coconut oil Archives • New Nostalgia

6 Tried & True Natural Beauty Treatments To Do At Home

These are my top 6 natural and homemade beauty products shared here at New Nostalgia. They are easy to make, healthy for the skin, and they WORK!

1. 2 Ingredient Homemade Lemon Face Scrub

I’d say this is my favorite of the bunch. Who knew lemon and sugar could make the skin feel so, so wonderful. I use this scrub every other week. There is always a bit of leftover, and when I tell my 3 lovelies that I made it, they all come running. You know it works wonderfully if teenage girls are willing to ~~fight over~~ use it!

2. Homemade & Healthy Lavender Lime Body Spray

There is something wonderfully satisfying in making your own beauty products. Especially when something like this spray would cost a pretty penny at the store. I love the scent of lavender and lime together, but if you don’t, you can use any essential oil as fragrance in this spray.

3. Coconut Lime Sugar Body Scrub

This scrub is simply divine. It smells so good, and leaves my legs feeling amazing, especially when I use it after shaving them. No need for body lotion when you use this scrub. Just rinse off, towel off, and enjoy the softness!

4. 2 Ingredient Organic Eye Makeup Remover

I’ve seen homemade eye makeup remover recipes online that are way too complicated and use way too many ingredients. This one uses just two, and is another simple recipe that works and that my girls have bought into. I just love the money I save, as having 3 girls, two of which now wear makeup, can get expensive!

5. Lemon Sugar Hand Scrub

This is a newer recipe in our household. I keep it at the kitchen sink and just love it. It is great anytime you want soft hands, but especially great after handling onions and garlic. This not only scrubs the hands, but leaves them so nice and soft. After drying, just gently rub your hands together to distribute the little bit of oil left on them as the perfect moisturizer.

6. Detox Bath

This is a beauty treatment that not only beautifies the outside by making the skin soft, but also helps your insides by giving you a nice dose of magnesium. It is so very relaxing and calming, you will come out rested and glowing.

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Have you ever made your own beauty products? Please share.

HEALTH/ Natural Products

Coconut Chia Lemon Face Mask

A guest post by Lisa of Miss Alchemist

Chia seeds aren’t only great for snacking, but they also make great beauty products. Considering their beautifying power, it was only a matter of time until these little superfoods made their way into serums and eye creams. Chia seeds have important antioxidants including Alpha Lipoic Acid, which minimizes fine lines and pore size, and phytonutrients which help reveal smoother, more radiant skin. With all these great qualities, you should eat your chia seeds and put them on your face! Lately I’ve been seeing beauty products now on the market that use chia seed oil due to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits. These products can be expensive so you may want to go the d.i.y. route with my coconut-chia mask.

This mask is great since the chia seeds exfoliate and help moisturize, the coconut oil is hydrating, and the lemon juice works to remove age spots and tighten pores.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon solid coconut oil, (make sure its cold-pressed, virgin and organic)
2 teaspoons chia seeds
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Combine ingredients and let stand for 20 minutes or so for the chia seeds to plump up. If coconut oil is melted you may want to stick in the fridge for a few minutes so that it is firm and will stay on your face. Apply to your face with a Fan Brush or pastry brush and let sit for 2-5 minutes. Wet hands and in a circular motion rub chia seeds into skin before wiping off with a cold wash cloth. If the coconut oil feel is too much for your skin, follow with a toner (like my triple threat toner), otherwise pat dry. No moisturizer needed since the coconut oil provides plenty! Have extra? Apply to the back of your hands — they’ll be silky smooth!

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Meet Miss Alchemist

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After Lisa spent years advancing her finance career and prioritizing everything except her health, she decided to make a change. Putting her curiosity for learning to a new area, Lisa now spends her free time researching and creating simple, healthy recipes and easy, natural d.i.y. beauty products. Lisa lives in Los Angeles with her miniature schnauzer, Romeo.

Natural Products

A Pre-Shave Solution To Rid Those Bumps From Shaving

{A Repost From The Archives}

I used to have bumps and large pores & irritation on my legs, and I just thought I had sensitive skin and was stuck with it.

