Summer is the season of fun and freedom. Who has time for labor intensive get ready sessions? Not us. Use these summer beauty hacks for a stress free beach season.

1. Sea Salt Scrunch // Hair should be easy, breezy this time of year. Put the blowdryer, straightener, and curling iron away, and get your scrunch on. At the beach? Use seawater. For the landlocked, try John Masters Organics Sea Mist Sea Salt Spray with Lavender.

2. Sand Scrub // You know how your feet get super dry over winter? Well those babies are coming out of hiding and it is time to get them flip-flop ready. When hanging at the beach, exfoliate tootsies with sand. Otherwise, Chocolate Sun White Tea Leaf & Citrus Blossom Body Scrub uses Dead Sea salts, Turbinado sugar, and antioxidant White tea for sloughing and softening.

3. Brush Off // Feel you are in a constant state of sand battlement when spending time at the beach? Just before heading inside or getting into the car, dust skin with Beach Organics Beachcomber Organic Body Powder (talc-free) to absorb moisture and get rid of sand. This works on little bodies post beach or sandbox too.

4. Tea Relief // When you’ve overdone the sun, relieve discomfort and inflammation with the help of anitioxidant tea. Apply cooled green tea bags to affected areas or stand in shower and spritz body with chilled tea.

5. Big Chill // Sun exposure, alcohol, party foods, and lack of sleep all contribute to puffiness. Freeze green tea and run cubes over puffy skin and eyes for instant calmed, toned skin. Helps soothe summer acne too.

6. Fight the Burn // One thing we all deal with at some point during summer is the dreaded razor burn. Chilled chamomile tea bags are said to soothe this problem. Dr. Shannon’s Organic Skin Balm also works like a charm for this and so many other things.

7. Soy Good // Already tired of the regular leg shave? Soy may be good at stunting hair growth and making the hair finer, so you need to shave less often. Worth a try. LOVEFRESH Body Butter contains soy and other yummy smelling ingredients.

8. Frizz Co-control // Coconut oil is soothing, hydrating, and cooling. This makes it an ideal body moisturizer for summer. Did you know it works on hair too? Add a dab to ends of strands to combat frizz.

9. Fresh Pits // Another use for coconut oil – mix with just a bit of baking soda and use as an armpit scrub to lighten and brighten skin in this area.

10. Tan Fix // Baking soda also comes in handy as a sunless tanner fix. Did your faux tan go awry in a few spots? Put a small amount of baking soda on a wet washcloth and rub onto mistake until it disappears.

11. Ready, Set, Tone // Let your toner double as a setting spray. Mist over freshly applied makeup to keep from melting and smudging. Also great for freshening skin throughout the day. Dr. Alkaitis Organic Herbal Toner is perfect.

Related on EcoSalon

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Image of woman on beach via Shutterstock

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Aging.  As inevitable as death and taxes, right?  Some of us age more gracefully than others, and when it comes to our skin care, there are a whole host of factors that play into how well our routine can hold up over time. 

From diet to pollution, sleep deprivation to stress, there’s one culprit that does the most damage to our skin. Remember when your mom would force you to sit on the towel under the umbrella at the beach and smother you with thick, white sunscreen while warning you not to get a sunburn?  We hate to say it, but your mom was right. While we wish we could reveal some amazing new find about what really causes skin aging and how to prevent it to let you sun lovers off the hook, UV rays are in fact the biggest offender. As little as a few minutes a day of sunlight without protection over time can lead to dark spots, wrinkles, sagging skin and even skin cancer.

According to Cancer.org there are three main types of UV rays:

– UVA rays age skin cells and can damage their DNA. These rays are linked to long-term skin damage such as wrinkles, but they are also thought to play a role in some skin cancers. Most tanning beds give off large amounts of UVA, which has been found to increase skin cancer risks.

– UVB rays can directly damage skin cells’ DNA, and are the main rays that cause sunburns. They are also thought to cause most skin cancers.

– UVC rays don’t get through our atmosphere and are not in sunlight. They are not normally a cause of skin cancer.

The amount of UV rays in our atmosphere is affected by a number of factors including the time of day, time of year, elevation and cloud coverage. (To learn more about the current level of UV Rays in your area, click here.)

Similar to repeatedly stretching out a rubber band, over time, your skin loses its ability to repair itself and the damage becomes irreversible.  Cumulative UV exposure breaks down collagen, which is the main protein connective tissue in our body, and the process of creating new tissue becomes harder and harder. The same is true for elasticity. The greater the damage, the harder it is for skin to repair itself, and signs of aging start to accumulate.

