Do It Gorgeously: How to Make Less Toxic, Less Expensive, and More Beautiful Products (6 page)

2.
Mix in the essential oils.

How to use:
After cleansing your face of grime and makeup, apply the mask with your fingertips. Allow it to dry for half an hour. Rinse off well with warm water. Moisturize with the oil or cream of your choice.

AHA Skin-lightening Mask

If your skin is sun-damaged or blotchy with high pigmentation, before you succumb to expensive laser treatments, give this natural alpha hydroxy acid mask a try.

Yields:
enough for 1 application

Application:
use once a week for 6 weeks

1.
If you have a juicer that has a setting for soft fruit, this will be perfect for extracting the juice (you also don’t need to peel or core the fruit).

2.
If not, crush the fruit cubes with a mortar and pestle and then press through a sieve to extract the juice.

How to use:
Saturate a cotton pad or ball in the juice and apply to your décolleté, neck, and face in upward strokes. Leave the juice to dry for 15 minutes, then rinse off with warm water and moisturize as usual. A tingling sensation is normal, as the acids are clearing away those dead skin cells. If the sensation becomes too much, rinse it off sooner.

Vitamin C Serum

This is more effective/active than any vitamin C product you can buy in a store. When you’re next in a fancy department store, just take a look at some of the serums that boast a high vitamin C content and check out how expensive they are! L-ascorbic acid is vitamin C and is available as a powder at most drugstores and health food stores.

Yields:
approximately 1 oz. of serum

Application:
use every morning and evening under your moisturizer

Storage:
1-oz. dark glass bottle with pump dispenser

Shelf life:
1 month in the fridge
^*

1.
Dissolve the L-ascorbic acid in the water in a small measuring cup. When it has fully dissolved, mix in the glycerin.

2.
Pour into the glass bottle.

Restorative Facial Oil

This nourishing oil is fantastic for stressed-out skin.

Yields:
approximately 1 oz. of oil

Application:
at night, once or twice a week

Storage:
1-oz. dark glass bottle in a cool, dark cupboard

Shelf life:
1 year

1.
Blend all the ingredients in a small glass bowl.

2.
Carefully pour (a funnel is useful here) into the bottle.

Regenerative Floral Beauty Balm

This is an especially nourishing balm for tired and maturing skin. It works wonderfully as a treatment cream after a facial steam. The difference between a balm and a cream is that a balm is thicker and more concentrated. You may need to warm it up in the palms of your hands before applying.

Yields:
approximately 2 oz. of balm

Application:
use once a week, or whenever your skin feels in need of some extra TLC

Storage:
2-oz. dark glass jar in the fridge

Shelf life:
3 months

1.
Heat the base oils and beeswax in a small bowl set over a pan of boiling water, until the wax melts.

2.
In another pan, heat the rose infusion.

3.
Remove both pans from the heat and cool until the wax mixture just begins to thicken.

4.
Very slowly drizzle the infusion into the wax mixture, vigorously whisking for 3 or 4 minutes or until a creamy emulsion forms.

5.
Add the vitamin E oil and the essential oils and stir rapidly for another 4 minutes.

6.
Spoon into the glass jar and allow it to cool completely before screwing on the cap.

Acupressure Face Lift

Some of the best facials I’ve ever had have involved acupressure. This is similar to acupuncture and serves to stimulate the meridians (energy centers) of the face as well as tighten the muscles and smooth the skin. You can perform a wonderful acupressure session on your own face very easily. The whole session takes me no more than 10 minutes and I can see visible results.

HOW TO

The following shows you 26 pressure points on the face and neck, lettered A to Z. I recommend using a blunt/rounded object to stimulate the pressure points. The end of a medium-size cosmetic brush or a lip/eye pencil is perfect. You need to start at A and work through to Z. It’s much like following a dot-to-dot picture! You will be moving from one side of your face to the other, back and forth. At each pressure point, press your blunt tool into the point with a medium pressure and gently rotate in a clockwise direction for 5 to 10 seconds.

