Why I LOVE VCO! Reason #1 - Best For Baby

Okay I was going to write a long post of all the reasons why I love Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO) but I don't think I will ever be able to finish it so it is best I write about each reason separately. VCO is the one oil I always have to have in my home because I use it for so many things...as a baby oil/lotion, as my body oil/lotion, on my hair, etc... and I even consume it on a daily basis! The only area i do not apply VCO is on my face because for me it has a tendency to cause breakouts, not too sure why though. Maybe it is a bit 'heaty' especially in our hot humid weather or maybe it has a strong purging effect...so I cannot recommend VCO for the face, although it is fantabulous everywhere else! I even know how to make my own, and it will share the easy albeit a bit time consuming process soon ya.

Quick intro on VCO - it is the oil that is extracted from the coconut milk obtained from fresh coconuts. The key word here is 'fresh', which is why VCO smells so good and yummy! For more info on VCO, you can click HERE

VCO is:

• Anti fungal
• Anti Viral
• Anti Microbial
• Anti Inflammatory

I literally cover my little ones in VCO after every bath. I mix some essential oils such as Lavender, Tea Tree and Eucalyptus with their VCO for an additional skin healing boost and refreshing smell. Not too much essential oils for their delicate skin, keep it below 20 drops per 100ml of VCO. I don't even use that much, probably around 10 - 15 drops in total. So here are some ways I use VCO for the little ones...

My trusted refillable VCO bottle

1. All over body and face oil - I cover my little ones in VCO after their bath. I try my best to cover every inch of their skin, which is a feat in itself if you have wriggly ones that just can't keep still! For younger babies, make sure to always apply on skin folds and joints to prevent rashes and keep their skin clean. I never use baby powder because I find that the 'nice' smell quickly fades and baby will not smell nice for long. However, with VCO, the kids have no BO, even after many hours and even with perspiration. That's because of the antibacterial nature of VCO that helps to keep their skin clean and inhibit odour causing (as well as other types of) bacteria.

2. Ear cleaner - I put some oil in the palm of my hand, dip the cotton buds in VCO and use it to clean around and in their ears. VCO is antibacterial so this helps to keep ear infections at bay, plus the goop comes off much easier with oil.

3. Heal minor cuts and scratches - just dab a little oil and it will heal much more quickly.

4. Nappy oil - I always apply VCO after every diaper change, and so far no rashes!

5. Cradle Crap - I've always applied VCO on their heads from day one, and they only had a very very minor case of cradle crap. It was on a very small area, smaller than the size of the 5sen coin, which went away after a few days.

6. Massage oil for boo boos - whenever my active toddler comes running to me crying that somewhere hurts, eg feet, ankle, knee, hand, head, etc, I will check to see if it's anything serious. Most of the time, it's not, so I take some VCO and rub a little on the painful area, give a kiss and send them running happily away, hopefully not to do more damage! Once, my son had a minor ankle sprain, and he was limping a bit for a day or two. Nothing too serious but I massaged his ankle with the oil 2 - 3 times a day to speed up his recovery and help strengthen the joint.

Important notes:

• Don't use VCO on a newborns face for the first one or two weeks (anywhere else is fine). This is because the skin at this stage is very delicate and VCO can clog those tiny tiny pores and cause an acne breakout. Some babies will get a form of acne in those first few weeks with or without having used VCO, and in my experience applying VCO on that only makes it worse. In fact, it is advised to not use any cream or oils during this stage, and the acne should clear by itself in about a week or two. It is helpful to apply breast milk on the affected area from time to time whenever possible. 

• When applying VCO on baby's face, a little goes a long way. Apply a bit of oil onto fingers, warm it up a bit and then apply on baby's face. Too much VCO on the face can clog pores and cause a type of acne which forms in small clusters, usually on the forehead. If you see this, use less VCO for the face.

• There are some rashes, especially the ones on the face, that just won't go away even after applying VCO, and for these type of rashes I will apply some Emu oil (sometimes mixed with Tea Tree or Lavender essential oil) instead. Emu oil is very effective for healing stubborn rashes, and will do so quite rapidly too. I apply Emu oil on the affected area every few hours and the rash will be gone in a couple of days. I use Emu oil sparingly though because it is very expensive!

*You can get VCO in most supermarkets nowadays, and I usually buy the 1 liter bottle which costs between RM60 - RM80 depending on the brand. They also sell in 500ml sizes for approx. half the price, which makes it perfect if you want to try out the oil for the first time.

Stay tuned for more wonderful ways of using this fav oil of mine!

How to Clean Kabuki Brushes

Keeping one's make-up brushes clean is key to fighting infection and ensuring proper application of make-up. Proper cleaning will also help Brushes Last longer. A Kabuki brush made from natural bristles requires great care, as the bristles can be easily damaged if not clean properly. The following steps can also be used for synthetic brushes.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Be sure you are working on a very flat, clean surface.

