More Mud: Rose Petals & Lavender Clay Mask

Time to pamper yourself! Give this French pink clay mask recipe a try and enjoy an amazing and rejuvenating clay mask experience.

This mask is one of my original recipes. It uses French pink clay which just seemed to beg for roses, which in turn demanded a hint of lavender. It smells divine. This is a smooth mask that applies easily, feels great and dries quickly. It is gentle enough to use on a regular basis. This recipe uses dry ingredients so it can be stored indefinitely.

French rose/pink clay is good for normal, dry, sensitive and mature/aging skin. French rose clay is a blend of red illite and white kaolin clays. It is very mild. French pink clay is light, smooth and luxurious. It’s probably my favourite. 

Clay masks are best mixed in a ceramic or glass bowl with a wooden spoon. When making your own masks, always remember to do a skin patch test to determine sensitivity to the mask. Before using a clay mask, cleanse your skin to remove make-up and surface dirt. When rinsing off the mask, remember to thoroughly rinse out the sink and flush out the drain with running water. If you use a facecloth to clean off the mask, use an old one, especially with French pink clay. 

Rose Petals & Lavender Clay Mask Recipe

2 tablespoons dried rose petals, ground

2 tablespoons dried lavender buds, ground

3/4 cup French Rose clay

water or lavender water or rose water

1. Grind dried lavender buds and dried rose petals using a grinder or mortar and pestle. Use only rose petals, not the calyx.
2. Using a wooden spoon, thoroughly mix ground lavender buds and rose petals with the French pink clay.
3. Store clay mixture in a glass jar.
4. Mix 2 tablespoons of dry clay mask mixture with 1 to 1¼ teaspoons of water (or lavender water or rose water). Use a small wooden spoon or stick to blend. Add additional drops of liquid until you have the desired consistency.
5. Apply to face and allow to dry for 5 to 10 minutes. Wash off with warm water using an old face cloth. Follow up with a moisturizer.

Enjoy!

Botanic Planet is a good source (Canadian) for clay and botanicals.

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Floral Water: Lovely Lavender

I’ve always liked floral waters and have been intrigued by the idea of creating scented water from flowers. I recently gave it a try and it was astonishingly easy to do. I call my creation Lovely Lavender and, needless to say, I love it.

Lavender water has lots of uses. It’s great as a facial toner. It can be added to your clay face mask recipes. Put some of your lavender water into an atomizer and use it as a linen or room spray. Or give yourself a spritz to relieve sunburn pain, or just because it smells great and it will make you smell great, too.

Lovely Lavender floral water is made with witch hazel. You can find witch hazel in most pharmacies or health food stores. Witch hazel has many of its own amazing properties and uses. It is a natural antioxidant and anti inflammatory, and is used extensively in skin care products. Witch hazel also acts as a stabilizer and gives your floral water a longer shelf life.

I always think that it's a curious thing that when you steep lavender, the water is not purple like the flowers. The same thing happens when you make lavender jelly. It still smells wonderful, though, even if it's not lavender in color,

Lovely Lavender Floral Water

1 cup water

1/4 cup dried lavender flowers

2 tablespoons witch hazel

1. Boil water and pour over the lavender flowers. Allow to steep 20 to 30 minutes. 
2. Strain lavender water several times through cheesecloth to remove the lavender flowers.
3. Put witch hazel into storage container and then pour in the warm lavender water. Cool, cap and store in refrigerator for up to six months. 
4. Shake well before each use. 

Botanic Planet is a good source (Canadian) for botanicals.
If you’re just looking for lavender, check out Weir’s Lane Lavender and Apiary.

You can learn more about lavender by reading this post: Lavender Love 

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Lemonade Stand: Homemade Lemonade 5¢

There's just something about homemade lemonade that sets it apart from frozen concentrate. Yes, you have to juice the lemons (or not!) and yes, it takes a little longer than opening a can. But, it tastes amazing! What better way to celebrate the upcoming first long weekend of summer than with a jug of ice cold homemade lemonade.

I have lots of great memories of selling lemonade with my sister at our make-shift lemonade stand. We never made a lot of money, but it was the beginning of the entrepreneurial spirit in both of us. Such fun!

