If you wouldn’t eat what you put on your skin—thendon’t use it! The skin is the largest human organ to absorb and secreteimpurities, and it is our first protection against outer toxins in the environment.Most skin cleansers and moisturizers contain carcinogenic ingredients thatnot only harm the skin but are actually absorbed to go directly into the bloodstream. Our skin “eats” whatever we lather onto it.
What to do? Try using these common food products on your skin, and noticehow nourished your entire being feels.
End-of-Winter Skin Repair
Colder temperatures, lower humidity, and indoor heating systems causeskin, hair, and nails to become dehydrated. In addition, the extreme coldand wind damage the outer layers of the skin, whose job it is to holdin moisture. The best way to moisturize the skin is to first exfoliateor rub off the dry flaky layers. Then the moisturizer will work more efficiently.
Winter Body Scrub
1/2 cup chickpea flour
1 Tbsp. almond meal
1/4 cup dry milk powder
Water to make a paste
Mix all ingredients into a thick paste. Gently rub mixture in clockwisecircles on the face and body (best done in the shower or bathtub). Next,rinse with warm water, dry, and apply the following moisturizer.
Dry Skin Moisturizer
1/8 cup cocoa butter
1/8 cup avocado oil
1 drop pure rose essential oil
Gently melt cocoa butter. Add avocado oil and rose essential oil. Whilethe moisturizer is still warm, massage into your skin after showering.
Hot Oil Hair Repair
Heat makes a moisturizer work. If you put oil on your hair, it will justsit on the surface. Heating allows the oil to penetrate the hair shaft,making your hair softer. That’s why hot oil treatments are so effective.
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp. flax seed oil
1 Tbsp. avocado oil
1 tsp. lavender oil
Mix all ingredients together and warm it up before applying to dry hair.Massage and comb oil through the hair. Using a blow dryer, apply steadyheat for 4 to 5 minutes. Let it sit for 20 minutes. Then shampoo and condition.
Dry Hand Treatment
Hands need extra attention because they are constantly exposed to theenvironment. In this recipe, the lactic acid in milk helps break downdead and dry skin.
1 cup milk, heated
1/2 cup dry milk powder
1/2 cup brown sugar
Dash of nutmeg
2 quart-sized plastic bags
Soak hands in warm milk for 3 to 4 minutes. Combine the milk powder,brown sugar, and nutmeg, and add a little water to make a paste. Massagehands with the scrub. Rinse with warm water.
Apply an organic moisturizer and slide hands into plastic bags. Wrap awarm wet hand towel around the bags and let sit for 5 minutes before removing.
Soak for Dry Cracked Feet
At bedtime, soak feet in warm milk with lavender for 15 minutes. Massagefeet with body scrub. Rinse. Massage feet with castor oil for severalminutes. Cover feet with socks and wear to bed.
Bonita Carol, a licensed Massage Therapist and Esthetician (skin carespecialist), has been an Ayurvedic Health Educator since 1990. She isa freelance writer and mother to an 11-year-old daughter. Reach her at(641) 472-2804 or bonita@lisco.com.