Anti-Aging Coffee Bean Face Oil Recipe

http://www.primallyinspired.com/anti-aging-coffee-bean-face-oil-recipe/
go to this link to read the full benefits of this recipe for your skin.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons rosehip oil (I use THIS)

1/4 teaspoon coffee bean essential oil (I use THIS). For sensitive skin, cut back to 1/8 teaspoon 

Instructions:

Using a small bowl, mix rosehip oil and coffee bean essential oil until well blended. Store in a dark, glass container (I use THIS – I love the dropper) and in a cool, dry place. You only need a drop or two for your whole face! I use this oil all over my face and neck each morning. It’s very hydrating so I find that I don’t need any additional moisturizer. I let the oil absorb into my skin for a minute or two then apply my makeup. 

Orange & Honey Body Wash 

• 2/3 cup castile soap  - I use Dr. Bronner’s unscented Baby-Mild castile soap
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 teaspoons oil (jojoba, sweet almond) – I used sweet almond oil
• 1 teaspoon vitamin E
• 2 teaspoons vegetable glycerin
• 40 – 50 drops of Young Living Orange Essential Oil

Stir or gently whisk together all six ingredients.  Since I will not be ingesting any of this mixture and this recipe doesn't make a huge batch, I am comfortable storing this in a plastic pump bottle in my shower.

Let’s talk ingredients … there are only 6!  And I can pronounce them all!

Castille soap, jojoba oil, vitamin E and glycerin can be found at your local pharmacy, grocery store or health food store.  Castille soap is an organic, gentle base for our body wash.  Vitamin E and sweet almond oil moisturize and nourish skin.  Glycerin provides the bubbles – what is body wash if it doesn't foam and bubble, right?!

....honey is anti-bacterial and anti-fungal.  It accelerates healing and has historically been used to treat skin conditions.  {I swish it in my mouth when I get a canker sore and it is gone in a day or two!}  So, honey is a perfect additive for this body wash.

Young Living Orange essential oil is cold pressed from the orange rind.  The smell is distinctly orange without being too sweet. The scent of citrus has been found to boost immunity and reduce depression! Orange essential oil may also be used to combat hypertension, fluid retention, wrinkles or a dull/oily complexion.

Homemade deodorant
ablossominglife


Spray:
In a small spray bottle ..
2-3 teaspoons of salt (preferably unrefined salt like himilayan or celtic)
1/2 teaspoon of water soluble lavender oil (or your choice of water soluble oil)
Fill with water.
Done.
Tea tree oil is good for a mans version. Add more salt if you find you still get odour.

or rub on: 

• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 20 drops of tea tree or lavender essential oil (antibacterial, anti fungal)
• 10 drops of one or a combination of lemon, orange, peppermint, or frankincense essential oils

Mix and place in jar. Does not need to be refrigerated. Rub on with fingers. 

You can also add 1/2 cup arrowroot and double the oils to 40/20 

Cypress Firming and Anti-Aging Serum Recipe

dec 2014 heartweed : I am posting this one after I have been using it for a couple of months. It really does work. I even noticed it also faded/removed spots on the back of my hands. Use better quality essential oils in glass bottles. I purchased  oils from vitacost.com 

2 TBSP. Rosehip Seed Oil 

2 TBSP. Sweet Almond Oil 

10 drops of Cypress essential oil 

10 drops of Geranium essential oil 

7 drops of Frankincense Essential Oil

Mix all ingredients in a 2 ounce glass bottle.  You can use this serum morning and night.  I prefer to only use mine at night.  Like all serums, less is more.  It only takes a small amount to cover your entire face and neck.  If you use too much, you will feel quite greasy!

So there you have it!  A short and sweet recipe that will moisturize, firm the skin and even tone.  It’s a well rounded anti aging serum that I’m sure you are going to love!!