2. Place warm water in the bowl and add two 1/2 a teaspoon of shampoo.

3. Swirl the entire brush in the bowl for two minutes. Be careful not to submerge the handle, bristles only.

4. After two minutes empty the bowl and add more clean warm water. Swirl the brush for another minute. Repeat.

5. Make certain that all soap has been rinsed off, and shake any excess water out of the bristles (do this with bristles down).  If you want to soften the bristles, you could apply some hair conditioner to the bristles, leave on for about 2 - 3 minutes then rinse off thoroughly. Place paper towel on the surface and apply a rubber band, looped once, around the bristles to maintain their shape. Lay the brush flat on the paper towel, facing down.

6. Once the brush is dry remove the rubber band, and put it away.

Important Tips:

~ Always keep brush pointed downward when cleaning.

 

~ If water leaks into the handle it can loosen the glue in the handle, forcing the bristles to come out, and the brush to fall apart. This quite a tedious task if you put more than a small amount of cleanser in the bowl.

Read more: How to Clean a Natural Bristle Kabuki Make-up Brush | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_4795795_natural-bristle-kabuki-makeup-brush.html#ixzz1Z27z141n

How to Make A Simple Tea Tree Oil Toner

Requested by Maira...

Tools:

• 50ml clean spray bottle (360Beauty)
• 48ml Rose water, or distilled water
• 2ml glycerin (360Beauty)
• 7 - 10 drops Tea Tree Oil (pharmacy or 360Beauty)
• 2 - 4 drops of vitamin E oil (optional)

Directions:

1. Add 2ml of glycerin into the spray bottle
2. Add in vitamin E oil (if any) and Tea Tree essential oil. Shake bottle to combine the ingredients.
3. Add in rose water or distilled water. Shake again....and you're done!

Note:

• You can make this toner with just tea tree oil and distilled water. But you will need to shake the bottle each time before use to ensure that the essential oils are evenly distributed.
• If you are only using these 2 ingredients, then I suggest making the toner in smaller batches. For example, using only 20ml of distilled water + 4 to 5 drops of Tea Tree oil at a time.
• Glycerin is not only a great humectant (attracts moisture to the skin), but it also helps to evenly dissolve the essential oils with the rose water/ distilled water.
• Vitamin E oil is not only a good skin moisturizer, but it is also a natural anti-oxidant, thus helping to keep the toner fresh for longer.
• Keep your toner away from heat and direct sunlight!

Make Your Own Natural Deodorant

Did you know that you can make your own all natural and effective deodorant?

This Supreme Cream De-O recipe is simple and suuuper easy to make, and you may even have the ingredients sitting around in your kitchen cabinet right now!

Supreme Cream De-O

This natural deodorant will keep away body odor, and will moisturize the skin. It will also help to reduce darkened underarm skin that you may have gotten from using commercial, chemical and preservative filled deodorants. Plus, this natural deodorant will not stain your clothes (it may leave a whitish mark on dark clothes, but it will wash right off).

How does this natural deodorant work? It's simple really, it's just filled with natural ingredients that have the ability to deodorize and kill bacteria that cause body odor. And this very same ingredients moisturize and nourish your skin as well, so you don't have to worry about nasty synthetic chemicals getting into your system or ruining your skin.

Here's the recipe:

Tools:

• A clean and dry medium sized bowl
• A clean and dry spoon
• A weighing scale
• A clean and dry jar to store your natural deodorant

Ingredients:

• 20g of Corn Flour
• 6g of Baking Soda
• 20g of Virgin Coconut Oil (vco)
• 2g of glycerin (optional)
• Up to 7 drops of essential oils (choose from a combination of Lime, Petitgrain, Lavender, Grapefruit and Tea Tree)

Steps:

1.  Place the corn flour and baking soda into the bowl and mix thoroughly.
2. Add the virgin coconut oil and mix again until well combined. 
3. Add in essential oils and mix again. You can just put one type of essential oil, any combination of the above listed essential oils, or not put in any essential oils at all. The baking soda and vco itself is enough to combat odor and bacteria.
4. If you have glycerin, you can add it now and combine again. The glycerine just makes the paste more cream-like, but this is purely optional.
5. Congratulations... you've just made your very own deodorant!

Now all you have to do is to place it in a jar. This blend can last for at least 6 months at room temperature without going bad, just as long as you keep it away from direct sunlight and always use clean,dry fingers to dip into the jar.

Natural Tooth Powder Recipe

I hate toothpaste! Over these past few years, the skin around my mouth and jaw line have been really dry (sometimes even flaky), and nothing I've tried (oil, creams, honey, etc) seems to be curing it. I concluded that it had to be the toothpaste, so I tried non-flouride, SLS-free types and the dryness did reduce a little but it did not totally go away. Which is why I decided to try out natural, home-made tooth powder recipes I sourced from the net.

Most of the recipes will call for baking soda and salt, which I have tried but found too abrasive for everyday use. But I came across one recipe that used clay powders, and claimed that it would be much less abrasive than baking soda and salt. So happily I tried it out... and I love it!!! My mouth felt totally clean and fresh after brushing, I did not get that white slimy things in my mouth in the morning, and the skin around my mouth area is improving day by day. After using it for a week, the dry skin around my mouth area is almost back to normal....Yay!

