Skincare

The appearance and health of your skin is mostly down to genetics, however, it is not immune to other forces e.g. the environment. A good example of this is Australia, the majority of its population is fair skinned and it has the highest incidents of skin cancer in the world! Other factors that can influence your skin and its condition are, diet, hormones and mood, acne break outs are very common in women during menstruation, whilst psoriasis and eczema flare ups can be associated with depression and anxiety. Your skin is hugely affected by external factors from the environment and this is where the gardener would be most at risk! Excessive exposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays can lead to sun damaged skin, broken blood vessels, dehydration, leathery dry skin and cancers. Cold and windy weather can cause windburn, chapped lips, chaffing and broken blood vessels whilst dry weather can cause dull, dry and flaky looking skin, dehydration and itchiness. Premature ageing is not directly linked to dryness of the skin but sun damage is. Cigarette smoke and chemicals in the air we breath our environment all deprive our skin of oxygen and can generate free radicals, these are high-energy molecules that are unstable and attack cells within our bodies damaging our DNA, they do this by attacking the proteins and fats within and in turn it is believed that this is what leads to our physical deterioration, ageing! Our body does fight back by calling upon antioxidants, the body’s natural defence to repair the damage. Consuming fresh fruit and vegetables or taking vitamins is an excellent way of supplementing antioxidants in order to aid the fight against free-radical damage and they aid in healing the skin, giving the appearance of younger looking, healthier skin, the most potent of these antioxidants are vitamins A, B, C, E, and essential fatty acids.

Written by Peace Lily on 2006/11/23 | Permalink to this article

Rose and Aloe eye gel

One tablespoon of aloe vera gel
Fifteen drops of carrot oil
Fifteen drops of evening primrose oil
One capsule of vitamin E oil
Two drops of rose essential oil

This one is easy, place all of the ingredients in to a bowl and stir until well mixed, spoon the mixture in to a small glass jar and keep in the refrigerator. Discard any remaining product after 4 weeks of making.

Written by Peace Lily on 2006/12/20 | Permalink to this article

Rose petal moisturiser

One teaspoon of white beeswax
One teaspoon of cocoa butter
One teaspoon of emulsifying wax
One tablespoon of sweet almond oil, preferably organic
One tablespoon of rose water
One tablespoon of herb infusion
One capsule of vitamin E oil
One capsule or ½ teaspoon of evening primrose or borage oil
One teaspoon of vegetable glycerine
One tablespoon of aloe vera gel
Six drops of rose essential oil

Melt the beeswax; cocoa butter and emulsifying wax in a glass bowl over a pan of boiling water, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon. Pour the almond oil in a drop at a time whilst stirring; add in slowly the rose water and herbal infusion. Next remove the bowl from the heat and pierce the vitamin E capsule and squeeze its contents in to the mixture, add the borage/evening primrose oil and the vegetable glycerine and stir. Allow the mixture to cool, whilst stirring occasionally, and when the mixture is lukewarm add the aloe vera gel a little at a time, lastly add your choice of essential oil and pour in to an appropriate glass jar. Store your moisturiser in a cool dry place and discard any remaining contents after 4 weeks of making.

Written by Peace Lily on 2006/12/20 | Permalink to this article

Moisturising

Most of the adverts we see on television lead us to believe that our skin has to have a moisturiser and this is simply not the case. If your skin has dry patches then you need only apply moisturiser to those dry patches, if during the summer months your skin feels fine and yet in the winter months it feels dry then only apply a moisturiser when you need it, failing to use a moisturiser will not cause wrinkles. Moisturisers are either oil based or oil free formulations, choose one that suits your skin type and remember there are no hard and fast rules, make your own judgement and don’t worry! The skin around the eye and neck area is much thinner than on the face and it has fewer sebaceous glands so it could need extra moisturising. Those with an oily skin type may wish to just moisturise on the neck and eye area and nowhere else. The skin around the eyes is very sensitive and as such you may not wish to use products with alpha/beta hydroxy acids, retinoids or other irritating ingredients unless they are specifically designed for this area of the face. In order to avoid irritation to the eye area use fragrance free products. (Grape seed extract, pycnogenol and green tea extract all contain polyphenols and are potent antioxidants that support and enhance the effects of other antioxidants, look our for these in other skincare products). In recent years studies have shown that your skins temperature increases during sleep, warmer skin absorbs more of the active ingredients in a product so choose a good night cream with plenty of vitamins and reap the benefits! For the personal touch straight from Mother Nature why not try the recipes for rose petal moisturiser and rose and aloe eye gel, which are designed to suit most skin types. Both are easy to make with natural ingredients but don’t be afraid to experiment to get the mix that suits you best, both are wonderful for pampering and nourishing your skin after a hard day in the garden. Remember to wear a sunscreen on top of the moisturiser in the daytime so that your skin is fully protected from the elements.

Written by Peace Lily on 2006/12/20 | Permalink to this article

Recipe for herbal soap

Purchase an unscented pure vegetable soap and grate it down, for every 4oz of soap you will need 1 cup of herbal infusion (look at the suggestions below for essential oils or infusions). Heat the grated soap and the infusion in a bowl over a saucepan of boiling water and stir until it turns to a thick paste, here you can choose to add extra ingredients to make the soap you require. For an exfoliating bar add some oatmeal or honey for a creamy soft soap and then add 6 to 8 drops of you chosen essential oil and continue to stir gently, you can now pour the mixture into your chosen mould and leave it to dry, preferably overnight. Once the mould has set tip the bar out and wrap it in greaseproof paper and then store it in a dark warm place for 4 to 5days and then your soap is ready to use.