Being a typical girl, there is nothing I love more than a day at the spa. The body treatments, facials, hair masks, I love them all. I adore the way my skin feels afterward, the way my hair is full of body and shine, and the way my skin just glows. Plus, getting to relax in a quiet atmosphere for about an hour is not so bad either. Unfortunately, with our economy being the way it is now, I have less and less money to be spending at a spa. After not visiting a spa for a while, I noticed my skin felt dry, my face was breaking out, and my hair became limp and brittle.
I need those spa services! I figured there must be a way to achieve those same treatments at home. That is where my search began. I scoured the world wide web, magazine articles, personal contacts in the spa industry, and came up with a good list of recipes to try at home. I was pleasantly surprised by the results. My skin and hair feel great, and I paid way less that I would have ended up spending at a spa. I should list a few of my favorites recipes to try at home. They are ideal for a night in, or even better for an all girl spa party. Invite your favorite girlfriends over, pop opens a bottle of champagne, and take turns giving each other spa treatments!
Enjoy!
1. Olive Oil Hair Mask
There are tons of professional shampoos on the market today that include olive oil. Olive oils are known to moisturize and smooth dry and damaged hair. That method is by far the easiest and produces amazing results. All you need is ½ cup of olive oil ( or 1 cup, depending on the thickness and length of your hair.) Heat it in the microwave for approximately 30 seconds. Test it with your finger to make sure it is not too hot, then apply to your hair beginning at your ends, and working your way up to the scalp. Your ends are the oldest part of your hair, and often the most damaged.
Starting at this point will ensure the olive oil will saturate the parts of your hair that need it most. Our scalps produce a natural oil. Therefore they do not need as much of this mask as our ends do. Let this treatment sit on anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour depending upon how damaged your hair is. If you have fine, thin hair, I would suggest letting it sit no longer than a half hour, as it might make hair a bit limp the next day. Make sure you wash out this treatment thoroughly after it has been sitting, and apply a dime size of regular conditioner if you wish. I liked this recipe, it was simple, and my hair felt amazing the next day.
2. Face Mask for dry or oily skin
Out of all the different DIY face masks, I have tried out there, this one by far is my favorite. I had problematic skin and was wary of putting anything on it other than my usual face wash regimen. I decided to give this one a whirl, and I can honestly say some of my pimples dried up, and it did not cause any extra breakouts. This mask can be tailored for either dry or oily skin types as well. The ingredients you will need are ½ tsp lemon juice, 1tsp dried black tea, one egg white, and 1tsp honey. If your skin happens to be on the dry side, you can add ½ avocado and a slice of fresh peach to the mixture.
If your skin tends to be on the greasy side, you will need to add ½ cup fresh strawberries, and 2 oz of fresh grated pumpkin. ( For me I just used the strawberries, since I did not have access to a pumpkin) Mix all ingredients together and let sit on your face for about 15 minutes. Make sure to rinse very well with lukewarm water. Tone and moisturize as you normally would. My skin felt very soft but not too oily afterward. I enjoyed this facial very much, and it smelled pretty good too!
4. Milk and Strawberry foot soak and scrub
This recipe is one we used to use at a spa I used to work at. We would buy the ingredients at the grocery store, make it in our back room, and then use it on the clients a few minutes later. It was very popular, as it smells delicious and leaves skin feeling ever so soft. For the soak, you will need about a cup of strawberries, ¼ cup of milk, three tablespoons of flour, and three tablespoons of oatmeal. Mash up strawberries as much as possible, add all ingredients and mix well. Mask should be creamy, and liquidy. Spread on feet, cover with either plastic bags or paper towels. Let sit for 5-10 minutes, rinse well.
For the scrub, you will need about a cup of strawberries, ½ cup of sugar, a couple of teaspoons of milk. Mash up strawberries, and mix all ingredients together. Apply to feet, use with pumice bar if desired.
Rinse well with water, use lotion. I love this pedicure recipe, milk leaves skin feeling creamy and soft, the strawberries smell delicious, and sugar makes for a great exfoliate. That is a perfect pedicure idea for a spa night with the girls, goes great with strawberry daiquiris!
5. Easy and quick tricks
Reducing redness of pimples
Get that Visine out of the medicine cabinet and squirt a dab directly onto a pimple.
Anti Dandruff Concoction
Grind up about 20 aspirins, mix with a little bit of warm water as needed to create the sticky mixture. Apply directly to scalp and let sit for 20 minutes, rinse thoroughly.