Milk- It Can Do A Body Good

Milk is one of the newest trends in body care these days, and it is showing up all over the place. Milk is in the media, hair salons, wellness centers, day spas, department stores, and health food stores, only to name a few. There is cow milk, goat milk, soy milk, almond milk, oat milk, and milk you may not care to know the origin. 

Milk has been used for beauty treatments for quite some time, and there is evidence that Cleopatra soaked in baths of donkey or goat milk for hours at a time to beautify her skin. Asian cultures have relied on the benefits of rice milk for centuries to nourish and soothe skin, while cultures in tropical climates have found that coconut milk has numerous skin soothing properties.

Milk comes from the mammary glands of female mammals, so it makes perfect sense that it would be loaded with nutrients. In addition, milk is abundant in many plant species and is commonly derived from nuts, seeds and fruits. Today, milk of both plant and animal origin can be found in all sorts of body care products.

For some, milk brings to mind thoughts of wholesomeness, simplicity, or purity, and this easily draws people to try body treatments and products that contain any form of it. Who wouldn't want to soak in a creamy, milky-white bath of cinnamon scented oat milk or have their body covered in a warm elixir made with milk, honey and orange zest? The possibilities are endless: peaches and cream, almond milk and roses, chocolate-mint cream, or coconut milk and lime. Many spas around the world offer some type of treatment that utilizes milk, while body care product lines have introduced it into shampoos, soaps, lotions and nail care. Milk contains lactic acid, which actually dissolves the glue that binds dead skin cells to our skin's surface. Consequently, the milk is sloughing off dead skin cells and acting as an exfoliant. When we exfoliate our skin, it automatically feels softer, but when exfoliation is combined with the skin smoothing and hydrating effects of milk, it may no longer feel like your own. Milk contains proteins, enzymes, amino acids, and antioxidants, all incredibly valuable for our skin. The milk proteins are skin-enhancing since they promote smoothness and help to strengthen skin structure. The milk enzymes and amino acids are responsible for stimulating the skin's natural moisture barrier, which makes way for intense hydration and skin cell regeneration. Finally, milk's antioxidants are great for combating environmental damage and provide future protection from further damage.


Now, you have a better understanding of milk's sudden popularity in the body care industry. Not only do the combination of milk and other elements sound delicious, but they also provide nutrition for the skin, often times are all-natural, and can be just plain fun! Next time you are near body care products, take a look, and I'm sure you'll find some milk around.

natural Hand Moisturizing Creams

beeswax and coconut oil hand cream

This natural hand moisturizing cream helps to moisturize the skin and helps protect the skin from the elements and harsh weather. I suggest using this hand moisturizing cream in replace of your regular hand cream. This hand moisturizing cream should be used in the morning and evening. However, if you suffer from severely dry skin on the hands you can use this hand moisturizing cream throughout the day as needed.

 

• In a small sauce man, bring the water to a heavy boil them remove from the heat. Pour in the apricots, and then put to the side.
• In a double broiler, set to low heat, add in the beeswax, apricot oil and coconut oil. Stir the mixture together gently as it warms, and remove from the heat once the beeswax has melted.
• Puree the apricots and water, then strain the mixture into a medium mixing bowl. Add in the aloe Vera gel and vitamin E oil and stir together gently.
• Slowly drizzle the mixture into the beeswax mixture, stirring constantly as you add it.
• Once it's been thoroughly mixed, pour into a glass jar or cosmetics bottle, and then allow it to reach room temperature. Store the hand cream in the fridge between uses.

Olive oil and Honey Hand Cream

Olive oil and honey hand cream is a simple, easy to make hand cream that is great for nourishing and moisturizing the skin after a long day of working with the hands. Olive oil and honey hand cream is also good for moisturizing hands after washing the dishes, an everyday activity that saps essential moisture from the hands, often leaving them dry and rough. Olive oil and honey hand cream will keep for about four months from the day it is made if stored in a cool, dark place between uses. 

