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Showing posts from 2010

Homemade Lemon & Sugar Hand Scrub

I actually saw this on the Dr. Oz show from "Beauty Secrets from around the World". I guess women in Italy use this to keep their hands soft and looking young. I know exfoliating your skin is important, but how often do we really exfoliate our hands? I've tried the Mary Kay Satin Hands and it does feel good and makes your hands soft to exfoliate them. I decided to give this Dr. Oz recipe a try. Lemon & Sugar Hand Scrub. I didn't have any all-natural lemon juice or lemons, so I just used the lemon juice I had in the house. I just added regular sugar to a small bowl and added a little lemon juice to make a paste. You just take a little bit of the mixture and scrub into your hands and in between your fingers. You can even use this on your elbows and heels or any dry areas that need to be exfoliated. When you have scrubbed enough and feel exfoliated, you just rinse your hands well in warm water! My hands felt so soft I couldn't believe it! Then just apply som

Homemade Green Tea Facial Scrub / Mask

I made this awesome facial scrub / mask using only green tea and yogurt! I've been using my Tate's Natural Miracle Shampoo to wash my face everyday and wanted to exfoliate twice per week to remove the dead skin cells and unblock any clogged pores. I have heard that plain yogurt is a great base for any face mask and green tea is good for skin, too.  Plain yogurt & green tea. I just bought regular plain yogurt at Jewel and Lipton green tea bags. I put some yogurt in my food processor and cut a few tea bags and added green tea leaves. I mixed it on the pulse setting and kept adding yogurt and tea leaves until I got a good consistency. Yogurt & green tea mixture. My finished yogurt & green tea facial scrub! I rubbed this mixture all over my face and it felt very soothing and cool. I scrubbed my face in circular motions to exfoliate and then allowed the facial scrub to sit on my face for a few minutes to moisturize and soak in. Then, I just rinsed with warm

Homemade All-Purpose Cleaner

I've been wanting to experiment with homemade household cleaners for a while now. Not only are they non-toxic and safe for you and your family, but they are usually cheaper and often work better than the commercial stuff! I finally found a great company, doTERRA, who would send me free samples of their essential oils ( www.trydoterra.com ) so I could try them before I purchase them. I received my samples in the mail today of lavender and lemon grass essential oils. Both of these oils can be used in homemade cleaning products because they add a great natural fragrance and mask the smell of using vinegar. The first thing I made with the lemon grass essential oil was a natural all-purpose cleaner recipe that I found online ( http://www.greenlivingtips.com/articles/171/1/All-purpose-green-cleaner.html ). You take a spray bottle and fill it half with water and half with distilled white vinegar. Add 2-3 drops of natural dish soap (I used the Seventh Generation dish soap that I recently

Is Your Laundry Detergent Exposing You To Chemicals and Toxins?

When we think of laundry, most of us think of that "fresh laundry scent" or the smell of Bounce Sheets and we associate those smells with clean clothes fresh out of the dryer. When you are at the store and you walk down that detergent aisle and take a whiff, the smell of "laundry" is overwhelming. No one really questions whether these "smells" are natural because we are so used to them being a part of our everyday lives. When I started looking into some of the ingredients in laundry detergents, I was amazed to find that they are loaded with chemicals and artificial fragrances. You would never think that a detergent that is supposed to clean your clothes would be so bad for you. I have a friend whose Mom is really into natural cleaning products so I asked what she uses for her laundry. She told me about Ecos Laundry Detergent which is sold at Sam's Club. I had seen it before and I decided that next time I was there, I would give it a try. I used to us

Almond Milk: Healthy, Vegan, AND Tasty?

I've been wanting to try almond milk for a while because I've heard it was good and super healthy. I finally found a good coupon in the paper and decided to buy some to try. I've had soy milk before and that was pretty good, but sort of gritty as you drink it. I bought the original and dark chocolate flavors of almond milk. My Silk Pure Almond Milk! Original and Dark Chocolate Flavors. When I took the first sip of the original almond milk, I couldn't believe how good it was! It's very smooth and tastes exactly like drinking liquid almonds! If you don't like almonds, the flavor is definitely overwhelming and you probably would not like almond milk. The dark chocolate flavor was my favorite and I could definitely see replacing regular dairy chocolate milk in my diet with the dark chocolate almond milk. Close-up of the almond milk cartons. I began researching into the health benefits of almond milk and found some interesting and promising information.

Detox Tea: Cleansing and Revitalizing?

For my first post, I want to write about my experience with detox tea. I have to start off by saying that I hate hot tea, mostly because my Mom would always make me drink hot black tea as a kid when I was sick. I like some cold teas, but usually only if they are loaded with sugar (I know, I know - not so healthy!). I found a Chinese herbal detox tea made by Triple Leaf Tea. Here is the description off their website:  http://www.tripleleaf-tea.com/chinese.htm#detox . "Our Detox Tea contains more than 20 potent Chinese purification herbs.* Traditionally, these herbs were used to support the healthy function of the liver, kidneys, lungs and blood, to cleanse the body of toxins and to promote clear, healthy skin and healthy natural energy.* This tea has a delicious taste with a hint of natural lemon flavor." I have read a lot about foot detox where it supposedly pulls all the toxins out of your body and turns the water black. I figured this detox tea couldn't hurt! I a

Allow Me To Introduce Myself and My Blog

Hello, My name is Ashley and I recently became very interested in natural and organic products after learning about all the toxins and chemicals in regular household cleaning products. I found myself doing tons of research and trying to gradually make small changes in my life to help me and my family live a healthier lifestyle. Mostly, I was really interested in the link to cancer from all the toxins and chemicals in our environment. Having a grandmother die from ovarian cancer and being at high-risk myself, I figure any small changes that I can make in my lifestyle now can only help me later in my life. When I was researching into organic versus non-organic clothing, I was terrified to learn about the number of pesticides on our clothing that seep into our largest organ, our skin. Reading that cancer patients are sometimes instructed to wear organic panties also freaked me out quite a bit. After watching a Dr. Oz episode about all the pesticides on our fruits and vegetables and ho