Maui take me away!

Almond Body Scrub

¼ Cup Rolled Oats

¼ Cup Raw Almonds

¼ Cup Water

2 Tablespoons Oil (Coconut, Sesame or Olive)

(Optional: Few drops of your favorite essential oil)

Grind all ingredients in a blender or food processor.  In the shower, scrub entire body and rinse off.  Excellent for circulation and detoxifying your skin, this treatment will leave your skin feeling revived and smooth.  Enjoy!

Banana Avocado Body Mask

1 Whole Ripe Avocado

1 Whole Banana, Mashed

¼ Cup Plain Yogurt

Scoop out the meat of one ripe avocado and mix together with the mashed banana and yogurt.  Spread mask onto your body and cover yourself with a big bath towel.  Prepare a warm wash cloth to cover your eyes.  Play soft, relaxing music and unwind for 15 minutes.   Shower and rinse off the mask and pat skin dry.  Moisturizer or lotion is unnecessary as your skin will feel soft and naturally hydrated.

Image credit: John Carluccio

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Sweet Hearts Sparkly Body Lotion is paraben-free.

While parabens are considered safe because of their “low toxicity profile,” they can cause skin irritation in people with paraben allergies.  And parabens can mimic the hormone estrogen, which is linked the development of breast tumors and cancers. Yikes!  No wonder the industry is trending towards paraben-free products.

Hands2Go Instant Foaming Hand Sanitizer

Here are a few products I’ve tried and give the Hot Mama Daily stamp of approval:

Noah’s Naturals Grapefruit Shower Gel with Plant Cleansers ($7.99): The creamy, mild shower gel gently cleanses without stripping your skin of moisture. It nourishes with herbal extracts, vitamins, and natural emollients. 

Noah's Natural products are all natural.

Sweet Hearts Sparkly Body Lotion by Sparklehearts Natural Beauty for Girls ($12.49): Sparklehearts was started by best friends Hilary Orr and Darcy McMahon.  Once these industrious ladies found out that 60 percent of everything you apply to your skin is absorbed in your body, they decided to make their own organic products.  The products come in bright, playful colors and are perfect for tweens, teens, and fun gals of all ages.

Hands2Go Instant Foaming Hand Sanitizer ($2.60): This alcohol-free hand sanitizer comes with a handy pump. It’s moisturizing, fragrance-free, and has twice as many applications as alcohol gel.

Image credit: Sparklehearts/Facebook, Amazon.com, Walmart

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I’ve been using an astringent since I was an acne-prone teen, and always thought it was a necessary skin care step for cleansing your pores and getting rid of excess dirt before applying a moisturizer.  As I’ve become more beauty savvy, I discovered products that look like astringents called “toners.”

Cranberry Anti-oxidant Toner

Although astringents and toners are essentially the same type of products, an aesthetician recently explained to me that astringents are way too harsh and can strip the skin of its natural PH balance.  On the other hand, a natural toner like Cygalle Healing Spa’s Cranberry Anti-Oxidant Toner contains natural, refreshing ingredients (cranberry juice, Vitamin C, chamomile, plum, and sandalwood) and no alcohol.  Thus, it aims to soothe and hydrate the skin.

Unless I have a major acne flare-up, I’m going to shelve my alcohol-based astringent for a while and use  a natural toner.  

But I’m sure there is a lot more to the Astringent vs. Toner argument, and I would love your feedback.

Image credit: Cygalle Healing Spa, Clean & Clear

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Here are four helpful home recipes from the Epsom Salt Council that you can incorporate into your beauty regimen:

Rite Aid Epsom Salt

• Gentle facial: Mix 1/2 TSP of Epsom Salt into cleansing cream for a deep-pore cleansing. Massage and rinse with cool water. Pat dry.

• Relaxing soak: Add two cups of Epsom Salt to your bath water; soak for at least 12 minutes, three times weekly. Add a few drops of eucalyptus oil for a refreshing scent.

• Hair volumizer: Combine equal parts of warm, deep conditioner and Epsom Salt. Work the warm mixture through your hair and leave on for 20 minutes. Rinse.

• Foot scrub: Mix 2 cups of Epsom Salt with 1/4 cup of petroleum jelly and a few drops of your favorite essential oil. Use the mixture to gently scrub the heels and dry, rough patches on the feet. Repeat every few days.

Image credit: Drugstore.com

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Dr. Teal's Epsom Salt (Image courtesy of Walmart)

Apparently, I’m not alone in my affection for this affordable, medicinal bath and beauty product. Hot Mama Daily reader Sandhi Schimmel Gold, writes, “My favorite [bath product] is Kiehl’s Lavendar Soaking salt, but when I’m on a budget, I’ll go for Epsom salts.”

