The most basic thing you can do is take some item from your kitchen, mush it up, grind it up, mix it with water, mix it with oil ... something. And then smear it on your face and enjoy!
So here's a list of things you can use straight out of your kitchen w/out too much fuss and muss.
Yogurt - for oily skin and helps clear up mild acne
Egg white - tightens pores, soothes, minimizes redness
Banana - fruit acids help slough dead skin cells, lots of B vitamin, good for wrinkles
Avocado - extremely moisturizing
Cucumber - very astringent, good for oily patches, tightens pores. Also good by the slice for puffy eyes.
Honey - anti inflammatory, soothing
Dried milk powder - soothing, moisturizing (mix with a little distilled water)
Oats/oatmeal - soothing, exfoliating, moisturizing (mix with a little distilled water)
Vitamin E oil - regenerates skin cells, helps minimize scarring,
Avocado oil - moisturizing w/out being oily or greasy
Olive oil - very rich moisturizer, might be a little oily for some people
(not a kitchen item, but regular uncoated asprin is nothing more than salicylic acid and is great for pimples - just crush and mix with a little water and apply to a pimple - it'll dry right up)
You can combine these things as well: Take any of the above and mix them to work on whatever skin issues you want to fix. Oatmeal makes a great base for a mask, if you grind it in a food processor or blender. Take the oat flour/powder and mix it with enough of whatever other ingredient to make a paste and leave it on your face until it's dryish. Then rinse off with warm water.
The ones I use most are egg white and honey, oats and banana, and oats and water with a bit of vitamin e oil.
There's also some basic kitchen type stuff you can apply to your hair:
Vinegar - shine, detangle, restore ph, use as a rinse after shampooing (cider vinegar brings out the shine more in brown hair)
Baking soda water - removes buildup, rinse after shampooing
Egg yolk - moisturize, put on hair before washing and leave for 5ish mins, rinse with COOL water
Olive oil - moisturize, apply to ends only, not scalp and leave for anywhere from 30 mins to overnight.
Any of the above can work for your body as well - I've done an oatmeal mask on my back (when I had someone to help apply it!
) and I've used the banana and oatmeal thing on my arms, since I have keratosis pilaris (those clear/whitish hard bumps).
You can also make a great exfoliating scrub with sugar. I don't like to use it on my face because it's a bit harsh. Mix white or brown sugar with any type of oil and use it as a scrub. Add in some ground oats for different levels of exfoliating and the soothing qualities of oats. Rinse well.
Ok, that's the easy kitchen stuff. I'll dig up the herb stuff next ...
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Natural Skin Care Part 1 - Kitchen Stuff