My daugher set up a lemonade stand one summer day when she was quite young and sold lemonade to the thirsty tennis players in the park behind our house. Location, location, location.

My recipe makes 3 1/2 cups. Double the recipe (see italics) if you are expecting company. Little helpers can get involved with juicing the lemons, but keep those young ones away from the stove and the sugar syrup. I once got second degree burns from making homemade lemonade. The syrup got on me when I was pouring it from the saucepan. Yikes!

I hope that you enjoy your Homemade Lemonade. Please feel free to share this recipe with your friends and family.

Homemade Lemonade

(Double Recipe in Italics)

Ingredients:

3 lemons, or 1/2 cup lemon juice (6 lemons/1 cup lemon juice)

1/2 cup white sugar (1 cup)

3 cups water (6 cups)

Lemon slices for garnish 

Directions:

1. In a sauce pan mix the sugar into 1 cup (2 cups) of the water. Heat until sugar has dissolved. Chill.

1. Juice the lemons to make 1/2 cup (1 cup) of juice. Roll the lemons on a hard surface with the heel of your hand before you cut into them and they will juice more easily. Skip this step if you are using lemon juice from a bottle. Juice all of the lemons and adjust the amount of water if you have more juice than the amount listed.

1. In a pitcher, combine the chilled sugar syrup, the lemon juice and the remaining 2 cups (4 cups) of water. Chill and serve over ice. Garnish with a slice of lemon. Enjoy! 

Makes 3 1/2 cups (7 cups)

Single Serving (1/2 cup): 58 calories; 14.5 g. carbohydrates; .1 g. dietary fibre

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More Mud: Herbal Clay Mask

Making your own mud masks is a fun way to treat yourself. Create something special that meets your personal skin care needs and pamper yourself on a regular basis.

Mud masks recipes use a variety of different clays that target different skin types. This Herbal Clay Mask uses bentonite clay. I use this mask only occasional to detoxify my skin. Bentonite clay is great on a more regular basis for oily or acne prone skin types.

Bentonite clay is made from aged volcanic ash. It is highly absorbent and draws out impurities. Bentonite is electrically charged which helps it to draw out the impurities in your skin. Because of the electrical charge, you must use a wooden spoon or stick to mix masks that use bentonite.

The original recipe for this Herbal Clay Mask suggests grinding the ingredients in a food processor. I used a mortar and pestle. This recipe can be used as a scrub or a mask. Start out with a five minute mask application to see how your skin tolerates the detoxification process. If you have normal or mature/aging skin you may want to first try this recipe as a scrub. Remember to follow up with a moisturizer.

Before using a clay mask, cleanse your skin to remove make-up and surface dirt. When washing off the mask, remember to thoroughly rinse out the sink and flush out the drain with running water. If you use a facecloth to clean off the mask, use an old one.

Herbal Clay Mask Recipe

3/4 cup colloidal oatmeal

1/4 cup dried lavender buds, ground fine

1/4 cup dried calendula, ground fine

1/2 cup powdered milk, ground fine

1/2 cup bentonite clay

1. In a grinder or food processor, grind lavender buds, calendula and powdered milk. A mortar and pestle will also work. 
2. Mix all ingredients together in a glass container. Don't put the clay into the food processor. Don't use metal with the bentonite clay. 
3. Store clay mixture in a glass jar.
4. For a scrub, mix 1 tablespoon of clay mixture with approximately 2 teaspoons of water to make a paste. With finger tips, lightly scrub face. Use olive oil or honey instead of water if you have dry to normal skin. Rinse with warm water. 
5. To use as a mask, mix 2 tablespoons of the mask with approximately 3 to 4 tablespoons of a half and half blend of apple cider vinegar and water to make a paste. Apply to face and allow to dry for 5 to 20 minutes. Wash with warm water. Follow up with a moisturizer.

N.B.: Bentonite clay absorbs a lot of water. You may have to adjust the amount of fluid that you add to the dry mix.

Thank you to Melissa @ Pioneering Today for the recipe on which this clay mask was based. 

Botanic Planet is a good source (Canadian) for clay and botanicals.

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