Tooth powders are totally different from toothpaste, and it's not as convenient to use. It may not be suitable for everyone, but I strongly recommend it for those who have problems with commercial toothpaste.

Making your own toothpaste/ powder gives you the highest level of control over what ingredients go into your toothpaste/ powder, so that you can choose natural based ingredients to keep eco- and health-unfriendly chemicals out of the environment and your body. And, by making your own, you cut down on the packaging waste associated with store-bought varieties.

Below is a list of ingredients that can be used to make your own tooth powder, but you should decide which ingredients work best for you.

Natural Ingredients for Making Home Made Tooth Powder:

cloves

Himalayan Salt

• Baking Soda - Cleans, whitens, deodorizes and is an abrasive.
• Natural Sea or Himalayan Salt (fine) - Abrasive
• White Kaolin Clay (fine) - Abrasive
• Clove Powder - Natural toothache and tooth decay cure, good for gums and gets rid of bacteria
• Activated Charcoal Powder (fine) - whitens teeth
• Essential Oils (Peppermint, Sweet Orange or Tea Tree) - for taste, freshens breath, antiseptic properties
• Stevia powder - natural sweetener, does not cause tooth decay
• There are many more... just google to find out!

Basic Recipe:

1. The main ingredients should be either Baking Soda or Kaolin Clay, or a combination of both. This should form about 80% of your final tooth powder. I prefer more Kaolin Clay and less baking soda, but you should experiment and use the proportion that you're most comfortable with.

2. Add a bit of salt, a bit of charcoal powder, a bit of stevia or a bit of clove powder. Just make sure that all the ingredients in your tooth powder are finely ground so as not to be over-abrasive on your teeth and gums. Again, experiment on what ingredient (and its proportion) suits you best.

3. Add a few drops of any combination of the essential oils listed above. Do not add too much! About 5 drops per 15g of tooth powder is sufficient. If your making it for young children, then keep essential oils to a minimum, around 1 drop (or less) per 15g of tooth powder is safe. Essential oils are optional, so you can do without them.

4. Combine all ingredients together and store in a clean, air tight jar.

Just pour some powder onto your dry palm and dip your wet toothbrush onto the powder and brush your teeth like normal. You can dip the toothbrush a few times if you need more tooth powder. Gargle and rinse and you're done!

Make your own body scrub

It's so so so easy to make your own luscious body scrub that will leave your skin super smooth and moisturized.

There are many ingredients sitting in your kitchen that you can use, depending on your skin type and preferences. Let me list them out:

Oils - If you have dry skin, or feel that you need some good moisturization, then you need to scrub with an oil based scrub. You can use any type of food-grade oil, but you may want to pick those that do not have a strong offensive smell. One of the best oils to use is virgin coconut oil and virgin olive oil as these are easily available and have a pleasant or tolerable smell. Make sure to use the 'virgin' grades as these are the best, but the normal ones will do as well. You can also add the more expensive oils in smaller amounts, oils like sweet almond oil, wheatgerm oil, walnut oil, hazelnut oil, rose hip oil, evening primrose oil, vitamin E oil, etc.

Exfoliates/ Abrasive Agents - Exfoliates are another basic ingredient in body scrubs as they gently rub away dry skin and gives you the silky-smooth effect. There are gentle exfoliates and there are the rougher ones, depending on what your skin can tolerate. Gentle exfoliates include oats (great for sensitive skin, it's my fav!), clays, rice flour or any other type of grain flour (try to get the unpolished version if possible) and mashed fruits...yes fruits! Consider tomatoes, bananas, apples, orange pulp, grapes (get the ones with seeds), strawberries....virtually any fruit which you can mash or grind to a pulp. For those that juice a lot, you can save the fiber part of the fruits, add that to some yogurt, milk or oil and scrub away! Mid-range abrasive agents include crushed nuts like almonds, walnuts, etc, and very finely ground riced grains (just blend them in your dry blender), finely ground sugar, baking soda, ground barley, finely ground coffee beans (said to be good to reduce cellulite, instant coffee does not count!)...basically any food item that you can grind down. Rougher abrasive agents include coarsely ground sugar, and coarsely ground anything stated above and salt (do not use salt if you have open cuts and wounds as it will burn to the high heavens :0 ).

Additives - Yogurt, milk, cream, coconut milk, honey, aloe vera, food-grade colouring and flavoring, and essential oils can be added as well depending on your personal preferences. Use essential oils (EO's) sparingly, about 7 drops per 200g of body scrub is safe and will give you the benefits as well as the wonderful aroma lingering on your skin. Lavender EO is relaxing, Geranium EO is balancing, Sweet Orange/ Lemon/Lime EOs are uplifting and Peppermint EO is invigorating and soothing to tired muscles. Other essential oils can be used as well as long as you avoid the herbal ones (like Thyme, Pepper, Rosemary, Cinnamon,etc) as these can cause skin sensitivity. Ginger oil can be used but use it sparingly as it is hot!

