What day is today? Wednesday? Thursday? Saturday? Hard to say for sure, but no matter what day it actually is, it can be turned into a spa day. Just look no further than your bathroom, also known as the hottest spa in your home and conveniently open seven days a week. The services are top-notch, too. Might we suggest the house specialty, a 10-hour facial? Or what about a manicure and pedicure? (One could argue it’s the perfect time to break out the Babyfoot.) Maybe you’re more interested in a full-body detox massage, or a head-to-toe mask. You probably have all the supplies you need in your Top Shelf already. But if you don’t, check the pantry. There’s nothing like a DIY beauty adventure to pass the time, and besdies, what else are you going to do with that avocado that’s gone bad, or the coffee grounds accumulating in your kitchen? Here are the recipes we’re throwing together with what we’ve got.
Chapter 1: Skin
Ice Cube Serums To Treat + Cool
You’ll need:
– Green tea for antioxidants
– Coffee for de-puffing caffeine
– Chamomile tea to soothe
– Milk for lactic acid
– Aspirin to reduce inflammation
– Or whatever else you’ve got lying around the house
How to do it:
Freeze your liquid of choice in an ice cube tray, and wrap each cube in a paper towel to use. Slide it around your face until all melted.
Undereye Brightening Patches
You’ll need:
– 2 tsp pineapple juice
– 1 tsp turmeric
How to do it:
Mix into a paste and apply under eyes. Leave on for 10-20 minutes—not more.
Instant Pore Strips
You’ll need:
– 1 tbsp gelatin
– 1 ½ tbsp milk
How to do it:
Mix the gelatin and milk and microwave it for 10-15 seconds. Apply immediately, and wait for it to harden before pulling it off.
A Super Rich Cream
You’ll need:
– ¼ cup shea butter
– ¼ cup cocoa butter
– 2 tbsp avocado oil
How to do it:
Melt the cocoa and shea butters (ideally on a double boiler). Remove from heat and stir in the avocado oil. Cover the mixture and place in the fridge for two hours to solidify, then transfer to a lidded jar.
An Antioxidant Mud Mask For Oily Skin
You’ll need:
– 1 tbsp Greek yogurt
– 1 tsp bentonite clay
– 1 tsp of matcha green tea powder
How to do it:
Mix ‘em together, and apply to your face. You know how to mask!
A Moisturizing Mask For Irritated Skin
You’ll need:
– 1 tbsp brown rice flour
– ½ of an avocado
– 1 tbsp apple juice
How to do it:
In a bowl, mash the avocado with a fork. Stir in the rice flour until you make a paste, and then add the apple juice. Mix to combine, and apply on dry skin.
A Milk Mask To Cool Down Redness
You’ll need:
– A bowl of cold, full fat milk
How to do it:
Saturate a washcloth with the milk and place on your face for 10 minutes. Wash off with cool water.
A Manuka Mask For Acneic Skin
You’ll need:
– 1 tbsp manuka honey
How to do it:
Manuka honey is made by bees who eat the tea tree plant, so it’s great for acneic skin. Just smear some on straight from the jar, wait a few minutes, and rinse it off.
A Sugar Lip Scrub
You’ll need:
– 1 tbsp raw sugar
– 1 tbsp coconut oil
How to do it:
Mix them together (you don’t have to melt the coconut oil first) and apply to lips. Rub in small circles, then wipe off.
Chapter 2: Body
A Sugar Body Scrub
You’ll need:
– 1 cup avocado or grapeseed oil
– 1 cup raw sugar
– lemon zest or few drops of the essential oil of your choice
How to do it:
Mix in a mason jar and store in the shower to exfoliate and moisturize at the same time.
May Lindstrom’s Instant Deodorant
You’ll need:
– ¼ tsp coconut oil
– a pinch of baking soda
– a few drops of lemon essential oil
How to do it:
Blend on your fingertips and massage directly onto clean armpits.
A Recipe For Bath Bombs
You’ll need:
– 8 oz. baking soda
– 4 oz. citric acid
– 4 oz. corn starch
– 4 oz. Epsom salts
– ¾ tsp. of water
– 2 tsp. essential oil
– 1 tsp jojoba oil (or another base oil, like almond)
How to do it:
Mix dry ingredients in one bowl, and liquids in another, then combine them with your hands. Put the mixture into cupcake cups and let them sit overnight to set.
Chapter 3: Hair
A Scalp Scrub + High-Shine Gloss For Brunettes
You’ll need:
– 1-2 tbsp coffee grounds
– Your favorite conditioner
How to do it:
Mix some coffee grounds into your conditioner and apply to your hair from roots to tips, scrubbing at the scalp. Leave on for 5 minutes or more, scrubbing your body with any extra grounds while you wait, then rinse.
A Protein Treatment For Damaged Hair
You’ll need:
– 1 tbsp shea butter
– ½ cup full fat Greek yogurt
– 1 tbsp blackstrap molasses
How to do it:
Melt the shea butter (in a double boiler is best, but the microwave will do) and add it to a bowl of yogurt. Mix in the molasses until it looks light and fluffy. Apply to hair from ends to mid-shaft, and leave on for 5 minutes to an hour.
A Hair Mask For More Shine
You’ll need:
– 1 cup olive oil
– 1 egg
– 1 tsp water
– 1 tsp lavender essential oil
– 1 lemon
How to do it:
Mix together, and apply from roots to tips. Leave on for 10-30 minutes, and then rinse.
A Salt-Spray Alternative
You’ll need:
– 1 cheap bottle of champagne
– a few drops of orange blossom essential oil
How to do it:
Mix together and decant into a spray bottle. Use for up to two weeks.
Photo via ITG