Lavender Shea Hair & Body Recipe (+Giveaway) [CLOSED]

Hello friends,

I'm back with another blogspot and this time I am giving away my all time favorite body butter for hair and body. This is my all time #1 moisturizer in the colder months to keep my hair and skin moisturized and supple. If you're a follower of my blog, then you know I have a few body butter recipes on the blog, here, here and here. 

A few weeks ago I made a batch and gave to friends who love it.


This is my first contest on the blog and I'm super excited about it. Since I have a small readership of the blog, the giveaway will be open till Friday, 10/17/2014 at 11:59:59 pm EST. Open to followers only | Open Nationally (in the US only).

(Whipped)Lavender Shea Coconut Hair & Body Butter

shea butter

coconut oil

olive oil

aloe vera gel

lavender essential oil (or peppermint if you like)

You will receive the hair & body butter in a 6 oz mason jar! A mason jar that you can always re-use.

How to Enter:

1. Must be a follower of my blog ---> Click 'join this site' under followers on the home page [on the left)
2. Leave 1 comment (any comment) under this blog post

• One entry per person please. 
• I will choose the winner from current, active subscribers who leave 1 comment on the blog
• I make my own hair & body butter in my house, in my kitchen. I don’t have a sterile lab. So, while I try my best to ensure everything is clean.
• I am not responsible if the winner has any negative reactions to any of the items in the prize package—I will include a list of all ingredients and the winner is responsible for ensuring they are not allergic/sensitive to any of them.
• I am not responsible for any negative reactions resulting from misuse (intentional or accidental). They are not food safe, and should not be consumed or inserted into the body in any way, shape, or form. Keep out of eyes, nose, mouth, ears, and all other orifices.
• Entrants CANNOT SUE ME for ANY REASON. I am running this contest out of my own pocket and the goodness of my heart because I am excited about the products that I make and I want to share them with my readers. 
•  I am going to mail the hair & body butter using USPS.
• I reserve the right to update and change these rules as I see fit throughout the duration of the contest
• The winner must reply to the e-mail selecting them as the winner within two (2) calendar days or another winner will be selected (so you should subscribe with an e-mail address you actually check).

I hope this helps,

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,

Ultra smooth & creamy Body Butter Mix (No heat used)

Hello friends,

I'm back with a new body butter recipe. Now that's it cold outside, added moisture is definitely needed to achieve and maintain supple, moisturized and healthy skin. 

You can find my other recipes here and here

This is my best body butter recipe to date. 

Why? 

Because no heat was added. 

With my other body butters, I melted my butters. which greatly increased the final results, which then had to re-solidify overnight.

The final result of what I'm about to show you only took a few minutes?

How?

I used a blender to blend all ingredients into a super creamy body butter that simply melts into the skin.

By not using heat, you maintain ingredients in their most whole form. Your cocoa butter, shea butter or coconut oil retain all their nutrients and are not zapped out by high heat. For this reason, I prefer using ingredients that are raw, organic and unrefined to reap the most benefits.

 I hope you guys enjoy the recipe. In a blender, I combined these ingredients:

1 cup mango butter

1/4 cup cocoa butter

1/4 cup sweet almond oil

 2 tbsps coconut oil

1/4 cup castor oil

1/4 cup olive oil

I was inspired by HeyFranHey to create my body butters by blending instead of heating.

I hope this helps,

Your perfect Smoothie Recipe

Hello friends,

The perfect Smoothie Recipe!

Source

I hope this helps,

My Natural Hair Wedding Story

Hello friends,

On deciding the perfect hairstyle for my special day, going with the look I did was a no brainer. As someone who's always donned their natural curls and coils. I knew that an elegant, natural hair style was the best fit for me.

I wanted to make sure that the natural hair style I chose could last all day and throughout the entire honeymoon.

My wedding day hairstyle was inspired by my everyday look, but a bit more glam. I was fortunate that my hairstylist was also a long time friend. We worked very well together. She met with me a few weeks prior to the wedding for a trial session. At that time, we went through variations of the style to figure out the final look. 

My hair was done the day before the wedding to save time, as I opted for smaller twists. My hair was washed, conditioned, and slightly blow-dried for quick drying right before styling. My goal was to have my hair washed the day before styling, but it all worked out in the end. No extensions were used. I used an oil mix and cantu shea butter leave-in conditioning repair cream for styling and moisturizing. 

I wore my style the week following the wedding for the honeymoon. I received tons of compliments and most importantly, my husband loved my hair.

My advice for brides-to-be: It is extremely important for brides to have a trial session(s) with their hairstylist weeks prior to their wedding ceremony. This is your time to figure out what you want and definitely what you don’t want for your hair the day of your wedding. Doing so will help to minimize some of the unwanted surprises that day.

I hope this helps,

Coco-Cocoa Body Butter Recipe! (Great for hot summer days)

Hello friends,

It melts like butter, (pun intended) in your hands.

I hope that everyone is doing well!

This blog post follows from my previous blogpost, Searching for that work-life balance. I don't know if I've found that balance, but in the meantime, I do have a new schedule to devote more time to my blog. That way, I get my creative ideas out there and do what I love to do.

This body butter recipe is perfect for those hot summer days, because a little goes a long way during this time. Really, you don't need a lot. 

Tip: Best used on dampened skin for added moisture.

