Photo courtesy of everydaypaleo.com/paleo-skin-care-options/

Natural Skin Care Remedies


At Bring It Up, we appreciate the natural look and caring for the body with products that are free of harmful chemicals. Many of the drugstore and beauty counter products that are recommended for skin care end up being filled with harsh ingredients that do more damage than good. Then, after you put the first damaging product on your face, you wash it off, then put another damaging product on your face. In many cases, the damaging products are counterintuitive to what you want to repair. Fortunately, there are several natural products that work wonders.


Cleanse Oil with Oil


Oil cleansing may sound like it would never work, because we usually want less oil on our faces and bodies. But, oily skin cleans better when oil is used. Oil cleansing is best done at night with the a mix of oil that is perfect for your skin type. If you have dry skin, a 3 to 1 mix of olive oil and castor oil is ideal. Normal skin needs a balance of the two oils, but oily skin needs the opposite mix for dry skin. If you prefer to avoid castor oil, you can mix olive oil with oils like sweet almond, jojoba, or avocado.


Cleaning your skin with oil is done with a washcloth, the oil mixture, and hot water. You first put a dollop of oil in your hands and rub it together to warm it. Then rub the oil on your face or other part of the body. Massage it deeply into your pores and enjoy this luxurious self-pampering experience. Once your pores are softened, then put hot water (not scorching) on a washcloth and place the cloth over your face and relax for about 20 to 30 seconds. Then, use the washcloth to wipe away extra oil. You can put a little more oil on your face if it feels dry after the treatment.


Witch Hazel to Tone the Skin


Another useful natural product is witch hazel which acts as a toner. When you mix witch hazel with apple cider (⅓ cider to ⅔ witch hazel), you can nicely balance the pH on your skin and fight acne naturally. You should avoid getting it in your eyes and gently pat it on your face twice per day. You could use this on sensitive parts of the body or those that tend to get acne or folliculitis.


Enjoy the Bath with Natural Additives


Skin care remedies can be done in the bathtub, too. A nice natural way to relax and pamper the skin is with colloidal oatmeal. This is simply oatmeal that has been ground to a fine powder. You can add colloidal oatmeal to a bath of warm water, the oatmeal will moisturize the skin from top to bottom. Epsom salts take care of the skin and the rest of the body, too. A warm epsom salts bath will relax you, remove toxins from the body, and soften the skin. Epsom salts come without a fragrance, so you can add you own favorite essential oil, or you can buy the salts with fragrances like eucalyptus, camomile, or lavender.

Better Posture

photo courtesy of huffington post

Better Posture - Easy Exercises


When you want to change your attitude and the way that people act around you, work on your posture! This is one of the easiest physical changes to do, but you do have to commit to the task. Improving posture involves working on the core, which includes the front abdominal muscles and it involves working the back, too. In many cases, the back is under developed, which is why so many people slouch forward. It is also necessary to focus on the shoulders, too. Here are a few exercises that you can do:


Backbend.
You do not have to do exercises that gymnasts do to work on your back. One easy backbend to incorporate in your life involves lying flat on your belly with your legs straight behind you and your arms on the floor with your fingers reaching for your toes. Squeeze your inner thighs, knees, heels, and toes together as you lift your head, shoulders, and check up off of the floor. Reach your arms back toward your heels and keep squeezing the lower body together. Hold for a few breaths and lower back down. Repeat one more time.


Forward bend.
Instead of doing crunches, this exercise will strengthen the core nicely. For this forward bend, you need to stand up and step your right leg forward about two to three feet. Keep the right toes pointing forward, but turn the left toes out at a 45 degree angle. Square your hips. Then, reach your arms up over your head and interlace your fingers. Squeeze your arms at your ears, tuck your chin to your chest, and fold over that front leg. You want to push your forehead into your knee and push your fingertips into the floor in front of the right toes. When you lower down, suck in your belly. Then, when you come back up, squeeze the arms and hands back together and lift up slowly. You will feel your belly working. Repeat on the other side. Then, repeat both sides again.


Work those shoulders.
Some of the most enjoyable shoulder exercises involves using a wall. Stand facing any wall. You want to be about half of an arm’s length away from the wall. Reach your arms up and push your palms into the wall. Then, tuck your chin to your chest and push the hands firmly into the wall. Let your shoulder blades squeeze together as you strengthen the shoulders. Bring your hands off of the wall. For the next exercise, turn to the right, so the left side of your body is up against the wall. Reach your left arm behind you and bring it to shoulder height. Turn your torso away from the wall and notice the front of the shoulder stretching. Repeat on the other side. You can repeat these two exercises another time for extra stretch and strengthening.


While there are plenty of other exercises that will improve your posture, it is important to be aware of your posture even when you are not exercising. Think about keep your shoulders back and your spine tall. Mindfulness with help you just as much as exercises.