More about the ingredients from primally inspired: 

Rosehip oil- Rosehip Oil penetrates deeply into the lower layers of the skin.  It regenerates cells and increases collagen production. It is rich in vitamin C, Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids and retinoic acid, which studies have shown it brightens and tightens skin!   It also helps restore skin’s elasticity, fade age spots, reduce broken capillaries, and balance oil glands.   It is very beneficial to dry, irritated and mature skin.

Sweet almond oil- Sweet almond oil is full of vitamins D, E, B1, B2 and B6, calcium, potassium, and magnesium. Vitamin E helps fight wrinkles and has a firming effect on the skin.  Almond Oil is light and absorbs easily.  Using sweet almond oil daily can greatly reduce dark circles under the eyes as well as scars and dark spots.  It helps to renew skin cells and rev up circulation.  It is wonderful at nourishing dehydrated skin. I believe it is one of the top (if not #1) carrier oils for reversing the signs of age.  In fact, it is said to be the closest to the oil found in a babies skin-how cool is that? 

Cypress Essential Oil- Cypress Oil is a powerful firming oil.  It improves circulation, strengthens blood capillaries, is antibacterial, anti-infectious, and anti-microbial.  Cypress oil is amazing for varicose veins and broken capillaries.

Frankincense Essential Oil- Frankincense has skin regenerating properties.  It is an astringent, which means it tightens and balances pH.  It helps to even skin tone as well as diminishing the appearance of scars and spots.  Frankincense is anti tumor, antiseptic and antibacterial.

Geranium Essential Oil-Geranium is my favorite essential oil for the skin.  When in doubt-add Geranium.  Geranium is great for regenerating skin and revving up circulation.  It is extremely healing.  It also promotes even distribution of melanin-which helps even out the overall tone of the skin.

Washing My Hair With Baking Soda

Interesting concept from the webpage http://myhealthygreenfamily.com

Many were skeptical when they tried the recipe but they said they would never go back to shampoo. One woman said that her hair, which had been falling out badly for years was now healthy and full again. So....Try??? why not  

Update from heartweed- I have been doing this for a week and I can not belief how nice my hair feels- so far I will not be going back to regular shampoo and conditioner. 
Its been 8 months now -husbands gray is nearly gone and toddler uses it too. 

I  wash my hair with baking soda and I rinse it with apple cider vinegar.  I won’t call it No Poo because abbreviations have always annoyed me.  But I thought I would share my experience because every other green blogger and their dog has shared their experience.  Actually, my dog uses it too.

Why, why oh WHY would I do such a crazy thing?  Good question.  And I have good answers.  Do you know what is in your shampoo?  I mean, REALLY know?  Years ago I used Pantene Pro V.  Here is the ingredient list.

Water, Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate, Ammonium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Chloride, Cocamide MEA, Glycol Distearate, Dimethicone, Fragrance, Panthenol, Panthenyl Ethyl Ether, Cetyl Alcohol, Polyquaternium-10, Sodium Citrate, Sodium Benzoate, Ammonium Xylenesulfonate, Disodium EDTA, PEG-7M, Citric Acid, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone

Whoa whoa whoa!  What?  I am good with water.  Everything else is a chemical.  I am putting THAT on my hair and expecting it to look natural and healthy?   Look ANY of those ingredients up on the safer cosmetics database  and see which ones ARE NOT carcinogenic or at best, an irritant.  Seriously.

OK, so you can use an all natural shampoo.  They are great.  And you know what?  Once I started using a TRULY all natural shampoo my dry, itchy psoriasis on my scalp that I have been plagued with most of my life, disappeared, never to return again.  But those natural shampoos are PRICEY.  And I still am not entirely sure about all those ingredients.

What if you could wash your hair using 1 ingredient?  And actually get better results than these shampoos?  Frizzies disappear.  Dry ends go away.  All are replaced with healthy, shiny, NATURAL hair.  I mean it because I have experienced it.   Now back to where I left off.