Well, I was half right. My skin IS sensitive to all the irritants I was using from my shaving cream, soap, & those fun scented & colored body lotions, but I’m NOT stuck with it.

I’m so happy with the solution I have found. I want to avoid parabens (they mimic estrogen in the body and my cancer was fed by estrogen) and all the different harsh chemicals that are beauty products.

From The Breast Cancer Fund

Parabens are a group of compounds widely used as antimicrobial preservatives in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic products, including underarm deodorants. Parabens are absorbed through intact skin and from the gastrointestinal tract and blood.

Measurable concentrations of six different parabens have been identified in biopsy samples from breast tumors (Darbre, 2004). The particular parabens were found in relative concentrations that closely parallel their use in the synthesis of cosmetic products (Rastogi, 1995). Parabens have also been found in almost all urine samples examined from a demographically diverse sample of U.S. adults (Ye, 2006a).

Parabens are estrogen mimickers, with the potency of the agonistic response being related to the chemical structure (Darbre, 2008). They can bind to the cellular estrogen receptor (Routledge, 1998). They also increase the expression of many genes that are usually regulated by estradiol and cause human breast tumor cells (MCF-7 cells) to grow and proliferate in vitro (Byford, 2002; Pugazhendhi, 2007). Nevertheless, parabens as a class do not fully mimic estradiol in the changes in cellular gene expression nor are the effects of all parabens identical (Sadler, 2009).

I am also on a mission to simplify my beauty routine and the cost of beauty supplies.

My answer to ALL of these issues? Coconut Oil.

I love coconut oil so very much. It is a unique oil, solid when cool and liquid when room temperature or warmer. It does not need refrigerated.

It is

~anti-inflammatory
~anti-microbial
~anti-fungal

Caprylic Acid, Capric Acid and Lauric Acid are the essential saturated fatty acids that are powerful ingredients in coconut oil. I love having an organic, natural product with such great benefits to it. It has the slight scent of coconut, but not overpowering at all.

My Favorite Brand, Nutiva Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, 15-Ounce Tubs (Pack of 2)

I have been using coconut oil as a pre-shave oil this summer, in place of shaving cream or soap, and I can’t tell you how great my legs feel. Gone are any bumps or irritation. My pores are small and my skin has a healthy glow to it. I just love it.

I keep my jar of organic coconut oil in the shower, and not only use it as a pre-shaving lotion, but also as a quick after- shave oil and moisturizer. At the end of my shower, when I turn off the water, I do a quick slather of coconut oil all over my whole body. I find it is a bit too heavy for my face, so I skip the face, but I’ve heard people rave about it as a face moisturizer. As I dry off, my legs are amazingly soft and smooth. My skin feels silky and has a great glow. I love skipping the step of body lotion after a shower! Rumor has it that coconut oil has an spf of 4, so it gives some natural sun protection, too!

An added benefit? It is on my hands as I go to squeeze the water out of my hair, and I have found it acts as a great hair de-frizzer. I can now air dry my curls and they are soft and amazing with no frizz! There is very little oil on my hands, so this benefit does not take much coconut oil. Bonus!

{See? No bumps…and no photo editing, I promise!}

Between using coconut oil as a pre & post shave, occasionally using my Homemade Coconut Lime Sugar Scrub, and dry brushing before my shower, my skin is the softest and healthiest it has been in a years.

Try it and tell me what you think!

HEALTH/ Healthy Eating/ How-Tos/ RECIPES

The Amazing Benefits Of Coconut Oil + Ways To Use It Topically & In Recipes

I am a HUGE fan of coconut oil, for many reasons. I LOVE IT!

The main way I started using coconut oil was topically. This was because I read about how so many body lotions contain parabens and chemicals, and with my cancer history, I am being very purposeful about getting rid of as many toxins in this house and on my body as possible!

Its been all over the news that they are finding parabens in the breast cancer survivors breast tissue. My ears perked up with this because I have been in the beauty business for years as a cosmetologist, and parabans seem to be in EVERY beauty product. I have also met way too many young hairstylists that also battled breast cancer, and it has made us all say “hmm.”

