DIY Bride: All Natural Beauty At Home Spa Day

Do you crave a spa experience before the wedding?  Can't swing an expensive spa days?  You can have a DIY spa day at home using ingredients in your refrigerator at minimal cost and get similar results.  Think relaxation, think results, think saving lots of money you can spend elsewhere.  Invite your besties to come and join you if you want to turn it into a girls spa day.  

Some of these natural ingredients can get a little messy, so wear something old or soak in the tub at the same time you are doing the facials and eye treatments. 

Facials:  

Honey:  Put a warm washcloth on your face to open the pores. Spread honey on your face, leave it on for 15 to 30 minutes and wash it off with warm water, followed by splashes of cold water to close the pores.  Honey will also clear up blemishes.  You can dot it on blemishes and leave it on overnight.  

Honey and Oatmeal mask:  Perfect for acne, mix up one tablespoon of oatmeal and one tablespoon of honey.  Apply to your face for a half hour.  For extra relaxation, cut up two slices of cucumber and put it over your eyes.

Banana Mask :  Mash up one banana and apply to your face.  Leave on no longer than 10 minutes and rinse off.

Avocado mask:  Peel and mash up an avocado, apply to face, rinse off in with warm water in 15 minutes. 

Olive oil:  If your face is really dry, apply some warm olive oil to the skin for moisture, rinse off.

Hair:

Beer:  Warm flat beer is a great hair rinse, it adds shine and helps repair damaged hair. Apply to hair, shower and rinse it out. 

Lemon juice:  For blondes,  rinse hair with lemon juice, it will naturally lighten your hair in the sun and act as a clarifying agent on your hair.  (removes product buildup)

Apple cider vinegar will do the same for brunettes and redheads as lemon juice.

You can also use lemon juice to lighten up ashy spots on the elbows and heels.  

Mayonnaise:   Use real mayonnaise on your hair to condition your hair naturally, its perfect for dried out hair.  You can apply about a half of a cup of real mayo to dry hair by brushing it on and leave it on for an hour, then wash hair as usual.   The other way is to smear it through your hair and cover your hair (not your face) with a plastic bag for 15 minutes.  The heat that builds up inside the bag will speed up the conditioning.  

Body:  Epsom salts.   Pour 2 cups of Epsom salts into running bath water.   Epsom salts are made from mineral magnesium sulfate which relaxes the nervous system and muscles, removes toxins from the body and reduces swelling.   You can also use it as a foot soak to for aching feet after a long day in stilettos.  

Epsom salts can also be good for exfoliating your skin.  Just rub some into wet skin and rinse off well. Works great on dry heels, also. 

Tea bags work wonders for swollen, puffy, tired eyes.   Wet two used tea bags and place them on your eyes.  You can add a bag of frozen peas over the tea bags, this will help the swelling and puffiness.  (Shhhh....its a Hollywood secret!) 

I've tried them all and they work.   To get the full spa experience, you may need to light aromatherapy candles and play soft music.  Enjoy!