the power of Olives…

Olive oil is great for hair, but it’s also really great for skin too.  My mother always says how when we were babies, my grandmother always told her to rub us in olive oil at bath time and it did wonders to keep our skin nice and supple.  Anyway, I’ve been struggling with eye make up remover.  I’ve had the gel types which are just icky messy, the liquid ones which leave your eyes really dry feeling.  So the other day I was reading somewhere about olive oil being a make up remover.  So I figured I would give it a try.  I put some on to a cotton face pad, pressed it onto my closed eye and let it sort of do it’s magic for a little bit, then wiped it off.  As I swept the cotton pad over my eyes, I could feel the make up just get dissolved away by the olive oil and it all came off fairly easy.  Best part is it didn’t leave the skin around my eyes feeling too dry.  After this, I washed my face with neem soap which I am trying out and wow, the skin round my eyes was so soft and yummy feeling.  It’s definitely an asilia prime!!!

Dry Brushing

I won’t even lie and say I wasn’t a little bit skeptical when I heard about dry brushing. If I could raise my eyebrow it would have gone higher with every mention of how it eliminates cellulite, cleans the lymphatic system and removes toxins from the skin.

I don’t know if it does any of the above but one thing I know it does do is facilitate soft smooth and did I say soft? skin. So. What you will need according to the internets is a natural bristle brush and 5 minutes of your time before you shower.

Im not sure if the brush I have has natural bristles but its what I had around so its what I used. So, starting from my feet and working my way up I used circular motions to brush the skin. Circular? Yes, this is a must. Skin is sensitive, you don’t just go rubbing it up and down with no mercy. Whether applying lotion, putting on a mask or dry brushing, a gentle circular motion is always best. No exceptions.

Dry brushing shouldn’t include the face and neck area because the skin is too sensitive for that and it already benefits from all the masks, moisturizers and exfoliation you already pamper it with. After dry brushing shower as usual and moisturize your damp* skin.

I don’t know about cleaning lymph nodes and curing cellulite (there is no such thing as a cure for cellulite. If Oprah and her billions have failed to find one – and she said she has been looking – then us regular people might just as well give up and live with it) but it does give great looking skin. I know the argument could be that skin is as a general rule, soft already but this makes it smoother and softer. Maybe it’s the removal of dead skin cells or something. It only took a couple of sessions to notice a difference to other asilia bots should try this and tell me if I am imagining my own things.

Asilia prime for sure, though don’t blame me when people look at you funny when they see you carrying a shoe brush into the bathroom …

* don’t know if I have mentioned this before but moisturizer shouldn’t be applied to dry skin. After showering pat yourself dry and then apply your lotion to damp skin – it helps lock in some moisture.

Aspirin Mask

Even at its most basic, the aspirin mask is something you may want to try. Easy to make, cheap and will leave your skin feeling smooth like nothing else.

The reason the aspirin mask works is because of the salicylic acid which is a BHA (beta hydroxy acid). Since BHA’s are oil soluble this makes them ideal for exfoliating skin and unclogging pores so the aspirin mask is very useful for those who are prone to acne break outs, blackheads and oily skin.

As always, do a patch test (like maybe behind your ear) before you use this mask. If you are going to have an allergic reaction you don’t want it to be all over your face. If you cant take aspirin then this isn’t ideal for you to try either.

Simple Aspirin Mask

3-5  aspirin pills

Few drops of water

Crushing the pills can be a lot of work, but putting a few drops of water on the pills and letting them sit for a while will dissolve them. Apply on face avoiding the skin around the lips and eyes and let sit until dry. Rinse thoroughly and then moisturize and voila! The aspirin mask in its most basic form.

The above will work because the salicylic acid will still get to exfoliating but you can tweak the recipe to your liking and add ingredients that will enhance the magical powers of the mask. For example, honey, being a humectant will go great if added to the above recipe and it’s a biding agent as well so it will make it easier for the mask to go on. A combination of aloe vera, yoghurt and aspirin works very well as does using lemon juice instead of water to soften the tablets.

