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natural beauty products

HEALTH/ HOME/ Natural Products

4 Natural Remedies For Pain Relief

Natural Pain remedies

 *Meghan Newsom
Health & Gluten Free Recipes Contributor

 Hello Lovelies! As I was thinking and praying over what would be the most beneficial thing for me to share with you all this week, I kept being urged to share with you all some natural pain remedies I use to help my body cope with it’s constant pain. Some of these things I do daily (like the body brushing), and some of these things can be used as needed or during certain cycles that your body goes through. It is really all up to you and what you find works well with your body.

 1. Castor Oil Packs– Castor Oil is an amazing healer. I use my castor oil pack to help combat my endometriosis, and for pain relief during my cycle. But these packs have so many other benefits. They can be used to help with minor sprains and scrapes, eye injuries, sinus headaches, earaches, sore breasts of nursing mothers and so much more!

2. Natural Migraine Tea Relief– This little miracle consists of Kunkicha tea and Umbeoshi. 

3. Detox Pain Relieving Bath– A pain relieving bath that REALLY works, and REALLY lasts! Not only does this bath help ease the pain, but it also detoxes your body. It is great for anyone who is experiencing tired and sore muscles, or who is in chronic pain. 

4. Daily Body Brushing– Body brushing has been around for centuries, and it’s benefits are almost too many to name. From increased lymph flow throughout your body (which helps with sore muscles, fatigue and acute sickness), to cellulite removal to flushing off dead skin. You can’t go wrong in incorporating this 5 minute step into your daily routine.  What about you? Do you have any remedies that you use to help relieve pain and keep your body in tip-top shape? 

 

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Meghan Newsom; Health and Gluten Free Contributor
Meghan Newsom
Health & Gluten Free Contributor
Meghan’s site: eat.live. make.
 You can follow her here:
Beauty/ HEALTH/ Natural Products

10 Must See Beauty Treatments To Do At Home That Are Inexpensive And Natural

Homemade natural beauty products
 

I have had much fun gathering a few fun DIY beauty tips.  I love how most of them are natural, inexpensive and use ingredients you already have at home.
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10 Must See Beauty Treatments To Do AT Home
10 Must see beauty treatments to do at home
 
 “Works wonders on your face. Salicylic acid helps clean out pores and battle acne. All you need is water & 3 aspirin tablets. You can also add honey if you want a binding agent.”
 
2 ingredient homemade lemon facial scrub via New Nostalgia
 
“Lightens sun damaged areas, exfoliates, helps with blackheads and breakouts. Leaves skin super smooth and soft.”
 
Oatmeal and Baking Soda Exfoliante
 

Oatmeal & Baking Soda Exfoliante via Our Best Bites
“Try this baking soda exfoliant for super soft skin.”

Black-head Remover
 

Black-head Remover via Stylebees
“Use half lemon from the fridge (doesn’t matter if some juice is already squeezed from it) and put 3-4 drops of honey on it. Rub the lemon on your face, emphasizing trouble areas. Leave the lemon and honey mixture on your face for 5 minutes and then wash it with cold water. You will be able to see the results immediately. Additionally, lemon juice will also fade other marks/spots on the face and honey will moisturize.”

Lavender facial toner
 

Lavender Facial Toner via New Nostalgia
“Most commercial toners have alcohol and chemicals in them and are too harsh.”

Whiten stained Nails
 

“How to get white nails after so much nail polish — make a paste using 1 tbsp peroxide and 2 1/4 tbsp baking soda. Let this paste sit on your nails for 5 minutes and voila! White nails! REMEMBER THIS AFTER USING Dark NAIL POLISH!”

Coconut oil for moisturizing hair

Best Moisturizing Hair Treatment– Coconut Oil! via New Nostalgia
“20 minute pre-shampoo coconut oil treatment REALLY helps dry or brittle hair.”

Minimizing pore baking soda mask
 

Minimizing Pore Baking Soda Mask via ehow
“After you’ve washed your face, place 2 tbsp. baking soda in the palm of your hand and add just enough water to form a thick paste. Massage the paste into your face, resisting the urge to scrub, for about 30 seconds. Rinse the paste away with cool water. You should notice that your pores are smaller almost immediately. After a week of this regime you’ll see visible results as your skin becomes clearer and less prone to breakouts.”

