Tag: DIY

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Hibiscus Tea Bags As Natural Blush

🌺HIBISCUS TEA BAGS AS NATURAL BLUSH🌺Missing my tan/sunkissed look from Colombia. I started using Hibiscus tea bags to get a natural sunkissed look on days I am not putting face makeup on. I really look so different when I have a healthy tan or glow vs when I haven’t seen the sun in months. I only wear makeup a few times a week, mainly when I go out. I mainly just put some lipstick/stain on and recently like to also add the hibiscus to make my face look more lively. ⠀ ⠀

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I was going for a subtle look, but you can also achieve a more red color if desired. This has been staying on super well for me! ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀

You can also freeze the tea bags prior to. The frozen tea bags wakes up the skin and the hibiscus tighters and gives a natural flush ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀

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Other benefits of hibiscus for your skin:

🌺Helps with age spots

🌺Encourage an all round fresher, younger, smoother looking complexion. ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀

🌺The natural acids present in Hibiscus help to purify the skin by breaking down dead skin and increasing cell turnover & can help to control acne breakouts.

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Nut Milk: How to make your own & recipe

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Why make your own nutmilk?

  1. Many store bought nut milk brands contain additives to prolong their shelf life and to help keep a consistent texture like carrageenan which is destructive to the digestive system and causes inflammation in your body. Carrageenan is hiding in many store bought nut milks, dairy-free ice creams and dairy products. For example, So Delicious is a popular brand in the dairy free world which has carrageenan in their nut milks and DF ice cream products.  Its safer to make your own nut milk (and nice cream-link to nice cream recipes) to avoid consuming additives.
  2. Making your own nut milk has a creamier texture and tastes better.
  3. Just like juicing, there is leftover pulp after milking your own nuts. Another reason to make your own Nutmilk is that there are multiple uses for the leftover nut pulp, which I get into below.image1(1)

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups raw unsalted organic hazelnuts
  • 6 cups filtered of purified water
  • 2 tbsp local raw honey or manuka honey
  • 1 vanilla bean or 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 3 tbsp raw cacao powder
  • 1 frozen banana
  • 1 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

1) Soak raw hazelnuts and vanilla bean (if using bean and not extract) in filtered water for 8 hours.

2) Discard soaking water. Rinse the hazelnuts and the vanilla bean.

3) Place soaked hazelnuts, honey, vanilla bean and 6 cups of water in a blender. Cover and blend on high for 1-2 minutes. It will be milky and have a bit of foam on the top.

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4) Strain milk through a nut bag. I use Ellie‘s Best.They are good quality and BPA free. If you order from them, for 10% off, use Coupon Code: Deanna10 at checkout. They also have a free nut milk recipes E-book on their site.

5) Add raw cacao powder, cinnamon, banana to the Nutmilk and blend together. Note: I have seen people add the cacao/cinnamon before using the Nutmilk as well (in step 3).

  • I do not recommend using the cheesecloth, strainer or any other method. These methods are messy and require multiple passes to strain out the bits. Also, it is not as creamy as when I use a good nut milk bag.

What to do with leftover pulp?

  • Add it to smoothies or your morning oatmeal
  • Add it to dips, homemade granola, to the batter of your cookies or muffin
  • Make crackers
  • Dehydrate it and blend it to make almond meal
  • Add it to DIY cosmetics, Ex: body scrubs, face masks. See my DIY  Hazelnut Body Polish
  • Compost it.

Check out my Instagram @dshamptonorganics for more.

References

“Our Nut Milk Bag.” Ellie’s Best. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Mar. 2017.