Verdict? Asilia prime, though you have to be careful not to use it too often. I have seen people on the internets say that they use it 4 or 5 times a week but considering its potency I guess twice a week max is best. And after using it, use sunscreen the next couple of days to protect the layer of skin that has been brought forth.

By the by, Panadol is not the same as aspirin. Add Tylenol, Advil or any other painkiller in this category too.. The salicylic acid is key and if you are not sure, ask your friendly neighbourhood pharmacist and ask them to help you out, just make sure they don’t up sell you.

More Homemade Facials

Since I started with the natural facials, I just love spontaneously whipping up something right from my kitchen in no time, with ingredients that I know without a doubt are great for my skin. Their being edible is immaterial ofcourse! I just did a cleanser, scrub and exfoliant that has left my skin feeling lush! I can’t keep my hands off of it and neither can Sookie. Here goes…

Orange Peel Cleanser

Orange peel is great for removing dirt from the face as well as a quick revitalizer. Simply take the orange peel and use the fleshy white inside to rub gently on the skin. Its really simple and works well as a start to any facial.

Olive Oil and Sugar scrub

After I was done with the orange, without rinsing off the little orange bits, I took slightly less than a teaspoon full of sugar, with a dash of olive oil, and spread it on my skin. This is great as a scrub and exfoliant. Rub the mixture on the face, and massage with small circular motions. (I also rubbed some on my lips, it removes the dead skin and is great for chaffed lips.) Olive oil is perfect because it doesn’t clog your pores, and it helps retain the natural moisture of the skin. If you don’t have olive oil on hand, you can try any other natural oils. This is actually a variation of jmmk’s castor oil face scrub.

Honey mask

Lastly, i rinsed off the olive oil and sugar, spread some raw honey on my face;  got a container filled with boiled water and steamed my face for about 5 minutes. Honey is a humectant therefore is great for hydration, leaving your skin silky soft! Once this was done, I washed everything all off with warm water, did a final cold rinse and moisturized with my beloved nivea soft moisturizing cream. My goodnessssss, heavenly skin!!!

What I love most is that these treatments are short, easy to do and the results are definitely Asilia prime!

Apple Cider Vinegar – How To’s and its Versatility

Ok, so I’ve always used Heinz Apple Cider Vinegar as a part of my salad dressing, but I had NO IDEA as to how versatile and beneficial Apple Cider Vinegar is. Apart from being an ancient remedy for just about everything; I read a few blogs and articles where people used it to aid in digestion, boost the immune system, as a detox, after facials, as a toner, in the hair, among many other unmentionables (Yeast infection anyone? ).

It was just too much for me not to try it! As I mentioned, I already had the Heinz stuff in my house but all the sites recommend using organic, non processed/ pasteurized ACV and so I went and bought some Bragg ACV. It is made from organically grown apples that are not heated or pasteurized. It is left raw and unfiltered and as a result it is cloudy and has a brownish color, reminiscent of oxidizing apples. Although Bragg seems to be the most popular organic ACV on the net, there are lots of other brands to choose from. The important thing is to make sure it is organic and still has ‘the mother’ in it. (When I first heard this it sounded like crazy cult talk! THE MOTHER!? ) Apparently ‘the mother has’ numerous health benefits. More about ‘the mother’ here.

So I got my bragg on started using it as a ‘daily detox’ first thing in the morning. One table spoon of ACV to a large glass of water. I was surprised to actually notice a difference! It leaves you feeling nicely flushed out, and doesn’t taste as bad as I expected. Highly recommended!

ACV drink recipe

1 Tablespoon of Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar
600ml Drinking Water
3 teaspoons of honey

(If you really can’t stand the taste you can add it to juice instead.)

Yesterday night after my moisturizing deep conditioner I decided to try final ACV rinse in my hair. I was skeptical because really, who puts vinegar in their hair?! I washed out my DC, used my herbal essences conditioner and rinsed that out and used the ACV mix as a final rinse, followed by a dash of water. I was so pleasantly surprised! My hair was softer and felt stronger too!

