Make Your Own Ginger Body Scrub

This home made ginger body scrub recipe will leave your skin feeling smooth for days. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cup turbinado (raw) sugar
• ½ cup almond oil
• 1 tsp peeled, grated ginger (or ½ tsp powdered ginger)

Instructions:

1. Drop the ginger into the almond oil and stir with a spoon until fully blended.
2. Slowly pour the oil over the sugar and mix with a spoon.
3. Place the ginger-scented scrub in a clean re-sealable jar.
4. After you've taken a shower or bath, massage a small scoop of gingersnap body scrub over clean, damp skin. Rinse and pat dry.
5. Keeps indefinitely              

Source: “Women’s World” Sept. 2012

Skin Healthy Chocolate Recipe

All the ingredients in this chocolate recipe are healthy and contain vitamins, antioxidants and polyphenols, which are key to reduce inflammation and make healthy cells and GOOD SKIN.

Homemade “Healthy” Chocolate Sauce Recipe

(makes ½ cup)

Ingredients
½ cup organic, unfiltered coconut oil
4 T + 2 t raw unsweetened cacao powder
2 T + 2 t grade b maple syrup OR raw, local honey
¼ t pure vanilla extract
1-2 pinches sea salt
(Optional:  add cayenne pepper, cinnamon, nuts, coconut, peppermint extract, dried berries)

Instructions
Put coconut oil in small saucepan and melt on low. When liquid, remove from heat and stir in cacao powder. Mix until lumps are dissolved, then stir in maple syrup or honey, vanilla extract and sea salt.

For syrup, serve immediately. For sauce, let cool 10-15 minutes. For shell effect, pour over cold dessert such as ice cream and give it a few minutes to harden.

Dip fruit in it, use it as a sauce, drizzle over nuts, bananas, pretzels and freeze.

(Source: therisingspoon.com)

Think Beyond Skin Care Products

We forget that our skin is the largest organ in our body. We might also forget that everything we do (or don't do!) and everything we eat has a profound effect on aging and on our skin.

Diet (sugar, dairy, wheat), exercise, sleep, hydration, sunblock, genetics...it all plays a part. Develop good "life" habits and you will see the results in the mirror.

Start slow with small steps. For instance, make a point to drink one more glass of water daily. Sleep one half-hour longer. Drink three less coffees a week. Eat dessert only on weekends.

And last but not least...smile. On the Souli Skinspa Facebook page, a lot of folks were commenting on how beautiful a client of mine looked. Her response? "It was the SMILE that made the difference." Such a great reminder!

"The benefits of these types of small changes can have a ripple effect, like throwing a pebble in the pond."  Source: Jan/Feb 2014, Shape

Two Tips to Moisturize and Smooth Dry Lips

Our lips get chapped for a number of reasons: dry cold winter weather, a troubled stomach from excessive eating and drinking, a Vitamin E deficiency, too much spicy food or being in the sun too long. When our lips peel, even lipstick and gloss can’t make them look better and we are continually having to reapply lip balm.

Help can be as simple as reaching for a jar of honey and make a honey pack. This is an age-old remedy and is a natural moisturizer. Put a generous amount of honey on your lips and cover them with a piece of plastic wrap cut to size. Your lips will become moist in a matter of minutes.

Along with the honey pack, you can also do a simple lymphatic massage. Do this massage every morning before putting on your lip color. It will give your lips a rosy and natural glow. Here are the steps:

(1) With the balls of your thumbs, press the lymph nodes that run from underneath your chin toward your ears.
(2) Drain out waste matter by pressing on the lymph nodes behind the ears.

Source: “The Japanese Skincare Revolution” by Chizu Saeki

Relax With A Hot Cup Of Rooibos Tea

Drink rooibos tea to keep wrinkles at bay and beautify from the inside. Japanese researchers have found that rooibos slows cell damage and halts the aging process. Derived from the African red bush plant, rooibos is loaded with more antioxidants and minerals than green or white tea. Look for it at your local supermarket. Brew as directed and drink two cups a day.

