Cosmetic Apothecary Part one

Cosmetic Apothecary

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IMPORTANT: I recommend a patch test beforehand to make sure you are not allergic to any of the ingredients. Apply a little to an inconspicuous place, such as the inside elbow, and leave for 24 hours. If there is reddening, itching or other adverse effects, do not use. None of the recipes on this page are intended for internal use.

DISCLAIMER: The information on this page is provided for personal interest only; any individual who uses these recipes does so of his or her free will, and I will not be held responsible for the effects of these recipes on other people. I myself have used most of these with great success, but what works for me may not work for you.

A Quick Word About Beauty Care I don't claim that any of these ideas will produce miracles. There is only so much a cream or scrub or mask can do for you, whether it's one you make yourself or one that comes out of a bottle for a hundred dollars. And no matter what you put on your skin or hair, beauty will always be affected by your diet, stress levels, the amount of sleep you're getting and any number of environmental factors.

There will always be people who don't have the time or inclination to make their own products, or who'll just prefer the convenience of buying something off the shelf that looks pretty, smells pretty and doesn't need to be kept in the fridge, and that's fair enough. There will always be people like my friend who claims that expensive products feel so much nicer than cheap ones. Another friend of mine, who was using Chanel beauty products at the time, went to a dermatologist about an acne problem, and the dermatologist told her the best thing she could use to moisturise and cleanse was plain Sorbolene cream.
My point is that the only thing a moisturiser can ever do is to hold the moisture in your skin longer; it can't erase wrinkles or make you younger, no matter what the commercials claim. The only thing a scrub can do is to remove dead skin cells from the face and cleanse it thoroughly. What I do believe is that these home-made recipes can perform those functions as efficiently as those you can buy.

SKIN CARE The Most Important Skin Care Advice of All
The most important and helpful thing you can do right now to stop your skin ageing is to wear an SPF 15+ sunscreen every single day of the year. Most of what we consider damage due to old age - wrinkles, dry skin, etc - is in fact damage caused by the elements. Of course a skin that's been exposed to the sun and wind for seventy years is going to be more damaged than one which has had only twenty years of exposure. If you wear a sunscreen you will filter out most of the rays that cause this damage, and greatly lessen your chances of skin cancer as well. I live in the country with the world's highest rate of skin cancer, so this information is dinned into us from our childhoods - but I'm sure the rest of the world could benefit from it as well.
Cleansers
I haven't used soap on my face since I was twelve; 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.

The All-Time Best Oily Skin Cleanser
Get a piece of unbleached calico, 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 a gentle yet thorough cleansing agent 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. This, along with a few simple herbal infusions, got rid of my adolescent acne.

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 and Lotions
Simple Herbal Washes
The ultimate lazy person's hint for herbal face preparations: if you drink pure herbal tea (not the kind with added flavourings!), stroke the tea-bag over your face after you've taken it out of the cup and wrung the water out. No waste, and no large quantity of infusion waiting to go off.

Peppermint: Fantastic for acne, especially the itchy underground type. In fact, it soothes itchy skin in general.

Chamomile: Soothing and healing.

Lime Flower (linden): Soothing and softening, refines skin texture. Also supposed to remove wrinkles.

Yarrow infusion makes a great problem skin wash. It's a good astringent, but do watch out because it has been known to cause photosensitivity in some people. Test on the arm or something first.

The two infusions I used to get rid of my teenage acne were lemon balm and parsley (separately). I just applied one with a cotton ball several times per day, amd also used the oatmeal bag.

Oily Skin Refining Lotion
Peel very thinly oranges and lemons, being careful to get as little white pith on the peel as possible. Pack the peel into a glass jar and cover with water. Leave the peel to steep overnight. The next day, strain and filter the liquid, add a few drops tincture of benzoin (as a preservative) and keep in the fridge (label carefully!). The benzoin tincture will turn the lotion milky. Apply 2 or 3 times per day and leave on. This improves the texture of oily skin and clears dingy, dull skin, and the essential oils from the peel help heal and prevent pimples.