ACV hair rinse recipe

2 Tablespoons of Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Litre of (preferably distilled) tepid Water

I loved the effects and will try it again, to make sure it wasn’t a fluke! I’ll also try after a facial as a toner and see what happens. All in all, Organic full-of-goodness Apple Cider Vinegar – Asilia Prime!

Mini Updates

Me procrastinating = not blogging about the various things I have tried. On with the revelations!

Mango Face Mask

This probably will make me start an “Asilia Meh” tag cos I noticed no difference. I took the skin of a mango and rubbed the inside of it all over my face, neck chest and waited 15 minutes as I did my best to not lick it off myself. After I washed it off … nothing. No extra glowing or smoothness or anything. I’m guessing this is one of the things that I have to try more than once to see results or I have to mix it with something else. I would have given it another go the next day but all the mangoes had been had for breakfast so I guess it will wait until the next time I go grocery shopping.

Pineapple and Honey Mask

Love! A little bit of pineapple juice and honey spread all over the skin left it feeling gloooorious. Most definitely an asilia prime. It may have something to do with the fact that I left it on for ages – I got distracted and before I knew it it had been around 40 minutes. Someone else I have wrangled to experiment things with me tried it with the juice from canned pineapples and she was impressed by the results so I’m guessing the awesome properties of the honey and pineapples shine through even with a little bit of processing. Most definitely something I would do again. Sunscreen is recommended after using pineapples on the face as the enzymes make the skin a bit sensitive so protection is required.

Oil Cleansing Method

Heres the thing – I now have a bond with castor oil that I doubt will be severed for a while. So I am absolutely behind the idea of using it on a daily basis. Problem is, the whole process is sooo labour intensive – mix the oils. Massage massage massage onto the face and other areas. Steam with warm washcloth, wipe gently then repeat that process a couple of times. Then moisturize. Doesn’t seem like a lot but sometimes its like … is there a way to shorten this process? Its too long to be done during the morning rush and at night I am so out of it the last thing I want to do is massage oils onto my face for 5 minutes and then steam a couple of times. Sometimes I just forget and other  times … you get the idea  On the upside? My skin always feels great after, which is why I try to do it a few times a week. Very labour intensive in my opinion but most definitely worth it.

Next time, henna! What to buy, why it’s awesome for your hair and what to watch out for when you buy it.

Mmmm, Grapes …

I decided to have a little spa night of my own the other day and this was the perfect time to try out using home made scrubs and masks. So I settled for what was in the fridge which was grapes and sour cream (had run out of yoghurt and couldn’t be bothered to go out and buy some more and lactic acid is lactic acid, right?) to make my face mask and to use the castor oil sugar scrub.

Grapes have tartaric acid which is used for skin exfoliation and sour cream is made by fermenting cream with lactic acid bacteria. Lactic acid is used in beauty products for the purposes of exfoliating and softening the skin. With these two combined I figured I couldn’t go wrong since both fall under AHA’s.

Since this was an impromptu thing, I didn’t have enough supplies to make my own bath salts and what not but no worries, it was still a fun time.

After using the castor oil sugar scrub and steaming my face I applied the grape and sour cream mask which I had made by mixing the two ingredients in my little blender. A few things I noted were:

1. I really need to go out and buy some gelatin/kaolin or other binding agent cos it was runny! And the bits of grape skin wouldn’t allow me to use a cotton ball to apply it properly and it’s hot this time of year. So what started out as a semi liquid mix ended up being an entity that had a life of its own running down my fingers and hands before I could get it on my face.

1. A little bit goes a long way. Since I am averse to measuring things I just threw in a handful of grapes and a big scoop of sour cream. I had a lot left over and I had to go around applying it on someone who was more interested in what it would taste like than actually sitting still and being pampered. To avoid having the bulk of it staying in the fridge I put in on my arms, legs, everywhere. Still some left over and I’ve been using it the past couple of days but I don’t know how long it will keep.

