Another Pumpkin Facial! Pumpkin Apple Enzyme Facial Mask and Olive Oil Hair Soak!

I work very long hours on the weekends. I have mentioned this before, but it bears repeating. Because of these long hours, I tend to eat poorly on the weekends. I do not drink enough water, I do not get enough sleep, and I have no time for pampering. It is no wonder that when I look at myself in the mirror every Monday morning thatmy reflection has me running to the kitchen to whip up a new recipe. This morning was no different.

Since my skin looked undernourished and depleted, I wanted something that would provide lots of moisture and skin food–nourishment for my poor face. I also knew that I needed to exfoliate. So, I began with a sugar and lemon juice exfoliating scrub, using the usual technique–two minutes massaging it onto my face, then 2 minutes or more sitting on my face. The AHA’s in the lemon juice and sugar work their magic, and the vitamin C boost from the lemon juice helps a lot, too.

While the sugar/lemon juice mixture was drying, I went to the kitchen and began to dump things into my food processor. I wanted a skin softener and those oat beta glucans called to me so I started with a handful of oatmeal. I then put in a few teaspoons of half and half, a couple of large dollops of pumpkin puree for the enzymes and vitamin A and C, a teapspoon of lemon juice, a couple of teaspoons of honey–the natural humectant to lock in moisture, and 1/2 of a small apple, skin and all. Oh yes, I also added a fresh egg white and some cinnamon.

I blended it until it was lumpily smooth, and there were no giant chunks of anything. I rinsed the sugar/lemon off of my face with warm water, then I applied the pumpkin apple mask and it was a nice, thick consistency, so it stayed on very well, with no drippy business. It smelled so good, and felt so good, that I planned to leave it on for a good 30 minutes.

Since I didn’t want to waste that time, not that I was but… I grabbed a bottle of extra virgin olive oil and used about 3 palmfuls to coat my hair completely. I have fine, shoulder length hair, so you may need more, or less. When the 30 minutes was up, I jumped into the shower and washed my hair gently, three times–until it did not feel oily any more. I did not condition beyond the olive oil. I then rinsed off the pumpkin apple enzyme facial mask, finished my shower, hopped out, and dried off.

What with the hair toweling, and the skin cream applying, and the getting dressed, I did not look into the mirror for several minutes, but when I did, I was amazed! I know that when I gave you the first recipe for the pumpkin facial mask that I said that the fine lines around my eyes had softened to a very noticeable extent. Well, this morning, the fine lines around my eyes, very apparent before the mask, had virtually vanished! I am not kidding–my skin looked plump and smooth and well fed. I was truly delighted. My bath tub was a giant mess, what with the oily residue, and the oats and stuff, but it was well worth it, ladies and gentlemen.

I have a good amount left over, so I plan to use this mask each morning, or every other morning, this week just to see if a shorter time on the face works the same magic. If you liked the Pure Pleasure Pumpkin Facial mask, I strongly urge you to try this oatmeal, pumpkin, apple wonder mask at your earliest convenience! It is truly awesome, and I do not use that word lightly. Put your best face forward with these seasonal, Fall ingredients! All of the vitamins, minerals, oat glucan’s, and alpha hydroxy acids will rock your world. Oh yea, my hair looks and feels great, too! Soft, shiny, and manageable!

Baby, It’s Hot Outside! Cucumber Melon Facial Refreshing Facial Mask

Well, after two nearly solid months of rain, summer has arrived with a vengeance, with temperatures hovering at 90 degrees, with plenty of humidity and make it feel downright miserable, inside and out. When it is like this, I don’t feel like doing anything other than the bare necessities-cleansing and moisturizing. When just breathing causes you to start to sweat, I see no sense in makeup or doing my hair up too much.

Today was the 5th or so day of this heat/humidity thing, and I know that I have been slacking on my skin care. Bah and blah! I needed something to perk me, and my shiny skin up. Cucumber has been on my mind for days. probably because of the cucumber hyaluronic acid serum I use in the morning. And what goes better with cucumber than melon.

I had recently read somewhere that it is easier to make a cucumber facial mask if you first shred the cucumber, then put in in the freezer until frozen. Take it out, and let the shredded cucumber thaw a bit, and all of that good face tightening, vitamin C packed, hydrating cucumber juice will be oozing out. So, today I did that, but I added a twist. I froze little chunks of cantaloupe, too.

Once both the melon and the shredded cucumber had thawed a bit, I popped both into the food processor, and added an egg. I gave it a qucik whirl–enough to mix it up, the I put this cucumber melon slushie on my face. Boy, did that feel great, and smell great! Perhaps a bit messy, so lie down and relax with a cool cucumber slice over each eye. I left it on for about 25 minutes, then rinsed with tepid water. This was a lovely pick me up!

The orange color of cantaloupe just screams vitamin A-beta carotene, so great for skin, plus the melon is full of vitamin C, the anti-oxidant wonder. Also, the cantaloupe has alpha hydroxy fruit acids. Frankly, it was so delightful, I wouldn’t have cared if it had half of the good stuff that this refreshing, hot summer’s day, cucumber and melon facial mask did. And, this is so gentle and hydrating, I can happily use this recipe every day until the heat breaks. Give it a try and coool down for a bit!

Wild Blueberry And Honey Face Mask With Lemon

I cannot believe that I haven’t had to time make to make a post since Thursday!  And this in the wake of the little “blog tsunami” that I had Thursday, which was kind of exciting.  As I have said before, my weekends are my work days, so my busiest, especially from the middle to the end of the month.

Naturally, when I get busy the first thing to go downhill is my skin care routine, as I have no time.  This is a bad habit, and I spend the rest of the week playing catch up, which just isn’t the same.  Any, as I was on my way to yet another commitment today, I passed a stand selling wild, Maine blueberries!  This first of the season, and a little early to my thinking, bit I we turned around and I bought a pint.

It is the time of the year that I look forward to, the wild Maine blueberry harvest.  Roadside stands selling these little blue gems dot the landscape.  I am lucky enough to have my own patch of wild Maine blueberries in my back pasture, so I do grow my own, or nature does.  Mine are not ready.

Blueberries are a super food, and they are extremely high in anti-oxidants, vitamins and minerals.  Blueberries are said to be one of the top 5 food that you can eat for beautiful skin, and I do eat them year ’round–frozen in the winter.  Blueberries gobble up free radicals especially well, and they have become favorite ingredient in skin care products.

Tonight I am going to make a blueberry and honey face mask, as I deserve a little pampering, as does my skin.  I bet that you deserve some pampering, too.  If you cannot get your hands on wild blueberries, then the regular ones will work just fine, too.  They are on sale at my supermarket this week, too!

Blueberry Honey Face Mask–Customize it for yourself.

Toss a small handful of blueberries into your food processor, along with 1/4 plain yogurt.  Add 3 tablespoons of honey, then process until smooth.  At this point, you can customize the mask, if you like.  You can add a couple of tablespoons of lemon juice, or 1/4 cup of oatmeal.  Toss in an egg white as a binder if you like.   Then apply the mask to your face and let it sit for 20 minutes, or so.  Rinse with warm water and enjoy your summer sweet face.

Tomorrow, we can compare notes on how we enjoyed out fruity facial.  Oh, and my hyaluronic acid serums arrived from Garden of Wisdom, as well summer serum and the dmae serum.  I am excited to review them, and am having a ball trying then out.  So far, I love them all!  I hope that you are having a great weekend!