Simple Guide to Homemade Astringents

Astringent lotion is used to tone the skin and is necessary to remove the last traces of grease and closed pores. Never choose a harsh astringent lotion. Astringent is applied to the oiliest places such as the sides of the nose, chin and forehead. When blemishes occur, it is good for yourself to cover them. This helps to close the pores and discourage the greasy excretions from building up too rapidly under­neath your make up.

Strong astringent lotions contain alcohol. Surgical spirit, too, is a good astringent but it smells too much. I do not recommend the use of strong astringents as they over­dry the skin, leaving it tight and dehydrated. Always use a milder tonic or astringent. Here are a few home-made astringent preparations for you.

Honey Water Astringent:
Mix the following ingredients together in a glass jar with an air-tight lid for a week, shaking it twice daily.
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons coriander seed
2 tablespoons nutmeg
1 tablespoon cloves
4 tablespoons grated lemon peel
8 tablespoons alcohol
4 tablespoons rose water
4 tablespoons orange flower water
112 teaspoon benzoin, and
1/2 teaspoon storax.

Rosemary Water Astringent:
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons rosemary
peel and pith of a 1/4 orange
peel and pith of a 1/2 lemon
4 sprigs of mint
1/4 cup alcohol or witch-hazel (for mild astringent) 1/2 cup rose water

Mix all the ingredients together in a large air-tight bottle and let it stand for 48 to 72 hours, shaking fre­quently.

Lemon Astringent:

Mix the following ingredients together in a large bottle for 24 hours, then strain and use for greasy skin.
4 tablespoons lemon juice or juice of 2 large lemons
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
8 tablespoons witch-hazel
2 tablespoons alcohol

Camphor Astringent:
Mix together in a large bottle 1/2 cup rose water, 1/2 cup witch-hazel, 1(2 cup distilled water, 1 tablespoon camphor spirit and 2 drops blue coloring. To make the astringent stronger, add a pinch of alum. Strain and use to tighten and tone the skin. This recipe is especially good if you suffer from large pores and spots. It can also be used as an after-shave lotion by men.

Simple Guide for a Fresh Spotless Skin

Wrinkles, skin blemishes, blackheads, acne, spots and sun-bum are all very common skin problems. Skin blemishes come into the blackheads, open pores, spots and acne categories and are mostly combined with the excessively oily skin. Causes can be numerous and among them are over-active glands due to puberty, a poor diet containing too many chocolates and fried foods, emotional disturbances and lack of sleep.

Open pores, blackheads, spots and pimples are all found easily on oily skins, especially when cleansing is not thorough. Blackheads are caused by overactive sebaceous glands which produce an excess of sebum. This oil comes up through the pores and if there is already grease or dirt blocking the exit of pores, a bump forms under the skin.

Acne is normally caused by an imbalance in the hor­mones. Nervousness, anxiety and tension are the other causes. When a skin is prone to blackheads and spots, it should be cleansed two or three times a day. Cleanse skin thoroughly whenever fresh make up is needed and also at night. Then tone the skin and help to close pores by patting on a skin tonic or mild astringent.

Homemade Nourishing Creams

Nourishing preparations include all the skin foods whether they are oil-based or of the moisturizing type, whether they are light and immediately absorbed or heavy and sticky, needing to be massaged into the skin. Hormone creams and lotions, vitamin products, serum ampoules, anti-wrinkle creams and lotions, biologically active prepa­rations all come into the nourishing group. Some of the easy-to-make nourishing recipes are given below.

Cocoa Butter Cream:
Heat the following ingredients together over a water bath, stirring them thoroughly:

2 tablespoons cocoa butter
2 tablespoons emulsifying wax
1 tablespoon beeswax
4 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon almond oil

When the ingredients are completely melted, remove from the heat and stir until the cream is cool. Add a few drops of perfume while stirring. This cream leaves the skin smooth without being greasy.

