Recipes that are good for your skin!

Recipes that are good for your skin!

Several of you have asked for some quick simple recipes to revive your skin. All these ingredients are easily accessible and often ones you already have in your fridge or pantry.

Most of us need 7 – 8 hours sleep night. Lack of sleep not only affects your energy levels, making you feel lethargic and suffer loss of concentration. The skin also shows signs of tiredness such as dull complexion, dark circles under your eyes and dryness. Instead of cucumbers placed on your eyes to relax and revive them, try avocado for a change.

During the day our skin is busy working hard to defend itself against external aggressors, including pollution and free radicals. While at night it works hard to repair damage that has been caused throughout the day, rejuvenation and replacing older cells with new ones.

If you do wake up feeling tired and you have had plenty of sleep, this can be a sign of sluggish liver. The liver is one of the body’s organs that remove toxins. Try having a green vegetable juice to help cleanse the liver and alkalize your system.

Regular use of a cucumber face mask can help prevent pimples, blackheads and skin dryness and, yes, also have a cooling effect on the eyes. It can also help reduce puffiness under the eyes. Grate or blend a whole cucumber and apply to the face and neck, including the eye area, and leave on for 15 – 20 minutes. Best to lie down and relax until the time is up and then remove the mask.

Hands also need a lot of attention as they are always in detergents, in the sun while driving and being washed throughout the day which contributes to drying them out.  We want strong nails and soft hands. So mix four tablespoons of olive oil with one tablespoon of sugar. Gently rub the mixture into hands and nails and leave on 5 -10 minutes. If you have time, leave on your hands overnight. Place a pair of cotton gloves on and remove them in the morning – the results will be amazing, leaving you with soft supple hands.

When it’s time for a body scrub, we all need to rejuvenate our body, especially after swimming, sun exposure and wind exposure, use the following recipe. Place a handful sugar to a handful salt with a squeeze of lemon juice, together with a good dose of extra virgin oil, enough to mix all the ingredients. Place on your skin working gently towards the heart, always before a shower or bath.

The combination of salt water, sun and humidity can leave your hair dry, frizzy and out of control. Our diet plays a big part in the condition of our hair. A lack of essential nutrients can make your hair look dull and out of condition. To keep hair shiny, strong and controllable, place a handful of oil on damp hair. l use coconut oil and have used virgin oil. Place the oil in the middle of the hair down to the ends. Wrap the hair up and leave it for approximately 1 hour and then shampoo out. l have left the oil on overnight, put a towel over the pillow to protect it and then shampoo it off in the morning.

It is best to use a face mask before or after taking a bath, not during. The skin needs to be treated with respect and looked after, so be gentle and do not pull the skin while applying the mask. The following recipe will provide you with a refreshing, relaxing face mask.

Mix 1 tablespoon of almond oil, 2 tablespoons of whole milk and 1 tablespoon of honey and apply to the face. Lie down and leave on for 10 – 20 minutes. This is great for a dry skin.

The skin thickens on the pressure points of your feet especially your heels. When the weather is dry we can often suffer from dry painful cracks on our feet. Make sure you remove dead skin on bottom of feet regularly especially in summer when your feet are on display. Many men don’t think about heels of feet and they too need to make sure they look after them.  If you are at the beach this is a great time to walk without shoes on the sand for a great natural exfoliation.

Otherwise, a great foot exfoliant can be made as follows. Use one avocado, ½ teaspoon honey and 1 teaspoon very finely chopped almonds. Mash the avocado and place it in the honey with the almonds. Mix and then apply to the feet massaging in for a few minutes, before removing with warm water.