Skin Soothing Herbal Preparations for the Summer

Been out in the sun all day? Here is something that will cool your skin down and have you looking fresh for the evening.

Peel and chop a medium sized cucumber and mash it to a pulp in your food processor. Add the juice of half a lemon to this pulp and let it stand for an hour. You can either refrigerate it or leave it outside, depending on how cold you want it when it touches your skin. Apply this on your face. Be careful around the eye area! You don't want your eyes anywhere close to the lemon juice. Leave it on for about 30 minutes and then wash it off with cold water. This is a great skin cooler, especially for oily skins.

For normal and dry skins, you can add yogurt to the cucumber pulp instead of lemon juice. About 3.5 oz or 100 grams of yogurt is enough for a medium sized cucumber. A whole cucumber can give you pulp for more than one time use, so if you want to use only half of it at one time, reduce the proportions of the lemon juice or yogurt accordingly.

Herbal Cure For An Itchy Throat

Here is a simple natural cure for an itchy throat and a general under the weather feeling. Add half a teaspoon each of turmeric powder and honey or sugar to a cup of warm, preferably skim milk. Drink this just before going to bed and you'll notice a difference the next morning. Drink this for a week to take care of the problem completely.

Soft Skin with Home Made Herbal Moisturizers

If you hesitate before using store bought moisturizers but don't know any alternative, here is your answer - a homemade chemical-free moisturizer. I won't fool you - it is a little bit of work to make these, but the good news is you can make a jar full and use it for a few months - as long as you refrigerate it. This moisturisers suits all skin types. For oily skins, just use less of it. You can also check out Healthy Living NYC for some more tips. If you live in the New York area, it has some useful information on health and wellness stores as well as spas.

White beeswax 120 gm/ 4.2 oz
Almond oil 500 ml/ 2 cups
Rose water 1 cup
Borax power 1 tsp
Heat the beewax in a saucepan until it melts. Turn the heat off and add the almond oil, rose water and borax power. Mix them thoroughly and keep stirring till the mixture cools. Transfer to a jar and refrigerate. Use it as often as you like.

Herbal Remedies for Soft Elbows and Knees

Most of us like to show off our legs and arms during the summer. But dry and dirty knees and elbows can be such a turn off, even if you have the sexiest legs and arms. Here are a few tips to keep them looking clean and feeling soft.

Make a smooth paste of chickpea flour and heavy cream and add a teaspoon of lemon juice to it. Apply this to your elbows, knees, ankles - even your arms and legs if you want. Let it dry completely and then rub it off. The chickpea flour exfoliates the skin while the heavy cream moisturizes it. The lemon juice will bleach any marks.

Another option is to mix some oatmeal with whole milk or heavy cream and lemon juice. Make a smooth paste and apply it. Let it dry and then rub off. In both cases the paste should neither be too thick nor too runny. You will see results within a week of everyday use, but for best results follow this everyday for at least a month.

You can also apply some warm olive oil to your elbows and knees before going to bed every night. Very effective!

Herbal Remedies for Blotchy Skin

Here are a few natural face scrubs that you can put together to diminish marks and make your skin look smoother. In addition to this you also need to observe some basic diet and lifestyle rules like plenty of sleep, enough water and lower caffeine consumption. Check this out for some more tips: Ayurveda and Herbal Remedies Blog: Diet and Skin

For the scrubs, here are three easy options:

Oatmeal Face Scrub: Mix one tablespoon each of milk powder and oatmeal with two tablespoons of lemon juice. Apply this scrub on your face and let it dry. Scrub it off and then wash your face with lukewarm water followed by a splash of cold water. Great results!

Banana Face Scrub: This is better for dry and normal skins. Oily skins should use either the oatmeal or peach face scrub. Beat two egg yolks with one cup of almond or olive oil. Then mash a ripe banana and add it to mixture. Add also a tablespoon of lemon juice. Apply generously on your face and neck. Leave it on for 30 minutes and rinse with cold water.

Peach Face Scrub: Mix two teaspoons of milk powder with one teaspoon of honey and two tablespoons of peach or apricot pulp. Also add a teaspoon of lemon juice. Apply generously on your face and neck. Leave it on for 15 minutes. Wash it off with lukewarm water followed by a spash of cold water.

Hair Conditioners

You can do this before you shampoo or after - depending on how dry your hair is. I would recommend using a mild shampoo after if you have normal to oily hair. If you have very dry and brittle hair, then using a shampoo after might negate the effects. You can try it once and figure out what works best.

Mix two egg yolks with two well mashed (almost pureed) over ripe avocados and apply it on your hair and scalp. Leave on for 30 minutes and then rinse or shampoo, as desired.

You can also mix one cup each of wheat germ oil and sunflower oil. Warm the mixture and massage it into your scalp and hair. Add the juice of a lemon to some lukewarm water and use this to rinse your hair. Use a mild shampoo after if the oil still remains.

Want Catherine Zeta Jones' flawless skin?

Exfoliate your skin with a mixture of honey and salt. The salt exfoliates and removes dead skin, while the honey nourishes and moisturizes. Apparently this is one of CZJ's favorite beauty routines! I tried it and it does feel great - just a little sticky though!

Shiny Hair

Lemon (again!): This little fruit has a lot of uses. Adding a few spoons of lemon juice it to your last rinse after a shampoo will give shine to blonde hair. It helps eliminate extra soap, controls dandruff and gives your hair a shine.

Apple Cider Vinegar: This is great for redheads and brunettes. You can use lemon juice too, but this is an another option. Add a few spoons to your final rinse. This will also help control dandruff.

