Skip to main content

Spa on a Budget: Tips and At-Home Treatments

From blowouts to pedicures, the allure of a little TLC is hard to escape. However, running to a professional for each spa reprieve is not always an option. Luckily there are plenty of DIY solutions that can satisfy practically any spa craving and help maintain financial responsibility. 
 
Guarded with a few tips, tricks and at-home regimens your skin, hair and lips (yes your lips need love too!) can stay healthy and hydrated at a more affordable price tag.

Tips and Tricks

  • Even though you may not be sporting the hottest swimwear at the moment, don’t forget to protect skin and hair from the sun. Keep any visible skin (don’t forget those ears) lathered with sunscreen and hair covered in a moisturizing, leave-in conditioner to prevent skin damage and split ends.
  • Winter blues are quickly cured with a nice hot tub dip, but keep skin from drying out by using the best spa chemicals in your bubbly retreat and lather with a rich body cream after.
  • Keep teeth white and bright by sipping enamel-staining drinks (like coffee, tea and soda) through a straw.

At-Home Treats

Avocado Hair Mask

Put the life back in your dull dry hair with this fortified concoction courtesy of Allure.
Ingredients:
  • ½ avocado
  • ¼ cup mayonnaise
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 2 ounces water
Directions: Blend all ingredients together. Evenly comb the mask through wet hair. Sit under a hooded dryer (or cover masked hair with a plastic bag and use a blow dryer to apply heat) for 15 to 20 minutes. Rinse with cool water and apply a hydrating conditioner and rinse again.
 

Photo by chadmiller via Flickr


Luscious Lip Scrub

Are your lips not as kissably soft as they once were? Give them a little lift with this tasty sugar scrub from Beautylish. 

Ingredients:
  • 1 tablespoon Vaseline
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • Flavor of choice (Get creative! Add a dash of caramel, strawberry, maple syrup, mint, or anything your heart desires to give your scrub a tasty boost.)
Directions: Combine ingredients in a small, resealable container. Apply a small amount to lips and massage for 1 to 3 minutes. Rinse and apply your favorite lip balm.


Photo by maduhsaurus via flickr


Salty Citrus Body Scrub

Slough away dry skin with this refreshing salt scrub from The Beauty Department. This citrus skin booster will transform you and give you a bright and shiny transformation from head (well shoulder) to toe.
Ingredients:
  • 5 tablespoons sea salt
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 lemon
Directions: Combine sea salt and olive in a small mixing bowl. Once sea salt is completely coated in olive oil, cut lemon in half and squeeze juice over salt and oil mixture. Mix and mash ingredients to your preferred consistency. Apply liberally to rough skin and rinse thoroughly.


Photo by 1lenore via flickr


Peppermint Foot Cream

Cure rough, dry and cracking feet with this minty fresh foot cream from Robyn’s View. If the heavenly scent alone doesn't get you immediately hooked, the creamy results surely will.
Ingredients:
  • 1 tablespoon firmly packed cocoa butter
  • ¼ cup firmly packed shea butter
  • 2 tablespoons firmly packed coconut oil
  • 1 tablespoon avocado oil
  • 1 teaspoon vitamin E oil
  • ¼ teaspoon tea tree essential oil
  • ¼ teaspoon peppermint essential oil
  • 1-2 teaspoons peppermint extract (optional)
Directions: Melt butters, coconut oil and avocado oil in a double boiler. Mix well before removing from heat. Let cool (in refrigerator or freezer for faster results) until cream begins to set. Once cream has cooled, add remaining ingredients. Hand whip mixture and generously apply to skin.


Photo by Zanspa1 via Flickr

Kristen Watson is writing a cookbook with sustainable and environmentally friendly ingredients and recipes.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Highly Effective Indian Home remedies For Delayed Periods

Delayed periods or Irregular menstrual periods have become very common these days for a lot of women in their reproductive age and they suffer great agonies when their period does not come on time. A delay of 4-5 days may be fine but if it exceeds 8 days, then it's certainly a cause for concern. In this post, I'll be sharing highly effective Indian home remedies for your delayed periods . I'd been a long sufferer of irregular periods during my teenage to early twenties. I've tried most of the recipes here, along with Kapalabhati pranayama, yoga poses, mudras and other lifestyle habits. Now my periods are extremely regular like clockwork; not a day less or more than 28. When I look back, I'm surprised how I managed those years of anxiety and fear about my late periods. 

11 things you can do with olive oil

Besides lemon , milk , sugar , aloe , turmeric , sandalwood and honey , olive oil is another household item that has multifarious uses as a beauty aid. It is a mild, non-irritant, antibacterial oil that is rich in antioxidants; hence is ideal for the skin. Here are a few things that you could do with olive oil .

Home remedies for sleeplessness

The day dawns beautifully for those who have had a night of good sleep. But the same day drags on for those who have spent a disturbing, sleepless night. Sleep is a biological necessity even as eating and drinking are. Sufficient sleep renders a person normally sociable, lively and high-spirited. It’s a nature’s way of rejuvenating the person for the next day. Realize all this, and make sleep a physiological habit. The consequences of long time sleep deprivation can be very grave. Lack of sleep takes its toll on the skin and hair. It causes acne-breakouts and makes one look aged and haggard beyond years. Experts opine that during sleep as our metabolic rate falls, blood goes to those areas which need the most repairing. This also steps up the production of collagen and keratin, which aid the regeneration of skin cells and help resist premature ageing. So for a younger looking and a problem free skin you need to have a good quality of sleep every night.

Get rid of head lice with these home remedies

Lice infestation is such a bothersome, distracting and embarrassing problem. Surely everyone harbors them at one time or the other. It is usually common among school children but soon spreads to other members of the family. Contrary to popular belief, it is not a sign of poor hygiene, as lice are not fussy whether they lay their eggs in clean or dirty hair. But yes, a dirty scalp can well serve as a perfect breeding ground for these tiresome creatures. Lice get transferred easily from child to child owing to the close contact of heads, during play, while sitting together or by sharing caps. Though there are many chemical and herbal over-the-counter preparations to remove lice, it is better to refrain from using them for they might also remove a good bit of your hair, while others could have a drying effect on the hair.  There are many home-remedies which do work well but the age-old method of regular combing with a close-toothed comb on all counts, is the most eff...

Kapalabhati Pranayam for wrinkle-free, radiant complexion

Did you know that Kapalabhati Pranayam / kriya can also be used to enhance your beauty and ward off skin aging? Done the right way,  Kapalabhati Pranayam can be used as a beauty aid - it can give you a wrinkle-free, luminous forehead and radiant complexion. Kapalabhati For Beauty   ‘Kapalabhati’ Pranayam breathing exercise is an excellent way of maintaining good health and fighting diseases. ‘Kapala’ means ‘skull’ (and ‘forehead’ also) and ‘bhati’ means ‘shining’. By doing kapalabhati, the ‘nadis’(nerves) of the brain get good exercise. This is achieved by exercising the diaphragm. There will be a glow on the forehead. After the age of 25, the tell-tale signs of ageing start making their appearance in the form of fine lines on the forehead. A regular practice of Kapalabhati for 10-15 minutes everyday will give you a tight forehead sans wrinkles for many years to come. Avoid Botox, try Kapalabhati Why resort to Botox   and other expensive chemical or surgica...