Natural Beauty

Women do spent a lot for the sake of beauty. I admit, I also try and buy products that have promising beauty benefits. If I will compute my monthly beauty expenditure it would accumulate for more than two thousand pesos per month. And sometimes I would even go overboard if there are promising products in the market.
These days, wherein all of us have financial challenges, I did made adjustments with my budget and that would include my beauty maintenance. Aesthetics is important for me; hence I looked for cheaper beautification alternatives giving the same reactions of over the counter beauty products and yet will not imperil my skin and health. I scanned back issues of my beauty magazine collections because I know once in a while they feature some homemade beauty concoctions. And to my surprise I was able to collate a lot of these beauty alternatives and now blogging about it.

I already tried most of these and it gave me same results of the brands I was using. If you will try any of the homemade beauty mixtures below, make sure that all your ingredients and tools are clean. DO NOT try the treatments with items you are allergic to. To be sure, test the mixture on a small patch of skin ideally at the back of your ear where the skin is thinner. If there is no allergic reaction after 24 hours then it is perhaps safe on your skin.

FACE TREATMENTS

Blackhead buster
You need: egg white, large cotton
-Soak cotton in egg white.
-Cover affected area with the cotton and wait for it to dry and harden completely.
-Carefully remove the dried cotton and the blackheads will come off with it.

Blackhead prevention
You need: cornstarch, vinegar, and clean washcloth
-Mix cornstarch with vinegar and spread on the area for 15-30 minutes.
-Wash off well using the washcloth and warm water.

Pimple cures
-Grind garlic into paste and apply on zit to help heal and stop infection.
-Take some aloe vera juice and apply on the affected area overnight.
-Mix baking yeast with tea tree oil to make a paste and leave on pimple.

Lighten blemish
Gently massage baking soda over pimple. Do not scrub. Rinse with water

Fair face
Mash ripe papaya and apply on face. Leave it for a few minutes and rinse well. After rinsing you will notice that it will give your face an instant glow. Repeat often for faster and fairer result.

Scar remover
Apply cocoa butter, aloe vera juice or vitamin E to the affected area repeatedly until scar fades.

Help for oily skin
You need: 1 egg white, 3 tsp. oatmeal
-Beat the egg white until it is frothy.
-Add the oatmeal.
-Apply the oatmeal paste on skin and leave for 15 minutes.
-Rinse with cool water.

Dry an over oily face
Put a thin layer of Milk of Magnesia all over face.

Instant face glow
Mash 1/3 ripe banana on a small bowl. Use the pulp to wash your face and throat, avoid the eye area. If skin is specially dry or dehydrated, leave this on for 5 minutes. Rinse and pat dry.

For firming the face
You need: honey, 1 egg white, 1 tsp. glycerin (available at drugstores), 1/4 cup flour
-Whisk together honey, egg white, glycerin and flour
-Apply over face and throat
-Leave on for 10 minutes
-Rinse off with warm water

Overnight facial
Pat apple cider vinegar on face before bedtime. This will help in getting rid of blemishes and will make your skin youthful.

Moisturizer mask
Mix 2 tablespoons of honey with 2 teaspoons of milk. Smooth all over face and throat. Leave on for 10 minutes then rinse with water.
Home facial spa
You need: 1 ripe banana, 1 tbsp. honey, 1 egg yolk, 1 tbsp wheat germ oil, 1 tsp. finely powdered oats, 1 tsp. lemon juice (optional if mask will not be used immediately), 1 drop rose oil, distilled water.
-Peel and mash banana. Add honey, egg yolk, wheat germ oil, oats, and lemon juice. Form a smooth creamy paste. If too thick add a bit of distilled water and stir until smooth.
-Add rose oil last and stir to mix well.
-To use, apply to clean face and neck, avoid the eye and mouth areas. Rest for 10 minutes. Rinse with warm water. Follow with facial toner if desired.
-Use the mask after 2 hours of making.

Facial Toner
Use a blender to puree 1 tbsp. honey, a peeled, cored apple. Smooth over face then leave on 15 minutes. Afterwards, rinse with cool water.

