SUMMER FEET FOOT BALM!

I'm re-blogging a previous post as Spring is just around the corner, which means us ladies will be breaking out those sandals once again.  When I first began constructing this formula, I found that it had a bit of a grainy texture.  It didn't affect the performance of the product, but it could feel unpleasant to some.  I have since learned how to avoid having that happen.  I won't bore you with the details, but it has to do with the shea butter being melted and cooled in a specific way.  This is a product that I use faithfully, and think you may want to give it a try.

Here's a quick note on how to easily use this product:  Get about a dime's size in the palm of your hand and rub hands together to emulsify, then apply to clean damp feet with a massaging motion. Step on a towel or mat for a moment, or put on a pair of socks or slippers, and your feet will thank you!

Summer Feet Foot Balm!

My niece asked me a few months ago if I had a product specifically for feet.  I did not at that time. Which got me to thinking about how everyone loves my Cuticle Cream, and how I love the way it makes my cuticles, and lips, feel so soft and healthy.  Even though I regularly used a callus remover tool, my feet were not in great shape.  I refuse to wear sandals unless my feet look good.  Since I've had my hip replaced, the Doctor and the nurses suggested I stay away from getting pedicures at nail salons to avoid the chance of infection.  So, I decided to use my Cuticle Cream as a jumping off point, and see what I could do to make a great foot balm.

I am extremely pleased with the results.  I made it softer and easier to spread, and added some great essential oils to make those tired feet feel invigorated, renewed, and pampered.  The only thing I will do different next time is to blend just a bit better as I can feel that the oils and the harder butters and beeswax have separated a little. You can barely see the polka dots on the surface in the photos. Those areas are a little softer than the rest.  But, it all gets mixed up as you apply.

I've made a list of the ingredients for you and their respective properties.  This information was gleaned from the manufacturers, and/or other trusted internet sites such as WebMD and Wikipedia:

• Coconut Oil - For skin it is a moisturizer, antibiotic, multivitamin, and has anti-aging, anti wrinkle and an anti-oxidant properties. Coconut Oil provides deep and real moisture. It helps strengthen underlying tissues and helps remove excessive dead cells on the skin's surface that makes your skin rough and flaky in texture, making it perfect for those dry, hard worked feet.
• Shea Butter - The traditional use of Shea butter is to reduce the appearance of fine lines, stretch marks and scars, and to ease many skin irritations, such as psoriasis, eczema and sunburn. Shea Butter has anti-inflammatory properties, making it an excellent ingredient for your feet.
• Cocoa Butter - is full of vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, C, and E. It has the ability to moisturize like no other.
• Bees Wax - Bees wax improves the condition of skin.  It is totally nontoxic, and has superior healing properties. Beeswax is an excellent emollient and support for moisturizers.  It provides skin protective action which does not clog the pores. It is nonallergic, promotes elasticity, and has excellent staying power on the skin.
• Jojoba Oil - is the miracle oil for softening the skin.  It is used to promote softer more supple skin, while being non-greasy. Jojoba oil is easily absorbed and promotes silky smooth skin. Jojoba oil will help to nourish your feet and prevent dryness. A fine penetrating odorless oil which has the consistency of a liquid wax, Jojoba Oil is stable and long lasting. It is a good conditioner for all skin types, especially mature skins.  It is most like the natural oil that our skin produces.
• Sweet Almond Oil - has excellent penetrating qualities and good spread-ability on the skin, making it ideal as a massage oil or as a carrier oil for cosmetics and treatment products.

Summer Feet Foot Balm!

The following are essential oils and their properties and benefits:

• Eucalyptus - Eucalyptus leaf is used for relieving osteoarthritis and joint pain, has anti-inflammatory and analgesic qualities. 
• Peppermint - cools the skin and acts as a catalyst to other herbs.
• Rosemary - helps with circulation and relaxes muscles.
• Lavender - is effective in the relief of joint and muscle pain, aids in relaxation.
• Camphor - used topically to increase local blood flow, it stimulates nerve endings that relieve symptoms of pain when applied topically.

Summer Feet Foot Balm!

Hey, don't laugh!  These are almost 66 year-old feet!  There's a lot of miles on these feet. Yeah, no nail polish.  I draw the line there, at my age, I'll not be polishing my own toenails!  I've been using this balm on my feet for several weeks, and the results were so much better than I had hoped.  I saw major improvement after the first application, and it just keeps getting better and better.  If, right after applying, you stand on a bath mat or rug, it doesn't leave the bottom of your feet feeling oily or slippery, which is good as I go barefoot 99% of the time, they just feel soft, cool, and invigorated.  I had just applied after a shower in this photo. Perhaps the very best way to use is just before bed, and cover with light socks.  I, however, do not do that. I'm a Florida girl and cannot stand socks on my feet.  I don't have a before picture, and I wouldn't have posted it if I did!  (Smile)  But, truly, the results are remarkable. Why not give it a try, your summer feet will thank you!

Carpe Diem!