1. I used the grape and sour cream mask after I did the sugar scrub and it stung a bit. I’m wondering if I was a bit too enthusiastic with the exfoliation. Or maybe I did it in the wrong order – am I meant to first do the mask then exfoliate?  Is this just another case of me having to suffer for beauty’s sake? Asilia bots, help!

Final conclusion? Grape + sour cream mask = Asilia Prime! Despite the runny consistency and the grape skin that just would not blend my skin is feeling fantastic. I have been using the left overs the past few days* and I have had two people tell me I’m glowing. My t-zone area was less oily too and that’s always a good thing as sometimes the shine on my nose surpasses that of my nose ring.

Next on my list to experiment with: mangoes! I’m going through all the contents of my fridge and pantry and seeing what I can do with them.

*Masks that one buys from the store says that you use them once a week for a reason – the concentration of ingredients is high and over use could result in stressing/damaging your skin. One made at home from fruits is relatively safe to use on a more regular basis since it’s gentler on your skin, though it may take a few applications to see results.

Smooches!

I don’t usually wear anything fabulous on my lips…I have tried countless lipstick shades but I always feel so silly, I end up wiping the stuff off two seconds after I put it on – the most I do is a lip-gloss…sometimes a tinted lip-gloss even!!   But living way up North where the winters are oh so cruel, I have to put some effort into taking care of my lips.  So lipbalm lipbalm lipbalm!!  I was using the Himalaya lip balm, but sadly it got finished!  Since nobody in this place seems to know about Himalaya products, I had to get the next best thing.  So now I’m using the bodyshop Vitamin E lipbalm. I seem to like it and so do my lips.  Himalaya was good as well, but sometimes it felt like it didn’t “soak” in, instead sort of felt like just a layer of something on the top of my lips.  But the Bodyshop one is good – soaks in and everything – just doesn’t smell of edible fruits of vanilla – I guess I’m growing up!  So apart from that, sometimes my lips get all peely and just ugly looking and so I lather on some vaseline, get my old trusty toothbrush that I also use to brush my eye brows and just lightly brush my lips until most of the peeling is gone.  After which I lather on some Bepanthen.  Now I don’t know, but I havn’t seen Bepanthen in too many countries, or maybe its because I don’t have a baby and so wouldn’t know.  See Bepanthen is used for baby’s bum bums.  To help heal nappy rash and it contains lots of vitamin B5.  It’s truly one of the greatest products I know.  It aids healing of almost anything – I put it on those zits that just pop up at that time of the month and is kinda raw, I put it on cuts, grazes and it just heals everything like magic!!  It’s fabulous!  So after my brushing I put a generous layer on my lips and let it just soak in nicely.  It’s ok for lips because mothers can use it while they breastfeed as well – so it’s safe.  Also on those days when the wind and the cold have thoroughly abused my lips, I lather some on and voila!!  Apart from that, and I must confess I havn’t been too good with this recently but I will get back into once winter kicks in – good old nivea creme!  Like the type in the blue round tin container.  Right before bed, put a generous amount over your lips and lights out – wake up to nice supple lips!  So Bepanthen and Nivea creme – Asilia Primes!