One of the determining factors for how the sun will affect your skin is color complexion. Do you have fair skin and burn easily? If that’s the case, you are more likely to see signs of aging than someone with darker skin who tans well. Genetics are capable of telling us a lot about our bodies. Do your parents or grandparents have sun damage? Did they take preventative measures? Your skin may be comparable to theirs.

Now that you’re sighing in resignation that laying out is a bad idea, or perhaps you’re beating yourself up for those reckless teenage years of baby oil and tin foil, the first step in addressing sun damage is to prevent any more. Here’s how:
1.  Neutralize UV rays, protect skin from additional assault and help reverse existing damage.

RawSkinCeutical’s RegenceC Serum is an oil based serum for easy absorption, rich in naturally occurring vitamin C from their unique herbals complex, which includes chrysanthemum, helichrysum flowers, orange peel, rosehips, eyebright, acerola cherry, cleavers, and l-ascorbic acid.  Studies  have shown vitamin C applied topically can limit UV damage due to it’s high antioxidant activity, reducing UV induced DNA damage and inflammation and increases cell survival following UV exposure.

Blissoma’s Amend Solar Repair Anti-Aging Serum is a lovely, low scent, easily absorbed, non-oily serum that includes a unique type of potent pomegranate extract that has been clinically verified to reduce UV ray related cell death and free radicals generated in exposed skin.

In addition to protecting skin from further damage, both products will also go to work to help repair the damage that’s already been done. For the best protection, wear your vitamin C and/or pomegranate products under your sunscreen during the day.
 
2.  Shield skin from damaging UV rays with a healthy, natural sunscreen, every day, all year long.

For those seeking a higher SPF but who don’t want to know they’re wearing sunscreen or tend toward oily skin, COOLA Suncare makes an incredibly lightweight, matte finish mineral sunscreen, tinted or untinted.

Those with normal to dry skin seeking SPF 30 along with sheer, tinted coverage, added moisture and a multi-tasking formula should try Suntegrity’s Natural Moisturizing Face Sunscreen SPF 30, which can also be called a BB cream. This luxurious formula leaves skin well hydrated with a dewy finish and features a variety of healing and protective antioxidants, including green tea and pomegranate extracts, among others. Available in five shades to work with any skin tone, it’s also available in a clear, untinted formula.

Both formulas do double duty, providing chemical free, non-nano, mineral UV protection via zinc and/or titanium dioxide, they all run in well when used appropriately without leaving a tell-tale white film (or you looking like a mime).

Don’t forget the body! Perfect for sensitive skin and those prone to breakouts, Devita’s Solar Body Moisturizer SPF 30  hits the sweet spot between body lotion and sunscreen. The light formula acts as a moisturizer and provides broad-spectrum UVA/UVB protection without leaving you feeling oily or greasy. Perfect for daily use to protect skin during sporadic exposure (think about that arm hanging out your window while driving) when you don’t plan to spend hours and hours in direct sunlight sweating or playing in the water.

For those who live an active lifestyle (or have kids that do) All Terrain’s TerraSport SPF 30 Sunscreen Spray is the end to your excuse not to wear sunscreen. This highly rated, very water resistant formula is proven effective after 80 minutes in water and it’s easy to apply, non-whitening, non-greasy, non eye stinging, fragrance-free finish leaves you with no excuse not to use it. Also available in an uber water proof formula called AquaSport.

Just remember, in all cases, for face and for body, no matter how water resistant the formula: reapply, reapply, reapply.

3.  Protect from the inside out

Studies indicate that ingesting green tea can help protect skin from UV damage because of its powerful antioxidant, epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), a potent type of catechin. EGCG neutralizes free radicals, which reduces their ability to wreck the type of havoc that causes inflammation and wrinkles. A study out of Cambridge in 2013 found that oral green tea metabolites are incorporated into human skin and offer protection against UV related inflammation. The Journal of Nutrition reported in 2011 that women who consumed a drink with green tea polyphenols for 12 weeks saw improvements in skin elasticity, roughness, scaling and moisture content.

Not a fan of drinking endless mugs of green tea to get a sufficient dose? Sneak some edible green tea into your daily smoothie or pop some Green Tea Extract in capsule form for a concentrated dose.

Our last word?  Take your mother’s advice and don’t skip the sunscreen. Tune in as we address a variety of other skin agers and what you can to do help prevent them and turn back the hands of time. #stopskinaging

Related on EcoSalon

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top image: monimix, product images via brands

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Got milk? You don’t have to just drink it. 

