
Mix the two together and store in a jar. Shake a little on your hand, pick it up on the brush and brush teeth as usual. Not for people with sensitive teeth might abrasive.

Eye Treat

Calm puffy eyes and improved blood circulation by applying any of the following to the eyelids:

- used tea bag - squeeze out excess moisture and cool before applying
- thin slices of raw potato excellent for relieving slight puffiness.
- cucumber slices - cooling and soothing and also helps to keep wrinkles away.

Lip Gloss 

Aloe Vera leaf and gel contain over 100 ingredients, including essential vitamins and minerals, numerous enzymes, amino acids and phytonutrients.

Aloe Vera gel has astringent, antibiotic, pain inhibiting, cell growth stimulating and scar reduction properties. Aloe Vera Gel, Petroleum Jelly.

Mix 1 tablespoon of aloe vera gel - sliced a leaf and scrape out the gel, with 1 tablespoon petroleum jelly. Add a few drops of strawberry essential oil or other any fruity flavour. Transfer to a small container. Use as required.

Sugar Scrub 

The next time you run out of your favorite scrub facial scrub, make some with regular sugar 1/4 cup caster sugar, 2 tablespoons oil, 2 tablespoons milk.

Mix together into a smooth cream. Before bathing, massage the cream over the whole body with circular motions.

Hot oil hair treatment

If your hair is dry as straw, save money and treat it at home.

1 tablespoon soybean oil, 2 tablespoons castor oil.

Before washing hair mix the ingredients together in a small container. Next, warm the contents over low heat or place in a dish of hot water. Apply to hair and scalp and work right through to the hair tips. Wrap your head in a towel or wear a shower cap. Leave for 15 minutes. Wash hair as usual.

Hair Product Basics for Teens

If you're new to the hair product scene, it can get very confusing, and can eat right through your wallet. With hundreds of products to choose from, it's easy to be swallowed whole by the disappointing but most certainly diverse hair care. In this concise guide, we'll go over what you really need, what claims aren't true, and of course, the exceptions to every rule. To get the best, most flexible hair, you actually don't need one thousand hair products in your hair.

 After about four, they start to neutralize each other anyway, since most hair products have different ingredient structures. Here are the basic rules; moisture, organic ingredients, one stripping product, one deep treatment, and when it's okay to have exceptions.

Moisture

 You see these claims everywhere; products that say that they will make your hair shiny, natural, tousled, smooth, etc. The truth is all of these products are doing just one thing; moisturizing your hair. The even worse truth is the products that claim to make your hair something it's not-curly, straight, wavy (depending)-have figured out a clever rouse.

 Most of us smother our hair with products or don't put any products in our hair. This leaves our hair limp. Give your hair a short of moisture, and it'll be in its natural state, be it curly, wavy, or even sometimes straight (if it's a bundle of crazed frizz). This is a "miracle" to some people. But to those of us who can't get curly hair without an hour of using a curling iron, it never works. But companies decide that if you can satisfy enough people (when there's a pretty expensive price tag) it doesn't matter about the others that you disappoint.

Don't buy it. Simply buy products that claim to make your hair "moisturized". They contain more moisturizing ingredients than other more dishonest products.

See this

Organic Ingredients

 Though it may cost you an extra $1-$2, organic products don't require as much product for results as more chemically based products, as well as they heal your hair and provide doubled results. For instance, aloe vera in your hair product is pretty much all you need to heal your hair because it's moisturizing, but water-based, so it washes off when it weakens after a day and doesn't weight down on your brittle hair.

Green tea will make your hair shinier than many other harming but effective products. Besides from that point, some lines do have products whose results can compete with organic ingredients, but they are in general incredibly harming. For instance, Pantene, for its extra shiny formulas, coats your hair in wax. The wax really does make your hair shiny, but it weighs down and dries your hair, making it break off and fall out.

After awhile, you'll have thin, dead hair that you can't possibly style, but, hey, it's shiny! Experiment with different organic products, until you get whatever results you want out of your product. Some things that can be effectively tweaked by products are shine, anti-breakage, anti-frizz, and thermal recovery. Always read the back. If the product doesn't tell you why and how it works, and just tells you "it works", don't buy it.

Why You Need a Stripping Product

 Even super-organic products have some chemical products. They are necessary chemicals, to make sure your product doesn't decompose into a brown pudding in the bottle and doesn't smell like a boiled egg. These chemicals don't really harm your hair, but they can make styling harder and add up when you have a bunch of products in your hair.

So, it's time to discuss stripping products. Stripping products should be used every one to two-days with an organic deep conditioner because they are very drying but are necessary to keep your hair healthy and easy to style. Stripping products should only be in shampoo form, a stripping contradiction is a silly contradiction. Stripping products may advertise themselves, but usually they have to be researched into. Do some research, choose three candidates, and decide based on customer reviews and price.

Why You Need a Deep Treatment 

Even with your moisturizing products, and a good, cleaning shampoo these products aren't really going into heal your hair. It's like the difference between over the counter and prescribed medicine. A good deep conditioner usually can in the very tiny crevices of your hair to moisturize them and provides nutrients necessary to health and healing. These products aren't everyday things-rather, because they are so rich, they are biweekly ordeals.

Exceptions 

There are some exceptions, as with ever rule.

Expressive Styles 

Many teens like getting expressive with their hair. Let's face it; with conventional organic ingredients, you can't really make a crazy, voluminous hairstyles. So here are the three exceptions: hairspray, hair putty, and thermal protectors. I say hair putty if you're into spikes or super heights for your hair because hair clay, glue, or rock gel will never come out of your hair and instead damage it by all the ripping and tugging you'll have to do to ever get it out. It will take a super-drying strip to get that kind of product residue out of your hair even if you do manage to get the majority of it out. Putty is more liquid-based and so there's not much damage done. As for hairspray, to make sure you don't spend badly, don't buy "light hairsprays", rather go for either extra hold or freeze hairsprays. "Light hairsprays" hold your hair, sure, for five minutes.

It's basically a disgusting mix of water and residue. The residue holds your hair, but not for very long. With extra hold or freeze hairsprays, you get the same nasty residue along but with some constricting and binding ingredients so it actually does something and isn't anything that your stripping product can't get out. As for thermal protectors, this is all you need in your hair when using blow-dryers, curling irons, and straightening irons. Get a protector that claims to protect and "tame flyaways" and /or "fights frizz". That will be all you literally need when using heat to style your hair.

 ..And for the rest 

Here's the rule for products that I haven't talked about, if you think you really need them. Make sure it's natural, and if you can't find it in organic or natural form, read through the ingredients. If there are more than 10 ingredients you have to sound out, forget it. Ask yourself, also, if the claim they make could potentially destroy your hair. Only you can judge this for yourself. Use common sense. If the bottle says just a drop of this product applied with a comb makes you hair stand up straight, it can't possibly be good for it. Be skeptical. Your hair will thank you (well not literally, of course.)