How to Make a Paraffin Wax Treatment for Hands and Feet

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Paraffin hand and foot treatments are used in spas and salons to lock in moisture. The wax is warm and soothing and your hands and feet will be left feeling soft and supple. If you are using wax for both hands and feet, double the recipe.

You can buy a wonderful paraffin wax bath from Dr. Scholls for under $50 (buy from Amazon) or you can make your own using a casserole dish and sandwich bags.

Ingredients

• 1 block paraffin wax (about 4 oz), you can find this in the canning sections of your local grocery store or online. (Buy from Amazon.com)

• an ounce of oil (coconut, almond, olive, jojoba)
• 20 drops of essential oil. Lavender is rather nice
• a few drops of olive oil or coconut oil (you will use this to coat your hands)
• a casserole dish, greased with oil
• plastic sandwich bags

Preparation

The following directions are for a hand treatment, you can also use this treatment on the feet.

Melt the paraffin, the ounce of oil, the scented oil in a double boiler. (The double boiler is necessary for safety purposes).

Very carefully pour the wax into the dish and wait until a skin has formed on the top of the wax. When this happens, the temperature should be about right for submerging your hands.

Test the wax on your wrist to ensure the temperature is not too hot.

Prepare hands by washing them. Smooth the olive oil or coconut oil (I prefer coconut oil because it smells better) on your hands.

Dip each hand into the wax repeatedly until you have several layers of wax built up.

Have someone help you put on the sandwich bags onto each hand and then relax for about 30 minutes. You can also wrap hands in Saran wrap.

For added benefit, place a bath towel over your hands as you wait. (This is a perfect time to watch a half hour of TV.)

To remove wax, simply peel it off starting at the wrist. The wax should come off in large sections. Give yourself a little hand massage and you are done.

More recipes:

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• Hair mask & hair rinse recipes

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• 17 Ingenious Beauty Uses for Average Kitchen Items
• How to Save $$$ on Skincare With These 12 Tips

Skin Brightening Turmeric Face Mask

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Turmeric is a bright yellow spice used in many Indian, Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern curry dishes, but what many Western people don't know is that when combined with yogurt, milk or olive oil, it's also a brilliant face mask and has potent anti-inflammatory and antioxident properties.

Indian women use turmeric as a skin brightener and it is common practice for Indian brides (and, apparently, their grooms) to smear a turmeric paste made of the powder and sunflower oil on their skin to brighten their complexions for the wedding.

Actress Thandie Newton (who is a light-skinned black woman) reportedly adds turmeric powder to her tinted moisturizer to give her the perfect glow. 

Turmeric powder may be used to brighten skin tone, but it's main ingredient -- curcumin -- works to suppress excess melanin production caused by sunlight.

This is another reason darker-skin women love it. But women of all skin types can benefit from the anti-aging properties. Curcuminoids are great for treating chronic inflammation, skin irritations and sun damage -- all of which can cause premature aging.

But fair warning: as great as turmeric is for the skin, the natural yellow food coloring can stain fair skin. The same properties that make yellow and dark skin glow can make pink-skinned women look sallow. However, the stain does fade away after a few hours.

This recipe gets rave reviews from users.

Ingredients

• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder (buy from Amazon.com. The 7 ounce bag will last forever).
• 2 tablespoons flour or cornstarch (to thicken the paste)

• a few drops of runny honey
• for oily skin: 1/4 cup plain yogurt & few drops of lemon juice
• for dry skin: 2 tbsp coconut oil, sweet almond oil or olive oil (more if you desire)

Preparation

Mix the flour and turmeric together. Once combined, stir in the honey.

If you have oily skin: Add lemon juice and stir.

Slowly mix in the yogurt until a creamy paste is formed. Use more or less yogurt to your liking.

If you have dry skin: Add the oil slowly and stir until a paste is formed. Add more for more creaminess.

Apply mask to face and neck.

Leave the mask on for 15-20 minutes.

Using a warm, wet washcloth that you don't mind staining (turmeric will stain), rinse off the mask.

