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Monday, July 16, 2012

A Cleanser fit for a Queen

Cleopatra is notorious for her milk bathes and kohl eyeliner. The Pharaoh(ess) indulged in a natural beauty regime (I meant routine but I love this witty mistake) that included a large variety of herbs, plants, and raw ingredients including aloe vera, which is our star ingredient today. Queen Nefertiti is also known for using aloe vera to help promote healthy skin.
Aloe Vera is anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, and soothing. It can help prevent scars and contains salicylic acid which helps combat acne. It also helps to improve the elasticity of skin, preventing wrinkles.

This aloe vera cleanser is indeed fit for a Queen! Something about creating my own beauty products makes me feel like royalty myself.



This recipe fills a 4 oz container. I usually recommend using glass bottles and jars but because we have ours in the shower (and we have a little one who sometimes uses that shower), we've put it in a "safe" plastic bottle.

If you have dry skin, skip the castile soap and use an extra tablespoon of almond, castor or olive oil. You can also interchange these with the almond oil below.


Aloe Vera Cleanser
5 TB aloe vera gel (or heaping 1/4 cup)
2 TB sweet almond oil
1 TB castile soap (as noted above, skip if dry skin and replace with an extra tb of oil)
20-60 drops Essential oils (20 if you have sensitive skin)*

Directions:
Add aloe vera gel (using funnel) to bottle. Shake to break up chunks. Combine rest of ingredients in bottle. Shake vigorously to mix. (May seperate over time so just shake to mix - mine never does seperate though).

To use:
Wet face with warm water (too hot and it can actually work against you). Pour a small dollop on your clean fingers rubbing them together. Start at your forehead, working toward your nose then out toward your cheeks and eventually down to your neck. Using a muslin cloth, rinse your face with cooler water to help close pores. Pat dry with clean, unused towel. Voila!


*For my essential oils, I use a combination of lavender, chamomile, tea tree, carrot seed essential oil.

You can buy all of these ingredients through Mountain Rose Herbs. Amazon, and your local health food store also offer these products.

I buy my herbs from     Mountain Rose Herbs. A herbs, health and harmony c

13 comments:

  1. I usually use olive/castor oil mix with essential oils, but I just ran out. I am going to try this next instead. Thanks for sharing :)

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    1. You might want to nix the castile soap if you usually just cleanse with oils but definitely play around and see what works for you! Let me know too!

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    2. I'm going to put some in with my cleansing oils and try it that way.

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  2. The oil cleansing method wasn't working for me so I've been going without any face wash for a few weeks. I look forward to trying this out!

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  3. Can I use aloevera from my plant? If so, how?

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    1. You can use the aloe vera gel extracted from the leaf (just slice a leaf and push all the awesome ooze out). This probably won't last as long if it's fresh aloe vera gel.

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  4. You can get aloe vera gel from whole food stores or co-ops that is like liquid. If you want to use the fresh plant you actually have to cut it open cause you won't get much out juat by squeezing, and you're right Mary, it doesn't last very long (maybe a week). I also use grapeseed oil because it's lighter (I have combination oily and dry). The ammount of essential oils sounds a little too much especially if you're using pure essential oils, have you had any trouble with that?

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  5. I actually enjoyed reading through this posting.Many thanks.



    Facial Cleansers for Sensitive Skin

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  6. can i use this aloe vera gel direct from leaves,
    this useful?

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  7. Thanks for this recipe. I'm trying it now. Did you notice, though, that your recipe says "t", which means teaspoons, while your notes (and common sense) say you meant "T", for tablespoons? Just to be clear, in case anybody else has an "oh, shoot" moment like I had when I was re-checking my measurements. :)

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  8. I can't wait to make this!
    Thanks for the recipe!

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