Turmeric/Curcumin as Burn Scar Removar

When I was 11 years-old, I was given the job of cooking. I was short and the stove was quite high, so every time I burnt my arms and wrists.

My mom, being a concerned parent, told me that the scars need to be taken care of as soon as the skin is not sensitive. She made me a paste of Turmeric and put a thin layer on my skin and let it dry and told me to wash it afterward. The process was repeated about 3-4 times. Now I am in early 30s and I see no scars, in fact scars were gone within a month of the treatment. When you treat your skin with anything, it is better to do it during the night as skin gets sensitive after treatment and sun can damage the treated skin.

Turmeric needs to be pure and not mixed with any ingredients and if it is raw, that is even better. Most turmeric are fried before turning into powder. If you can find raw and make your own powder, more power to you.

Homemade Flushable Wipes

As every other person on the face of this planet, I would like to stay clean as well as not spend too much money and not harm the environment with too much waste.

As a mother, you deal with a lot of 'poo' etc here and there. While, you can't just leave the 'dirty' be dirty, you can just make it a bit easier on yourself. So that is what I been trying to do: Clean the lil bottoms with wipes and then wash it.

Though, it gets expensive when you are using flushable wipes (as I mentioned trying to minimize the damage to the environment). I did a bit of search on the web to see the easiest way to make economical and environmentally friendly wipes and the one at Wellness Mama's webpage I found interesting.

So I did take her suggestions into consideration. While I did not have everything she suggested, I just used what I had at home and my wipes works perfectly fine.

What I used:
1 TBSP almond oil
2 TBSP Dr Bronner's soap
1 TBSP Witch hazel
1 roll of paper towel, Target brand
1 empty bucket of gallon ice-cream
2 cups pre-boiled water ( which should be lukewarm when you are pouring it over your towels)

Cut the paper roll in half using a sharp knife. Mix all the ingredients in the water and pour it over your papers and let it sit for 5-10 minutes so the water is absorbed in the papers. Pull out the cardboard roll from inside your wipes to bring the inside part out. Voila, your own flushable wipes for a fraction of the cost!

Homemade Lotion

As part of my DIY and 'green' project, I made my very first lotion at home and it was not as hard or time consuming as I had assumed.

Ingredients:
Beeswax 1ounce
2 TBSP Organic Shea Butter
2 TBSP Organic Coconut Oil
2 TBSP Organic Olive Oil
1 TBSP Vitamin E
40 drops essential oil of your choice (I used Lavender)

Direction:
In a pot melt beeswax. Then add your oils and once they have are mixed, take your mix off the heat and add your vitamin E. At the end you add your essential oil and mix well and pour it in container of your choice and let it cool down all the way before putting your skin.

I have bought all my products from iHerb.com (gift code: CHG895). 

Gelatin Mask or Blackhead Remover

I have been going through some DIY projects at home and I have been very interested in health and beauty DIYs.

I ran into a site (which of course I do not remember at the moment and will post the link once I find it) which suggested using unflavored gelatin mixed with milk for a facial mask- blackhead remover.

In a box of Knox, there are 4 packages of gelatin and one of the package is enough for a full-facial mask.

Ingredients:
1 pack unflavored gelatin (do not use any flavored gelatin, imagine what your face would like if you used strawberry flavored gelatin)
1.5-2 TBS of milk

Tools:
Microwave
A microwave safe cup
wooden spatula/ popsicle stick

Before you start preparing your mask, wash your face very well with warm water and clean any make-up that you may have on your skin. Hold a face towel under hot water and drain the water and put the towel over your face until it cools off (of course the towel should not be that hot for it to burn your skin). This will help open your pores (I actually put the mask on, after I took a shower).

Mix the gelatin with milk in the cup using your stick/spatula. Place it the cup in the microwave for 15-20 seconds (depending on your microwave's temperature).

Take the mixture out of microwave and mix well with the spatula/stick and let it cool off a bit (it basically boils in that 15-20 seconds and you do not want to burn your skin), but do not let it cool down all the way as it needs to be warm enough to be spreadable on the skin (as you would the wax for hair removal).

