Let's Talk Facials Shall We?.............

Facial masks – What are they and why would I want one? At first glance, a facial mask seems to be one of the steps in pampering yourself during a facial. But it's more than that; masks have a job to do. They revitalize, nourish, refresh, and sooth your skin.
You can buy mask preparations from the store, but why not try making one with homemade ingredients? You will not only know all the ingredients involved and will be able to pronounce them, you will save money as well.
Depending on what ingredients you use, the mask can contain fruit extracts, vitamins, and minerals. You will use different ingredients in your mask depending on what you want – toning, exfoliating, or deep cleaning. Also, take into consideration your skin type and how much time you have to mix the mask ingredients together and leave it on. Keep in mind some masks are drippy and can make a mess. Also, be sure to wash your face before you start so you're working with a clean surface.

Homemade Facial Masks
Oily Skin
Egg whites, beaten, and about 1/4 teaspoon of lemon juice.
Pureed tomatoes with enough flour to make a thin paste.
1 teaspoon lemon juice and oatmeal, blended in the blender.
Applesauce, 1 tablespoon honey, and enough flour to thicken.

Dry Skin
Mashed avocado.
Mashed ripe banana.
Flour and yogurt – creamy consistency, not pasty.
1/2 mashed banana, 1 tablespoon honey, 2 tablespoons sour cream.

Scrubs
Brown sugar and enough milk to make a thin paste.
Honey and oats
Baking soda with a small amount of water.
When you're done, wash off your facial mask with warm water and immediately apply a moisturizer while your skin is still damp. This helps lock in the moisture. If you have some of the mixture leftover, you can apply it to other areas of the skin. The masks for oily skin can help your feet, hands, or elbows.
One last thing… remember all those TV movies you've seen where women in bathrobes are relaxing at a spa with cucumbers over their eyes? Well, placing thin cucumber slices over your eyes will help reduce the puffiness of the skin around your eyes. It also gives you an excuse to close your eyes and relax.
A facial mask can give your skin just the boost it needs and you can do them regularly for lasting benefits. There are some for you to try in this article, but there are many more I haven't listed that can work just as well for rejuvenating and nourishing your skin.

The Lowdown On The Suds..................

How's it happen? When you mix fats and/or oils with a lye solution (sodium hydroxide and water) you get a chemical reaction that produces soap. You can't have soap without lye! But-----by the time you get the soap there is no more lye in it (It's an awesome process). If the ingredients are measured correctly and the chemical reaction is complete (and that's my job), the lye has all gone through the chemical process and the end result is soap and glycerin ( Beautiful body loving glycerin). The soap-making process naturally produces glycerin as a by-product (actually about 25 % of the final product is naturally-occurring glycerin) which is what makes handmade soap so wonderful for your skin.

What's the difference between homemade soap and the stuff you buy in the store? Actually much of what you see in the store is not soap at all but a detergent or a petroleum product. YUCK! Manufacturers cannot call it soap unless it is produced as explained above, so many of them call their product "beauty bar" or "cleansing bar." Even the ones that are truly soap will often dry your skin because, in the soap-making process, the commercial manufacturers skim off the naturally-occurring glycerin and use it in their more expensive skin-care products since that is more profitable for them. The result is that the very element you need to soften and soothe your skin has been removed. In handmade soap, it's all still there.

Now, why was does everyone still have nightmares about Granny's soap...
Because Granny,Mamaw, Nanny and Aunt Pearl probably all made their lye from ashes and they had no way to determine the strength of the lye (no chemistry classes to set through), which meant you could either have to little lye and end up with a soft bar and could possibly cause it to go rancid...Or you had to much lye and it set you butt on fire...They also used lard....Times have changed!!!.Now, I use Coconut Oil, Olive Oil and Shea Butter (just to name a few)...
If you have an allergic reaction to a store bought bar of soap don't fret...It's probably not the "soap" your allergic to but one of the many detergents, petroleum oils, preservatives or artificial ingredients that thrown in..Still not convinced!

Dove Soap (Which by the way isn't even called soap, it's called a beauty bar) (I used this religiously for years). The list of ingredients are mind blowing!

  alilamont: The Dove white bar is made of sodium cocoyl isethionate, stearic acid, coconut acid, sodium tallowate, water, sodium isethionate, sodium stearate, cocamidopropyl betaine, sodium cocoate or palm kernelate, fragrance, sodium chloride, tetrasodium EDTA, trisodium etidronate, BHT, titanium dioxide, and sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate   



Want a plainer bar! Here's the ingredients for a good ole bar of Ivory Soap...
New varieties of Ivory soap contain altered ingredients, such as in "Simply Ivory" (or "simplement ivory"): sodium tallowate and/or sodium palmate, water, sodium cocoate or sodium palm kernelate, glycerin, sodium chloride, fragrance, one or more of the following: coconut acid, palm kernel acid, tallow acid or palm acid and tetrasodium EDTA.




Now for a homemade bar of soap...
Coconut Oil, Olive Oil, Castor Oil, Distilled Water, Lye
A simple recipe and you can come up with that most amazing good for you bars!

