Everyone knows when fall comes around that it’s time for all things pumpkin! Pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin pie, or even pumpkin spice lotion. I’ve been wanting to make a pumpkin scrub for a while now because pumpkin is amazing for your skin, and I finally got around to it. And seriously, it is my new favorite pumpkin anything.

This scrub is all natural and full of ingredients that reduce inflammation for your skin. It feels and smells amazing. It is a nice gentle exfoliant that gets rid of that extra dead skin and reduces inflammation to boot. Pumpkin lovers rejoice!

I love using skin products that are healthy and natural. Making your own products ensures that you are getting something healthy that is good for your skin. And you can save money on them too!

So if you’re ready for a little fall themed spa day, keep reading to see the full tutorial.

I like to explain why I chose the ingredients in my products, so you can understand what this awesome scrub does for your skin!

If you click any of the ingredients you will find either the exact product I used in this recipe or one that I recommend.

Ingredients:

• Pumpkin: Full of vitamin A which soothes inflammation, and vitamin C which is an antioxidant that remedies damage from free radicals. Enzymes in pumpkin help break down dead skin cells for extra exfoliating power. Vitamins E and T help reduce inflammation.
• Sugar: A natural gentle topical exfoliant that gently removes dead skin to make way for newer healthier cells. A natural source of glycolic acid that also helps exfoliate.
• Turmeric: A power house for reducing inflammation. Full of cucurminoids which are powerful antioxidants that have anti-inflammatory properties.
• Essential oils (optional): For scent, and can have added benefits depending on which oils you use. If you want the pumpkin spice feel for this mask, use 1 drop cinnamon essential oil, 1 drop ginger, and 1 drop nutmeg.

And you’ll need a few supplies:

• A mixing bowl
• A spatula
• Small air tight jar

I promise that it is super easy to make. You can watch how it’s done in the video below.

Keep on scrolling for the full recipe!

This stuff is a real powerhouse. Each ingredient has powerful benefits for your skin, with the pumpkin and turmeric combining to make it a great anti-inflammatory. Soothing inflammation is one of the best things you can do for your skin.

Since this mask is so effective at exfoliating, you’ll want to follow up with a good sunscreen to protect those new cells from damage!

This scrub seriously feels amazing. The texture and feel are super luxurious.

It feels like a $50 spa treatment, and for less than $2 for you to reproduce. Chances are you have all these ingredients in your kitchen already!

Looking at these pictures kind of makes my mouth water. You’ve gotta love a skincare product that is healthy and natural enough to eat!

Seriously though, this scrub is so easy to make that you have no reason not to! Your skin will thank you.

Let me know how making your own pumpkin face scrub goes for you!

supplies used in this post

The post Homemade Anti-Inflammatory Pumpkin Face Scrub appeared first on Pins and Procrastination.

Green tea is amazing for your skin. It’s no secret that I love this awesome ingredient! That’s why I wanted to make a new face wash that made use of green tea. It is great for people with sensitive skin, and it is naturally anti-inflammatory. Plus the green tea can reduce the appearance of pores and make your skin look fresh and happy!

As someone with sensitive skin and redness myself, I like to be careful about what I put on my skin. Making my own face wash helps me to be confident that I know exactly what goes into my products and also know that they are healthy for my skin and most importantly, safe. (And it doesn’t hurt that it also usually costs less to make things myself).

I’ve previously made a honey face wash, and an aloe vera face wash. I loved both (and I still do). But I’m loving using green tea in my recipes so much lately that I wanted to make another. And this green tea and honey face wash does not disappoint!

In combination with my green tea face scrub, this seriously is amazing for my skin. But don’t be intimidated- it’s super easy to make. And even better, it only costs $4!

This recipe only has natural ingredients that are good for your skin. If you want to know where to buy these ingredients, just click on the name of the ingredient. Here’s why I chose them:

• Green Tea Powder: Full of antioxidants and vitamins your skin needs, anti-inflammatory to reduce redness and irritation, the caffeine in green tea helps tighten skin and reduce the appearance of pores
• Honey: A natural humectant (draws moisture into the skin), naturally antibacterial, full of antioxidants
• Soapwort Extract: Has a high concentration of natural saponins (help clean your skin), gentle suds, gentle natural face wash
• Avocado Oil: Full of vitamin E and antioxidants that are healthy for your skin, natural moisturizer
• Essential Oils: Can have different benefits depending on the oil. I used chamomile in this recipe, but lavender, tea tree, and geranium are all also good anti-inflammatory oils.