Yang, Bo, Sumit Bhattacharyya, Robert Linhardt, and Joanne Tobacman. “Exposure to Common Food Additive Carrageenan Leads to Reduced Sulfatase Activity and Increase in Sulfated Glycosaminoglycans in Human Epithelial Cells.” Biochimie. U.S. National Library of Medicine, June 2012. Web. 08 Mar. 2017.   Web here

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Hormone Balancing Body Scrub

What we put onto our body is just as important as what we put into our body. The epidermis, or skin, is the largest organ in the human body and everything we put on topically gets absorbed into our body. In today’s western society, many people have hormonal imbalance due to toxic environmental factors and the food we eat. There are many skin products on the market which also have ingredients that can disrupt your hormones.  Also, artificial hormones are given to beef and dairy cattle to make them grow faster. When we eat the meat or dairy from an animal, we are consuming vitamins as hormones or steroids that were fed to the animals, disrupting our endocrine system in our own body. This causes many health problems and disease when ingested over extended periods of time. Some (more intuitive) symptoms from hormonal disturbances include PMS, period cramps, breast tenderness, irregular periods (for women) hormonal acne and more.

This scrub is made with Ylang Ylang essential oil and Primrose Oil. Both help regulate the hormone balance in one’s body. Below I listed all of the ingredients. I also went into further depth of the benefits of Primrose Oil and Ylang Ylang.

Ingredients

  • Coconut Oil- 1 cup
  • Avocado Oil- 3 tbsp
  • Sea Salt- 1 cup (or until desired scrub texture)
  • Primrose Oil – 3 tbsp
  • Ylang Ylang Essential Oil- 10 drops
  • Citris Bliss Blend Essential Oil – 10 drops

Ylang Ylang:

  • Helps balance hormones
  • Promotes healthy skin and hair
  • lifts mood while having a calming effect

Primrose Oil:

Primrose oil, obtained from the seed of the evening primrose plant. This oil is best known to help balance out hormonal levels.

Hormonal Health: This helps with hormonal related problems including PMS symptoms like menstrual cramps, breast pain, acne, depression, irritability, unclear thinking or menopause disorder. Primrose could also help with Polycystic ovarian syndrom (PCOS) which is an endocrine disorder that could occur in women who are of reproductive age. This can impact a women’s fertility and could lead to ovary cysts, irregular menstrual cycles, acne and other irregular symptoms.

Evening primrose is a rich source of Omega-6 fatty acids, which is one of the main reasons it helps with hormonal function in the body. This includes gamma linolenic acid (GLA) which is essential for the proper functioning of the body. In particular, those who have lower levels of GLA are alcoholics and diabetes patients. This deficiency can cause rheumatoid arthritis symptoms and cardiovascular disease. Taking primrose can help with alcohol withdrawl. The human brain is prompted by GLA, which makes prostaglandin (a type of hormone). This helps in managing alcohol withdrawal symptoms like seizures and depression. It indirectly protects the nervous system and liver.

Skin Health: Evening primrose oil is considered the best remedy to cure eczema and many other skin-related problems. GLA, mentioned in the previous paragraph, a fatty acid content in this oil is essential for skin health. The oil is safe to apply to sensitive skin to help with skin hydration.  Primrose can also boost blood circulation, which prevents and treats tired looking skin and under the eyes when applied topically 2x a day. This oil also helps to nourish hair, scalp and nails.

For more, check my Instagram at @nychamptonshealth

References

“Evening Primrose Oil Treats PMS Pain & Infertility.” Dr. Axe, draxe.com/evening-primrose-oil/. Accessed 27 Feb. 2017.

“Essential Oil Usage Guide A-Z.” Essential Oil Usage Guide A-Z, doterra-oil.blogspot.com/p/essential-oil-usage-guide-z.html. Accessed 27 Feb. 2017.

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Simple Lip Scrub

image14Ingredients đź“ť

  • 1tsp honey
  • 1tsp coconut oil or olive oil
  • 1tsp sugar

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Directions:

Mix together in bowl and apply to lips. Massage for about 30 seconds and wipe off. Moisturize your lips after and/or apply lipstick for the night. The natural Chapstick I posted 3 days ago is perfect to use after the exfoliant.

