<\/p>\n
Brigitte Holiday sets coconut oil, shea butter and beeswax in a bowl over hot water to melt. She measures baking soda and arrowroot powder on a scale and dumps it into the warmed oils, stirring with a kitchen spoon until it thickens.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s this? A sugar-free muffin glaze? A fortified cooking oil?<\/p>\n
Holiday slowly pours the mixture into a plastic tube and voil\u00e0! \u2013 homemade deodorant.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome people don\u2019t wear deodorant because they worry about what\u2019s in it,\u201d says the owner of DermaDaisy, a made-from-scratch, all-natural skin-care line. \u201cBut with this, you can sweat and you won\u2019t smell.\u201d<\/p>\n
If you check every bite of bacon or breadstick you put in your body for dyes, chemicals and preservatives, you probably should start considering every hand lotion and shampoo you put on your body, as well.<\/p>\n
The skin is our largest organ, capable of absorbing both nutrients and toxins in short order. And skin- and hair-care products can be equally as loaded with bad-for-you artificial ingredients as processed food.<\/p>\n
One friend was alarmed to discover dyes and chemicals in her shampoo and combed her house, throwing out all her teenaged sons\u2019 scented hair-care products. Another had a bad reaction to skin cream, finding it exacerbated her allergy to wheat because it contained gluten.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re game, you can make your own natural beauty products. After all, some date back to before Cleopatra\u2019s day (or maybe just your mother\u2019s). Freshly squeezed lemon juice and water will still lighten your locks, mashed avocado is a wonder for reducing fine lines and baking soda will make your teeth shine.<\/p>\n
Just as it\u2019s good to rid your body of impurities by eating a mostly plant-based diet devoid of refined foods, it\u2019s also good to patrol what you put on your skin.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe main reason is because of all the added chemicals they put in commercial products,\u201d said Amber Beye, who works at the San Juan Basin Health Department and is a certified holistic health coach. \u201cAll that is getting absorbed into your skin.\u201d<\/p>\n
She has just started experimenting with making shampoo and conditioner \u2013 a cup of water to 1 tablespoon baking powder for the first, a cup of water to 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar for the conditioner, leave on two minutes and rinse \u2013 and likes the results. She found it made her hair a little drier than normal but predicts her locks will adjust to the purer formula.<\/p>\n
Local naturopaths swear by the simplest do-it-yourself beauty products made from food. They use food-based oils (sesame, grapeseed and coconut) to moisturize the body and face, natural astringents like green tea and chamomile to reduce puffiness and aloe vera to soothe burns.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the beauty of homemade skin and hair care \u2013 you\u2019re in charge.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know what\u2019s in it,\u201d said naturopath Nicola St. Mary. \u201cYou get to choose the ingredients.\u201d<\/p>\n
So what, she says, if your face is a little shiny because you moisturize with organic oil rather than fancy face cream?<\/p>\n
\u201cIn our climate, we need that. Put on some powder and get over it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
But you don\u2019t have to be able to eat it for a product to be natural. Holiday uses beeswax \u2013 not exactly something you want to ingest \u2013 and other substances like hyrolonic acid and willow bark in her potions, all things you can find at the natural food store. (You can buy containers for your own concoctions, too, from roll-on tubes to lotion bottles.)<\/p>\n
Glycolic acid goes into skin toner, peptides into face-firming cream and vitamin C into a serum Holiday claims is good for just about anything.<\/p>\n
She started her business because she was concerned about the toxins in store-bought products. While researching the ingredients in skin-care products online, she noticed that many contained fillers and preservatives and worse, substances banned by the European Union.<\/p>\n
So she figured it out for herself, searching health and environmental websites to help her develop her formulas. Still, it takes time and trials to perfect a product and even more work to customize a cream.<\/p>\n
But the work must be paying off. Holiday, who is 47, looks 10 years younger.<\/p>\n
An excellent side benefit to making your own skin-care products is that you save money. Some news sources contend you can create $300 worth of skin- and hair-care products with just $3 worth of kitchen ingredients.<\/p>\n
Just consider: Salt (29 cents a pound) or sugar ($1 a pound) mixed with a little oil exfoliates the skin. Mud packs (free) remove toxins, and oatmeal ($1.53 a pound) can soften your elbows. Cucumbers (about 50 cents each) do, in fact, reduce swelling. Butter ($4 a pound) can calm a kitchen burn, and yogurt ($2.50 a pound) can remove redness.<\/p>\n
\u201cDIY skin care is a great idea,\u201d says naturopath Nancy Utter, \u201cbecause what it takes to manufacture and then store it on a shelf is refining and processing. You can\u2019t put it on a store shelf without preservatives.\u201d<\/p>\n
Holiday says her products are meant to be used immediately, and in general will last for four to five weeks, longer in the refrigerator. Deodorant is the exception, holding steady for a year.<\/p>\n
So call in the kids, get out the avocados and get ready to moisturize. You\u2019ll save money and exude beauty (inner, if nothing else). Mango-mayonnaise face mask, anyone?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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