Since the face wash has so much honey, it may feel a little stickier than you are used to, but it doesn’t make it any less amazing! When you wash it off you’ll see just how wonderful it is. Your skin will thank you!

I’m in love with this amazing face wash. Try making it yourself and let me know if you love it too!

supplies used in this post

The post Homemade Anti-Inflammatory Green Tea Honey Face Wash appeared first on Pins and Procrastination.

Every once in a while my skin just feels dull. I know I’m not the only one who gets this way- especially when I’m stressed out. It helps to have a little something on hand that I know will make my skin look bright and glowing again- which is why I love this detox face mask so much! I use it whenever my skin is feeling a little down and it always does the trick.

With all natural ingredients, it is great at gently exfoliating your skin and removing impurities. My skin always feels SUPER clean after I use it. And even better than that- I feel it helps reduce redness in my skin. When I follow it up with my mango moisturizer, it always makes my skin soft and dewey. You can’t ask for much more in an all natural face mask that you can make in 5 minutes!

All the ingredients are designed to clean and detoxify your skin:

• Bentonite clay: When mixed with water it is great at absorbing toxins, impurities, bacteria, and chemicals, while adding healthy minerals to the skin
• Activated charcoal: Absorbs over 100 times its weight in impurities and chemicals
• Hibiscus powder: Rich in antioxidants, reduces hyperpigmentation, rich in alpha-hydroxy acids which help exfoliate gently
• Lavender powder: Naturally anti-inflammatory, helps kill bacteria that can cause acne

I call it the Flower Power Detox Face Mask because it’s the hibiscus and lavender that really goes that extra mile to help detox and reduce inflammation in your skin! I believe that the flower powders from Mountain Rose Herbs are the best quality, which is why I get mine there.

And it’s super easy to make- it takes less than 5 minutes!

I love to use this face mask to give myself a little spa day- I combine it with my homemade hot oil hair treatment and really just pamper myself. And I’m always glad I did. It really helps so much when my skin is going through a bad phase.

Well- what are you waiting for? Let me know how your homemade detox face mask goes for you!

supplies used in this post

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Exfoliating is an important part of any skincare routine- it removes dead skin cells to help refresh your skin and make it look brighter and healthier. You know what else is amazing for your skin? Green tea! It is full of antioxidants and vitamins that help give your skin a healthy glow. That’s why a green tea exfoliating scrub is so healthy for your skin.

Not only that, it feels fresh and invigorating. This green tea scrub smells amazing and can help you relax. I absolutely love using it, and my skin always looks fresh right after. It’s gentle enough to be used on both your face and body. The avocado oil is a great ingredient that makes the scrub moisturize while it exfoliates.

Even better than that, it costs less than $1 to make, and takes about 5 minutes. This fabulous green tea scrub is so easy, there’s no reason for you not to try it!

I like to explain why I choose the ingredients in my recipes, so here’s why I used each one:

• Green tea: Full of antioxidants and vitamins your skin needs, anti-inflammatory to reduce redness and irritation
• Sugar: Gentle exfoliation to remove dead skin cells
• Avocado oil: Full of vitamin E and antioxidants that are healthy for your skin, natural moisturizer
• Essential oils (optional): I used pine essential oil because it is highly anti-inflammatory, and can help relax muscles. I also found the scent complimented the scent of the tea nicely

And it’s super easy to make! It only takes about 5 minutes. You can see the process in these pictures, and keep scrolling for the full recipe:

This scrub is so great! I can’t get enough of the smell. It does a great job of making me feel refreshed and relaxed. I always feel so luxurious when I use it. It truly gives you the spa feeling for a price that is unbeatable!

My skin loves it even more than I do. I like to exfoliate about once a week and it keeps my skin looking fresh and healthy. I seriously can’t get enough of this amazing scrub.

The scrub should stay good for about 3-4 months.

Let me know how making your own green tea scrub goes for you!

Supplies used in this post:

The post DIY Green Tea Scrub for Healthy Skin appeared first on Pins and Procrastination.

This homemade mango moisturizer is my new favorite thing ever. It is healthy, lightweight, all natural, and my skin just can’t get enough.

I’ve just run out of my aloe vera moisturizer, so I figured it was time I whipped up a new one. I only recently have started using mango butter in my recipes, and it is a powerhouse ingredient. It is a natural emollient filled with lots of fatty acids that your skin loves- and even better, it is safe for acne prone skin!