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This scrub gives your lips a healthier, fuller look. I love these coconut oil packages from Trader Joes to take with me traveling. Use one pack & pack of sugar to take with you on the go. Be aware that plastic is oil soluble so this is not ideal to use all of the time & much safer to buy oils in glass bottles

Fore more, check out my instagram @nychamptonshealth

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Natural Beach Waves Hairspray

The Beach Waves Hairspray gives a beachy, tousled, wavy or curly effect (as seen in photo). Sometimes I will just use it on my roots if I am looking for more volume. image1-2

Ingredients:

  • 2 tbsp sea salt
  • 1 tbsp epsom salt
  • Lemon essential oil (to make hair lighter & for scent)
  • Lavender essentail oil
  • 1 cup filtered water

For more check out my instagram @nychamptonshealth

Why I ditched my mainstream hairspray: Two very common toxic ingredients in hairspray include fragrance and ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate amongst many others.

  • Fragrance: The major concern with fragrance is that it is not required by law to disclose the individual ingredients used to produce it. Companies can add anything into their product and dub it as “fragrance” which could be a mix of synthetic and natural ingredients.
  • Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate. Has been nominated to The National Toxicology Program in 2006. It is a known and studied endocrine disruptor, effecting estrogen and thyroid activity. It affects several body functions including body development, brain functionality and metabolic activity. Estrogenic disruption has been linked to breast cancer.

Moisturizing Hair Masks: This hairspray is drying to the hair due to the salt. Below are some good natural combinations you can try.

Coconut Oil Hair Mask

  • Put Coconut oil all over hair
  • Put a towel over your pillow or hair in a shower cap and leave in over night.
  • It takes a good few washes to fully get the coconut oil out of your hair.

Mayonnaise & Egg Yolk Hair Mask

  • 1 cups mayo
  • 1 egg yolks
  • 1 cup of olive oil
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • Put on Shower Cap or Saran Wrap. Wrap in a warm towel to help Mayo penetrate into hair.
  • Leave on for 30 min.
  • Shower

References

“Campaign for Safe Cosmetics-working for Safer Cosmetics.” Safe Cosmetics. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Nov. 2016.

“Home – National Toxicology Program.” U.S National Library of Medicine. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2016.

“Household Products Database – Health and Safety Information on Household Products.” U.S National Library of Medicine. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 8 Nov. 2016.

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Teeth Whitening Formula- Homemade & Natural

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Ingredients:

  • Coconut Oil
  • Turmeric
  • Activated Charcoal
  • Bentonite Clay
  • Mix these four ingredients together. Below are the approx ratios I used for Turmeric, Activated Charcoal and Bentonite Clay. Mix the coconut oil until you get a smooth paste-like consistency.
    • 3:6 Turmeric
    • 2:6 Activated Charcoal
    • 1:6 Bentonite Clay

Directions:

  • Brush your teeth with this for a few minutes and leave it on your teeth for 2+ minutes before brushing your teeth normally. Sometimes I will leave it on for 15 minutes if I have time.
  • Do not dip your toothbrush into the mix. Use a wooden or plastic spoon NOT use metal. Bentonite Clay & Activated Charcoal both bind to metals and toxins. If you use a metal spoon, you reducing the clay & charcoals ability to remove metals from your mouth.
  • For maximum results, oil pull with activated charcoal mixed into the oil in the AM & use this formula before brushing teeth in PM.

I used to use Crest White Strips whenever I wanted my teeth to look really white. They worked extremely well within a day or within a few days. People would always comment on how white my teeth were when I used them.
However, my teeth were always sensitive after using them and since I’ve been using them on and off for 10 years are permanently sensitive. I also noticed my bottom teeth are slightly translucent toward the top. Once I started working in finance 3 years ago and not getting much sleep, I was drinking 1-2 cups of coffee s day and noticed my teeth started to get more yellow. I’ve been hesitant since to use the white strips due to the sensitively (being in only 24) and am glad I came up with this formula that’s non-toxic and healthy for your teeth and mouth!

For more, check out my Instagram @dshamptonorganics

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Homemade Organic Dry Shampoo

FullSizeRender (1).jpgAbove is a photo of me using my dry shampoo a few days after getting my hair blown out. 

