Oh Christmas tree, of all the trees most lovely ♪♪♪

We often think of the balsam tree only as a support for our Christmas decorations and the nice scent it brings to our house during the holiday season.

But that magnificent tree has a lot more to offer once we start enquiring a bit. It helps clean the air, feeds and shelters animals and is used in construction. Its essential oil has a wide variety of properties for beauty, wellbeing and medicine as it relaxes the body while stimulating the mind.

Making your own shampoo: a healthy, inexpensive and fun choice (2)

A simple, fun, effective and affordable recipe

 

Your hair and piggy will be happy.

As promised in my last blog, here is a super simple shampoo recipe to make. Since this shampoo does not have the commercial ingredients mentioned previously, do not expect it to foam, to last as long and to leave you hair plasticky silky as regular shampoos do. It also takes more of this soap to wash your hair. By how much? It really depends on the length of your hair. After shampooing, you may wish to use Face to Grace rosemary and cloves hair rinse and lime hair revitalizer, or your regular conditioner. Your hair and your live will love it for a long, long time!

And to start the fun, why not put on the Hair, Shampoo or Black Shampoo CD or anything that sets you in the mood.

Making your own shampoo: a healthy, inexpensive and fun choice (1)

Although buying ready made shampoo is extremely convenient, regular commercial shampoos are definitely a health hazard. Buying organic shampoos is certainly an improvement, but may not necessarily remove all the risks and they are much more expensive. Making your own is safe, affordable, simple and fun.

What is in shampoos these days?
Actually, unless you know about chemistry, chances are you don’t know. Companies use many synthetic chemicals in their shampoos, most of them known carcinogens, or agents that become carcinogenic when mixed with others, or that allow two or more ingredients to bind and become carcinogenic compounds. So here are some words to recognize.

Not interested in all the chemistry information below? Skip to Part 2 of this blog for simple and inexpensive Face to Grace shampoo and hair rinse recipes. See how much fun it is to make it yourself.

Balance your skin's Vata element this fall

Your skin started to feel dryer and tighter again?

The cool breeze and chilly nights have now chased away the hot, humid summer that kept your skin and nails moist and gave more volume to your hair. Some of you may even have noticed that the skin on your hands, face and feet is already dryer than just a few weeks back. This is normal as fall, the Vata season, is dominated by the air element, which is light, cool, moving and drying. And if you have a Vata dosha, or air constitution in Ayurvedic terms, you are even more likely to feel the increased dryness. It won't be very long either before those with a Pitta constitution will also feel dryer. Those with a kapha or oily skin may not experience this at all, but if they do, they are more likely to experience it later when the winter starts settling.

Summer affects your skin? Take charge with delicious natural recipes!

Most people love summer and soaking in the sun, happy to show up at the office with gorgeous tans in contrasting white shirts, skirts or dresses. Others will demonstrate their painful kinship with the lobster family.

But why is it that some people can bear the rays with apparently little damage and others not? There are many factors, including the level of melatonin in the skin, heredity and good preparation.

Know yourself, know your skin

Ayurveda has a very simple way to analyze the human body. It looks at the balance of the five elements that make up the universe (space, air, fire, water and earth) and how they interact. From that perspective, taking care of the skin becomes quite easy, simple and enjoyable.