Facial cleansers
Milk is loaded with alpha-hydroxy acids (AHA). These softens the skin by exfoliating and dissolving the glue that holds dead skin’s topmost layer enabling our natural emollient oils to reach the surface cells thus moisturizing the skin. Blackheads are removed too!
AHAs are also in lemon juice, vinegar, blackberries, grapes, oranges, tomatoes, and apple juice.
You can sqeeze a lemon and keep its juice in the refrigerator for a week. In the morning dab some lemon juice on your fingers and pat it onto the face. Leave it for 10 minutes and rinse well.

Facial spritzer
Cucumber also have AHA and can give our skin a cool feeling.
-Wash a small cucumber.
-Blend the cucumber with distilled water.
-Strain into a spritzer bottle.
-Use liberally for a cool and refreshing effect.
-Use immediately if possible.
-Keep it refrigerated and use within 12 hours.

Facial scrub
For oily skin: Mix 1 tsp. skim milk powder with 1 tsp. honey. Add few drops of freshly squeezed lemon juice if your skin is very oily. Use this mixture as a mild scrub on your face. The undissolved milk powder forms a gentle scrub. Rinse very well
For normal, dry, or mature skin: Mix 1 tsp. full cream or whole milk powder with 1 tsp. honey. Use this mixture as a mild scrub on your face. The undissolved milk powder forms a gentle scrub. Rinse very well

*Use lots of water to rinse to prevent bacterial residue

Stimulating face scrub
You need: Your favorite cleanser and 1 tsp. dark brown sugar
-Wash your face with your favorite cleanser and add bit by bit some of the sugar while lathering and massaging the skin.
-Rinse with warm water followed by a splash of cold water. Pat dry.

Combat crow’s feet
Before going to bed at night dab the egg white onto the lines and finish with a dab of vegetable oil. The egg protein will help erase the lines.

Remedy for dry skin
You need: 1 egg, 1tbsp. oil, 1/2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
-Beat egg and add oil.
-Add lemon juice and mix very well.
-Refrigerate for 1 hour
-Apply mixture on face and leave on for 15 minutes
-Rinse well and follow with your favorite moisturizer

Wrinkle remover
You need: 1 egg white, 2-3 drops fresh lemon or lime juice
-Beat all ingredients together.
-Cover the wrinkled area with this mixture and let it dry.
-Once dry, wash off with warm water then splash with cool water. Pat dry.

Homemade lip gloss
You need: 1/4 cup beeswax, 1/4 cup castor oil (available at drugstores) 2tbsp. sesame oil, beet juice, double boiler
-Use the top part of the double boiler to melt beeswax.
-Remove from heat and add oils.
-add as much beet juice as desired for color. Store in a jar. Transfer small portion to purse sized container. Any favorite essential oil may be added for fragrance.

Make-up remover
You need: 1 tbsp. full cram milk, small bowl, few drops of sweet almond oil, cotton
-Pour milk in a bowl. Add almond oil.
-Soak cotton into mixture and pat on face.
-Use another piece of cotton to remove the mixture. Rinse off thoroughly so as not to have bacterial residue.

HAIR CARE

Reduce grey hair
Consume 1/2 tsp of fresh grated ginger and 1/2 tsp of honey every morning.

Hair revitalizer
Rub 2-6 tbsps. of mayonnaise into your hair before washing. Leave under shower cap for 15 minutes, then rinse and shampoo as usual.

For shiny hair
Add 1/4 cup vinegar to 6 cups of cold water. Use this as your final shampoo rinse. Condition afterwards.

Fight dandruff
Mix 1 part apple cider vinegar to 3 parts warm water to balance the scalp’s pH and control dandruff. You can also apply undiluted vinegar to the scalp. Allow it to penetrate then shampoo with mild shampoo.

Hair rinse
Mix 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar with 1 quart water and use as final rinse after shampooing. This will get rid of shampoo residue and leave hair soft and shinny.

Hair conditioner
Shampoo hair then massage the yoghurt. Leave it while you shower and rinse with warm water.