Once it is not too hot to burn your skin, start spreading the mix quickly over your skin using your stick/spatula (avoid putting it over your eyes, eyebrows and lips).

Let it sit for 15-20 minutes or as long as it is dry. Then slowly pull the mask off your face (as you would any peel-off mask) and you would see all the dirt/ blackheads come off your skin and leaving your skin feeling soft and smooth and clean.

After the mask is off, you can rinse your face as you would normally do with some warm water and pat dry with clean towel. If you are heading out in the sun after cleaning you face, you would want to use some sunscreen which is also moisturizing (I put my mask on during the night so that I do not need to put anything extra on other than a very organic moisturizer).

Caution: Always test any product in small areas to check for allergies, before putting it on your face or any parts of the body.

Organic/Natural Lip Color

For those of you concerned about what chemicals we’re putting in and on our bodies, you can’t get more natural than this homemade berry lip stain! We love it because it adds the perfect “just-bitten” hint of color to fake that Snow White luscious lip! Here’s how to do it yourself:  

INGREDIENTS: 3 Blackberries (for their bright berry color), 1 Raspberry (for its feminine pink color), 3 Pomegranate Seeds (for their vibrant red color), 1/2 teaspoon edible oil (I used Extra Virgin Olive Oil), a small Bowl + Spoon (or mortar + pestle if you have them), Fork or Sifter to drain, small 5-gram Pot/Jar with screw top from any craft store

STEP 1: Mash the blackberries and raspberry in the bowl thoroughly with the back of your spoon.

STEP 2: Add the pomegranate juice into the mixture by individually squeezing them between your thumb and index fingers over the bowl.

STEP 3: Pour the olive oil into the bowl and stir everything together with your spoon.

STEP 4: Finish by draining the liquid from the mixture into your small portable jar.

For application, use your fingers, a lip brush or a Q-tip. It’ll only be good for a few days so refrigerate it for longevity. Have fun with it and even try different fruits (acai berries, cherries, etc)! You can play with the ratios of each fruit to customize your desired shade but you’ll get the most color payoff from the blackberries.

Recipe from here

Homemade Shampoo

Homemade Shampoo

Homemade Shampoo 

• 13 cups water or tea
• 1 cup cold water
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 cup baking soda
• 3 tsp xanthan gum
• 1/4 cup castile soap
• 30 drops essential oils (optional)

Add 13 cups of water to a large pot. In a seperate bowl mix together the remaining cup of cold water and cornstarch, whisk until no lumps remain. Pour cornstarch mixture into large pot with the water. Bring to a boil and whisk constantly for several minutes until slightly thickened. Remove from heat, whisk in baking soda (very slowly as it will boil over), xanthan gum and castile soap. Let cool completely, mix in essential oil.

 Source

Liquid Soap

Liquid Soap

 I do not want to restrict myself,  but rather find the most organic and natural type of soap you can find around you would be the safest choice for you. As we are trying to stay on the budget side as well as green, we do not want  to break the bank just to buy one bar of soap.

I found the original 'olive' soap in the last place I expected; oriental shop. I did know that I could buy it in our super organic stores, but each bar cost three times more than it costs at this oriental store. 

How to make
1. Grate 1 bar of castile bar soap into large container.
2. Add about 1.5 liters of hot water, stir well and cover.
3. Let sit 24 hours, stir some more and voila.

Original recipe

iHerb!

I am officially hocked on herbs and organic products. Many of the products at our local stores are very expensive and some of the products are almost impossible to find. So my sister suggested I check the products on iHerb.com and I was sold!

So if anyone wants to buy natural/organic herbs at a reasonable price, my suggestion would be to head to iHerb.com. In your purchase you can use my gift code CHG895 and you will get a $5 discount.

Also don't forget those free samples from "Freebies" section at the top of the page. I am going to truly enjoy each time I buy goodies at the site.

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