Recipes for Skin!

List of some valuable herbs and their properties:
Alfalfa extract - anti-inflammatory
Dandelion extract - anti-bacterial, astringent
Licorice extract - anti-inflammatory
Hops - astringent
Salicylic acid - from fruits or plants ? good for acne and warts ..preventing pores from clogging up.
Sugar cane - exfoliant
Maple Sugar ? exfoliant
Orange extract - moisturizer, antioxidant
Lemon extract - astringent
Honey - anti-septic, antibacterial

Soap dries the skin and disturbs its natural PH mantle. If you have oily or acne-prone skin, soap will make your sebaceous glands overproduce oil, and if you have dry skin, soap will make it feel drier and tighter. Instead of using soap, try making your own cleanser from natural ingredients.


Cleansers:

Olive Oil
Take a small amount of Olive Oil (extra virgin) and massage around on your face. You can add some of the extracts mentioned above. After massaging (like you would a normal cleanser) take a warm wash cloth and wipe away. You might need to do this twice. Afterwards, rinse with clear cool water. You can then spritz with a homemade toner.

The All-Time Best Oily Skin Cleanser
Get a piece of muslin or some other soft, fairly loose-weave material. Make a little drawstring bag about 2 inches square. Fill the bag with oatmeal and tie closed. Now, whenever you would normally wash your face with soap, use the oatmeal bag instead. Get it nice and squishy under warm water and rub it over your face as if it were a bar of soap. You'll get a milky lather from the oatmeal; massage this into your face well. Now rinse the oatmeal off using warm water. That's it. Oats are gentle yet thorough in cleansing and will remove the tiniest particles of dirt and oil while refining the pores and controlling the skin's production of oil. Be sure to empty your oatmeal bag and wash it well after every few uses, to make sure it's always fresh and clean.

Quince Gel Cleanser - for all skin types
Add 1 tsp quince seeds to an enamel saucepan containing 250 ml of distilled water or herbal infusion. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 15 minutes, stirring to prevent sticking. The mixture should thicken into a gel. Strain. To use, add enough finely ground oatmeal to the gel to make a smooth paste. Rub over the face and neck, leave a few minutes, then rinse with warm water (not hot!)

Violet Milk Cleanser
Add 1 tsp violet petals to 1/4 cup milk. Heat gently until nearly simmering, and keep heating gently until the milk is strongly violet-scented. Strain, bottle, keep in the fridge and use within three or four days. This makes a soothing oil-free cleanser.

Milk and Honey Cleanser
Mix 1 tsp warm runny honey with 1 tablespoon milk. Use immediately. Very soft and soothing.

Toners:
Distilled water and one of the extracts mentioned at top.
Lime Flower (linden): Soothing and softening, refines skin texture. Also supposed to remove wrinkles.

Specialty Lotions:
Sage Anti-Acne Lotion
Make a sage infusion and add half as much cider vinegar as you have infusion. Apply several times a day.

Herbal Pimple Lotion
Simmer 25 grams lavender flowers, the peel of half a lemon (no pith), and 25 grams thyme in 200 ml distilled water. Add 10 drops each lavender oil and tea tree oil. Dab on spots as needed. It should keep at least a week in the fridge.

Almond Milk
This will keep the skin soft and refine the pores. Pour 500 ml distilled water over 25 grams almond meal and 1/2 tsp sugar and leave overnight to soak. Strain and filter, add 6 drops tincture of benzoin as a preservative, bottle and label. Apply morning and night.


Moisture Lotions:
Many of these won't keep very long, which is why you should make very small quantities, storing them in the refrigerator. But they are all made of fresh ingredients and will feed and soften your skin beautifully.

Citrus Milk
Slice up half an orange and half a grapefruit or lemon, and simmer very gently in a cupful of milk. Strain, bottle and refrigerate. This is a very light toning moisturiser which when applied regularly makes the skin silky and bright.

Rich Honey Lotion
Add 1 tsp of clear, warmed and melted honey to 100 ml milk. Stir briskly until the honey has dissolved and then add 1 egg yolk, whisking until well-blended. Bottle and refrigerate.

Masks and Facials:

Oatmeal and Honey Mask
Mix oatmeal, either cooked or raw, with enough honey to make it sticky. Apply, leave for twenty minutes or so, and rinse off with plenty of water. It will tone oily skin, refine the texture of the pores, and gently lift a face that's in general poor condition, especially after illness or depression.

Honey Mask
Honey is a lovely mask. Massage it into your skin, and keep adding more and patting it on till your face is very tacky. Rinse it off, and your skin will look fresh and glowing. Honey is antiseptic, hydrating and cleanses the pores. However, if you're prone to odd pimples, don't use this before a big night - sometimes its ability to suck impurities out of the skin means you get a zit.

A beaten egg also makes a great nourishing mask.