Sugar Scrubs

We all know sugar is the devil. It can do a number on your teeth and your waistline. Did you know it can also do wonders for your skin? Sugar is an excellent exfoliator. It's small particles help to gently remove dead skin cells to keep your skin smooth and glowing. Sugar is a natural humectant, it draws moisture from the environment into the skin, which helps hydrate. Sugar also contains glycolic acid. This alpha hydroxy acid helps break down skin cells encouraging cell turnover. Glycolic acid is also anti-bacterial which helps the fight against wrinkles and blemishes. Below are some great sugar scrubs. Whether you make your own, or purchase (hopefully from toxic-free companies) you should only exfoliate 2-3 times per week. 

Orange Creamsicle Sugar Scrub
I love the smell of this! It really does smell like orange creamsicle. To make one 8 oz mason jar, you will need:
1/4 cup of coconut oil
3/4 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
10 drops of orange essential oil
Melt coconut oil until liquid. Add vanilla and essential oil. Stir in sugar 1/4 cup at a time. 

Coconut Lime Sugar Scrub
This is like vacation in a bottle! To make one 8 oz mason jar, you will need:
1/2 cup coconut oil
1 cup sugar
1 tsp coconut extract
2 limes (or 10 drops limes essential oil)
Melt coconut oil until liquid. Add coconut extract. Zest both limes and add to bowl (if using essential oil, add 10 drops now). Stir in sugar 1/4 cup at a time. 

Castaway Coconut Snarky Bar
Snarky bars are very exfoliating, almost to the point where it hurts (in a good way). It's a solid sugar bar you can easily rub all over your body making sure you exfoliate every inch. I even use it on the bottoms of my feet to removes calluses. All Perfectly Posh products are paraben free, paraffin free, phthalate free, sulfate free, gluten free, and soy free.
Castaway Coconut Snarky Bar

Whole Lava Love Face Exfoliator
Another amazing Perfectly Posh product! This face exfoliator is awesome. It contains charcoal powder, sugar beads, and volcanic ash with an all natural minty fragrance. Whole Lava Love

Lip Exfoliation

As a follow-up to my last post on dry, cracked lips, it's also important to exfoliate your lips. As the weather gets colder (sigh) we turn on the heat, which can dry out your lips. Dry lips lead to peeling, flaky, chapped lips. In order to properly moisturize chapped lips, you must first get rid of the flakes and dead skin. If you don't, the balms will just sit on the dead skin and never make it through to actually moisturize. Below are some DIY and store bought options. Don't exfoliate your lips more than twice a week.

DIY lip exfoliators:

Brown Sugar Lip Scrub - mix 1 tsp olive oil, 1 tsp honey, and 1 tsp brown sugar in a small bowl. Apply the mixture in a circular motion on your lips for a few minutes. Rinse with cold water.

Peppermint lip scrub - mix 2 tsp sugar, 1 tsp coconut oil, 1/4 tsp honey, and 3-4 drops of peppermint essential oil. Gently massage the mixture on you lips for a minute. You can rinse off with water or just lick your lips for minty fresh breath!


Other chemical free lip exfoliators:

Kiss Me Honey Lip Polish - this exfoliating lip polish will remove dead skin and create soft supple lips. It's USDA organic, all natural, paraben free, chemical free, gluten free, and certified cruelty free.
Kiss Me Honey Lip Polish

Tarte Maracuja Lip Exfoliant - As lips are exfoliated, maracuja oil simultaneously promotes hydration, cell recovery, and surface rejuvenation. Lips are left noticeably revitalized, fuller, and kissed with a hint of refreshing mint. It's formulated without parabens, sulfates, phthalates, triclosan, synthetic fragrance, petrochemicals, and GMOs. 
Maracuja Lip Exfoliant

Perfectly Posh Snowed In Lip Scrub - this softening vanillamint lip scrub makes your lips feel refreshed and soothed. All natural sugar, shea and cocoa butters, honey, and macadamia, jojoba, and peppermint oils scrub away dry, tired skin and hydrate lips. Then protective beeswax and sunflower seed wax create a barrier to keep all that moisture where it belongs.
Perfectly Posh Snowed In Lip Scrub

Dry, cracked lips?

