Spa Recipes to Delight Any Mom

Body Sloughing Scrub
1 cup sugar (white or brown) or salt
1/2 cup oil (my preference is grapeseed but olive or safflower work well too)
15 drops essential oil

The above ingredients are the basics.  I also like to add some shredded ginger root, citrus zest (orange, lemon, or grapefruit or a combination), some Vitamin E squeezed out of a few Vitamin E capsules, and about a tablespoon of honey.  Some aloe juice is a nice addition too.
Stir these ingredients together.  Use in the shower as a body scrub. 

Body Wash
1/4 cup liquid castile soap (f you can’t find that, I find that liquid Ivory soap is a good substitution)

3/4 cup distilled water

1 teaspoon sesame oil or grapeseed oil or almond oil

10 drops essential oil

1 tsp. vanilla

1 T your favourite herb

Combine all ingredients and place in a bottle.  Give a shake before using.  Aloe juice is another great addition to this body wash.

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The Spa Gifts Continue

Herbal Refreshing Mist – lovely on a hot humid day
2 bags herbal tea
8 fluid ounces distilled water
1 vitamin C tablet
1-5 drops of essential oil
Boil the water and remove it from heat. Add tea bags and Vitamin C. Steep this mixture until the Vitamin C tablet dissolves. Stir well and allow it to cool. Put this in a spray bottle so you can mist it on anytime you need to feel refreshed.  Shake well before each use.

Lavender Skin Toner
1 handful dried lavender herb
4 fluid ounces apple cider vinegar
1 cup rosewater
Place all ingredients in a glass jar and cover with a lid.  Put the jar in the refrigerator for about 10 days to allow the ingredients to combine thoroughly.  Shake the jar every day.  Strain this and place the liquid in a spray bottle. 

Lemon Skin Toner
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup distilled water
2/3 cup witch hazel
Mix all of the ingredients together and place in a spray bottle.

Herbal Skin Toner – especially nice for oily skin
2 tablespoons dried chamomile
1 tablespoon dried rosemary
1 cup distilled water
Boil the water and place in a tea pot with the mixture of herbs.  Allow this to steep until it cools.  water and add to tea pot with herb mixture. Once it has cooled, strain it and place the liquid in a spray bottle.

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More Mother’s Day Spa Ideas

Coconut Hand Cream

2 oz. beeswax

1/2 c. coconut oil

1 T. honey

essential oil

Melt the beeswax in the microwave (about 3 minutes on high heat).  Stir in the remaining ingredients.  Reheat for about 20-30 seconds until completely liquefied.  Refrigerate for 5 minutes and then stir well until it’s thick and smooth  Store in a cool dry place.  (note:  the coconut oil will liquefy if exposed to heat so storing this cream in a warm spot may cause it to separate.  If this happens, give it a stir and refrigerate again for about 5 minutes to solidify.)

Body Cream

Melt 4 oz. beeswax in the microwave for about 3 minutes on high.  Give it a stir and then heat for an additional 3 minutes.  Add 1 1/4 c. olive oil to the beeswax.  The wax will solidify a bit when mixed with the oil so place this back into the microwave and heat for 15 seconds at a time (usually takes about a minute).  You want to heat this just enough to melt it again but no more as if overheated it can become flammable.  (note:  you may prefer to use a double boiler in place of the microwave).  Stir in the essential oil and let this cool.  It will thicken upon cooling.  Store this at room temperature in a dark place. 

Herb Mixture for a Steaming Facial

Combine about 8 T. of fresh or dried flower petals.  Some good ones to choose from are:  roses (you can use both the petals and the buds), lavender, calendula, jasmine, chamomile, violets, elder flowers, red clover and rose geranium.  Some other choices (which you might want to avoid if you have sensitive skin) are peppermint leaves, rosemary, and fennel seeds.  Choose a favourite essential oil or two to scent these herbs with.  I find it nice to bundle these herbs in little cheesecloth bags tied with kitchen twine so that then I can simply drop the bag into the hot steamy water.  You can put this water into a bowl or the sink.  Lean over the herbed water and drape a towel over your head.  It’s important to keep your face a good 8-10 inches from the steamy water so that you just soothe your skin with the steam rather than scald it.  Some people like to heat the water they are using to boiling but if you do so, it’s especially vital that you monitor the heat and how close you are placing your face to it. 

