Do:

• Moisturize just as frequently and cleanse just as sparingly as you would otherwise (paraben-free moisturizers and soap-free cleansers twice a day are a must for this girl).
• Try a nourishing homemade mask, like this dreamy strawberry and honey one.
• Apply a small amount of tea tree oil to the blemishes no more than twice a day.
• Drink plenty of water and unsweetened green tea.
• Eat a fiber-rich diet. Think beans, berries, greens, and squash.
• Change your pillowcase every couple of days (especially if you’re one of those free spirits who sleeps in her makeup)

Don’t:

• Deprive your skin of the moisture it needs with excessive washing and insane amounts of tea tree oil.
• Pick, prod, or poke. It will always make matters worse. I promise.
• Go overboard with coffee, alcohol, or soft drinks. I try to avoid these altogether when my skin’s at its worst.
• Hang out by the mirror. Seeing your skin in distress will only make you stress.
• Drown your sorrows with milk chocolate and potato chips.
• Sleep on the same pillowcase for several nights in a row (call me crazy, but I swear by this simple change of routine).

How about you guys? Any tips and tricks of your own to share?

Made from Earth is a line of organic skincare products that are always free of parabens, synthetic preservatives, colors, and fragrances.  They’re a cruelty-free company and one that  fully supports The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. I recently received several Made from Earth products in the mail for review, and the Peppermint Herbal Conditioner’s lovely scent and no nonsense list of ingredients begged me to try it immediately. How could I resist?

Ingredients (provided at madefromearth.com)- “Organic Aloe Juice, Organic Lavender Distillate, Organic Roman Chamomile Distillate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Castor Seed Oil, Stearalkonium Chloride, Phenoxyethanol, Hydrolized Wheat, Mentha piperita (Pepper mint) Essential Oil, Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Essential Oil, Panthenol Vitamin B5, Kosher Vegetable Glycerin, Rosehip Seed Oil, Organic Black Willow Bark Extract.”

I couldn’t locate this product in the Cosmetic Safety Database, so I linked to each ingredient above. The only ingredient with a hazard score above a 3 is Phenoxyethanol, and it earns a hazard score of 4.

Some great things about this product:

1.  It’s free of parabens, sulfates, synthetic fragrances, and synthetic coloring agents.

2.  It’s cruelty-free.

3. It contains organic ingredients.

4. The bottle is made from #1 plastic and is easily recyclable.

Product Description(also provided at madefromearth.com)- “This herbal and organic conditioner leaves your hair silky soft – and it also contains peppermint essential oil to stimulate the scalp area leaving you refreshed. All natural and plant-based ingredients restore elasticity and strength. It is designed to give your hair and scalp the optimum benefits of natural botanicals, rich plant moisturizers. Included is also our science-based formula of hair-enhancing vitamins and amino acids.

Peppermint is known for providing relief from stress, depression and mental exhaustion. Its oil is useful for hair care as it gives a cooling effect while leaving a “waxy” coating on the hair. The conditioner forms a protective layer over each hair, and restores moisture to hair follicles.”

Price- $12.00 for an 8 oz. bottle, which seems to be pretty standard.

Performance-  After shampooing with Intelligent Nutrients Harmonic Shampoo, I followed the directions provided on this product’s packaging and conditioned my hair twice. I was a little worried that doubling up on the conditioner might weigh my hair down, but I was pretty pleased with how shiny and manageable it ended up being. After a little blow drying and straightening with the help of my Jonathan Straightening Lotion, my hair was almost commercial material!

Scent- Combine the invigorating scents of peppermint and tea tree oil, and voilà! You wind up with this conditioner. The tea tree oil is much less obvious than the peppermint and is almost an afterthought, but it’s definitely there. Also, whoever decided to make shampoos, body washes, and conditioners smell like mint had to be a genius. I can’t think of a better addition to a sleepy morning shower.

Rating- 9/10. I subtracted 1 point for the ingredient with the hazard score of 4, but this product’s performance, scent, price, and remaining ingredients are all fantastic!

Would I purchase this item again? Yes, I certainly would.

*This product was provided by Made from Earth; the opinions were provided by me.

With my approaching period, I’ve been feeling not quite myself lately. I’ve been eating everything in sight without a second thought. My skin and my hair haven’t been behaving themselves (My clay and eggs mask had positive but fleeting results), and after walking Clem and Winston every day this week, my feet are sore and actually pretty smelly (It happens to the best of us).  One night this week, in an attempt to make myself look and feel less haggard, I made time for a hair mask, face mask, foot moisturizing/scraping (I did try to think of a less disgusting word), and a long bath (which was made complete by a couple of drops of sweet orange and lavender essential oils).