• Combine the olive oil, raw honey and liquid lecithin in a blender. Blend on high speed for 30 seconds to thoroughly combine the ingredients.
• Add the apple cider vinegar and vitamin E oil and pulse on low for about one minute.
• Transfer the olive oil and honey hand cream to a small wide-mouth glass jar with a tight-fitting lid.

natural skin whitening

Sun exposure can cause hyper pigmentation in the skin. Hyper pigmentation is when the skin gets areas of increased melanin, causing it to have dark spots. The dark spots make the skin look blotchy. Using natural skin whiteners made out of products normally found in homes, you can lighten your skin and reduce hyper pigmentation without the risks of chemical burns that are associated with some commercial skin whiteners.

To attain beautiful and white skin

• Wash your skin twice a day with a mild soap and a washcloth. Use the washcloth to rub the soap in the skin and to rinse the soap off the skin. The washcloth mildly exfoliates the skin to encourage the shedding of dead cells. 

• Apply a skin-brightening tomato and lime juice mask to the skin every morning before you wash. To make the brightening mask, blend 1 tomato and the juice of 1 lime in a blender. Apply a thin layer of the brightening mask to the skin and leave on for 15 minutes. The extra amount of brightening mask can be stored in a closed container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. After 15 minutes, rinse the skin with cold water. Wash skin with a mild soap and a washcloth. The tomato and lime whiten the skin and give it a bright appearance. The lime juice may cause a stinging sensation on the skin; this is normal. With regular use, skin becomes accustomed to the lime juice, and the stinging sensation lessens. 

• Apply a moisturizing honey and lemon juice mask before bed every night, before you wash your skin. To make the mask, mix 1 tsp. of honey with 1 tsp. of lemon juice. Apply the mask to the skin and leave it on for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, rinse the mask off with warm water. Wash skin with a mild soap and a washcloth. The honey moisturizes the skin, and the lemon whitens the skin. The lemon may cause a stinging sensation on the skin while the mask is on; this is normal. With regular use, skin becomes accustomed to the lemon-juice and the stinging sensation lessens.            

• Apply organic aloe Vera gel to the skin twice a day (morning and night), after washing. Aloe Vera gel is a moisturizer that heals skin irritation and lightens the skin. 

• Exfoliate your skin once a week with sugar and olive oil. Mix 1 tbsp. of olive oil with 1 tbsp. of white granulated table sugar to make a paste. Use your fingers to gently rub the paste into the skin with a circular motion. Be careful around the eye area to avoid getting the paste into the eyes. The exfoliant removes dead cells off the surface layer of the skin, exposing new, fresh skin and encouraging the growth of new skin.

Chocolate Face Mask

Guilt Free Chocolate

What better way to deep cleanse your skin while relaxing than a chocolate face mask.

Chocolate has had bad press in the past with claims that eating it would cause acne: we now know this is not true. But why is chocolate good for your skin? Chocolate protects the skin by breaking down free radicals and has anti-aging, anti-oxidant properties. It’s packed full of magnesium which is a stimulant for progesterone, a hormone which drops each month making premenstrual women anxious, grumpy and causing many breakouts in the skin. Magnesium is ideal for controlling hormone breakouts.                      

Chocolate is also a great mood buster which is why we all like to eat it. Just a mere hint of the smell of chocolate can release good feel endorphins into your system. What more could you want, than a deep cleansing mask which leaves you looking and feeling on top of the world! 

Other ingredients in our Chocolate Face Mask are:

Coconut milk - a wonderful gentle cleaner and softener which is enriched with vitamin E

honey - has healing properties, and attracts and retains water.

Kaolin Face Mask - will draw out impurities and toxins, cleaning the skin of dirt and pollution.

Before Your Mask

Give your skin a steam facial to open and clean out the pores. exfoliate your skin, which will remove dead skin cells and ensure a really deep cleanse. 

