November 3, 2005
Cold weather skincare
I adore certain of the more expensive natural skin care products. Like many people who do yoga and shop at whole food markets, I use Dr. Hauschka’s--in spite of not believing in the whole biodynamic crystals-in-a-cowhorn thing. Whatever I think about the packaging claims, I find their scent irresistable and soothing. And empirical evidence suggests they’re doing me good: even during the last two very cold winters, I haven’t had the tiny eczema patches that plagued me after I moved to New England from London.
But I’m also frugal, and offer these personally tested, natural alternatives to pricey purchased products:
Rose body oil
Buy a bottle of almond oil from the whole foods store. It'll be about $10, and will last a long time in the fridge. Pour some out into a pretty bottle you can keep in the bathroom, and add drops of rose essential oil to scent it. This is a lovely body oil and can also be used on your face as a moisturizer--just a few drops patted in gently. I keep this in an old Dr. Hauschka "normalizing day oil" bottle so it's easy to get a few drops. Rose oil is soothing, but only when very much diluted. A friend of mine once rubbed it directly on her face and was in agony. You can add any fragrance you like to that plain almond oil: an inexpensive and fun way to experiment with aromatherapy, if you're so inclined.
Almond or red bean face scrub
Exfoliation is especially important in cold weather. You can buy prepared facial scrubs but if you look at the ingredients on, for exammple, the Body Shop red bean scrub you'll see that it is nothing but red beans. Save a ton of money by grinding a few ounces of azuki beans in the blender. For drier skin, use whole almonds and again just grind very fine. In fact, the easiest and perhaps best facial scrub is plain old baking soda. Cheap, available anywhere, and no machinery required.
Super lip salve
Baby jelly from the whole food store is a natural, vegetable oil alternative to “petroleum jelly” (trade name Vaseline, and made, of course from petroleum--same as the gasoline in your car) and makes a brilliant lip gloss and lip protector, every bit as good as the Dr. Hauschka salve and about 1/100th the price. Not much of a scent, but what there is is pleasant. (I keep the jar in the fridge, by the way, because it's enough for a year or two; I just put a blob into a small pot to keep in the bathroom, and by my bed.)
Posted by Karen Christensen at 5:48 AM | Comments (0)
November 29, 2004
Simply Salt
Over the weekend I was catching up - well, not catching up at all, but trying to get a little less behind. I found a couple of old-fashioned Mason jars and filled one with epsom salts and the other with plain old kosher salt. As simple (and cheap) as you can get in the world of beauty products, and I found myself thinking that I should put this in the blog. But, I said to myself, what good is using salt going to do, really? Will this help save the planet? 
No, it won't, by a long stretch. But what counts is the connections. Damage to the planet happens by a domino effect, and it's little things we do that reorient our thinking, and can reorient our connection with the natural world.
(The epsom salts, by the way, are good for soaking tired feet or a tired, stressed body, and the kosher salt I mix with rose-scented almond oil to make a body scrub.)
Posted by Karen Christensen at 5:50 AM | Comments (0)
November 28, 2004
A Hot Bath on a Cold Sunday
No, not soup or bread, but homemade bath oil, made from kitchen cupboard ingredients:
Egg-Cream Bath Oil
1 whole egg
1/2 cup sesame oil (or another vegetable oil; note: this is light sesame oil from the wholefood store, not the dark kind used to season Chinese food!)
1 Tbsp washing-up liquid
2 Tbsp rubbing alcohol (or vodka if you prefer - this is a preservative and helps disperse the bath oil)
1/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp orange or lemon extract (or favorite essential oil or perfume)
Beat egg and sesame oil together until smooth with a wire whisk.
Slowly add washing-up liquid while you continue beating. A smooth, pale gold lotion will form.
Very slowly add alcohol (which will thin mixture again), and then the milk. The milk may be a bit difficult to beat in.
Add scent. You can also substitute your favorite cologne in place of all or part of the alcohol.
Use ¼ cup or more per bath. Store in refrigerator.
Posted by Karen Christensen at 8:37 AM | Comments (0)