RECIPES: QUICK FIRST AID TIPS FOR PIMPLES AND ECZEMA

Cinnamon has great disinfecting properties.

Pimples can go quickly when you apply a paste of honey and cinnamon directly on it to dry it before you go to bed. A bit sticky but fragrant and efficient. Mix a good pinch of cinnamon powder in 1/4 tsp of honey. You'll likely have some left over and it can be kept for a week or more. You have pimples every month with you moon cycle? You may wish to macerate broken pieces of

RECIPE: LEMON VERBENA CLEANSING TEA

Although this fragrant recipe will suit all skin types, Kapha ladies and gents will enjoy it most. If you want to drink the tea, simply double the recipe. Great to improve digestion, which will also benefit your skin.

Ingredients:

5 leaves of lemon verbena

3 lavender stems with flowers

3 leaves of lemon balm

1 litre of water

Method:

• Make a tea with the following 3 fresh or dried herbs. 
• Let it steep for 11 minutes
• Let the tea cool off a bit
• When temperature is appropriate for your skin (warm enough to open the pores) soak 2 face cloths in the mixture.
• Quickly fold both facecloths in triangle shape, place first one tip up from nose to forehead, the second one tip down from under the nose to the chin.
• Make sure all areas of the face are covered.
• Add a small towel on top of everything if breathing is not an issue.
• Relax for 11 minutes.
• By then, the rest of your herb tea will have cooled off. Use it for a final rinse.
• OPTIONAL: Spray lavender hydrosol as a toner. If the day is cool, use ginger hydrosol instead.

HOT OFF THE PRESS: THE BOOK OF BEAUTY

It sometimes takes a long time to make a dream come true. This week, mine finally arrived in four boxes. My first official publication, The Book of Beauty: Making Skin Care Products with Aromatherapy and Ayurveda. When I was six years old, my mother bought me my first brand new book, Martine à la mer. Right there and then, I knew I wanted to become an author. I spent most of my career writing as a reporter, as a communications officer or in some other capacity but it did not meet this urge deep within. Now this one did and propelled me to start another one.

The Book of Beauty summarizes everything I learned over the past 15 years about making skin care products. I share with readers the basics of Ayurveda as it relates to skin types and provide a test that allows you to assess your own and other people's dosha or constitution with photos that support the teachings.