Recipes for Beauty

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Recipes for Beauty

By Stephanie Huszar. Photographs by Ryan Benyi.

 

 

The kitchen offers a place to nourish the body and soothe the soul. A handful of fresh berries can give an instant energy boost, a cup of steaming chamomile tea can melt away the day's stress. It's only natural, then, that the wholesome foods in our kitchen might have a similar rejuvenating effect on our skin, hair, and nails. Packed with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, fruits, vegetables, and pantry staples like honey, rolled oats, and powdered milk can quench parched skin and infuse dull hair with radiance. The most beautiful part, though, is that creating your own natural hair and body treatments is as simple as whipping up a favorite recipe handed down from a grandmother. "In the past, when women wanted to look their best, they used whatever they had in the kitchen to make their own beauty products," says Linda West Eckhardt, who teaches a homemade-beauty class at A Cook's Table, a cookware store and cooking school in Baltimore. Eckhardt's grandmother softened her skin with a mask of carrots and fresh cream, and Eckhardt teaches her students that same recipe today — proof that the best pick-me-ups still come straight from the heart of your home.

Pure, wholesome ingredients look right at home in vintage glassware — perfect for presenting treatments as gifts. Here: Canning jars and a pretty bottle hold masks and lotions; a sugar shaker provides sweet packaging for bath powder.

 

 

Simple Safety

Homemade beauty products are the treatments of choice for people with sensitive skin, because they're free of the artificial dyes, fragrances, and preservatives that can sometimes cause irritation. And since you control exactly what goes into your treatments, you can be sure that only fresh organic ingredients and pure distilled water touch your hair and skin. Those with food allergies need to be extra cautious, though. Never include an ingredient that might trigger an allergic reaction. Choose a different recipe or substitute an ingredient you're not sensitive to. (If you're allergic to peanuts, for example, use olive oil in place of peanut oil.) And when you're giving homemade beauty treatments as presents, always list each ingredient you've used on the jar's label.

Preparation is key to a Zen-ful treatment-making session, so lay out ingredients and tools beforehand. Sterilize jars prior to use, and always store treatments that contain perishable ingredients in the refrigerator. Most treatments should be used within one or two days.

 

 

Lemon Facial Toner

Smooth toner over face with a cotton ball to help even out skin tone.

 

 

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice Grated zest of 1 lemon 1 cup distilled water 2/3 cup witch hazel

 

Combine all ingredients in a clear bottle and seal with a stopper. Shake well before each use. Keeps for a month in the refrigerator.

 

 

Foaming Hot Chocolate Milk Bath

The ingredients in our Foaming Hot Chocolate Milk Bath are packed with skin softeners like lactic acid, found in powdered milk. Soak in this rich milk bath to soothe and soften your skin. Heat 3 tablespoons of dry bath mix with 1/2 cup water and 2 tablespoons olive oil in a pan and bring to a boil. Add the hot mixture to bathwater while the tub is filling.

 

 

1 cup instant nonfat dry milk 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1 cup baking soda 2 tablespoons cornstarch 2 tablespoons cream of tartar 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

 

Make the milk bath: Combine all ingredients in a jar, cover, and store. Keeps for up to six months.

 

 

Strawberry Foot Exfoliant

Fresh fruits and nourishing oils are pure, potent sources of vitamins, antioxidants, and moisture. Here: "Strawberries are as good on your body as they are in bowl," says cookbook author Linda West Eckhardt. The ripe berries we used in our Strawberry Foot Exfoliant contain not only vitamin C but also salicylic acid, which helps to slough off rough, dead skin.

Strawberries contain a lot of water, so overblending will make this exfoliant too liquid. To use, massage into feet, rinse, and dry off.

 

 

8 strawberries, lightly mashed 3 tablespoons kosher salt 2 tablespoons olive oil

 

Make the exfoliative: Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix until just combined. Use immediately.

 

 

Avocado and Honey Face Pack

Our Avocado and Honey Face Pack is a welcome treat for parched skin. The decadent, protein-packed fruit delivers a rich dose of moisture to the skin, thanks to its high content of beneficial fatty acids. Honey, a powerful antioxidant, also acts as a humectant, helping skin to retain moisture.

Apply this mixture to your face for 10 minutes. Gently remove with cool water, then pat dry with a clean towel.

 

 

1 ripe avocado 2 teaspoons plain yogurt 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice 1 teaspoon clear honey

 

Make the face pack: Place all ingredients in a medium bowl and mash into a paste using a fork. Chill for 30 minutes and use immediately.

 

 

Banana Hair Mask

Thanks to the strengthening properties of potassium and vitamin A, the same fruit we eat to soothe aching muscles restores shine and health to hair in our Banana Hair Mask.

Apply this mask to hair, cover your head with plastic wrap, and relax for 15 to 30 minutes. Rinse thoroughly with warm water and shampoo as usual.

 

 

1 banana 3 tablespoons mayonnaise 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

 

Make the mask: Mash the banana in a small bowl until completely smooth. Add mayonnaise and oil and blend until creamy. Use immediately.

 

 

Gardener's Hand Cream

Use a grater to grate up a beeswax candle, or buy wax grated at craft stores.

 

 

1 cup grated beeswax 1/2 cup jojoba oil 2 tablespoons aloe vera gel 2 tablespoons vitamin E oil 1/2 cup sweet almond oil 9 drops peppermint essential oil 9 drops orange essential oil

 

Combine beeswax, jojoba oil, and aloe vera gel in the top of a double boiler or in a glass measure in the microwave. Melt (about 45 seconds in the microwave or up to 3 minutes in a double boiler). Remove from heat and whisk until cool, adding vitamin E oil, almond oil, and essential oils as it begins to thicken. Spoon cream into a jar, cover, and store 1 to 2 days in a cool, dark place.

Note: The beeswax mixture can be sticky when it cools. To minimize cleanup time, try this disposable version of a double boiler: Put the ingredients you need to melt into a clean, empty aluminum can. Place the can in a water bath inside a heavy saucepan, then bring the water to a simmer and melt the ingredients as you normally would. When you're done, simply dispose of the can.