Selasa, 14 Juli 2009

12 Natural Beauty Tips for Summer



Peppermint Tea Toner

Next time you're brewing a cup of peppermint tea, be sure to make a little extra because you can use it as an ultra cooling spray and toner. Once the tea has cooled, pour it into a spray / spritz bottle, refrigerate and then spritz when and as you need throughout your day. The perfect way to stay refreshed during summer!



Organic Peppermint tea bags available from Clipper Teas or try loose leaf Organic Peppermint Tea from £4.75 - Steenbergs Organic




Treat the Tresses

Overexposure to the sun can leave your hair dry and brittle, so summer is definitely the time to treat the tresses with moisturising oils and hair masks. Try massaging a small amount of either coconut oil or jojoba oil into the scalp and hair and leave for 30 minutes or so before you shampoo out.

For another fuss free way to feed your hair, try mashing one banana with two tablespoons of olive oil and leave for 30 minutes before rinsing out. Or try the Coconut Cream Rinse described by Barbara Close in The Spa Deck. You will need coconut milk, honey and a fresh vanilla bean (fresh grated coconut meat is also recommended but there's no way I'll get that together).





No Sweaty Bettys

Many aluminium eschewing girls get slightly nervous during the summer months, worrying that their natural deodorant won't carry them through a hot summer's day sufficiently. I have found the best natural deodorant to be Weleda's Citrus Deodorant which is the perfect aroma for summer and also doubles as a lovely body spray (I even read Kate Hudson used Weleda's rose spray deodorant as a hair spray but I haven't tried doing this yet). If you want to go a step further towards natural beauty, you could try using bicarbonate of soda or lemon slices (apparently some Mediterranean women do this). I have tried both and found the bicarb soda to be particularly effective.




Grapefruit Body Spray

I noticed the other day that Origins do a Grapefruit body mist that sounded quite sublime for this time of year, but I wonder if an organic and pure version of this exists? Perhaps a spritz bottle, distilled water and some organic grapefruit essential oil could achieve similar results? I haven't tried it yet but I imagine a spritz of grapefruit mist now and then throughout a hot and humid day, would be quite blissful! Grapefruit Essential Oil available at Akamuti for £2.50.




Summer Make Up
A girl's beauty kit needs to be reviewed during summer to accommodate the sheen, shine and grime that comes from the summer weather. Firstly, switch heavy foundations for tinted moisturisers. There are some incredible natural tinted moisturisers available (3 Great Natural Tinted Moisturisers Reviewed) but if you don't want to spend money on those, why not try 'diluting' your foundation by mixing it with a moisturiser you are already using. This is an easy and cost effective way to recreate the same light but effective coverage a tinted moisturiser provides. Suki Tinted Active Moisturiser available at Your Natural Beauty Store for £24.99


Switch powdered blushes for cream based ones. Suki Color Pure Cream Stain is a fantastic little pot to carry with you as it adds a soft and flattering dab of colour to the cheeks and lips. Available at Your Natural Beauty Store for £21.49





Tan with Tea

Apparently you can tan your skin with tea. You can use black tea and either wring the tea bag out before swiping over the body (as recommended by Daily Candy) or pour black tea into a spritz bottle for a truly natural spray tan. I also read in Healthy and Organic Living magazine that taking a rooibos tea bath is another way to tan the skin and get a healthy glow. Organic Rooibos Tea, from Clipper Teas or Steenbergs Organic, from £2.65




Foot Soak

Green girls may not have an organic or natural nail salon in their city and therefore cannot enjoy the luxury of getting an organic pedicure. You can try and replicate the experience at home though by using a small tub and filling it with water, essential oils like peppermint, salt to detoxify and even some chopped cucumbers and orange and lemon slices! Play a little Colbie Caillat and let the stresses of the day evaporate away. To finish off the natural home pedicure experience, exfoliate the feet with an olive oil and salt scrub and then apply a moisturiser such as shea butter or coconut oil.





Get Your Bali On

For girls who have spent the day in the sun or just desire a Balinese twinged treat for dry skin, try Badger Balm's Bali Balm. It contains cocoa and shea butters, jojoba and olive oils with essential oils of ylang ylang, lime, lavender and sweet orange. Available at
Badger Balm for $10 or So Organic for £4.39



Buff that Bod

Shorter skirts, shorts, dresses and sleeveless tops require a lot more skin to be revealed during summer, so it's a good idea to exfoliate your body to keep your skin looking its best. To save money on expensive body exfoliants and scrubs, try making your own concoctions at home. Here a few ideas:
  • ground rice and coconut milk
  • brown sugar and sweet almond oil
  • salt, olive oil and your favourite organic essential oil

Citrus Body Oil
Try making your own lush body oil at home with a base of either sweet almond, jojoba or sesame oil and then add your favourite summer soaked essential oils such as lemon, lime, mandarin, neroli, orange or bergamot. If you can't vacation in beautiful Mediterranean locations such as Sicily and Capri, at least you can capture the scent of a sizzling island.



Sweet Feet

Your feet need extra care during summer. They've spent winter and spring hidden away in thick socks and boots and then all of a sudden they are thrust into the world and poked into skimpy, intricate, strappy sandals! No wonder they rebel and give you blisters and iffy looking heels. Try to lather the feet with nourishing moisturisers such as shea butter or coconut oil each night and you should have pretty tootsies in no time!


Beach Babe Hair
If you want beach tussled waves that usually come courtesy of daily swims in the ocean and good genetics, you could try John Masters Organics Sea Mist Salt Spray with Lavender. It contains only three ingredients: water, sea salt and organic lavender oil. I'm going to try and make a version of this at home and hope my hair looks Copacabana ready. Speaking of Brazil, I read a hair tip from Brazilian supermodel, Gisele Bunchen that needs to be shared. She recommended flipping your hair over your head and then gently holding the ends of the hair and shaking it from side to side before flipping the hair back. It sounds too simple to be true, but I've tried it and amazingly it does give your hair a more full, tousled and beach wavey look!
Try it and see what you think.


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