Natural Body Care Products from Your Healing Kitchen!

Our skin absorbs up to 60% of the chemicals we lather on it daily.  When many of these chemicals are blessed with names we can't pronounce, it's time to start looking to your healing kitchen for healthy, effective alternatives.  And for those who thought the kitchen was only for cooking edibles, think again.  By using simple ingredients we can create our own body care products with items we find in our kitchen cupboards. 

Our skin serves myriad purposes from protecting us, to holding the body at a steady temperature.  It is the first line of defense against bacteria and viruses.  It allows certain things in, like topically applied substances and it lets other noxious elements out, like pimples, ulcers or acne.  When it is vibrant, healthy and alive it radiates good health.  When imbalance makes the body ill, the skin reflects that state with lack of colour, tone and energy.

As we age, elastin, a type of fiber that gives skin its strength and resilience, weakens and thins. And collagen, another type of fiber, slows its production.  Other factors can affect the health of the skin as well, like:

• overuse of the wrong kind of skin care product
• poor hygiene
• poor nutrition
• inadequate water and/or essential oil intake
• insufficient exercise
• exposure to sun, pollution, and wind
• dry air
• stress

How do you tell if your skin needs some healing kitchen cosmetology?  Ask yourself these questions:

• Have you noticed loss of tone?
• Have you noticed your skin thinning and feeling crepe-like.
• Is your skin feeling saggy and loose.
• Is your skin excessively dry.
• Have you developed adult acne?

These are all signs of maturity and the aging process, however, there are ways of slowing down the process and still retaining radiant skin that shines good health.  How? 

1. Throw out your soap.  Soap can add to the dryness that is typical of mature skin.  Instead of soap use a gentle lotion or cream cleanser once or twice a day or try a cleansing and nourishing facial mask.
2. After you shower use your favourite oil and apply liberally using Abhyanga self massage . Add the essential oil of rose or lavender for dry skin and a few drops of tea tree oil for oily skin.
3. For dry scalp, before you shower, apply sesame oil to the scalp and massage in. Let sit on your scalp for a good five to ten minutes and then wash.
4. Try a healing steam and cleanse weekly. Use fennel seed or calendula to cleanse impurities from the pores. Take a large mixing bowl and fill 1/3 full with boiling water, add fennel or calendula, let steep for about five minutes. Hold a towel over your head and lean over the bowl. Steam for about ten minutes. Wash face with water, apply homemade rosewater toner and then moisturize.

Of course, nothing beats good nutrition from the inside out so please make sure you follow a great diet that is rich in antioxidant rich fruits and vegetables and plant proteins!