Vinegar soak for feet
 

“Soaking feet in vinegar (apple cider being best) for the softest feet ever!  Also great for tired feet, toe nail fungus, foot fungus & athletes foot.”

Whiten teeth for cheap
 

Whiten Teeth For Cheap via New Nostalgia (not natural, but inexpensive!)
“I’ve used this for years and love it.  I usually use it while I am in the shower.  It seems like it is the only place I get away with not talking for 10 minutes!”

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More From New Nostalgia:


 

 

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HEALTH/ Natural Products

How To Make Your Own Facial Toner

lavender facial toner
 
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by Kendra Drake
Natural & Homemade Contributor

Who loves that clean taut feeling from using facial toner? Unfortunately, that tightness means all your natural protective oils have just been wiped away, leaving your skin dry. Most commercial facial toners consist of mostly alcohol and are too harsh. Check out this simple homemade facial toner recipe that is made with only two gentle, all-natural ingredients. You can stop worrying about what chemicals are lurking in your commercial toner and the high cost by making your own!


Lavender Facial Toner Recipe
5 oz. witch hazel
3 oz. lavender hydrosol (lavender water)

Mix together in a clean bottle.

Witch Hazel
Witch hazel is an astringent made from the leaves and bark of a shrub. I recommend Mountain Rose Herbs’ witch hazel. Most commercial witch hazel extracts contain more alcohol than witch hazel, but their organic witch hazel contains 86% witch hazel extract and only 14% grain alcohol.

Lavender Hydrosol
Lavender hydrosol, also known as lavender water, is produced from steam-distilling lavender flowers. Hydrosols have similar properties to essential oils, but are much less concentrated. Lavender is anti-inflammatory so this toner is gentle and reduces redness. You can find organic lavender hydrosol at Mountain Rose Herbs as well.

Cost Savings
Look how much I save!
$1.90 – 5 oz. Witch Hazel [$6.00/16 oz. at Mountain Rose Herbs]
$4.50 – 3 oz. Lavender Hydrosol [$4.50/3 oz. at Mountain Rose Herbs]
$6.40 – 8 oz. Grand Total Homemade Lavender Facial Toner
$0.80/oz. Homemade Lavender Facial Toner cost per ounce

compared to my old toner. . .
$1.94/oz. Clinique Clarifying Toner [$13/6.7 oz.]

Have you made homemade facial toner before? What ingredients did you use?

………………………

Kendra blogs at Our Homemade Happiness and writes about all things homemade, especially cleaners, skincare & healthy eating.  
 
Kendra Drake
Kendra Drake
Natural & Homemade Contributor

 
 
Kendra started her blog after her husband suffered from mono symptoms for over two years and his blood results showed some liver disease.  Since the liver is responsible for filtering out chemicals and toxins from the bloodstream, she started to realize how many chemicals are in everything we buy, from processed food to household cleaners, lotion, and even air freshener.  She has become inspired to rid her home of as many chemicals as she can, one product at a time, and write about it along the way.
 
You will love Kendra & all the great things she has to share! 
 
Other Posts Kendra has contributed to New Nostalgia:
 
HEALTH/ How-Tos/ Natural Products/ RECIPES

Homemade & Healthy Lavender Lime Body Spray

We are thrilled to be welcoming Kendra as our new Natural & Homemade Contributor here at New Nostalgia.  Kendra will be here one Saturday a month sharing her knowledge of all things natural. 
Kendra blogs at Our Homemade Happiness and writes about all things homemade, especially cleaners, skincare & healthy eating.  
Kendra Drake
Kendra Drake
Natural & Homemade Contributor
Kendra started her blog after her husband suffered from mono symptoms for over two years and his blood results showed some liver disease.  Since the liver is responsible for filtering out chemicals and toxins from the bloodstream, she started to realize how many chemicals are in everything we buy, from processed food to household cleaners, lotion, and even air freshener.  She has become inspired to rid her home of as many chemicals as she can, one product at a time, and write about it along the way.
You will love Kendra & all the great things she has to share! 
………………..
essential oils

I LOVE essential oils. They are all-natural, they have medicinal and therapeutic benefits, there are so many ways to use them, they don’t go rancid, their little bottles are so cute . . .ahem, I digress. Even though they might seem expensive, they are super concentrated and a little goes a very long way.

