Going green is the latest trend to hit beauty stores, and finding the perfect all natural lip balm can be over whelming, and expensive, so why not consider making your own? It’s easier than one could imagine, and the ingredients are cheap, and can be bought at any natural food, or craft store. You’ll need to pick up the following: beeswax, petroleum jelly, honey [which adds moisture] essential oils of your choice and Vitamin E [optional] which adds extra vitamins to your lips to keep them healthy. Your possibilities are un-limited and you can create virtually any scent under the sun; from coconut jasmine to green tea mint!
Melt your petroleum jelly over low heat, and when you find that it’s completely melted, add the essential oils of your choice, honey, and
Over night face cream is one of the best ways to support the skin’s natural cell renewal process and increase moisture content, as well as firmness. But, the most popular night face creams contain petrolatum and other petroleum jelly cousins, which cause excessive greasiness, clog the pores and interfere with natural cell renewal.
How come so many companies use it? They use it because it is cheap. It is a byproduct that is formed when crude oil is taken from the ground. As such, it can contain any number of impurities and contaminants. Some of them are cancer-causing.
Companies are not required to test their night face cream for contamination. Only one company that I know of actually tests every batch for purity. That’s just one of the reasons that I choose to buy their products.
In order to be effective, night face creams should contain oils that are very similar to the skin’s own sebum. The most similar are plant-based, not mineral based oils. The Shea fruit tree provides one of these oils.
The Shea tree grows in parts of Africa. The fruit consists of a thin, nutritive pulp surrounding a large seed or pit. The pit is rich in essential fatty acids and the vitamins A and E. These oils are extracted to make Shea butter, one of the best moisturizers for night face creams.
Shea butter has been used for its ability to reduce scarring, blemishes, brown spots, wrinkles and stretch marks. Regular use alleviates many skin problems, including acne and eczema. It can be used to relieve itching from bug bites or allergies. It helps speed healing of small wounds and all the while, it makes your skin softer, smoother and more youthful looking.
But, if you want a truly effective anti-aging night face cream, you want more than Shea butter alone. My favorite night face creams contain it and six other active compounds, with antioxidant, antiseptic and anti-aging activity.
None of us wants to look older than we truly are. Actually, most of us would like to look younger than our age. Lifestyle and diet play a role in achieving that perfect youthful appearance that we all desire. But, topical lotions play an important role as well.
If we use the wrong “stuff”, we risk irritation, allergic reactions and premature aging of the skin. If we choose the right day and night face cream, we might look better and better every day.
People who have been neglectful of their skin over the years actually benefit the most from nutritive day and night face creams. In clinical studies, the people who came in looking the worst showed the most impressive results.
So, if you look pretty good right now, you may not see an immediate difference. But, let me assure you, you will be more likely to retain that beauty, as time goes by.
Remember to always shop for night face cream that is free of artificial preservatives, fragrances and colors. That’s one of the best ways to protect your skin’s health.
Lip balm has been around for over a century. It is mainly used to help heal chapped lips, to moisturize them, and keep them more glowing and attractive. It is essential in locking in moisture. So you must take care of lips, since they do no have their own oil glands.
Most balm is made of petrolatum or petroleum jelly. Just like candle wax or paraffin, it is a partially hydrogenated oil. These act as band-aids, only giving temporary effects, so you need to reapply often.
Balms made from natural ingredients are best for your lips. So you can make your own discount lip balm from natural products as the following will show.
Homemade Lip Balm
Homemade balm is an ideal gift for special occasions such as Christmas. Below is a simple recipe that you can experiment with by adding different flavors. The main ingredient is beeswax, which is a natural wax produced by honeybees.
Before starting with the actual procedure, there are a few things that you need to gather. First, you need to purchase lip balm holders. You can find these in craft stores. Also you will need a saucepan, double boiler or a heat resistant bowl for melting the wax, and a glass measuring cup for pouring.
Beeswax Lip Balm Recipe
1-2 Tbsps (tablespoons) Beeswax
5-6 Tbsps of vegetable oil (you can use other oils such as sweet almond, olive oil or jojoba)
2 tsps (teaspoons) honey
2 drops of essential oils (you can use peppermint, lavender, chamomile, etc., or you can use half oil and half shea butter)
1 Vitamin E capsule
In a small saucepan or double broiler, melt together the beeswax in the oil. Once it is melted, remove from heat, add the honey, and continue mixing until the beeswax and the oil are well blended. Stir continuously and let the mixture cool down a little bit before adding the essential oils and the vitamin E.
You can also opt to melt them in a microwave. When using a microwave, make sure to watch it carefully, removing the beeswax and oil as soon as it melts.
Pour the contents into a glass measuring cup. Now pour them into the individual lip balm containers.
This step is optional. If you want to add different flavors into your lip balm mixture, separate them into the different glass containers and then add the flavors you want such as orange, lemon and peppermint. Don’t worry if the mixture starts to harden, just place them back in the heat or a microwave to re-melt.
Make sure to let the mixture cool completely before covering the containers. Label your small containers for easy identification.
Isn’t that easy? Now you can make your own lip balm and you can give them away as presents. Nothing beats a present handcrafted by you.
