Vaginal Health Tips

Vaginal health is an important topic for many people, but you’d be surprised how misinformed people are.

I personally feel this comes from the stigmas imposed on our bodies by society, and the internalized guilt associated with them.

I work in an environment where people tell me about their bodies, and I can’t believe how many people apologize for sharing details with me (especially females).

Everyone has a body, and everyone’s body has functions necessary for survival. It isn’t gross, it isn’t dirty, and it isn’t inappropriate.

Your body is your temple, and should be respected, not looked upon with guilt or shame.

Love your body, it is extraordinary.

Now that my little rant is over, let’s move on to some tips on surviving with a vagina by the ever-amazing Laci Green.

In this lovely video she shares some tips for dealing with yeast infections, periods, and urinary tract infections. They use holistic and natural methods, and are effective.

The only amendment I would make is to be somewhat cautious with tea tree oil as it can irritate the skin in those with sensitivities. It is generally safe for most people to apply undiluted, but definitely test it on a small patch of skin before using it neat.

Enjoy these tips when things get a little out of sorts, and most of all love your bodies.

Click here for more videos on sex, body health, feminism and many other topics by Laci Green.

Heatless Curls

This lovely tutorial by Michelle Phan is a real winner.

Curling your hair with strips of old cloth saves electricity, helps keep plastics out of our homes and is a form of direct recycling.

It also doesn’t damage your hair like curling irons and blow-dryers can.

Be a more beautiful you, and help save our planet.

Enjoy and Good Luck.

For more videos by Michelle click here.

Creating Herbal Shampoo at Home

Creating your own shampoo not only allows you to keep harmful chemicals out of your hair, but lets you customize it to suit your needs.

It is a very simple process, and the recipe listed below has a decent yield.

Half an hour out of a lazy Sunday can provide you with up to 2 months worth of shampoo! Definitely give it a try, and most of all have fun with it!

Basic Shampoo Formula

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup (50 ml) fresh herbs of choice, or 2 tablespoons (30 ml) dried herbs
• 1 cup (250 ml) spring water (distilled works fine)
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) liquid castile soap (I recommend Dr. Bronner’s)
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) almond or apricot kernel oil
• 5 drops essential oil of choice

To make:

1. Place herbs in a clean 10-ounce (284 g) glass jar with a lid.
2. Boil the water and pour over the herbs.
3. Cover and let steep for 10-20 minutes.
4. Strain the liquid from the herbs into a bowl.
5. Add the liquid castile soap and almond or apricot oil and mix thoroughly.
6. Scent with essential oil and mix again.
7. Bottle in a plastic container with a spout or a clean reused shampoo bottle.

Yield: Approximately 24 shampoos

Choose herbs for your shampoo that will enhance your hair color and texture, and that address special needs that you may have.

You can mix and match herbs from the following lists to develop an individualized combination that is best for your hair.

Ingredients for Hair Type

Dry: Avocado, Comfrey Root, Elder Flowers, Orange Blossoms
Normal: Dandelion, Horsetail, Clover
Oily: Watercress, Strawberry Leaf, White Willow Bark, Lemongrass

Ingredients for Special Conditions

To Encourage Shine: Raspberry, Nettle, Quassia Bark
To Boost Manageability: Cherry Bark
To Create Softness: Cherry Bark, Burdock Root, Marjoram
To Control Dandruff: White Willow Bark, Birch Bark, Comfrey, Nettle, Peppermint
To Encourage Growth: St. John’s Wort, Nettle, Sage, Basil, Rosemary, Onion

Ingredients to Enhance the Color of your Hair

Blond: Chamomile, Calendula, Lemon Peel, Mullein Flowers
Brunette: Sage, Lavender, Cinnamon, Cloves, Rosemary
Red: Henna, Calendula, Red Hibiscus, Cinnamon, Beets
Darkest: Black Malva, Indigo, Lavender, Sage

Recipe and Herbal Recommendations adapted from:

Herbal Treatments for Healthy Hair by Gretta Breedlove

All images from Google.com

Cucumber Eye Pads

Hello everyone! Once again, sorry for the inactivity lately. I’m hoping to get back to my normal posting schedule very soon, and I want to thank all of you who have stood by me; and those of you who have just started following. It means so much to me to be able to share with you all!

This video is from one of my favorite people on YouTube. I say that a lot don’t I? I honestly can’t help myself, there are so many wonderful people who make videos.

Michelle Phan was one of the original make-up gurus, and is probably the most well known. She has enjoyed great success, and never disappoints.

Her tutorial for cucumber eye pads is one I enjoy pretty often. I don’t sleep as much as I need too, and I often have dark circles under my eyes. As such I need a little help to get rid of them.

Some other eye pads I would highly recommend can be made just as easily, and can help out with a multitude of problems.