For even better results, especially for very dull hair, oil your hair with warm olive or coconut oil, steam for ten minutes and shampoo. Then follow it up with a final rinse of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. The one thing that annoys me about oil in the hair is getting it out. Use a mild shampoo. Repeat and then rinse with lemon juice or cider vinegar. These will eliminate any remaining traces of oil.

Dry Lips

Here are two easy ways to reduce your dependence on lip balms and make your lips soft and smooth. Before a shower, mix a few drops of heavy cream with a pinch of turmeric powder and apply it on your lips. Leave it on for five minutes before washing off. Repeat this continuously for a few weeks to see results.

Alternatively or additionally, you can apply some almond oil to your lips every night before going to bed. Works like magic! Incidentally, almond oil is also a great make-up remover and nourishes your skin.

Soft Skin for Normal and Dry Skins

Chickpea Flour: This is a skin softening pack for the face as well as the body. The quantities recommeded here are for the whole body. You can increase or decrease them depending on how much you need.
Make a smooth paste of 60gms/2 oz of chickpea flour, half a teaspoon of turmeric powder and milk. Add 8-10 drops of olive oil to this. Apply and let it dry. Rub the paste off when it dries. This is most effective if you do it for three consecutive days right before a shower and then reduce it to few times a week and then gradually to twice a month. Chickpea flour also know as besan, is available in the Indian food section in grocery stores, some organic stores and in most Indian shops. Turmeric powder can also be found in the same stores.

Face Cleanser for Dry Skin

Almonds: Mix one teaspoon of powdered almonds with half a teaspoon of milk powder and one pinch of powdered sugar. You can prepare this dry mixture in advance and store it in a jar. Increase the quantities in proportion if you want more. When you want to apply it, take a quarter teaspoon of the mixture and add a little bit of warm water - just enough to make a smooth paste. Apply this paste all over the face and neck, gently massaging it into the skin for about a minute and then let it dry for ten minutes. Do not scrub rigorously. Rinse well with lukewarm water and let you face dry naturally. This mixture will leave your skin feeling fresh and soft. The almonds nourish your skin and help exfoliate. The milk will help soften and nourish dry skin.

Another variation to this is to mix equal quantities of powdered almonds with oatmeal. Add some cream or milk to this and make a smooth paste. Apply and leave on for ten minutes. Rinse with lukewarm water.

Low Blood Pressure

Raisins: This is a 32 day treatment. Soak 32 raisins in 150 grams/ 5.3 oz of water for 12 hours. In the morning, on an empty stomach, eat one raisin at a time, chewing each one well. Do this for 32 days without a break. I know some people who've tried it and really works! Among other benefits, raisins help detoxify the body and should be an integral part of any diet.

High Blood Pressure

Onion: This vegetable does a lot for you - it cuts bad cholestrol, it purifies your blood, improves your digestion and helps both the nervous system and the heart. Wow! If you suffer from high blood pressure, grate and squeeze an onion or two so you get one tablespoon of onion juice. Mix this with one tablespoon of honey and swallow it down first thing in the morning. The honey not only neutralizes the strong taste of the onion but also helps improve blood circulation and strengthens the heart.

Lemon: This fruit is all-purpose! Youi'll find it used in many remedies. For high blood pressure, squeeze the juice of half a lemon in half a cup of water and drink it every two hours, every day. This improves blood circulation and strengthens heart muscles. It also helps improve your digestion, especially the liver.

Battling dandruff

Dandruff is caused by both poor health and use of harsh chemicals. These are some simple herbal preparations that are effective and easy to follow.

Lime: Add a squeeze of lime (about 2 teaspoonsful) to 2 glasses of water. Use it as a final rinse after a shampoo. Do not rinse with plain water after. Do this for a few hair washes.
Applying lemon juice on your hair regulates the blood in your head helping in hair growth. The glands which help in producing oil are also regulated.

Olive oil: Apply warm olive oil or coconut oil or a mixture of the two to the roots of the hair. Steam the hair for half an hour and then wash with a mild shampoo. For best result follow with a rinse of water and lime as mentioned above.

Back to Nature

Looking good has been important to us for centuries. What we consider looking good and how we achieve that has changed over time, and varies in different parts of the world. What most of us, regardless of where we live, will agree on is that even the most expensive ensemble will not do you justice if you have sallow dull skin, dry hair and bags under your eyes! The point is, looking good starts with looking after yourself. The rest are all embellishments.

Never before have we been bombarded with as many choices as we are today. There is a new product every time you blink an eye, and each one promises more than the last one did. I am not just talking about cosmetic products, but even pills to make your skin glow, herbs to make your hair thicker, concoctions to remove under eye bags… I remember as a child my grandmother used to laugh at commercials for moisturizers and shampoos. ‘All you need is to look in your kitchen’ she used to say. I know I didn’t believe her much then, but after having tried a plethora of products myself – herbal, organic, non – herbal et al, I’ve come to realize what she meant. This is not to disregard what’s being sold on the shelves of your neighborhood drugstore, but eventually we are all a part of nature and nature has everything we need. There is no better proof of this than the fact that so many manufacturers now put a premium on the use of natural ingredients and herbs like honey, lemon, cucumber, oatmeal, garlic, ginger, basil etc in their products.

This space is all about simple, natural, ayurvedic, herbal homemade tips and recipes passed down from generation to generation. I’ll talk about everything from skin care to hair care to stomach pains to low blood pressure to the common cold. How we look is determined by how we feel inside. I believe that by using all natural products that are easily available and often cheaper than store bought products, we can make a big difference to how we feel and look. Please come back!