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Yogurt Cucumber Parsley Facial Mask

Homemade Spa recipe for a creamy facial mask that leaves your skin soft and refreshed.

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. plain yogurt
• 1 Tbsp. cucumber
• 1 Tbsp. parsley

Directions

Puree the cucumber and parsley finely and mix with the yogurt until smooth. Clean your face with a gentle Cleanser. Cover your face with this creamy mask.

This will rejuvenate your skin as it moistens. Leave the mask on for approximately 15-20 minutes for best results. Rinse with water. Follow with your favorite Moisturizer.

Orange Yogurt Mask

• 1 tsp plain yogurt
• 1 tsp fresh orange juice

Combine the yogurt and juice. Apply the mixture to your face. Rinse with plenty of warm water after 5 minutes.

Avocado Banana Facial Mask

Homemade Recipe for A Nourishing and Moisturizing Facial Mask for Dry Skin

Ingredients

• 1/2 overripe banana, mashed
• 1/2 overripe avocado, mashed
• 2 tbsp plain yogurt (not nonfat)
• 1 tsp olive oil

Directions

Combine ingredients and mix well. Apply to clean face and neck. Leave on for 20 to 30 min. Rinse with plenty of warm water.

Relaxing Facial Recipe

Homemade Spa recipe for a creamy facial mask that leaves your skin soft and refreshed.

Does a long hard day (or week) at work leave you tired and stressed out? I don’t know about you, but when that happens to me, all sorts of stuff happens to my face from wrinkles to dark circles. Not exactly the look I was going for. This relaxing facial recipe helps me relax and keeps my skin soft and smooth at the same time.

Ingredients

• 1 beaten egg (unclogs pores)
• 1 carrot (cooked and mashed)
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 avocado (peeled and mashed)
• 3 tbsp honey

Directions

Combine the egg, mashed carrot, cream, avocado and honey in a bowl. Make sure the carrots are cooled down before you add them, or they will start to cook the egg. Stir everything together with a fork until they are well combined. Of course you could also throw everything in the blender and combine it that way.

Spread the mixture all over your face, being careful not to get it in your eyes or mouth. Leave it on for about 10 minutes, then rinse the mask off with plenty of warm water.

You can repeat this relaxing facial mask weekly, or just throw it together when you need to relax and pamper yourself.

Peach Tightening Facial Mask

Is your skin not feeling quite as tight and firm as it used to? You don’t have to go out and spent a fortune on facial creams, masks and other commercial products designed to empty your wallet. Instead you can use this simple facial mask that uses just two simple household ingredients – a peach and an egg.

Homemade recipe for a facial mask made from peaches and egg whites that helps tighten your skin.

Ingredients

• 1 ripe peach - peeled and pitted
• 1 egg white

Directions

Cut the peach into chunks and throw them in your blender. Separate the egg and add only the egg white to the blender as well. Turn the blender on and let it do it’s thing until you have a smooth mixture of peach and egg white puree. Gently pat mixture over face. Avoid getting it in your mouth.

Leave on for 30 minutes. Wipe most of the egg mixture off with some paper towels or a washcloth. Rinse your face with plenty of cool water.

You can use this peach tightening facial mask about once a week to keep your skin firm and younger looking.

Exfoliating Tomato Facial Mask

Homemade Recipe for an exfoliating facial mask made from ripe tomato.

Ingredients

• 1 overripe tomato
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. instant oatmeal

Directions

Puree all ingredients in a blender.

Apply to your face and let it soak in for about 20 minutes.

Rinse with plenty of warm water

Apple Facial Mask Recipe

Homemade Recipe for an facial mask made from applesauce and wheat germ.

This apple facial mask recipe combines apple sauce and wheat germ into a rejuvenating mask that will make your skin feel refreshed and gives you that “glow”. The wheat germs serve as a gentle exfoliator and the apple sauce nourishes your skin. Not only will this mask leave your skin soft and glowing, the mask also smells great.

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp Applesauce
• 1 Tbsp Wheat Germ

Directions

Pour the apple sauce in a small bowl. Add the wheat germ and stir them together into a paste. Spread your apple facial mask gently over your clean face. Allow it to soak in for 15 minutes, then gently wipe the apple mask off. Rinse your face with plenty of warm water. Gently pat it dry with a soft towel.

Give your skin a chance to dry out completely, then apply your favorite facial cream.


Another Homemade Apple Mask Recipe

Take an apple, peel it and take the core out. Then, put the apple into the blender with some honey.

Apply it to your face and let it sit for 15 minutes. Wash thoroughly.

Carrot Avocado Facial Mask

Homemade Recipe for a soothing facial mask made from carrots and avocado.

