Good Old Homespun Beauty Tips

Let's share those precious bits of wisdom our ancestress' so lovingly handed down to us!

My beloved late Grandma never looked her age. The beauty trick she swore by was ice massage. She would freeze all kinds of herbal ice cubes and use them to gently massage her face, neck and decolletage every morning before doing any other facial care routine.

Some of the herbs she frequently used for ice cubes were:
parsley for its anti-age properties
chamomile to calm irritable skin
calendula to counter and prevent breakouts
green tea for whitening and pore control
rose petals for a perfect complexion

The basic recipe is 1/2 tbs dry herb per 1 cup boiling water. Steep, cool, seive and freeze. It does take some courage at first, especially in winter, but then the skin just gets used to it. The little trick is to skip rinsing and let the infused water dry naturally on your skin, then apply your usual moisturizer or what have you.

Edit: typo

Drink plenty of water, I read years ago our body is 90 % or more water. Will look that up to be sure.

When putting conditioner on your hair, use the excess to push down your cuticals, which are already softened from the afore said hair washing!

I really need to do that one. Thanks SSG.

To maintain a perfect manicure, hire a good cleaning service! Just kidding.

After a good cry, cucumber slices work wonders for red, puffy eyes.

About soap.

I make soap by cold process for a hobby, and I love the stuff...however...

Soap is not needed every time you wash, except on your dirtier and smellier parts. Your skin is much happier leaving a layer of natural oils. Of course, this doesn't count for acne prone skin.

Soap that you get from a handcrafted soaper is also easier on your skin because it contains a mild surplus of oil, along with the glycerin that some commercial soapers remove. Don't believe the miracle claims that some people make, but it does get you clean and fresh, gently.

zip

Olive oil makes skin smooth and can also be used as makeup remover.

Sometimes my skin reacts to creams/lotions that I have used for a long time, then I temporarily switch to pure olive oil and it works nicely....you need to ignore the smell and the very greasy feeling.
Olive oil has also helped me once to soothe an itching scalp. I spread some oil onto my finger tips and massaged it into the scalp, left it on for 1-2h and rinsed it off with shampoo once/twice.
The itching was gone then.

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I love home-made body scrub with sugar. Just put some of your favourite showergel into a small cup/bowl and add enough sugar to create a paste. This peeling paste is even more smoothing when mixed with olive oil or with olive oil only (but then the shower tub gets quite slippery !).

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Vinegar mixed with water 1:1 can make big pores smaller when used as a daily toner. OK, the smell is not so nice but it does its job without spending a fortune on another beauty product.

Cider vinegar, 1:1 with water, is an excellent dandruff remedy.

Not on beauty, but qualifies as homespun house keeper tip:
As fabric softener, vinegar is ideal as a substitute for the synthetic stuff around. The smell luckily flies away, so I've been told.
Citric acid is an effective descaling agent.

Apply a mix of equal parts olive oil and brandy to the scalp for great hair. Just massage it in, cover with your usual kitchen plastic wrap to keep the heat in and prevent dripping, wrap a towel over it and wait 30 minutes before washing it off. Weekly application does wonders even to badly damaged hair.

To have regular bowel movements, add a drop of olive oil to a crunchy salad and eat the salad as a major part of your evening meal.

See MY PLATE.

www.choosemyplate.gov/

Glossy hair, healthy skin and a good mood are the result of this life style "diet".

I watched a food movie on Netflix and they mentioned that Agave Leaves have a gel inside that is good for digestion.

Has anyone of you had any experience with this ?

I buy Aloe Juice from TraderJoe's. I try to drink a glass a week.

So, yesterday I bought a long leaf for $1.50 downstairs at the supermarket.

Squeezed the gel on my skin - no big result, but it tightened up the pores a little, the skin felt tense.