I have been tempted to try this method of cleaning my hair for years but was scared off by the horror stories of gross, greasy, smelly hair.  Of course there were lots of success stories too.  But scalp smell is one smell I really dislike.  I also shied away from it because, well, it screams of “hippie” and I have always been concerned about what others think of me.  Funny thing is, I am a self-proclaimed ”green” blogger, and all my friends see me as being “crunchy” so I don’t know what the problem is.  Washing my hair with baking soda is certainly a conversation stopper.  But I am good at those.   You should see the effect I have on potty training conversations when I talk about elimination communication  .

So one day I ran out of shampoo.  I was using Green Beaver shampoo and conditioner, an all-natural brand made from organic, Canadian ingredients.  It worked well but was $10 a bottle.  And you know me… I like to know ALL the ingredients in my products.  This time when I ran out I took the plunge and brought out the baking soda.

1 Tbsp. baking soda dissolved into 1 cup of water.  I scrubbed it into my hair.  I rinsed it well.
1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar (I use Bragg’s Organic) into 1 cup water.  I rinsed my hair with this as I would a conditioner and then I rinsed it well.

I smelled like apple cider vinegar.  I towel-dried and brushed my hair, shook out as much water as I could, and let it air dry.  It dried quickly (no oil from a conditioner) and felt smooth, shiny and CLEAN.  Like, really clean.  No greasy hair, no smell, no nothing.  The ACV smell disappeared after my hair dried.  My hair smelled like nothing.  Seriously.  I was thrilled!  I don’t know why I was surprised because I use baking soda to clean everything else, so why wouldn’t it clean my hair?

Things you need to know:

• It doesn’t feel like shampoo.  It feels like water being poured onto your head.  And there is absolutely no lather because there is no soap.  Nevertheless, rub it  WELL into your scalp, for a few minutes, then let it sit a few minutes before fully and carefully rinsing.
• ACV rinse does not feel like conditioner.  It feels like water.  So it isn’t thick and creamy, and is more challenging to spread into your hair.  Nevertheless it works well without adding oil to your hair.  Put it on, let it sit a few minutes, then rinse it off.
• After your hair has been washed and rinsed it doesn’t feel like it does when it has been washed with shampoo and conditioned.  Wait until it is dry to give it a judgement.  My hair feels clean, smooth, shiny and healthy after it dries.
• Many people take the plunge and decide that, after washing their hair with regular shampoo and stripping the natural oils out of their hair for their whole life, they will go one WEEK without washing.  Don’t do this.  Not only is it gross, but it is setting yourself up for failure.  Your oil glands are so used to producing excess amounts of oil to keep up with all the washing that your hair will get greasy quickly.  Rather than an all out attempt to force your scalp to immediately adjust, wash your hair again when you would normally do it, with baking soda.  Do this for a week or more until you are used to washing your hair with baking soda.  Then, once adjusted, stretch it by a day.  Do that until your hair has adjusted, and then repeat.  Or, just use baking soda to wash your hair whenever you want.  It is cheap, it is healthy, and you know all the ingredients in it, unlike your regular shampoo.
• Every person is different and so oil production will be different.  Play with the amounts until you find what works for you.  If you find your hair is too oily increase the baking soda a bit.  If it is leaving your hair too dry decrease the baking soda.
• Some people prefer to use the same amounts of lemon juice and water for a rinse, instead of ACV and water.  Your choice.  I find lemon drying.
• Hair type will affect how this works too.  MANY people with very curly hair seem to love this method.  My hair isn’t curly.  It is long and straight but it works well for me.
• I use this method to clean my children’s hair, and my dog’s hair.  My husband uses it too.  If it gets in children’s eyes it doesn’t hurt.  That alone beats regular shampoo!
• Last of all, again, everyone is different.  This method may not work for you and that is fine.  There are lots of natural alternatives to regular shampoo for cleaning your hair.