Ingredients:

  • Arrowroot Powder
  • Cacao Powder
  • Lemon essential oil – to get golden highlights
  • Rosemary essential oil- to promote hair growth
  • Eucalyptus- for a dry scalp

Directions:

  • Use more arrowroot powder for lighter hair and cacao powder for darker hair
  • Massage the arrowroot into your scalp & in first couple of inches of hair if desired.
  • Take note: I personally used arrowroot powder because I wanted to make my hair look lighter.
    • If you decide to mix in cacao, be aware some of this residue could come off onto your pillow at night. I am not sure if it would stain or if any type of bug would be attracted to if (in NYC). I haven’t experimented with this or seen this being an issue in my research but it could be something to keep in mind.

Many of my friends use dry shampoo or baby powder as a dry shampoo on days they want to skip washing their hair or to extend a blowout for a few days.  There have been many links to the talcum in baby powder and cancer. When hearing this, I decided to come up with my own powder very similar to baby powder but one that is beneficial for your skin, hair and body instead of being detrimental toward your health.

In the most recent lawsuit against Johnson and Johnson (February 2016), $72 million dollars was awarded to to a women’s family for using their baby powder which contributed to her ovarian cancer death after 35 years of use. See more in an article here.

For more, check out my instagram at @nychamptonshealth

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Homemade Organic Chapstick

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Ingredients: 

  1. Beeswax Pastilles – 1 tbsp
  2. Coconut Oil- 1 tbsp
  3. Shea Butter- 1 tbsp
  4. Essential oil 2 drops- optional

Directions:

  1. Mix ingredients & heat on stove until melted
  2. Use a dropper to put liquid into lip holder
  3. Put in fridge about 5 min until solid

 

Like most people, I used to use Chapstick Cherry flavor, which is filled with harmful ingredients.Some ingredients include: Arachidyl propionate, camphor, carnauba wax, cetyl alcohol, D&C red no. 6 barium lake, fragrance, propylparaben, isopropyl myristate, lanolin, menthol, methylparaben, 

My general rule when reading labels is that if I don’t know what something is, it probably isin’t good for you. Below are two simple ingredients to keep an eye out for and are in many products. I also bolded and underlined these ingredients above.

Fragrance:  The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) reports that “95% of the ingredients used to create fragrances today are synthetic compounds derived from petroleum, including benzene derivatives, aldehydes, and many other known toxins and sensitizers.” According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), there are potentially hundreds of chemicals in a single product’s secret fragrance mixture.

Parabens: Stay away from any word ending in “paraben” (as seen above). Parabens are used as a preservative in cosmetics, foods and drugs and are very commonly used. Parabens are known to cause endocrine disruption, cancer, developmental and reproductive toxicity.

For more, check out my Instagram @dshamptonorganics

References:

“EWG.” EWG. Web. 22 Apr. 2016.

“About Us.” National Academy of Sciences. Web. 22 Apr. 2016.

“Parabens – Safe Cosmetics.” Safe Cosmetics. Web. 21 Apr. 2016.

 

 

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Essential Oil Perfume

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I made my own personalized perfume with essential oils from Soapology located in the West Village, NYC.

Soapology has natural products including scrubs, soaps, candles, lotions, perfumes and a few more options are available. I also have their Walnut Polisher and find it to be a great light body exfoliant.

I decided to make my own perfume after finding out 95% of chemicals used in fragrances are synthetic compounds derived from petroleum. They include benzene derivatives, aldehydes, and many other known toxins and sensitizers- capable of causing cancer, birth defects, central nervous system disorders and allergic reactions. Its been a 5 months since I have been using essential oils instead of perfume. Now, when someone has too much perfume on, I am sensitive to the toxic smell.

It took me about an hour to come up with my own blend. I started smelling all of the different essential oils (they have about 50) and placed the ones that I liked on a side table. The two women working at the boutique store were very helpful in assisting me. The essential oils that I liked are shown in the photo. I finally narrowed it down to a Ginger, Yuzu, White Tea and Vetiver Blend. After choosing your blend, Soapology writes down the exact recipe saves it for future reference.