Cut the leaf into smaller chunks, opened the sides and sucked out the gel. It tastes bitter. Not sweet. If it is sold as "nectar" then sweetener has probably been added. The original natural gel tastes bitter, but not too bad. It is supposed to be cleansing and slightly laxative. We shall see ...

Yes the TJ drinkable pure Aloe Juice can be used for a laxative, and it is good for your gums. So they say. Great fo burns and sunburn and a hair rinse as well.

zip

I think you are confusing aloe vera with agave. Although they look similar, they are not related. Aloe vera, both gel and juice are used for medicinal purposes, agave is the one used for sweetening etc.

Now I am not sure what exactly I bought downstairs at the Chinese supermarket. It is a long leaf with side thorns and inside is a bitter gel. I cut open the sides, lift off the two parts and scratch out the gel. It is slimey ... it pulls with strings. That opaque gel can be mixed with olive oil, lemon juice and mixed under a green salad. Health, health, health ... what does one not do for health! Instead of pills, powder or juice from the Health Food Manufacturer, directly from the source, the plant. I can safely assume that they don't sell poisonous things in a supermarket, so here goes.

It sounds like you purchased aloe vera.


Agave is pictured below

Agree with Smellsogood, the above aloe vera plant is what I use for sunburn.

It looks like an aloe vera leaf with these side thorns. I have been using it for 2 days, it could also be good for the gums. Slightly laxative. Well, the art of working this leaf into a lifestyle is probably in knowing how and moderation.

My son and I just discussed the possibility of a juicer. He says,
"It is a complete waste because if you are already eating a well-balanced diet consisting of vegetables and fruit, and you are meeting your daily upper levels for carbohydrates, then the excess carbs that are coming from the fruit and vegetables you just turned into juice will simply turn into sugars.
Your body takes what it needs from carbs for basic function and brain support and the extra is converted to stored energy called fat.
Most people are not conscious of how many calories are in liquids. So when you juice a couple of vegetables and fruit to make a "fresh juice", you have to remember that the contents actually have calories, and by consuming it with one quick gulp you don't realize of how many calories and hidden sugars you actually put into your body."

My stance: Moreover, there is a sense of satisfaction of actually chewing your food. The astronauts get their whole "pork chop meal" inside a squeezable tube (those can be bought in the gift shop at Cap Canaveral, Florida - just for kicks).

I can see the benefit of juicing if it is measured out as part of the total caloric intake - faithfully counting the calories permitted for size of person and activity level. Personally, I hate counting calories. I stop eating when the sensation of fullness occurs and there is such a signal. So, I never count calories. Rather feed myself as little as tolerable, without getting into a bad mood and frustration.

Freshly juiced juice has its place. It has to be meted out as part of a whole diet plan.

The same value comes from a "trailmix" which gives food on a hike, without burdening the active body.

I am sure that some diet experts among members can add their own version to all these humble efforts to loose weight and maintain a healthy lifestyle in our hurried daily activities.

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BTW - if this post needs to be moved elsewhere because of diet discussion, feel free to do so.

Half a teaspoon of baking soda to the facial exfoliant scrub makes it rinse COMPLETELY off. I love this one!

A tablespoon of regular white table salt added to any body scrub when scrubbing makes that rinse completely off and enhances exfoliation! I love this one!

Also, these alkaline pH additives help with clean rinsing if you live in an area with hard water.

Cheers!

I have to try that one sometime! Sounds like it smells fascinating too!

Aloe Vera juice is fantastic...FANTASTIC for the skin too.

Lavender water mixed with oatmeal for a facial scrub. A good astringent is Witch Hazel.

Drink the cabbage water and spring greens water when it is half cooled. It is a magic wand for a bad complexion. It doesn't taste as bad as it sounds. it is like a thin soup with a little salt to taste.

For a bad spot coming. Apparently putting toothpaste on it for the night is good but I haven't tried that one.

Eating lots of fruit and veg of course is the best prevention, and eating oily fish for keeping good skin and brain.