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 white 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.
You can make this into milk of roses by using rosewater instead of distilled water.

Virgin Milk
Ahh, what a bizarre name! This is a very old cosmetic which I've been using recently to good effect to soften and soothe the dry patches of my face. There are many recipes, but the one I'm using is my own and is a little lighter than most other recipes. Shake together 50 ml each of distilled water and rosewater. Add 1/2 teaspoon of tincture of benzoin to the mixture and it will turn cloudy (which is presumably why it's called 'milk'). Apply morning and night, or whenever you feel you need it.

Moisturising and Hydrating

I don't generally use moisturizing creams on a regular basis. I feel that the sunscreen I wear every day of my life provides enough moisture during the daytime, and in the evening I wash it off and apply a simple rosewater and glycerin lotion. Once or twice a week I use a nourishing moisturizing mask, and this seems to keep my skin quite healthy. However, occasionally my skin gets a little dry, maybe from over-exposure to sun or wind, or from being in a heated or air-conditioned environment too long; on those occasions I do use a moisturizing cream. All moisturizers should be applied to slightly damp skin, since they work by keeping existing moisture in the skin.

Moisture Lotions

Many of these won't keep very long, which is why I advocate making very small quantities and storing them in the refrigerator. But they are all made of fresh ingredients and will feed and soften your skin beautifully.

Rosewater and Glycerine
Simply mix rosewater and glycerine until the proportion is pleasing to you; I like about one-third glycerine to two-thirds rosewater. As a general rule, the oilier your skin the less glycerine you need. This one doesn't need refrigeration. I find it's the ideal thing to moisturise the two patches on my cheeks that are flaky if not moisturised but get inflamed if I use heavy creams. Do attempt a patch test first, as some people are allergic to glycerine. Update: I've recently uncovered information that glycerine is actually quite bad for the skin, drawing moisture out of it. You might want to take this into account.

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.

Peaches and Cream Lotion
Peel and mash one very ripe peach. Strain through a sieve to get all the juice out. Mix with an equal quantity of pure cream, then mix the peach-and-cream mixture with an equal volume of cooled elderflower infusion. This is a lovely soothing lotion for hot weather - keep it in the fridge.

Moisturizing Creams ,

Rich Moisturizing Cream
This is very rich and heavy, so don't use it if you have oily or sensitive skin. I advise doing a patch test beforehand as some people are allergic to lanolin. I use macadamia oil because it's very light and also very cheap to buy here in Australia; if it's unavailable in your area or you don't like it, substitute almond oil. Both these ingredients are close to the natural composition of the oils produced by human skin.
Take 1 tablespoon anhydrous lanolin (wool fat). Put it in a jar in a bath of hot water and stir until it melts. Then add 1 tablespoon macadamia oil, stirring constantly. You may prefer less or more oil; if the consistency is wrong when the cream solidifies, simply remelt and add more lanolin or oil. When the lanolin and oil have melted together, remove from heat and stir in 5 drops of your preferred true essential oil to cover the sheepy smell of the lanolin. Squeeze in the contents of one vitamin E capsule and stir thoroughly until cool. Keep in an opaque or dark glass jar and in a cool place.

Cold Cream
Pour 84 ml olive oil and 28 g beeswax into a jar or basin and stand in a pan of hot water on the stove. Warm gently (do not boil!) until the wax is just melted. Warm 30 ml rosewater. Stir the oil and wax together and while stirring, add the rosewater gradually. Remove the jar from hot water and stir vigorously until cool. To make a cream which is effective in fighting wrinkles and scars, add the contents of one or two vitamin E capsules (prick the capsule and squeeze the contents out).