1. Forehead area:
To soften forehead lines, begin at point A and move consecutively through points B, C, and D.

2. Eye area:
To soften lines around the eyes, including crow’s feet, start at point E and move through to point N. As the skin tissue is delicate around the eyes, apply a more gentle pressure than other areas of the face.

3. Cheeks and mouth:
You can apply a little more pressure to these areas as you work through points O to X.

4. Neck:
Finally, a gentle pressure is needed to stimulate points Y and Z in order to activate a gentle lifting of the neck muscles.

Body

Dry Skin Brushing

I highly recommend getting the hang of dry skin brushing—a European technique that is used in Britain and France for treating cellulite, illnesses, and lackluster skin. The idea is that the brushing not only removes dead skin cells but also stimulates the lymphatic system. The clear fluid, lymph, runs through a series of valves, transporting the lymph back toward our heart. Along the way, lymph is filtered through lymph nodes scattered throughout the body, helping to rid our bodies of impurities. Lymph also produces lymphocytes, which help keep our immune system strong and illness at bay. We can aid this entire process by daily skin brushing.

About the only thing I have ever discovered to make any difference on cellulite is a vigorous dry skin brushing regime, combined with toxin-removing cellulite oil (see “Do It Beautifully”).

HOW TO

1.
Begin at your feet and brush vigorously in circular motions.

2.
Continue brushing up your legs.

3.
Proceed to your hands and arms, with circular motions on the hands and long, sweeping brushes up your arms toward your heart.

4.
Brush your entire back and abdomen area, shoulders, and neck.

5.
Use circular, counterclockwise strokes on the abdomen.

6.
Lightly brush the breasts.

7.
Brush upward on the middle and lower back and down from the neck on the upper back. Better yet, have your partner do it for you.

8.
After brushing, take a hot 3-minute shower with some gentle soap, followed by a 10- to 20-second cold rinse. Repeat this 3 times. If the hot/cold showers are too extreme, try a warm shower.

9.
Follow the shower with a rubdown with either a sponge or a towel to remove dead skin.

Cellulite Oil

This oil is
amazing
—you’ll be hard-pressed to find anything as effective in any store. I know this is a horribly long list of essential oils, but remember that once you’ve got them, they’ll last for years, plus you’re only using a few drops per bottle for this miracle oil. Make a few bottles and combine them with a dry skin brush and a bar of organic dark chocolate for a great girlfriend gift!

Yields:
approximately 2.2 oz. of oil

Application:
use daily after skin brushing

Storage:
2–3 oz. dark glass bottle

Shelf life:
1 year

1.
Combine all the oils in a measuring cup.

2.
Using a funnel, pour into your bottle.

After-Shower Spritzing Oil

I love this oil because I’m able to spritz difficult-to-get-to areas. Keep in mind that there’s very little oil in commercial body lotions—most of the product is made up of water and chemicals. By using this spray, you’ll know that you’re nourishing your skin with the best, even if you’re in a hurry.

Yields:
approximately 8 oz. of oil

Application:
use every morning and evening after showering

Storage:
8-oz. dark plastic bottle with sprayer

Shelf life:
6 months in a cool, dark cupboard

1.
Carefully pour the almond and olive oils directly into the bottle (a funnel will help).

2.
Add the essential oils.

3.
Screw on the top and enjoy!

Vanilla Body Cream

The combination of this four-ingredient cream is delicious—the subtle scent of coconut and vanilla makes you want to eat it. It’ll take you 3 minutes to prepare in a food processer.

Yields:
approximately 4 oz. of cream

Application:
use after showering and whenever you’re in the mood for a treat

Storage:
4-oz. dark glass jar in the fridge

Shelf life:
6 months

1.
Blend all the ingredients together in a food processer.

2.
Spoon into your jar.

Orange and Apricot Body Cream for Dry Skin

This is an extremely emollient cream for very dry skin. A little goes a long way, so this 4-oz. jar will last you a long time.