Archives for category: Handmade Mondays
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Handmade Mondays: Romantic Chocolate "Date" Mask

August 3, 2010 //
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Raisa Ruder’s fun book of DIY beauty treatments, Babushka’s Beauty Secrets, is a totally entertaining read chock full of tips. Ruder is a trained esthetician whose grandmother taught her all kinds of homespun beauty secrets back in the Ukraine, which she now uses on her celebrity clients!

Because she’s an esthetician to the stars, Ruder has great ideas to prep for a big event. I normally advise caution before something major like a wedding. In fact, my favorite pre-wedding tip is to do regular yogurt masks for about 6 weeks before, basically a series of mild lactic peels so your skin is super fresh. But I say knock off on those at least a week before the big event.

Ruder has masks, on the other hand, that you can do immediately before a party. I tried this date night mask (she cutely names them “souffles”) in the morning before an evening out with my hubby, but now that I’ve seen the results—smooth skin, a gorgeous glow, I was so renewed and fresh looking—I would save this for right before a big date or party.

The combination of cocoa, cream, and honey, in almost equal parts, with ground oatmeal, smells tasty (don’t eat it!) and goes on easily. After 20 minutes, you rinse it with lukewarm water and then a cotton ball dipped in milk (I think to get out some of the color from the cocoa). Then you rinse again. Your cheeks will have a delicate flush and your skin will be baby soft. Now that’s delicious!

Categories Handmade Mondays

Handmade Mondays: Dry Brushing for Smoother Skin

July 12, 2010 //
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I recently promised you I would write a few tips for this month’s Handmade Mondays based on two great new books. I’ll start with green goddess Sophie Uliano’s latest tome, Do It Gorgeously, which is chock-full of skin care recipes as well as DIY tips for everything from fitness to clothing. What I like most about her recipes is that they’re for pretty simple stuff that you’d use every day, and she has preparation tips to make sure you’re creating the safest at-home cosmetics (since we don’t use preservatives in our own cosmetic kitchens; read my short version for staying safe here).

However, I want to use Sophie’s book to talk about a skin care tip that’s only sort-of DIY: dry brushing. I say sort-of because it requires you to purchase a brush! But otherwise, it’s totally an at-home treatment. Dry brushing is common in Europe; I learned about it when I got my spa technician certificate, since it’s a prelude to many spa treatments. 
Dry brushing removes dead skin cells and thus helps eliminate ingrown hairs from waxing, but it also stimulates your whole system. You feel a tingle all over afterward, and often a bit energized, too. My classmates reported that it helped them keep their systems regular and even alleviated cellulite (Sophie agrees on that last one, though she combines dry brushing with application of homemade cellulite oil). 
Sophie dedicates a page and a half to her how-to, but I’ll give you the short version: using a natural fiber brush like your typical back scrubber (I removed the long handle from mine for ease), brush your skin from foot to shoulders, mostly in long, sweeping strokes and always toward the heart (on your belly, go in a clockwise circle, following the natural path of your digestive system). I tend to do sets of three, stroking first with the brush in one hand, and then following with the my other clean hand, which soothes and helps you keep a rhythm. You can see how I do it on my arm in this super short video.

http://www.youtube.com/get_player

For me the biggest benefit to dry brushing is that it’s dry; when I travel, instead of bringing along an exfoliating cloth which I have to either dry out or pack wet (yuck!), I always a dry brush. Exfoliation is essential to keeping my ingrown-prone skin in a manageable state, and it really makes a difference when I can keep it up on vacation. You can see my trusty dry brush on my overnight kit, above.
If you’re interested in more about Sophie, I encourage you to check out her website, gorgeouslygreen.com or follow her on Twitter @gorgeouslygreen.
http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=thesk0f-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=140134139X&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr
Categories body care, Handmade Mondays

Handmade Monday: Two New DIY Skincare Books!

June 29, 2010 //
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Two great new books on DIY skincare came out this month, one from Gorgeously Green author Sophie Uliano, and the other from a famed West Hollywood esthetician, Raisa Ruder. I’m going to get into them over the next week and try out at least one recipe from each, to give you a review. Until then, here’s a little about them from Amazon.com.
Do It Gorgeously: How to Make Less Toxic, Less Expensive, and More Beautiful ProductsDo It Gorgeously: How to Make Less Toxic, Less Expensive, and More Beautiful Products
Babushka's Beauty Secrets: Old World Tips for a Glamorous New YouBabushka’s Beauty Secrets: Old World Tips for a Glamorous New You

Categories Handmade Mondays

Handmade Mondays (Post Holiday): Honey and Baking Soda Lip Scrub

June 1, 2010 //
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I hope you all will forgive my little hiatus last week… I had to take a break and play a little in anticipation of summer! The holiday, of course, is also why this page is one day late. I’m still calling it a Handmade Monday though.

