One Ingredient Beauty Tips

 Whole-milk yogurt is surprisingly an excellent way to cleanse the skin. The milk fat sucks out impurities, while the lactic acid acts as a gentle exfoliator. Simply massage a small amount into your skin, rinse with lukewarm water, and pat dry.

 Tea tree oil is one of the strongest natural antiseptics out there. It’s also antibacterial, antifungal, antimicrobial, and more. To help nip acne-causing bacteria in the bud, dilute some tea tree oil in water and use as a spot treatment before bed.

 Similar to lemons, oranges contain natural acids that are great for exfoliating the skin – only oranges are much more mild. After showering, splash your body with freshly-squezed orange juice and massage into the skin for a gentle, natural exfoliation.

 These and other one ingredient beauty tips via Free People.

Yogurt For Your Skincare

Homemade Remedy: Yogurt For Your Skincare
article by grisselda
originally posted on FemaleDaily.com

 Did you know yogurt is quite the multitasker? I used to know yogurt as only a digestion aid. Well, it’s more than that. We can use yogurt as a skincare on a daily basis. Yogurt is a dairy beverage obtained from the fermentation process. It contains lactic acid, which is a component in producing chemicals for skin turnover, and the acid content of yogurt is a natural acid that will be effective for reducing the oil clogging from the pores. It has many vitamins and minerals that help to boost the immune system to combat the bacteria. Yogurt also contains important enzymes as a natural moisturizer for the skin, face, and hair. It’s mild, not expensive and also we can find it easily.

1. Yogurt For Mask

Use plain yogurt, the white one without any flavor or added sugar. Put it in your refrigerator and after it’s cold, use 1 – 1,5 spoon of plain yogurt (you can add a few drops of honey if you have dry skin) and apply it all over your face. Apply it evenly onto your face and neck, and leave it on for 15- 20 minutes before rinsing it with warm water. It will give you cooling and tightening effect and help to remove dullness in your skin, therefore your natural glow will come out.

2. Yogurt For Acne and Blemishes

Make sure your face is clean from any makeup and dirt from the day, then dab a little amount of cold plain yogurt on top of your acne and blemishes. Yogurt contains natural anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and is rich in zinc properties thay may help clear your blemishes and shrink your pores. Rinse it off ater 20-30 minutes.

3. Yogurt For Sunburn

Use plain yogurt instead of toothpaste. Janice Cox, natural beauty expert and author of “Natural Beauty for All Seasons”, recommended that we always keep plain yogurt handy when you’re going on beach vacations. Yogurt helps cool the sunburn. Cover your sunburnt area with plain yogurt, let it sit for about 15 – 20 minutes and rinse it off.

Sun & Moon Tonics

FP: natural remedies here

Honey For Your Allergies

I have seasonal allergies and really don't like taking pills: 1) they don't work, 2) they cost way too much, and 3) I really don't want to give pharmaceutical companies my money.

So I'm going to try honey!
It makes sense: local raw honey should have the same pollens, start early and don't warm up the honey. Your body should get use to what you are allergic too, and heck it's honey.

I read this article by Jana on the Free People Blog, read the whole thing here.

"But not just any honey…it has to be raw, and it has to be local.

Raw honey is completely unheated, unpasteurized, and unprocessed…so basically, straight out of the hive. Typically, bits of honeycomb or natural pollen will be left in the honey, which is essential for helping your body fight off allergies.

It’s also important for the honey to be local because it will contain pollen from your specific region.

Bees carry the local pollen that aggravates our allergies, and those pollens are then transferred during the honey making process. As we take in that pollen, our body builds up an immunity to it, resulting in less of those nasty symptoms.

The best way to use raw and local honey to combat allergies each season is to start consuming it a few months prior to the first bloom. Getting an early start on ingesting the honey will help adjust the body to the pollen so that the immune system will be less sensitive to the allergens in the air after blooming begins.

Taking 1 spoonful of raw honey a day is the easiest way to start getting the pollen moving through your system and to help fight off those annoying allergy symptoms. You can also try mixing it in with some other ingredients to create a tasty elixir.

The most important thing to remember when dealing with raw honey is to make sure it doesn’t get heated, so whatever way you choose to consume it, keep that in mind!"

Whiten Your Teeth With Strawberries

The straight forward way, via the Free People Blog:

Eat strawberries!

I remember hearing this when I was young and it has stuck with me ever since — and the truth is, it works. Strawberries contain an astringent that aids in the removal of surface stains, and vitamin C, which whitens teeth by clearing away plaque. Strawberries are in season in the summer so take full advantage and keep your fridge stocked with them! When you eat one, take a bite out and then rub the remainder over your teeth.

