1 tsp lanolin oil
Recipe: Mineral Hair Mask
For Hair that Needs a Pick Me Up
4 Tablespoons Ground Rose Petals (used to make rosewater)
2 tea spoons Bentonite Clay
1 tea spoon Lemon Oil
1 tea spoon Argan Oil
Add 1 cup of water to the the ground rose petals and heat in the microwave on the beverage setting. Add the other ingredients and stir. Add water if needed until the consistency is smooth enough to easily be stirred with a spoon.
The lemon oil helps fight bacteria. The bentonite clay and argan give your hair needed moisture and great conditioning.
It's All About Absorption
In choosing DIY ingredients, their absorption rates may be most important. It essentially means, how long after I apply the ingredients will I still feel them on my skin?
When I started DIY natural skincare, I tried using a macadamia nut oil moisturizer. After all, nut oils are available and are full of healthy fats. It was a cold January day, and my skin was so dry I thought it might crack. An hour later, I still felt an uncomfortable, greasy film on my face. I under-estimated just how slow a slow absorption rate can be.
I am not criticizing macadamia nut oil, but illustrating the importance of personalizing. DIY recipes are like colors of the rainbow. We can pick our perfect shade.
In general, dry skin wants ingredients with slower absorption rates, which give ongoing relief and hydration by continuing to sit on your skin. Argan oil keeps my banana curls in place because hours after application, it is still there, doing its job.
Oily skin, however, usually prefers a faster absorption rate. My summertime godsend is Baobab oil. When I am in a hurry, I can confidently rub the rapidly absorbing oil on my hands and grab my white purse, without worrying about leaving an oil stain.
Recipe: Mineral Clay Face Mask
Recipe: Mineral Clay Mask
4 ounces Rose Petals (used to make rosewater)
1 teaspoon French Rose Clay
1 tea spoon French Green Sea Clay
1 tea spoon Rhassoul Clay
Remember when a face mask was a beauty treatment?
Place rose petals in a bowl, fill with water, and cover. I usually put a plate or saucer inside the bowl. Heat in microwave on a low power setting for 90 minutes.
I usually start mine right before I go to bed, when no one needs the microwave. My mine goes from a power setting of zero to 10 and I use a 2. A double boiler on the stove top is best practice, but requires more attention.
The rosewater has a wonderful floral smell. I spray it on linens, my clothes, and even my hair.
Mix rosewater with the French Rose and Green Sea Clays. Stir to get an even blend. Add the Rhassoul Clay last. Store in the refrigerator for maximum shelf-life. Now you have a mineral clay mask, just like at the spa
Recipe: DIY Lip Repair for Lips that are a Little Dry
1 tbl spoon illipe butter
1 tbl spoon pomegranate oil
1 tbl spoon passion fruit oil
1/2 tea spoon raw yellow beeswax
Melt beeswax (30-60 seconds in the microwave).
Add illipe butter and reheat until the mixture melts (another 0-30 seconds).
Stir in pomegranate oil and passion fruit oil. Shake. Store upside down.
At room temperature, the creation takes about a day to cool and sets. In the meantime, you can use it as a liquid or put it in the refrigerator or freezer for faster setting.
Sea Buckthorn Oil
Sea Buckthorn Oil is bright orange color is just screaming Vitamin A! Think fresh carrots straight from the garden or the farmer's market, and you have the idea. Color is important, not just because it's beautiful, but because nature has a way of sneaking all sorts of benefits into colorful plants. What makes raspberries red and blueberries blue is also good for you. Similarly, sea buckthorn oil comes from the small berries of the sea buckthorn plants. It is believed to help with wrinkle, aging, skin elasticity, brown spots, and much more. We include sea buckthorn oil in many of our serum kits so you can see for yourself.
Meet Baobab Oil
Baobab Oil is a wonderful moisturizer ingredient for oily and combination skin! It is quickly absorbed, so it won't sit on your face and feel greasy. The baobab trees are often called the
Tree of Life because of their longevity, their nutrient rich fruit, and their importance to the region. Baobab Oil has all three omega fatty acids and includes all sorts of vitamins, such as A, D, E, K, and C. Baobab oil is believed to help reduce stretch marks, and help heal wounds, help boost collagen. What's not to love about it?
Recipe: DIY Moisturizer Combination Skin
1 tbl. of kokum butter
1 tbl. of cocoa butter
1 tbl. of ivory shea butter
1 tbl. of tamanu oil
Heat kokum butter until it melts, about two minutes in the microwave for big clump and about 1 minute for small pieces.
Stir in cocoa and ivory shea butter. Depending on how hot the kokum butter is, the shea and cocoa may melt on their own, but the mixture might need up to 30 seconds in the microwave.
Stir in the tamanu oil and shake.
You can experiment with texture by varying the amount of kokum butter (more kokum means a more solid product).
Reheat for 1-3 minutes if the ingredients begin to separate. Store upside down.
I took these photos the next day. What do your creations look like? Share photos in the comment section below.
Why Subscription?
Preservatives are common ingredients in commercial processed skin care. Companies add these preservatives to ensure a long shelf life, often years. With Prismatic, you avoid these chemicals by getting what you need, when you need it.
You also do not have to buy and store large quantities of raw ingredients or else pay outrageous markups for small quantities. Indeed, we leverage this enormous markup common in the beauty and skincare industry to provide our subscription kits at a great price, often about 1/3 of the cost of the equivalent processed products.
Recipe DIY Exfoliating Facial Scrub
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup sugar
1 tea spoon of ground vanilla, mint, or lemon balm
1/4 oz aloe vera oil
Mix the sugar into the honey and stir. Work in batches if the honey is thick. Stir in aloe vera oil and vanilla, mint, or lemon balm. Store upside down in leak-proof container.
I prefer aloe vera oil to the gel because I find it mixes into honey more easily.
Which sugar is right for you? Demerara? Sucanat? Light Muscovado? Dark Muscovado? Date? Coconut? Personalize your Prismatic kits to see.
Subscription Options
$36/month
12 ingredients
(makes 3 products)
$18/month
4 ingredients
(makes one product)
By default, both plans vary monthly kits between the different products. Want another arrangement?
Just email Michele at msteiner@prismatic.me, and we'll make the change.
About Us
For a number of years I have been growing fruits, vegetables, and edible flowers in my organic, heirloom garden. One day, I was in the kitchen, preserving the harvest, when I looked at the hand lotion sitting next to my sink.
I could barely pronounce half the ingredients. You shouldn't need to have taken organic chemistry at an Ivy League University to know what is in your skin care or your cosmetics. You shouldn't have to products filled with preservatives and other chemicals. Indeed, my motto is that if I wouldn't eat it, why would I put it on my face?
I hope to empower readers and subscribers to know that there is an alternative to mass produced, commercially processed skin care care, filled with preservatives. In this blog, I'll give more information on recipes, kit curation, the benefits of the ingredients, and much more. With Prismatic's recipes and personalized kit of ingredients, you can do this!
Kokum Butter... natural elasticity
Kokum butter... Who can say no to natural elasticity?
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