If anyone tries this recipe, please let me know how it goes. I would love to know your thoughts!

 This healthy body butter recipe calls for:  

1/2 cup of Cocoa butter

1/2 cup of Coconut oil

2 tbsps of Vitamin E oil (after the cocoa butter+coconut oil has cooled, but not hardened)

~10 drops of lavender oil (after the cocoa butter+coconut oil has cooled, but not hardened)

 Thank you for taking the time to read!

 I hope this helps,

Lavender Infused Coconut & Shea Body Butter

Yesterday was the perfect day to be a mixtress! It rained/snowed all day, which means ideal weather for me to stay in. 

I bought a small vial of lavender essential oil and wanted to use it in my next body butter recipe. My last batch of body butter ran out. You can find it here. I experimented by using different quantities of shea butter, cocoa butter and coconut oil, which is indicative in these two batches.The one of the right includes more butters. The batch on the left includes more coconut oil.

I no longer use store bought lotions for my body. Whipping up my own batch of oils and butters is all I need for healthy, moisturized skin. Oh, did I mention that lavender essential oil smells heavenly!

How I upgrade my coconut oil body moisturizer

Hello friends,

www.liliashealthbook.blogspot.com

In this post, I want to share with you how I upgrade my coconut oil body moisturizer. Back in July, I shared a post with you on how coconut oil has replaced store bought body lotions. I'm discovering the health benefits of going as simple as possible. Although coconut oil has been all well and good, it becomes rock solid in the colder months, which makes it difficult to apply to my body. So, I had to upgrade my coconut oil with some butters so it applies better to my skin and more importantly for added moisture during the winter months.

This is How I do the upgrade from coconut oil to coconut oil with butters:
                                              Using the double broiler method (0n low heat), I melted:

~¼ cup of coconut oil

~½ cup of Shea butter

 ~¼ cup of cocoa butter

To the melted butters and oil, I then added:

2 tbps of castor oil

1 tbsp of vit. E oil

10 drops of tea tree oil

Give the mixture a good stir and let it cool. As the oils and butters begin to solidify, begin to whip. I used a fork. You can use a blender as well. doing so will result in the consistency as seen in the pictures provided. I love how it came out. I will continue to experiment with different variations on my whipped coconut oil, shea, and cocoa body butter! 

Honestly, this is a great alternative to lotions bought at the store. The most important thing, is that you made it and you know exactly what's in it. This consistency is thick (just how I wanted it) and will also be used for my hair. If you don't like this as thick, use less butters and add more oils. I chose these butters and oils to add to my coconut oil upgrade for several reasons.

Shea butter: very hydrating, because of its ability to penetrate the skin. It is packed with vitamins, fatty acids, and minerals to protect the skin against dryness.

Cocoa butter: Also very hydrating to the skin. Protects against UV damage. Helps to prevent stretch marks and is effective against eczema and dermatitis. Works well to reduce the apperance of scars.

Vitamin E oil: An active ingredient in many skin care products, because of its ability to prevent premature aging, promote healing, prevent the formation of wrinkles and support new skin cell growth and regeneration.

Castor Oil: Softens the skin and helps to reduce the appearance of scars. Has anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal properties.

Tea tree oil: Has anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-viral properties as well.

www.liliashealthbook.blogspot.com

 I hope this helps. If you make this whipped body butter recipe,  please let me know!

Natural Hair: How I'm wearing my hair this Winter!

Hello friends,

I wanted to share how I will be wearing my hair this winter season. I typically don't wear my hair out loose. I love twisting my hair to create updos. I typically wear my hair in the same manner week to week, month to month, year to year lol. It just works very well for me, because it's easy and oh so convenient. I can't complain.

I simply gathered my hair towards the back with a small bun at the nape of my neck.

If you have any questions about how I created this look and what I used to create this look, simply comment below. Don't forget to use the reaction button, it let's me know what you like and don't like.

Natural Skin Conditioning| Coconut Oil

Hello my friends,

It's almost time to order a new bottle.

I want to share with you one of the many uses of coconut oil. I've written two posts on how I use coconut oil before. So, you can see that I really enjoy coconut oil. 

A few days ago, I ran out of my usual body lotion, which I enjoy. However, I didn't want to re-purchase this lotion, even though it was a Burt's Bees product that was 99% natural and it was ideal for my sensitive skin. I've been meaning to use something that is much simpler and lasts longer.

I am never without coconut oil, since I use it primarily for my hair to create my updos, which I wear most of the time. 

Through research, I know that coconut oil is great for the skin, but I've never tried it before till a few days ago. I am pleasantly surprised with the outcome after only a few days. 

This is how I use it:

1. With a bit of water still left on the skin, take a few drops (not much) of coconut oil and rub it all over. 
2. Let it absorb into the skin for a about 3-5 minutes, before adding clothing. This is really my new staple product!

Photo credit: C/o www.revitaliseyourhealth.com

 Why Coconut Oil?

Coconut oil absorbs really well into the skin without that greasy feeling. It leaves my skin soft and moisturized. An added benefit is that coconut oil helps to firm the skin and delay wrinkles.

Bonus: Coconut oil contains vitamin E, which is known to reduce scarring and help heal existing scars. It also works well to reduce the appearance of stretch marks.

The benefits of this oil are so vast that I couldn't possibly name them all. 

If you try this, please let me know. I would love to hear about it :o)