Love it or hate it, milk has a place not only in your diet but also in your tool box and cleaning closet as well as among your toiletries. Raw goat milk, in its unadulterated and probiotic-heavy state, is the best to use. But seeing that unpasteurized milk is outlawed for sale almost everywhere in the U.S., pasteurized goat milk is second best. While not all milks are created equally, you can use any animal milk to successfully benefit from these tips. From curing a hangover to tending to those stained linens, milk has got your back.

Appetite Suppressant

To prevent overeating at mealtime, drink a glass of milk 15 minutes beforehand. Milk fills you up and gives you enough protein – 1 cup of non-fat milk contains 8.26 grams of protein – to keep you feeling fuller and less inclined to go overboard when food is served.

Hair Conditioner and Mask

With its vitamin and mineral content, milk works great on smoothing and shining your hair. Rinse your hair with fresh milk and let it sit wet for a few minutes before rinsing with water. You could also mix powdered milk with water to form a paste and then comb through hair, letting it to sit for at least 5 minutes before washing out.

Hangover Cure

Milk helps to settle the stomach, rehydrate the system, and raise blood sugar levels. These make it a great morning-after hangover cure. Additionally, milk contains the amino acid cysteine, which is known to neutralize a lethal dose of acetaldehyde, which is an alcohol metabolite.

Fish Freshener

Place frozen fish in a milk bath and let sit until the fish thaws. The milk makes the fish taste fresher.

Make-Up Remover

Mix powdered milk with water until a paste forms. Apply the paste to skin to remove make up. Rinse thoroughly.

Crack Eliminator

Before you toss Grandma’s beloved china, enlist milk to the rescue! The protein in milk reacts with the mineral kaolin in china to close cracks. All you have to do is place china in a pan, cover it with milk, and bring the mixture to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer for up to an hour.

Silverware Polisher

For glistening silverware, take advantage of milk gone sour. Simply soak silverware in sour milk, cover it completely, and let it soak over night. The next day, wash the silverware as you normally would. If the milk isn’t sour already and you want to make your own, for every cup of milk, mix in one tablespoon of lemon juice and one tablespoon of vinegar and let it sit for five minutes before use.

Bug Bite Soother

Mix milk powder with enough water until it resembles a paste. Apply the paste to the area affected by the insect bite to relieve pain. The enzymes in the milk will neutralize the venom.

Facial Cleanser and Mask

Milk is a natural cleanser. It contains vitamin A, riboflavin, niacin, and vitamins B6 and B12. The alpha-hydroxy acids in milk exfoliate the skin, reducing the appearance of wrinkles and discoloration. Use a cotton ball to dab milk all across your face. Let it sit for a few minutes and then wash with water before moisturizing. For a mask, take 1/4 cup powdered milk and add enough water until it becomes a paste. Mix thoroughly and apply to the face. Allow to sit for 5 minutes before rinsing.

Ink Remover

To remove ink from clothing, take the affected garment and soak it in a milk bath overnight. The next day, wash the garment as usual. The stain should be gone. To boost the milk’s effectiveness, mix two parts milk with one part vinegar as the soaking solution.

Body Skin Moisturizer

The butterfat in milk moisturizes the skin. And because the pH of milk is close to the skin’s natural pH, the skin is more receptive to the moisturizing effects of the milk. Pour a few cups of fresh milk or 1/2 cup powdered milk into your bathtub, Cleopatra style.

Dry Hands Softener

To relieve dry and chafed hands, rinse them in milk a few times a day. Over the course of a week or two, your hands will begin to feel softer and less Winter rough.

Leather Cleaner

Dab worn or dirty leather with milk and buff until clean. The milk removes debris and leaves the leather shiny and looking brand new.

Corn on the Cob Flavor Booster

Boil corn with some milk in the water – about 1/2 cup – and the corn’s sweetness will heighten and its flavors will become more developed.

Shaving Cream Replacement

Run out of shaving cream? Nothing powdered milk and water can’t fix. Mix enough water with powdered sugar to produce a paste. Apply the paste to your face, underarms, and legs and shave. This simple concoction is smooth enough to resemble the real thing.

Poison Ivy Soother

To reduce the itch from an unintended stroll through a poison ivy bush, dab fresh milk or a powdered milk and water paste on the affected area. The milk will reduce the itchiness, redness, and irritation.

Sunburn Soother

Delicately pat sunburned skin with fresh milk. The milk cools the burn and the enzymes in the milk help to offset the pain.