Or you could try this weekly treatment, via MichellePhan.com

Nothing complements a swipe of lipstick better than a pearly-white smile. Unfortunately, most whitening treatments can be harsh for those with sensitive teeth (not to mention expensive!). So what’s a girl to use instead? One word: strawberries. That’s right – according to Health.com, strawberries contain malic acid, which acts as an astringent to remove surface discoloration on your teeth. Next time your teeth need a pick-me-up, give this easy DIY treatment a try:

Ingredients:
1 strawberry
½ tablespoon baking soda

Instructions:

1.) Crush the strawberry to a pulp-y consistency

2.) Add in baking soda until blended

3.) Use a soft toothbrush to spread the mixture onto your teeth

4.) Leave on for 3-5 minutes

5.) Rinse and brush thoroughly with toothpaste

6.) Floss out any stray strawberry seeds

NOTE: It’s best to apply this treatment only once a week – the acid can damage the enamel on your teeth if you overdo it.

Benefits of Deep Breathing

18 Benefits of Deep Breathing
by Ash Srivastava via one powerful word

Breathing correctly is not only important for living longer but also to have a good mood and keep performing at your best. Let us look at the benefits of deep breathing and why you should make it part of your everyday living.

1. Breathing Detoxifies and Releases Toxins
Your body is designed to release 70% of its toxins through breathing. If you are not breathing effectively, you are not properly ridding your body of its toxins i.e. other systems in your body must work overtime which could eventually lead to illness. When you exhale air from your body you release carbon dioxide that has been passed through from your bloodstream into your lungs. Carbon dioxide is a natural waste of your body's metabolism.

2. Breathing Releases Tension
Think how your body feels when you are tense, angry, scared or stressed. It constricts. Your muscles get tight and your breathing becomes shallow. When your breathing is shallow you are not getting the amount of oxygen that your body needs.

3. Breathing Relaxes the Mind/Body and Brings Clarity
Oxygenation of the brain reducing excessive anxiety levels. Paying attention to your breathing. Breathe slowly, deeply and purposefully into your body. Notice any places that are tight and breathe into them. As you relax your body, you may find that the breathing brings clarity and insights to you as well.

4. Breathing Relieves Emotional Problems
Breathing will help clear uneasy feelings out of your body.

5. Breathing Relieves Pain
You may not realize its connection to how you think, feel and experience life. For example, what happens to your breathing when you anticipate pain? You probably hold your breath. Yet studies show that breathing into your pain helps to ease it.

6. Breathing Massages Your Organs
The movements of the diaphragm during the deep breathing exercise massages the stomach, small intestine, liver and pancreas. The upper movement of the diaphragm also massages the heart. When you inhale air your diaphragm descends and your abdomen will expand. By this action you massage vital organs and improves circulation in them. Controlled breathing also strengthens and tones your abdominal muscles.

7. Breathing Increases Muscle
Breathing is the oxygenation process to all of the cells in your body. With the supply of oxygen to the brain this increases the muscles in your body.

8. Breathing Strengthens the Immune System
Oxygen travels through your bloodstream by attaching to haemoglobin in your red blood cells. This in turn then enriches your body to metabolise nutrients and vitamins.

9. Breathing Improves Posture
Good breathing techniques over a sustained period of time will encourage good posture. Bad body posture will result of incorrect breathing so this is such an important process by getting your posture right from early on you will see great benefits.

10. Breathing Improves Quality of the Blood 
Deep breathing removes all the carbon-dioxide and increases oxygen in the blood and thus increases blood quality.

11. Breathing Increases Digestion and Assimilation of food
The digestive organs such as the stomach receive more oxygen, and hence operates more efficiently. The digestion is further enhanced by the fact that the food is oxygenated more.

12. Breathing Improves the Nervous System
The brain, spinal cord and nerves receive increased oxygenation and are more nourished. This improves the health of the whole body, since the nervous system communicates to all parts of the body.

13. Breathing Strengthen the Lungs
As you breathe deeply the lungs become healthy and powerful, a good insurance against respiratory problems.

14. Proper Breathing Makes the Heart Stronger
Breathing exercises reduce the workload on the heart in two ways. Firstly, deep breathing leads to more efficient lungs, which means more oxygen, is brought into contact with blood sent to the lungs by the heart. So, the heart doesn't have to work as hard to deliver oxygen to the tissues. Secondly, deep breathing leads to a greater pressure differential in the lungs, which leads to an increase in the circulation, thus resting the heart a little.

15. Proper Breathing assists in Weight Control
If you are overweight, the extra oxygen burns up the excess fat more efficiently. If you are underweight, the extra oxygen feeds the starving tissues and glands.

16. Breathing Boosts Energy levels and Improves Stamina

17. Breathing Improves Cellular Regeneration

18. Breathing Elevates Moods
Breathing increase pleasure-inducing neurochemicals in the brain to elevate moods and combat physical pain


How to Breathe properly?

