Witches are nature-lovers. This is true for beauty treatments as well. In your kitchen right now, you may well have a slather of beauty treatments that you have not considered. Your neighbor or co-worker may have pestered you to 'buy' beauty products that will 'turn back the clock' or otherwise correct a beauty problem you have been identified with by someone else, or have been conscious of for a while.
I'd like to propose that what is sold in a bottle may not be all that 'miraculous'. Major beauty suppliers want you to believe that you will not be able to achieve true beauty unless you buy their product. This is false.
For one thing, a major talk show host ran a program on television a few years back, explaining how all make-up and beauty supplies manufactured in the United States come out of two factories in New Jersey. All of them. From dollar store make-up, to the kind you have to buy from your neighbor's home business as a sales associate for a beauty company that has no store front. From the expensive products at the mall, to those you buy at the grocery store. All these products are manufactured in the same factory in New Jersey, have approximately the same formula, and have different shaped bottles and labels. Some have a 'richer' grade of ingredients, as they should since they cost more.
Further, when it comes to skin emollients there are only a few kinds. There are those moisturizers made from vegetable oil. There are others made from animal fats. And there are those made from petroleum based oils. that's it. No matter what 'recipe' they use, manufacturers only have a few emollient ingredients to use.
Then there are 'miracle' cosmetics - those that remove wrinkles and remove skin discoloration. These products actually use chemicals not put into other kinds of make-up. Wrinkle removers operate by only one means - they have a chemical that 'pulls' moisture up from the skin to fill in the wrinkle. Once the chemical wears off, the wrinkles come back. These things are not permanent. They are just chemicals that wear off in a few hours, like Cinderella's carriage turned into a pumpkin at midnight. they have their place, but they don't work permanently. Likewise, there are products that even skin tone, in the event you have freckles, blotches, or age spots. These work in two ways - they incorporate strong sun blocks so that your freckles and blotches fade out over time. They may also have chemicals that help to fade out the darker areas of your skin. If you have dark skin, some of these products have 'more' of the chemical so that your skin lightens up overall.
Finally, there are over-the-counter acne medications. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. If you struggle with acne and an over-the-counter remedy doesn't work, a trip to the dermatologist will provide you with an antibiotic to cure the acne from the inside out.
So what 'natural' remedies and beauty treatments can be employed, and when should you use 'chemistry'? Here is a basic natural beauty routine, that's natural, easy, and fun.
1. Color your own hair. While this is a chemical, it's cost effective. There are many varieties of hair color you can use, and you can save money. You may prefer that your hair turn silvery, but if not, there are even natural colors you can get from a health-food store.
2. Give your own hair a 'hot oil treatment', with olive oil that has been warmed up in the microwave or on the stove top. Measure about 1/4 cup of olive oil and heat it up. Be very careful not to burn yourself. Massage the hot oil into your hair and then put a plastic shower cap over your hair for about an hour, taking it off every 20 minutes to massage it in again. At the end of the hour, wash your hair with a higher quality shampoo; wash it twice to get all traces of oil out of your hair. then style as usual. Do this every month.
3. Do your own eyebrow grooming, and use a hair bleach to lighten facial hair. Again this is a chemical, but you can save money doing this yourself.
4. Use Sea Salt to give your whole body a good scrub down to exfoliate old skin cells off, which will make your skin very smooth and silky. Do this by putting about 1 Tablespoon of Kosher or Sea Salt in the palm of your hand, and then adding the liquid bath wash of your choice (shampoo or even dish soap is about as good as anything expensive for this purpose!)
5. Slice and chill cucumbers, and then lay them all over your face, neck and chest. The natural chemistry in cucumbers prevents wrinkles and refreshes your skin. It's cooling on a sunburn as well.
6. Use citrus slices on a sunburn - vitamin C reduces swelling of a sunburn, and nourishes the skin.
7. Use fresh coffee grounds on the face to reduce skin-pour size. They also exfoliate the face and leave it fresh and beautiful, while working very gently.
8. Use a 'pea' size drop of olive oil to smooth over the skin of your entire body, just after you get out of a hot bath - it holds in moisture and keeps your skin smooth, especially after you have exfoliated using the kosher salt/liquid soap mixture.
9. Use chilled tea bags on tired eyes. The tannins in the tea help refresh the eyes, and may remove dark circles in some cases.
