DIY Homemade Oat and Coffee scrub for Glowing skin

Winter marks a bad period for people with Normal-Dry skin, skin becomes scaly, itchy and most of all loses it's natural glow. So what do we do ? We people with dry skin can't  even think of scrubbing with coarse salt/sugar ! But how do we ensure a healthy glowing skin? Here is one a nice gentle scrub recipe just for you!

Ingredients:

• Oats which is ground to fine powder.
• Coffee powder which is neither too fine / coarse.
• Honey (A boon  to humanity!)
• Milk Cream ( Use milk for normal skin)
• sandal wood powder (Optional but adds glow)

How to:

1. Mix oats powder, coffee powder and sandal wood powder.
2. Add Honey and milk cream to it and blend.
3. Allow it to settle for some time so it is not harsh on skin.
4. Now apply the paste evenly on skin(face) in circular motion and allow it on skin for upto 1 hour and wash off.

Skin will thank you for this luxurious treatment !  Mine did :-)

Click here for chocolate face mask.

DIY Simple One Ingredient Hair conditioner

There is atleast one hairy tale in fairy tales from various folklore's, Who doesn't like nice bouncy hair which feels like silk to touch ?  So what to do now ?
There are 100's of conditioner from various brands available but what if there is one simple ingredient which can  spin the same magic costing a lot lesser and does a whole lot of other great things too ? Sounds like a ad ? Well let me not build up more. Here is the recipe!

Ingredients :
Apple cider Vinegar!

How to:
Mix one teaspoon of Apple cider Vinegar (Any other natural vinegar is fine) With One cup of water (you can add essential oil if you can't stand the smell)
Apply this mixture on scalp and ends of hair and leave it for 5 minutes after shampooing the hair (See here for homemade shampoo) and then  either allow it to dry or wash off.

It not only makes your hair soft but also curtails growth on scalp and protects against dandruff and best of all it is free from harmful chemicals.

DIY Homemade Simple Winter lotion for Dry skin

Every time i read the ingredients list in most of the day creams/lotions etc with all the chemicals my heart skips a beat and takes me towards going natural albeit a little expensive.

I feel homemade one's are the best because even the lotions and creams claim to be ayurvedic/natural have a list of preservatives like ethanol's/ paraben's as preservative.  You can read about their ill effects!

I have started experimenting with my own lotion  a I have been successful so far. If you have tried my lip balm recipe this should be a breeze

So without much ado i present my lotion recipe.

List of Ingredients for about 20ml of lotion (Lasts about 15 days)

• 1 teaspoon(5ml) of beeswax
• 4 teaspoon of the oils, I used a blend of coconut oil and almond oil in 1:1 ratio
• 3 teaspoon of pure rose water(distilled)
• 2 drops of honey
• 1 drop of neem oil
• 3 drops of Vitamin E oil
• 5 drops of lavender essential oil(optional/ use any essential oil of choice) 

How to:

1.  In a double boiler, keep a clean sterilized bowl either stainless steel / glass.
2.  Add beeswax, coconut oil and almond oil and allow them to blend and melt.
3.  Then take it out and allow to cool but not solidify
4.  At this stage add rose water and blend (you can either use hand blender or blend in mixer)
5.  While blending add neem oil(it has anti-bacterial, anti-fungal properties) make sure you add a little unless you are ok with the strong nutty smell), Vit E oil and other essential oils( I added a blend of 20 drops of lavender with 2 drops of clove* essential oil) and then transfer the whipped cream to a jar.

*use caution when using clove oil with kids/pregnant woman.
 If you use a sterilized process then the cream even with rose water should last about a month.

Please discard if you find the smell odd or see any mold growth.

DIY How to make your own decongestant/vapor rub

I have been a vapor rub addict ever since my childhood. When the eucalyptus/Wintergreen oils are very strong and can be difficult on a sensitive skin vapor rub is just perfect!

But just a look at the ingredients on any popular brand lists petroleum jelly as a base or key ingredient.

The very thought of applying anything related to petrol on skin is just disgusting, Also it clogs the pores and hence not great for skin as well.

So here is a recipe for an all natural, preservative free decongestant/Vapor rub.

Vapor rub

List of Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoon(5ml) of beeswax
• 4 teaspoon of the oils, I used a blend of olive oil* and almond oil in 1:1 ratio
• 1 drop of neem oil(optional)
• 3 drops of Vitamin E oil
• 10 drops of winter green oil
• 10 drops of eucalyptus oil
• 5 drops of clove essential oil *(optional)
• 5 drops of peppermint essential oil
• 5 drops of camphor essential oil 

How to:

1. Set up  a double boiler with clean sterilized bowl on top of it preferably stainless steel/ glass.
2. Now add beeswax, olive oil and almond oil and allow them to blend and melt. Then take it out and allow to cool but not solidify
3. Once cooled but still in semi-liquid state add all the essential oils and blend
4. Allow it to solidify and your own vapor-rub/decongestant is ready!!                                   

*Use caution when using clove oil on pregnant women/Children.