Removing Makeup using Coconut Oil

Hello friends,

I'm back with another blogpost!

www.liliashealthbook.blogspot.com

In this post, I will share with you a super easy makeup remover using only one ingredient: Coconut oil.

When I began using makeup, I thought that I had to use the pricey store bought makeup removers, especially for eye makeup. I wanted to use something that was natural of course, but also with ingredients that if entered the eyes were deemed safe. Finding an all natural makeup remover wasn't easy to find. I did my research to find that oil, especially coconut oil works just as fine, if not better than store-bought removers. 

Coconut oil is very safe to use around the eyes. It removes the most stubborn eye makeup, such as mascara, leaving your eye lashes nicely conditioned. Due to its anti-bacterial properties, coconut oil is suited to remove makeup on the face and around the eyes. Always go for the extra-virgin organic coconut oil for quality.

I use coconut oil daily, both internally and externally and I love it. Other ways to include coconut oil in your daily life can be found using this link.


I hope this helps,

Brown Sugar Cocoa Body Scub

Hello friends,

In this post I will share with you how I achieve soft, supple skin all year round, but especially now that the weather is warmer. 

Body scrubs provide the best of both worlds once it comes to the skin: exfoliation and moisturization.  Summer is fast approaching, revealing more skin. Body scrubs will help you to put your best skin forward every time. 

This Brown sugar cocoa body scrub recipe will help you achieve silky, soft, supple skin. You won’t even need to lotion afterwards.

Brown Sugar Cocoa Body Scrub 

                                                                                                                                                              

• ·       ½ - 1 cup of brown sugar
• ·       ¼ cup of cocoa butter
• ·       4 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
• ·       Essential oil of your choice (In this recipe I used lavender)

Enjoy before or after your shower or bath. Massage this into your skin until the sugar dissolves. The olive oil and cocoa butter will leave your skin feeling super soft and supple, while the brown sugar will exfoliate, removing dead skin. Moreover, your lymphatic system will thank you!

Enjoy your new body scrub.

Caution: your bath tub may be slippery!

I hope this helps,

Detoxification 101: The Skin (Part 3)

Hello friends,

I promised to write a post on the skin being one of the largest elimination organs, so here it is! Please refer to my detoxification post and the liver detox post for more details on detoxification. 

The skin is the largest organ. Yes, the biggest!

Its function is to protect everything else that’s underneath; which means that we need to show our skin constant love and care. The skin also helps to control our body temperature.

Source

The skin is made up of 3 layers:

                The top layer - epidermis (what you see)

                Middle Layer –  the dermis, houses nerve endings, blood vessels, oil glands, sweat glands, collagen and elastin

                Third layer – this is where you can find the subcutaneous tissue (fat).

So now that we’ve quickly gone over the layers, let’s talk about how we can keep our skin healthy via detoxing. 

The epidermis is what we can see, but what we cannot see is the formation of new skin cells. As new skin cells push their way to the epidermis, old skin or dead skin cells slough off.

Did you know that a typical skin cell has a life cycle of about 2 weeks? In fact, we lose about 30,000-40,000 skin cells per minute, every day.

So what does the skin have to do with detoxification?

The process of detoxifying :: removing toxins:: removing impurities::cleansing.

Again, the skin is the largest organ. It is a major detoxifying organ, because it excretes waste via sweat. Also, the skin acts as a respiratory organ- it is porous; it breathes.  For instance, one of the side effects of going through any detox often involves skin blemishes. This is a sign of the detoxification process-toxins being expelled through our pores. Our bodies are constantly cleansing and removing waste, but there are many things that we can do to help that process run more smoothly.

 

Important note: The skin is a reflection of our insides. In other words, the skin reflects the health of our large intestines and other organs. (this is why daily bowel movements are so important for me). There is  definitely a connection between the large intestines and the skin. When the body has a difficult time removing waste through the colon (i.e. bowel movements), the body finds other avenues to get rid of that waste. And that pathway is usually the skin (gross right!). Pimples, blemishes, acne, cysts all surface as the body tries to get rid of waste. Some people can eat whatever and still have perfect skin, that is not the case for me. My skin is not perfect at all, but it has definitely improved.

It is of utmost importance that we keep our intestines clean. Make a conscious effort to get as much water, veggies and fruits as you can will definitely help to do just that. If you’re being with me for a little while, then you know I do this via my delicious green smoothies. (link ) In summary, a clean large intestine reflects healthier looking skin, but this is just 1 way of keeping the skin clear. There are many other ways:

1.  Skin Brushing – I’ve never tried this yet, but I hope to do so in the near future. Dry skin brushing is easy to do and the health benefits are amazing. Dry skin brushing improves blood circulation to the skin encouraging the lymphatic system to release toxins and to drain any trapped metabolic waste, thereby, keeping the blood and other tissues clean. Also dry skin brushing reduces cellulite and puffiness. Most visibly, dry skin brushing sloughs away dry, dead skin to help reveal new skin cells. 
2. Sweating- a great way to detox the body and release toxins and waste. Sweating is good; this is why I’m against deodorants that prevent sweating under the arms for long periods of time. Infrared saunas are especially great for this method of skin detoxing. They encourage sweating and claim to improve circulation and to eliminate heavy metals in the body.   
3. Exercising- is not only great for the skin, but for overall health. I love cardio workouts for this reason. I get to sweat and my heart gets a great workout.
4. Baths- not just any bath- A detox bath will definitely assist the body in the elimination of waste and toxins. Ingredients like Epsom salt, baking soda, bentonite clay, essential oils, like lavender, tea tree oil etc. are key to most detox bath recipes.

** These are just some ways to encourage your body to detox via the skin. Please share any other skin detoxification tips. We can all learn from each other. 

I hope this helps,