New Year, New You: Easy At Home Beauty Treatments!

Everyone is working on self improvement for the new year! My resolutions included: Toning Up, Be & Eat Healthier, Save Money, and Finish Decorating My House!

First off I wanted to cut harmful things out of my life. By harmful I mean the consumption of productions with an excess about of processing, preservatives, dyes, hormones and additives. Not only does this count food but cosmetics fall into this category too!

I feel that so many products that I use on a daily basis contain SO MANY chemicals. The fact that I use them EVERY SINGLE day really freaks me out. Therefore I have began to search for health conscious ways to purchase my cosmetics. Also a few months ago I began looking into the use of PARABENS in cosmetics.

para·ben

/ˈpar-ə-ben/

n

er either of two anti-fungal agents used as preservatives in
foods, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals pharmaceuticals:
a : METHYLPARABEN
b : PROPYLPARABEN

Long story short: Parabens are used as a preservative (extend shelf life & kill bacteria & the cheapest most available preservative) in cosmetics. A UK study in 2004 found that 18 out of 20 breast cancer patients had parabens present in their breast tissue. The presence of parabens does not directly link to the cause of cancer HOWEVER the fact that parabens can penetrate the skin and be found present in the bloodstream in a matter of minutes. Also they are known to disrupt hormone function by mimicking estrogen. They also increase the expression of genes usually regulated by estradiol (a form of estrogen); these genes cause human breast tumor cells to grow and multiply in cellular studies (SafeCometics.org). ALSO it has been linked to abnormal fetal development in pregnant women... AND THE LIST GOES ON AND ON.

Now, you can take this information how you want to. You can believe it or not, but as for me, I don't see the harm in reducing my use of cosmetics (or beauty products) high in chemicals and opting for a more natural alternative. I'm not saying to just go out and dump all of you MAC make up in the trash because they contain parabens and other chemicals, I just want you to be more aware of whats in the products your purchasing

ANYWAYS here are some quick easy recipes for at home beauty!

Avocado Cucumber Facial
Soften up your dry winter skin with this refreshing facial! You will need:

2-3 tbs Avocado
1 /4 of a large Cucumber
2-3 tbs Honey
1 Egg Yolk
Blender




Throw all the ingredients into the blender



Blend until it looks like this!



Spread evenly onto face and let it sit for 15 mins like me... hahah

Wash off with cool water.

Sweet Sugar Lip Scrub



For ultra soft lips you will need:
2 tbs white or brown sugar
1-2 tsp Honey (until it reaches a thick consistency)
3-4 drops of Olive Oil

Mix all the ingredients in a small bowl. Apply a small amount of mixture to lips & gently rub to exfoliate. Rinse with cool water and apply your favorite lip balm.


Virgin Coconut Oil Deep Conditioner

I first fell in love with using Virgin Coconut Oil as hair treatment (PLUS MORE!) when my friend Denise (DenovaBeauty) told me about the natural benefits of coconut oil. Coconut oil can be used as a pre condition (especially for those of you who dye your hair often), detangler/softener after the shower, lip balm and moisturizing body lotion. This stuff is only $5 at Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Sun Flower, or any other health food store. You can use Virgin or Extra Virgin it works the same.

Here are step by step instructions on how to deep condition your hair provided by HealthyOilPlanet:

Shampoo your hair and let dry until slightly damp.

Apply a quarter-sized amount of virgin coconut oil to your palms and rub hands together. The heat from your hands will instantly melt the coconut oil, coating your palms and fingers with the oil. If you have longer hair, you'll probably need to use more oil.

Run your fingers through your hair. Concentrate on coating your hair with the oil. Your hair will look slick and shiny from the oil. Using too much oil will take longer to rinse out.

Take the plastic shower cap and cover your hair. This keeps your hair in place. It also helps retain heat to increase absorption.

Leave on for about one hour, then remove the plastic shower cap and rinse your hair (or very lightly shampoo). Your hair will feel thick and full right after this 60 minute treatment.

So basically I mostly use coconut oil for conditioner, body lotion, and lip balm! It smells so amazing and it makes everything soft! Plus one medium sized jar will last you a very long time.

I hope you enjoyed all these beauty tips! Happy New Year!