Taking joy in living is a woman's best cosmetic.

  ~Rosalind Russell

The Beauty Of Rosemary...................

Skin Care
Rosemary essential oil has several different uses in regards to skin care, including the ability to tone and moisturize your skin. In addition to this, you can also smooth out wrinkles, reduce fine lines, clear up acne, and minimize the ugliness of varicose veins and broken capillaries.
Aromatherapy
Rosemary is one of the top oils when it comes to aromatherapy benefits. Whether it’s congestion, a cold, a sore throat or asthma, rosemary essential oil goes a long way to clearing up these problems. Aside from the healing benefits of rosemary aromatherapy, this oil makes a room smell great when used.
Pain Reliever
Those suffering from headaches and migraines have found that rosemary essential oil works wonders for reducing the pain. Going further, rosemary also extends to aid with other pain-related problems like sore muscles, arthritis and rheumatism. So whether you’re massaging the oil directly into the skin or inhaling it through aromatherapy, rosemary is very effective at relieving pain.
Memory Aid
Some students who have a solid knowledge of rosemary oil use it to improve their mental concentration and potentially boost test scores. It’s also used by doctors, lawyers and people in other strenuous professions to focus and battle fatigue. The reasons why rosemary works so well as a fatigue/memory aid is because it increases brain activity.
Mouthwash
If you’re ever short on toothpaste, rosemary essential oil makes a fine substitute because it kills bad breath and disinfects the mouth. Just make sure that you don’t ingest the rosemary, or any other essential oil for that mater.
Hair Stimulator
As yet another benefit of rosemary oil, it stimulates hair follicles and helps people grow fuller, thicker-looking hair. Other hair-based benefits include preventing gray hair and reducing the appearance of a dry, flakey scalp. The effects of rosemary oil on hair are even better when combined with tea tree or basil oil.
Digestion
One last major benefit of rosemary essential oil is that it can help people out with their digestion problems or stomach aches. To use rosemary for digestion purposes, you can add a few leaves on the side of your supper.

Rosemary Oil Cautions

As mentioned before, you should avoid ingesting rosemary in large doses - if not entirely. The reason why is because rosemary essential oil can be potentially toxic, and cause seizures if taken in big amounts. The only time that you should really consider ingesting rosemary oil is if a doctor has advised you to, which isn’t very common.
Moving past the oil, you should also be careful with the amount of rosemary leaves that you consume. As previously stated under "Digestion" in the uses and healing properties section, it’s safe to eat rosemary leaves along with meals. However, too many rosemary leaves can certainly be a bad thing, especially in the case of pregnant women who are pregnant or breastfeeding. In extreme cases where lots of leaves are eaten, rosemary causes vomiting, spasms and even fluid in the lungs.
But as long as you’re responsible when consuming rosemary leaves, and you avoid ingesting the oil altogether, you shouldn’t have any worries in regards to using this product.

Using Rosemary Essential Oil

In order to ensure that you avoid any of the unpleasantries discussed above, it’s important that you properly use rosemary essential oil. With this being said, the most popular and safest usage of rosemary oil involves putting a few drops into a vaporizer, and letting the aroma fill the air. This use is great for people who want to relieve congestion, reduce headache pains and/or make their house smell better. One thing to remember when doing this is that rosemary is a middle note, so it takes a little longer than top notes to start working.
Moving along, those who want to relieve muscle and/or joint pain with rosemary essential oil should put a few drops in their massage oil; once the solution is mixed, you can rub the oil into your skin. As alluded to in the cautions section, you don’t want to exceed a few drops of the product when mixing it with massage oil.
Much like with the massage oil, you can also add a few drops of rosemary to face and skin creams. Doing this creates an even more powerful, age-defying effect with the skin care products you use. Just remember, the key thing with rosemary oil is that you want to use it in moderation. In most cases, adding a few drops to whatever product or vaporizer you’re using should be enough to get the effects you are looking for.


Read more: Rosemary Essential Oil: Benefits, Uses & Healing Properties

Something Groovy......

Working on something new to go along with my yummy chap sticks for the Fall..How about this adorable Lava Lamp Lip Gloss....Anyone who actually owned a Lava Lamp back in the day and isn't ashamed to admit it..Give me a "Yeah Baby"...

Farmers Market, Southern Style..........

In the late Winter I was invited to peddle my products in a couple local Farmers Markets, I was super excited because it's usually a waiting list to get into these things. My excitement quickly faded when I realized these were out doors...In Georgia Heat ...Let me just clarify that...WE DON'T HAVE DRY HEAT! We have humidity that makes you sweat in places you don't tell people about..A customer stopped by my booth yesterday and said I was only "detoxing" not sweating..I like that better! When I was younger I said I "glistened" when I was hot. With middle age I am officially calling it "detoxing"...Trust me in this

 I have detoxed quite a bit!

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Now, I do realize that it's hot in a lot of places right now...But I still have the right to whine a little....

Strawberries................

Who can't resist yummy summer strawberries, but did you know that while you biting into those juicy berries you can rub a little on your teeth.....The malic acid in them is a great natural (gentle) whitener...That gets a double yum from me!