 

 

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Mother’s Day Spa Ideas

One really great gift I got from my daughter once was a gift certificate for a spa day.  It was a wonderful surprise but it sure can be a pricey gift!  Here are some homemade alternatives you can make to pamper your mom (or yourself) this Mother’s Day.  They’re quick and easy to make and very economical.

Toners:

Toners are meant to minimize your pores.  Here are two options for homemade toners-

1)  Apple Cider Toner:

2/3 cup apple cider vinegar

2/3 cup water

2/3 cup witch hazel

You may want to add some essential oil to this too.  I like peppermint if this is a toner to be used just on my feet (wonderfully refreshing on hot feet!) but I find the mint too strong for the sensitive skin on my face.  Lemon is a lovely addition to this toner as are other fruity ones like pear, apple, or strawberry.  Simply mix the ingredients together and bottle.  This toner is well suited for those with oily to normal skin.

2)  Rosy Toner:

1/2 cup witch hazel

1/2 cup rose water and glycerin (they sell this bottled together at the pharmacy or you can use the method below in the Rosy Moisturizer recipe to make your own)

Again you may want to add some essential oil to this.  With this one, I prefer something floral like rose, magnolia, or freesia.  Mix the ingredients together and bottle.  This one is what I use on my face.  The apple cider toner is too strong for my sensitive skin which tends to be on the dry side.  The rosewater and glycerin is moisturizing while the witch hazel still does the job of clarifying your skin and minimizing the pores.  This one, therefore, is best suited for those with normal to dry skin.

Moisturizers:

1) Rosy Moisturizer

In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup water and 1/2 cup fresh rose petals and heat just until it comes to a boil.  Let this water cool and strain.  Pour in 1 cup liquid glycerin (if you stop at this point, you’ll have homemade rosewater and glycerin).  Add 1 T. aloe vera juice (available at health food stores).  Bottle this mixture and keep stored in the refrigerator (since it has no preservatives).  This moisturizer is great for all skin types – the glycerin is lovely for slightly dry skin and because it’s oil-free, this mixture works well for oily skin too!

2)  Aloe Moisturizer

This moisturizer is wonderful for really dry skin as it’s filled with emollients. 

Stir together 1 cup aloe vera juice, 1 tsp. vitamin E oil (if you can’t find the bottled liquid, you can prick open a few of the capsules), and some essential oil in the scent of your choice.  Melt 3/4 oz. grated beeswax (cosmetic grade – sold at some craft stores or at your local pharmacy) mixed with 1/2 cup vegetable oil in the top of a double boiler over simmering water.  Slowly pour the melted wax mixture into the aloe mixture as you mix it with a hand mixer set on the lowest setting until smooth.  Bottle or place in a jar.  Store this in the refrigerator.

3)  Cocoa Moisturizer

This one is a really indulgent luxurious one!  Use a hand mixer to mix together 1/2 cup shortening and 1 oz. cocoa butter that has been microwaved until it melts (available at the pharmacy).  You want it to be smooth and fluffy.  Place this mixture in a jar and store in the refrigerator.

4)  Peppermint Foot Cream

3/4 cup of moisturizer (either the aloe moisturizer or the cocoa moisturizer)

1/4 cup petroleum jelly

12 drops peppermint essential oil

Mix all ingredients together and place in a jar.  This cream is rich and softens feet while making them feel tingly and smell nice because of the peppermint oil.

 

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Lip Softening Gloss

An old secret of many in the beauty industry is that shortening is a very effective moisturizer. Many women swear by it, applying it to their dry skin like a cream. It can be used on dry, cracked hands and feet overnight – just rub it on and then use gloves or socks to help warm it up and allow it to soak into the skin even better (also helps protect your bed coverings from getting all greasy). For my feet, I like to apply the shortening and then wrap my feet with plastic wrap prior to putting the socks on; you can do the same with your hands by using a pair of plastic or latex gloves under the regular gloves (cotton ones are best but you can use a pair of socks in a pinch)– the plastic increases its effectiveness even more! Note: I keep a container of shortening in the bathroom that is used solely for cosmetic purposes to avoid someone mixing it up with the shortening used for cooking purposes.

I had heard that just like with any other areas of dry skin, shortening can be very useful for softening lips too but I didn’t like the idea of the taste of it so when I first saw this lip gloss idea I decided it would be worth a try. It works very well and the drink mix adds a little hint of colour while definitely improving the taste!