Ingredients

• 1 large carrot, cooked and mashed
• 1 avocado, mashed
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3 tbsp honey

Directions

Stir all ingredients together in a small bowl.

Clean your face.

Apply the mask to your face and let it sit for 15 minutes.

Rinse with plenty of warm water.

Egg White & Oatmeal Mask for Oily Skin

Ingredients:

• 1 egg white
• 1/2 cup cooked instant oatmeal
• teaspoon olive oil
• fresh lemon juice

Mix all ingredients until smooth. Apply to your face and relax with a book for about 15 minutes. Rinse thoroughly.

Homemade Facial Scrubs & Masks

Make a paste from a little oatmeal and water. Apply to face and allow to dry. Gently wipe off with a damp wash cloth.

Mash 1/2 banana and add 1 tablespoon honey and 2 tablespoons sour cream. Apply to face and let set for about 10 minutes. Gently wipe off with a damp wash cloth.

Two tablespoons of cornmeal mixed with enough water to make a thick paste makes a great inexpensive facial mask. Gently apply to face and wash off.

In a food processor or blender, combine 1/2 cucumber, 1 tablespoon yogurt, a few strawberries, and 1 teaspoon honey. Apply to face and allow to dry. Gently wipe off with a damp wash cloth.

Grind 1 tablespoon almonds into a fine meal in a blender or food processor. Mix almond meal together with 1 tablespoon honey and 1 egg white. Apply to face and let set for about 15 minutes. Gently wipe off with a damp wash cloth.

To loosen blackheads, combine equal parts baking soda and water in your hand and rub gently on your skin for 2 to 3 minutes. Rinse with warm water.

Mash half of an avocado and apply to entire face. Let set for about 20 minutes and then gently wipe off with a damp wash cloth.

Soak 1 cup dried apricots in water until softened. Puree in blender or food processor with 2 tablespoons skim milk powder. Apply to face and let set about 15 minutes. Gently wipe off with a damp wash cloth.

Puree 1/2 peeled, sliced cucumber in a blender or food processor and add 1 tablespoon yogurt. Apply to face and let set about 20 minutes. Gently wipe off with a damp wash cloth.

Crush a handful of strawberries and mix well with 1 teaspoon honey. Apply to face and let set for about 15 minutes. Gently wipe off with a damp wash cloth.

Mix 1 1/2 teaspoons honey, the juice from 1/2 of a lemon, and 1 small carton plain yogurt. Stir in 1 whipped egg white. Apply to face and let set about 15 minutes. Gently wipe off with a damp wash cloth.

Homemade facial cleanser

Homemade Facial Cleanser Recipes

Buttermilk and Fennel Cleansing Milk (For Oily Skin)

1/2 cup buttermilk
2 Tbsp crushed fennel seeds

Heat the milk and fennel seeds in top of double boiler for 30 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the mixture steep for 2 hours. Strain, cool, pour into bottle and refrigerate. Keeps for 2 weeks.

Chamomile Cleansing Milk (For Dry and Sensitive Skin)

1/4 cup cream
1/4 cup milk
2 Tbsp chamomile flowers, fresh or dried

Heat all ingredients in top of a double boiler for about 30 minutes, do not allow milk to boil. Turn off heat and let sit for about 2 hours, strain. Pour into a bottle and refrigerate. Keeps for 2 weeks.

Kiwi Facial Cleansing Cream

1 kiwi, peeled
2 tbsp plain yogurt
1 tbsp almond oil
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp almonds, finely ground

Put the kiwi in a food processor and puree. Add yogurt, almond oil, almonds and honey. It will form a thick and creamy paste. Use like any facial cleanser. Rinse with plenty of warm water.

Fennel Thyme Cleanser

2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 tsp fennel seeds
½ cup water
½ lemon

Pull the small thyme leaves off the stem, crush the fennel seeds. Bring the water to a boil and add to the thyme and fennel. Squeeze the juice from the lemon into the hot mixture. Let it steep for 20 minutes. Strain the liquid out, pour it into a clean glass bottle or jar and refrigerate until ready to use.

homemade natural shampoo

Homemade Shampoo Recipe

Natural Shampoo

• 1 oz. Olive oil
• 1 egg
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar.

Combine all ingredients in a blender. Blend until well combined. Use like regular shampoo. Discard any leftovers.

Homemade Conditioner Recipe

Natural Conditioner

• 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 tsp olive oil
• 3/4 cup lukewarm water

Beat the egg yolk until it's thick and white. Add the oil and mix well. Then add the water into the egg mixture and mix well. Massage into clean, damp hair. Rinse with plenty of warm water after about 10 minutes.

