posted January 22, 2009 11:29 AM         

If you make the face pack be warned that it will have to be removed when dry with the aid of a jack hammer but it will dredge all the nastiness out of your skin and no messing.
Calamine lotion dries and soothes spots and costs about threepence a bucket. It's amazing. Apply at night.
Also be warned it dries white.
So if you apply a coat of it at night before retiring, be sure to check smoke alarms.
In the event of a fire, the sight of your chalk white face at the window will most probably send rescuing fireman straight back down his ladder with cries of
"It's too late chaps!It was horrible.Her face was just a pile of ash"

posted January 22, 2009 01:01 PM         

Really great tips, all! Another easy way to get bugs to leave you alone in summer i have found is eucalyptis oil and water. I have a spray bottle that I use on plants and myself, as well. It's a great oil to keep your kitties from chewing your plants, too.

I'm always looking for spot cures.. Bloody 28 and still prone to break-outs. Worse now than when I was a teenager. I've literally tried everything and am getting soooo fed up!! Problem #1 is my extrmely dry skin, so anything that will "dry out" spots is like pouring acid on my face... Winter is not helping, I notice that in Summer, I don't really suffer that much.

I suppose I could try the mask suggested by venusdelinda... Oh,how I hope for a miracle!!

posted January 26, 2009 05:49 AM         

Bunnies man, you kill me! And I'm not really blonde, it's out of a bottle, hence the need for some industrial strength conditioner. I have bought three Lenors since writing last. Loving the smell. Cheaper than perfume!

Ghani!! Breakouts, grrr. I'm 35 and still suffering, it sucks no?

Fab tips everyone, I shall be trying them all in turn. Sunshine - the toothpaste thing is great, I am wise to that one.

VenusdeIndia - we are not really floating each others' boat right now concerning views on women. But my goodness people, don't let one crackpot notion from a person prevent you from trying another of their ideas.

I am EVANGELICAL about Venus' gram flour facepack. And I mean EVANGELICAL. I tried this on Friday and it was awesome. When it dried it went all sort of blobby and I looked like some strange undersea creature from the depths, but I sh!t you not, upon examination of the goop (when I chiselled it off) there was a whole load of well... (gross I know) blackheads and gack that had been living in my face.

And the best part of the whole thing is that I have been living with some strange rash on my chin and neck area for the past year. It's like a scaly dry rash that makes my skin look shiny and wrinkly like a burn scar. I got some hydrocortizone cream from the doctor which sort of works temporarily but I don't like using it and it always comes back.

After using this facepack the rash has GONE. That was 3 days ago and it's still gone. My face is soft and feels clean. Try it people. Gram flour's like 80p a bag here and will do 20 facepacks easy. You look a bit like Marge Simpson and it is unwise to let your boyfriend see you with it on as he will call you "Lazarus" all day but here:

posted January 26, 2009 05:59 AM         

Gram flour available online: http://www.natco-online.com/acatalog/info_F3270.html

posted January 26, 2009 07:57 AM           

Thanks everyone ! Great thread!

I'm going to try to find some gram flour today.

posted January 26, 2009 08:20 AM           

so, i've been sitting here researching how to make an effective all natural deoderant. From what I've dug up so far (and I've visited plenty of websites now) it seems the best home remedy is distilled white vinegar.

I just made my own a mix in a spray bottle, from what I've gathered on numerous sites. Most suggest mixing water and vinegar (you can even use apple cider) in a spray bottle and spraying on wherever you'd like your body to stay odor free. From what I'm reading, it really works because it kills the germs that cause it unlike deoderants that just cover up with perfume etc! The vinegar smell goes away upon drying. Some even swipe it on with a cotton ball.

Also, you can spray this on your clothes (if you have a problem like I do, where it's hard to get the deoderant off your shirts). I will be spraying this on when I get out of the shower and letting it dry. It's supposed to work miracles because it targets the bacteria on our skin which when mixes with our sweat is what causes the body odor. We'll see! And no, I don't stink terribly. LOL Just wanted to find a natural remedy.

my recipie:

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup white vinegar
a few drops of tea tree oil
some lemon juice
a few drops of grapefruit seed extract
and a bit of Bach's Rescue Remedy

You could just stick to the water and vinegar of course. Don't you think this sounds a lot better than the chemical crap deoderants out there?. We'll see if it works!

posted January 26, 2009 09:27 AM         

Like wheels, I, too, use vinegar for nearly all my household cleaning. I had heard of using it as a deodorant, but I hadn't tried it yet. (The recipe I read called for apple cider and I only have white, yada yada... silly me, should have given it a go anyway.)

posted January 26, 2009 08:31 PM           

I found the Garbanzo Bean flour!!! (same thing - chickpeas, different name) Found it at a whole foods store today. So exciting! I might do the facial tomorrow though - too tired tonight.

posted January 30, 2009 05:46 PM           

I've got the Egg Yogurt mix on my hair now. I used apple cider vinegar after a shampoo recently - as a hair rinse, as was recommended somewhere and well, I'll never do that again. My head reeked of vinegar for days and wasnt soft and shiny like was said it would be. It was before though. I finally couldnt stand it anymore and washed my hair with Dawn Dish Detergent. That cleared it right out. Because even multiple shampoos werent cutting through it.

The chickpea mask was nice, though didnt "wow" me. It made my face softer and will try it again soon anyway.

Yesterday I made a sugar olive oil scrub and used it in the shower. I loved how soft and luscious it made my skin. I'll be using that one often. On face too. Divine.