42) HOMEMADE MASK FOR HANDS, FEET & BODY SCRUB

Dry Hands

When you rub your hands together, does it feel like rubbing sandpaper? Or does the skin on your fingertips and heels peel, crack and sometimes even bleed? Does your body feel tight and itchy after a shower? Or does the skin on your arms and legs flake when you scratch or run a finger over it? These are all signs of extreme dryness. 

Picturecredit:StockFreeImage.com

Dryness of hands, feet and body can be caused by the following.

1. Spend long periods in air conditioned areas
2. Long exposure to the sun 
3. Using soap or cleansers that has alkaline or alcohol base
4. Taking long hot showers and baths
5. Under medication
6. Itchy clothing-Some people have skins that are sensitive to synthetic fibers
7. Malnutrition or Eating Disorder

However, all is not lost as here are some recipes you can make at home to put the moisture back into your skin.

Treatment for Hands

Photocredit:Wikipedia

Paraffin Wax

Paraffin Wax 

Going to posh spas can cost a bundle. Why not treat yourself to a luxurious wax treatment right in your very  own home? Just dip hands into warm water and then peel away, leaving hands soft and supple.

Paraffin hand and foot treatments lock in moisture. The wax is warm and soothing and your hands and feet which will be left feeling soft and supple. If you want to use the wax for both hands and feet, double the recipe.

Paraffin wax is used to make candles. Color and sometimes scent is added.

Photocredit:StockFreeImages.com

Ingredients:

Lavender Oil

Lavender Flowers

• 1 block paraffin wax (about 4 oz), you can buy this in the canning sections of your local grocery store.
• an ounce of oil
• 20 drops of essential oil... I like lavender. The scent is lovely.
• a few drops of olive oil or coconut oil  to coat your hands 
• a casserole dish that has been greased with oil
• Any plastic bags that can fit your hands in such as plastic sandwich bags or Clingwrapper.

Preparation:                                                                                  Photocredit:StockFreeImage.com

The following steps are for a hand treatment, you can also use this treatment for your feet.

Use a double boiler to melt the paraffin, the ounce of oil, the scented oil. 
(It is necessary to use a double boiler for safety purposes).

After the wax has melted, very carefully, pour the wax into the dish. Wait until a skin has formed on the top of the wax. By then, the temperature should be about right for submerging your hands. If you are not sure, test the wax on your wrist to check that the temperature is not too hot.

Before dipping,  wash your hands thoroughly.  Smooth on the olive oil or coconut oil (Coconut oil smells better) on your hands.

Dip each hand into the wax . Repeat until you have several layers of wax built up.

Get someone to help you put on the sandwich bags or Clingwrapper onto each hand. Then relax for about 30 minutes. 

Tip: Place a bath towel over your hands as you wait to keep in the warmth and the perfect time to watch a half hour show on TV. It would be even better if it was a comedy. Then you not only get a smooth pair of hands but at the same time exercise your internal organs!

(Read: How Laughing is Healthy.)

Once the wax hardens, simply peel it off starting at the wrist. The wax should come off easily in large sections. Finish with a do it yourself  hand massage and you are done!

Treatment for Dry, Cracked Feet

Dry, cracked feet are never sexy.  If you can't afford a professional pedicure, try this recipe.

You can skip parts of this process if you choose. If you continue to wear the foot mask every night for a week, your problems should be solved.

Photocredit:StockFreeImages.com

Difficulty: Easy

Time Required: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup milk
• Sugar or salt (either will work)
• Baby oil, sweet almond oil or coconut oil
• Pumice stone
• Stridex, found in the acne section of any drugstore
• Thick moisturizer or a salicylic acid cream
• Socks

Method

1. Pour 1 cup milk and 5 cups warm water in a basin to soak feet.
2. Homemade foot scrub: Put 4 tablespoons salt or sugar in 1/2 cup oil.  Use Baby oil, sweet almond oil or coconut oil or even vegetable oil will work just as well.
3. Massage the homemade foot scrub in a circular motion into the sole of the feet.
4. Scrub sole of the feet with the pumice stone. Rinse and dry feet with a towel.
5. Tip: Before you go to bed that night, rub a Stridex pad over dry areas of feet. Stridex, is a product found in the acne section of any drugstore It contains 2 percent salicylic acid. So it's a great exfoliant for the feet.
6. Apply moisturizer thickly on feet  and do not wash off Stridex. Use a super-rich moisturizer like cocoa butter, Eucerin  or even Vaseline works best.
   Tip: For even better results, apply a thin layer of Keralyt Gel, an OTC salicylic acid, on your feet together with Vaseline about the size of a 20 cent coin.
7. Pull on socks  so as not to mess up your bedsheets. Keep them on throughout the night for at least 4 hours.

Homemade Sugar or Salt Body Scrub

Full body scrub in a spa can cost a few hundred ringgit. Why not save the money and try this simple body scrub. All you need is just salt or sugar and body oil and you have a body scrub! The scrub can also be used on your face.

Difficulty: Easy

Time Required: 10 minutes

Ingredients

• salt or sugar
• oil (You can use any type of oil such as Virgin Coconut Oil or Olive Oil)
• a bowl
• essential oils if you like
• a spoon
• loofah mitt or you can use your hands

Method

1. You can use either salt or sugar. Sugar, however is gentler on the skin. Choose a sugar or salt that has small granules so that it won't tear at skin. Even a basic table salt or sugar works just as good as store bought scrubs.  For super sensitive skin, you could opt for a dark brown sugar.
2. Choose an oil. You can use baby oil or any of the following: Olive oil, Organic extra virgin coconut oil  Almond oil, Safflower, Vegetable. (All these oils can be  found at a health food store)
3. Take 1 part oil to 2 parts sugar or salt. Roughly put anywhere from a few tablespoons to a cup of salt or sugar in a container. Place half that amount of oil and mix it with a spoon. The salt will settle at the bottom of the container.
4. If you like, with a spoon, stir in 5 drops of an essential oil into your mixture.  
5. Step into a bath tub and put on loofah mitts. Do not wet your body. Take a spoonful of the mixture into your palms or your gloves. Slowly rub the mixture all over your body in a circular motion. Spend a little longer on tougher areas such as the knees, soles and elbows or cut a lemon in half, pour sea salt on the halves and scrub your soles, elbows and knees with the lemon. On places like the chest, neck, and stomach, where the skin is thinner, instead of the scrub, use cleanser on a washcloth to exfoliate. If  the salt feels  too harsh on your skin, rinse off the bath mitts. Then spoon only the oil onto the mitts to continue.
6. Once you have scrubbed your entire body, rinse thoroughly.
7. Pat skin dry with a towel. Your skin  should feel soft and moisturized. You don't even need to follow the bath with a moisturizer.
8. Since oil is used in the scrub, remember to clean your bathtub or bathroom floor with detergent after your scrub session to avoid someone else from slipping on the oil.

My next topic for discussion is, "How To Know What Is Your Face Shape?"

You may also like to read:

32) TIPS FOR WOMEN OVER 50

25) IS IT HEALTHY TO VENT?
18) I LOST 5 KILOS IN 2 MONTHS.
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MY ART CORNER

So, dear readers, isn't it so important to be healthly by laughing, venting and scrubbing your body regularly,  so that if you live up to 101, you may not end up looking like this woman? Well, maybe not as wrinkled.......There is always hope with the help of makeup tips for women over 50!

Thanks for looking and taking the time to read my blog.  I welcome feedback and please feel free to share your experiences in relation to today's topic.

Until my next post, "Here's to your health!"

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