DIY Gardener's Hand Scrub

Love this recipe for a gentle heavy duty hand scrub.  This is perfect for The Captain, who gets greasy and grimy hands from working on the van.  It is also a great hand scrub for routine exfoliation.

Simple and easy . . . click here to get the recipe.

DIY Banana Mask for Damaged Hair

Gotta love these DIY beauty recipes that use items we may already have.  And now we have another use for those bananas that have ripened too fast.

The oil I strongly recommend is argan oil.  

A couple of years ago, The Captain treated me to one of those magical hair straightening irons from a mall kiosk where they take time to show you what the product will do for you and how to use it.  

The girl used argan oil before and after straightening my hair with the iron . . . I've never had that healthy looking straight hair in my whole life.  In no time, the argan oil made it possible to get that soft, super shiny hair.  And I can now achieve that look at home.

Since then, I have started making my own artisan soaps.  After doing quite a bit of research, I will not make a bar of soap that does not include argan oil.  We even use our soaps to wash our hair.  It is that good!

If you happen to have some bentonite clay from making other DIY beauty recipes, I would recommend using 1/2 tsp in this mask.  It is also an awesome ingredient for hair.

"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." (about.com see source link)

Can't wait to try this recipe!  

For more DIY hair treatments, click here.

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.

DIY Boutique Style Hair Bow

Look at the cute hair bow you can make with some ribbon!

Devon at Midwestern Mom has posted an excellent tutorial on how to make this cute hair bow.  Click here to go to the tutorial. 

For more boutique style hair bow tutorials click here . . . WOW, lots of tutorials here.  

While you are at Devon's blog, don't forget to check out more craft projects and recipes.

Essential Oil DIY Beauty Recipes

As I await my first shipment of supplies to make my own artisan soap, I've been checking out all types of DIY beauty projects.  There is no comparison for natural artisan soap vs. commercial soap and I'm sure it is the same with other items.

Buying these products has become an expensive endeavor, so finding recipes and making the attempt to make my own has become a very exciting venture.

Jennifer at Busy Being Jennifer caught the bug of using essential oils in these projects and has written a very informative article containing many DIY beauty recipes.  Click here for the article.