Its that time of year again. You wake up, it's freezing out. By noon, you are sweating. This can do a number on your lips. The weather and the sun can damage your lips causing them to dry out, crack, and even feel like they are burning. Unfortunately, that Blistex and ChapStick you put on is only making it worse. Most commercial chapsticks are filled with fragrance and chemicals which dry out your lips even more. They strip your lips of hydration. You become addicted to the feeling of soft, smooth lips and apply more. This leads to a vicious cycle of your skin relying on products that never solve the issue; lack of moisture. You should be using chemical free, oil-based, lip balms that actually lock in moisture. Below are some great recommendations. 


Hurraw! Balm - Hurraw! Balm started out of pure intent; a personal obsession to create the perfect balm: all natural, vegan, made from premium raw, organic and fair trade ingredients, complete with a bunch of natural and fun flavor options! They source honest, fair trade, organic, vegan and raw ingredients from reputable suppliers and are thrilled to share the labors with other balm lovin' individuals. Your purchase supports legit fair trade, organic farmers and suppliers here in the States and around the World. 
Hurraw! Balm is available online and at Wegmans

Dr. Bronner Lip and Body Balm - Dr. Bronner's Organic Lip Balms, made with organic beeswax, provide a protective barrier to the elements with no synthetic ingredients. Organic jojoba, avocado, and hemp oils help with extra moisturization. Only the finest essential oils are used for fragrance. Certified organic USDA National Organic Program Standards, because what you put on your lips goes into your body.
Dr. Bronner lip and body balm is available online and at The Vitamin Shoppe

Badger Balm - These creamy organic lip balms feature rich, Certified Organic and Fair Trade Certified Cocoa Butter, which has the sultry fragrance of dark chocolate. Their Cocoa Butter is traditionally processed at low temperatures, allowing the butter to retain its natural, health-giving properties. Flavored with all natural steam distilled essential oils - no artificial sweeteners or fragrances. Leaping Bunny Certified cruelty-free. 
Badger Balm  is available online, at Wegmans, at The Vitamin Shoppe, and at Walgreens


Beautycounter Lip Conditioner - Nourish and protect lips with this ultra-moisturizing lip balm, formulated with soothing and softening avocado oil, shea butter, meadowfoam seed oil, and jojoba oil. That subtly sweet scent you smell? It's calendula and chamomile oils, which act as anti-inflammatories to help heal chapped lips. What’s not included? Approximately 1,500 questionable or harmful chemicals on their “Never List” that they never use to formulate their products. 
Beautycounter Lip Conditioner Calendula Balm is available online or through a Beauycounter rep

. 

Castor Oil

Castor oil is a vegetable oil made by pressing the seeds of the ricinus communis plant. It's a colorless, thick liquid, with a slight nutty smell. It's used by many as a liquid laxative but it does wonders for the skin and hair. If you click on the What Are Cosmetics tab at the top, you can read about how castor oil saved my eyelashes. It's a miracle in a bottle.

Promotes hair growth - castor oil is rich in ricinoleic acid and omega-9 fatty acid. When the oil is applied to the scalp, these acids penetrate the hair follicles. They provide nourishment allowing the follicles to restore growth. Since the oil is thick and a bit sticky, warm it up in the microwave. Apply directly to the scalp and massage in with your fingertips. Leave on for 20 minutes and shampoo out. I shampoo 2-3 times after I use it to make sure it's all out. You can do this a few times per week. You will notice your hair is silkier and shinier right away. After a few weeks, you will notice hair growth. You can also use it on your eyebrows and eyelashes. Just take a q-tip, dip it in the castor oil, and apply to your eyebrow or eyelash line. You can also buy mascara wands to apply the oil directly to your lashes. Do this before bed and leave the oil on overnight. Wash face as normal in the morning. Castor oil will help eyebrows and eyelashes grow thicker and fuller.

Skin Moisturizer - castor oil is an excellent facial moisturizer. It penetrates deep into the skin tissue and nourishes it with the fatty acids. Apply the oil at night as a nighttime moisturizer. Wash face as normal and don't dry it. Immediately apply the castor oil while face is still wet. The castor oil is thick, and a little sticky, so the water allows you to rub it in easier. One applied, your skin absorbs castor oil very quickly so you aren't least with any oily feeling. Your face will feel super soft in the morning.

Reduces Acne - castor oil has antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties. This makes it great for treating acne. The rincinoleic acid fights off acne-causing bacteria. Take a q-tip and apply the oil directly to the acne as a spot treatment.

Anti-Aging - castor oil stimulates the production of collagen and elastin. This hydrates the skin and delays the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Castor oil is a great treatment for crows feet around the eye.