RECIPES FOR HEALTHIER SKIN AND HAIR
Step One: Throw away all your shampoos, conditioners, body washes, shaving gels and foams, facial cleansers, hand soaps, etc.
Chances are, what you are currently using are actually detergents, which strip the skin and hair of their natural protective oils and interfere with the body's natural abilities to hoard its own moisture. Compare the ingredients in your favorite shampoo or body wash with those in the “soap” you use to wash your dishes. I'll bet they're pretty similar. If they can cut the grease on your dishes, imagine what these ingredients are doing to your skin and hair. Here's a good rule of thumb: If you can't pronounce it, don't put it on your skin.
Try a “one thing does it all” natural soap for showering and bathing, shampooing, shaving and hand washing. I use Sungold Soap Level H liquid soap, available at sungoldsoap.com. There are many wonderful natural soaps available; while not organic, Level H represents a good compromise for the many people like me who can't tolerate olive oil-based or coconut oil-based soaps. It is a convenient fragrance-free liquid, with no ingredients added after saponification. It rinses off cleanly and easily. (If you've tried but didn't like a natural soap like Dr. Bronner's for shampooing, it's probably because many of the oils are added after saponification, and they tend to leave a greasy film on your hair. Yuk.) While it might seem expensive, it is very concentrated and $45 worth of soap (including shipping) lasts us 6 months or more. We no longer buy shampoos, conditioners, body washes, hand soaps or shaving gels at all, and we need body moisturizers only occasionally, especially during the winter months. It's that good. (I am not affiliated in any way with Sungold Soap; I am merely a very happy repeat customer.)
For shampooing and showering, I dilute the Level H 7:1 (soap to water) with steam distilled organic rosewater for its therapeutic qualities. While it does have a light rose-like scent, this fades quickly and even DH uses it quite happily. Other hydrosols suitable for both skin and hair are lavender, rosemary, carrot seed, tea tree and neroli orange, among others. The dilution with neroli makes a lovely hand soap and DH likes to use the neroli hydrosol neat, as an aftershave. Hydrosols are much gentler than essential oils and have about the same therapeutic characteristics. The scents do not linger long, however. That's okay with me. I think we have too much scent in our lives anyway.
A wonderfully Hydrating Facial Cleanser for all skin types, gentle enough to use every day:
2 oz. Organic raw honey
2 oz. Organic aloe vera gel (you can use aloe juice, but the mixture will be runny)
Optional: Add up to 2 tsp. Diatomaceous Earth *FOOD GRADE* (NOT the stuff used in pool filters)
Store in a plastic squeeze bottle and shake well before use. Gently massage into face with fingertips or complexion brush for about a minute. Rinses off easily with warm water. Great for hands, heels and elbows, too. Just massage these areas a little more vigorously.
Follow with an organic steam distilled hydrosol to tone and apply a few drops of organic unrefined vegetable oil to seal in the moisture. (More about this in Step Two.)
Natural humectants which draw moisture into the skin, the honey and aloe both hydrate and nourish while helping to loosen dead skin cells. and the DE gently sloughs them off. Your skin sheds dead cells every day, and daily exfoliation, IF DONE PROPERLY, can be beneficial. DE, also known as Fossil Flour, is a micro powder (even finer than baking soda) and will not shred or scratch the skin the way other natural exfoliants like apricot kernels and salt can. It is best used at 5 - 10% of your total liquids to prevent a drying effect. Philosophy makes a very popular (and expensive) daily facial cleanser utilizing DE, which is the powdered, fossilized remains of fresh water diatoms.
Step Two: Throw away all your moisturizing creams and lotions.
We all know oil and water don't mix. Creams and lotions contain both oil and water and utilize an emulsifier to force them to mix. With few exceptions, emulsifiers are unnatural substances which cannot be absorbed by the skin. Instead, they sit on the surface of the skin, waiting to be reactivated and emulsify our skin's own natural oils when we next wash, sending the skin's natural moisture content down the drain. This forces us into a vicious cycle of needing to moisturize because we're constantly destroying our natural moisture. Mixing oil and water also necessitates the use of preservatives to prevent the growth of harmful microbes in the product, and to give a long shelf life. With few exceptions, these preservatives are also unnatural substances which cannot be processed by the skin.
So, what does one use to moisturize? Even with a good natural soap, some minimal daily moisturizing of at least the face and hands is probably necessary. The answer: A few drops of any natural vegetable oil.
Oils should always be applied to damp or slightly wet skin. Oils do not really moisturize, but they will help seal in the moisture we absorb when we wash or bathe, and the right oil or combination of oils can help balance oil production, build the skin's natural moisture barrier and prevent transepidermal water loss (evaporation), which is what causes dry skin. (One of the great things about lotions and creams is that they are mostly water, and so can be applied anywhere, anytime. They just also happen to contain things like emulsifiers and preservatives which make them bad for skin.)
