Homemade Skin-Firming Pore-Reducing Facial Mask

I've been experimenting with several different types of facial masks that I can easily make from kitchen staples. The one I like the best so far is a skin-tightening pore-reducing mask with only TWO ingredients you probably already have at home!

You'll Need:

• 1 Tablespoon Active Dry Yeast or Bread Machine Yeast (or 1 packet)
• 2 Tablespoons Milk (I used soy, because that's what I had, but my friends who tried this used dairy milk with the same results)
• A small jar or tub with a lid

Instructions:

• Add the milk to the yeast in a small jar.
• Shake the living daylights out of it, then let it sit for a few minutes. Shake it again. It should form a creamy texture.
• Apply a thin layer to a clean face (don't put it on your eyelids or lips) and don't forget your chin and neck!
• Leave on for 20 minutes, or until completely dry. You'll feel it tightening! (You'll look like a mummy as it dries, and it will be hard to smile)!
• Rinse off with warm water

Notes:

• You have to use this when you make it.
• I feel this makes enough for more than one face, but since you can't save it, you might want to halve the recipe if you're by yourself. This is why I shake it in a jar - it would be really hard to stir up that small of an amount of the ingredients.
• You can do this mask twice a week.

I've been using this twice a week for the last 3 weeks. I really like how my skin feels afterward. My eyes feel like they are lifted. I also like the "fresh bread" smell of the mask.

I've seen several variations of this recipes in my research, and as I try some of the others I'll post a comparison.

I made Deodorant! (yes, really!)

I used the Skin Deep Database to search some of my body products, and found out that the Dove deodorant received a hazard score of 5 out of 10. Since my personal goal is to use products with scores of 4 or lower, I needed to find an alternative. I found an Alba Clear Enzyme Deodorant with a score of 1. But it's expensive, and requires a trip to a nearby town, since my local grocery doesn't carry it.

So I decided to make some deodorant myself!

I used a recipe I found on this blog: http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/?s=deodorant
I melted the coconut oil, mixed everything together, then after it cooled I added about 6 drops of Geranium Essential Oil (you could use any EO you like) to give it a pleasant scent. The Geranium smells fresh and floral, and I think is a great scent for my deodorant! I boiled the old Dove deodorant container after "rolling" back to the bottom. Then I poured the deodorant mixture into the newly cleaned Dove container and waited until it became solid again. (Coconut oil is solid at 76 degrees F). I might have to adjust the recipe in the summer, or keep it in the fridge, since sometimes I keep my house at 76F!

But I've used it for the last week, and it works great. Now, it's a deodorant, not an antiperspirant, and I'm not an extremely sweaty person - so you'd have to try it and see how it works for you. but, it's definetly non-toxic, smells great, and I feel proud for having made it myself!

The Skin Deep Database

http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/index.php

Above is the link to the Skin Deep Database, run by the Environmental Working Group. Why should you care?

You can use this database to search the cosmetics and body products you use to see what all those inexplicable ingredients on the label really are, and whether the product itself could be toxic or harming your health.

Think the stuff you use is safe because the government allows it to be sold? Think again. Check out this video for a quick (~7 min) overview of what really goes on in the cosmetics industry. http://safecosmetics.live2.radicaldesigns.org/index

The Skin Deep Database lists the ingredients in your products and tells you which could be hazardous. It gives your product an overall Hazard score (10 is the highest hazard, 0 is the lowest), and provides a link to similar products that get lower hazard scores.

You can find a plethora of information and research on each cosmetic ingredient, as well as information on the Cosmetic Companies, including whether they signed the "Compact for Safe Cosmetics," and if they conduct animal testing (boo!)

I feel like this is a great personal tool for being aware of what I'm putting on my body. My personal goal is not to use any product that receives a score over 4.

Use of Toxic Ingredients in Everyday Personal Care Products

Yesterday, I gave a presentation to 10 of my friends and a few of their teenage daughters about potentially harmful ingredients in everyday body care and cosmetic products. It was suggested that I start a blog to document my journey into a less toxic lifestyle, to share my experiences in making my own body products, makeup, cleaners, and my experiences with foods.

There is a plethora of information spread across the internet already about this subject. I spent a lot of time in preparation for yesterday's presentation doing searches, reading books, and testing recipes. My intentions for this forum is to have a single place to store my experiences, successes, failures, ideas, and helpful links to information.

To get started, this link will take you to the presentation I gave yesterday, the point of which was three-fold: to make my friends aware of what kinds of things are in the personal care products they use, give them tools to determine if they are safe (or if there are safer alternatives on the market), and to show them how easy it is to make completely safe body products at home with food-based ingredients. They all left the presentation with a gift bag containing samples of all-natural homemade products: Face Wash, Toner, Moisturizer, Lip Balm, and Body Butter.

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B2oxbmL2XT02ZWYxZWUwN2YtN2MzNC00N2Y1LWExMWQtMzViNjQxYWZlZDgw&hl=en