Since I was in college, I have been interested in using healthy products on my skin and hair. I remember deciding to stop chemically straightening my hair and see what I actually looked like the way God created me. It had been a while, since I had been straightening my hair for 7 years. After “going natural” with my hair I became interested in making my own hair products. This lead to my interest in making body and skin care products. I am going to share some of my tricks with you here on the blog. Use of these tricks is at your own risk. I use natural products, and have yet to find anything to be harmful, other than using mashed up banana in a conditioner for my curly hair. Let’s just say it took a week to get it all out. I guess that was more embarrassing than harmful, but it did make my hair very soft!
Today I am going to share with you a toner that I use. I have combination skin, and I am oily in my t-zone (forehead and nose), and can have dry skin on my cheeks and chin. Because I have combination skin, I like to use gentle cleansers on my face. I use soap maybe once or twice a week, but otherwise, I simply wash with water and use a toner followed by a moisturizer. Alright, let’s get down to it. You will need a bottle or container of some sort to put the toner in once you make it. The ingredients for this toner include the following:
Rosewater – toner, anti-inflammatory, astringent, and conditioner
Peppermint – antiseptic, analgesic
Lavender – antiseptic, analgesic
Sage – antimicrobial, antioxidant, astringent
Rosewater is known for anti-inflammatory, toning, soothing, and moisturizing qualities. In addition, it is believed that rosewater helps skin elasticity (which may help decrease the appearance of wrinkles). Peppermint and lavender have antiseptic and analgesic qualities which can help with preventing the growth of germs/microorganisms and decreasing pain (like the pain from an uninvited guest on your face). Sage is an astringent with antimicrobial qualities. The astringent is good for oily, acne-prone skin, and the anti-microbial helps to prevent the growth of microorganisms. Sage is also an antioxidant (cancer fighter). The added bonus is that all of the herbs have fragrances that I find pleasing.
I try to use fresh herbs, but sometimes I use dried. I prefer not to use the dried cooking herbs unless I get them from a special store where I know the herbs are fresh. We aren’t making dinner here! Usually, I buy herbs throughout the year and try to grow them myself. I buy the rosewater from a health food or nutrition store.
The rosewater is ready upon purchase. I gather the peppermint, lavender, and sage from my garden, then place them in a tea ball. I bring distilled water to a boil (or tap water), remove it from the heat, and drop in the tea ball. I let the leaves soak in the water, then remove the tea ball with the herbs inside. Once the “tea” is cooled, I combine it with the rosewater. All done.
My face loves this toner. When I am not being lazy, I whip up a bit that will last for about 2 weeks (longer if it is refrigerated). Don’t quote me on how long it will last, because I am most certainly not a biologist.
I hope you enjoy this post, and if you do, you know what to do. Hit that “like” button, and share this article with your friends. Thanks for reading!
~ Cece
Tags: face, fitness, food, fortunes, lavender, peppermint, rosewater, sage, skin, toner
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