10. Eat properly - eat a high protein diet for hair and finger nail growth; check with your doctor about the best diet for you. Some people increase problems with gout by a high protein diet, others get diabetes with a high carb diet. Diet is very tricky and must be managed by a physician. Try to eat 'natural' foods and avoid processed foods, sugar, alcohol, and caffeine.
11. Take vitamins and minerals, as prescribed by your doctor. ask to have deficiencies checked, and ask your doctor to help you determine what vitamins you should be taking - calcium, and a daily multivitamin may be all you need, or not enough for your needs.
12. Drink more water. Water hydrates the skin, and keeps hair and nails healthy, as well as helping to clear out the bowels, removing toxins. Beauty isn't skin deep, its system wide. Water keeps your whole system in check. Ask your doctor how much water you should be drinking.
13. Cut out the use of alcohol, smoking, and recreational drug use (if you use such things) - these ruin your mind, body, metabolism and your general health.
14. Exercise - check with your doctor to find out what kind of exercise you should get, and if it is safe for you to exercise. If you are allowed to exercise, walking is a safe choice, as is using a jump rope on your own drive way. Both are very inexpensive and promote cardio. Healthy people who get clearance from their physician, are often permitted to engage in 30 minutes of cardio exercise every day by walking, and can work up from one minute using a jump rope, if they are healthy. Use stairs to engage in 30 minutes of 'step-up' type exercise at home as well. If you map out a 'route' in your neighborhood you can measure out a 1/2 mile route, starting at your own front door, you can take a break from just about anything and go for a walk in the same amount of time it would take you to drive over to a health club.
15. Take time to connect with the Divine every day. 15 minutes is enough. Read, pray, or meditate. If you are not religious, no matter. Take time to focus on positive thinking instead, for a 15 minutes session every day. Do things that promote serenity - light a candle, listen to relaxation music, or sit out in nature and enjoy the wild. Taking a break from the hustle of the real world will refresh you inside and out.
16. Maintain friendships. We all work to much and see other people to little. It may be refreshing to call up a friend (not through texting), and go have a bite out, or see a film, or just wander around the mall and chat. Real friendship is better than virtual friendship any day.
17. Have a physical every year, and go to the dentist. Keep your body and teeth in working order - it goes a long way for health and beauty.
18. Add more cooking herbs to your cooking. Fresh herbs have great benefits against cancer, diabetes, and other health problems - ask your doctor to make sure the herbs you select don't interact with any medicatiosn you have been taking by prescription or over the counter.
19. Create something. Do some art. Glue something, paint something, sculpt something, sew, knit or crochet something. It doesn't have to be very well done. But it gets your mind off of over-eating, lack of friendship, anxiety or depression.
20. Work, but keep your work in balance. Work is healthy. It gives you a purpose. If you don't like your job or career, plan out a way to achieve a different job or career to bring you greater daily success.
21. Buy make-up in the smallest packaging - it has an expiration date, and you will use it up in time if the packaging is smaller. Fresh make-up of any brand is better than old make-up.
22. Use pure soap products, not the kinds will lots of perfumes and chemicals.
23. Get some sun exposure every day, but only a few minutes. Your skin needs sunlight. Just not very much.
24. If you want to avoid getting freckles, use some sunblock on the skin below your eyes - using sunblock on your forehead can get into your eyes if you are active and sweat, and it BURNS!
25. Wear sunglasses and a hat - avoid getting sunburn at all costs.
26. Do your own manicure and pedicure in the bathtub. After soaking in a nice hot tub, use an 'orange stick' to push back and trim cuticles,, then remove old nail polish and trim your nails. After you get out, nourish your nails with olive oil, and then apply a coat of finger nail polish. If you are short on time, clear is the easiest to apply because if you 'mis-aim' no one will notice.
27. Wear gem stone jewelry - it does have energy that can empower you, protect you, shield you from negative energy.
28. Go barefoot sometimes - your feet need to be 'let out'. It's healthy to be barefoot and it feels good, especially if you can walk through green, soft grass!
29. Wear loose clothing in the evenings - your body needs to rest from being constricted in clothing. Sometimes its even good for you to be free of underclothing for a while; Loose pajamas are a great way to let your body reest from constrictive clothes.
30. Get away from electronics for the weekend, and give yourself a break from electronics for at least one hour every day. Electronics are nice but they take away from a healthy mind and spirit, as well as interfere with real inter-personal relationships. Stop with virtual and get real.
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