Homemade Hair Rinse Recipe

Herbal Vinegar Hair Rinse

• 2 cups of cider vinegar
• 2 oz of lavender buds
• 1 tablespoon of glycerin
• 10 drops of rose geranium essential oil

Heat the vinegar to just below boiling point. Remove from heat and add the lavender buds. Pour the mixture into a jar and allow to age for a week. Strain the lavender out and add the glycerin and rose geranium. Store in the refrigerator.

Take 4 oz of your lavender vinegar and add it to 4 cups of warm water. Use this as your hair rinse.

Homemade Hair Spray Recipe

Lemon Hair Spray

This all natural hair spray will leave your hair with a light, fresh lemony scent.

1 lemon
2 cups of water

Cut the lemon over a glass bowl to catch the juice. Add the lemon pieces and the water to the bowl and set the bowl in a pot of simmering water. Simmer until the lemon water mixture has been reduced by half. Pour it through a piece of cheesecloth to strain out the lemon pieces. Let the liquid cool, and then transfer it to a clean spray bottle.

The hair spray will keep for up to a week in the fridge.

Roasted Garlic Mashed Red Potatoes

Roasted Garlic Mashed Red Potatoes
Recipe courtesy of Life's Ambrosia

Ingredients

1 lb red potatoes, cleaned, scrubbed and cut into quarters
1 bulb roasted garlic (recipe follows), skin removed
1/4 cup half and half
2 tablespoons butter
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

In large pot of water, boil the potatoes until a fork can be inserted and removed easily from the potatoes. About 10 minutes. Strain.
Return the potatoes to the pot add roasted garlic, half and half, butter and salt and pepper. Mash until potatoes are your desired consistency.

Roasted Garlic

You will need:

1 bulb garlic
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon lemon juice
kosher salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cut 1/4 inch off the top of the bulb of garlic to expose the cloves beneath, but do not peel the garlic, you want to roast it in the skin. Place clove on a piece of aluminum foil, place butter on top, pour lemon juice over the garlic and sprinkle with kosher salt. Bring up all sides of aluminum foil and twist together to close. Cook for 60 minutes or until garlic cloves are soft and golden in color.
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Garlic Health Benefit

Some of the old stories of garlic's healing properties have doubtful validity, but many of its claimed health benefits have been backed up by modern scientific research. There are two main medicinal ingredients which produce the garlic health benefits: allicin and diallyl sulphides.
Garlic is a sulphurous compound and in general a stronger tasting clove has more sulphur content and hence more potential medicinal value. Some people have suggested that organically grown garlic tends towards a higher sulphur level and hence greater benefit to health. Whether or not that is in fact the case, in my experience it certainly has the best taste.

Benefits

Various garlic health benefits have long been claimed and the "stinking rose" treatment has been used extensively in herbal medicine (phytotherapy) down the centuries. It's been considered by many to be a herbal "wonder drug", with a reputation in folklore for preventing or treating everything from the common cold and flu to the Plague!
Much of that is at best unproven, however there are some very positive garlic health facts that are now widely accepted. Amongst the most interesting potential applications are suggestions that garlic might be able to assist some people in the management of blood pressure cholesterol levels.
Modern science has shown that garlic is a powerful natural antibiotic, albeit broad-spectrum rather than targeted. The bacteria in the body do not appear to evolve resistance to the garlic as they do to many modern pharmaceutical antibiotics. This means that its positive health benefits can continue over time rather than helping to breed antibiotic resistant "superbugs".
Studies have also shown that garlic - especially aged garlic - can have a powerful antioxidant effect. Antioxidants can help to protect the body against damaging free radicals. There are claims that fermented black garlic contains even higher antioxidant levels than normal cloves.
Some people who want the claimed health benefits without the taste prefer to take garlic supplements. These pills and capsules have the advantage of avoiding garlic breath.

Side-Effects

Even garlic isn't a perfect. Apart from garlic breath there are other possible side effects, especially if used to excess. Use common sense and don't overdo it.
Raw garlic is very strong, so eating too much could produce problems, for example irritation of or even damage to the digestive tract.
There are a few people who are allergic to garlic. Symptoms of garlic allergy include skin rash, temperature and headaches. Also, garlic could potentially disrupt anti-coagulants, so it's best avoided before surgery. As with any medicine, always check with your doctor first and tell your doctor if you are using it.
Important: Research published in 2001 concluded that garlic supplements "can cause a potentially harmful side effect when combined with a type of medication used to treat HIV/AIDS". More details are available on the NIAID website.
See also the warnings page on this site.

Garlic makes a wonderful health supplement for many people but the so-called "garlic cure" is no substitute for the basics: sensible eating and appropriate exercise. Garlic should be seen as part of a healthy lifestyle - not as an alternative to it. Always consult your doctor first regarding any medical condition.