Hand Cream
Beat together (preferably in blender) 1 egg yolk and 2 tsp lemon juice. Slowly add 1/4 cup almond, carrot or other vegetable oil, while still beating. Beat in 6 drops tincture of benzoin, to preserve, and 6 drops lavender, rose or lemon oil, to perfume. Keep this refrigerated and it will last a long time. It will soften hands, feet, elbows and legs.
Masks and Facials The best place to apply any facial is in the bath, where you needn't worry about drips and interruptions.

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.

Avocado-Honey Moisturising Mask
Mash up 2 tablespoons avocado, mix with 2 tablespoons honey and 1 egg yolk. A very rich mask.

Prune Porridge
This mask sounds and looks disgusting but is very soothing and good for a face tormented by sore underground pimples. Pour 1/2 cup boiling water over 2 dried prunes in a bowl and leave until soft. Mash prunes. Use any leftover prune water in cooking about 1/2 cup oatmeal. Mix oatmeal with mashed prunes and enough honey to make a sticky mash that will adhere to the face. Apply while still warm (but not hot), leave 20 minutes and rinse off with warm water.

Yogurt Mask
Use natural, unflavored yogurt; you can add honey and/or oatmeal if you like. The gentle acids in the yogurt are very good to help restore the natural acid balance of the skin.

Fruit Mask
You can also make masks from mashed fruit pulp, alone or mixed with oatmeal and/or honey till you get the right consistency. Good fruit to try:
Tomato: astringent and a good blackhead remover. Pulp it up and mix with oatmeal, or slice and lay on the face on its own.
Apple: grate an apple and mix with honey to make a mask that soothes and heals acne, and makes your skin look great. Strawberry: a good oily skin mask. Pulp it up, smear it on the face, wash off. Makes the skin look soft and fine. A good use for over-ripe or bruised berries.
Avocado: Moisturizing. I find it's too oily for my skin, but I've heard good reports from others.
Banana: Also a moisturizer.
Carrot: Grate a carrot, add honey, use as a facial for oily skin. Or you can mash up a cooked one.
Peach: A nice, good-smelling mask for dry or normal skin.
Cucumber: On its own, is cleansing, astringent and cooling during hot weather. Juice a cucumber and wipe the juice over the face. It will reduce shine and the appearance of wrinkles.

Creamy Green Mask
This mask feels wonderful and does great things to cleanse and hydrate the skin, and acts as a mild exfoliant as well as a mask. Mash 1 tablespoon ripe avocado, add 1/2 tsp honey and mix. Stir in a little almond meal until the whole thing is of a pleasant creamy consistency. Apply to clean skin, leave on for 15-20 minutes and wash off with lukewarm water, massaging gently as you remove to exfoliate the skin.

Vanessa's Salad Mask
Take some lettuce, cucumber, tomato and avocado - exact quantities don't matter - and puree them until liquid. Add a little dollop of mayonnaise and then mix with enough oatmeal or almond meal to make the mixture stiff enough to stay on your face. This makes a great mask for those hot December days when salad is all you have in the fridge anyway! It's soothing, cooling and moisturizing all at once.

Continues in part two

Bibliography
This is a selection of the many books on natural cosmetics and skincare I've read over the years. Some of my recipes are adapted from recipes in these books. (When you don't have all the ingredients, you have to adapt!)
Francke, Elizabeth: The Make-Your-Own Cosmetic & Fragrance Book for Australians.
Guyton, Anita: The Woman's Book of Natural Beauty.
Horrocks, Lorna: Natural Beauty.
Lust, John: The Herb Book.
McLeod, Judyth A.: Natural Health and Beauty from Australian Plants.
Purchon, Nerys: Aromatherapy.
Rose, Jeanne: Herbs and Things.
Rose, Jeanne: The Herbal Body Book.
Rutledge, Deborah: Natural Beauty Secrets.
Sanderson, Liz: How To Make Your Own Herbal Cosmetics


found on http://www.angelfire.com/realm2/amethystbt/herbscosmeticapothecary.html