Fertilizer

A tip from farmers and seasoned gardeners themselves – use milk as a fertilizer. Milk has been used as an organic fungicide and fertilizer without harming the plant.

Furniture Polisher

Sour milk makes for a great furniture polisher. Apply sour milk to furniture surfaces through a disposable spray bottle and wipe clean. You can also make your own sour milk, outlined above.

Milk Carton Bird Feeder

No, we didn’t forget about offering you a way to re-use the milk carton! Here is a tutorial on how to turn the carton into a bird feeder.

Images: Muffet, Striatic, Sshreeves, Jenny Downing, Gagstreet, Markusram, Robert Benner, The Living Room

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From sunblock to liver cleansing, we celebrate 20 uses of green tea you may never have known about.

Green tea is hailed as an antioxidant-rich, anti-aging phenomenon. With reports that regular green tea consumption can lower the risk of heart disease and certain cancers, it’s a popular drink among the health conscious. However, green tea is more than just a cup of tea. Here are 20 unusual, thrifty and eco-friendly uses for green tea that will surprise, challenge, and excite you.

Dark Circles and Puffy Eye Relief

After you’ve enjoyed a cup of green tea – or two – let the tea bags cool and place one over each closed eye. Tea contains polyphenol particles known as tannins. Tannins are an astringent and are able to shrink living tissue, including human skin. Green tea bags can reduce swelling and tighten the skin around the eyes by reducing the dilation of the blood vessels under the eyes.

Irritation and Redness Alleviation

Green tea has anti-inflammatory properties that help to reduce redness and irritation. Steep a few bags in boiling water. Allow the water to cool and soak a washcloth in the water. Wring the washcloth of excess water and use the rag to pat irritated or red skin.

Facial Scrub

Take advantage of green tea’s skin-tightening ability and use it in a facial scrub. With the addition of water and white sugar, you are not only infusing the skin with the benefits of green tea, but also exfoliating it to a smooth finish.

Teeth Health Boost

According to a research study published by Preventive Medicine, drinking one cup of unsweetened green tea could increase teeth health. People between the ages of 40 and 64 who drank one cup of green tea per day were less likely to lose their teeth. According to the study, antimicrobial molecules called catechins are the reason for this effect. Grab a green tea infused toothpaste off pharmacy shelves or be sure to get your daily dose of tea.

Weight Loss Aid

According to a 2009 study by the Department of Human Biology, Nutrition and Toxicology Research Institute Maastricht, the catechins in green tea proved to significantly decrease body weight an as well as maintain body weight after a period of weight loss. This is good news to those looking to shed a few pounds.

Bleeding Reduction

The tannins found in green tea help stop bleeding by coagulating the blood. Steep a tea bag in hot water, remove it after one minute, and then let it cool. Place the tea bag on top of the bleeding area or dip gauze into the tea water and apply the gauze to the gash. You could also use a green tea extract for application.

Sunburn Treatment

While green tea does not block UV light, it protects exposed skin cells from damage. Studies have shown that when green tea is directly applied to the skin, it helps to protect the skin from sunburn and skin cancer. You could apply a green tea extract to the skin or a cooled cloth that was soaked in brewed green tea. Drinking green tea regularly a few weeks prior to sun exposure can also reduce the possibility of skin damage, due to the tea’s powerful antioxidant epigallocatechin gallate.

Fridge Odor Elimination

Sometimes things can get a bit stinky in the refrigerator. To counteract an odor that just doesn’t seem to budge, take a handful of green tea leaves and place them in a thin cloth bag or cheese cloth. Place in the refrigerator. The leaves will absorb the odor and render your fridge fragrance-free.

Humidity Reduction

Much like it reduces odor, green tea also diminishes ambient humidity. Take a thin cloth bag full of green tea leaves and hang it in a room or area of your house that collects too much humidity. The leaves absorb the moisture.

Silk Worms Fodder

Got silkworms hanging around? Feed the harmless little creatures leftover green tea leaves. Apparently, what goes around comes around – it is said that silkworm extract is a natural aphrodisiac.

Wrinkle Reduction

The potent antioxidant epigallocatechin gallate found in green tea prevents the activation of collagen-digesting enzymes called matrix metalloproteinase. These enzymes are what causes wrinkling of the skin. Green tea also has anti-inflammatory properties that assist in preventing wrinkles and fine lines. By applying lotions and creams with green tea extract or drinking the tea on the regular, you can steer clear of premature aging and the onset of wrinkles.

Carpet Cleaning

Take a handful of moist, but not wet, green tea leaves and scatter them across the carpet. The tea leaves attract dust, so vacuuming is twice as effective.

