Strawberry Hand and Foot Exfoliant

Strawberries are amazing...not only are they delicious (especially when dipped in chocolate..yummy!) but also contain several polyphenols that are jam packed with high levels of antioxidants. Strawberries contain a natural fruit acid which helps in exfoliation. I have yet to meet anyone who does not love strawberries (my favourite fruit!). With high levels of Vitamin C they are popular for their antioxidant potency but I would say are an "undercover" ingredient when it comes to homemade beauty recipes--you barely ever hear of them being used in homemade beauty receipes. Since it's summer now, it's also the time of open toe high heels so why not give this exfoliant a try on your tired, aching feet to make them smooth, refresed and not to mention smell great? Furthermore, our we put our hands through so much abuse, so I tried the recipe on both my hands and feet and the refreshing and soothing benefits were amazing. I'll admit though, it was very hard to make this beauty receipe without taking a few bites of the main ingredient (which is another natural and organic way to add some colour to one's lips--organic red lipstick! lol). This is no doubt one of my favourite recipes!

Strawberry Hand and Foot Exfoliant
8-10 strawberries
2 tablespoons of apriot oil (I used olive oil instead)
1 teaspoon of coarse salt (I used Sea Salt but you can also use Kosher Salt)

Before making this receipe, I'd highly recommend to use this when you know you will not be leaving the house for some time. Strawberries to have a tendency to stain (nothing permanent, just temporarily), so I often do use this receipe on my Sundays when I'm going to be relaxing at home all day or when I'm having a low-key Friday night and I know I am not going out for the evening. The key to stay away from any staining is not to keep the receipe on your hands and feet for too long. Put it on, enjoy it and then rinse it off. To begin, I put all the strawberries into a bowl and mash them up (not too pureed but just to a nice pulp). I then add the olive oil (you can use apriot oil if you prefer but I like olive oil and it's easier to find in the kitchen than apriot oil which I would have to go out and make a special purchase of) and then finally the coarse salt (I like using Sea Salt but any type of coarse salt is acceptable). I mix all the ingredients together and then place the mixture on my feet first, massage for a few minutes and then rinse off with cold water (I find it helps my aching feet after a long week of wearing high heels! poor toes!). I then place the mixture on my hands, massage and rinse off with cold water.

Banana Avocado Nourishing Facial Mask

Bananas are a power fruit, did you know one banana provides enough energy to power a 45-minute cardio workout? Pretty neat eh? Loaded with nutrients, vitamins and minerals bananas are a vital part of homemade beauty recipes, especially for facial masks, as they are cleansers and moisturizers. Use the following for a face mask that is nourishing and works great as an exfoliate. I especially like to make this mask during times when I feel like I need some extra energy, like before the start of my work week.

Banana Avocado Nourishing Facial Mask

1/2 ripe banana
1/2 avocado
2 tablespoons of yogourt (try to use full fat if possible)
1 teaspoon of olive oil

Mash up the ripe banana, avocado, yogourt and olive oil together. I like to use a blender on a low setting so that it doesn't become too runny but you want to make it into a soft pulp. Apply to a freshly cleansed face and leave it on for about 15 minutes. Wash off with lukewarm water and pat dry.
While relaxing with my face mask on I use a "cool" trick (sorry I couldn't resist the play on words) to help my eyes after a tired day. Before mixing your ingredients for your mask, place two metal spoons into the freezer so that they are cold. When waiting for your 15 minutes to be up, take the spoons out of the freezer and place them on your eyes. The coolness will reduce any swelling or puffyness and is a wonderful way to relax and revive yourself.

How to Prevent Sun Damage

Summertime is pretty much here and along with everyone is looking forward to adding some colour to their skin that has been paled out by winter. But before you jump into your bikini and hit the beach for a major tanning session, it's important to protect your most important asset-your skin. We've often heard of the health benefits attached to cooking with extra virgin olive oil but there's another major benefit of this amazing oil--prevention of skin cancer. Across many cultures and countries, olive oil is known to be a miracle food. Popular for its endless healing powers (my sister just recently had a baby and the midwife recommended to massage her with olive oil as a solution to her peeling skin), olive oil is a staple in organic beauty and should be available in every natural beauties' house. As we head into summertime with lots of sun exposure, it's so important to protect your skin now against the long term damages of UV rays and to keep your skin beautiful and youthful in the future. As well all know, too much sun exposure can lead to unattractive results--premature wrinkles, unattractive sun spots and can even be fatal with cancer. Although we all like a little glow to our skin (I'll admit I'm guilty of tanning at times too!), the following recipe can lessen the harm that the sun causes to your most important beauty tool--your skin!

Homemade and Organic Beauty Secret-How to Prevent Sun Damage

Apply extra virgin olive oil to your skin before and after exposure to the sun. The type of olive oil you decide to use is up to you. I have a friend who grew up in Greece and swears by the Costco Melle/Kirkland brand of olive oil which is a good econ option for about $14+. If you're looking for a more luxe brand, I'd recommend Silver Leaf which is about $21 for a large bottle (and can be purchased at The Big Carrot located at 348 Danforth Avenue in Toronto). I usually oil myself up and dry up as much as possible before I slather on my sunblock (and yes, there is a difference between suntanning oil and sunblock, make sure you use sunblock with minimum SPF of 30). Also, I find it a lot easier to put the olive oil in a mister spray bottle (often used to spray cooking pans with to minimize the oil usage) instead of tugging along a glass bottle of the oil to the beach for application after sun exposure. These handy bottles can be purchased from any kitchen/cooking store such as Kitchen Stuff Plus for about $12. Remember, if you're unable to put on sunblock, the least you should be doing is applying olive oil in order to prevent some serious sun damage to that beautiful skin.