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The natural skincare regimen that gave me perfect skin - Page 2  

post #21 of 37
9/4/07 at 9:04am
I tried the basic wash this morning and I like it! I only used 1 Tbs ACV, as I was getting to the bottom of the ACV bottle and it was looking pretty strong. I think I could have done with even less. Next time, I may skip the ACV all together (unless it is needed as a preservative...?) but I will use a separate toner.

Here's the toner I made yesterday:
2 Tbs rosewater
4 Tbs witch hazel
2 Tbs aloe vera gel
2 tsp glycerin
5 drops grapefruit seed extract
5 drops lavender

It made about 4 oz. It was pretty nice, but it could have been a little stronger. It didn't seem quite acidic enough. However, it smelled SO nice that I wouldn't want to put ACV into it. I could add fresh lemon juice, but that would cut down on its shelf life.

Thank you!
Aven
post #22 of 37
9/4/07 at 4:00pm
Thread Starter 
You could use ground beans, too. I once had a bottle of facial scrub from the Body Shop called Japanese Cleansing Grains. The only ingredient was ground adzuki beans. Just be aware that the beans will soak up all the liquid in your formula (found that out the hard way) so try soaking them overnight first.

Wanted to add that I just made a new batch of this cleanser and the almonds came out coarser than last time, even though I ground them into powder with the coffee grinder. I think I must have ground them first, then mixed in all the wet ingredients, then put it through the food processor to make it superfine.
post #23 of 37
9/4/07 at 4:04pm
Thread Starter 
Oops, didn't see Aven's reply! Thanks for the great recipe!! I totally didn't think about adding GSE as a preservative; good idea, I should try that in my scrub. The apple cider vinegar just creates the proper acidic pH in your skin. You could certainly leave it out if you were using a separate toner afterward
post #24 of 37
9/4/07 at 6:24pm
Burt's Bees Repair serum has rosehip seed oil and the oil profile is similar to the recipe. I got a bottle through a Frontier coop for about $8.50. Obviously it would be nicer to make your own so that you could customize it, but if you can't afford to buy all the different oils right now, it would be a good substitute.
post #25 of 37
9/4/07 at 6:44pm
Tried some of this stuff a while back, as I am cursed with horrible skin. Everything except stupid Proactiv breaks me out so badly I can't leave the house...seriously. It's the only synthetic, toxic thing I'm willing to use on myself.
post #26 of 37
9/5/07 at 1:51pm
I tried a basic face wash with the stuff on you original list (which wasn't much). I halved it since I only had a little bit of honey left. With the ACV, I find that it is pretty drying. I also have been using a bit of BS mixed in with a bit of the liquid in my hand, so that might be it. I'll try mixing with some ground rice. I'm guessing that once you add the beans, rice, or almonds into the mix it won't be as thin. That's why I was adding the BS, to make a paste so I could actually get it on my face without running down my hands.

I also switched to Avacado oil for my moisturizer in place of CO, it seems to be doing fine too. It's only been 2 days, but so far so good as long as I get control of the dryness before it gets too bad.
post #27 of 37
9/15/07 at 10:51am
The cleanser was working well for me, but it exploded after a week and a half. Maybe smaller batches would work better? Why did mine have such a short shelf life? Anything I can add to help extend the shelf life a little longer? (Do you recommend GSE, or wheat germ oil, etc.?)

Aven
post #28 of 37
9/15/07 at 1:39pm
Thread Starter 
Well, you could extend the shelf life by keeping it in the fridge. If the ambient temperature in your area has been warm lately, that would speed up the fermentation process As you suggested, smaller batches would probably be best. I haven't tried GSE but it would probably help a bit.
post #29 of 37
9/15/07 at 3:02pm
About using the BS or ground almonds to exfoliate, you may want to keep that part separately, so that you don't have to exfoliate every time you wash. For some people, exfoliating every day is not a good idea and can be pretty harsh for your face.

I'm going to try the wash you suggested, keeping the almonds separate. It looks great!
post #30 of 37
9/15/07 at 4:11pm
I found improvements with occasional zits and more even skin tone with the honey and baking soda, and then improvements with blackheads with jojoba oil. I would say my skin is pretty perfect now, though sometimes I still have tiny blackheads.

