Complete Guide to Eye Massage

Do not rub the skin around eyes when you apply cream around them. The correct method is to start from the inner side of the eye moving towards the pulse spots. Exactly the same method should be applied for the upper lid. The correct method for the massage is as below:

(a) Pinch the eyebrows working from the nose out. Squeeze the eyebrows using the forefinger and thumb. This releases the eye tension and strain. Repeat seven times.

(b) Using the second and third fingers stroke around the eyes, applying pressure at the bridge of the nose and at the temples. Remember, do not pull or drag the delicate skin around the eyes.

(c) In the end, wipe off the residual grease, and apply a little skin tonic or mineral water, which makes your skin soft and glowing.

To maintain eye-health and lower eye tension, there are several easy exercises. For the self lubrication of eyes, either blink your eyes rapidly for fifty times or rotate eye­balls in a complete circle, first clockwise and then anti­clockwise, several times.

Easy Guide to Lovely, Sparkling Eyes

Bright eyes indicate glowing good health and vitality. If you are not healthy, your eyes will become dull and give a strained look. Much of a woman's magnetism and charm depend upon clear, lovely and sparkling eyes. The first and the most basic requirement for beautiful eyes is a good diet. The best vitamin for healthy eyes is Vitamin A. A diet which is rich will help to make eyes shine with health.

Strain, glare, dust particles and city fumes are among the main enemies of lovely eyes. Sleep is vital for bright shining eyes. Without sleep they become blood shot and tired-looking. Eight hours night sleep is a must. You can avoid strain by reading only in good light and by making sure that you can see clearly before undertaking any close work such as sewing or writing. Beware of the sun's rays and glare during the hot summer months. Eye strain and irritation can be relieved' and minimized by a good relaxing, eye-lotion used at bed time. This method cleans the eye area thoroughly, tones up tired, worn-out muscles and takes care of minor impurities. Half fill a pot having a wide mouth, with a mild solution so that the eyes can roll and move freely in the solution. Now rotate eye-balls in the solution. Beware of using the same lotion on both the eyes, because if there is a mild infection or inflammation in one eye, you will carry it to the other also.

Easy to Make Homemade Sunburn Recipes

No doubt Vitamin D produced by sun-rays is necessary for healthy bones, but the worst thing we could do for our skin is to expose it to the sun. The sun's reaction on the skin is similar to that of age. It dehydrates the skin leaving it thick, leathery, wrinkled, patchy and dry. It is advised to drink three to four glasses of lime water before going out in the sun. There are several easy-to-make Sun-tan lotions and creams to face ultra-violet rays. Here are a few easy to make, home-made Sunburn Recipes for you.


Oil and Vinegar Sunburn Lotion:
Mix together the following ingredients in a bottle:
1 cup olive oil (or sesame oil)
1/2 cup vinegar
1 teaspoon iodine
a few drops of perfume (lavender)


Oil and Tea Sun Burn Cream:
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons lanolin
3 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons almond oil
1/2 cup strong tea
perfume

Make strong tea, remove from the heat and strain it. Now melt oils in an enamel bowl over a water bath. Now slowly add the tea and beat continuously with a wooden spoon. Add perfume when it is cool. Lanolin and almond oil keep the skin moist, sesame oil has the properties to absorb ultra-violet rays. The tannin available in tea also absorbs the sun's burning rays.

Sesame Seed Sun Burn Lotion:
Grind 4 tablespoons sesame seeds to powder and mix it to one cup of rose water in a bottle. Keep it for 24 hours, shaking as often as possible. Strain and add 4 tablespoons Vodka or surgical spirit to preserve it.

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.