Hair spa
Mix 1/2 cup honey and 1.4 cup olive oil. Work a small amount at a time through hair until coated. Cover hair with a shower cap; leave on for 30 minutes. Remove shower cap, then shampoo well and rinse. Dry as normal.

Hair fix
Add almond oil with coconut oit. Apply on hair 20 minutes before washing. This will keep hair shiny and healthy.

BODY CARE

Fragrant salt bath
You need: 1 cup instant nonfat dry milk, 1 cup baking soda, 2 tbsp cream of tartar, 1 tbsp cinnamon
Combine all ingredients and store in a nice container. For a perfumed feeling, add as much as desired whenever you bathe.

Hand moisturizer
Take a few drops of olive oil and massage into both hands making sure all areas absorb the oil. Wear gloves overnight and see how soft your hands in the morning.

For younger skin
You need: 1 tsp. honey, 1 tbsp. apple cider, 1 tsp. extra virgin coconut oil
Mix well and drink once or twice a day. See results on your skin and digestion after a week.

Firm an aging neck
Slather on whole neck plain unflavored yoghurt. Let it stay for 30 minutes. The milk proteins will do wonders to the skin.

Sunburn treatment
Use aloe vera stem and squeeze off the gel from the leaf. Apply on sun burnt skin. The aloectin B contents of aloe vera will help stimulate the immune system.

Massage therapy
Coconut oil is ideal for massages. It protects skin, lathers, and melts easily upon skin contact. It also washes out of towels. Other oils satin and leave odors on towels after a while.
You need: 1/2 cup coconut oil, 1/4 cup cocoa butter few drops essential oil (optional)
-To make the massage oil, soften the coconut oil and cocoa butter over medium heat.
-Remove from heat and blend, adding a few drops of optional essential oils.

To lighten dark elbows and knees
You need: 1 tsp. dry milk powder, some lemon juice, some water
-Make a paste out of all the ingredients. (Note: lemon juice is for bleaching and sloughing)
-Rub on knees and elbows. Let it stay for 10 minutes then rinse.

Remedies for tired eyes
Rose water – Soak cotton ball and apply to eyes once a week
Cucumber – Place a slice each on your eyes and rest for 10 minutes to reduce stress
Shredded potato – Put on top of eyes to reduce dark circles. Let it rest for 10 minutes.

Instant fresh breath
Chew fresh parsley and your breath will be sweeter than ever!

Instant toothpaste
You need: 2 tbsp. dried lemon or orange rind, 1/4 cup baking soda, 2 tsp salt
-Place rinds in food processor, grind until peel becomes a fine powder.
-Add baking soda and salt then process a few seconds more until you have a fine powder
-Store in an airtight tin or jar. Dip moistened toothbrush into mixture, brush as usual.

Deodorizer
Add a few cups ot tomato juice to the bathwater, soak for at least 15 minutes. This will eliminate any strong smell (even skunk). Ideal for pet smell too.

Underarm alternative
Mix 4 tbsp baking soda in your bathwater. After bathing and drying, apply baking soda under the arm. You may also use cornstarch or vinegar under the arms.

Silky skin
Add 1/4 cup honey every time you bathe. This will help skin to be soft.

Smooth skin
Mix 1 tsp. honey with 1 tsp vegetable oil and 1/4 tsp lemon juice. Rub into hands. Elbows, heels, and everywhere that feels dry. Leave on for 10 minutes then rinse with water.

Best Beauty Secret

WATER. It makes up 70% of our bodies and we need 8 to 10 glasses a day to keep our skin hydrated and digestive system working well. When we lack water, toxins can build up in our system causing constipation, acne flare-ups, and fatigue.

Drink a tall glass of water immediately upon arising. Drink another glass about 15 minutes before meals and again two hours after a meal. Have 1 glass before going to bed. In a few days, you’ll be amazed at how dewy and youthful your skin looks.