Which oil to use? That's a purely personal decision. Olive oil and coconut oil are very popular, with jojoba oil and shea butter close behind. Visit mountainroseherbs.com for an extensive selection and informative descriptions of oils suitable for skin care. Some of them can even be found on your local grocery store's shelves. (I buy my sesame seed oil at Whole Foods Market, less than $5 for 8 ounces.) Personally, I prefer a combination of oils. Here's my recipe for Skin Nurturing Face and Body Oil. It contains a high percentage of omega-6 (linoleic) fatty acids, which are essential to building and maintaining the natural moisture barrier, and omega-3 (linolenic) fatty acids, which provide anti-inflammatory benefits. Its oleic acid content closely matches the natural percentage of this fatty acid in human skin, so it absorbs easily and never feels greasy. It's also chock full of vitamins C and E and minerals, all of which support healthier skin.
Skin Nurturing Face and Body Oil
60% Organic unrefined sesame seed oil (NOT toasted)
40% Organic unrefined rose hip seed oil
Optional: Add up to 1-1/2% Organic unrefined pomegranate seed oil (about 1 tsp. in 10 oz.)
After cleansing, lightly spritz with an organic steam distilled hydrosol to tone. (Toning helps regulate the skin's pH, making it more receptive to moisturizer ingredients.) While skin is still damp, apply two to three drops of oil to face or hands and massage in evenly.
I make this up in 10 ounce batches and pour into 1 ounce bottles. One goes into the bathroom with a small treatment pump (you could also use an eyedropper) and the others are tightly sealed and refrigerated until needed. One ounce will last well over a week if used by two people as an all-over moisturizer and much longer if used only for face and hands. If you're not going to use it all over your body or there's only one of you using it, I would suggest making smaller batches and pouring it out into ½ ounce bottles. Although the sesame seed oil in this recipe is incredibly stable and helps to stabilize the more fragile rose hip seed oil, all oils will go rancid over time.
One last thought: As we become more careful about what we put into our bodies, we should become even more careful about what we put onto them. Our skin does not process substances in the same way that our digestive system does. For topical applications that will remain on the skin, I use only organic, unrefined products. Pesticide and chemical residues remain, albeit in almost undetectable quantities, in virtually all conventionally cultivated and processed substances. While I'm sure there's not enough of these residues to harm me in one bottle of oil, the cumulative effect of just that little bit in every product I've ever used can be significant. If the oil you're looking at doesn't specifically say “unrefined,” assume that it is refined. Expect to pay a little more for unrefined oils because they generally have a shorter shelf life (more spoilage for the producers and sellers), but they are much better food for your skin than refined oils. Only buy as much oil as you can use within the specified shelf life. In many cases, refrigeration can substantially extend shelf life (delay rancidity), and some oils will always need to be refrigerated. Research before you buy.
Step One: Throw away all your shampoos, conditioners, body washes, shaving gels and foams, facial cleansers, hand soaps, etc.
Chances are, what you are currently using are actually detergents, which strip the skin and hair of their natural protective oils and interfere with the body's natural abilities to hoard its own moisture. Compare the ingredients in your favorite shampoo or body wash with those in the “soap” you use to wash your dishes. I'll bet they're pretty similar. If they can cut the grease on your dishes, imagine what these ingredients are doing to your skin and hair. Here's a good rule of thumb: If you can't pronounce it, don't put it on your skin.
Try a “one thing does it all” natural soap for showering and bathing, shampooing, shaving and hand washing. I use Sungold Soap Level H liquid soap, available at sungoldsoap.com. There are many wonderful natural soaps available; while not organic, Level H represents a good compromise for the many people like me who can't tolerate olive oil-based or coconut oil-based soaps. It is a convenient fragrance-free liquid, with no ingredients added after saponification. It rinses off cleanly and easily. (If you've tried but didn't like a natural soap like Dr. Bronner's for shampooing, it's probably because many of the oils are added after saponification, and they tend to leave a greasy film on your hair. Yuk.) While it might seem expensive, it is very concentrated and $45 worth of soap (including shipping) lasts us 6 months or more. We no longer buy shampoos, conditioners, body washes, hand soaps or shaving gels at all, and we need body moisturizers only occasionally, especially during the winter months. It's that good. (I am not affiliated in any way with Sungold Soap; I am merely a very happy repeat customer.)
For shampooing and showering, I dilute the Level H 7:1 (soap to water) with steam distilled organic rosewater for its therapeutic qualities. While it does have a light rose-like scent, this fades quickly and even DH uses it quite happily. Other hydrosols suitable for both skin and hair are lavender, rosemary, carrot seed, tea tree and neroli orange, among others. The dilution with neroli makes a lovely hand soap and DH likes to use the neroli hydrosol neat, as an aftershave. Hydrosols are much gentler than essential oils and have about the same therapeutic characteristics. The scents do not linger long, however. That's okay with me. I think we have too much scent in our lives anyway.
A wonderfully Hydrating Facial Cleanser for all skin types, gentle enough to use every day:
2 oz. Organic raw honey
2 oz. Organic aloe vera gel (you can use aloe juice, but the mixture will be runny)
Optional: Add up to 2 tsp. Diatomaceous Earth *FOOD GRADE* (NOT the stuff used in pool filters)
Store in a plastic squeeze bottle and shake well before use. Gently massage into face with fingertips or complexion brush for about a minute. Rinses off easily with warm water. Great for hands, heels and elbows, too. Just massage these areas a little more vigorously.
