Wow what a week!!

Everyone, and I do mean everyone in our house was sick this past week. . . yes even the dog!!!

So I figured what better to post than a relaxing yet refreshing bath soak that will not only refresh your senses, but your skin and spirit as well!!!

What you will need:
1/4 cup dried organic milk (or 1/2 cup fresh whole milk. . . organic if possible)
2 T of grated orange peel
2 T oatmeal (not quick oats although they will work in a pinch)
1 T fresh parsley chopped
1 T fresh mint chopped (can substitute dried, or even use a mint tea bag!!)
old pair of hose (which you will need to cut the foot off of !!), muslin drawstring bag, or scrap of cloth that you can tie with a string.

What you need to do is add all of these together, and then put into the cloth of your choice.  Draw yourself a bath, and throw it in!!!! 

If you are using milk in it's liquid form, then of course you will need to add this to the bath separately (and you can always just omit it all together, if you are sensitive to milk products!!)

The milk is wonderful for your skin, adding lots of vitamins and nutrients that promote healing in small cracks and cuts. 

The orange peel is not only refreshing, but will help to promote good circulation and the natural orange oils are wonderful for treating and preventing acne!!!

Oatmeal is amazing for winter skin!!! It will soothe and repair your itchy skin.

Now some of you may want to omit the parsley, but I like to add it to my bath teas because it is so wonderful for the skin.  It can reduce swelling and redness, reduces blackheads, and aids in the prevention of wrinkles!!

Now for the mint, I prefer to use a peppermint or wintergreen mint, but really any mint will do (if you want a more calming bath use cat mint).  They all have cooling, rejuvenating and relaxing effects on the skin!  The aromatherapy qualities when you are not feeling quite your self are also amazing!!! Mints help to clear the mind, and bring a little zest back into your muscles . . . which for me tend to be sore after a bout with the flu!!!

Now it really does not matter what you use to put all of your bath tea items together in, as long as you can tie it up securely, and it's contents  will be able to seep into your nice warm bath water!!

I have to say this is one of my favorite bath teas!!  It is easy to adapt to what you need, or like and the amounts really do not have to be that precise!!   I have prepared this bath for everyone this week (except the dog!!)  I used a muslin drawstring bag because my youngest son likes to squeeze the bag and make a "fog" in the water for his men and dragons to battle in. . . and then he LOVES to use the bag as a scrubby on his feet before he gets out!!!  I like the muslin bag because I can dump the contents into the worm bin and put them to work composting, and then wash and reuse!!!

Bath teas happen to be one of my favorite home remedies!!! They are easy to make and they are  nourishing to the mind and body!!! They can be easily adapted for infants, and because the contents are all contained, there is little mess to clean up!!!

Be Your Own Kind of Beautiful

So I thought I would start this years blog off with items that I wouldn't sell in my shop on Etsy, http://www.theapawthecary.etsy.com/  because they all require fresh produce to make :) 

I personally have tried each of them and will tell you my feelings on them too :) 

I have done tons of research on old world recipes for skin and hair, and have poured thru tons of old folk remedy texts, and figured it would be fun to try them out and to share what I find. .  . so here I go :)

Dry skin is horrible, in the winter it can be the bane of your existence!!! So I figured I would start with simple recipes you can make at home, usually with the things that you have in your refrigerator.

Winter Mask
you will need the following items:
1 egg yolk (preferably fresh and organic)
1 tsp honey
1 T cottage cheese
1 tsp Cognac

Mix together the egg yolk and the cottage cheese, and then and the honey.  Stir until well mixed, and then add the Cognac slowly.

You should cover your face and neck with this mask recipe and then lay back and relax for a good 15 to 20 minutes.  Rinse off the mask with warm water and then apply your favorite face cream. 

The egg yolk will leave your skin feeling silky and soft (obviously do not use this part if you are allergic to eggs!!) 
The honey and cottage cheese will gently exfoliate your dead skin cells, and the cognac will help to tighten pores and stimulate blood flow to your face.

I found the mask to be quite comfortable, although I was not truly fond of the smell.  The scent did not linger however, after the mask was removed.   I also found it to be a little warming and left a fresh tingle to my skin even after it was removed . It did not cause me to have any redness, and it was not irritating at all.

Over all I think it was fun, easy, and left my skin feeling and looking wonderful :)