DIY Chemical Free Beauty

Beauty Treatments Without the Nasties

Something a little different this week for all you beautiful people looking to become the healthiest version of yourselves. As I’ve said in the past, wellness is about so much more than eating healthily and exercising. What we put onto our skin is equally as important as what we ingest.

Are you helping or hindering your skin, the body’s largest organ, to perform its tasks efficiently?

The key roles of your skin are:

• Protection & nourishment
• Largest living organ weighting approximately 5kg in total, including the scalp, hair, nasal and oral cavities
• Absorb Vitamin D
• In traditional Chinese Medicine, the skin is used as a diagnostic tool as it connects all body systems and is a key communications tool between practitioner and patient
• Remove water & waste – it’s referred to as the third kidney

The average woman puts over 40 different avoidable carcinogenic ingredients onto her body daily. This results in over 14,600 carcinogenic exposures annually! These concoctions come in the form of soap (cake or liquid), shampoo & conditioner, deodorant, facial products (cleanser, toner, moisturiser), hair products (gel, mud, mousse, spray), cosmetics (foundation, eyeshadow, blush, mascara, face powder, lipstick).

Although we have more options today than ever for skin care, many skin care manufacturers claim that their products are ‘natural’ and even organic and completely free of the chemicals we all want to avoid.   In the spa and wellness industry there is a common saying “If you can’t pronounce it, don’t eat it or put it anywhere on your body”. Using fresh ingredients and creating the product yourself is not only fun, it also means that you know that you are putting quality nutrition onto your incredible skin, rather than a chemical cocktail.

I’ve collated some of my favourite recipes that we used in the Earth Spa at Six Senses Hideaway Resort, Hua Hin – a seaside resort on the Gulf of Thailand. We used only the freshest ingredients from our resort’s organic garden, but if you can get your hands on some organically grown produce in your home town, you can easily replicate these incredible natural skin and hair care products.

 Natural Spa Treatment Recipes – Scalp and Hair Masks

 Banana Hair Mask

Ideal for dry hair and scalp

Ingredients:

1 ripe banana (to revitalize)
1 tbsp coconut or olive oil (to add shine)

Method:

• Mash the banana with a fork in a small bowl
• Add the olive oil
• Using your hands, apply the mixture to wet hair, beginning at the scalp and roots of the hair until the ends
• With gentle circular massage movements, apply the mixture to all the scalp and hair
• Cover with a shower cap, and a hot towel if desired (to enhance infusion of the mixture into the hair and scalp)
• Relax for 30 minutes
• Rinse with warm water
• Shampoo and condition as normal

If only the scalp is dry and not the hair, concentrate on applying the mixture to only the scalp, and vice versa.

To reduce Dandruff

Ingredients:

1 Handful of crushed mint leaves

Method:

• Add to your conditioner, a handful of crushed mint leaves
• Massage into your scalp
• Leave on your hair for 15-20 minutes
• Rinse with warm water
• Shampoo and condition as normal

You can also add the mint leaves to the banana hair mask recipe above.

Facial Mask for Normal to Dry Skins

The Avocado Mask is a great moisturiser for facial masks and contains rich proteins, vitamins, lecithin and essential fatty acids. If extra moisture is required, include the coconut oil which is high in saturated fats.

Ingredients:

½ avocado, peeled and pitted
1 tablespoon natural (or plain) yoghurt
1 tablespoon coconut oil (optional)

Method:

• Mash half an avocado with a tablespoon of natural yoghurt. You can combine these in a blender and process for 30 seconds.
• Mix well and apply to cleansed skin
• Leave on for 5 to 10 minutes
• Rinse with warm water

This recipe is also utilised as a hand rejuvenating treatment. Merely make double the amount of the mixture and use as both a face and a hand nourishing mask.

Ideally, masks should be applied onto freshly cleansed, slightly damp skin, avoiding contact with the eyes. Make the most of this ‘me time’ by lighting a gorgeous candle, getting very comfortable, placing a pillow under your knees for support, as well as under your head, and listen to your favourite relaxation playlist or a guided meditation.

Remove masks with lukewarm water or make your own herbal infusion of chamomile and lime tree leaves and allow the infusion to cool to body temperature and then strain. Gentle splashing of the infusion onto the skin will remove the mask. Try to leave the face to dry naturally. If you use a towel to dry your face, ensure the towel is a soft one and gently pat your skin with this soft towel (prevents pulling of the skin by avoiding wiping of the skin with the towel and this alternative movement in itself is ‘anti-aging’)