Follow with an organic steam distilled hydrosol to tone and apply a few drops of organic unrefined vegetable oil to seal in the moisture. (More about this in Step Two.)
Natural humectants which draw moisture into the skin, the honey and aloe both hydrate and nourish while helping to loosen dead skin cells. and the DE gently sloughs them off. Your skin sheds dead cells every day, and daily exfoliation, IF DONE PROPERLY, can be beneficial. DE, also known as Fossil Flour, is a micro powder (even finer than baking soda) and will not shred or scratch the skin the way other natural exfoliants like apricot kernels and salt can. It is best used at 5 - 10% of your total liquids to prevent a drying effect. Philosophy makes a very popular (and expensive) daily facial cleanser utilizing DE, which is the powdered, fossilized remains of fresh water diatoms.
Step Two: Throw away all your moisturizing creams and lotions.
We all know oil and water don't mix. Creams and lotions contain both oil and water and utilize an emulsifier to force them to mix. With few exceptions, emulsifiers are unnatural substances which cannot be absorbed by the skin. Instead, they sit on the surface of the skin, waiting to be reactivated and emulsify our skin's own natural oils when we next wash, sending the skin's natural moisture content down the drain. This forces us into a vicious cycle of needing to moisturize because we're constantly destroying our natural moisture. Mixing oil and water also necessitates the use of preservatives to prevent the growth of harmful microbes in the product, and to give a long shelf life. With few exceptions, these preservatives are also unnatural substances which cannot be processed by the skin.
So, what does one use to moisturize? Even with a good natural soap, some minimal daily moisturizing of at least the face and hands is probably necessary. The answer: A few drops of any natural vegetable oil.
Oils should always be applied to damp or slightly wet skin. Oils do not really moisturize, but they will help seal in the moisture we absorb when we wash or bathe, and the right oil or combination of oils can help balance oil production, build the skin's natural moisture barrier and prevent transepidermal water loss (evaporation), which is what causes dry skin. (One of the great things about lotions and creams is that they are mostly water, and so can be applied anywhere, anytime. They just also happen to contain things like emulsifiers and preservatives which make them bad for skin.)
Which oil to use? That's a purely personal decision. Olive oil and coconut oil are very popular, with jojoba oil and shea butter close behind. Visit mountainroseherbs.com for an extensive selection and informative descriptions of oils suitable for skin care. Some of them can even be found on your local grocery store's shelves. (I buy my sesame seed oil at Whole Foods Market, less than $5 for 8 ounces.) Personally, I prefer a combination of oils. Here's my recipe for Skin Nurturing Face and Body Oil. It contains a high percentage of omega-6 (linoleic) fatty acids, which are essential to building and maintaining the natural moisture barrier, and omega-3 (linolenic) fatty acids, which provide anti-inflammatory benefits. Its oleic acid content closely matches the natural percentage of this fatty acid in human skin, so it absorbs easily and never feels greasy. It's also chock full of vitamins C and E and minerals, all of which support healthier skin.
Skin Nurturing Face and Body Oil
60% Organic unrefined sesame seed oil (NOT toasted)
40% Organic unrefined rose hip seed oil
Optional: Add up to 1-1/2% Organic unrefined pomegranate seed oil (about 1 tsp. in 10 oz.)
After cleansing, lightly spritz with an organic steam distilled hydrosol to tone. (Toning helps regulate the skin's pH, making it more receptive to moisturizer ingredients.) While skin is still damp, apply two to three drops of oil to face or hands and massage in evenly.
I make this up in 10 ounce batches and pour into 1 ounce bottles. One goes into the bathroom with a small treatment pump (you could also use an eyedropper) and the others are tightly sealed and refrigerated until needed. One ounce will last well over a week if used by two people as an all-over moisturizer and much longer if used only for face and hands. If you're not going to use it all over your body or there's only one of you using it, I would suggest making smaller batches and pouring it out into ½ ounce bottles. Although the sesame seed oil in this recipe is incredibly stable and helps to stabilize the more fragile rose hip seed oil, all oils will go rancid over time.
One last thought: As we become more careful about what we put into our bodies, we should become even more careful about what we put onto them. Our skin does not process substances in the same way that our digestive system does. For topical applications that will remain on the skin, I use only organic, unrefined products. Pesticide and chemical residues remain, albeit in almost undetectable quantities, in virtually all conventionally cultivated and processed substances. While I'm sure there's not enough of these residues to harm me in one bottle of oil, the cumulative effect of just that little bit in every product I've ever used can be significant. If the oil you're looking at doesn't specifically say “unrefined,” assume that it is refined. Expect to pay a little more for unrefined oils because they generally have a shorter shelf life (more spoilage for the producers and sellers), but they are much better food for your skin than refined oils. Only buy as much oil as you can use within the specified shelf life. In many cases, refrigeration can substantially extend shelf life (delay rancidity), and some oils will always need to be refrigerated. Research before you buy.
