DIY all purpose moisturiser (Cocoa + Shea butter + Coconut oil)

This is an intensive moisturiser for the whole body and hair. This moisturising butter can be used to moisturise your hair and body with loads of packed vitamins and oils that are necessary for a good and healthy skin and hair. Almost 60% of what me apply on our body gets absorbed by the blood and the rest is on our skin on our body. Now we can understand how much of chemicals that are absorbed in our body just from the commercial body butter or any lotion which is packed and loaded with chemicals.

Benefits:

• Cocoa and Shea butter are high in anti-oxidants and fatty acids. Thus help in reducing marks on your skin to fade away and keep your skin healthy.
• Cocoa butter moisturises your skin deep and always keeps your skin soft.
• It is great for sensitive skin.
• Its good for eczema, dermatitis and rashes.
• Shea butter is good in Vitamin A & E and makes the skin healthy and repaired.
• It is a good sun screen and  natural in nourishing skin health.
• Shea butter and Cocoa butter has goodies to restore youthfulness in skin and reduces ageing process.
• They reduce scars and stretch marks. 
• Coconut oil locks in moisturiser. It has anti ageing properties too. 
• Coconut oil has good fatty acids to help skin stay healthy. Coconut oil is only goodness. 
• Can be used as a hair mask before taking bath. It deeply moisturises hair.
• Can be used as a body butter.
• Safe for baby skin.
• Can be used as a lip butter.
• Can be used for face and do not clog pores.
• Tea Tree oil has good healing properties too. It helps in reducing skin infection.

Recipe:

1/2 cup unrefined Cocoa butter
1/2 cup unrefined Sea butter
2-4 tbsp of coconut oil
few drops of Tea tree oil

Note: representational quantities in the image

Procedure:

Heat less method: Blend all the ingredients in a blender until its becomes a smooth creamy texture. Transfer immediately into the storage container. The smooth creamy texture hardens in time and becomes a good hard butter. You can also pour it in a soap mould or a waste carton or cupcake moulds to use it as a cake.

Heat method: Put all ingredients in a bowl and make a double boiler. Heat it up in slow heat and melt the ingredients. Take the melted mixture off the heat immediately after it melts. Keep it in the fridge to cool off for an hour or until the mixture hardens. Take it out of the fridge and whisk to make a butter texture. Transfer immediately into the storage container.

I would not recommend heat method as when inducing heat, the Cocoa and Shea butter tend to loose some of its goodies. It is always better to get all the goodies that they have in a raw form.

Application:

As a Hair mask:
Apply generously on your hair till tip. Use it as a hair mask and wash your hair off after 1 or 5 hrs. You can dilute the mixture with some more coconut oil for a general application.

As a leave-in Conditioner:
Apply a drop or two of butter to wet hair. This cannot be used as a styling product or for heat styling.

As a body butter:
Apply generously on your body, especially on your stretch marks and scares.
 
As a lip butter:
Apply on your lips for smooth and soft lips.

As a nail cream:
Apply on your fingers and nails for soft supple fingers and to nourish nail cuticles.

Note:

• Tea tree oil is essential to this recipe as it acts as a preservative too.

Amazing butter for your whole body. It has absolutely no chemicals and really good for your health. It is recommended for baby skin and sensitive skin so you know how safe this is. Home made butters are best at its quality and goodness. It smells amazing. You can add any other essential oil too for enhancing its fragrance. A little goes a long way. So try and let me know how it goes for you.

DIY body wash with natural ingredients

This is an incredible recipe that my friend Anbuchchelvi gave me. I should give total credit to her because I am really enjoying the luxury and aroma therapy it gives for my mood swings. It has all natural ingredients that is good for all types of skin and is also a healant. This recipe is good for skin as it exfoliates, improves blood circulation, used as an astringent, and is very refreshing.

Benefits:

• All natural products and its allergy proof unless you are very very very sensitive. 
• It helps in cleansing skin and keep skin allergy free.
• It removes sun tan, clears clogged pores and keeps skin fresh. 
• It exfoliates, cleanses and heals skin problems like yeast infection.
• It is cheap and goes long way.
• It lightens skin.

Recipe:

250 gms whole green gram dhal

100 gms kasthuri manjal powder (Curcuma aromatica)

50 gms besan flour

1 black pepper size bit of pachai karpooram (Cinnamomum camphora)

Procedure:

1. Grind green gram dhal to powder with little grains as it will help in scrubbing. 
2. Mix kasthuri manjal powder and besan flour. Make it a thorough mix. 
3. Store it into a clean and air-tight container. 
4. Add a small bit of pachai karpooram in the box.

