Natural Bath Recipies and Cleansing Treats

Homemade skin care recipes

I look for homemade skin care recipes for natural skin care using all natural ingredients. Everyone will experience different results. Try a recipe for a week or two and if this is not working try another one.

I try to use organic ingredients as much as I can. Tests have shown that plants that have been raised organically almost always have a higher concentration of healthful healing substances than their conventionally grown counterparts.

You want to beautify your skin with the most natural products around. Look no further than your kitchen and medicine cabinet to try these quick and easy recipes.

Milk Baths Recipes

Milk Baths are just like regular baths, only with an addition of milk and often other scents such as lavender, honey, and essential oils. Cleopatra, Elizabeth I of England, Elisabeth of Bavaria, and others have historically acclaimed the beautifying benefits of these baths.

Milk baths are said to utilize lactic acid, an alpha hydroxy acid, to dissolve the proteins which hold together dead skin cells.

Proponets say that the natural properties of milk help to:

Soften/Smooth
Exfoliate
Make visible new, fresh cells
Accelerate skin cell renewal
Moisturize
Stress relief

Various Ingredients Mandatory
Powdered or Fresh Milk For Scent
Honey
Oatmeal

Homemade Milk Baths Recipes

Milk and Honey Bath
It seems that women have been indulging themselves with milk and honey baths for centuries, so I am assuming that it does the body good… So, here is a quick and easy recipe that should do the trick. Enjoy.

1/2 cup liquid honey
3 cups powdered milk
lavender buds (added for color and fragrance)

Combine the ingredients above in a large bowl and then transfer to a decorative glass bottle in your bathroom. This also makes a great and inexpensive gift idea.

Scoop out a luxurious amount of the milk bath and dissolve in a warm bath. You can also use these ingredients to increase the luxurious scents and detoxifying atttibutes:  Lavender, Essential Oils, Herbs, Nutmeg, Bergamot, Geranium, Seaweed, Sea salt

Lavender-Honey Milk Baths

Ingredients

Tablespoons dried lavender flowers*
1-1/2 cups whole milk, cream or combination
1/3 cup honey

Directions Process lavender flowers in a blender until they become a powder, turning off the blender and scraping down the sides as necessary. Whisk together lavender powder, milk and honey in a glass bowl, then pour into a jar. Before each use, shake the jar and pour half of the mixture into the bath. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Makes enough for 2 baths.

*Dried lavender flowers can be found in the spice section of gourmet and specialty stores.

Oil production in the Skin

The skin has many oil (sebaceous) glands, which secrete oil that contains wax esters, triglycerides, and squalene - a hydrocarbon that is an intermediate in the formation of cholesterol. These fats (or lipids) form a film that helps keep moisture in the skin. While increased sebum production results in oily skin, the opposite is not always the case, as dry skin can also arise from an impaired skin barrier. Oil production can be affected by diet, stress, and hormones-as well as genetics. In a study of twenty pairs each of identical and nonidentical same-sex twins, identical twins had virtually identical amounts of oil production, while the nonidentical twins had significantly different amounts.

No amount of blotting and scrubbing will “remove” the skin’s oil production, and many of us unknowingly destroy the natural beauty of the skin in pursuit of clarity. The skin’s own sebum mechanism is there to regulate own moisture. Drying your skin profusely with oil-stripping, foaming cleansers, detergents and de-greasers like soap and sulfates, or alcohol-based toners that leave the skin feeling tight (always a sign it’s been stripped), will only cause the skin to “rebound” with excess oiliness and destroy its protective and anti-bacterial “matrix,” leaving it sensitized. By stripping the natural acid mantle of the skin, these deep cleaning products actually make skin more vulnerable to bacteria and inflammation. Dabbing benzoyl peroxide often destroys the beauty of the skin by causing flaking, while more aggressive treatments, such as antibiotics or Accutane can cause a cascade of side-effects.