Be Safe & Sexy!
It’s Valentine’s Day time again, and a good excuse to indulge your body and your senses in treats like face masks and massage oils. What better way to show your face, your feet, or your muscles some love than with safe, natural, toxin-free spa concoctions and personal products?
We’ve compiled some of our favorite home spa recipes below. The necessary ingredients are affordable and pretty easy to find in organic or natural form, and you’ll see the results in the form of cleaner skin and a rejuvenated, healthy glow.
There are several companies that have signed the Compact for Safe Cosmetics that specialize in treats particularly appropriate for V-Day, like natural, toxin-free personal lubricants and massage oils. We’re happy to introduce you to them -- they’re doing a great thing!
Have fun loving yourself this V-Day, whether you use these fresh cosmetic treatments or a special purchase from one of the Compact signers. You deserve healthy relaxation!
Safe & Sexy Recipes:
For Lips
For Face
For Hands and Feet
For Body and Bath
Compact Signers with Particularly Excellent Valentine's Day Products
Recipes
A note of caution: There are no preservatives in these recipes so take a few precautions to avoid contamination by bacteria. Avoid touching products like lip gloss with your fingers – instead use a cotton swab to apply. Store products in your refrigerator and use within 2 weeks.
Also, exercise caution if you think you might be allergic to ingredients like nuts, avocados, or other common food ingredients.
For Lips
Beet Red Lip Gloss
¼ cup beeswax
¼ cup castor oil
2 tablespoons sesame oil
beet juice
Melt beeswax, remove from heat and add oils; add as much beet juice as desired for color. Store in jar.
(Source)
For Face
Chocolate Facial Mask
This decadent mask is actually an excellent moisturizer -- it leaves your skin baby soft. Recommended for normal skin.
1/3 cup cocoa
3 tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons cottage cheese
¼ cup honey
3 teaspoons oatmeal powder
Mix all ingredients together and smooth onto face. Relax for 10 minutes, then wash off with warm water.
(Source)
Frozen Egg & Honey Facial Mask
Recommended for dry skin
1 egg
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted (but not hot)
1 tablespoon honey
Step 1: Beat the egg in a small bowl until frothy and well-mixed. Slowly add the liquid coconut oil and honey, beating until your mask is the consistency of mayonnaise.
Step 2: Take an empty toilet tissue roll and set it on end in a clean bowl. Spoon mixture into the cardboard toilet paper roll. Place tube, in the bowl, in the freezer overnight.
Step 3: To use, peel away just the top 1/4 inch of the cardboard roll and smooth the frozen stick over your face (think of it as a push up pop). Leave your mask on for 5 to 10 minutes, then rinse off with warm water.
Return the cream stick covered with plastic wrap and frozen between uses.
Particularly soothing on a sunburn. Keeps indefinitely.
(Source)
Avocado Carrot Cream Mask
This mask combines avocados, which are rich in Vitamin E, with carrots, which are high in beta-carotene and antioxidants, and cream, which is high in calcium and protein. These ingredients will rebuild skin collagen, improve tone and texture, and fade age spots.
1 avocado, mashed
1 carrot, cooked and mashed
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 egg, beaten
3 tablespoons honey
Combine all ingredients in a bowl until smooth. Spread gently over your face and neck, and leave in place 10-15 minutes. Rinse with cool water and follow with your favorite toner.
(Source)
For Hands and Feet
Strawberry Hand and Foot Exfoliant
8-10 strawberries
2 tablespoons apricot oil (you may substitute olive oil)
1 teaspoon of coarse salt, such as Kosher salt, or sea salt
Mix together all ingredients, massage into hands and feet, rinse, and pat dry. Strawberries contain a natural fruit acid, which aids in exfoliation.
(Source)
Orange Ginger Warming Foot Scrub
This warming foot scrub is great for the winter, and leaves your feet feeling soft and relaxed.
1/4 cup sugar (white or brown)
1/4 cup sweet almond oil
6 drops orange essential oil
2 drops ginger essential oil
1 level teaspoon powdered cayenne pepper
In a plastic bowl, mix together the sugar and oil. Add the essential oil and stir. Add the cayenne pepper last and stir well to mix.
To use, sit comfortably in the tub or over a pan of water and/or a large towel to catch the sugar scrub as it is applied. Scoop up a handful of the scrub for each foot and massage vigorously yet with care over heels, ankles, toes, arches and the balls of your feet. Be sure to scrub any rough areas especially well.
(Don’t forget to rinse the tub well -- you don’t want to take a bath in cayenne pepper!)
(Source)
For Body and Bath
Coffee Body Scrub
2 cups coarsely ground coffee
1/2 cup raw sugar or sea salt
2-3 tablespoons massage oil
Mix all ingredients together. Take a hot shower to moisten your skin and open your pores. Using wide, circular motions, rub the coffee exfoliant onto your skin with strong, even pressure. Shower off, pat skin dry, and apply a thin layer of your favorite body lotion.
(Source)
Grapefruit Sugar Scrub
1-1/2 cups white table sugar
8 drops grapefruit essential oil
beet juice (optional)
1/4 cup jojoba oil
1/4 cup liquid castille soap
Place sugar into a large bowl and stir to break up any clumps. Add the essential oil. Add one or two drops of beet juice if you'd like it pink! Mix very well to make sure the color is evenly dispersed. Add the jojoba oil and castille soap next, a little at a time, stirring after each addition. Mix well and the pour into clean container.