Where to Buy Turmeric Face Masks

If you aren't into making your own face mask, you can buy turmeric skin serums and face creams.
These get great ratings:

• Andalou Naturals Turmeric Plus C Enlighten Serum, buy it from Amazon.com
• Juara Turmeric Antioxidant Radiance Mask,buy from Amazon.
• Juara Clove Flower Turmeric Anti-Aging Serum, buy from Amazon

More on skin:

• See more homemade face mask recipes
• See more Dry skin? 25 of my best itchy skin fixes
• Hair mask & hair rinse recipes
• An amazing guacamole made with peas? You won't believe how good Rancho La Puerta's Famous Guacamole Recipe is.

More on skincare:

• 17 Ingenious Beauty Uses for Average Kitchen Items
• How to Save $$$ on Skincare With These 12 Tips

How to Make Your Own Homemade Sugar Wax

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This homemade sugar wax recipe allows you to create your own leg, chin and arm wax.

In this economy, why spend $30 or more on a leg wax when you can do it yourself? I have many friends who wax their own legs and I've bought my own sugaring kits in the past, so when I discovered a recipe for wax on the Double X Website for women, I had to try it.

Editor Hanna Rosin shares the recipe her family used to remove arm hair (they were hairy Sephardic Jews, according to Rosin).

While you can buy wax kits in any drugstore, cooking your own sugar wax over the stove can save an extra few dollars on the wax itself. Here's how to make it...

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon water

Prep Time: 45 minutes

Preparation

To make sugar wax, cook the ingredients over low heat for about 45 minutes until the sugar caramelizes.

I love her colleague Emily Bazelon's response to learning the recipe, "That's wax? THAT'S wax?" Actually, it's a sugar wax, which is much easier to wash off then wax/wax.

Once the sugar mixture cools you should be left with a sticky taffy-like wax. Apply this with a plastic knife or wooden stick in the direction hair grows.

Take a piece of cloth (you can tear up an old sheet), press down firmly and then pull off in the opposite direction of hair growth.

See Also

• About.com's Hair Removal Expert Shares Her Waxing, Tweezing & Shaving Secrets
• The "Brazilian Wax" (Or, What to Expect When You Sign Up to Get One)
• Help! I'm Only 24 & I Have Hair on My Face

Recipe: Banana & Olive Oil Mask for Damaged Hair

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This homemade hair mask recipe made from bananas and olive oil soothes hair damaged from chemical processing, hair tools and sun exposure.

Anyone who has had a chemical processing done to their hair (think perms, hair straightening or hair coloring) may have damaged hair that need protecting. The same goes for women who frequently use hair tools (flat irons, curling irons or blow dryers). Bananas are rich in tryptophan, an essential amino acid that can help strengthen hair, and potassium, a mineral which helps hair maintain a healthy pH balance.

What I love most about this hair mask is that it includes ingredients many of us have in our homes. No need to order any items off of Amazon or head out to the local health food store. Keep in mind you can keep bananas in the freezer to use for your weekly hair masks.

Ingredients

• 1 banana
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil, coconut oil, almond oil or argan oil

• a shower cap
   

Preparation

Put ingredients in a blender and blend until combined into a paste.

Add a dash of flour if paste is too runny.

Separate hair into 3-5 sections.

Apply mask to each section from roots to ends.

Wind hair into a loose bun if long and place a shower cap over hair. Keep it on for 30 minutes and then rinse out, shampooing and conditioning as usual.

Aspirin & Lemon Juice Mask for Acne

Daryl Solomon/Photographer's Choice RF/Getty Images

This aspirin mask recipe can help clear up that pimple much faster than leaving it alone.

Over on Makeupalley.com, aspirin masks are a hot topic. Why? Apparently, aspirin is brilliant at spot-treating pimples, clearing up acne and itchy patches. In fact, the aspirin mask gets more than 2030 reviews -- more than any individual makeup, skincare or hair product -- on Makeupalley so I had to share it with you because 85 percent of these reviews are by women who would "try it again."

