Category Archives: Natural Ingredients

Spring Booty Camp Day SEVEN: DIY (Do It Yourself) Spa Day Recipes

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I want you all to rest today. Relax. This is NOT a “cheat day”. We’re not going to have any of those for the 30 Challenge. And, let’s face it, gang, I’ve been pretty loose with the food guidelines. Right?

Please, read through everything before you begin your spa day, to make sure you have everything ready.  Bathe or shower (this would be a nice day for a soak in the tub). Cleanse your face, wash your hair and apply your Phat Head Creamy Hot Oil, High On Coconut or Restorative Deep Conditioner. If you don’t any of these, add one beaten egg + 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil to your daily conditioner and mix it together with a clean wire whisk: Pour the conditioner into a bowl, only as much as you’ll need for one treatment. If you have fine or limp hair, please omit the olive oil. Put a conditioning cap (thin shower cap). Wipe your face with toner and steam your pores, using some of your Pore Me Tres Bag or an opened bag of chamomile or peppermint tea. Click here for directions on facial steaming.(It’s at the bottom, with the Spa Ritual)

While your skin is still damp, apply one of my Pore Me masques (NOT the Pumpkin AHA one: We’ll be leaving the masque on for quite some time and that one is too strong to leave on for such a long period). If you don’t have one of my masques use:

  • Plain yogurt + a squeeze of fresh lemon + egg yolk + honey (good for dry or mature skin)
  • Ground oatmeal + honey + egg white + honey (general purpose)
  • Small amount of baking soda + ground oatmeal + 1 crushed aspirin + egg white (oily acne prone).

Now, for your pedicure you will need The Good Foot Soak, The Good Foot Dead Sea Salt Scrub, The Good Foot Balm, Handy Job Cutie On Call Cuticle Butter, a basin large and deep enough for you to soak your feet in, a large bath towel, 2 small hand towels (1 damp), nail file, clippers, pumice stone, orange stick (to push cuticles back), nail polish remover (if needed) and a pair of cotton socks or flip flops.

If you don’t have the Good Foot products: ½ cup of Epsom salts, 1 orange , 1 lemon, about 1 tablespoon of olive oil, a rich hand/foot cream and a small plate.

If you’re using a Phat Head Deep Conditioning Treatment or plain olive oil as a hot oil treatment, heat up and put on your Phat Head Cordless Heat Cap. If you’re using egg yolks mixed in with your conditioner, wrap a head scarf/bandana around your head, tightly, then put on a winter cap (seriously) and then wrap a large towel around your head, tightly. This will be enough heat for the cuticles on the hair to open but not enough heat to start cooking the eggs.

Get any reading material you’re going to want, beverages, remote control, etc. Spread the large towel out on the floor. Remove your nail polish, clip your toes nails and file them (use the towel to catch the clippings, etc). Now, put your basin on top of the towel and fill it with very warm water. Add 1 tablespoon of The Good Foot Soak or your Epsom salts to the water. Peel the lemon and orange into fairly thick strips, place the strips into the water. Cut both lemon and orange in half and squeeze the juice into the water. Don’t discard them yet: Put them on the plate. Soak your feet. Chill. Relax. Be calm. Reflect.

After your foot soak, rub your heels with the halves of the lemon and then do the same with the orange. The naturally occurring alpha hydroxy acids will help loosen up the dead skin. If you used the Good Foot soak, you can skip this step, as it already has an alpha hydroxy acid (citric acid) in it.

Slough of the dead skin on your feet with the Good Foot scrub or your pumice stone. You can also use table sugar and a little olive oil. Swish your feet back in the foot bath to rinse off the dead skin, pat them dry with one of the hand towels and then wipe them with the damp hand towel. Give your feet a massage with your foot balm or cream. At this point, if you’re wearing a heat cap, take it off and let your hair cool down. Put some cuticle butter or olive oil on your cuticles and gently push them back with your orange stick. Put on your socks or flip flops.

If you used the heat cap and Phat Head Conditioner, rinse your hair in the sink with very, very cool water. If you used the DIY recipe, rinse your hair with warm water for at least 3 minutes and then rinse it with lukewarm water, followed by a vinegar rinse: Fill a large 2 quart bowl with tepid water and add the vinegar and put it near the sink before you begin rinsing your hair. After the vinegar rinse, rinse once more with cool, cool water. Remove the masque from your face by splashing it with warm water several times… even though it will probably be off after you’ve rinsed your hair.

Tone your skin once more, put on your usual facial serum, sunscreen and eye crème. Apply a leave in treatment to your hair and enjoy the rest of the day! I hope it’s a lovely one! Tomorrow, we work OUT!!!

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Shea Butter…

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Natural Shea Butter

This is a great picture of natural shea butter that I found on flickr.   The photographer writes:  “African Shea Butter … provides all the essential vitamins needed to make skin look and feel smoother, softer and most importantly, healthier.  Its therapeutic properties protect skin from wind, cold, sun and it helps heal wounds faster.  Shea Butter stimulates cellular activity, fights the effects of aging and repairs rough, damaged skin.”

Unrefined virgin shea butter is extracted naturally from the fruit of the Karite tree. Traditional extraction is done in small villages throughout Western Africa. The Karite tree blooms for two months in the summer and the nut of the fruit is cracked open, crushed and boiled, thereby releasing the shea butter.

Shea butter is readily incorporated into body butters and lotions. The difference between the two is that lotions use water as a filler in the whipping process. By adding water, a manufacturer must prevent the possibility of bacteria from growing in the solution and as a result, it is common to rely on additional chemical preservatives to maintain the lotion. In contrast, shea butter can be mixed with essential oils and other nut butters to create a whipped or creamy consistency. The result is a better quality product containing a much higher organic content. Before purchasing a product, read the ingredients list to see exactly what is in the mix.

There are various grades of butter depending on its purity. The cheaper and lesser grade variety is mixed with chemicals and bleaches. In its unrefined state, shea butter has a creamy color and a unique nutty scent. It is this distinctive odor that certain manufacturers attempt to wash away or masque with chemical deodorizers. Unfortunately this also reduces its natural, healing properties. For this reason, it is important to buy products that are made from completely raw, unprocessed and unrefined shea butter. If unsure, the scent itself can be a good indication of its quality.

Whether applied as a thick cream or whipped into a fluffy consistency, a little can go a long way. It easily melts onto the skin where it is readily absorbed. For this reason, it is best used to treat dry skin. As long as the butter is processed naturally and incorporated in its unrefined state, the end product can deliver many essential vitamins to the skin. Vitamins A, E, and F in particular can assist in the skin’s healing process and help relieve the signs of aging and wrinkles. Because it is so soothing, whipped or creamy shea butter is used to alleviate itchy skin and to lessen the affects of sun exposure.

If you have a passion for skin care and how naturally derived, plant based ingredients can nourish, protect and rejuvenate your body, please visit the Silk Sheets Collection of essential body moisturizers. They are a unique blend of pure, natural and organic ingredients carefully chosen for their ability to hydrate and retain moisture in the skin. They contain absolutely NO WATER OR PETROLEUM.