Chocolate Face Mask

The ingredients here are for normal /combination/dry skin. Alternately if you have oily skin, you can use Fullers Earth instead of Kaolin.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons of kaolin
• 1 teaspoon of honey
• 1 teaspoon of cocoa powder
• A little water or if desired a little coconut milk

 

Instructions

Warning - the mixture for your chocolate face mask should be fairly thick, verging on a paste. The water should be added drop by drop otherwise the mixture will become too runny to manage. If this happens add more kaolin.

Using a fairly small bowl, measure out the kaolin and cocoa powder and mix together. Add a teaspoon of honey and mix into the powder. Add a small amount of water or coconut milk until you have a paste mixture.

Leave to stand in the bowl for at least 30 minutes before gently spreading over entire face, neck and shoulder area. You only need to apply a thin layer of mask. Leave the mask on for 15 - 30 minutes before rinsing off with warm water. You can leave this mixture to stand overnight if you wish; it does not need to be used immediately although it should be used within 24 hours because the air will dry it out

Avocado Face Mask

Dry skin needs moisture and every little is a bonus, an avocado face mask is one of the very best to use on dry skin. The recipes below are using avocado for its softening properties, honey for its moisturizing properties and yogurt for its exfoliation properties -as dry skin needs gentle exfoliation, yogurt is ideal.                                   

Face Mask Using Avocado 

Avocado and Neroli Face Mask

Avocado will leave your face feeling calm and soft because it's rich in lecithin, vitamin A and D. Yogurt is a great exfoliate and neroli is well known in the beauty industry for its ability to stimulate the growth of healthy skin cells.

• Half a ripe avocado
• 2 tsp plain yogurt
• 5ml neroli oil diluted with sunflower oil.

Mix all the ingredients to a smooth paste and apply to face and neck. Leave on for at least 15-20 minutes, and then rinse off with warm water.

Avocado Face Mask
 

• Half a ripe avocado
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tbsp plain yogurt
• 1 tsp olive or avocado oil

Mash the avocado to a pulp, then mix in remaining ingredients. Apply to face and neck, leaving for at least 15-20 minutes before rinsing off with warm water.

  

natural beauty

                                                                                              

skin is the largest organ of the body plays a vital role in keeping fit and healthy.

It protects the body from potential problems that results from factors such as the sun, pollution, dehydration, and viruses.

So, proper skin care is most essential to keep your body as well as skin healthy.

Herbal skin care is one of the best ways to have better skin care.

However, taking care of the skin using herbal products is not the latest craze among the people. For thousands of years, people have used a variety of herbs for their skin care.

So, herbs play a significant role in keeping the skin healthy and supple. No matter how your skin is, herbal skin care is right for everyone.

On the hand, if you prefer herbal skin care, here are some useful tips that work effectively and very easy to use.

As the vitamins of B group helps produce beautiful skin, try to include foods that contain vitamin B.

• Beet root

Take a beet root and cut it into small pieces and grind well. Squeeze juice from the crushed beet root and apply it to your face and massage gently for five minutes. Rinse your face thoroughly after ten minutes using a mild soap.

• Lime juice 

Lime juice is the best natural product for maintaining healthy skin. So, squeeze juice from a medium sized lemon and add it into a bowl of iced water. Splatter this mixture over your face and massage for five minutes and wash off with Luke warm water.

Even you can apply the mixture of lime juice and cucumber juice in equal quantities (half teaspoon) and some drops of rose water on the face and the neck. Leave it for 15 minutes and rinse with Luke warm water.

• Honey 

Honey is also very good herbal skin care product. So, mix honey in water and drink it regularly in the mornings to make your skin soft and shiny. Even you can apply a home made face pack  prepared from warm honey and lemon juice. Allow it to dry and wash the face thoroughly.

• Milk

Milk works effectively on the skin, as milk contains moisturizer to keep your skin smooth and healthy. So, massage your skin with milk regularly to see a drastic change on your skin.

You can also use milk as a natural bleaching. For this, add a few drops of lemon juice in milk, which then breaks. Use this mixture to massage on your body to have a natural bleaching.

On the whole, with herbal skin care you can make the skin look great with a soft and healthy look .