Homemade Lavender Coconut Friendship Scrub

When friends make epic concoctions to please your skin and spirit

I don't wear foundation often. Just eyeliner, mascara, lip balm, and lipstick on occasion. For a crimson cheek, that mentioned lipstick performs double duty.
The latest craze is to look like you're not wearing makeup at all, but while wearing makeup. Very confusing logic. Why not just leave the brown stuff at home and utilize the kitchen cabinet? Many tricks of the beauty treat trade lies in ingredients used to bake cookies.
For refreshed, super clean and soft, pliant skin, a gentle scrub is the skin's BFF! The face alone contains an ample amounts of layered dirt and grime. Even the most beneficial cleanser + toner cannot promise to rid it all. Homemade scrubs are simplest secrets to uncover beauty. With a little gentle massaging and water rinse, dead skin cells are temporarily gone, waiting with revenge for you to be out of scrub. Noticeable rejuvenated complexion takes place. And it's a beautiful, beautiful change.
I'm one of the unfortunate folks who has flaky, dry skin around chin, cheeks, and nose. A lot of cleansers are alright, but adding scrub regime remedies the nuisance.
My Toronto alchemist friend made us the loveliest recipe hence the title. She too is a lover of all things natural and organic for body inside and out. Throughout winter vacation, I used her splendid concoction twice a week. And not just on the face-- it's a supreme benefit to the entire body as well!
Absolute plus! Just have a back scrubber handy to make bath time a rewarding experience. Whole skin feels smooth and silky. Goodbye dry, problematic winter dryness hello to wishing to be greeting summer weather in a maxi dress. As for your hands? Well let's just say they'll have a hard time keeping off the irresistible softness.
So put dead skin cells on notice. Let them beware. Maybe get a "don't trespass too long" for your hands too.
Friendship Scrub is composed of lavender, coconut oil, and sugar. I love love sugar scrubs! Although one can use salt, it is considered much more abrasive than the sweet, kind sugar companion. Sugar is love y'all.

Homemade Lavender Coconut Friendship Scrub

4 oz organic coconut oil, room temperature
4 tablespoon organic granulated sugar
3 teaspoon lavender

Mix all ingredients together.
Pour into a glass container and refrigerate until hardened.

Ready for use!

Generous applied sweep, letting it melt into hands beforehand. Looks like a oily, sweaty mess from excessive gym exercise right?

Massage into face, making sure to get sugar and lavender pieces on the skin. Rinse well.

Towel dried and already glowing before applying moisturizer.

Flawless clean! 

Four Ingredient White Shea Butter Lotion

Same jar. Slightly different butter.

I have longed to see if there was a difference between yellow and white Shea butter. Turns out it's just the color. They're both from the karite tree and processed in the same way. Just make sure to use unrefined varieties of either one. There's a lot of eBay shops selling this on the cheap, etsy too. The same can be said for raw cocoa butter. If you find a local African shop (which there's plenty of in Philly!), you'll be in even better luck to get good, authentic product.
For weeks, I've used latest new batch of White Shea Butter Lotion straight after towel dried shower. Only four ingredients (no jojoba oil this time) and so simple to make. It's been offering great results. Thick, creamy application provides hydrated moisture all over. Lasts for almost twenty four hours. Feet are especially grateful and in debt forever. Fragrance smells too sweet and delicious- like yummy chocolate bar straight from the candy factory thanks to awesome raw cocoa butter. I love carrying the jar on the go (which surprisingly doesn't melt in the sun!) and using it on my hands. It's perfect for those moments when your vegan perfume disappears.

Four Ingredient White Shea Butter Lotion Preparation

2-3 cups of water will do for a medium sized steel bowl to sit in.

boiling water
1/2 pound (2 cup) unrefined white shea butter
2 oz.(1/2 cup) unrefined organic cocoa butter
1/2 cup organic coconut oil
1/3 cup olive oil

Close up of 4 ingredients.

Once water is boiling, put white shea butter and cocoa butter inside. Takes minutes for it all to dissolve.

Once Shea and cocoa butters have melted, add coconut and olive oils, stirring it all together. Turn off heat.

Pour hot lotion into jar. Refrigerate for 5-6 hours.

Pure solid. Yay!!!

Capped and ready to go places.

Lemon Brown Sugar Scrub

Oh no! Running low on my weekly skin magic treat!

It's getting hot out there and time to show a little summer skin!
Thanks to The Lantern Skin Studio for this incredible recipe for pliant, soft skin that looks like the sun smooched all over before taking even one step outside to greet rays. Seriously, the glow affect alone is the reason to try this at least once. Your skin will eat it up and thank you.
This awesome scrub can also be used as a shaving precursor, but I use it once a week for its great exfoliating abilities. It's like a superhero in a jar- a super heroine without a cap (well, at least I tie a pretty purple bow around it for good measure!). Sugar is the sweet smelling gentle scrubber, olive oil is the luminous moisturizer, and lemon is the natural toner. Three great ingredients make for one beautiful union.
Also check out my latest thrift store outfit- a shoulder kind of day! Heehee! I love LOVE thrift stores. Best place to find bargains and unique one of a kind clothes. Very imperative as a vegan to read labels (I'm 100% cotton, polyester, satin, nylon, etc.) and remain cruelty free in all walks of life. :)

Lemon Brown Sugar Scrub Ingredients

2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoon lemon juice

Mix all ingredients and keep inside a tight jar.
Keep in a cool place.

When using, take an ample amount & smooth all over body.

Skin truly seems to start glowing & moisturizing thanks to olive oil!