 So today I’m going to show you how to make a super simple body spray with essential oils. You’ll save money by making your own, but that isn’t even the best part. The best part is you will smell good without all the nasty chemicals in commercial body spray. You will know exactly what’s being absorbed into your skin and inhaled into your lungs.

  lavender lime body spray
 

what you need
 spray bottle
2 Tbsp vodka or water
3 drops lavender essential oil
8 drops lime essential oil

  directions
 Add vodka or water to the spray bottle.  If you use water, you’ll need to shake really well before each use because essential oils do not dissolve in water.  I bought my 2 oz. glass spray bottle at Sprouts, a health food store, for about $3.  Add essential oils.  I don’t really like the smell of lavender by itself, but when it is mixed with lime it becomes light and fresh and smells oh so good.  

Avoid direct use on skin that will be exposed to sunlight within 12 hours. Lime essential oil is photosensitive, meaning when it is left on skin and exposed to sunlight, it can cause the sun’s effect to be greatly magnified.  So I only use this body spray on my clothing or on parts of my body that aren’t going to be exposed to the sun. 
 


   homemade body spray ingredients

cost savings

$2.00/oz Bath & Body Works Fragrance Mist [$6/3 oz] 
  $1.10/oz Homemade Lavender Lime Body Spray

$0.46 dōTERRA Lime Essential Oil [$17.33/15 ml] $0.28 dōTERRA Lavender Essential Oil [$28/15 ml] $0.36 vodka [$9/750 mL] or $0 for water

You can find quality essential oils at dōTERRA  


Beauty/ HEALTH/ Natural Products

2 Ingredient Homemade Lemon Face Scrub

2 ingredient lemon facial scrub

I make this simple homemade 2 ingredient lemon facial scrub about once a week.  It is so easy to throw together, and it leaves my skin very soft, smooth, & exfoliated.

squeezing a lemon

Start by juicing a half of a lemon.  I like to use the lemons in my refrigerator that are on the verge of being too ripe to eat.  This is a great way to use those lemons up!

use a fork to squeeze lemon

Don’t underestimate the power of a simple fork!  I have several fancy lemon squeezing gadgets, but when I am just doing a lemon half, I just grab a fork.  It is amazing how much juice a simple fork can extract!

I add about 1/8-1/4 cup of organic sugar, and stir.  This makes enough for several applications, but in time the sugar dissolves, so I usually let my girls know that I have homemade lemon sugar scrub and they love doing “facials” with it.  They end up putting lots around their lips so they can lick it off.  Lemonade!  It is delicious and ends up being a great lip scrub, too!  You could also take leftovers in the bath with you for a great body scrub.

lemon scrub

I put some of the mixture into my palm, and rub in circular motions all over my face.  It feels so good!  I love a good scrub!  I then let it sit on my skin a few minutes until it gets sticky and feels a bit hard.  Then I get a microfiber facial washcloth nice and hot, and just lay it on my face for a few seconds.  The steam opens the pores and softens the sugar mixture.  I then wipe off and rinse well.  I will often follow with a dab of coconut oil for moisture.

lemon facial scrub

Lemons do have a lightening quality about them and I notice it has faded sun damage that I have on my forehead.  It is also great for breakouts.  It seems to really help with blackheads and just clearing the junk out of my pores.  I love it!

2 Ingredient Lemon Facial Scrub

 1/2 lemon

1/8-1/4 cup sugar

Juice lemon.  Add the sugar and stir.  Apply to face in circular motions and gently allow the sugar to scrub your skin.  Let sit for a few minutes.  Use a hot washcloth, lay on face to steam for a minute, then use it to wipe of scrub.  Rinse well & moisturize.  Use once a week.

