The Joy of Soap

Gardener's Hand Scrub

A garden is a delight to the eye, and a solace for the soul ~ Sadi

Lately I have had the luxury of spending many hours outdoors tending to the garden, and so far all of the work has involved cutting, pruning and weeding. Thankfully I can say that the garden no longer looks like an emerald carpet with branches poking out here and there; I can see the earth now. In the process of cleaning through the jungle we uncovered some poor plants and bushes struggling to survive, and now hopefully they have a chance to grow stronger.

My back has been suffering throughout the garden clean out process, and my hands look and feel a bit like sandpaper. To help soothe my hands before they become cracked I am going to whip up a batch of moisturizing hand scrub. The oatmeal is a good cleanser and exfoliant. The honey moisturizes the skin, and the oil softens and cleanses too.

Gardener's Moisturizing Hand Scrub
Ingredients
1 T oatmeal
1 t honey
1 t grapeseed or jojoba oil (or other oil you may have at home)
1 T lemon juice (juice of 1/4 lemon), or more if needed
1 T herbal infusion* (Optional)

*Some people might like to add 1 tablespoon of an herbal or floral infusion. This ingredient provides an additional skin soothing benefit, and is not required if you do not have the ingredients or the time to make the infusion. For example: If I had the ingredients at home, and the time, I would make a small amount of marigold flower infusion to provide an added benefit for my dry hands.

Mix all of the ingredients together.
You can add more lemon juice if you feel the mixture is too dry.
Scrub your hands and rinse off with warm water.

This recipe makes enough scrub for one use.
Enjoy!

Pamper your skin   Indulge your senses

   
 

Soothing Bath for Eczema

Your mind will answer most questions of you learn to relax and wait for the answer ~ William S. Burroughs

Many people ask me what I can offer or suggest to them for treating eczema. The Joy of Soap's mild all vegetable soaps do work well for many people, and there are other people who cannot tolerate essential oils or additives of any kind. For these people here is one suggestion to help with treating eczema as well as other irritated skin conditions. There are several types of eczema, and keeping the skin moisturized can help with symptom relief and healing.

This is a very simple homemade recipe that you can easily put together followed by a soothing warm bath.

Ingredients
1 tsp dried chamomile flowers (you can also use a bag of chamomile tea if this is what you have at home)
8 tbsp oats
Small cotton/muslin bag or square
String (if you do not have a small bag)

Combine the chamomile flowers and the oats in a bowl.
Place the contents of the bowl in the bag, or on the cotton square.
If you use a cotton square gather the ends together and tie with string.

Run a warm bath and soak the chamomile and oat filled bag in the water for a few minutes.
You can rub the bag directly on your skin if you wish although you should avoid rubbing the bag directly on any irritated skin.
Squeeze the bag and leave in the water.
Soak in the bath for at least 10 minutes.

Simple, right?
Please share your ideas and homemade treatment methods for soothing eczema and irritated skin.

Pamper your skin   Indulge your senses