I’ve been seeing a lot of posts on homemade lip scrubs around the net, and I was thinking that though I don’t use lip scrub often, when I really need it, I need it! Like those skiing and backpacking weekends when I practice lip abuse in the sun and snow, and then bits are flaking off by the time I get home. Yuck! I actually pay $10 for this lip scrub to have on hand, but because it’s a fairly natural product, it probably goes bad well before I use it all. To think I could just be mixing up my own for instant use!

So, I tried the simplest lip scrub recipe I uncovered in my search: 1 part honey to 1 part baking soda. Honey has some emollient properties, since it seals moisture into the skin, but since you don’t leave this product on, in this case honey just a nice non-greasy vehicle for the exfoliating power of baking soda. Baking soda is even used by some eco-minded salons for natural microdermabrasion (check out this skin care menu for a description).

Because of the honey, this scrub is a little gooey, but this texture works because you really want to keep it just to the delicate skin of your lips (it doesn’t work well on the face; trust me, I tried it and baking soda alone with a little water would be much better.) You do have to use it fairly soon after you mix it (the baking soda begins to melt into the honey eventually, and there’s no more scrubbing action).

Basically, you just stir it up, apply it with fingers (I prefer the gentler fourth finger) and gently move it around. Just do a half a minute or so. No need to rub or press, really. I followed up with my usual lip balm, which I was recently dismayed to discover contains a petroleum product in all versions except the SPF types, and those have a chemical sunscreen. Poop. Have to start a new search. It does work well, though, if these aren’t big bugaboos for you!

Categories Handmade Mondays, lip care

Handmade Mondays Announcement

April 27, 2010 //
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Hi fans… I hope you’ve been enjoying all the great at-home skin care ideas on Mondays on my blog. It’s been a great way to blog more often, but I’ve discovered there are loads of other topics I’d like to blog about, so I’m going to reduce the Handmade Mondays posts down to once a month, on the last Monday of the month! So, look for my next Handmade Mondays post on Memorial Day, May 31. If you have questions about cosmetics you can make at home, or great ideas for products in the meantime, email me at kendralis[at]gmail.com.

Categories Handmade Mondays

Handmade Mondays: Oatmeal Cleanser

April 20, 2010 //
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I actually saw a cleanser just like this for sale a couple of weeks ago at one of my favorite natural foods markets. I was shocked by the price and the short ingredients list: oatmeal and essential oils. I thought to myself, “I can make that at home for a lot less.” I accidentally left my cleanser on my vacation last week, so it’s the perfect time to try this out. Now, granted, my oats might not be pure and organic and ground to a fine powder, or stored in an essential oil protective dark brown glass bottle. But still!

This recipe from ehow.com says you can just mix plain oats and warm water. Couldn’t be simpler. Oatmeal apparently lifts oils and dirt because it contains foaming saponins. But it’s also completely soothing; many salons keep around colloidal oatmeal, a finely ground oatmeal powder like what I saw at my store, for sensitive skins that have a reaction to a product or treatment. Oat baths are excellent for eczema and other skin irritations. Again, I buy everything in bulk, so cost is hard to calculate. But it’s got to be cheaper than what was in that fancy glass bottle. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Categories facial care, Handmade Mondays

Handmade Mondays: Castile Cleaner

April 12, 2010 //
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We’ve been doing quite a bit of spring cleaning around my house in the last week and a half or so (see my hubby, at left, mopping in our impossibly tiny kitchen), and I decided maybe it was finally time to make some green cleaners. I know making your own product for wiping the shower walls isn’t quite the same thing as concocting your own toner, but if you’re going to clean your face green, why not clean your bathroom green, too?

I’ve been holding onto this book Green Clean for at least a year; I bought it at my favorite crunchy bookstore in Mountain View and thought it would come in handy when we eventually ran out of purchased cleaners. We’ve been getting close to running out for a while, so I’ve had it sitting out in the bathroom until I found time to deep clean. Thankfully it’s one of those cool books made from that Cradle to Cradle “paper” that’s water and stain resistant.