Simply mix together 2 T. shortening and 1 T. of fruit flavoured drink mix (like Koolaid) in a microwave safe bowl until smoothly blended. Put this in the microwave and heat on high for about 30 seconds until it is liquid. Pour this liquid into whatever container you are using. You can often buy little lidded containers especially made for lip gloss at craft stores such as Michaels but you can also go green by using containers you have around your home – old film canisters (am I the only one who still uses real film anymore?), old pill bottles, and so on. Just be sure to clean these containers thoroughly before putting the lip gloss in it! Put your container(s) of lip gloss into the refrigerator for about half an hour to allow it to solidify.

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Bath Salts and Cookies

Fizzy Cream Soda Bath Salts

Stir together 1 ¼ cups Epsom salts and 1 ¼ cups baking soda. Sift ½ cup powdered milk and add this to the mixture. Add in about 10 drops of vanilla essential oil and stir well until there are no clumps left. Finally, mix in ½ cup citric acid powder. You can often find this powder at the pharmacy as well as at health food stores and beer/wine making outlets. A really cute presentation for this is to package it in a cleaned out plastic pop bottle (you’ll need one of the 20 oz. sized bottles) – a cream soda bottle would be just perfect or you could make up your own cream soda label. Use about 1/3 of this mixture per bath. Variation: When you mix in the citric acid powder, add 2 packages of cherry Koolaid (the unsweetened kind) to it as well. This will make Fizzy Cherry Vanilla Bath Salts!

Bath Cookies

Mix together: 2 cups finely ground sea salt, ½ cup baking soda, ½ cup cornstarch, 2 T. light oil, 1 tsp. Vitamin E oil (you can get the Vitamin E capsules, prick them open and squeeze the oil out of them), 2 eggs, and about 5 drops of the essential oil of your choice. If you would like to, you can also add a drop or two of food colouring but it’s best to be sparing with this. Take about a teaspoon of this dough and gently roll into a ball about an inch in diameter. You can also pack this dough into moulds or cookie cutters. If using moulds, I find something like the silicone ones easiest because they are flexible and the bath cookies are released from the moulds more easily. Cookie cutters are also ideal because of the opening at the bottom, once again making it easier to remove them. Once you have formed the cookies, place them on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 10 minutes until lightly browned – do NOT overcook. Drop one or two cookies into a warm bath to use.

Note: for an extra touch and additional lovely scent, once you place the cookies on the cookie sheet, you can decorate them with spice items such as whole cloves or allspice, anise seeds, or bits of dried citrus peel prior to baking them.

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Bath Recipes

Foaming Honey Bubble Bath

Combine 1 cup oil (there are a variety that you can use – I suggest olive oil, baby oil, grapeseed oil, canola oil, or almond oil – you can also use sesame oil but I find the scent is too strong for this particular recipe), ½ cup liquid honey, ½ cup liquid soap (it’s best to pick something quite plain and unscented like Ivory or alternatively, to pick something with a scent that will coordinate with the rest of this mixture), 1 T. pure vanilla extract. Keep this in an airtight container – you can find pretty bottles at craft stores but they can sometimes be a bit pricey. I suggest looking at your local dollar store – I have found beautiful bottles and small jars there! It’s easy to punch up the looks of a container by tying on ribbons, attaching dried flowers, glass marbles, or beads and so on. Use hot glue or silicone glue and you can even cover the bottle tops or corks with the beads or glass marbles too. To use this bubble bath, give it a shake and pour about ¼ cup under the running water.

Bath Oil

This is a lovely bath oil because unlike many which simply sit on top of your bath water, this one disperses quite nicely throughout your bath. Mix together 1 cup oil (olive, canola, grapeseed, or almond work best here), ½ cup of glycerin (most pharmacies carry this), ½ cup liquid soap (something in a fairly neutral scent or with a scent that is compatible to the essential oil you choose to add), and a few drops of your chosen essential oil (if desired). Store this in a covered container (see yesterday’s post for suggestions). To use: give it a little shake and then pour ¼ cup under running water.

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Body Scrubs

Brown Sugar Body Scrub

Combine 1 cup brown sugar, 1/3 cup olive or grapeseed oil, and 2 T. honey.

Gingerbread Body Scrub

Mix together 1 cup brown sugar, ¼ cup olive or grapeseed oil, 1 tsp. freshly grated ginger, 1 T. cocoa powder

You can change this to Lemon Ginger Body Scrub by omitting the cocoa powder and replacing it with dried lemon peel.