Basic Recipe Guidelines

Basic Ratio of ingredients: 1 part oil to 1 part abrasive agent. But you can always vary this according to your preference. Some like more oils, some like a good, hard scrub.  Some may prefer an oil-less scrub. You don't always have to weigh out the ingredients though. You can just mix them up in a small bowl enough for one application, and try out the result then vary it for later applications. Rule of thumb, it is good to always try out any ingredient you want to use on a small patch of your skin and see if you react negatively to it. This way, you will avoid major bodily harm! For those with dry skin, you should use an oil-based body scrub after you have rinsed off the soap, and just rinsing off the scrub with warm water. This way, the oils will stay on your skin and will have more time to be absorbed. You may want to this routine just before bed. 

Below is my recipe for the brown sugar body scrubs I used to sell. (Substitutes for ingredients in brackets)

• 140g moderately ground brown sugar
• 12ml grapeseed oil
• 40ml virgin coconut oil
• 1ml wheatgerm oil
• 2ml glycerin/ (honey - a good skin hydrator)
• 2ml of food grade flavoring (strawberry/ orange/ blueberry/ rose/ lemon/ chocolate, etc)
• up to 10 drops of essential oils (lavender/ sweet orange/ lemon/ geranium/ palmarosa/ vanilla/ peppermint, etc)

Mix all ingredients together and keep in a clean air-tight jar. Scoop out a tablespoon or 2 each time you want a scrub. Make sure you use a clean spoon and avoid any water contamination. 

Alternatively, you can use just one type of oil as well if that's all you have. The essential oils can be bought from 360 Beauty (see link under Link Lists).

If you know of any other great scrub ingredient that is not listed above, please contribute in the comments section, Thanks!

Important guidelines when making your own skin care products:

1. Always use clean utensils, tools and containers. Before you start making anything, it's best to wipe all these items with denatured alcohol. You can get denatured alcohol from the pharmacy. This step is crucial to prevent contamination and rancidity of your finished products. And always use clean fingers when using creams out of a jar.

2. When purchasing raw materials, always get the best quality that you can afford. And always store them in clean areas, and in a cool, dry and dark cupboard away from direct sunlight.

3. Get to know your essential oils - smell them and recognise the distinctive aromas of each essential oil that you use. There are different grades of essential oils, and there are even synthetic fragrances that will claim to be pure essential oils! A good guideline is to know the price range of the essential oil, most of which are not too cheap. So if you come across one that is way too cheap, be very suspicious! If you've got a good nose, you will learn to tell the difference between synthetic versions and the real stuff.

4. If you're gonna deal with essential oils, you better get to know more about them! Surf the web for general information on each specific type of essential oil, and know about the properties, what they good for and if there are any cautions.

5. Know that because essential oils are purely organic in nature, there will be variations in the colour, smell and even properties of the essential oil depending on the specific species (that's the latin name of every plant), where the plant was grown, how the oil was extracted, and whether it has been mixed with other essential oils. Generally, the more expensive it is, the better is it's quality. So again, buy the best quality that you can afford! A plus side to buying quality is that most essential oils have a wide variety of uses, so you can always use it for more than just skin care.

6. If you come across any good essential oils that you cannot afford, take the opportunity to smell them! This way, you'll know what good quality oil smells like, and this experience may come in handy in the future when you may be able to afford them:)

7. It's a good idea to invest in an aromatherapy book as you'll learn more on essential oils and you will be amazed at how versatile they really are. Also, because essential oils are very potent in nature, it is very important to know how to deal with each specific type of oil that you are using. You can easily overdose (because you need only drops at a time) thinking that you can never get enough of a good thing... but you CAN get too much of a good thing when it comes to essential oils! You can get such information from the internet, but nothing beats a handy book as a trustworthy reference tool.

8. Never use any essential oil without knowing how much to use at a time, especially when you're dealing with children. A child's body is much smaller than an adult and thus much more sensitive to essential oils, and so they can easily be overdosed and may experience adverse side effects. In general, limit the use of essential oils to children under 3 years to a minimum. For children aged 4 - 12 years, limit the concentration of essential oils to 1% or less. There are certain essential oils that are generally considered safe for children in low concentrations, namely Lavender, Chamomile, Sweet Orange, Ylang Ylang, etc.

9. Changing to a more natural based skin care regiment actually involves a change of lifestyle! You'll need to educate yourself on everything that you've been putting on your skin, and you'll need to be much more conscious of what is good for you, and what may harm you in the long run. It does take more effort to go green and natural, but it's definitely rewarding when you realise that your skin and body is better without chemicals!

10. If this is your first time trying out a natural based skin care routine, know that it will take time for your skin to get used it, and before you start seeing any improvement. Think about all those long years of piling on chemical-based stuff on your skin, and you'll understand why your skin will take some time ( weeks to months) to adjust. Some skin types may seem like they're getting worse, which may be a sign that either you may be allergic to a certain natural ingredient, OR that your skin is purging itself of impurities. If you think it's an allergy, do a small skin test on another part of your body and see if there are any adverse reactions. If it's not an allergy, then try to tough it out for 1 or 2 weeks more to see if your skin starts clearing up.