I am so impressed with this powerhouse moisturizer! It is as luxurious as any expensive moisturizer I’ve ever tried- and it costs as little as $2.50 to make. It is so effective at moisturizing I need less than a pea sized amount to moisturize my whole face. Now that’s an amazing deal!

I like to explain the purpose of each ingredient in my recipes:

• Mango Butter: non-comedogenic moisturizer, natural emollient (attracts moisture to the skin), full of essential fatty acids (I used this one but I also like this one)
• Vegetable Glycerin: great natural moisturizer, makes the moisturizer feel more lightweight, acts as a natural preservative in high enough amounts (I used this one but this one is great if you don’t want such a large quantity)
• Beeswax: helps thicken and stabilize, while also being a great protective layer for the skin to keep moisture in (I used this one)
• Soy Lecithin: a natural emulsifier, which allows the mango butter and vegetable glycerin to mix and creates a nice texture (I used this one but I also like this liquid version)
• Acacia Powder (optional): makes the lotion feel a little thicker, natural emulsifier (I used this one but I also like this one)
• Essential oils (optional): for scent, and can also have different beneficial properties (I love lavender or orange for this recipe)

And the tools you’ll need are:

• a hand mixer, I like to use one with a whisk attachment
• an immersion blender, or lots of patience*
• a double boiler or makeshift double boiler (pot placed on top of pot of water)
• an airtight container to store your lotion

*If you can give this recipe a week, you don’t need the immersion blender. I’ll explain why in a minute.

This recipe can be made a few different ways. If you want to use liquid soy lecithin, you don’t need to use an immersion blender at all. But if you use soy lecithin granules (like I like to!), you either need an immersion blender or some patience.

Soy lecithin granules need to dissolve in water to work as a good emulsifier. Since glycerin is the “water” ingredient in this recipe, you’ll want to dissolve them in the glycerin. Except they dissolve much more slowly in glycerin than in water. I did a test to see how long, and it took me a full week for my granules to dissolve.

So anyways, if you’re less patient, you can also use an immersion blender on the granules to make sure they get mixed properly. That’s what I did, and it worked wonderfully. But it does require extra tools.

All right- let’s get to the recipe!

I really love this mango moisturizer. It makes my skin feel super dewey and wonderful. Like I said before, you only need a tiny tiny bit to moisturize with. If you slather it on it will feel sticky and take a long time to absorb. It’s so effective at moisturizing you really only need a little.

I like to use this for my face but you can use it as a body lotion as well if you prefer. It feels great on my hands.

Well, I hope you love this mango moisturizer as much as I do! Let me know how making your own mango moisturizer goes for you!

Supplies used in this post:

The post Miracle Mango Moisturizer appeared first on Pins and Procrastination.

I don’t wear makeup every day, but when I do, I like to take it off naturally. One of the things I’ve learned on my journey to a more natural life is that simple is almost always better. That’s definitely the case for this easy, 5 minute, 1 ingredient natural makeup remover!

Your eyes and the skin around them are so sensitive, so you really don’t want to be messing with ingredients that can be harmful. A lot of common ingredients in makeup removers include propylene glycol, sodium laurel sulfate, mineral oil, fragrances, preservatives, and artificial colors. These ingredients can range from mild skin irritants to full on carcinogens!

Oil is actually great at braking down and taking off your makeup without stripping your skin. It cleanses gently while also moisturizing. Who wouldn’t want that?

This even works to remove my natural homemade mascara and homemade foundation! If you love this makeup remover, you’ll love those too.

This makeup remover has only one ingredient:

Sunflower Oil

You could use any kind of oil to take off your makeup, but I chose sunflower oil for a few reasons. First, it is inexpensive. Second, it is non-comedogenic, which means it won’t clog your pores. And third, it is liquid at room temperature, so it will absorb into cotton pads really easily.

I’ve also used coconut oil to take off my eye makeup, but when it comes to removing makeup from my face, I like to stick to something non-comedogenic, because coconut oil makes me break out. This may not be the case for everyone, but I like to stay on the safe side.

Alright, ready to make it?

Another reason I love sunflower oil is that it feels so light. It really doesn’t feel oily to me at all- I’m always amazed at how great it is at taking off my makeup!

I haven’t bought makeup remover from a store in I don’t know how long- this stuff is so great there really isn’t any reason to. And it keeps me nice and moisturized.

So, what do you think? Let me know how your homemade natural makeup remover goes for you!

supplies used in this post

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Pretty much since high school I have had permanent dark circles under my eyes. No amount of sleep or moisturizer can help them. The only thing that really helps is concealer. So I decided to try to make an eye cream recipe that was designed to help with dark circles.