But I am SO lazy, so I guess I am also interested in streamlining. I want to try that, but just plain honey and then jojoba and occasional exfoliation is easier. Why do you think that recipe was more effective than just honey or honey + baking soda? Do you think the exfoliant and acv worked better when mixed with the honey? I've been using diluted acv to tone after washing with honey, and only adding bs to my honey maybe every couple of days.

And how fine do you grind the almonds with the coffee grinder? I would like to try that, just as an alternative exfoliant. BS is the one natural remedy that I'm thinking isn't doing all that much for my skin.

Is that burts bees repair serum specifically for scars? All this stuff has made me not want to buy anything pre-made, but I do love burt's bees! And frontier is ausumn.
post #31 of 37
9/16/07 at 12:11am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hazelnut View Post
Why do you think that recipe was more effective than just honey or honey + baking soda? Do you think the exfoliant and acv worked better when mixed with the honey? I've been using diluted acv to tone after washing with honey, and only adding bs to my honey maybe every couple of days. And how fine do you grind the almonds with the coffee grinder?
I grind the almonds as fine as I can get them, like powder almost. I don't know why the recipe is working better than cleansing with honey and occasionally exfoliating with baking soda. I never tried mixing baking soda WITH the honey, and I didn't use it every day like I do with the almond scrub. So maybe it's just the regularity of exfoliating daily. It seems like if you cleansed/exfoliated in one step and then toned afterward with ACV it would work great, too. I just like the fact that my cleanser/scrubber/toner is all in one.
post #32 of 37
9/17/07 at 9:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Taedareth View Post
Well, you could extend the shelf life by keeping it in the fridge.
This always makes me laugh. When I read recipes that need to be refrigerated, I wonder if people actually remember to go to the fridge before taking their shower? Or do they keep a minifridge in their bathroom?

Knowing myself, I wouldn't ever remember to go to the kitchen before my morning shower. I think I'll just keep to making mini batches.

I finally made a variation on the moisturizer from the original post and it's very nice! I didn't have pumpkin seed, so I used apricot kernel instead, and I skipped the carrot seed oil because on the mountain rose website it said to not use that if you're pregnant (which I am). Too much vit A? Maybe I'll order some of that and add it to my mix later.

Aven
post #33 of 37
9/17/07 at 11:36am
I started using the recipe maybe 2 or 3 weeks ago. Love it! And I just wanted to say that I haven't had an issue with it spoiling and I keep it in the shower so it gets warm in there 4 times a day. The only thing I can think of is maybe wash the container you use with soap and very hot water? If there is a little bacteria lingering it will surely grow. Also, maybe you just had a bad batch of almonds or maybe the coffee grinder wasn't very clean? I know nuts and coffee are on the no-list when you are having yeast or fungal problems, because they can have mold/fungus...that maybe blooms when you grind them up and sit them in the bottle? I dunno, I'm grasping as straws here. You'd think all the ACV would kill anything though.
post #34 of 37
9/17/07 at 12:02pm
You just need a small one-story house or apt. so that the fridge and kitchen is close to the bathroom you shower in.

I'm going to attempt to mix some of this stuff up a little bit- especially the essential oils.
post #35 of 37
9/17/07 at 2:25pm
Yeah, my raw almonds were 5 months old or so, and the bottle hadn't been cleaned properly in a while.

Aven
post #36 of 37
9/17/07 at 2:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Taedareth View Post
That's a good question. It's been warm here lately, too. The facial scrub stayed fresh for about 3 weeks and then fermented! I make up the oils in tiny batches (about 1 Tbsp at a time) which get used up in about a couple weeks. Also, the avocado oil is high in vitamin E, which is a preservative.
Vitamin E preservative qualities are as an antioxidant it only prevents oxidation, it will *not* protect against microbes, mold, bacteria ect.

Anytime one is mixing oils and water it is best to keep things in the refrigerator unless one wants to add a preservative. People probably don't want to add preservatives so I would recommend storing the first recipe in the fridge.
post #37 of 37
8/27/08 at 1:02pm
This is a really old thread, but maybe people are still subscribed...

anyway, I'm wondering how you use the baking soda and jojoba oil?

Thanks!
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