• Chamomile Tea: Helps soothe tired eyes
• Green Tea: Helps tighten the skin around the eyes and reduces puffiness
• Ginger Tea: Reduces swelling and helps regulate blood flow to help alleviate blood shot eyes
• Carrot Juice: Wonderful treatment for skin anywhere, but especially helps the eyes look fresh and rested
• Lettuce Juice: Reduces puffiness and darkness, and are especially soothing at the end of a long day

One vital tip when using these eye pads is to keep your eyes shut tightly. These teas and juices can easily irritate the eyes, so use caution when applying them.

It is also good to have a towel nearby to dry your eyes before opening them.

Enjoy this lovely tip, and good luck.

Check out more of Michelle’s videos here. She has wonderful make up tutorials and lots of natural skin care tips.

Beauty from Your Bathtub

The bathtub can be one of your best friends when it comes to relaxation, healing, and even beauty. Essential oils can be added to the water to calm and revitalize you, various moisturizers can be added to help repair tired skin, and salts help to relax muscles and pull toxins from our overworked bodies.

The recipes that follow are special treats for the skin and can also help to calm a frazzled mind and relax a tense body. Simply add these wonderful treatments to your bath, sit back, breathe deeply, and enjoy.

Herbal Bath Sachet

This simple recipe does wonders for skin of all types, but it especially helps troubled skin to recover. Use it when your skin isn’t feeling its best.

Ingredients:
2 bags of unflavored green tea
½ cup Lavender flowers (dried preferred)
½ cup Chamomile flowers (dried preferred)

Directions: Simply add the herbs  to a sachet or wash cloth and tie it closed. The tea bags can be opened and poured into the fabric or they can be left as is. Once it is completed, add it to your bath water and relax.

Milk Baths

It is important to note here that only whole milk will do. The reasoning behind this is dairy fats help hydrate your skin. If there is little to no dairy fat in your milk, your skin won’t be able to absorb any.

Now there are three kinds of milk I recommend and all can be used in the recipes below:

Whole Milk– Whole milk provides many nourishing vitamins and minerals as well as a large supply of hydrating dairy fats. It also contains lactic acid which can help to gently exfoliate the skin.

Butter Milk– Butter milk has the same properties as whole milk, but it also has a higher acid content. It is best if the skin needs to be thoroughly exfoliated.

Goat’s Milk– By far the best option. It has a higher nutritional value than cow’s milk, and a beneficial blend of complex acids makes it the most suitable to moisturize and exfoliate. The only drawback is it’s slight pungent odor. This can easily be covered up however with essential oils.

In addition to using fresh milk, you can find all of these in a powdered form which is best if you want to make up large batches. Simply halve the amount of powder that you would use compared to fresh milk. Likewise if the recipe calls for powder simply double the amount of fresh.

Milk and Honey Bath

Ingredients:
2 cups Milk
½ cup Honey (powdered if you are making large batches to use for later)
¼ cup Rolled Oats (in a sachet or wash cloth)

Directions: Simply add the ingredients to the bath, or if you are making some for later and using powdered ingredients use about a half cup of the mixture per bath.

Hot Coco Bath

Ingredients:
3 cups Milk Powder
1 ½ cups Cocoa Powder
2 cups Corn Starch

Directions: Whisk all of the ingredients together and store in an airtight container. Use ½ cup per bath for a luxurious treat.

All images were found on Google.com

The Harem Special

One of the most luxurious and sensual body preparations comes to us from the East where, reputedly, it was used when women in the harem were prepared for the sultan’s pleasure. It removes dead skin cells and leaves the skin glowing, fragrant, and soft as silk.

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon ground, dried citrus peel
• 3 teaspoons ground almonds
• 2 teaspoons oatmeal
• 1 pinch clove powder
• 1 teaspoon crushed, dried rose petals
• 1 pinch nutmeg powder
• 2 tablespoons almond oil
• 2 drops Neroli oil
• 2 drops Patchouli oil

Blend all the ingredients together until you have a paste. Add more almond oil if you feel it needs it. Have a bath, dry yourself off, and standing in the bath, roll the mixture all over your body. Massage into very dry areas of skin.

The idea is to cover the skin with a very fine layer, which is why you roll the paste over the body. (This is a technique we don’t know or use very much in the West but which is employed, for example, in Morocco when making very thin pasty. The ball of dough is slapped on to a hot place so that just the thinnest layer of dough is left on its surface. )

By the time you have finished rolling the paste all over your body you’ll be ready to go back to the part of the body you started with and brush the fine dust off. Gently wipe any remaining areas of paste with a dry washcloth.

This wonderful recipes is from The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy by Valerie Ann Worwood

All images were pulled from Google.com