Now I’m not saying this cream is a miracle worker. I do think it’s made a small difference on my dark under-eyes in the few weeks since I’ve been using it. The best part about this cream, however, is how refreshing it is to put on in the morning. I just love it. So even if it can’t completely fix my dark circles, it does help with puffiness and preventing wrinkles.

This recipe makes about 2 ounces. For eye cream, that really goes a long way. I can’t foresee running out of it in the near future. And it only costs $1.45 to make! If you’re used to buying eye cream, you know that is a steal!

Each of the ingredients were selected to make this cream great for dark circles, moisturizing, and preventing wrinkles:

• Almond oil: Deep moisturizer, soothes irritation, reduces dark circles
• Shea butter: Natural moisturizer, non-comedogenic, good source of vitamins for skin, anti-inflammatory
• Green tea: Full of antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, reduces development of wrinkles, helps with rosacea
• Beeswax: Locks in moisture, protects skin against damaging elements, antioxidant, anti-bacterial, and anti-inflammatory
• Vitamin E oil: Antioxidant, natural moisturizer, anti-inflammatory, helps preserve shelf life of lotion
• Peppermint essential oil: Adds the refreshing cool feeling, smells great

And don’t worry, it’s really nice and easy to make.

Like I said before, this stuff is SUPER refreshing. The peppermint just wakes you right up. It takes a around a half hour to sink in, so don’t worry if the area around your eyes looks oily right when you put it on. It will absorb.

I just can’t get enough. And luckily I won’t have to because it will last me such a long time. Isn’t it amazing what green tea can do?

Let me know how making your own eye cream works for you!

supplies used in this post

If you love this cream and spoiling your skin, you should also check out my aloe vera moisturizer!

And not to mention my anti-inflammatory Aloe Vera Face Wash!

The post Green Tea Repairing Eye Cream for Dark Circles appeared first on Pins and Procrastination.

I’m always looking for healthy all-natural solutions to help with acne. My skin is prone to breaking out, and so I have to be careful what I use. This mask works by pulling dirt and other impurities from the pores, so it is great for acne and blackheads. It will also kill acne-causing bacteria. I adapted this recipe from My Newest Addiction to include only non-comedogenic ingredients.

Well you know how you can get mud baths and facials for a ton of money at the spa? Well this has the same feel and effect, for a fraction of the price.

I simply love this stuff. It’s my new favorite facial product. After using it my skin was glowing, clean, and not irritated. Usually when I use an exfoliator my skin is irritated at first and then looks great when it calms down. With this, I got mild exfoliation and dirt removal without the irritation. It was actually quite soothing. When followed up with my aloe vera moisturizer, it was truly amazing. 

It’s full of ingredients that are great for your skin:

• Bentonite Clay: When mixed with water it is great at absorbing toxins, impurities, bacteria, and chemicals, while adding healthy minerals to the skin
• Activated Charcoal: Absorbs over 100 times its weight in impurities and chemicals
• Aloe Vera: Light non-greasy moisturizer, anti-inflammatory, stimulates growth of new cells, full of antioxidants, fights allergic reactions, reduces redness
• Shea Butter: Natural moisturizer, non-comedogenic, good source of vitamins for skin, anti-inflammatory
• Camomile Tea: Full of antioxidants, soothes irritation, natural disinfectant, reduces redness
• Eucalyptus Oil: Helps reduce skin inflammation, anti-bacterial, for scent
• Peppermint Oil: Antiseptic and antibacterial, cooling and refreshing, for scent

And here is how you make it:

If you want to freak out your roommate or significant other, just put on this face mask and jump out at them. Ok, I don’t really support that. But it did surprise Lars when he saw my face.

I used this face mask at the same time as doing my at-home hot oil treatment, hence the towel. The  combination was perfectly luxurious and after my shower I had super soft hair and skin.

My favorite thing about this mask is how it felt when it was on. At first it had that smooth muddy feeling that you probably remember from playing in the mud as a kid. As it dried it tightened, leaving my skin feeling all tingly. In a great way. It was like I could feel it cleaning out my pores.

Two days after using this mask, all the pimples that were threatening to poke out had calmed down. I don’t know if I’m imagining it, but I think the redness in my face has been reduced too. And I haven’t needed to moisturize. It’s like the balance in my skin has been restored.

I think this is going to be a weekly mask for me. It’s too good not to use on a regular basis.

Let me know how making this impurity removing face mask works for you!

If you like this post, you should also check out my green tea eye cream.

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