From The Breast Cancer Fund

Parabens are a group of compounds widely used as antimicrobial preservatives in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic products, including underarm deodorants. Parabens are absorbed through intact skin and from the gastrointestinal tract and blood.

Measurable concentrations of six different parabens have been identified in biopsy samples from breast tumors (Darbre, 2004). The particular parabens were found in relative concentrations that closely parallel their use in the synthesis of cosmetic products (Rastogi, 1995). Parabens have also been found in almost all urine samples examined from a demographically diverse sample of U.S. adults (Ye, 2006a).

Parabens are estrogen mimickers, with the potency of the agonistic response being related to the chemical structure (Darbre, 2008). They can bind to the cellular estrogen receptor (Routledge, 1998). They also increase the expression of many genes that are usually regulated by estradiol and cause human breast tumor cells (MCF-7 cells) to grow and proliferate in vitro (Byford, 2002; Pugazhendhi, 2007). Nevertheless, parabens as a class do not fully mimic estradiol in the changes in cellular gene expression nor are the effects of all parabens identical (Sadler, 2009).

“Parabens are estrogen mimickers.” This really made me pause, as my cancer and the majority of breast cancers are fed by hormones. I had symptoms of estrogen dominance for years and I often wonder if this contributed to my diagnosis.

As I have been trying to avoid parabens, I have been on a kick of making my own beauty products. There are some wonderful healthy organic body products out there, but they usually end up costing “an arm and a leg,” so have been quite motivated to make my own or to figure out a simple, inexpensive & healthy alternative.

Coconut Oil as a Moisturizer + 6 More Ways To Use It

My Favorite Pre-Shave & Post-Shave For The Softest Legs

Homemade Natural Lip Balm

Homemade Coconut Lime Sugar Scrub

I’ve also used coconut oil as my main cooking and baking oil for a couple of years now. The below recipe has been viewed over 632,238 times! It is one of the most popular recipes here at New Nostalgia, and for good reason. It is delicious. Funny how my most popular recipe was created by a mess up!

The Best Recipe I’ve Ever Messed Up

Oatmeal Whole Wheat Quick Bread

The above Oatmeal Whole Wheat Quick Bread is a great recipe to have on hand. It takes just minutes to throw together and it is good for you. I often make it when we are having pasta and I need a quick bread to dip in the sauce.

–I buy a large container on Amazon, I love the Nutiva brand. It is organic and wonderful. Trader Joes also started carrying coconut oil. Yay!

–Coconut oil is very unique. It is a solid up to I think 76 degrees, then becomes a liquid. So depending on the temperature of your house, you will either be scooping the oil if solid, or pouring it if liquid.

— For beauty purposes, I scoop some out and store in a small 8 oz mason jar. I love the Elite series glass jars. They have a nice wide mouth and are a cute shape. I also keep coconut oil in a small 4oz jar to throw into my gym bag.

–From The Nourishing Gourmet–

benefits of using Coconut Oil

–From Lindsey @ Passionate Homemaking-

Part 1 & Part 2 – detailing the best oil choices being coconut oil & olive oil

–From Kitchen Stewardship-

A great post about the controversy surrounding coconut oil

Have you ever tried coconut oil?

What are ways you use coconut oil?

Healthy Eating/ How-Tos/ RECIPES

Coconut Oil

I’ve been wanting to write about Coconut Oil -how and why I use it, but instead I am going to send you over to Sorta Crunchy. Meghan wrote a great post on it–very informative. She gives the how and why, and also some great links to order some online, which is what I will be doing the next time we run out.

When I first started reading about different health foods, coconut oil was intimidating because I didn’t know how to use it, what to use it for, and if it would have an weird taste. Now, I am so glad I just bought some and tried it. Because of coconut oil, I no longer need to keep vegetable oils and canola oil in the house. The fats I have in my kitchen are butter, olive oil, and coconut oil. It is all I have needed, and I feel great serving my family these types of fats.

Here is more information on cooking with healthy fats:

From The Nourishing Gourmet–
benefits of using Coconut Oil

From Lindsey @ Passionate Homemaking-
Part 1 & Part 2 – detailing the best oil choices being coconut oil & olive oil

From Kitchen Stewardship-
A great post about the controversy surrounding coconut oil