Everything And Nothing

Shower Smoothie



Celebrities happily drop $405 on the Ultimate Total Body Hydra-Dermabrasion Resurfacing treatment at the Ole Henriksen Face/Body Spa in Los Angeles. Ole adapted the recipe for Redbook magazine — and it costs only $10. (Much closer to my pay grade.)

Shower Smoothie

2 oz wet coffee grounds
2 oz Epsom salts
1 ripe avocado, mashed
2 oz plain Greek yogurt
Sunflower seed oil

In a medium bowl, mix coffee grounds and salts. In another, mix avocado and yogurt. Combine the contents of both bowls, stirring thoroughly. Mix in just enough oil to make a smooth — not runny — paste. Now step into the shower, get wet, and turn off the water. Here comes the fun part: “Using the entire palm of each hand, vigorously scrub your body from feet to neck for several minutes,” Henriksen says. When you’re done, just rinse and glow. Bonus: “You’ll feel an immediate lifting and constricting of the skin from the coffee — and incredible smoothness too.

 

Have a Good Hair Day

Mix 2 egg whites with 1/4 cup yogurt. Work into your hair and let sit 30 minutes. Rinse with cool water.

[ via Food Network magazine, April 2011 ]

Vanilla Brown Sugar Scrub

1 c. brown sugar, packed
1/2 c. sweet almond oil
2 vitamin E capsules
1/2 t. vanilla extract

Combine brown sugar and almond oil in a mixing bowl. Pierce capsules with a knife or cut in half with kitchen scissors. Empty oil into sugar mixture and discard capsules. Add vanilla and stir well to combine. Store in an airtight container. Makes about one cup. (Add a drizzle of honey for extra moisturizing!)

Pour into a jar with a rubber seal, add the label above and surprise someone special!

[ via Recipes for Kindness and Gooseberry Patch Blog ]

 

Surf Spray

When you don't have the beach available to give you that beach hair look, fake it with this at-home recipe from Fabrice Gili:

Fill a spray bottle with 8 oz. of water. Add 2 tbsp of sea salt. Squirt in a dab of gel. Shake, spritz on, and air-dry.

Voila. Beach hair!

Homemade Hair Shine Enhancer

The peel from one orange
1/2 avocado
1 tsp olive oil
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 cup water

Bring the water to a rapid boil, add the orange peel and remove from heat. Once cool, pour the contents into a blender, and whip for one minute. Add the remaining ingredients, blend for an additional minute, then transfer the mixture to a bowl. Paint it on your hair from the roots to tips, cover with a shower cap, and let it sit for 25 minutes. Rinse and shampoo as usual...voila, glossy locks.

[ via Cosmopolitan magazine, May 2007 ]

Reviving Scrub

1/4 cup light olive oil
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup raw turbinado sugar
15 drops essential peppermint oil
1/2 cup used coffee grounds from a freshly brewed pot

Combine all ingredients in a medium-sized bowl; using a fork, thoroughly blend. Transfer the scrub to a wide-mouthed jar and store in a cool place until ready to use. The scrub will keep for one to two weeks, longer if refrigerated.

While showering, apply handfuls of the coffee scrub to wet skin in circular motions, starting at the feet and working up. The scrub contains oil, so it's best to do this over a rubber mat to avoid slipping. Pay particular attention to rough spots such as heels, ankles, knees and elbows.

After scrubbing, cleanse skin as usual using a mild natural soap or body wash. Pat skin dry with a fluffy towel and follow with lotion to seal in moisture.

[ via body + soul magazine, March 2006 ]

Skin Smoother and Softener

Mix 2 cups of plain  yogurt with 1 cup of oatmeal flakes. Apply in circular motions then rinse.

[ via Estrella Spa at the Viceroy Palm Springs and Self magazine, April 2007 ]

Grandma Gogg’s Strawberry Lemon Peel

1 buff puff
6 wild strawberries (or other grainy fruit such as kiwi)
1 liter sparkling water
1 6 oz. serving of plain, natural yogurt
¼ of a lemon

Directions: Stand in a sunny window for 30 seconds to warm the skin. Gently crush strawberries onto buff puff and, after testing on a small area of your arm, massage into the face for 30 seconds (microdermabrasion). Rinse liberally with sparkling water. Mix the yogurt and lemon juice and slap a thick layer onto face for five minutes (fruit acid peel). Rinse with warm tap water and apply a gentle moisturizer. Beauty is served.

[ via Dr. David Colbert and Daily Candy ]

Banana Face Mask

1 cup natural (unflavored) yogurt
1 tbsp honey
1 mashed, ripe banana

Combine all in a bowl. Mix well and spread on face. Leave on for about 10 minutes, then rinse off.

[ via Spa-di-da! A Spa Day with Ma and Family Circle magazine, April 1, 2006 ]

Chamomile-Tea Compress

To relieve red, swollen eyes, open a box of chamomile tea and follow these instructions.

In a small bowl, cover two tea bags with hot, but not boiling, water. Steep 30 seconds. Remove the bags from the water; let them cool until they're safe to handle, and squeeze out any excess liquid. Lie down, place a bag over each closed eye and rest 5 to 10 minutes.

Note: If you suffer from hay fever or are allergic to ragweed and chamomile, use green or black tea instead.

[ via Sarah D. Smith, Natural Health magazine, September 2006 ]