I had to have a group photo taken today. I was not very happy about it. I declined the personal one. Its for a board that shows all the volunteers and other places they volunteer as well. So I went ahead and took the group shot even though I will never be able to look at it.

Among other things, I’m unhappy with my skin.

And I didn’t have enough money to get a facial or even buy a product at the local drug store. While a product called “Yes to Carrots” looks interesting and is something I’d like to try, $14.99 is just too rich for my blood this week.  I’ve managed to be broke with a week to go before my next check, again. I have some emergency money. And I don’t “NEED” anything, including a facial. So being broke is not such a big deal. Until its time to take a picture. I’m also very unhappy with the fading of my hair color. But again, not much to be done. I can, however, get the individual photo taken later. Thank you, Curtis.

So what’s to do? Well, there are home facials, that you can make yourself with food stuffs. Too bad for me I didn’t think of that in time for the photos. So I’ve looked up online many recipes. I’ll compile them here. I’ll give as much credit as I can to where they came from, but I think most are just the same basic recipes that have been around for a long time. Maybe they have tweeked the proportions. They are all probably worth a try, you never know what will work for you.

For the face:
 
Honey:  Place a warm washrag on your face for ten minutes to open the pores. Smear on honey, and leave on for 15 to 30 minutes. Rinse off with warm water, then use cold water to close the pores. Use once a week.

Avocado:  Mash the meat of the avocado into a creamy texture. Massage into the face and neck . Leave on for 20 minutes and gently rinse off.

Lemon Juice : I remember reading in a book, about seven years ago, that lemon juice was a good astringent and also a good bleaching agent for the skin. I was very interested because I hate my freckles. It also said the same about pineapple juice and if I’m remembering right, all citrus fruits were supposed to do the same. But I wont swear to that, just the lemon and pineapple juices I remember were listed for sure.  I never got around to trying it too much, life caught up and I just didn’t have the time or energy before I moved and forgot all about it. Until now. I think that recipe was lemon juice and yogurt. But I googled and found this : “ Squeeze half a lemon and mix the juice with one beaten egg white. Leave on your face overnight or, for a quick pick-me-up, just 15 minutes. Splash warm water on your face to rinse.”  from healthrecipes.com

Also from healthrecipes.com:  Clay is available in powder form at any health food store. Mix 1 tablespoon dry clay with 1 egg yolk, 1/4 of a mashed avocado and enough witch hazel to create a smooth mixture. Mud dries excess sebum while the egg yolk and avocado replenish lost moisture. Witch hazel tones.

Oatmeal is a good exfoliation agent. Just be sure to grind it up to fine flour consistency. Usually I’ve seen it mixed with olive oil or yogurt or honey even. You could pick the one you like best and go for it.

Raw potato for the under eye circles is something I’ve seen listed a few times. And of course the cold tea bags. Those have never really worked for me. Might be time to try the good old potato.

Still at the healthrecipes.com site I found this oily skin mask recipe, and it sounded interesting :  Mix 1 tsp. brewer’s yeast with enough natural yogurt to make a thin mixture. Pat this thoroughly into all the oily areas and allow it to dry on the skin. After 15 - 20 minutes, rinse off with warm water, then cool water and blot dry.  I’ve never seen yeast listed in a facial recipe before.

For Hair :

The ones I can name off the top of my head (  :D ):

Olive oil for conditioning, and also mayo.
Vinegar for shine and build up.
Egg for washing and conditioning.
Baking soda for washing.

I really like the healthrecipes.com and this is one I hadn’t seen before that I plan on trying:

Combine mashed avocado with some coconut milk. Comb it through the hair and let sit for 10 -15 minutes, rinse out.  I like avocado but usually cant use it all up before it goes bad. I figure between the hair and face recipes ill have enough left to make a mashed avo sandwich as well. Or so I hope.  Not bad for the $2 it costs for an avocado these days.

My favorite body scrub that I haven’t done in many years was/is sugar mixed with oil, olive if you are feeling rich (most of us are NOT ) or mineral if you aren’t (this would be our category). I used baby oil. Something thicker would be nice, but I cant afford much more. That made a very nice scrub though. Most recipes say salt. I haven’t tried salt. I also haven’t tried it mixed in with body wash instead of oil, that was just suggested to me by Arin, of Free Credit Fixes. That probably smells really really good. So thats what I’ll be trying next.  I’m assuming it will also work for dry skin on the feet as well, making for a very nice home pedicure. 

I don’t think we should all run out and buy some exotic ingredients we don’t normally buy, but with so many things to choose from, I’m sure we can all find at least one combo that will work for us, that we have on hand and is cheap and that will make us and our skin feel pampered. A lit scented candle, a bubble bath, some soft music and a facial is maybe just the thing when you have to have a group photo taken and you at least want to feel your best, if not look it.