Recipes and Ideas to Bring out your Natural Beauty, Naturally!
Herbal Shampoo
Ingredients:
1 teaspoon Lemon peel
3 teaspoons Thyme
3 teaspoons Rosemary
3 teaspons Lavender
3 teaspoons Mint
3 teaspoons Orange peel
1 cup basic shampoo recipe, or an unscented, natural shampoo you like.*
*Basic Shampoo Recipe
1/2 teaspoon sunflower oil (You can use any light vegetable oil)
1/4 cup of water
1/4 cup of liquid castile soap
Directions:
Bring water to a rolling boil
Add all herbs and simmer on low heat for 10 to 15 minutes
Remove from heat
When cooled add your shampoo base
Store in covered jar or bottle and taaa-daaa!!
Oatmeal, rose and lemon balm body scrub
Oatmeal, rose and lemon balm body scrub is a simple, natural body scrub that will help exfoliate and moisturize all skin types, though it is especially good for dry, itchy skin, as the rolled oats and almond will reduce redness and itching. Making your own body scrub can also save you money compared to buying commercial products, which often contain potentially dangerous preservatives and additives not found in homemade recipes. This body scrub will keep for about two weeks if stored in a cool, dry place between uses.
Things You'll Need:
•1 cup rolled oats
•1 cup cosmetic clay
•½ cup raw almonds
•½ cup dried rose petals
•½ cup dried lemon balm
•½ cup yogurt
•Juice of 1 lemon
•4 drops lemon essential oil
1. Place the rolled oats, almond, rose petals and lemon balm in a blender and grind until they become a fine mixture.
2. Transfer the contents of the blender to a mixing bowl and add the yogurt, lemon juice and lemon essential oil. Mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon or disposable stirrer.
3. Using a plastic funnel, transfer the mixture to a wide-mouth glass jar with a tight-fitting lid. Store the mixture in a dry, cool place between uses.
WildFlower Bath Salts 
Epsom Salts (available at any pharmacy or drug-store)
Baking Soda
Table Salt
Essential Oils (today we are using Lavender)
Flowers (today we are using Calendula)
Step # 1: Measure 1 part Epsom salts; ½ part baking soda and ¼ part table salt into a bowl.
Step # 2: Mix together really well
Step # 3: Mix in a couple drops of essential oils.
Step # 4: Mix together really well again
Step # 5: Add a few flowers and mix gently
Step # 6: Put it all into a clear jar
Step # 7: Make a nice label and give it someone you care about!
Directions for use: Add 2-3 Tablespoons to a warm bath. This will help ease stress, muscle cramps and exfoliate and soften the skin. Lavender oil and calendula flowers bring added relaxation and skin-healing benefits!
Lemony Stay-Put! Hair Spray Squeeze juice of 1 lemon into 2 cups of water. Cut up lemon peel and add. Boil slowly until reduced to 1 cup. Strain and pour into spray bottle. Keep in fridge. For extra hold use 1 1/2 lemons.
Pimple Schmimple
Calm down a bout of pimples, and prevent more with this soothing, disinfecting, and all-natural toner. When using natural acne remedies, it’s important to stick with them, as they may take a bit longer than store bought acne remedies to work. Be patient and consistent, natural remedies may be better for your skin in the long run.
Mix 1 cup witch hazel, 20 drops tea tree oil, and 1/2 cup chamomile tea. Put into a bottle and shake. A spray bottle will eliminate your need for a cotton pad or ball, and reduces your environmental impact. Storing your toner in the fridge will preserve its natural abilities, and will make for an invigorating step in your morning routine.
Aloe There! Shave Gel
Replace shaving cream with 100% aloe vera gel. Be sure to find aloe vera gel with no additives like colour or fragrance. Keeping aloe plants will provide you with homegrown aloe. Cut open leaf and rub on skin. However, we suggest you use aloe from your plants only when you need a small amount, like a small sunburn, blemish, or cut. Otherwise, you might overwhelm your plants!
Hair Colouring and Highlight Enhancing Hair dye contains some of the most harmful chemicals of any personal product. It also can often look very unnatural. Enhancing your natural, beautiful hair colour is possible with the use of teas and produce. Happy highlighting!
- Colour your hair with henna instead of dye. Hair dye can contain coal tar, and often has a lot of toxic chemicals. Henna is an ancient method of hair colour enhancement. It won’t lighten your hair, but will darken or enhance your colour. Beware of black henna, which isn’t true henna; it may contain a carcinogenic chemical additive.
- Rinsing your hair with Apple Cider Vinegar at the end of your shower will clarify and add shine.
- Attention blondes! In the summer, putting lemon juice on your hair and basking (or gardening, or building a house) in the sun will bring out your natural highlights. Lemony Stay-Put! Hairspray will have a similar effect, but a bit more gradually.
- Home-steeped hair rinses will bring out your natural highlights and lowlights, and help your hair look more shimmery and dynamic. Simply steep the chosen ingredient in almost boiling water for about 5 minutes. When cooled, use as a hair rinse on your clean, wet hair at the end of your shower. You may want to catch the rinse in a bowl and run it through your hair a few times; the more you do, the more dramatic the results will be. Rinse with cold water. This is not permanent, and the results you see will generally be subtle.
Blondes: Chamomile
Brunettes: Rosemary (do not use in first 4 months of pregnancy)
Blonder Redheads: Carrots*
Deeper Redheads: Beets* for deeper colour, brew beets longer. You might also add a few tablespoons to your shampoo to enhance colour daily.
*be careful with these, as they might stain your tub; do them outside during the warmer months or over a laundry or industrial sink Also, these two rinses tend to be more highly pigmented than the others, so use at your own risk of having a visibly different hair colour.
Nuts for Coconut Curly Hair Oil
If you love your thick, curly hair, and want it to look its textured best, coconut oil was made for you. It’s a great alternative to expensive pomades, and literally has no extra ingredients for you to worry about. Use sparingly, especially around your roots, unless you have a dry scalp. Coconut oil will help a lot with a dry scalp or with flakes/dandruff!
Avocado Desperado
Mash half of a ripe avocado, mix in a teaspoon of honey if your skin is extra dry. Smooth it on your clean, dry mug and reeeeelax for 10-15 minutes. Rinse off with lukewarm water and marvel at your baby soft skin!
Shea Butter
You can buy pure shea butter free from additives, colour, or fragrance. It is quite hard in its basic form, so it lasts very long, and a little bit will go a long way towards moisturizing your driest areas (like your elbows).