Source: Woman’s World January 23, 2012. Photo credit Lyle Nel.

Eat and Drink Your Way to Clear Skin

Three quick and tasty tips for preventing pimples.

Low-Glycemic Diet

Studies have shown that people who follow a low-glycemic diet tend to have clearer skin. Focus on eating vegetables and whole grains and skip the processed sugars.  Low-glycemic foods help to regulate your body’s natural insulin. When you have excess insulin your body’s hormones can rage out of control.

Lemon

Drink warm water with lemon every morning. Lemon acts as a diuretic and helps to flush out acne-causing toxins and bacteria in the small intestine.

H2O and Produce 

Of course you need to drink eight glasses of water a day (at a minimum) for clear skin, but eating fruits and vegetables with high water content, such as cucumbers and grapefruits, will keep cells hydrated, too. Some say eating produce plumps cells even better than drinking water.

How have you modified your diet to benefit your skin?

Tasty and Beautifying Fall Foods

With the holidays rapidly approaching, you are probably thinking about sweet potato and pumpkin dishes around the dinner table. I know I am. The next time you are at the store, throw a few extra sweet potatoes and cans of pumpkin in your cart. These colorful antioxidants not only serve as comfort food during the holidays, but they also provide magnificent benefits to your skin.

Eat Two Sweet Potatoes a Week

You’ll get more beta carotene, an antioxidant that promotes collagen production, out of one sweet potato than you will out of any other fruit or vegetable. Research suggests that two servings a week will motivate your skin to block UV rays on its own and reverse sun damage.

Make Your Own Pumpkin Facial

Pumpkin contains enzymes to exfoliate, zinc to heal inflammation, and vitamin C to ward off free radicals. One pumpkin facial a week will leave your skin supple and bright. Try this recipe:

• 4 tsp. canned pumpkin
• 1 tsp. milk
• 1 tsp. honey
• 1 tsp. brown sugar

Dampen your skin and apply the mixture for up to ten minutes. Remove with cool water, pat dry, and moisturize.

Source: Women’s World, October 2010

Watermelon. Not Just for Snacking.

Our skin is the largest organ in our body and reflects our total overall health. It’s affected by stress, sleep patterns, water consumption, genetics, and, most importantly, diet. You hear me talk over and over about eating foods rich in antioxidants to change the skin at the cellular level. A healthy diet means healthy cells, healthy skin, and healthy hair.

Watermelon as Sunburn Soother
As the summer comes to an end, fill up on your watermelon. It is not only high in fiber and low in sugar (as far as fruits go) but also contains lycopene. Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant that has been proven to protect against UV skin damage. Additionally, watermelon has anti-inflammatory properties, which means you might feel better if you place pureed watermelon on your sunburned skin. The bottom line: eat watermelon before you go in the sun. And if you don’t slather on enough UVA/UVB protection during your outing, use a little watermelon on your skin to feel better. Who knew?

Watch for more upcoming skincare recipes and food tips!

Dark Honey for Sweeter, Smoother Skin

Honey is one of nature's many miracles. It's healthful, it can reduce allergies, and it's made by cute little honey bees, too! Try adding honey to your tea, coffee, and other beverages. In many recipes, you can also replace sugar for honey.

Buckwheat Honey – Fights Aging
Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who analyzed 19 varieties of honey found that two to four tablespoons a day of dark honey - like buckwheat or blueberry honey - contains the most antioxidants. Consuming antioxidants helps to protect cells from the damaging effects of free radicals and may reduce risk of heart disease, cancer, cognitive decline, and macular degeneration. (Source: Prevention Magazine, May 2010.)

Manuka Honey – Fights Pimples and Heals Wounds
 No need for drying acne creams. Apply manuka honey to the blemish, and watch it clear up fast. A product of New Zealand, the dark-colored honey is a proven antibacterial and antibiotic. Studies show it kills germs (including the culprit behind acne) on contact.  It’s so powerful that it can even protect wounds from dangerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria like staph and MRSA. (Source: Woman’s World, April 2012.)