11. Making your own natural based skin care is like making home-cooked food. It always taste better simply because you know each and every single ingredient that goes in, and you add a very special ingredient that can never be bought... LOVE! So when making your own products, always be in a good state of mind and make it with a conscious intention of making your skin healthier and looking great... it makes a difference ;)

12. And one last thing... if you come across any hand made, natural or organic based skin care that works great for you or your kids, please do share it with the rest of us!!! It will be especially helpful for those that are too busy, or too lazy, to make their own stuff... and there ain't nothing wrong in that ya!

Acne Battle Bar Recipe

Upon request, here's the recipe for a soap that's great to help with acne prone skin. Contains natural antibacterial agents that can treat existing acne and prevent pimples, and also contains ingredients to help with scarring.

Tools:

• A double boiler; a 1 litre glass measuring cup (like Pyrex) and a pot of simmering water
• a mould for the soap. you can use a thick plastic tupperware container
• a weighing scale
• a spoon for stirring

Ingredients:

• 600g of glycerin (transparent or opaque) soap base/ noodles
• 100ml of Rose Water (optional; can substitute with 50ml of distilled water)
• 15ml Neem oil (i get mine form Brickfields, may be found in Indian shops)
• 15g sandalwood powder (hard to get here, i got mine form India. Can be substituted with 5g of turmeric powder)
• 3g of crushed neem leaves (optional)
• 50 drops of Tea Tree oil (from 360Beauty or selected pharmacies)

Steps:

1. Cut the glycerin soap into small 1-inch cubes so that they can melt easier. Put into glass measuring cup.
2. Place the glass measuring cup into your pot of simmering (not boiling) water. Water level should reach to about half of the measuring cup. Leave it until all soap has completely melted, will take about 15 - 20 minutes.
3. Once soap has melted, take off from heat. Pour in all the ingredients (except tea tree oil) and stir gently with a spoon until properly combined.
4. Let the soap mixture cool off a bit for another 5 - 10 minutes. It will thicken slightly.
5. Add in tea tree oil and stir again.
6. Pour soap mixture into your mould and leave it to cool and harden. Will take at least 3 - 5 hours.
7. Once it has cooled down totally and is completely harden, take it out from the mould by gently twisting the container upside down. The soap block should slowly fall out. If it does not, place the container in the freezer for about 10 minutes and try again.
8. You can then cut the soap into a size that is convenient for you. All unused soap should be cling wrapped and kept in the fridge till ready to use. 
9. This recipe makes about 6 regular sized soaps. The colour of the soap may vary depending on the ingredients, so don't fret if your soap turns out more yellowish than the pic shown above.

Homemade Coconut Milk Oil Hair Mask for Dry Scalp and Hair

One of the very best ways to get rid of a dry itchy flaky scalp is using a homemade coconut milk oil hair mask. It will help hydrate your scalp and hair so they dandruff can go away and stay away. This mask even helps treat spit ends, hydrate dry hair, and help add shine and bounce to hair again.

 The natural ingredients you will need to make the coconut milk oil hair mask are about 1 cup of coconut milk, 2 tablespoons of coconut oil, and 10 drops of your favorite scented essential oil. Coconut milk can be bought in small 200ml (i think?) boxes at the supermarket, so you just need to use one box per application. Of course, fresh pressed santan is still the best so if you have that, use it!

The way to make the coconut milk oil hair mask is by pouring the 1 cup of coconut milk, 2 tablespoons of coconut oil, and 10 drops of your favorite scented essential oil into a small mixing bowl. After you combined the ingredients together until you get a slightly thick creamy white coconut hair mask. Now this hair mask is very runny, but it works wonderfully. Once the mask is made you can use it right away.


Now when you are ready to use the coconut milk oil hair mask to help treat and heal your dry scalp and hair you are going to want to put on an old tee shirt you do not mind getting dirty. You will also need a tight fitting shower cap. After you will tilt your head back over your bathtub and pour the hair mask directly into your hair. You do not need to get your hair damp or wet first if you do not want too. Some people like too, but it isn't needed. As you are pouring the mask into your hair work the mask into your hair and massage your scalp with it for a couple of minutes to make sure you hair and scalp is completely soaked and drenched in it. After place all of your hair into the shower cap and place it over the top of your hair so the coconut milk oil hair mask doesn't drip all over you. Leave the mask in your hair and on your scalp for about 30 minutes to an hour. If you really want to help hydrate your hair even more you can sit in the sun on a sunny day and allow the top of your head to get all warm so the coconut milk and oils can soak into your scalp and help moisturize it better. I love the cooling sensation that coconut milk has on your scalp... it's so refreshing and a great way to de-stress!

Then once you are done with the hair mask you will need to get into the shower and rinse you hair right out. This will take several minutes too do. After you will want too take a good shampoo and wash your hair like you would usually do. You may need to wash your hair twice, but this is perfectly fine. You may even feel you need to use your daily conditioner as well after shampooing. Once you have done all this pat your hair dry and let it air dry. You will notice as your hair dries it will be much softer, shinier, and manageable again. Your scalp will not feel itchy or dry and the flakes will be gone. If you have a really dry scalp you should use this coconut milk hair mask at least twice a week.