I made this blend two months ago in February and it still smells great! I have gotten compliments on it and use it often. This is a great light and sweet summer scent. Soapology also has pre-blended essential oil perfume options if you do not want to create your own. I bought the “Seductive” blend but the scent seems to have changed since I bought it two months ago.

After buying both perfumes, I learned that when making a essential oil blend perfume, you are supposed to use alcohol to preserve and meld the scents. A good alcohol option to use is a non-GMO spiced rum. Now that I have a blend I know I like, I might decide to buy these essential oils from a well trusted brand like doTERRA  and make it on my own.

Below are some benefits of each essential oil I used in my perfume:

  • Vetiver– A plant oil. Heave, earthy fragrance that is grounding, calming and stabilizing. An aphrodisiac.
  • Yuzu– a Japanese fruit with a citrus smell. Yuzu helps with anxiety, depression and nervousness.
  • Ginger oil– when smelt or when applied directly to skin, can help relieve aches and pains, as well as promote normal blood circulation and help with digestive problems.

There is a boutique store only a few blocks away from Soapology called Enfleurage in the West Village, NYC with many essential oils. This is a great place to buy essential oils if you wanted to make your own perfume at home. They do not blend essential oils here for you.

*With essential oils it is important to be buying them from a reliable brand to avoid a company including any type of fillers in the essential oils to lower their costs. It is also important to remember that “natural” and “organic” do not have any official meaning in the beauty industry when placed on products or verbally stated. To find out more about this see FDA on Organic Cosmetic Labeling. Also the term “therapeutic grade” is commonly used within the essential oil industry but also has no meaning and is also used for marketing purposes. It is important to ask questions to find out how the product is made and with what ingredients.  After doing my own research, doTERRA seems like a reliable brand. They have a lot of information available on their essential oils, where they come from and how they are made.  “Scientia Potentia Est.”

For more check out my instagram @nychamptonshealth

References:

“U.S. Food and Drug Administration.” “Organic” Cosmetics. Web. 19 Apr. 2016.

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Homemade Natural Hand Sanitizer

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Ingredients:

  • Rubbing Alcohol 1 tsp
  • Aloe Vera Gel 1/4 cup
  • Cinnamon Essential Oil- 10 drops (natural antibacterial)
  • Tea Tree Essential Oil- 7 drops (natural antibacterial)
  • Distilled Water to get it to your desired consistency (in solid or spray form)

According to the Wall Street Journal’s article “Are Antibacterial Soaps Safe?“, since lab and animal studies both suggest these antibacterial soaps are unsafe, the FDA is recently taking a closer look at this $5.5 billion dollar industry. The FDA states that they will announce whether or not antibacterial soaps will be able to be sold as they are today. This announcement will be in September of 2016. If the vote is unfavorable toward companies producing antibacterial soaps, they will need to reformulate their line of antibacterial products without the harmful chemicals.

The article continues saying “We now know we can measure small amounts of ingredients in blood and that things you put on your skin can potentially be absorbed into the body,” Dr. Theresa Michelle states. Her advice for now? “Wash your hands with plain soap and water, because we do not have enough data demonstrating antibacterial soaps are any better” in fighting disease.

The below ingredients are currently under review. Since it is not proven these ingredients are safe to use on your skin, it would be a good idea to avoid using them, not only in hand sanitizes but also in other cosmetic products you use. All of the recipes I post on my website are all natural.

  • Isopropyl Alcohol- Used in the hand sanitizers nurses and doctors use various times each day, the high concentration and frequent exposure is a concern.
  • Triclosan- This was found in high levels in human breast milk and urine and may interfere with normal development and function in humans and animals.
  • Benzalkonium Chloride- This ingredient comes with potential hormonal disruptions and is a possible carcinogen.
  • Benzethonium Chloride- Possible effects on fertility issues, body weight at birth, growth and development.
  • Iodine- Should never be used on pregnant or breast feeding women.
  • Chloroxylenol- Has been found in internal tissues after skin application.

References:

Landro, Laura. “Are Antibacterial Soaps Safe?” The Wall Street Journal. 15 Feb. 2016. Web. 16 Feb. 2016