Saturday, December 19, 2009

15 Organic Beautiful Uses for Olive Oil

Olive oil is one of the most popular ingredients in cooking, but if you’ve never used it for beauty, you’re in for a treat. Believe it or not, Rachel Ray’s pet ingredient is not only a necessity in any pasta dish, but also great for your nails, lips, hair, and skin. Why? Olive oil is rich in squalane, a natural emollient that penetrates skin without leaving a greasy film behind. Beyond that, it’s packed with Vitamins A & E and a number of polyphenols that already make it a popular inclusion in beauty products. Check out the below list for 15 inventive ways to get gorgeous Italian-style:

1. A little EVOO makes a fabulous substitute for foot cream. Just rub some on your feet before you go to bed, put on some socks and wake up with super soft tootsies.
2. Bad sunburn? Mix olive oil with white vinegar and apply before a warm bath to soothe and heal the burn.
3. Banish frizzy hair by putting a couple of drops of olive oil in dry hair.
4. Smooth generously onto hands before bed, put on white cotton gloves, and wake up with soft, youthful hands.
5. Dandruff issues? Mix olive oil with almond oil and leave on scalp for five minutes. (If it starts to burn, rinse it out.) Rinse well to clear hair of dandruff.
6. Add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil to your bath to calm red, irritated skin.
7. Soothe chapped lips by smoothing on some olive oil.
8. Olive oil makes a great anti-aging moisturizer, since it contains polyphenol hydroxytyrosol, an antioxidant that helps to hold cell walls intact and thus reduce the signs of aging.
9. Apply a little olive oil to a Q-tip and use it as a makeup remover. (Yes, that’s why the store-bought kind is often so oily!)
10. Soak thin, brittle nails and ragged cuticles in a small cup of olive oil to soften, smooth and strengthen them.
11. Massage olive oil into your hair, then leave hair covered with a shower cap for 30 minutes. Shampoo and discover softer, more lustrous hair with fewer split ends.
12. Sensitive skin? Go easy on your legs by using olive oil as a shaving cream.
13. Slather on olive oil before braving the sun – it’s rich in Vitamins A and E, keeping skin from drying out in the heat while protecting you from UV rays.
14. Rub on elbows and knees for intense moisturizing. (My elbows are actually soft now – I’m not kidding.)
15. For stained nails and fingers, simply add a few drops of lemon juice to olive oil and soak your fingers in it.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Natural, Organic Uses and Remedies with Tea Tree Oil

20 Great Ways to Use Tea Tree Oil
For Health
1. Use a dab to treat acne.
2. An anti-fungal for treating Athlete’s Foot, eczema, various yeast infections, etc.
3. An antiseptic to be used on cuts and burns.
4. An anti-viral: it may lessen the symptoms of colds and flu. Try using a few drops in the bath.
5. Add to a vaporizer to loosen chest congestion.
6. Add a small amount to shampoo to destroy head lice.
7. A small amount added to your bath can help with persistent body odor.
8. Treating sinus infection.
9. For dandruff and dry scalp.
10. In the form of aromatherapy, tea tree oil is used to treat colds, persistent coughs, acne, toothaches, and sunburn.
For Cleaning
11. To create an all-purpose cleaner, combine 2 teaspoons of tea tree oil in 2 cups of water in a spray bottle.
12. Another version would be 14 ounces of water with 1 ounce of Murphy’s oil soap and 10 drops of tea tree oil.
13. Mix the above solution with kosher salt to scrub bathtub and bathroom tiles.
14. Add a few drops to dishwasher dispenser, then fill with a green dishwashing soap.
15. A few drops added to each load of laundry leave your clothes smelling cleaner.
16. Control mold with a tea tree oil/water spray.
17. Remove mustiness with that same tea tree oil/water spray.
18. To keep germs at bay, spray it on high chairs, car seats, and other high traffic spots.
19. 15 drops in a quart of water can be an effective insect repellent.
20. Be sure to take some with you when hiking and camping to put directly on insect bites or blisters.