Feedback on jmmk’s castor oil face scrub…

So in a bid to try out the wonder castor oil that jmmk posted here , I finally  found castor oil…with the help of google translate and some helpful pharmacists…woop woop…so excited that I came straight home to try it out!  So I didn’t do a scrub…I just did a cleanse.  As much as I was a little worried about the whole oil all over my face as a cleanser….I put on my brave face and went for it.   So I put some castor oil, some EVOO and a couple of drops of tea tree oil.  Reasons were, I read castor oil can be a little drying…(yes even I was surprised – oil and dry don’t go too well together…) so the olive oil was my carrying oil as well as my moisturizer in the mix and the tea tree oil…well its supposed to be good for all things antibacterial, acne, anything that needs healing basically.  so I mixed it all in my palm, rubbed it between my hands and then massaged it into my face (I sorta forgot the whole neck thing – I promise to do that next time jmmk)…anyway, rub rub rub as I meditated on smooth as a baby’s bum skin.  It felt alot thicker than I actually thought it would feel and the tee trea kinda gave it a nice tingly smell.  So massage massage massage….and after…well after me singing as much as I could bear to hear myself sing renditions of random songs, I had a face cloth in hot water, wrung out the water and placed it on my face to steam away the oil.  I must confess I didn’t really feel the “you will feel the oils pull out the dirt and impurities from your pores” that everyone who does the castor oil cleansing seems to talk about, but I enjoyed the steaming hot towel and re-did it like 2 or 3 times…yes it is addictive.  – Hi my name is Kipepeo and I’m addicted to putting steaming hot face cloths on my face!  Anyway, I then wiped the oil that was still left behind mainly near my nose with the hot face cloth, let my face dry a little but not too dry and put on some of my vitamin E moisturiser.  At first it just felt like I had on a bit more oil than usual, but 10 minutes later it was glorious soft skin all through!  As I write this half an hour later I keep having to pause to feel how nice and soft it is…yes I know I should not be touching my face all the time…but I just can’t help it!!!!  It’s sooo yummy!  So woop woop…Asilia Prime!  Thanks jmmk for showing me the castor oil light!!

Product Junkie

I was supposed to have started the oil cleansing method experiment last week but the time just flew and the weekend kinda got away from me so I’m recommiting myself to it this week and see how seven days of the doing goes for my fickle skin.

One of the thingI was supposed to be doing was figuring out what skin type I really am. Usually I just tell myself it’s combination but I have never really put that much thought into it. It was off to the google to see what was going to pop up. Some suggestions didn’t help me at all, like this one – surely what’s a girl to do when for every question there is more than one answer you can choose? So I just decided to stick to take advice from all the articles I have read from magazines and settle on combination. Now I will have to hunt for some sunflower oil so I can get cleansing and see if it helps.

My confusion about my skin is probably the reason why I am a product junkie. That picture right there? It’s all the skin care stuff I could find in my bathroom and that’s just what was within reach. Lotions, oils, butters, gels, jellies … name any of them and I have a version of it stashed somewhere in both scented and unscented forms.

True story – I never bought any skin care products on my own until I left home. My mother used to do this thing where she would go into the supermarket and buy a ton of different oils and lotions (she has had people stop her and ask her if she ran a massage parlour or something) and then take them home and mix them. She would bottle up what she had made and then distribute it to the rest of the house and her sisters. The result is silky soft skin for everyone and confusion for us who left home and had to fend for ourselves in foreign countries when half the things we were used to having around were just not available.

I have tried to replicate the mixing, oh man have I tried. All attempts to do so end up in utter fail and to make it worse, there is no recipe you can follow.She keeps telling me to just add and mix things and it will turn out right but that has never been the case. Having never been able to replicate the formua or find a product that works for me I have shea butter for when my skin feels dry in the winter, some mango chocolate oil for when I feel like smelling nice, some random St. Ives product for after I have used my body scrub, vaseline for the feet (apply after giving yourself a pedicure and pop on some socks and in the morning you they will be nice and soft) aloe vera for when I’ve had too much sun … on and on the list goes.

This most definitely is an asilia crime. One, the amount of money spent tends to add up and two, I have more stuff in my bathroom and bedroom I have barely used/forgotten about for long periods of time than I care to admit.So I’m putting to a halt all purchases of lotions, oils and the like. Well, apart from sunscreen* and coconut oil which is what I use on a very regular basis. Anything else will have to be put to the test as to whether I’m just blindly adding to my collection or whether it will help me towards my desired state of asilianess. I will use what I have already until my junkie ways are gone forever or at the very least under control.

*I will do an entry on sunscreen soon but use it! Especially if you live in a place where the sun shines alot. Vitamin D requirements aside it’s important to remember that people of colour get skin cancer too – think Bob Marley.