Dr. Oz also loves aspirin masks and unveiled a version of this mask on his show. The aspirin has aminosalicylic acid, which is a cousin of salicylic acid. It's so great for skin it's an ingredient found in actual spot treatments for pimples. The lemon juice is a citric acid with antibacterial properties, which are great for healing acne and even-ing out skin tone.

The honey is soothing and the baking soda is used as an exfoliator to help remove the mask, but it also has wonderful natural properties for the skin. Some women swear by baking soda. It's gentle and leaves skin smooth and soft.

You can use this on your face and on your feet. Jane Buckingham's new revised book, The Modern Girl's Guide to Life includes a similar recipe, but to be used on the feet. You slather it on the feet, wrap your slathered feet in a damp hot towel and let it work its magic for 10 minutes. According to this review on Allure's Website, it actually works.

Ingredients

• 3-6 aspirin
• 1 lemon
• baking soda
• Coffee cup, rolling pin or glass cup (to crush the aspirin)
• Shallow dish

• Warm honey (runny honey), moisturizer made for the face or natural oil such as almond, olive or coconut

Preparation

Depending on the amount of coverage needed, use 3-6 aspirin.

Crush the aspirin into small pieces by placing them in a Ziplock bag and rolling a coffee cup, rolling pin or glass cup over them.

I put mine in an old coffee grinder that I use to grind spices. It worked brilliantly, but I've read that others used a mortar and pestle.

Place aspirin in a dish.

Squeeze in the fresh lemon juice (about 1 tablespoon per 3 aspirin) and allow the aspirin to dissolve into a paste.

If the aspirin is coated, it may take longer.

If you have dry skin, add a tablespoon or so of warm honey, moisturizer or a bit of oil (sweet almond, olive or coconut works). Stir well. If you have oily skin, you can skip this part and add a few more drops of lemon instead.

Apply as a mask or spot treat the pimple or itchy area. Allow to dry.

Remove the mask with a warm, wet washcloth dipped in baking soda.

More recipes:

• See more homemade face mask recipes
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More on Acne:

• How to Cover Up a Pimple With Makeup
• 8 Adult Acne Facts (Plus, How to Treat it)
• Acne & Teens: How to Treat Pimples (& Cover Them Up)
• Why Do I Get 'Back Acne'?
• 5 Reasons Your Acne Isn't Going Away

Make Your Own Natural Vinegar Hair Rinse

Bragg's apple cider vinegar.  Courtesy: Amazon.com

There's no better natural remedy for removing product build-up on hair and the scalp than apple cider vinegar. This apple cider vinegar hair rinse recipe not only cleanses the scalp, but it helps with dandruff problems, as well.

I've become a natural beauty product junkie when it comes to my skin and my hair. I just don't feel comfortable putting anything with bad chemicals on my face and scalp. When I heard about the apple cider vinegar rinse recipe below from my crunchy friend Martha, I tried it myself.

My hair was shinier than ever and surprise, surprise, didn't smell like vinegar.

Ingredients

• 1 cup apple cider vinegar (you can substitute distilled white vinegar or lemon juice for this rinse).
• 2 cups distilled water.
• A spray bottle.

Preparation

Mix one cup of apple cider vinegar and 2 cups of water in a spray bottle.

Spray on hair after you shampoo and condition. Rinse thoroughly. Do not use more than once or twice a week and do not use on colored hair.

There are many ways to use apple cider vinegar in your hair cleansing routine:

1. You can use mix a tablespoon in your shampoo, as suggested by New York City hairstylist Ted Gibson.
2. You can use the recipe below, which has you put the mixture in a water bottle and spritz it on your ends and your scalp to remove product build-up. 
3. While you can dump a cup of the vinegar on your head and massage it in once a week or so, my research shows it is better to cut the vinegar with water. Putting the mixture in a spray bottle allows you to better control over where the product hits.

Important note: I cannot recommend this rinse for colored hair. My research suggests the acid can strip away your pricey investment. Full disclosure, because I get my hair colored professionally colored, I no longer use this rinse.

But Martha doesn't color her hair and swears by the recipe below, which she uses once a week.