Go Bananas for Health

Super banana from Davao, Philippines

I love bananas because of its delicious taste and it has versatility in preparation. Basically these were just the reasons before why I love this fruit. Until I have noticed my boss who is lately eating lots of bananas. My curiosity rose because my boss is a super health conscious guy plus the fact that he has a major triathlon career. My suspicion is that he may be joining an Ironman race soon, I was correct he is a participant for the Ironman Germany this July 2009. Because of this curiosity I began researching about this fruit. And here are what I have learned about bananas.

Bananas have vitamins, minerals, and proteins which are all good for our body’s well being. It is very rich in carbohydrates and natural sugar (sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber).
With all the other nutritional contents it gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy. It has been proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. Thus makes the banana the number one fruit for the world’s leading athletes.
For detailed nutritional facts you may browse NutritionData website and appreciate what you can get from a cup mashed of banana.

Aside from a great source of energy I learned many other benefits one can get from this fruit. I summarized the some that are worth knowing and helpful for our daily activities.

Cure for hangover
Believe me I already tried this. I replaced the usual coffee with a banana drink. To prepare this put 2 big bananas in an osterizer add fresh milk and sweeten with honey. It cures hangovers because of its energy boosting properties.

Helps improve blood pressure
I observed this in my own family. My grandmother and father have hypertension and there are times they feel the side effects of the fluctuating blood pressure like headaches, pains somewhere in the nape area, and irritability. Instead of pain killers they eat banana to ease these discomforts.

Stress buster
Bananas contain Serotonin a hormone that is known to give our body and mind a happy feeling thus relieves stress and improves moods.

Help ease menstrual pains
The Vitamin B6 content helps in regulating blood glucose and the Serotonin hormone improves mood swings.

Good for the skin
Its Riboflavin, Thiamin, and other vitamins contents helps in improving skin appearance. I read in one article that banana skin can help in removing warts (cover the warts with the inner skin of banana). One of my favorite home made facial mask is mashed banana and honey, it really does give my face that healthy glow. Try it.

Helps in weight loss
I already tried this. Instead of starving myself I eat one banana 30 minutes before meals thus I’ll eat less during mealtime. Or I replace pastries with banana-q or turon.

Helpful for people who wants to quit smoking
The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal. (I should try doing this soon)

Brain power
Bananas for breakfast make us more alert because it’s high potassium content. Since I learned this brain power boosting benefit I always include banana in my breakfast menu and I guarantee that this helps me to think better.

Enhance food recipes
Bananas can be garnish to our favorite desserts like ice creams and pancakes or its extract can amplify the taste of baked pastries. It also makes traditional home cooked viand extra special like Nilaga or Puchero. This fruit is very versatile whether raw or cooked.

Bananas can also help cure anemia, diarrhea, constipation, lethargy, ulcers, morning sickness, heart burn, strokes, warts, and even mosquito bites (mash and make a paste, rub on affected area).

Wow, so many health benefits. Perhaps we should rather say “A banana a day keeps the doctor away”.

Sliced super banana. Half of it is same lengthsize of a Peso bill.

Earthquake Safety: Triangle of Life

I got this e-mail last year during the week when China was struck by a strong earthquake. I am again spreading this article through my blog because it is always good to know these life saving techniques.

This is worth reading and please pass to your loved ones

FROM DOUG COPP’S ARTICLE ON THE “TRIANGLE OF LIFE”

My name is Doug Copp. I am the Rescue Chief and Disaster Manager of the American Rescue Team International (ARTI), the world’s most experienced rescue team. The information in this article will save lives in an earthquake.

I have crawled inside 875 collapsed buildings, worked with rescue teams from 60 countries, founded rescue teams in several countries. I was the United Nations expert in Disaster Mitigation for two years. I have worked at every major disaster in the world since 1985, except for simultaneous disasters.