In order to breathe properly you need to breathe deeply into your abdomen not just your chest. Even in the old Greek and Roman times the doctors recommended deep breathing, the voluntary holding of air in the lungs, believing that this exercise cleansed the system of impurities and gave strength. This certainly is of great value to you in your work in the world. Breathing exercises should be deep, slow, rhythmic, and through the nose, not through the mouth. The most important parts of deep breathing has to be regulating your breaths three to four seconds in, and three to four seconds out.

1. Inhale through your nose, expanding your belly, then fill your chest. Counting to 5
2. Hold and Count to 3.
Feel all your cells filled with golden, healing, balancing Sun light energy.
3. Exhale fully from slightly parted mouth and feel all your cells releasing waste and emptying all old energy. Counting to 5.

Schedule your deep breathing exercise just as you would schedule important business appointments. Set aside a minimum of two 10 minute segments of time everyday although you can begin with two five minutes segments if you prefer.

Honouring yourself enough to schedule time with yourself is the first step in mastering stress. Tend your relationship with yourself and your relationship with life and with others will be enriched and deepened accordingly. Remember to share with your children and all your friends and loved ones so that they too can reap its untold benefits.

Natural Ways to Lighten Your Hair

photo via FP

Lemon Juice

My sister has dirty blond hair, and she is able to achieve platinum highlights every summer using nothing but lemon juice and water. If your hair is naturally dirty blond or light brown, you can get your hair considerably lighter by applying lemon juice to your locks. Fill a squirt bottle with two parts freshly squeezed lemon juice to one part water and spritz your hair before spending time sitting in the sunshine. This method takes some time to work, but if you apply lemon juice to your hair once every few days you should begin to notice results within a week or two. This method works because the acidic properties of the lemon lighten up the natural pigments of your hair. Be aware that the acidity does have the potential to slightly dry your hair, so be sure to condition your hair well after each application.

Cinnamon

Ground cinnamon is another home remedy that will lighten up your strands. Mix three tablespoons of cinnamon in with four tablespoons of your favorite conditioner to create a paste. Massage the mixture onto your head and comb it through to make sure your strands are evenly coated for best results. The cinnamon may irritate your skin for several minutes but should go away. Put a plastic processing cap over your hair once the mixture has been thoroughly worked in. Leave the cap and mixture on your head for a minimum of four hours, though sleeping with it on overnight will produce the best results. Rinse your hair and repeat this process until you achieve the shade you want or to maintain color. Cinnamon has the potential to lighten your hair by two to three shades.

Chamomile Tea

Freshly brewed chamomile tea is an excellent home remedy to lighten dirty blond and light brown hair without causing any damage. Brew a strong pot of tea by allowing at least thirty minutes for the tea to steep. Allow the tea to cool, and then add a few tablespoons to your conditioner and put the rest in an empty shampoo bottle. When bathing, wash your hair with the tea instead of your normal shampoo, and then condition with the chamomile conditioner mix. Air dry your hair by sitting in the sun if possible. Like lemon juice, chamomile tea slowly changes the pigment of your hair so don't expect extreme results after one application. However, the tea has no potential to dry or damage hair so feel free to use it daily until you achieve the results you want.

Honey

Honey naturally contains a small amount of hydrogen peroxide, making it ideal for using to lighten hair. The amount is so small it will not have the frying effect on your hair that pure peroxide has. To lighten up your locks with honey, mix 1/3 cup of honey with 1/4 cup of your favorite conditioner. Dampen your hair and then apply the mixture evenly to your head. Put a plastic processing cap over your hair and leave it on for eight hours before rinsing. Honey will not dramatically change the color of your hair, so its best to combine this method with some of the others mentioned in this article if you want your hair more than a shade lighter. You can mix a little bit of lemon juice or cinnamon into the conditioning mixture if you desire.

article by Bronwyn Judith via Yahoo!Voices

Witch Hazel (hamamélis)

Fifteen Uses for Witch Hazel
1. The big one: Spot and blemish control
Witch hazel can reduce the inflammation on a pimple. Some people claim daily use helps with acne, and witch hazel can be found in many over-the-counter treatments. Application with a Witch Stick is the most convenient, but you can dab it on with a cotton ball. Ask your pharmacist before you do this, though.

2. Soothe and heal diaper rash
If your baby's rash isn't healing quick enough, apply witch hazel solution with a cotton ball and you should see immediate improvement to your baby's bottom.

3. Shrink bags under the eyes
Some people say that the application of hemorrhoid cream to those little baggies under your eyes can take them away. It's not an old wives' tale. One of the magic ingredients in a product like Preparation H is witch hazel, which helps tighten up the skin and reduce the bagginess. And that leads nicely to…

4. Soothe and reduce external hemorrhoids
Not only does witch hazel tighten skin, it's also a good anti-itch remedy. By combining witch hazel with aloe, glycerine or petroleum jelly and rub it on external hemorrhoids, you will reduce itching significantly and dry up most bleeding.