I went quite crazy and made my own laundry detergent, bathroom cleaner, kitchen cleaner, and floor cleaner! The ingredients were all simple: borax and washing soda from my local hardware store, distilled white vinegar, lavender essential oil, and simple Dr. Bronner’s soap, which I buy in peppermint scent for doing dishes. Our bathroom and kitchen floors looked especially great, but my favorite cleaner was the all-purpose, grease-fighting Castile Cleaner: Mix in a spray bottle 1 teaspoon washing soda, 2 teaspoons borax, 1/2 teaspoon peppermint castile soap, 2 cups hot water, 10 drops lavender essential oil. Spray as needed and wipe clean with a sponge or cloth.
http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=thesk0f-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=1595910042&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr

Categories Handmade Mondays

Handmade Mondays: Ice Cube Zit Zapper

April 6, 2010 //
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So simple, so square, need it do anything more than chill your evening cocktail? Maybe not, but the magic of the ice cube is that it does! I was given this tip by an esthetician I saw earlier this year and I’ve passed it on to a friend and she delightedly reports that it totally works for her.

You know when you feel a sore spot on your face and you think there’s a whopper coming? That’s exactly the time you pull out this baby. Before that spot has any kind of head, when it’s still just a barely noticeable pink bump. Apply the ice cube and this fetal zit won’t become the bane of your morning makeup routine. Placing ice on a soon-to-pimple once or twice a day, as soon as you feel the pain of infection, actually stalls the infection that could someday become a whitehead (that is, if you weren’t so vigilant!). I’m going to try it tonight with this tiny one I’ve got brewing on my lip…

Categories facial care, Handmade Mondays, pimples

Handmade Mondays: Sunflower and Oatmeal Soothing Bath

March 29, 2010 //
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I went up to the Sierra foothills last week and my skin has just been suffering from the dryness. So this week, I was looking for a bath that would soften and hydrate. I thought about a Cleopatra-style milk bath, but we were out of fresh milk and didn’t have any powdered. Thank goodness for Organic Body Care Recipes: she suggests mixing ground oatmeal and ground sunflower seeds, both of which were in my pantry since we make our own granola from scratch.

I mixed equal parts of each and tossed them in my Cuisinart and flicked the switch. In about a minute I had a bath treatment! I poured the grounds on a layer of cheesecloth and double and triple wrapped it to keep the ground bits in, then secured the whole thing with a rubber band and dropped it in my filling bathtub. It turned the water a milky color and gave it a super soft feel. As she instructs in the book, I gently rubbed the cheesecloth pocket of seeds and oats on my body as I soaked.

This is one of the first recipes from which I really noticed results. Where my skin was irritated and rough, it’s now softer and smoother. I imagine if I did this weekly it would really help me keep my naturally dry skin in better shape. The raw ingredients are cheap, but I’m worried about the cheesecloth; I don’t think it will be very easy to dry and reuse, and having to cut a new large square of cheesecloth every week won’t be affordable. So, I think I’ll try it next time in a muslin bag, which I think I can rinse and dry and use again. This time, I’m going to chuck what I used in the compost—it’s all natural, so why not?
http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=thesk0f-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=1580176763&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr

Categories baths, Handmade Mondays

Handmade Mondays: Slumber Party Beer Hair Rinse

March 23, 2010 //
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I’m posting this entry from a girlfriend’s house—three of us are staying together for a couple nights. I told them I needed help with a homemade cosmetic recipe for my blog, and one immediately remembered putting beer and mayonnaise on her hair when she was a teenager. She and her girlfriends then wrapped their heads in Saran Wrap and laid out in the sun. She thought we’d easily find it on Google, but we came up with lots of refs to beer and mayo alone but none together.

After reading that mayo can have similar rinse-out problems to the olive oil conditioner I tried a couple weeks ago, we decided on a simple beer rinse. It seemed easy for a relaxing night, and we could all help each other apply and rinse, thanks to the spray head in the kitchen sink. It was fun giving each other amateur scalp massages, and to keep things interesting we each tried a different beer. The one with the darkest hair, J, got Guinness. I (K), took a micro-brewed pumpkin ale that smelled like cooking spices, because I’m a redhead. L got a Hefeweizen.

We left the beer out to warm and get flat, but it was still chilly on our scalps. Even a strong beer smell seemed to rinse away easily with water after, but we aren’t sold on beer’s rep as a good detangler: Two of us had knots afterwards. More tomorrow on the results. But for now, J thinks it’s a good excuse to get together monthly, since the recipes we found recommended a beer rinse every four weeks.

Categories hair care, Handmade Mondays
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