Application:

Take required amount of the powder mixture and make it into a paste with water. Wet your body and apply on it on the wet skin and scrub. Wash thoroughly with water. 

Note:

• Avoid besan flour if your skin is very dry.
• After bath, apply moisturiser or body oil after towel dry and when your skin is wet so that it retains moisture in your body.
• Using besan flour can make your skin dry. So use a moisturiser mandatory.
• Avoid contact with eye as turmeric might irritate.
• Turmeric might stain your skin and dress mildly. 
• You can use all over your body, neck and face. 
• Be cautious in the amount of pachai karpooram used. Just put a small piece in the box. 

Powdered green gram dhal is an excellent cleanse and a excellent replacement for soap. Does not cause irritation on skin. It is known for anti-ageing and anti-bacterial properties.

Kasthuri manjal powder also known as jangli haldi powder is known for its beauty benefits. It has known benefits of anti-septic, anti-bacterial, and anti-ageing properties. Keeps skin clear without skin infections. Provides good aroma which is very refreshing. Improves blood circulation and might irritate mildly. Lightens skin and heals sun burn/tan.

Besan flour lightens skin and clears pores. Cleanses and refreshes skin. It is also know for its beauty benefits and anti-ageing property.

Pachai karpooram is an important ingredient here as it helps in reducing itchiness in your skin. It gives good and strong smell for an aromatic experience. It also keeps the mixture fresh and keeps bugs off that is formed in any dhal. A good preserver and cools down skin.

Get rid of dandruff and itchy scalp in no time!

Dandruff and itchy scalp is a major concern for many people. It is very common in winter or in cold weather. This treatment is borrowed from a Tamil TV show ‘Naatu Maruthuvam’ which is all about Ayurveda and nature cure. I and my husband want to try this. My husband suddenly had bad dandruff and very very very itchy scalp. We experimented this treatment on him. And tadaaaa… All gone in the first wash. 

Benefits:

• Reduces itchiness
• Reduces and with continuous use stops dandruff.
• Milk is a great hair conditioner and makes it soft.
• Milk is a natural protein substitute, especially for your hair externally. 
• This recipe cleanses your hair and scalp naturally. 
• Black pepper is a natural irritant to skin. Hence increasing blood circulation and improves hair growth.
• Black pepper is treats and heals infections on the scalp. It has natural anti-bacterial property to clear the scalp with infections. 
• Cumin helps in curing itchiness and cools the head.
• Since Black pepper powder causes irritation, cumin powder helps in check for over irritating of pepper on skin. 
• Cumin also promotes hair growth and treats dandruff.
• Cumin and black pepper are rich in iron.

Recipe 1:

Ingredients:

½ cup cow milk (room temperature)

½ tsp cumin powder

½ tsp black pepper powder

Few drops of essential oil (optional)

Procedure:

Mix all the Ingredients and put it to rest for 5 min. 

Application:

1. After shampooing your hair, pour the milk mixture on your hair and scalp. Make sure the whole of you head and hair is covered.
2. After 5 minutes, wash your hair.

Recipe 2:

Ingredients:

½ cup yogurt/curd (room temperature)

½ tsp cumin powder

½ tsp black pepper powder

Procedure:

Mix all the Ingredients and put it to rest for 5 min. 

Application:

1. Apply this recipe on your scalp as a mask. Make sure the whole of you head and hair is covered.
2. After 1 hour, wash your it off thoroughly. 
3. Preferable to soak your hair and scalp for whole night. Use with caution as this recipe is cold for the body. 

Note:

• For dry hair, use a leave in conditioner if necessary.
• These recipes conditions well and holds good for all types of hair.
•  Use until dandruff stops completely and stops reoccurring (reoccurring may be due to other factors as well).  
• If the smell is too much for you to bare, add few drops of essential oil to the mixture. 
• If you are lactose intolerant, please avoid.  
• Mild irritation might occur.

I know it is weird to have this on your head but trust me this really works. It worked on my husband, it worked on my cousin and she still continues to use the milk recipe as a natural conditioner for hair.

The other way is to do a hot oil treatment. Every treatment takes time to show result. You can alter the amount of ingredents in the recipe according to you hair length and comfort. At the same time altering too much might not work as well.