Peppermint Foot Scrub

Of course you can use the brown sugar or gingerbread body scrubs on your feet as well as the rest of your body but the peppermint adds a nice tingly effect that feels really good on your feet. Plus, if you have any problems with foot odour, the peppermint is especially helpful in dealing with that.

Combine 1 cup sugar, 1/3 cup olive or grapeseed oil, and a few drops of peppermint essential oil.

Vitamin E Facial Scrub

Grate ½ a bar of face soap like Ivory, Dove, or a glycerin soap. Mix together 1 cup salt, ¼ cup olive or grapeseed oil, ½ tsp. Vitamin E oil (you can use the Vitamin E capsules pricked open and squeeze out the oil) and then stir in the grated soap.

Note: on these scrubs, you can adjust the amount of oil to make a consistency you prefer.

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Pamper Yourself or Someone Else for Valentine’s Day

All this week I am going to share with you some lovely ideas for home spa recipes that you can use for yourself or give as a gift for Valentine’s Day. 

Decadent Chocolate Milk Bath

Mix together 2 cups powdered milk, 3 T. cocoa powder, and ¼ cup cornstarch. Use ¼ cup per bath.

Oatmeal Milk Bath

Mix together ½ cup oatmeal (I find it works best to throw this in the blender and grind it up a bit first) and ½ cup powdered milk. The oatmeal is very soothing to itchy skin! This can be used as is (either by putting about half to all of this mixture under running water or by making a little sachet bag out of muslin or a similar natural fiber material and placing the mixture in that…it can be as simple as a square of fabric that you tie closed with kitchen twine) or you can add some herbs and such to it. Good ones to use include: rosemary, dried lavender, dried citrus peel, vanilla powder or the scrapings from a vanilla pod (if you use the latter I would definitely want to put this in a sachet), ground almonds, dried chopped rose petals, or dried peppermint leaves. You can also scent this mixture with your favourite essential oils.

Cleopatra’s Milk Bath

Mix together: 1 cup salt (I prefer sea salt), 1 cup baking soda, 1 cup powdered milk, and ¼ cup cornstarch. You can also add some powdered buttermilk to this mixture if desired and if available but it’s a lovely mixture even without it. I like to use ½ to 1 cup of the mixture per bath.

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Stain Removal

I figure with the upcoming holiday season some spills are bound to happen so this seems like an ideal time to post some ideas on stain removal.  Disclaimer:  I have not personally tried all these ideas simply because I haven’t had the opportunity arise to do so.  If you try any of them, comment back and let us know how they worked! 😉  Note: it is always best to try out these methods on an inconspicuous spot on the fabric if you are concerned about colour-fastness.  Also, do not try any of these methods on fabrics that are designated “dry clean only”.  These must be taken to a professional.

Red wine: Begin by (and you should do this for most stains) simply blotting up as much as you can with a colour-fast towel (I use cheesecloth).  Don’t rub or you make just make the stain spread or sink in more!  Believe it or not, the next step in getting rid of a red wine stain is white wine.  Saturate the stain (Martha Stewart suggests using an eyedropper for this step; that way you don’t accidentally dump too much of what you are using on the stain as it offers much more control) with white wine and then blot again.  Next saturate with club soda (I always keep a bottle of club soda on hand as it works well for many stains).  Blot again.  Launder as usual or if it’s in your carpet, now is the time to call a professional in to complete the cleaning.

White wine: Because it’s, well, white wine and not red, this is so much easier to deal with.  Once again start with blotting up as much as you can and then flush the area with cool water and apply an enzyme detergent (make into a paste with some water).  Launder as usual.

Grease stains (butter, oil, salad dressing etc.): Saturate with cornstarch or talc to help absorb the grease.  Make a mixture of baking soda and a mild dish soap to use as the actual stain remover.  You may need to let it sit on the stain for a bit to make it more effective before going on to launder the item.

Fruits:  Stains from fruity desserts, jams, and so on can be tricky to deal with.  The sugars in them make them more difficult to remove.  Some experts suggest that you not even try and send this to a professional to deal with but that’s not always practical in my life.  A home remedy that may be effective for you is to begin by spraying the area with dish soap diluted with water. In this case blotting first will likely be ineffective and may push the stain into the item even further.  Obviously if there are large clumps you will want to remove those…gently scraping it away instead.  Flush the area with white vinegar and then hydrogen peroxide.     Once you have flushed the stain as outlined above, follow up with an enzyme detergent.  I make a paste of the detergent and water and let that sit for a bit on the stain.  Launder.