To use, stand in the tub or shower and massage the sugar scrub onto your skin from head to toe. Rinse. Inhale. Smile.
(Source)
Massage/Bath Oil
Ease stress and muscle pain, or transform a normal evening into a sensual experience, with one of the following combinations of essential oils in a warm (not hot) bath, or as a massage oil. Use therapeutic grade essential oils for the best results.
For relaxing muscles/easing stress:
3 drops Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)
2 drops Petitgrain (Citrus aurantium var. amara)
1-2 drops Frankincense (Boswellia cateri) - optional
For a sensual experience:
3 drops YlangYlang
3 drops Sandalwood
Draw the bath first, add the essential oils, swirl them around with your foot, get in and relax. Allow yourself 10 to 20 minutes. Do not get the bath water in your eyes, as the oils will sting. Use this formula up to once a day for 3 days a week over a two- to three-week period.
To create a massage blend, add the above oils to a tablespoon of carrier oil (like sweet almond oil, or a “massage base” oil, which is usually a blend of sweet almond, grapeseed and jojoba oils). If you’d like to store the oil for later use or package it as a gift, simply use the same ratio of carrier oil to essential oil, and pour carefully into a clean, dry glass jar.
(Source)
Softening Body Oil
Before taking a shower, brush your skin gently. This exfoliating will stimulate blood circulation and aid in skin absorption. For best absorption, apply the body oil while your skin is still moist. This combination is ideal for skin that has been exposed to too much sun or for extra dry areas, such as heels and elbows.
1 cup sweet almond oil
1/2 cup jojoba or hazelnut oil (or combination of the two)
2 tablespoons apricot kernel oil
Essential oil (optional)
Combine the oils in a sealed bottle and gently turn it several times to mix. Apply as needed.
For an uplifting oil experience, try 3 drops of ylang ylang, 2 drops geranium and 3 drops orange or bergamot.
For an exotic oil experience, try 3 drops ylang ylang, 2 drops rose, 1 drop patchouli, and 1 drop geranium.
(Source)
Chocolate Bubble Bath
1 cup unscented bubble bath
1/3 cup unsweetened soy milk
3 ounces grated or powdered dark chocolate
Heat the soy milk and add in the grated or powdered chocolate. Stir well until melted and blended, but do not boil. Allow to cool. Mix well again just before adding to your bath with bubbles.
Or, try this:
1 cup unscented bubble bath
1/2 cup dried milk powder or soy milk powder
3 ounces powdered unsweetened chocolate
Mix the powdered milk and chocolate well, until blended. Stir into bubble bath until well mixed. Add to your bath in the amount desired.
(Source)
Red Wine and Honey Bath
The red wine and the honey together clarify and moisten.
Add to bath:
4 cups of the cheapest red wine available
1 cup honey
(Source)
Herbal Spa Wrap
1 cup corn oil
1/2 cup grapefruit juice
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Combine ingredients and massage into skin, wrap arm with towel to lock in body heat. Lay a heating pad over areas for five minutes at a time.
(Source)
Bath Bombs
This recipe, created by Campaign for Safe Cosmetics Grassroots Coordinator Mia Davis, makes 4-6 bath bombs. You can buy molds in craft stores or online. Do not oil the molds beforehand; just make sure they are clean and dry.
Dry Ingredients:
1 cup baking soda
1/2 cup citric acid (do not substitute ascorbic acid)
1/2 cup corn starch
1/3 cup epsom salts or coarse sea salt
Wet Ingredients:
2 1/2 tablespoons sunflower or other light oil (like sweet almond oil, available at drug or health food stores)
3/4 tablespoon water or rosewater (be careful not to start the fizzing action by adding too much water)
between 1/4 teaspoon and 1 teaspoon of desired essential oils
1/4 teaspoon borax as an emulsifier
vegetable or other natural food colorant (optional)
Sieve the dry ingredients together until they are well blended.
Measure and combine all the wet ingredients and borax in a clean jar. Cover tightly and shake vigorously.
Slowly drizzle the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, gently stirring to prevent the reaction from starting. Make sure you mix in all of the wet ingredients. Afterward, you’ll find that the mixture is dry and crumbly and has to be packed in the molds quite firmly to keep shape. The mixture should just start to hold together when pressed in your hand like very slightly moist fine sand pressed together will hold its shape.
You can unmold the bombs after 30 minutes, and let them dry for a few days before using them. (Store them in a dry place!).
Bath Cookies
2 cups finely ground sea salt
1/2 cup baking soda
1/2 cup cornstarch
2 tablespoons light oil
1 teaspoon vitamin E oil
2 eggs
5-6 drops essential oil of your choice
Preheat your oven to 350 F. Combine all the listed ingredients and form into a dough. Using a teaspoon or so of dough at a time, roll it gently in the palm of your hand until it forms a ball. Form all dough into one teaspoon balls, and gently place them on an ungreased cookie sheet. Consider sprinkling the bath balls with herbs, flower petals, cloves, citrus zest and similar aromatic ingredients. Bake your bath cookies for 10 minutes, until they are lightly browned. Do not overbake. Allow the bath cookies to cool completely. To use, drop 1 or 2 cookies into a warm bath and allow to dissolve. Yield: 24 cookies, enough for 12 baths.
(Source)
Compact Signers With Particularly Excellent Valentine’s Day Products…
See all of our Compact signers, so you can find more personal care products!