Massage with a smooth scrubber for FIVE minutes. Thoroughly rinse clean in the shower & use regular soap/body wash afterwards. Towel your smooth skin dry.

As for the rest of routine (though skin is soft and cocoa butter silky), I massage coconut oil and Shea Butter Balm into towel dried skin.

Of course the moment called for shoulder showing off! Yay! A $5 Bisou Bisou dress from my fave thrift shop and a big smile for upcoming sun kisses to make radiant glow even more complete!

I'm leg shy. But the wind can breeze through these $7 floral lace Forever 21 tights easily and these Madden Girl heels (from Clash Consignment for $9) are to die for.

Homemade Avocado Seed & Banana Face Mask

Never throw this away ever again for this little pit holds the key to glowing, dewy skin.

Am I the only one who always feel regret about discarding avocado pits?
That smooth brown rounded seed must be good for something if their fleshy tasty green surroundings have so many uses it's hard to pin it down to just one. So alas, it was time to research if this should continue being garbage... 
Well, through the grapevine (aka, the Internet), I learned that this makes for a great mask blended with bananas. Faccia Bella calls it The Glow Factor and for great reason! I didn't add the olive oil (it's in my homemade moisturizer) nor used it as a scrub, but left it sitting on my face all mask-like.
After making this for the first time from now on, not another avocado seed will see the darkness of a trashcan bag. It's amazing magical natural loving for the face and I plan on using this once a week- the results were fantastic!

Homemade Avocado Seed & Banana Face Mask Ingredients and Preparation

1 avocado pit, completely dried (takes 5-6 days)
1 half ripened banana (feel free to eat the other half like me, lol)

Rid of the brown outer edge until all you have is a smooth, fleshy seed.

Grind & grind & grind until its a powdery consistency.

Toss in banana half & blend evenly.

Cleanse the face first & smile excitedly.

                                                             

Let the mask sink into face for 3-5 minutes. A strange sensation happens here. Then rinse.

Tone & moisturize as usual & voila!

Delicately soft, satin finish & a radiance too lovely to sleep in.

I'm sure on some level Olivia is happy too! But I doubt this works on cats....

Vegan Hair Food Recipe

A nourishing dessert that the hair will love, especially after a fresh shampoo/conditioner treatment.

The hair needs its vitamins and minerals too.
Another part of that mixture crafted a few days ago with the addition of Jamaican Black Castor Oil, Coconut Oil, and Jojoba Oil comes a miraculous hair salve that nourishes as well as conditions giving naturally kinky hair roots glossy shine and incredible softness that fingertips and combs adore!
Keep refrigerated until use.

2 cup shea butter, melted
1 cup cocoa butter, melted
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup sweet almond oil
1/3 cup Jamaican Black Castor Oil
2 tablespoon coconut oil
A few drops jojoba oil
1 4 ounce container

Our hair necessities- Jamaican Black Castor Oil, Coconut Oil, & Jojoba Oil.

Inside of an old Carol's Daughter 4 ounce jar, 2 ounces (1/4 cup) of previous mixture of semi-melted shea & cocoa butters, olive, & sweet almond oils.

Stir in 1/3 cup Jamaican Black Castor Oil.

Whip in about 2 tablespoons of coconut oil & a few drops of jojoba oil.

Mix well & refrigerate. Turns into a nice pomade.

Homemade Vegan Lipglosses

The best beauty products are always homemade!

In the frigid, icy winter months, one cannot always hop a bus to Health Foods Unlimited to purchase the best vegan cosmetics in town. It's a shame that Trader Joe's carries lip balms containing beeswax and that despite having a modest sized natural products section Kroger's only carries Burt's Bees balms aka Beeswax Central. Online purchasing would seem like the next best thing, BUT it costs around $15 just to get a $2.99-$3.99 vegan balm to come to your door.
Thanks to reading many informative DIY blogs via Pinterest and reading product labels, the likeliest alternative, albeit a much cheaper solution is to make beauty out of ingredients already at home.
My favorite lip balm for the moment is Booda Butter's Booda Balm which keeps lips incredibly soft and moisturized. The ingredients listed are: Organic Coconut Oil, Organic Sweet Almond Oil, Organic Jojoba Oil, Organic Olive Oil, Candelilla Wax. I had everything except the wax.
Shea and cocoa butters are great for the lips and a thick substitution base. Another little tip- if desiring a more fragrant chocolaty smell, add more cocoa butter.

2 cup shea butter, melted
1 cup cocoa butter, melted
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup sweet almond oil
2 teaspoon coconut oil
A few drops jojoba oil
lip gloss pots (pictured are 1.25" inch in diameter & 5/8" tall ordered from Pink Blossom Cosmetics)
any vegan lipsticks on the verge of death

Now the shea and cocoa butters were mixed prior with olive and sweet almond oils and cooled until solid for a large batch divided into facial moisturizer, body lotion, hair balm, and this lip gloss.

Fill a pot with more or less of a mixture of shea & cocoa butters, olive, & sweet almond oils about less than 1/2 teaspoon.  The pictured Jamaican Castor Oil was from earlier hair balm making- will be unveiled later in an upcoming post.

Add a drop or two of jojoba oil.

Mix in a dollop of coconut oil. Stirring sticks would be so much better than a plastic knife! :D

  Stir a scrap of lipstick. Color above used is a bold bright red. Wipe the greasy rims & bottoms before capping.

Pop into the fridge for 3-4 hours. I knew that egg shelf had another purpose!

Now it's all solid!

This may last me a few good months. Hopefully. I am a huge gloss fanatic.

Already in use!