Coffee Ground Leg Exfoliator

My legs are always dry, and my skin is so sensitive, I can't use many exfoliating products. So, I set out to find a natural, homemade exfoliator that would work. I tried several, but this is the only one that worked. 

JUST FYI:

Along with exfoliating, this mixture is rumored to slow down and even stop hair growth. Some people swear by it, but some shoot it down. Personally, I have not seen any significant difference.

What You Need:

Used coffee grounds (still wet is best)

baking soda

sealing bag or container

approximately 2 minutes prep time,  10 minutes to exfoliate and shave legs

What To Do:

-Mix up the used coffee grounds and some baking soda. I just threw mine in a sealing sandwich bag, and mixed them there. I would say use 2 parts coffee grounds, 1 part baking soda approximately. 

-sit on the edge of your bathtub, with a couple of inches of water in the bottom.

-Shave a small section of your leg, and then immediately rub some of the mixture onto it. rub it in firmly, but not too roughly

-repeat until both legs are completely shaven

-just reseal the bag or container with any extra grounds, and save for later

-enjoy your silky smooth legs!

Stinging Nettle Relief

Ouch!

Stinging nettle grows commonly throughout lots of the United States. It is a small, flat green leaf that has thousands of very small, hollow needles filled with chemicals that react to human skin (Burning Nettle is related, and these should work for it, too.) There are several things that you should have around the house that can help to ease the pain.

What you need:

Aloe Vera           and/or

baking soda and water paste              and/or

hydrogen peroxide      or any combination of these.

What to Do:

wet a clean cloth and dab it over the surface of the rash, not rubbing the surface, just dabbing. REMEMBER, DON'T TOUCH THE RASH WITH BARE SKIN!!!! It will spread the needles out!

dab aloe over the burn, staying gentle and not pushing too hard

Apply a thin layer of the baking soda and water paste, and allow it to dry. (MESSY!)

i have not personally tried this one, but have heard it works wonders. Dab hydrogen peroxide over the rash.

BONUS:  after my sister was stung badly, a lukewarm bath felt heavenly. it allowed some relief from the stinging, and let her get comfortable enough to sleep.

ENJOY!

Regain your voice, fast

We have all had it happen. A big performance or presentation tomorrow, and you get sick. You lose your voice, and then proceed to freak out. This just happened to me, so I did a little digging, and found out that some of the remedies that we have all heard of DON'T WORK!!! *gasp!* so i am putting up a list of a few remedies, and whether they do or don't work.

1: Tea 

False! tea is actually bad if you are trying to regain your voice! tea is acidic, which is hard on vocal chords, so if you need your voice back, stay away!

2: Lemon

False! lemon is another acid! acids could seriously damage your vocal chords, and they are more susceptible to damage when they are inflamed. So, any time you lose your voice, keep away!

3: Salt water Gargle

True! gargling salt water can relax inflamed vocal chords, bringing your voice back quickly and effectively. Just make sure the water is warm. cold water is hard on your vocal chords, but warm water is healthy and relaxing.

4: warm honey water

True! warm water, again, is relaxing, and honey is anti-inflammatory. enjoy!

5: vocal rest

True! as silly as it seems, resting your vocal chords is really important! The reason you have no voice is inflammation of the vocal chords. they swell up and then can't vibrate properly. when they are swollen, they are really susceptible to damage. talking while they are like this is a great way to permanently mess your voice up, so keep quiet as much as possible

HOPE THIS HELPED! 

Raw Honey Exfoliator

I am always looking for ways to get rid of the horrible curse that seemingly affects all of teens. In other words, acne. My skin is really sensitive, though, so I can't use all of the chemicals and treatments. I have started to look for natural alternatives, and they are fantastic. This one, using only raw honey, which you can find at Trader Joe's, is absolutely amazing, and gentle enough that i can use it. It only takes just a moment, and is well worth it.

What you need:

A heaping spoonful of raw honey

at most 3 minutes

what you do:

Simply rub the honey into a thin, even layer all over your face, and allow to sit for about a minute. Then, wet a washcloth in warm water and gently rub to remove the main amount of honey. If there is still honey left, just cup your hands and fill them with water, and then wash your face. Voila!

Sugar lip scrub

Hi all. Sorry I haven't been on in a while, I just got really busy. So, I am sure that we have all seen the posts on Pinterest or other places talking about a 'miracle lip scrub.' Personally, I always thought it was dumb. If your lips are chapped, just drink water and put on chap stick, right? However, this only works long-term. you cant drink water and put on chap stick and have your lips perfectly smooth in minutes. So I decided, why not? Might as well try one of these. So I found the simplest one I could, and tried it. It actually worked really well! this one doesn't require any special ingredients, unlike others that needed beeswax or coconut oil. 

What you need:

-sugar

-chapstick

-less than five minutes

What you do:

start by putting on a good coat of chapstick. make sure that you cover all the way to the edge of your lips, as this is the part that is chapped most often. Next, put a small spoonful of sugar in your hand, spreading it out so that it is in an even layer big enough to cover your lips. Then, you kiss your hand. To coat your lips with the sugar, you press your lips into the sugar, moving your hand to make sure you have a good layer on there. dump the rest of the sugar, and wait a minute or two to let the sugar really stick to the chapstick and your lips. Then, gently rub the sugar in small circles over your lips. this catches on the flakes of skin and gently pulls them off. Rinse off your lips and put on another layer of chapstick, and voila! Perfectly smooth lips in minutes!