She adds a great tip for cold and flu season: “If I feel like I’m getting sick, I take a hot bath and put as much ginger in [fresh or powdered] as I can stand.  It always wards off the cold!”

According to the Epsom Salt Council, Epsom Salt is a pure mineral compound (magnesium sulfate) in crystal form that gently exfoliates skin and smoothes rough patches.  Its potential benefits include:

• May soften skin and exfoliate
• Ease stress
• Lower blood pressure
• Create a happy, relaxed feeling
• Raise energy levels

Stay tuned for a few Epsom Salt beauty recipes you can use at home.

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D:tox System (image courtesy of Giovanni Cosmetics)

This organic detoxifying regimen contains charcoal and volcanic ash from the Mediterranean Sea. These active ingredients are intended to cleanse your pores, and absorb toxins, impurities and excess oils that interfere with skin clarity.

The purifying body care system is also made with hand – harvested goji and acai, and exotic super-antioxidants to nourish and rejuvenate, infuse the skin with vitamins and minerals, and rejuvenate your skin to its smoothest state. The products are gently fragranced by essential oils of luscious fig and clean green tea.

The new D:tox System line includes four products that are meant to give your skin a pure, natural and invigorating detoxification.

·         Step 1: Body Wash

·         Step 2: Bar Soap

·         Step 3: Body Scrub

·         Step 4: Body Lotion

Giovanni Cosmetics has pledged to donate a portion of its proceeds from the D:tox line to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

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Koko Haze Natural Deoderette

As a beauty and style blogger, I’m sent a lot of freebies (it seems that may change soon) and I eventually get around to sampling most of the products I receive. And it’s a good thing I had the Koko Haze Natural Deodorette (0.30 oz; $10) by Mbeze sample I picked up during Fashion Week in my purse.

The compact deodorant made with all natural and organic ingredients has the tropical scent of coconut and toasted hazelnut, and is sweetened with a touch of mango tea and orange.  

While the verdict is still out on whether Koko Haze could replace my every day deodorant, it’s certainly a handy, easy-to-pack backup.

Image credit: Mbeze.com

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Cranberry Anti-oxidant Toner

• Cygalle Healing Spa, an eco-friendly mobile spa popular with celebs including Rosario Dawson, has launched a new line of natural facial products for men and women made with certified ingredients like peppermint leaf, green tea, and lavender oil.  I’m fond of the refreshing Cranberry Anti-Oxidant Toner ($50), which contains nourishing organic cranberry juice and Vitamin C to gently refine, while enhancing texture and appearance.

Face Smoothing Gel

• I’m on an exfoliation kick.  First, I told you about Aromatherapy Associates’ Balance Purifying Facial Scrub. Now allow me to introduce a Face Smoothing Gel ($29) by Australian beauty and wellness company, Become. The anti-aging smoothing gel is an ideal morning exfoliation treatment infused with jojoba beads that polish rather than scratch, algae extract that firms and tones, and quartz extract that energizes.

Proactiv Pore Refining Peel

• Proactiv is perhaps the most popular product line for acne-prone skin. The new Proactiv Pore Refining Peel ($20) contains glycolic acid to help diminish pore size and the appearance of fine lines. The Pore Refining Peel pads come in a pack of 15 and the perfect, travel-ready way to combat breakouts.  The peel is most effective when used along with the Proactiv 3-Step System.

Image credit: Become, Cygalle Healing Spa, Proactiv

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JAMU Jasmine Frangipani Body, Hand & Foot scrub

The exotic, organic JAMU product line includes an array of  organic massage oils, hand and body lotions, bath and shower gels, body, hand and foot scrubs, and bath salts.  

I’ve had the pleasure of using Jasmine Frangipani ($35), a 17th century palace ritual from Indonesia thought to inspire love.  I like the sound of that.  The product can be used as a body, hand, and foot scrub and is traditionally given to the bride-to-be by women in her family as sentiment of handing down knowledge.

Other popular JAMU scrubs include: calming Bali Flowers; stimulating Coconilla; sweet Island Fruits; and detoxifying Thai. Visit  JAMU’s website for more product info.  JAMU products are also available at mySpaShop.com as part of their “Virtual Journey to Bali.”

Image credit: JAMU Spa

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Image courtesy of Zia Natural Skincare

The 15-Minute Face Lift ($20.95) is paraben free, and promises to smooth fine lines and provide temporary wrinkle reduction. The ingredients include cornstarch, wheat protein and silk powder that help improve tightness of  the cheeks, neck, chin, and brow.  The beauty mask also increases circulation and “plumps up” facial muscles to firm skin for up to 10 hours.

Egg white proteins and natural allantoin firm and soften the skin, while Ylang ylang and cypress essential oils soothe and minimize irritation.  I haven’t tried it yet, but the 15-Minute Face Lift is one of  Zia’s most popular treatments.

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