You might also like:
Homemade Organic Eye Makeup Remover
Homemade Face Moisturizer
100% Natural Oil Cleansing Method
My Favorite Pre-Shave & Post Shave For The Softest Legs

Beauty/ HEALTH/ Natural Products

The Oil Cleansing Method-100% Natural Moisturizing Face Cleanser

A Guest Post from Kendra @ Our Homemade Happiness
//
I’ve been using olive oil to wash my face for the past two months. Yeah, you heard me right. I wash my face with oil. Sound like an oxymoron? Here’s how it works: like disolves like. The clean oil dissolves the dirty oil from your face, all without stripping your skin’s natural protective oils. This all natural, gentle cleansing approach is called the oil cleansing method or OCM in the blogosphere. Not only do I save money compared to my old Clinique face wash, it also doubles as my eye makeup remover. Yay for simplifying! The best part? My face has never looked and felt better. 


dCalifornia extra virgin olive oil

Recommended Oils

You’ll want to use a little castor oil mixed with a carrier oil. Castor oil is very cleansing. Start with one of the following ratios listed below. If your skin feels too oily, use more castor oil. If your skin feels too dry, use less castor oil. Castor oil is very drying, so don’t use too much. You should be able to find these oils at your local health food store,Amazon, or Mountain Rose Herbs. It may take time to find what works for your skin. When I started OCM, I used 100% olive oil because my skin was so dry. Now that my skin has adjusted and isn’t dry anymore, I use 10% castor oil, 90% jojoba oil.

  • Oily Skin: 30% castor oil to 70% carrier oil
  • Normal Skin: 20% castor oil to 80% carrier oil
  • Dry Skin: 10% castor oil to 90% carrier oil
  • Really Dry Skin: 0% castor oil to 100% carrier oil
Moisturizing Carrier Oils:
  • Jojoba–all skin types, especially acne-prone, oily, sensitive, and normal
  • Sweet Almond–all skin types, especially oily and normal
  • Avocado–all skin types, especially dry, itchy, sensitive, and aging
  • Apricot Kernel–all skin types, especially dry, sensitive, aging, and normal
  • Grape Seed–all skin types, especially acne-prone and oily
  • Kukui Nut–all skin types, especially dry and normal
  • Olive–all skin types, especially dryRinse Face. Rinse face with water.
    First: Rinse Face. Rinse face with water.

  1. Massage with Oil. Lightly massage oil in a circular motion over your face for two minutes. Massaging your face can lead to firmer, more radiant skin by minimizing fine lines and wrinkles, releasing tension, and improving circulation. Just remember that when you’re getting bored and wondering if the two minutes are up yet.
  2. Remove Eye Makeup. Gently rub oil across your eye lids and eye lashes to remove eye makeup.
  3. Steam. Soak a washcloth with hot water. Hold it over your face for 10-15 seconds.
  4. Wipe Off. Gently wipe oil off your face and eyes with your washcloth. When I’m finished, my face feels clean and moisturized, never greasy. I’m still amazed that oil can clean my face.
    (Don’t forget to admire your beautiful, glowing skin in the mirror.)

essential oils

Customize with Essential Oils

You can make your cleansing oil even more luxurious and customized to your individual skin type by adding essential oils. Essential oils are natural compounds extracted from parts of plants, flowers, and trees. They have been used throughout history for their medicinal and therapeutic benefits. They are extremely concentrated so you only need to add a few drops to your bottle of oil. Never use undiluted essential oils on your skin. Click here for more essential oil safety. You can find essential oils at your local health food store, AmazondōTERRA, or Mountain Rose Herbs.
  • Mature Skin/Wrinkles: frankincense, helichrysum, geranium, lavender, myrrh, sandalwood, carrot seed
  • Dry Skin: rose, lavender, geranium, sandalwood, rosewood, ylang-ylang, chamomile
  • Oily Skin: lemon, cedarwood, cypress, juniper, lavender, lemongrass, grapefruit
  • Acne-Prone Skin: tea tree, lemongrass, lavender, geranium, peppermint, rosemary, sandalwood
Questions About OCM:
How often do you wash your face with oil?
I do OCM most nights to wash my makeup off, but many people do it less often. I wash my face with water only when I shower in the morning. I don’t use facial cleansers anymore because they strip too much of the skin’s natural protective oils.
Do you need to moisturize after OCM?
My face was quite dry when I started OCM, so I had to moisturize. Over the past two months of doing OCM, my face has gotten less and less dry so I don’t even need to moisturize anymore. But I do it anyway to help prevent wrinkles (it’s never too early). I also use oil to moisturize, which you can read about here.
Does washing with oil make you break out?
No, I get less blemishes now then I did before OCM. Occasionally I’ll get a tiny blemish when I’m lazy and don’t wash my makeup off at night. Do OCM for at least three weeks to give your face adequate time to adjust. Be patient. It took some time before I figured out what oils worked for my skin and for my face to adjust to this new way of doing things.
How does OCM save you money?
Here’s how much money I’m saving by switching to olive oil/castor oil. Not only do I save money, I don’t have to worry about all the chemicals in commercial cleanser anymore. I also use oil as a natural make-up remover so that saves me even more money.
$3.90/oz. Clinique Foaming Cleanser ($19.50/5 oz.)
$1.68/oz. Olive Oil ($9/24 oz) & Castor Oil ($10/8 oz.)
 So Happy You Are Here
Hi, I’m Kendra!  I blog about all things homemade, especially cleaners, skincare, and healthy eating.  I started my blog, Our Homemade Happiness, after my husband suffered from mono symptoms for over two years and his blood results showed some liver disease.  Since the liver is responsible for filtering out chemicals and toxins from the bloodstream, I started to realize how many chemicals are in everything we buy, from processed food to household cleaners, lotion, and even air freshener.  I’ve become inspired to rid my home of as many chemicals as I can, one product at a time, and blog about it along the way.
Beauty/ Frugal/ HEALTH/ HOME/ Natural Products