I hope this coconut milk oil hair mask helps those of you out there suffer from a dry itchy scalp and dry hair. I wish you all some very happy hair days ahead of you.

treat spit ends, hydrate dry hair, and help add shine and bounce to hair again.The natural ingredients you will need to make the coconut milk oil hair mask are 1 cup of coconut milk, 2 tablespoons of coconut oil, and 10 drops of your favorite scented essential oil. I usually like to use a fruity scented essential oil with this hair mask because it makes the mask smell tropical.

Sweet Face Mask & Scrub!

Did you know that the best ingredients for your skin may be lying around in your kitchen? You probably won't need to spend anything  and still be able to give your skin a treat! This easy peasy recipe is for those of us who have a tight budget, but still want some natural indulgence...well you deserve it babe! 

Honey & Salt Face Scrub

Just Mix about equal amounts of honey and finely ground salt and apply gently to your face. Avoid the delicate areas around your eyes and lips. Don't start scrubbing just yet! Leave the mixture on your face for about 5 minutes. The honey will hydrate your skin and the salt will help to draw out any impurities. You may notice your skin getting a bit red as blood is drawn to the surface. This means that the salt is promoting better blood circulation!

After 5 minutes, rinse off the mixture with water. Use gentle circular motions to gently scrub your face as you're washing it off. Don't use soap as you'll be washing all the sweet goodness away! Pat your face dry and apply some moisturizer. Your skin will feel refreshed and smoooooth!

Important Notes:

• Make sure you use FINELY GROUND salt as the skin on your face is very delicate. Also scrub VERY GENTLY!
• You should do a face scrub not more than once a week. Too much and you will hurt your skin instead!
• Do not use salt if you have a lot of pimples or acne as the salt will burn if there are open wounds. If you have bad acne, you can use oatmeal as a gentler alternative. Just mix some oatmeal with water to make a thick paste. Apply on face and let it dry out. Once it's dried out, rinse it off with water and scrub gently as you do so.
• If you have sensitive skin or feel that salt may be too abrasive for you, you can try sugar instead. A sugar and honey scrub is great for your lips as well to remove dry and chapped skin.
• You can add some oils as well... like virgin coconut oil (my fav!), virgin olive oil or any other organic oils that you have. Just add about half oils to honey.
• A Salt/ Sugar and Honey scrub can be made in advance and stored in a nice glass jar (think of the IKEA glass jars). Don't store them in the fridge. Just keep them in a cool and dry place and they will keep for a few months. It also makes a great body scrub!
• If you have the budget, you should use a good quality honey (like Manuka) and organic salt (like Himalayan, Epsom or Natural Sea Salt). They do make a difference!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Hi All,

It's been quite awhile since my last posting, been a busy end of year for me. It's a new year and I hope this year brings more joy, happiness and learning for all!

I thought I should add a new recipe, so I'll give you an easy Lip Balm recipe. I use lipbalms every day as my lips and mouth area tend to be the driest part of my face. There are a lot of lipbalms that can be bought from the pharmacy, but most contain undesirable and inferior ingredients like mineral oil or some other petroluem by product, preservatives and fragrances. All these products do not help in healing the skin, as they only create a temporary barrier on the lips. Which is why you'll find that you need to keep re-applying the product and your lips keep feeling dry and chapped.

It's easy to make your own superior and healing lip balm with easy to find ingredients and tools... so here's the recipe!

Tools:

• a pot (for use as a double boiler)
• a glass/ pyrex jug/beaker (500ml or 1000ml in size)
• a wooden disposable chopstick
• a small glass jar or a lip balm container (from 360Beauty)

Ingredients:

• 5g Beeswax chips (360 Beauty)
• 20g of any oil(s) (you can use just one type or more, for example, virgin coconut oil, almond oil, etc)
• about 10 drops of Vit E oil (360Beauty or any pharnacy)
• 5 drops of peppermint essential oil (optional if you like the peppermint taste, from 360Beauty)

Method:

1. Put some water in a pot and heat it up until it is simmering (not boiling) and maintain it at that temperature. The level of the water should be about half the height of your glass jug/ beaker.
2. Put the beeswax in the glass beaker and place it in the pot of simmering water. The beeswax will start to melt, and when it has almost completely melted (about 5 - 8 mins) add in the oils. Stir the mixture until the beeswax has completely melted and has combined properly with the oils. Switch off the heat at this point.
3. Take out the glass beaker from the pot and add in the Vit E oil and stir until properly combined. Then carefully pour out the hot liquid mixture into your lipbalm containers. This recipe will make about 5 (5ml) lip balms. 
4. Let your hot lipbalm mixture cool at room temperature. It should harden in about 20 to 30 minutes. Once it has colled down and hardened, it's ready to use!