In case waxes are not easily available mix 2 tablespoons lanolin and 8 tablespoons almond oil (or sesame or safflo­wer oil) and melt these together over a water bath. It is really good for dry skin and neglected areas such as elbows, knees, feet and neck. If the cream has to be applied on oily skin, add 2 tablespoons rosewater (or ordinary soft water).

Elder Flower Cream:
Mix together 3 tablespoons almond oil, 4 tablespoons elder flower blossoms and I tablespoon lanolin in a bowl over a water bath. Let it simmer together for an hour, strain, and then add warm water slowly.

Honey Cream:
Honey is very useful for a dry, coarse and sensitive skin. To make a nourishing honey cream for sallow skin, mix 3 tablespoons lanolin, 1 tablespoon honey and 1 tea­spoon lecithin in a bowl and melt over a water bath. Slowly add 4 tablespoons warm water to it, beating continuously until it cools.

Homemade Rich Herbal Creams

Almost all skins need a moisturizer, even for oily types, but for the dry or mature skin a moisturizer is vital. The drier your skin the more lavish you should be with your use of moisturizer either in cream or liquid form. Apply it after cleansing and toning and always before making up. A thin film of moisturizer is helpful under a face pack for a very dry skin, which gives moisture to the skin cells.

While you are asleep the skin is busy replacing dead skin cells with fresh ones. Sleeping is very important for beauty because there is no outside influences to bother the skin. Every night a nourishing cream must be smoothed upwards over the face and from the chin downwards to relax tight muscles and accelerate circulation. If you feel the skin is especially dry, use a second application.

During menopause and afterwards when the body supplies of harm ones and other vital elements slows down, creams and lotions containing hormones and other Special extracts and serums, rich creams containing vitamins and concentrated oils, help to give the skin a more youthful appearance. Here are a few easy-to-make simple moisturi­zers. You can select any of them.

Almond Oil Moisturizing Cream:
Put 2 teaspoons beeswax and I teaspoon emulsifying wax into a bowl and melt over the water bath. When melted, add in 5 teaspoons almond oil. In a separate bowl, heat the water over the same water bath so that the two bowls are at the same temperature. Slowly add water to the melted waxes and oils, stirring all the time. Remove from the heat and continue stirring. When cool add a few drops of lavender oil.

Avocado and Almond Cream:
Ingredients:
3 teaspoons beeswax
3 teaspoons emulsifying wax
½ cup almond oil
½ cup avocado oil, and
3 tablespoons rose water

Melt that waxes in an enamel pan over a water bath, then add the avocado and almond oils. Now add the heated rosewater drop by drop, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and continue stirring till it is cool. While it cools, you may add a few drops of perfume. Both almond and avocado oils are fine and rich for the skin.

Comfrey Cream:
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon lanolin
2 tablespoons white emulsifying wax
6 tablespoons beeswax
6 tablespoons almond oil, herb lotion, or infusion

Melt the oils and waxes together over a water bath, cool and store in a refrigerator. Take a couple of teaspoons of this cream, melt it and add a teaspoon of any herb lotion or infusion of your choice.

Easy Facial Exercises for You

The object of doing facial exercises is to improve and strengthen muscle tone and to increase blood circulation. Repeat each exercise ten times.
(1) Keeping the muscles tight, say EE, AH, 00 with your lips consciously stretched as much as you can.

(2) Open the mouth wide and roll your tongue as much as you can.

(3) Sit straight, facing a mirror. Now look up to the ceiling, stretching your 'neck as you do so. Still in the stretched upward position, turn your head to look over your left shoulder. Return to the front, then look over your right shoulder. Return to front and lower chin to right angle position with neck. This is a good facial exercise for double chin.

(4) Sit straight, facing a mirror. Clench teeth hard and curl back lips. Stretch corners of your mouth as far apart as you can in a grimacing expression. Hold the contraction for a count of six, then relax. Thrust lower jaw as far forward as you can, then relax. This is a good exercise for a flabby jawline.

(5) Sit straight, facing a mirror. Suck in cheeks, then blow them out alternately. Now smile with one side of your mouth only, pushing the half grin up and out. Repeat with the other side of your mouth. This is a good exer­cise for fat cheeks.

