5 Easy Recipes for Fantastic Summer Skin

Summer is heating up. Are the effects of the sun, chlorine, and pesky mosquitoes taking a toll on your skin? Before reaching for body care products containing endocrine-disrupting phthalates and corrosive phenol, here’s something to consider:

Your skin is the largest organ in your body, capable of absorbing whatever is applied to it. Most of what you put on your skin ends up inside your body!

Herbalists at Golden Poppy Herbs (www.goldenpoppyherbs.com) in Fort Collins, Colorado stress the need to use care with what you slather onto your skin. A good rule: Avoid applying anything to your skin that you wouldn’t eat. For celiacs, that includes any product that contains gluten or byproducts of gluten-containing grains.

“For years after being diagnosed celiac, I suffered hair loss and painful boils on my scalp. I had completely removed gluten from my diet and was stumped. Come to find out, I had overlooked gluten in the shampoo I was using,” says Cheryl Caspi, founder of Lovely Lady Products (www.lovelyladyproducts.com). “That’s when I realized how vigilant I had to be and decided to start my own line of certified gluten-free and organic body care products – shampoo included! I turned my health around on the inside and out and started right in my own kitchen. You can too!”

Body Oil

3 tablespoons fractionated coconut oil

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon castor oil

1 tablespoon jojoba oil

8 drops essential oil of choice (for fragrance)

Add all ingredients to a 4-ounce plastic bottle. Shake well. Apply before stepping out of the shower while skin is still wet.

Mosquito Repellant

3 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon castor oil

15 drops rosemary essential oil

15 drops lemongrass essential oil

10 drops geranium essential oil

Add all ingredients to a 2-ounce spray bottle. Shake vigorously, and repeatedly, when applying.

Calming Body Mist

2 tablespoons pure aloe vera gel

2 tablespoons rose, chamomile, or lavender hydrosol

1 teaspoon Fountain of Youth Infusion, optional (recipe follows)

Add all ingredients to a 4-ounce spray bottle and shake well. Mist onto parched or sunburned skin to rehydrate, calm, and heal. Store in the refrigerator.

Fountain of Youth Infusion

The scent of vinegar is not for everyone, however, if you tolerate it you will benefit from its healing properties and ability to combat dryness, itching, flaking, and acne.

To make the Fountain of Youth Infusion combine: ½ cup raw apple cider vinegar with 1 tablespoon each of dried hibiscus flower and dried gotu kola leaf in a glass jar. Cover tightly and place in a cool, dark spot for 2-4 weeks. Strain out plant matter before using. Add 1 teaspoon of the infusion to the Body Mist.

“It Works!” Deodorant

2 tablespoons shea butter

2 tablespoons baking soda

4 teaspoons cornstarch

4 teaspoons finely chopped cocoa butter

5 drops tea tree oil

10 drops essential oil of choice (for fragrance)

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Warm over very low heat, stirring until a smooth paste forms. Pour into a small jar and place in the freezer to set. Store at room temperature. Apply a pea-sized amount under each arm and spread using fingertips. (The oils in this deodorant may yellow whites, but stains will wash out.)

Exfoliating Scrub

1 cup used, wet coffee grounds

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon castor oil

Combine ingredients in a small bowl and apply to face and body. Gently scrub in a circular motion. Rinse off with cool water and pat skin dry. Discard unused scrub.

SKIN-FRIENDLY INGREDIENTS

Look for these ingredients at natural food stores and herbal apothecary shops.

Fractionated Coconut Oil: Coconut oil that has been refined or fractionated. It does not go rancid and remains liquid at cooler temperatures.

Jojoba Oil: A little goes a long way. Molecularly, jojoba oil is very similar to sebum – the oil the body produces that keeps skin and hair moisturized.

Castor Oil: High in ricinoleic acid, castor oil possesses anti-inflammatory properties.

Cocoa Butter: High in fatty acids and antioxidants, this emollient fat is derived from the cacao bean and smells like chocolate!

Shea Butter: Extracted from the nuts of the shea tree, shea butter is a skin superfood!

Hydrosol: The aromatic condensate water that remains after the process of extracting an essential oil by water or steam distillation.

Pure Aloe Vera Gel: One of nature’s most effective skin soothers, aloe conditions and hydrates dry, rough, and sun-exposed skin.

Written by Alexa Croft