Cleopatra Clean

Milk products contain alpha-hydroxy acids that gently cleanse and soften skin.
1/4 cup milk, buttermilk, yogurt or sour cream

1. Use your fingertips to “wash” your face with your milk product of choice.
2. Rinse with warm water and pat dry.
3. You can also add milk to your bath for an all-over skin softening experience. And when you’re traveling, take along a packet of powdered milk to use!

Skin Firming mask

This soothing formula actually tightens enlarged pores and nourishes the skin, leaving your complexion glowingly firm.

The ingredients may surprise you: one of them is a common breakfast food and the other is rich in lactic acid to renew the vitality of your skin. Find out the secret to a firmer, more youthful complexion here:

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup cooked oatmeal1/4 cup buttermilk

1. Allow cooked oatmeal to cool, then add buttermilk and stir well to combine.
2. Evenly apply mask formula to a clean, damp face.
3. Allow to remain on until dry, about 20 minutes. Rinse well with cool water and pat dry.

Know your skin type

Before you start any skincare program, it’s important to know your facial skin type. This great little quiz will help you to identify yours. Then we include some helpful skincare treatments that are perfect for your type.

Take the quick quiz and find out your skin type,

1. Does your skin look dull or flaky?
2. Does your skin have a shiny, slippery texture?
3. Does your skin feel itchy and taut?
4. Do you have enlarged or clogged pores, or acne?
5. Does your skin react adversely to cosmetics containing alcohol, synthetics, fragrances, and artificial colors?
6. Does your skin appear consistently plump, moist, and vibrant?
7. Does your forehead, nose, or chin appear oily, while the skin around your cheeks, eyes, and mouth is normal or dry?

If you answered yes to 1 or 3, you have DRY skin.
If you answered yes to 2 or 4, you have OILY skin.
If you answered yes to 5, you have SENSITIVE skin.
If you answered yes to 6, you have NORMAL skin.
If you answered yes to 7, you have COMBINATION skin.

DRY SKIN
Drink lots of fresh water.Use rich formulas containing a balanced combination of oil and water to soothe and hydrate.
OILY SKIN
Your skin will remain younger looking and more supple over time, but for now, you could benefit from periodic aromatic steam treatments and clay masks.
SENSITIVE SKIN
Use gentle, natural, handmade skincare products and treatments, including light steaming with herbs.
NORMAL SKIN
You will benefit from regular cleansing, toning, and moisturizing with handmade skincare products.
COMBINATION SKIN
Assess your skin regularly and use different products on different areas of the face

Herbal Face Lift

This recipe is too drying for the eye area, so avoid applying it there.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup baking soda
1/2 cup orrisroot
/4 cup sea sal
t2 tablespoons dulse (a kind of seaweed; buy it at your local natural foods store)
2 tablespoons kelp (another kind of seaweed; available at your local natural foods store)
1/2 cup distilled water
Several strips of 8” by 8’ torn bed sheets, gauze, or other clean cotton material

To Make:1. Sift together the baking soda, orrisroot, and sea salt into a large bowl.
2. In a spice mill, powder the dulse and kelp and add to dry ingredients.
3. Heat the distilled water to boiling, then pour over the dry ingredients.
4. Stir thoroughly.
To Use:1. Wear a shirt with a fairly low neckline for easy access to your neck and chin.
2. Moisturize the jaw, chin, neck, and cheek area of your face with a light moisturizer or vegetable oil. Dab your face with a cloth to remove any exc3ess oil or moisturizer.
3. Using a wooden spoon, apply the mixture to the jaw, chin, neck, and cheeks.
4. Immediately wrap the sheets or gauze snugly first around the neck, then from the chin around the head several times, to just below the eyes. Next, wrap sheet or gauze up over the top of the head and under the china few times to secure.
5. Relax and be quiet until the mixture and sheets become dry and tight (approx. 30 minutes). No talking--this will stretch the sheets and keep you from getting the results you desire.
6. Rinse your face and neck with the coldest water you can bear. Notice the surprising softening effects on your skin.

Mediterainian Secret

The surprising, easy formula is particularly good for lightening age spots, resurfacing and refining dry, flaky skin, diminishing fine lines and wrinkles (with continued use), and evening out skin tone.
Natural acids accelerate the removal of the top layer of dead skin cells, revealing fresher, younger skin. The formula only calls for two easy-to-obtain ingredients--and I just had to laugh when I saw one of them, I was so surprised!
Here is the Mediterranean secret:
Lactic acid in yogurt and tartaric acid in chianti wine are the secrets that help Mediterranean women have beautiful skin!

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup chianti wine1 cup fresh, thick, plain yogurt
1. Whip wine and yogurt together in a medium-sized bowl. Store any unused portion in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

2. Application can be a bit messy, so it’s best to do this standing in the bathtub or shower stall. Rub the mixture gently on the face as well as on rough heels, elbows, and hands. Rest for 5-15 minutes and then rinse off with water that has a splash of chianti added to it. Pat dry. Traditionally, Italian women follow this treatment with a small amount of olive oil rubbed into the skin as a moisturizer.
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Egyptian Hair Removal

Body sugaring is a method for removing body hair that is a cheap, homemade alternative to waxing (or shaving). The theory behind body sugaring is that the hair is removed by the root, and when it grows back there will be less of it, and it will be softer and not stubbly as it is if a razor had been used.

Body sugaring is done by making a paste of sugar, water, and lemon juice that has been heated to the softball candy stage.
After you have let the paste cool enough so that it won't burn, you spread it on your skin, cover it with cotton strips of cloth, and then rip the cloth off like one does a bandaid. Most find sugaring less painful than waxing.