Foot Bath

Soak your feet in a strong green tea brew to get rid of foot odors. Green tea is anti-fungal and anti-bacterial. It also helps to get rid of bad smells.

Plant Water

Green tea is packed with antioxidants and is a great way to improve the health of plants. Soak tea leaves in water for a few days, remove the leaves, and then use the water to fertilize plants.

Liver Protection

Everyone’s liver could use a little help these days. Given the toxicity of our environment and diet, even if we live as eco-conscious and healthy as possible, our lifestyles still take a toll on our livers, which processes just about everything you ingest and absorb. The antioxidants in green tea help us to prevent liver disease as well as to boost the overall health of our livers.

Lingerie Freshening

Place green tea leaves in a thin cloth bag and toss it into your lingerie drawer. The leaves will absorb any odor and leave your precious apparel fresh and ready to rock.

Anxiety Remedy

An amino acid called theanine is found in green tea leaves and it is thought to give a relaxing and tranquilizing effect on the body.

Acne Treatment

Due to its anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, antioxidant, and anti-fungal properties, green tea is a powerful anti-acne treatment. Find a moisturizer or cleanser with green tea extract or take the homemade route and simply rub green tea leaves on your face and body before rinsing.

Deodorant

Dab green tea water that has cooled to your underarms and you can avoid a smelly summer afternoon. It’s a cheap and effective way to battling the effects of heat and stress.

Ice-Cream Flavor

Oh, how surprisingly delicious green tea ice cream is! Many Japanese restaurants feature a green tea ice cream on their menus. Considering all the benefits of the green tea, we have yet another excuse to indulge in dessert. Order it or try your hand at a homemade version.

Aylin Erman currently resides in Istanbul and is creator of plant-based recipe website GlowKitchen.

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Sunburn is a scourge, a pox, and blight on humanity. Yeah, sure, it’s not Ebola or bubonic plague annoying, but many of us are familiar with that sinking 5 p.m feeling of “Oh man I knew I should have reapplied the sun block” when looking at our shoulders reddening up before our eyes. And then you berate yourself up for forgetting the hat/sun block/umbrella the size of Yankee Stadium that would have properly shielded you.

I haven’t officially “laid out” for 20 years. But I’ll still tend to forget the sunscreen somewhere on my body, which is genetically designed to handle as much sunlight as a moss-covered English rock. Sunburns still happen, even under the best laid plans of sunscreen. Don’t beat yourself up. You’re already sunburned! Just check out our five tips on how to treat your crispy skin.

Your first instinct is to reach for the moisturizer, right? Heck to the no. Do not use heavy moisturizers after getting a sunburn. It’s like putting more olive oil into the frying pan. Heavy moisturizers will trap in the heat of your skin. They may also contain alcohol and fragrances that don’t let your skin breath. Once your skin has cooled off and started to heal (but not blister,) considering adding moisturizer. And keep it natural and/or organic to keep the chemicals off and out of your already sensitive skin.

Now for what you should do! Cold compresses covered in chilled aloe vera is a great idea. Aloe isn’t drying, and chilled aloe will bring down the heat quickly. Pick up some organic aloe vera gel and consider using a hemp washcloth. Rinse a cold compress with the gel and leave it in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. (Or better yet, introduce your bottle of aloe to the refrigerator and just keep it there.) Then place the chilled wash cloth on your parts. You can also do the same with chilled used tea bags. Tea has tannins that help the healing process – and they are great for burnt eyelids.

You also want to cool down the skin as quickly as possible. Take a cool shower. After you’re out – let yourself air dry. Or you can simply run ice cubes over your skin. Seeing how fast they melt on your burned skin shows you how much heat you are still radiating. And on the hottest, most humid days, who doesn’t like a little ice bath?

Or you could take a bath in baking soda. Baking soda is cooling and will help the skin retain moisture. It also can take the sting out of a burn. Add 1/2 cup of baking soda to a tepid bath and soak for at least 15 minutes. Instead of drying the burned area with a towel, let it air dry.

And finally, spritz yourself in organic vinegar. I know, it sounds insane, but people swear by this home remedy. (Throw a Google on it and see!) Apparently, the acetic acid in the vinegar sooths and moisturizes sunburn skin. Put it in a spray bottle and spray as needed. Others also swear by witch hazel. Sunburn is partially due to skin inflammation, and witch hazel is long known to be a great treatment for inflammation. Use a cotton ball or similar and cover the burned area. Witch hazel has a cooling affect and takes the sting away.

Image: missrogue

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