Please try this and also let me know your opinion in the comments box below.  

Hair Treatment for thicker, voluminous and healthy hair (oil based for all types of hair)

The following is a medicated oil formula that is traditionally used in my family. Continuous usage of this gives healthy hair. My cousins still practise the same as a routine by oiling their hair everyday with this medicated oil and this is very common in India. I am not recommending you to oil your hair everyday but still I recommend to do this medicated oil treatment at least once a week. 

A healthy hair is very important. Though there are many controversial statements and arguments about hair and beauty, I still feel hair gives face a very different dimension of beauty and feel. Of course you need to have a healthy diet and this treatment will help externally. Since this treatment is natural and Ayurvedic, it might react for few body types for many reasons. 

Benefits:

Karisalankanni leaves (Bhringraj) are amazing and proven for hair and health. U can see numerous benefits on web about this greens. They are known for the following;

• It reduces and even stops hair loss. It stimulates hair growth and strengthens your hair.
• Deep conditions your hair and prevents split ends.
• Makes hair colour darker and prevents greying of hair.

Curry leaves has many nutrients to feed your hair. Very common in India and Sri Lanka.

• Its helps in reconstructing damaged hair and nourishes you hair. 
• It also helps darkening hair colour, prevent premature greying

Neem leaves has good natural way of anti-septic and anti-bacterial property. The leave and the tree are known for its medicinal value. The following are the benefits;

• Reduces itchiness on your scalp and cures any scalp infection. Prevents lies. 
• Cures and treats dandruff and hair loss. 
• Keeps hair and scalp healthy.

Hibiscus petals prevents known for its hair growth properties and prevents hair fall. It adds loads of strength to the hair for calcium and vitamin C present in it.

use only for visual reference (source: google images)

Recipe:

 

Ingredients:

 

1 cup of fresh Karisalankanni leaves (scientific name: Eclipta prostrata)

1 cup of fresh curry leaves (scientific name: Murraya koenigii)

1 cup of fresh young neem leaves (scientific name: Azadirachta indica)

1 cup of red hibiscus petals (scientific name: Hibiscus rosa-sinensis)

Procedure 1:

1. Take an oil base from my previous blog http://diywithiyarkai.blogspot.in/ . U can use any one of the three recipes. Heat the oil in slow fire. 
2. Add all the ingredients mentioned above to the hot oil. DO NOT over heat it because it will burn the leaves before it gets infused. 
3. It might foam up and get to the rim of the vessel. So use a heavy bottomed deep vessel. 
4. Stir for some time and take it off the heat. Leave it overnight for the leaves and petals to continue infusion. 
5. Filter with a clean muslin cloth and store it in a clean jar. A clean jar is important as the oil will get spoilt otherwise.

Procedure 2:

1. Grind all the leaves and petals together. It is best to do it in hand grinding stone as it has to be grinded without water. Otherwise use a processor. If it is tight then you can mix 1 tsp of oil base and try again in the processor. This should work. DO NOT use water to grind. 
2. Follow the above mentioned steps in procedure 1.

Procedure 3:

1. Grind all the ingredient without water or oil (strictly no water and oil). 
2. Spread them on clean plastic sheet in small patches and sun dry them. Sun dry is the best method to dry the mixture. U can use the dehydrator or the oven for this purpose. But Sun drying packs in all the goodies in it than the other two methods. 
3. When they are completely dry and become chips, store them in a clean bottle. You can make them in big batches and store in a separate jar. 
4. Slightly heat the oil base in a glass jar and add few of the chips to the bottle. Leave it to infuse in time. The chips will infuse slowly as u use it. 
5. You can refill the jar once the oil is used with new warm oil and some chips. U can reuse the chips twice.

Application:

Use as much as needed and soak hair in oil. Divide your hair in parts and apply all over the scalp and hair from root to tip. If you leave it overnight it will condition your hair well and cool your body. You will see the result in the first wash itself provided you leave it on your hair for at least 5 hrs. 

Note:

• It might give uncomfortable smell while making the oil and after application on your hair. 
• Please patch test and use with caution for the first time. 
• This medicated oil is very cold for body. Please DO NOT use if your body can’t take cold. 
• You can either do the oil base and the above separately and keep for different usage or make them once for all together while doing the oil base itself. You can add the leaves and petals ingredients to the oils while making them to save time.  

All the ingredients are available in the local market. If it is not, I take orders for this oil and you can mail me at ar.munchu@gmail.com for details.