The hair mask did make my hair shiny, and my feet feel a million times better, but the bath and face mask were definitely the highlights of my night. Since I slightly altered the face mask that I linked to, here are the exact proportions I used:

• 1 tbsp of whole organic milk
• 1 tbsp of honey
• all of the aloe vera gel that I could squeeze out of that chunk in the picture
• 1 drop of lavender essential oil
• a pinch of whole grain old fashioned oats

This was my first time using essential oil to make a face mask, and it couldn’t have been a lovelier experience. I love the scent of lavender, and it had a calming effect on both me and my skin. I got a little on my lips and, after licking it off, discovered that this mask is also oddly delicious. I’m not entirely sure that ingesting lavender oil is safe, but I can’t imagine that just a drop would be dangerous. I did a little research, quickly became overwhelmed, and then gave up.

As for bathtime, sweet orange oil will definitely be a common future addition. I actually felt cheerful afterwards.

Here’s my skin post mask. Yes, that is a floral towel turban on my head.

P.S. In the first picture, the tiny brown bottle with the dropper (which used to be home to my argan oil) contains a mixture of tea tree oil and olive oil.  I applied it to my feet in addition to the peppermint lotion.

If you haven’t had a date with a couple of masks and a hot bath lately, then I’d suggest treating yourself. I feel great!

Image courtesy of evanhealy.com

Everyone probably already knows about my love affair with Tea Tree Oil; it’s one if the beauty products that I almost always have in my cabinet. Lately, though, I’ve had wandering eyes. I decided to try the evanhealy Blemish Treatment Roll-On in hopes that it would do everything that Tea Tree Oil does for my blemishes and so much more. Here’s how it went:

Ingredients- (provided at evanhealy.com)- “Apricot kernel oil (Prunus armeniaca),* rose hip seed oil (Rosa canina seed);* essential oils of: rosemary verbenon (Rosemarinus officinalis), thyme thymol (Thymus vulgaris), palmarosa (Cymbopogon martinii),* lavender maillette (Lavandula angustifolia),* cinnamon leaf (Cinnamomum cassia),* bay laurel (Laurus nobilis).* Flower Essence of Crab Apple.

* CERTIFIED ORGANIC ”

I couldn’t find this particular evanhealy product on the Cosmetic Safety Database, but their products that are on the site have hazard scores that range from a zeros to threes (only two of which are a three). I’d say that’s pretty impressive, since they have 24 products on the site. I can’t imagine that the hazard score on this product would be above a one, though, since it’s composed of mainly organic oils and the only individual ingredient that isn’t a zero is a one (lavender maillette).

Product Description (also provided at evanhealy.com)- “Blemish Treatment Roll-On is an effective remedy for impure, congested and acne skin conditions. Helps to purify and detoxify acne blemishes without irritating sensitive skin. Used daily, it is an ideal accompaniment to our Tea Tree Gel Cleanser and one of our Clay Treatment Masks..”

Price- $16.50 for .17 ounces, which is a little expensive for my tastes.

Performance- The evanhealy Blemish Treatment Roll-On works about as well as Tea Tree Oil. Since I love Tea Tree Oil, that obviously means that I love this as well. I don’t, however, love the price. I can buy a 2 0z bottle of Tea Tree Oil that works just as well for around fourteen dollars. I’m also not a huge fan of the fact that this product is in roll-on form. I don’t like the idea of applying the same roller ball to different blemishes on my face. I feel like I’m cross-contaminating, or something else ridiculous like that. I usually just roll it onto a cotton swab, which undoubtedly wastes a lot of it and is also worse for the environment. I’m just the worst.

Scent- The scent of this product actually reminds me a lot of Tea Tree Oil, which is interesting since Tea Tree Oil is not one of the ingredients. It smells a little foodier than Tea Tree Oil does, and a little less sharp, if that makes any sense at all. I personally prefer the scent of Tea Tree Oil, since that’s what I’m used to sniffing.

Rating- This product definitely deserves a solid 7. I subtracted 2 points for the steep price and 1 for the inconvenient roller ball.

Click the link to purchase your own bottle of evanhealy Blemish Treatment Roll-On.

Annnd if you’re like me and you want more bang for less buck, then you can buy a bottle of  Spring Valley Tea Tree Oil, which is the brand that I use.

My lips were feeling kinda crusty (probably from me being in the sun and putting tea tree oil on them when I had that spot of poison ivy), so I used the same local honey that I’ve been using to sweeten my Perfectly Pear Tea to scrub my lips.  The honey was/is beginning to crystallize, so I figured that it would exfoliate well..and it did! I coated my lips in the honey and scrubbed it off with a warm, wet bath cloth.  Afterwards, I dabbed a little coconut oil on my lips. They feel almost unbelievably soft, and I’m into it.