In 1996 we made a film which proved my survival methodology to be correct. The Turkish Federal Government, City of Istanbul, University of Istanbul Case Productions and ARTI cooperated to film this practical, scientific test. We collapsed a school and a home with 20 mannequins inside. Ten mannequins did “duck and cover,” and ten mannequins I used in my “triangle of life” survival method. After the simulated earthquake collapse we crawled through the rubble and entered the building to film and document the results.
The film, in which I practiced\my survival techniques under directly observable, scientific conditions, relevant to building collapse, showed there would have been zero percent survival for those doing duck and cover. There would likely have been 100 percent survivability for people using my method of the “triangle of life.” This film has been seen by millions of viewers on television in Turkey and the rest of Europe, and it was seen in the USA , Canada & Latin America on the TV program Real TV.
The first building I ever crawled inside of was a school in Mexico City during the 1985 earthquake. Every child was under their desk. Every child was crushed to the thickness of their bones. They could have survived by lying down next to their desks in the aisles. It was obscene, unnecessary and I wondered why the children were not in the aisles. I didn’t at the time know that the children were told to hide under something. Simply stated, when buildings collapse, the weight of the ceilings falling upon the objects or furniture inside crushes these objects, leaving a space or void next to them.
This space is what I call the “triangle of life”. The larger the object, the stronger, and the less it will compact. The less the object compacts, the larger the void, the greater the probability that the person who is using this void for safety will not be injured.
The next time you watch collapsed buildings, on television, count the “triangles” you see formed. They are everywhere. It is the most common shape, you will see, in a collapsed building.

TEN TIPS FOR EARTHQUAKE SAFETY:

1. Most everyone who simply “ducks and covers” when buildings collapse are crushed to death. People who get under objects, like desks or cars, are crushed.
2. Cats, dogs and babies often naturally curl up in the fetal position. You should too in an earthquake. It is a natural safety/survival instinct. You can survive in a smaller void. Get next to an object, next to a sofa, next to a large bulky object that will compress slightly but leave a void next to it.
3. Wooden buildings are the safest type of construction to be in during an earthquake. Wood is flexible and moves with the force of the earthquake. If the wooden building does collapse, large survival voids are created. Also, the wooden building has less concentrated, crushing weight. Brick buildings will break into individual bricks. Bricks will cause many injuries but less squashed bodies than concrete slabs.
4. If you are in bed during the night and an earthquake occurs, simply roll off the bed. A safe void will exist around the bed. Hotels can achieve a much greater survival rate in earthquakes, simply by posting a sign on the back of the door of every room telling occupants to lie down on the floor, next to the bottom of the bed during an earthquake.
5. If an earthquake happens and you cannot easily escape by getting out the door or window, then lie down and curl up in the fetal position next to a sofa, or large chair.
6. Most everyone who gets under a doorway when buildings collapse is killed. How? If you stand under a doorway and the doorjamb falls forward or backward you will be crushed by the ceiling above. If the door jam falls sideways you will be cut in half by the doorway. In either case, you will be killed!
7. Never go to the stairs. The stairs have a different “moment of frequency” (they swing separately from the main part of the building). The stairs and remainder of the building continuously bump into each other until structural failure of the stairs takes place. The people who get on stairs before they fail are chopped up by the stair treads horribly mutilated. Even if the building doesn’t collapse, stay away from the stairs. The stairs are a likely part of the building to be damaged. Even if the stairs are not collapsed by the earthquake, they may collapse later when overloaded by fleeing people. They should always be checked for safety, even when the rest of the building is not damaged.
8. Get Near the Outer Walls Of Buildings Or Outside Of Them If Possible – It is much better to be near the outside of the building rather than the interior. The farther inside you are from the outside perimeter of the building the greater the probability that your escape route will be blocked.
9. People inside of their vehicles are crushed when the road above falls in an earthquake and crushes their vehicles; which is exactly what happened with the slabs between the decks of the
   Nimitz Freeway. The victims of the San Francisco earthquake all stayed inside of their vehicles. They were all killed. They could have easily survived by getting out and sitting or lying next to their vehicles. All the crushed cars had voids 3 feet high next to them, except for the cars that had columns fall directly a cross them.
10. I discovered, while crawling inside of collapsed newspaper offices and other offices with lots of paper– that paper does not compact. Large voids are found surrounding stacks of paper.