Time for a Green Tea Mask

I've been quite busy these last two weeks with my oldest turning 11, traveling for Thanksgiving and then coming home with 3 sick kids. As soon as the kids recovered from the flu it was my turn to be sick. This week I haven't gone anywhere besides dropping the kids at school and I'm sick of sickness.

I'm finally feeling better but I still don't have the energy to catch up on laundry or dishes.

You know what I do have the energy for? Sitting through a beauty treatment!
I've spent plenty of time thinking of what I wanted to do when I felt better and today I only feel strong enough to mix up a face mask, apply, enjoy and then wash off.

I love to use cosmetic clay in masks as it is so very good at removing impurities and dirt while also minimizing pores. I sure feel icky from being sick and want my pores clean.

You may also remember I love to drink green tea but this is the first beauty recipe I've used it in. Green tea tonifies and clarifies skin.

I've been adding the spice thyme to my beauty treatments lately as there is recent evidence that it is effective on acne. I've even made my own thyme tincture.

I adapated this recipe from the fabulous ebook: Crunchy Betty's Food On Your Face For Acne And Oily Skin (also on Kindle)

Green Tea Face Mask
1 Tablespoon green cosmetic clay
1 Tablespoon strong green tea
1/2 teaspoon ground thyme

Combine the clay and thyme and slowly add in the tea until you have a thick mud, adding more tea as necessary. Spread the mask evenly over clean skin. Leave on 10 minutes or until completely dry.
Place a warm wet washcloth on your face for a minute then slowly wipe off and thourouly rinse. Pat dry and apply a facial moisturizer. Slight redness is normal and will disappear in about 30 minutes.

The other productive thing I realized I can do when I'm recovering from the flu and not yet 100% ? Write a blog post!


This post is part of: Your Green Resource, Simple Lives Thursday, Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways, Clever Chicks

Honey on my Face

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I love honey: raw, local, all natural honey.  I'm not talking about the cheap, fake stuff either. Local, raw honey tastes amazing and is full of the good stuff. I add it to my tea, use it on my face & put it in my hair. Honey contains some of the most incredible antibacterial power nature has to offer. It will replace much needed moisture in your skin, while at the same time pulling out the oil and bad stuff. 

I started using honey as part of my morning facial routine at the suggestion of Crunchy Betty's ebook Food on Your Face. I pour some honey on my fingers and spread it all over my face. If I'm in a hurry I'll wash it off right away. If I've got some time I'll leave the honey on for 5 or 10 minutes while I do other things and then wash it off. It has been a great acne fighter for me along with my thyme toner I use before bed.

Beware buying your honey from a big-box store or pharmacy. Often times, it's not even honey.

Pasteurized honey is no good for your face. All the beneficial enzymes have been killed in the heating process. This is the honey you typically find in mainstream grocery stores. Often it's"laundered" from Asian countries to hide it's inferior Chinese origin.  

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Raw, unfiltered honey is honey that has been heated less than 115 degrees Fahrenheit, the official “raw heat” designation. It's been minimally filtered to remove some of the pollen, propolis, and wax. Where can you get the good stuff? I get mine at local orchards and farmer markets. 

To learn more about honey, I highly recommend these articles:

Tests Show Most Store Honey Isn't Honey

Honey Laundering: The Sour Side of Nature's Golden Sweetener

Crunchy Betty's Honey Guide

Tell me: how do you use honey?

This post is part of: Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways, Mama Moments Monday, Living Green Tuesdays, Works-for-Me-Wednesday, The Morris Tribe, Homestead Barn Hop, Make Your Own Mondays, Your Green Resource

Thyme Tincture for Blemishes

I don't have clear, beautiful skin. I'm natural in most areas of my life & health but still my skin has blemishes. In the past I've gone the traditional dermatologist route of antibiotics and prescription cremes but I'm done with that now. I've been searching for more natural solutions* and so far thyme is one of my favorites.

A recent study found thyme is more effective on acne bacterium than prescription cremes containing benzoyl peroxide. I've tried those prescription cremes and they are expensive, very drying to to my skin and not very effective. When I read about making your own thyme treatments on Crunchy Betty I was ready to experiment.

I had organic thyme in my pantry that I recently got from my CSA and dried myself. I followed these simple steps using just witch hazel and dried thyme to make my own thyme tincture.

Thyme Tincture

Sterilize a small bottle by boiling it in water for 10 minutes. Dry well.

Add 1 Tbsp dried thyme to the bottle.

