The Pagan Heart
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May 2005 Issue
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Spoil Me...Please Recipes
Nourishment for the Face and Feet Last issue I provided the first in an ongoing collection of simple home beauty and relaxation remedies. I intend to keep offering different ones each month. Why? Well, part of the goal is to keep it simple. To provide easy recipes you can throw together using things from your fridge and cupboards. You won't always have the same things though, will you? Building up a collection of potions means you should be able to whip something up everytime. Plus variety is the spice of life - and that goes for your skin in some ways too. Different times of the year, the month, the week will call for different treatments. In winter you want to nourish and protect the skin from chapping and wind burn. In summer you need to moisturise and lessen the damage of the sun.
Cooling Nourishment with Yoghurt and Orange Citrus contains wonderful Vitamin C and AHAs - perfect to help cells heal, while also cleansing and nourishing. You need:
Mix the two together and then smooth over face and neck with gentle circular motions. Relax for 15 minutes (great way to start a bath), and then rinse off with warm water (if in the bath, the yoghurt and orange juice will work their wonders on your body).
So often we forget our eyes - yet they work hard all day, and certainly show the signs of poor care, hard work, and lack of sleep. These are some simple treats you can use to pamper those windows to the soul:
Potato is incredible when it comes to the eyes. Grate and then refrigerate about 4 rablespoons. When you take that bath with your orange juice and yoghurt mask, plop the potato over your eyes and relax. Probably best to discard the potato into a bowl before you rinse your face however - not that wonderful in the bath! This will also help lighten up those dark circles, and alleviate itchy tired eyes. If potato doesn't appeal, try a thick slice of cucmber on each eye, or cotton pads soaked in chilled skim milk.
Although wrinkles are a natural part of life, and without them people tend to look rather odd, there are wrinkles we shouldn't have. Those ones from being up late with a screaming child. Frown lines from dealing with toddlers. Crows feet from squinting as you cheer on your little soccer hooligan. A way to combat these and help your skin retain (or regain) its youthful elasticity is with the ordinary banana:
Cream the banana and then spread over the face and relax for 15 minutes. Rinse off with warm water and feel the glow.
Feet Care with Peppermint and Tea Tree Oils You don't need to be a parent chasing small children to understand about sore, sweaty, tired feet. We all have experienced that. This spray is a wonderful remedy. Mix up a batch, put it in the fridge and use whenever your feet start to cry out for some loving care. If you can get a foot massage with 2 drops of essential peppermint in a tablespoon of almond oil afterwards, all the better!
Shake it up in a spray bottle. Some people like to add a 1/4 cup of vodka but I find it's not necessary if you chill the spray. |
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