If you missed our home spa segment on Friday’s 12 News Valley Dish, here are the beauty recipes seen on the show. These DIY concoctions are simple to whip up at home with ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen. And yes, that is the gorgeous and fearless host Tram Mai, decked out Spa Girls style!
Hot Lips Sugar Scrub
Pucker up Spa Girls! The perfect pout starts with a clean canvas free of dry, flaky, icky skin. Whip up this easy homemade lip scrub before you jump in the shower on date night or anytime dry skin mars that gorgeous smile of yours! The cinnamon just makes it taste good but if you’re looking for a natural plumper, add a tiny drop of cinnamon leaf essential oil (available at mountainroseherbs.com and other herbal distributors).
- 1 tablespoon fine-grain brown sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of safflower or grape seed oil
- Dash of cinnamon (optional)
Mix ingredients in a small bowl until it forms a pasty consistency. Gently massage lips and lip lines with the mixture in circular motions. Rinse with warm water. Licking your lips is also perfectly acceptable! Use the remaining on the back of your hands or store in an air-tight container for up to two weeks. Follow up with an SPF moisturizing lip balm.
Veggie Me Face Mask
Time to get messy in the kitchen! The heavy cream makes the mask rich and creamy while lavishing it with protein and lactic acid, which gently helps unhinge dead skin cells. Loaded with vitamins and anti-oxidants, carrots have anti-inflammatory properties that promote repair of skin tissue. Avocado give your skin a healthy heap of nourishing vitamins, essential fatty acids and protective phytochemicals. Honey is a natural humectant that draws in and retains moisture.
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 carrot (cooked and mashed)
- 1 avocado (peeled and mashed)
- 3 tablespoons pure honey
Combine ingredients in a bowl and spread over face and neck. Relax for 15 minutes. Rinse with cool water.
Crantini Toner
Tone and tighten with this cosmopolitan astringent! Vodka is a natural preservative and an effective pore minimizer but if you have dry skin, cut back or skip it altogether. However, if you do skip the vodka, use within a day or two. Witch hazel helps to sooth and shrink swollen tissue. An natural antioxidant, cranberry will give you skin a kiss of protective nourishment.
- 1/2 cup vodka
- 1/2 cup witch hazel
- one shot of 100% cranberry juice
- fresh lemon wedge
Pour vodka and witch hazel into a glass measuring glass. Add the shot of juice and a twist of lemon. Apply to skin with clean cotton ball. Pour into a glass bottle or spray-top bottle for storage.
Tried-and-True Cucumber Eye Soak
Okay, it’s not just a wives’ tale … cucumbers really do help relieve puffiness, sore eyes and eye fatigue. Cukes have a high water content, which helps soothe and cool eyes. The trace amounts of salt helps draw excess water from the tissue surrounding the eyes, reducing puffiness. They also help to tone and firm the skin around the eyes.
- Thinly sliced cucumbers
- Bowl of ice
Allow cucumber slices to cool on the ice for a few minutes. Place a cucumber slice over each eyelid and relax for 10 to 15 minutes. And here’s a little secret the resident spa boy came up with: If you want to keep your peepers open during this treatment, cut the slices in half and use them just under your eyes.