Pour 4 Tbsp witch hazel over the top. Shake well.

Within 20 minutes, the witch hazel will start to look like a light brown tea. I used it right away but continued to let the thyme steep in the witch hazel for a few days before straining the thyme out.

Pour your tincture onto a cotton ball or pad and rub over blemishes. I use it daily before bed.

Store it in a cool, dark place for up to a month.

My thyme tincture before I strained out the thyme leaves

Here's an interesting article explaining that it's still early days for thyme as an acne treatment. While it's too soon to know how effective it is for everyone I'm finding for myself that it's just as effective as the prescription stuff on me. I love the smell when I rub it on my face. It reminds me of Italy and fresh from the oven pizza. Yum!

I recommend making your own thyme treatment to try on yourself!

*For more natural acne treatments I highly recommend the e-book Crunchy Betty's Food on Your Face for Acne and Oily Skin.

Raw Sugar Scrub

Are you looking for an easy and frugal Mother's Day present or teacher gift for the end of school? This simple sugar scrub is just the thing. I generally make it just for me as I like to pamper myself with skin treatments but stick a bow & little wooden spoon on it and it would make a great gift.

Raw Sugar Scrub
1 cup raw sugar
1 oz light oil*
1/2 t. vitamin E oil
up to 6 drops essential oil**
12 oz clean jar with a tight fitting lid***

Pour the sugar into a bowl and mix in about an ounce of light oil (or more for dry skin), vitamin E oil (a preservative) and a few drops of essential oil. I added 3 drops lavender and 1 drop peppermint essential oils as that is recommended in The Complete Book of Essential Oils & Aromatherapy for general headaches. I don't have headaches a lot but thought those scents would be soothing to my brain while the sugar scrubs & moisturizes my skin.

Scoop up a small handful while in the bath or shower and massage all over your body to exfoliate and moisturize. You may need to stir the scrub between uses.

*light oils include: almond oil, avocado oil, apricot kernel oil, grapeseed oil, sunflower seed oil, safflower oil, extra virgin olive oil, walnut oil
** ideas for essential oils: lavender is soothing, lemon and orange are invigorating, ylang-ylang is romantic, peppermint is energizing & good for headaches
***I wash out and save jars of my favorite salsa for projects such as these.

Natural Hair Lightener

The older I get the less blond I am. My hair has always been blond, from the white blond of my childhood to the the honey blond of adulthood. Now that my thirties are upon me my blondness is darker than I'd like yet I still don't want to do anything unnatural to my hair.

One of my favorite books on making your own beauty treatments is Natural Beauty from the Garden by Janice Cox. She recommends chamomile, lemon juice and vodka as natural hair lighteners; honey works too.

Here's what I put together:

Natural Highlight Spray
1 cup strongly brewed chamomile tea
1 T lemon juice

Mix together and pour into a small spray bottle.  I didn't have any vodka on hand as I used all of mine making vanilla extract but you can also add 1 T of vodka to this mix.

Spray or comb through damp hair every morning before heading outside and gradually the sun's rays will naturally lighten your hair over time.

Natural Anti-Frizz Hair Serum

Frizzy hair is no fun- as I can attest. I've been trying for a long time to tame my unruly mane. I've been looking for something to help with the frizz my wavy hair seems to often have. I like John Frieda's Frizz-Ease Hair Serum but was looking for a natural alternative. I think I've found it and it will ease your frizziness and save you some money too.

Nothing can compare to good old fashion natural ingredients when it comes to conditioning your hair. One of the best conditioners is Jojoba plant oil. Jojoba oil is light and non greasy and is very similar to our bodies' own natural oils in texture. It's been used for centuries by Native Americans and Mexicans as a hair and skin conditioner.


Anti-Frizz Hair Serum
1/4 cup jojoba
1 tablespoon olive oil

Mix together the oils and add a few drops of essential oil for scent if you like. Put a small amount on your palm and massage through your hair. Be careful to only use a small amount or your hair will look like an oily, unwashed mess.

I prefer to put my hair oil in a small spray bottle and spray it on my wet hair and then comb through. I like that better than massaging with my hands as I have sensory issues with getting my hands messy. That's probably just me, right?

This stuff really does help with the frizziness and a little goes a long way!

This post is part of: Natural Living Mondays, Backyard Farming Connection, Living Green Tuesdays, Make Your Own Monday, Frugal Days Sustainable Ways, Healthy 2Day Wednesdays, Small Footprint Friday