Tips:

• To add some colour to your lipbalm, you can add in a bit of your favorite lipstick into the mixture when it's still in the hot liquid form.
• If you find the texture of the lipbalm to oily/soft or too hard, vary the amount of beeswax to oils. This recipe has about 20% beeswax, so you can experiment varying it between 10% to about 30%. The more beeswax, the harder the lipbalm will be.
• You can also use this same recipe to make a natural oil-based cream! Just use about 5 or 10% beeswax.
• Make sure to keep your lipbalms away from heat or hot places as it will melt! If that happens, just let it cool down and harden again and its still good to use.
• Lipbalms make a great gift, so if 5 is too many for you, you can always give some away to your best friends.
• These natural lipbalms should keep well for about 6 months. When they start to smell funny, make sure to throw them away and make fresh ones.
• The 360Beauty website link can be found on the right hand side of the blog, under favorite links.

HOW TO MAKE REVITALISING OIL SERUM

This intensive serum helps to revive dull & tired looking skin, and also helps to maintain your youthful glow! It is a bit complicated to make as it involves many different types of essential oils and base oils as per Precious Me's formula, but you can simplify it to suit your budget :)

Tools: 

• 10ml glass bottle with dropper (360Beauty)
• plastic measuring pipettes (360Beauty, you will need 1 pipette for each base oil)

Ingredients (all from 360Beauty unless otherwise stated):

Base oils:

• 0.75ml of Wheatgerm oil
• 1.5ml Grapeseed oil (from Cold Storage or Organic Food Stores)
• 1.5ml Sweet Almond oil
• 1.5ml Hazelnut/ Jojoba oil
• 1.5ml Avocado oil
• 1.5ml Peach Kernel oil
• 1.5ml Apricot Kernel oil

•  8 drops of Rose Hip/ Wheatgerm oil

• 10 drops of Revitalising Essential oil blend

This Revitalising Essential oil blend is my own custom blend made up of about 13 essential oils, all good to help revive mature skin. All of the oils (except for Sandalwood) can be bought from 360Beauty, and you can make this blend in the "Aroma Corner: Personalize Your Own Blend" section. Pure Sandalwood essential oil is very expensive, and can be difficult to get here in Malaysia (I got mine from India!). It is a great oil if you can afford it or source for it, but can be omitted otherwise.

Revitalising Essential Oil Blend Formula:

• 1ml Wheat Germ oil
• 8ml Jojoba oil
• 9 drops Carrot oil
• 5 drops Carrot Seed oil
• 3 drops Fennel Seed oil
• 7 drops Frankincense (Oman) oil
• 7 drops Geranium oil
• 5 drops Lavender (High Altitude) oil
• 1 drop Myrrh oil
• 3 drops Patchouli oil
• 3 drops Rosemary oil
• 5 drops Sandalwood oil
• 5 drops Rosewood oil
• 3 drops Palmarosa oil
• 3 drops of German Chamomile oil

Method:

1. Measure out all the base oils using a clean plastic pipette into the 10ml glass bottle.
2. Add in 11 drops of the Revitalising Essential oil blend. 
3. Close the bottle and shake it to mix all oils. Done!

Notes:

• You can use 2 - 6 types of base oils instead of all the 7 listed above if you're on a budget.
• Apply 3 to 4 drops on cleansed skin before bedtime.Since this is a very rich, oil-based serum, it is not suitable for daytime use.
• 360Beauty website: http://www.360degreesbeauty.com

HOW TO MAKE SALT & SUGAR FACE SCRUB

This gentle face scrub is moisturizing and nourishing... can be used daily if your skin is not too sensitive. 

Tools:

• a clean bowl for mixing
• weighing scale
• a spoon
• a small jar to store finished product

Ingredients:

• 55g of finely ground brown sugar (try to get the organic brands, readily available at most supermarkets. If they are coarse, then you can use a food blender to grind it to a finer texture)
• 35g of finely ground himalayan salt (readily available at most supermarkets. Use a food blender to grind it down to a powder if needed)
• 20g of Goat's milk powder (available in supermarket or organic food shops. Can be substituted with regular cow's milk powder too)
• 4 drops of Lavender essential oil (Beauty360)
• 4 drops of Geranium essential oil (Beauty360)

Method:

1. In a clean bowl combine all ingredients and mix well with a spoon. 
2. Transfer to a jar and you're done!

When you need to use the scrub, just take a clean, dry tea spoon and scoop out half a teaspoon into a small bowl. With wet fingertips, dip into the scrub and very gently scrub onto face. If you find the texture to rough, just add some water before applying to your face. Rinse off with water, don't use any soap as you'll wash away all the goodness of the scrub! 

Note:

• Beauty360 website: http://www.beauty360degrees.com
• You can use a different combination of essential oils depending on what scent you like. Just make sure they are suitable to be used for the face, and do not exceed 8 drops in total for this recipe.

WHERE TO BUY VIRGIN COCONUT OIL

Lovers of Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO) can rejoice as now they're much easier to find! You should be able to get a 500ml or 1 litre bottle from Cold Storage or Jaya Grocer supermarkets. May be available in hypermarkets like Tesco or Giant as well. And also available from any organic shop that sells organic food.