The acetic acid in the vinegar helps wash away product residue on the scalp and hair, leaving hair shiny. Martha reports she used to have to wash her oily hair daily but now can go several days between shampoos. 

You can either shampoo and condition first and then treat your hair, OR you can start with the treatment. I prefer to shampoo after because I don't like my hair smelling like vinegar.

Here's how to use this recipe:

• Rinse hair thoroughly in the shower.
• Turn off the water and spritz the vinegar and water concoction on your part and then your crown. Allow for heavy coverage.
• Pull sections of hair up and spritz the scalp. Continue until the entire scalp is drenched.
• Massage the vinegar concoction into your scalp using the pads of your fingers, never your nails. Your nails can tear at the scalp.
• Let the vinegar wash over your hair as well. I find that if you focus on directing the product on your scalp and crown, it will naturally make its way down your hair.
• Rinse the vinegar out thoroughly.
• Follow with shampoo and conditioner. 

Not only does apple cider vinegar get rid of residue, it's also a natural dandruff fighter. Acetic acid is also antimicrobial and can kill some forms of bacteria, making it good for treating dandruff.

Only use raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar. A readily available and quality vinegar is made by Bragg's. You can find it in most grocery stores or skip the trip and buy it from Amazon.com.

Bonus: You can also use the vinegar as a face toner and to clean your makeup brushes.

More Hair Masks & Rinses:

• More Hair Mask & Hair Rinse Recipes
• Amazing Baking Soda Shampoo Followed With Vinegar Spritz
• The Best Sulfate-Free Shampoos

Hair Conditioner Recipe for Shiny, Glossy Hair

The hair conditioner uses egg yolks, rum and avocado.  Dana Hoff/Stockbyte/Getty Images

There are many wonderful hair conditioner recipes available today, but one of my favorites is a recipe from Mathilde Thomas, co-founder of the Caudalie skincare line. This shiny hair recipe is adapted from Thomas's grandmother and has been passed down the generations, first to her mother and then to her.

"My mother taught me that shiny hair is key to a polished look. If my hair appears dull, I still make her at-home conditioner.

My hair is so glossy afterward, it's well worth the effort," Thomas said in O the Oprah Magazine. 

I first read about this recipe in O Magazine and I tried it then. I was wonderfully luxurious, smelled delicious and left my hair shiny and glossy, just as the recipe suggested. The secret, according to Thomas, is to leave it on for an hour and then shampoo.

I have to admit, I only made it half an hour before I shampooed and the results were great.

Since then, I've read a lot about hair conditioners and researched my own blend. Thomas's recipe, which she told Elle Magazine is "a grandma recipe, very French," contains only egg yolk, rum, avocado and olive oil, all of which can be found in most people's kitchens. I found the addition of grapeseed oil, which I included in this recipe, makes the conditioner even more luxurious. Grapeseed oil, like coconut oil and olive oil, is a natural hair conditioner and is much lighter. If you don't have grapeseed oil on hand, no problem. Just leave it out.

I also love using plain yogurt as a hair conditioner and swapped out the very moisturizing avocado in this recipe for yogurt once.

I also loved the results so feel free to use yogurt (full-fat and never flavored) instead of avocado if you don't have ripe avocados on hand. The yogurt blends easily into the mixture.

This recipe landed a coveted spot in Thomas's wonderful, new book, "The French Beauty Solution: Time-Tested Secrets to Look and Feel Beautiful Inside and Out." 

Ingredients

• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tablespoons of rum
• 1/2 super ripe avocado, smashed
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of grapeseed oil, buy it from Amazon.com

Preparation

Mix together the ingredients in a bowl. Wet hair thoroughly. Massage the mixture on your scalp and into your hair. Wrap your head in a towel (I warmed my towel in the dryer for 10 minutes while I applied the conditioner). Wait 30 minutes to an hour, then rinse in the shower. Follow with shampoo.

More recipes:

• See more hair mask & hair rinse recipes
• Homemade face mask recipes
• An amazing guacamole made with peas? You won't believe how good Rancho La Puerta's Famous Guacamole Recipe is.