Natural Homemade Shampoo Recipe: 

NOTE: for any hair type but the author has fine. (and so do I..I will have to try this.

from wellnessmama 

• 1/4 cup coconut milk (this is my favorite that is organic and BPA free) but any will work (UPDATE: a couple of readers mentioned that the canned stuff did not work well for them, but that homemade coconut milk worked great… Depending on your hair type, homemade may be better for you)
• 1/3 cup Liquid Castille Soap (like Dr. Bronners)
• 1/2 of a teaspoon (or several capsules) of Vitamin E oil (completely optional)
• 20 drops of Essential Oils of choice (I’ve used peppermint, lavender, rosemary and orange or combinations of those)
• For dry hair: add 1/2 tsp olive or almond oil (optional)

How to Make Natural Shampoo:

1. Combine all ingredients in an old shampoo bottle or jar of some kind (pump soap dispensers and even foaming dispensers work well for this. If you use a foaming dispenser, add 1/4 cup of distilled water)
2. Shake well to mix.
3. Keep in shower for up to a month.
4. Shake before each use.
5. Use about a teaspoon every time you shampoo.
6. If you use a foaming dispenser, it also makes a great shaving cream- just dilute with 1/4 cup distilled water!

Recipe for coconut milk on this blog heartweed eats. Look under the label coconut recipes
 :)

Eyelash lenghten and thicken

Wash an old mascara/ or buy  anew empty one or small container and fill with: 1/4 of the container with Castor Oil, 1/2 Vitamin E Oil, 1/4 Aloe Vera Gel. Mix the concoction together as well as you can with your mascara wand, and apply a light layer to lashes (or brows) every night before bed. Castor oil thickens your lashes while aloe vera gel lengthens. Vitamin E accelerates length. Give it a month for results.

Age spot remover

Overview

Age spots on your face are brown areas, generally larger than freckles, and are typically harmless, according to the National Institutes of Health. They occur as a result of exposure to the sun over a long period of time and are the normal part of aging, especially if you are older than 40 years. Age spots are frequently cosmetically unattractive, but you can fade them with a variety of treatments at home. Common treatments for age spots include lemon juice, borax and avoiding the sun.

Step 1

Obtain borax from a store that sells cleaning supplies. Buy pure glycerin from a pharmacy. Mix 2 tsp. of glycerin, 1 tsp. of borax and ¾ of a cup of water, according to the Bliss Plan website. Pour this mixture into a jar; let it stand for a day. Stir the mixture thoroughly, and allow it to remain undisturbed for another day. Dip the tip of a cotton swab into this mixture. Apply it to your age spots. Allow the mixture and to dry on your face and stay for 10 to 15 minutes before removing it with soap and warm water.

Step 2

Squeeze the juice from a fresh lemon into a bowl. Add 4 parts water for each part of lemon juice. Stir this mixture thoroughly to obtain a solution of diluted lemon juice. Apply the lemon juice to your age spots with the tip of a cotton swab. Keep the lemon juice on your age spots for 10 to 15 minutes per day. Remove the lemon juice from your face with soap and warm water.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/108835-rid-age-spots-face/#ixzz1BROvBch0

Ya know those nose strips!

To clean out pores try this homemade nose strip.

1 T. Knox gelatin

1 1/2 T milk

mix -heat till slightly warm

Apply to the nose and chin area with a cosmetic brush (wash brush right away)

Allow to dry for 10-15 minutes until stiff and then peel off.

Cinnamon Swirl Coffee Scrub

This scrub is useful to decrease cellulite, varicose veins and to invigorate the skin.

2 cups (caffeinated) fresh coffee grounds (organic would be preferable- the skin can absorb toxins)

1/2 cup raw sugar or sea salt or Morton's Canning salt

2-3 T of a good quality light oil such as almond, olive oil.

1 t. cinnamon

Mix all together and store in an airtight container.

Use as a scrub in the shower and rinse clean with warm water.

Check comments for why this works and more info.