INGREDIENTS
2 cups sugar 1/4 cup lemon juice ¼ cup water
Equipment: Candy thermometer
Combine the ingredients in a heavy saucepan, and heat on low using a candy thermometer. Watch the mixture very carefully so that it doesn't boil over. Heat the mixture to 250 F on the candy thermometer; this is the hardball candy stage.
Remove from the heat and let cool enough to pour into a jar without breaking or melting the jar. (Note that this jar will be reheated in the future. Make sure it is safe for whatever for of reheating you plan to do -- in the microwave, or in a pan of water. Rip clean cotton fabric in 1" inch strips. Make sure the cotton isn't too coarsely woven.

This next step is very critical: let the mixture cool enough so that it won't burn your skin. Test the mixture on the palm of your hand, knowing that is much tougher than the sensitive skin under your arms.

Using a dull knife or Popsicle stick, spread the cooled sugar onto your skin. Cover with the cloth strips, let set for a few minutes, and then rip off quickly as you would a bandaid.
In the future you can reheat the mixture to a warm and not hot temperature (see above), and reuse. Note that reheating will thicken the paste.

AHA Skin Care

Alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) skin care products are easy to make at home because they are made of fruit and other ingredients we may have in the frig or kitchen cupboards.

SOLUTION: Fruit acids are great for the skin because they loosen the glue between dead skin cells, and the cells fall away, leaving the face very smooth and soft. You'll be amazed at how easy it is to produce fabulous results for your skin that you would imagine only the most expensive and sophisticated products you could buy could do. Not only that, but AHAs are found in fruit and vegetables you may already have in your kitchen or growing in your garden, so you don?t need to worry about any synthetic chemicals that may cause harm. The famed beauty Cleopatra unknowingly used the benefit of AHAs on her skin when she bathed in milk. Try any of the following fruit acids, but always take care to avoid your eyes. Avoid using these homemade peels if your skin is sunburned, and before going into the sun.

Malic acid: Apples, vinegar, applesauce, cider Lactic acid: Buttermilk, yogurt, powdered skim milk, sour cream, blackberries, tomatoes Tartaric Acid: Grapes, grape juice, wine, cream of tartar Citric Acid: Citrus fruits such as lemons, limes, grapefruit, and orange Glycolic acid: Sugar cane

All you need is about one half a teaspoon of liquid per face cleansing. You can freshly squeeze the juice of one lemon, for example, and refrigerate the leftovers for the rest of the week. Just dab some of the juice onto your fingers and pat on your face. Leave on for 10 minutes or so before rinsing. If you are in a rush, just cut a grape or strawberry in half-whatever you happen to have on hand-and rub it over your skin; let the juice set for a few minutes, and then rinse.

Cucumber Toner

Cucumbers have the same pH as the skin, and its juice is very softening and emollient. Carrots are rich in vitamin A and minerals that nourish and heal the skin, helping to keep it from aging. The herb spearmint stimulates and cleanses the skin with its antibacterial and antiseptic properties, and chamomile is not only rich in minerals, but helps prevent wrinkles, is moisturizing, and anti-inflammatory. Add a little lemon juice, and you are set.
A good time to make this toner is when the harvest is bountiful. If you don't own a juicer, borrow one to make large batches. You can also make just a week's worth of this toner at a time.

Zazil Toner
1/4 cup cucumber juice 1/8 cup carrot juice 1/2 cup spearmint infusion 1/4 cup chamomile infusion (avoid if you are sensitive to ragweed)1/2 cup lemon juice
Make the cucumber juice and carrot juice. Make strong spearmint and chamomile teas, and let cool. Combine all the ingredients in a glass jar and shake to blend. If you freeze the mixture in ice cube trays, just pop out a cube and rub it over your face, then put the cube in the refrigerator and use the toner over the next few days. Technorati Tags:
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Apple Cider Vinegar remedy

Now science tells us that it promotes blood circulation in the small blood capillaries that irrigate the skin. It is also antiseptic, combating yeasts, viruses, and bacteria that can cause infection.
Apple cider vinegar is rich in alpha-hydroxy acids, helping to dissolve fatty deposits on the skin’s surface and reducing scaly conditions, promoting a softer, smoother appearance. This miracle fluid also regulates the pH of the skin.
You won’t believe how many ways apple cider vinegar can be used to promote healthier skin and hair! Find out some of the couldn’t-be-simpler ways to put it to work for you, below:

1. Hair rinse: Apple cider vinegar gets rid of residue build-up on hair, leaving it soft and shiny. Mix 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar with 1 quart water and use as a final rinse after shampooing.

2. Stain remover: If your hands are stained from chopping berries, dab some straight apple cider vinegar on the stains and they’ll disappear like magic.

3. Tired, swollen hands or feet: Rub a little apple cider vinegar on tired, sore, or swollen hands or feet and feel the soothing difference.

4. Overnight facial: Get rid of blemishes and make your skin more youthful by patting apple cider vinegar on your face before bed. You’ll have softer, smoother skin in the morning!

5. Sunburn bath: If you’ve been singed by the sun, find soothing relief by adding a cupful of apple cider vinegar to your bath and soaking for 10 minutes.

6. Topical skin burns: apply ice-cold apple cider vinegar to prevent blistering.

7. Lightening age spots: Dab areas with straight apple cider vinegar and leave on overnight.

8. Dandruff fighter: Mix 1 part apple cider vinegar to 3 parts warm water to balance scalp pH and control dandruff. You can also apply undiluted vinegar to the scalp. Allow it to penetrate, then shampoo with a mild shampoo.