Summer time is here! *yay* Keeping your skin hydrated doesn’t seem like it would be as much of a priority now since the heat makes you sweat, dripping and rolling all over you right? Well, not quite. Sweating is actually releasing the body’s hydration which means you need to replenish it. On top of that, all that sweating is drying out your skin leaving dead skin and cells clinging on to your body.
We’ve talked plenty about the importance of exfoliating your body, but don’t forget about your face too. Here’s a quick, easy in the kitchen recipe you can put together to exfoliate the dead, dry skin and replenish nutrients in the summertime.
Combine ingredients into a plastic bowl. The consistency should be almost paste like. Apply to face with small circular motions, with caution around the eyes. Remove with a warm sponge or face cloth. Cover the plastic bowl with a lid and refrigerate. Reuse within 2 weeks.
Be sure to let us know how this helped your summer beautification routine!
It seems like we are always hearing about the benefits of green tea. Full of antioxidants and metabolism increasing goodies, I’m sure we all wish we drank a bit more of it. If you’re finding trouble adding it into your daily routine, simply include it with your nightcap! Yes, you read that correctly. Here’s a good recipe using green tea:
Tea Frog
4 oz cold green tea
2 oz gin
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup sparkling water
Just throw all of the ingredients together in a glass and serve over ice. Doesn’t that sound yummy? Plus, the name is fun. This cocktail not only lets you unwind from a hectic day at work, but also lowers your cholesterol levels and boosts your immune system. In fact, I think it would be a bit crazy to NOT drink this.
But uh oh. What if you get a bit too excited about all the great things you’re doing for your body and pour one too many Tea Frogs? You might end up having a rather hazy morning. Not to worry. I have a hangover cure for you involving the same process – minus the booze!
1 piece of ginger root
1 green tea bag
Peel the ginger root and cut in thin slices. Bring water to a boil on the stove, then remove from heat. Add the green tea bag and ginger slices and let steep for 15 minutes. Add sweetener if needed. The green tea really helps with metabolizing the alcohol, and ginger is useful in curing nausea. Ahhh tea. It can take us merrily down the drunken road, and then help us find our way back again in the morning.
Has anyone managed to overcome a vicious hangover with this tea?
I like the vanilla mint blend in the late winter into spring time because the warmer weather enhances the experience of the scent. The warm air gives you occasion whiff of the scent and it’s just an amazingly refreshing, uplifting scent. It’s hard to not be happy when you’re smelling peppermint.
Using the blend in my spray bottle allows me to still get the benefit of the scent and keep my hair moisturized on days I don’t do a co wash with the vanilla mint conditioner in the shower. The aloe and glycerin are staples in the water bottle because my hair Loves love loves aloe, and really likes glycerin as a moisturizing agent but only if its diluted.
What’s in your spray bottle and why? I’d Love to learn from what your ladies are using in your bottle.
We’re always excited about sharing the latest info, news and tips on natural spa products and techniques to our readers. We’re even more excited about the wonderful feedback from our readers…so excited that we’re sponsoring a contest for our blog readers to post their favorite “at home” spa ritual and experience, to win a mainelement: love spa basket worth over $100.
The contest will run from January 20th to February 12th, 2010, with the winner being announced on February 19th.
Here’s all you need to know and enter:
Subscribe to our blog via RSS or email (see the right side bar)
Email your favorite “at home” spa ritual including the products and/or ingredients you use and the steps to make them, and the cost to create this contest to tyrika@mainelementlove.com using “Spa at home ritual” in your subject header
Include the natural health benefits of your spa experience and how it relaxes and calms you
At the end of the contest period, the staff of mainelement: love will read and select the post with the best “at home” spa experience and ritual using natural products and/or ingredients that are most cost effective
The winner of the contest will receive a mainelement:love spa basket(filled with the entire le’amour body line in Rise and Shine or Lavender Vanilla, a journal, box of chamomile tea, ceramic mug, and spa socks), and their ritual will be featured on the Love: Blog
The fine print:
Blog followers may only post one spa experience story during the contest period
All spa experiences must be authentic and solely created from contestant and not a copyright of any magazine, book, published author or day and salon establishment
Products and/or ingredients must be natural
Contestants must include their first and last name and valid email with blog entry to tyrika@mainelementlove.com this info will not be used for any third party marketing, but winner contact purposes only
Blueberries are one powerful little fruit. Their pigment provides some of the highest concentration of anti-oxidants of all the other fruits and vegetables. From cancer and heart disease, to vision and memory, blueberries pack a punch that fights many of your body’s battles.
From a skin outlook, those little blueberries power shouldn’t be underestimated either. Their high concentration of anti-oxidants makes them anti-aging fighting machines. Additionally, the ultra high anti-oxidant properties of blueberries help minimize flushing and redness. For those who suffer from severe acne and rosacea, this is an extreme helpful fruit to keep handy. Blueberries serve this purpose from the inside out. Meaning you can tastily snack on them as a treat and you can crush them and apply them directly to your skin to reap the benefits.
Blueberry and oatmeal paste recipe – safe for use morning or night, once or twice a week to help combat redness
You’ll need:
Half cup of plain oatmeal
¼ ounce olive (or jojoba, or sweet almond) oil
10 – 15 blueberries
Instructions:
Grind oatmeal finely
Mash blueberries into a paste
Combine oatmeal, blueberry paste, and oil into a bowl
Apply to face and allow it to sit 10 – 15 minutes
Rinse face and apply normal moisturizer
As you can see, from the inside out, blueberries should have a permanent spot on your grocery list and a regular home in your bathroom cabinet. What’s your favorite blueberry recipe? Leave a comment and share it with us.