When buying VCO, make sure that it's cold-expressed, and that it is pure and organic. This means that it should only have Pure Virgin Coconut Oil stated in its ingredient listing. It should be a clear and colourless liquid, and should have a nice, sweet fresh coconut aroma. Should taste fresh as well...

Once you've bought a bottle, you may want to transfer some into a smaller bottle that is meant just for skin application. The rest of the oil can be consumed, or can be used in your daily cooking or baking.

You can use a pure version of VCO for your skin and hair, or you can add essential oils to it. 

Method:

1. Pour about 100ml of pure VCO into a clean plastic bottle or jar.
2. Add in 15 - 18 drops of Lavender essential oil (Beauty360)
3. Add in 3 drops of Ylang Ylang essential oil (Beauty360)
4. Close the bottle or jar and shake vigorously to make sure the oils are evenly diluted and distributed in the oil.
5. Again, you can experiment with different types of essential oils. Just make sure that the essential oils are skin-friendly, and do not exceed 21 drops of essential oil for every 100ml of VCO. 
6. Blends for babies and children under 4 years should be restricted to Lavender or German Chamomile essential oil, and should not exceed 1 drop of pure essential oil for every 100 ml of VCO. Pure VCO is great for babies too!
7. Children aged 4 - 12 years can take up to 15 drops of essential oil for every 100 ml of VCO for daily use. 

Notes:

• Beauty360 website: http://beauty360degrees.com
• If possible, try to buy locally produced VCO!

HOW TO MAKE PURE ROSE WATER TONER

Another easy recipe... enjoy!

Pure Rose Water Toner


Tools:

• Weighing scale
• 50 or 60 ml spray bottle (Beauty360)

Ingredients:

• 50ml of pure rose water. Don't get the ones that are usually sold in the mamak shops in plastic bottles as they are NOT pure and have synthetic fragrances added to them. This is why most have a strong and sickly sweet rose smell. Pure rose water has a more subtle aroma, and smells more 'natural'. You can get pure rose distillate from Beauty360, but it is very expensive. A good and much cheaper alternative is to try and get it from any Iranian or Arab shops that sell nuts and dates and such. There is one on the LG1 floor of IKANO.  Ask the shop keeper where it comes from, and how can you tell that it is pure.
• 2ml vegetable glycerin (Beauty360, or some specialty baking shops)
• 3 drops of Sweet Orange OR Grapefruit essential oil (Beauty360)
• 3 drops of Lime OR Lemon OR Bergamot essential oil (Beauty360)

Method:

1. Place the clean spray bottle on the weighing scale and pour into it 2 ml of glycerin.
2. Add in the essential oils. You can use a wide variety of essentials here, as long as you do not exceed 10 drops in total, and the oils are safe to be used on the skin. Use a combination that has skin benefits that suit your skin type, and that smell great to you.
3. Shake the bottle slightly so that the essential oils are diluted in the glycerin.
4. Pour in 50ml of pure rose water. Screw on the spray head and shake the bottle until the glycerin is diluted in the rose water.
5. Spray away!

Notes:

• Beauty360 website: http://www.beauty360degrees.com
• It's best to limit the quantity to 50ml per person in other to keep the toner fresh. Any excess rose water/distillate can be kept in the fridge for the next batch.

HOW TO MAKE ANTI ACNE ALOE MOISTURIZER

YEAH...first recipe to share:) So easy lah...

This aloe vera gel based moisturizer should be used on pimple or pimple prone areas once in the morning and again before you go to sleep. Make sure its applied on cleansed skin for maximum effectiveness.

Refer to end of the post for notes and the website to get the ingredients  from.


Anti Acne Aloe Moisturizer

Tools you'll need:

• a small bowl
• a small spoon
• a weighing scale ( best to use the electronic one, but the mechanical one will do too)
• a 30g container to keep the finished product in. Preferably with a good lid and opaque.

Ingredients:

• 30g aloe vera gel - try to get the purest form from the pharmacy i.e. no colouring or fragrances
• 6 ml witch hazel extract or distillate (from Beauty 360)
• 5 drops of Tea Tree essential oil (from pharmacy or Beauty 360)
• 5 - 8 drops of Rose Hip Oil (from pharmacy or Beauty 360)
• 4 drops of Lime OR Petitgrain essential oil (Beauty 360)
• 4 drops of Lemon OR Grapefruit OR Bergamot essential oil (Beauty 360)

Steps:

1. Place your bowl on the weighing scale and measure out 30g of aloe vera gel.
2. Add in 6ml of  witch hazel extract/ distillate and mix with spoon.
3. Add in the essential oils, then mix again.
4. Transfer to your container (make sure its clean) and store in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.

Notes:

• You can try this recipe with different combinations of essential oils listed above. For example, a lime, tea tree and grapefruit blend OR a petitgrain, tea tree and bergamot blend. 
• You can also add 1-3 ml more of the witch hazel extract/ distillate if you feel that the pimples are not drying fast enough. Do note that too much witch hazel can have a drying effect on the skin, so you may want to limit it to the pimples only.
• Beauty 360 website: http://www.beauty360degrees.com

Any questions??? Leave it the comments section and I will reply as soon as I can:)