5. Varicose vein relief
Soak wash cloths in witch hazel and lay on legs, which are propped straight out, to reduce pain and swelling from varicose veins. The witch hazel helps to tighten the veins, relieving the discomfort temporarily.

6. Soothe poison ivy and poison oak
Just like acne and blemishes, the witch hazel reduces itching and relieves swelling. Something definitely worth packing on your next camping trip.

7. Treat chicken pox blisters
A combination of aloe, honey, lavender and other essential oils create a spray that will vastly reduce the discomfort of chicken pox blisters. And it's all-natural. Here's what to do:

Mix together 1 tablespoon honey, 40 drops lavender essential oil, 15 drops lemon essential oil, 15 drops bergamot essential oil, 5 drops peppermint essential oil, 1 teaspoon carrot seed oil and 1/2 cup aloe vera gel.

Once completely mixed, and 1/2 cup distilled witch hazel and mix again. Pour mixture into spray bottle and use on affected areas (avoiding eyes). A more potent and less unsightly way to treat the chicken pox than traditional calamine lotion.

8. Heal your bruises faster
Been in a fight recently? Well, maybe not. But if you bang your leg or arm and are left with a nasty bruise, a thrice-daily dab of witch hazel can help speed up the healing time of the bruise.

9. Soothe razor burn (and in some instances, prevent it)
The anti-inflammatory properties of witch hazel stop itchy bumps from forming up around your irritated hair follicles. Apply before or after shaving; it should certainly have an impact on your itchy red skin (and that includes ladies, too).

10. Treat and soothe a nasty sunburn
Healing damaged skin is one of witch hazel's specialties. But as sunburn is also a type of skin inflammation, witch hazel is ideal for treating this too (despite swelling not being obvious). Treating sunburn with witch hazel will lessen healing time and prevent the infamous skin peeling and flaking.

11. Treat dry skin
By applying witch hazel immediately after showering, you are locking in the moisture that has just soaked into your skin.

12. Use to heal and soothe various cuts and bruises
Many chemists and pharmacists refer to witch hazel as nature's answer to Neosporin. Applying a dab of it will cleanse the cut, protects against infection, and encourage quicker healing of minor skin breaks.

13. Take the bite out of bug bites
With its anti-itch and anti-inflammatory properties, witch hazel is ideal for treating bug bites. Just dab a little on the affected area.

14. Refresh tired eyes
NOT by squirting witch hazel in them, but by soaking a clean rag in witch hazel and cold water and placing the cold compress over your closed eyes. After 10 minutes, your eyes should be refreshed, and any redness should be gone. If you've been doing a lot of crying, this can get you back to normal quickly.

15. Make your own deodorant
Witch hazel is often used in deodorants due to its natural skin-healing and skin-care properties. [Go to the original article for] a home-made recipe you may want to try.

article by Paul Michael via WiseBread

Witch Hazel for Eczema

Witch hazel is a common astringent and is often used to treat many skin maladies, including acne, oily skin, bug bites, burns, and itching. Witch hazel can be purchased in the same aisle as hydrogen peroxide and rubbing alcohol, but is a gentler alternative for cleansing wounds and treating many skin conditions. Witch hazel is particularly effective in treating eczema, a patchy and itchy skin condition that is difficult to treat.

What makes witch hazel so effective in treating eczema is the high concentration of tannins in the plant found naturally in the leaf and bark and extracted version of the witch hazel plant. These tannins promote healthy and new skin to form while treating irritating skin conditions. The tannins in witch hazel help skin proteins bond and create healthier and firmer skin, and a protection against the flakiness that eczema can cause.

To apply witch hazel simply dab on the affected area twice daily, or as needed. Witch hazel is perfect for sensitive skin, and won't irritate skin or make it itch. Since witch hazel works by helping skin proteins bond and protect against infection, witch hazel keeps skin healthy by easing the pain and inflammation of eczema overall.

article by Abby Willow via Yahoo!Voices

Homemade Body Scrub

4 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 drop essential oil of your choice

Mix ingredients together and they’re ready for use! I like to make a big batch and store in a glass jar in my bathroom. Just make sure to use a 2:1 ratio of sugar to olive oil. The amount (and type) of essential oil is a matter of preference. I love to use lavender for its calming effects, but I imagine this scrub is equally amazing with vanilla or rose oil! Take a peek at the benefits of different scents if you need help choosing an essential oil :)

To use, put your scrub on a washcloth or directly onto the palm of your hand, scrub gently on your skin, and rinse off. You’ll be amazed how effective — and spa-like – your little creation is!

Source: Homemade Body Scrub; DIY Body Scrub | Free People Blog