(6) Sit straight, facing a mirror. Suck in cheeks, then blow them out. Press both cheeks slowly with fingertips, but the air should not come out. This is another good exercise for fat cheeks.

(7) Sit straight, facing a mirror. Open eyes wide and raise eyebrows at the same time. Hold briefly. Lower brows bringing eyes back to normal size as you do. This is a good exercise for furrowed brows.

How to Massage Correctly and Recipes for Massage

Massage is also done with talcum powder. If you have an oily skin, powder massage is equally effective. Dab skin with a towel before a powder massage. Do not rub towel on the skin. After drying the skin thoroughly, dust it with any good talcum powder, preferably with a baby powder as this is milder and does not harm the sensitive skin. Be sure that your hands glide smoothly on the skin. If the face is not dry, the powder will stick to your skin and hamper the hand movement. Remember to spread a towel beneath your shoulders and head in order to avoid staining the bedspread below. If you have acne or pimples, avoid using greasy substance for massage. Even soap lather could be used as a massage medium, but this should be avoided as far as possible, as soap may in fact harm the problem skin.

Homemade Massage Paste:
This consists of wheat flour or oatmeal mixed into a paste with double cream. The paste has a deep-cleansing effect on the skin, removing dead cells and dirt.

Another way to make massage cream is to soak two handfuls of lentils in water overnight. Put these in the liquidizer with a small quantity of milk and wash yourself with the resultant mixture. This makes your skin shiny and smooth.

Homemade Massage Cream:
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons lanolin
4 tablespoons sun flower or safflower oil
9 tablespoons rose water

Heat the oils together and then slowly add the heated water. Add a tablespoon of winter green or camphor oil to make a really invigorating massage cream. To make this cream lighter simply add 2 tablespoons of petroleum jelly.

Home Made Massage Oil:
Mix these oils together and use
½ cup almond oil
½ cup castor oil
1 teaspoon camphor oil

Various Massage Movements

Stroking Movement
This movement consists in running your hand very lightly over the part of the body you wish to massage. This soothes the skin and calms and relaxes the nerves. All massage must always start and end with stroking. Start the movement very slowly, accelerating gradually and slowing down again before starting another movement. The position of hands should be easy and relaxed. The palms of the hands or the pads of the fingers must be in complete contact with the skin and slide over it upwards towards the scalp. Movements should be always upwards, never downwards.

Vibrating Movement
This needs the aid of a vibrating instrument of the vibro-massage type. The movements should be made up­wards as for hand massage. This is very useful for cheeks and chin massage.

Kneading Movement
This resembles kneading of the flour. The fingers are folded in the kneading gesture, and soft kneading motion is applied all over the face. For body massage, this stroke becomes firmer.

Pressing Movement
This movement is used to remove the lymph from 'bags' under the eyes. In this movement pressure is exerted with the fingers.

Pinching Movement
Pinching is done to the flesh between the index and the middle finger, resembling the action of scissors. This stroke is helpful for the wrinkled skin and also for obese people. It is very helpful to reduce double chin and saggy, puffy cheeks. For body muscles, the skin is pinched between the thumb and forefinger, and the movement should be a little rapid.

Percussion Movement
This movement tones up and stimulates. The exercise should be done briskly with the fingertips together. It is recommended for the cheeks. For body massage, this movement is done by applying the edge of each hand alternately on the part to be massaged in a very rapid rhythm. The aim of this movement is to aid the nutrition of the tissues and to produce a soothing effect on the nerves.

Squeezing Movement
This movement will break down cellulitis of the connec­tive tissue. Place the palins of your hands on each side of the part to be massaged and press your hands hard, as if you are rubbing your hands together.

Rapping Movement
This movement is done briskly with hands half closed.

Patting Movement
This movement is done with the backs of your bands half closed.

Clapping Movement
Give yourself small successive taps or smacks. The air contained in the hollow of the hand gives elasticity to the movement.