Suite101

Herbal Skin Care


© Laurel Morris

With colder winter days and indoor heating comes dry skin and the need to find cosmetic alternatives that are good for the skin and hair. If you are wary of the strange and unpronounceable ingredients in some over the counter cosmetics, why not make your own natural herbal preparations? Here are a few suggestions to get you started:

Herbal Hair Conditioners

If your hair is dry, try a chamomile oil. To make, combine 1/3 cup chamomile flowers and 1/3 cup olive oil or grapeseed oil, and place in a jar with a lid. Place in a sunny window and shake the jar at least once a day. After two weeks, strain out the flowers. To apply, use approximately 2-4 teaspoons, depending on the length of the hair. Brush out the hair and then apply to hair ends, avoiding the scalp. Leave on about ten minutes, then shampoo out. Make hair rinses with distilled water, herbs and vinegar. Try parsley or sage for dry hair, lavender or lemon balm for oily hair, and parsley or rosemary for dandruff. Combine one cup of fresh herbs with 1 quart distilled water. Heat and simmer for fifteen minutes. Remove from heat and let stand 15 minutes more to infuse. Strain out the herbs and add 1 quart cider vinegar. Shampoo hair, then rinse with the mixture, using approximately one cup. Hair conditioners can be made also. Combine 1 cup fresh minced herbs with one quart distilled water, simmer 15 minutes, then let stand one hour to infuse. Then add one tablespoon of glycerin, one drop at a time while stirring. After shampooing, comb about a teaspoon into the wet hair. No need to rinse out.

Skin Oils

Why apply potentially harmful chemicals to your skin? Many commercial preparations contain mineral oils which are petroleum derivatives. Mineral oil can be very irritating to skin, clogging pores and causing blemishes, and drying out skin. Natural oils such as seed or nut oils are very good for the skin.

Lavender Oil
Ingredients: 2 cups lavender flowers, 2 sprigs rosemary, one piece of orange zest, 1 ¼ cups olive or grapeseed oil.
Directions: combine all except oil and pound in a mortar or on a cutting board. Pack the herbs into a small jar (two cup capacity) and pour in the oil. Cover and shake well. Place the jar in a sunny window for two weeks, and shake it at least once a day. After two weeks, strain the mixture. Keep refrigerated when not using.

Calendula Oil
Ingredients: 1 cup calendula flowers, 2 cups olive or grapeseed oil, ½ cup wheat germ oil.
Directions: Combine all ingredients in a jar, cover. Place in a sunny

       

Go To Page: 1 2


The copyright of the article Herbal Skin Care in Herb Gardening is owned by . Permission to republish Herbal Skin Care in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Post this Article to facebook Add this Article to del.icio.us! Digg this Article furl this Article Add this Article to Reddit Add this Article to Technorati Add this Article to Newsvine Add this Article to Windows Live Add this Article to Yahoo Add this Article to StumbleUpon Add this Article to BlinkLists Add this Article to Spurl Add this Article to Google Add this Article to Ask Add this Article to Squidoo