Protein stains (like from eggs, meat, blood): Begin by spraying with a solution of dish soap diluted with water (I use a mixture of one part dish soap to nine parts water) and let that sit for a bit.  Flush the area with plain lukewarm water.  Next apply a paste of enzyme detergent mixed with water and let that sit for a bit before laundering.

Coffee and tea: Flush the area with white vinegar until the stain is gone.  If there is still a remnant of a stain left, you may want to try lemon juice next to help bleach the area a bit.  (If you are okay with using chemicals, you can also try an actual bleach product at this point.)  If there was milk/cream and/or sugar in the coffee or tea, flush the area with dish soap diluted with water.  Follow up with an enzyme detergent (again you may want to make a paste and let it sit a bit if the stain seems really resistant).

Candle wax: Ok this isn’t exactly a stain in the traditional sense but it can still be tricky to deal with if you don’t know what you are doing.  If the wax is on a hard wooden surface, do NOT follow your first inclination which is likely to grab a knife or something similar and try to scrape it away.  You may do more harm than good and cause damage to the surface.  Instead, warm up the wax with a hair dryer to melt it a bit and then use a mixture of white vinegar and water on a sponge to gently remove the melted wax.  Candle wax on your linens?  Don’t try to melt it this time!  That may just push it even further into the fabric.  This time, use an ice cube to harden the wax and then use a very dull knife to gently scrape away most of the wax.  Then, place plain brown paper (Kraft paper…like the kind they use for paper grocery bags) over and under the remaining waxy stain and gently run a warm iron over the paper.  As the paper begins to absorb the wax, move it to a clean spot and repeat.  This technique will apparently work for wax on carpets and rugs as well.  (Note:  I have always used the brown paper for this but I read that you can use plain white paper towels in place of the brown paper if you don’t have any on hand.)

Chocolate: Use something gentle like a dull knife to scrape the chocolate off the fabric.  For the remaining stain, spray on the diluted dish soap and water mixture.  Apply a paste of enzyme detergent and water and let it sit for a bit.  Launder.

Mustard: Flush the stain with white vinegar.  Follow up with a spraying of the diluted dish soap solution and launder.

Tomato based sauces like ketchup and barbecue sauce: Gently use a dull knife or spoon to scrape off the excess sauce.  Spray with the dish soap and water solution.  Follow up by soaking this in lukewarm water.  If there is still a remnant of the stain, flush the area with white vinegar.  Apply a paste of enzyme detergent and water and let sit for a while.  If the stain remains, flush with hydrogen peroxide.  Rinse with lukewarm water again.  Apply another paste of enzyme detergent and water.  Launder.

Martha Stewart suggests setting up a stain removal “kit” so that you always have the items you need on hand.  I looked over Martha’s list and she has some good suggestions but some of the items she uses are pretty toxic and I am trying to get away from that stuff as much as I can.   (Ok I admit it…I have just gone through an entire can of Lysol spray and an entire container of 60% alcohol hand sanitizer in a month but I am high risk for H1N1 complications and surrounded by high risk people – some of whom don’t want to get vaccinated against it – so some of the “rules” are out the window during flu season!).  So, I took Martha’s suggestions and some of the ideas I already have gathered from multiple sources and have set up my own interpretation of the stain removal kit.  Here are my suggestions if you would like to make your own:

~A card or booklet or something similar with stain removal “recipes”

~Club soda

~White wine

~Eyedropper

~Enzyme detergent

~Cornstarch or talc

~Spray bottle

~Baking soda

~Dish soap (you want as mild and plain a dish soap as you can find!)

~Cheesecloth (or some other kind of clean white cloth, towel, or even paper towels in a pinch)

~White vinegar

~Hydrogen Peroxide

~Plain brown paper

~Dull knife or old spoon

~A soft bristle brush can come in handy for gently brushing away remnants of the items that caused the stain or even for gently removing the enzyme detergent paste – I use a soft toothbrush

~Cotton swabs can also come in handy for applying stain removal treatments more precisely to smaller areas; cotton balls or pieces of gauze can also be useful in saturating them with your solutions and then applying them to the stains

Any other things YOU would keep in YOUR stain removal kit?

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