Coconut Oil as a Moisturizer + 6 More Ways I Use it in my Beauty Routine

I am a HUGE fan of coconut oil, for many reasons, but today I’m just going to focus on why I love coconut oil for my skin.  I have been using it in place of lotion as a body moisturizer for about a year now and I LOVE IT!  

The main reason I started doing 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.”
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. 
    {even the Stars use it!}
    Here are a few ways I have been using coconut oil on my skin:
    1. I use it to shave.  I wrote about this here.  I can’t tell you how wonderful it is to shave with a natural product.  I no longer have bumps, and my pores are nice and small now.  No irritation!  It makes sense…when I read what is in those cans of shaving cream, I am not surprised that my skin reacts with little bumps and irritation!  Especially when one slathers it on, then takes a razor that makes little nicks in the skin for those irritants to penetrate even deeper.  Blech.

    {my fav razor is a Mach 3 Gillette.  I have been using it for years.  Even with all the fancy smancy lady like razors out there, I still prefer my Gillette.  Yes, the refill blades are expensive, but they last forever and I love how close of a shave I get with this razor!  Plus, I have a thing for black and silver…}
    2. I use it as body oil to slather on while still in the shower.  This is my last step of my shower.  Then when I towel off I am super soft and there is no need for body moisturizer.
    3. I use it as a body moisturizer.  On days I do not shower or use it in the shower, I will use it in place of lotion.  Especially on my legs before a hot date with my Todd.  It gives a great glow.
    4.  Just recently, I have been using it as a facial cleanser.  Yep, you read that right.  It is called the “oil cleansing method.”  You can read about it here at Sorta Crunchy.  The whole idea of it is that cleansers strip moisture, and then your body over produces oil to make up for it, which leads to breakouts and unbalanced skin. The idea that oil dissolves oil is key with the oil cleaning method.  I have done this for about a week and my face is more clear than it has been for months…I am amazed.  I am also amazed at how moisturized my skin is.   Moisturized skin is plump skin, which helps with the appearance of lines. I will be writing a whole post on this after I have used this method a bit longer.  
    5. I have been using it as an eye make up remover.  I wrote a post on Homemade Eye Makeup Remover, and talked about a recipe that used olive oil.  Well, I am all about simplifying, and since I am already using coconut oil to wash my face, I also started using it to wipe away eye makeup.  It works beautifully.  
    6. I use it as a cuticle oil.  Occasionally, when I have extra on my hands, I will rub it into my cuticles.  No more hangnails!

    7. I use it at a key ingredients in my Homemade Coconut Lime Sugar Scrub.  This is one of my most FAVORITE beauty products.  Love!

    Pretty impressive, huh?  Think of the money I am saving by not buying eye makeup remover, shaving cream, body lotions (lets face it, us women usually have at least 5 different types sitting around!), face moisturizer, cuticle oil & body scrub!  Think of the space I am saving in my home by having one jar of coconut oil instead of 10 bottles of all these products!
    That makes me VERY happy!
    //

    –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.  
    –I use coconut oil in recipes, like this one, the Best Recipe I Ever Messed Up.  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.

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