HOMEMADE CUTICLE CREAM

Homemade Cuticle Cream/Balm

I discovered this cuticle and nail cream quite by accident.  You may remember the painter/instructor Bob Ross who used to have a TV series on teaching how to paint with oils.  I always enjoyed watching him because he made it look so easy.  I'm not a painter by any stretch of the imagination, so the way he painted looked like magic to me.  He always said that there were no mistakes in painting, only "happy accidents".  Well, this product is a "happy accident".

It started out as a lip balm, but the flavor and color weren't working well for me.  So, one day I was in the car going somewhere and noticed my cuticles looked a bit dry.  While applying the lip balm, I decided to put it on my nails, and, surprise, a great cuticle cream was born!

Here are the ingredients, and their benefits to the skin:

• Coconut Oil - For skin it is a moisturizer, antibiotic, multivitamin, multi-nutrient, anti-aging, anti wrinkle and an anti-oxidant.  Coconut oil provides deep and real moisture. It helps strengthen underlying tissues and helps remove excessive dead cells on the skin's surface that makes your skin rough and flaky in texture, making it perfect for those dry cuticles.

• Shea Butter - The benefits of Shea Butter for the skin are many. The traditional use of the butter is to reduce the appearance of fine lines, stretch marks and scars, and to ease many skin irritations, such as psoriasis, eczema and sunburn. Shea butter contains several derivatives of cinnamic acid, a compound common to cinnamon and balsam trees. "Shea butter not only demonstrated anti-inflammatory benefits, but one compound, lupeol cinnamate, also prevented tumor development in a carcinogenesis test, a procedure in which cancer cells are literally "grown" in a culture dish." (Source: National Geographic) Shea butter contains vitamins A and E, as well as catechins, which are plant antioxidants found also in green tea. While it is unclear how well vitamins A and E in raw Shea butter are absorbed, there is evidence to suggest that cinnamic acid esters in Shea fat help to prevent skin damage from ultraviolet radiation.  Shea butter is also used to soften and condition leather and wood, so musicians use it to improve the flexibility of leather tuning straps, and the pitch and timbre of animal skin drums and other percussion instruments. In addition, Africans use Shea butter in cooking, and in other parts of the world, manufacturers add Shea butter to margarine.  

• Cocoa Butter - It is a rich butter that is made by pressing roasted seeds of the cacao tree.  Cocoa butter has been around a long time, for centuries in fact. Africans have used it for hundreds of years for moisturizing, healing and protecting their skin against damage caused by sun and wind. Cocoa butter has been known to treat eczema and dermatitis. Cocoa mass polyphenol (CMP) in cocoa butter inhibits the production of immonu globulin, which tends to worsen the symptoms of dermatitis and asthma. It may help prevent cancer. Studies have shown that CMP helps inhibit the growth of cancer cells. It does this by preventing the oxidation of good cholesterol and also the production of inflammatory cells.  Ever wonder why pregnant women reach for cocoa butter enriched products to rub on their bellies? Cocoa butter is full of vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, C, and E. It has the ability to moisturize like no other.

• Bees Wax - Bees wax improves the condition of skin.  It is totally nontoxic, and has superior healing properties. Beeswax is an excellent emollient and support for moisturizers.  It provides skin protective action which does not clog the pores. It is nonallergic, promotes elasticity, and has excellent staying power on the skin.

Homemade Cuticle Cream/Balm

There you have it, just four simple but extremely high quality ingredients that couldn't be better for your skin.  An added benefit, it puts a lovely glow on your nails if you like the natural look. They look like you spent a lot of time and effort buffing them up to a beautiful soft sheen, when in reality all you've done is spent 30 seconds applying cuticle cream!  My cuticles are looking so much better since I started using this product.  It's been six months since I've had a professional manicure.  To those of you that have this product, why not start using it on your nails and cuticles, and get a lip balm that smells and tastes yummy!

NATURAL COCONUT OIL DEODORANT!

HOMEMADE NATURAL DEODORANT

Let me say this before I begin praising this product.  It is a deodorant, not an antiperspirant. Remember that sweating, while sometimes inconvenient, is natural! It is your body's way of releasing toxins and impurities, and it is our bodies cooling mechanism . So you can imagine what happens when you force those toxins to stay inside with the use of an antiperspirant. Links have been found between the aluminum in antiperspirants and Alzheimer's disease and even breast cancer. The other ingredient in commercial deodorants that really gets me is propylene glycol, which is also the main agent in antifreeze.  Hello!  Do you really want to put antifreeze on the largest organ in your body, your skin?

This Homemade Natural Deodorant is made with coconut oil, baking soda, and arrowroot powder.  Also included are a few essential oils that provide antibacterial support.  These are Lemongrass, Litsea Cubeba, and Bergamot essential oils.  They have a very mild, lemon fragrance that shouldn't interfere with any fragrances you wish to use, it's a very clean fragrance.  I've praised the properties of coconut oil in other product posts, and in this application, the coconut oil is used as an anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and moisturizer to the skin. The lauric acid in coconut oil kills odor-causing bacteria. The coconut oil fragrance is very light, and it has never stained our clothes.  The baking soda absorbs odors and the arrowroot powder absorbs wetness.  My husband and I have been using this formula for months now, and we both are extremely happy with it.

Give it a try, you will love it, I promise!

Carpe Diem!