DIY pampering

Take some time to unwind with some money-saving DIY home beauty treatments and feel the stresses drift away…

With a little beauty know-how, it’s possible to deliver genuine skin-pampering and mood-enhancement yourself. Better still, many deceptively luxurious face and body treats can be whipped up basically with what’s in your fridge. Although a small armoury of essential oils* always turbo-charges the pleasure quotient; these last almost forever, so you can add to your collection over time, starting with basics like lavender, rosemary, neroli and rose.

Run a fragrant bath…
An aromatherapeutic bath is a pretty good place to start any wind-down session. Science has now confirmed that essential oils aren’t just a bunch of pretty smells: they work on brainwaves, to include heightened awareness (in the case of stimulating oils), or – see below – blissful c-a-l-m… Any of the following will help waft you to sleep, or help take the angst levels down a notch…

Clary sage is renowned for its ability to put you in touch with the ‘dream world’; a few drops in an evening bath will encourage dreams and their recall.

Jasmine, as well as being powerfully antidepressant and an aphrodisiac, helps open you up to beauty, music, poetry. (And, it’s thought, gives you confidence in your own physicality and ability to do things.)
Juniper is the perfect oil for this time of year – amazing when you feel swamped by the demands of people around you.
Neroli is linked with purity and euphoria (and a little goes a very long way…)
Rose is a tonic oil, but also linked with creativity and sensuality.
Lavender is the most famous oil of all, a ‘balancing’ oil which is ‘adaptogenic’ (ie if you’re stressed, it chills you out, whereas if you need a pep-up, it uplifts).

The best way to disperse essential oils in a bath is to add a total of 15 drops to a tablespoon (or more) of milk, and swish in the water while the bath’s still running; milk also acts as an emollient, counter-acting the drying effects of hard water.

Give yourself a facial…
Cleansing is great for skin – it literally sluices away dirt and grime – but, symbolically, it also eases cares and stresses. So start your DIY facial by massaging your cleanser into skin for a couple of minutes using quite a lot of pressure, to eliminate tension from the jaw and cheeks; the warmth of your fingers helps the cleanser to penetrate much deeper, boosts circulation and helps lymphatic drainage. (I encourage people to exfoliate, once a week – even sensitive skins respond to the skin-brightening effects of exfoliation, if you choose the right product. Remember, though, that a little goes a long way.) Remove the last traces of exfoliator by rinsing or swiping skin with a warm, wet flannel, then pat dry and apply a mask – see the DIY recipes below. You don’t need a thick layer; skin will absorb all it needs. But to relax eyes while you’re indulging in your face mask, place rosewater-soaked pads over both eyes. Wipe away the mask, then swish with water and gently pat skin dry.

Massage your face…
We carry a lot of tension in the face, so facial massage not only helps banish the stress you’ve been holding onto, but stimulates circulation, for glowing skin. Using the pads of your fingertips, apply an oil or rich moisturiser to your face (after you’ve removed your mask) to the following areas, in order: forehead, temples, nose, cheeks, chin and ears. Start from the centre of each area and slowly move outward. Then place your index and middle finger between your nose and upper lip and do circular motions around your mouth. Third, place the tips of your index, middle and ring fingers close together on your forehead and rub outwards towards the temples, making circular motions and applying gentle pressure. Repeat the same motions this time from your nose across your cheeks towards your ears. Move down to the hinge of the jaw and massage. To finish, lightly tap your entire face with the index and middle fingers of both hands, from the centre outward.

And treat feet to some TLC…
Feet carry us 70,000 miles, in a lifetime – yet we rarely reward them for the task. Submerging them in water (or milk, see right) in which reviving oils are infused helps put the spring back in feet – post-shopping and/or pre-party. Once you’ve soaked your feet and patted them dry, treat them to a deep massage: sit in a comfortable position with your feet resting up on the bed or on a chair. Working on one foot at a time, cup your heel with one hand and with the other make small circular movements starting with each toe. Gradually move down to the ball of your foot and knead this for a few minutes. Then slowly work over your sole and down to your heel. Press the fingers more deeply into the soles of the feet and up the sides, in long, smooth strokes from heel to toe. (The perfect massage medium, meanwhile, is anything which can reduce friction on the skin, while helping manipulate skin and muscles more effectively – so a rich body butter is terrific.)

Rev up your circulation…
Scrubbing the body is a great way to get the blood flowing, make you feel alive – and boost skin. Apply the body scrub of your choice to dry skin, before bathing or showering; massage in circular movements, concentrating on areas of rough skin such as elbows, knees and feet, but avoiding sensitive areas. Let the scrub do most of the work – you shouldn’t rub any harder than if you were applying a moisturiser. Thenrinse off, in a bath or shower. I like to dry skin quite vigorously with a towel afterwards, to keep up the circulation-revving work, and follow with a blissful body oil – something you can once again concoct yourself.

To create a simple but heavenly body oil, use the following formula: 1 drop of essential oil to a teaspoon of almond or apricot oil (you can also pierce a capsule or two of vitamin E oil and squeeze out the contents). Choose lavender, geranium and/or chamomile to relax – but if you need to revive before a party, try a blend of bergamot, patchouli and/or jasmine. (Lavender and rosemary, meanwhile, are good for aches and pains if you’ve been overdoing it.)

Armed with a little insider knowledge, giving yourself treatments at home really can deliver many of the benefits of a spa visit – without the traffic angst or feelings of guilt that you’re taking too much ‘me-time’ out from a frantic schedule. Just remember to lock that bathroom door…

Miracle masks to mix yourself

Apricot softening mask
2 fresh apricots
5ml (1 teaspoon) avocado oil

Blanch the apricots in just-boiled water for 1 minute to make it easy to peel off the skin, slice to remove the stones, and mash to a smooth pulp, adding the oil in a trickle. Spread onto the face and relax for 20 minutes while the softening ingredients get to work.

Cucumber sensitive mask
10g (½oz) brewer’s yeast (if you can’t readily buy this, pulverise brewer’s yeast tablets in a herb grinder)
10g (½oz) finelypowdered oats
A 15cm (3in) chunk of cucumber)
30ml (2fl oz) plain yogurt
5ml (1 teaspoon) honey
1 drop rose essential oil

Mix together the oats and the yeast in a small bowl and put aside. Peel the chunk of cucumber and liquidise it in a food processor or herb grinder until it’s – literally – liquid, with no seeds or chunky bits left. Add the yogurt and the honey and then whizz again for a few seconds, to mix. Add the brewer’s yeast and the oats to the cucumber/honey mixture, drop in the drops of rose essential oil, and whizz yet again until smooth. Then apply to a cleansed face and skin, and leave on for between 20 minutes to half an hour.

Vita-carrot mask
1 large carrot
15ml (1 tablespoon) sweet almond oil
5 drops jasmine essential oil (optional)

Peel and liquidise the carrot, strain off the juice (you can drink this for an internal vitamin D boost!), blend with the sweet almond oil and add the drops of jasmine essential oil, if you’re using it. Lie down (ideally on a towel) and apply the pulp to a cleansed face; relax and allow the mask to work for 10-15 minutes. This is good even for the most sensitive skins. Carrot is incredibly rich in vitamin A, which has an anti-ageing activity when applied topically to the skin.

Honey and oat mask
for oily skins/blackheads
Mix an egg white, a teaspoon of honey and a tablespoon or two of oats, until you’ve a paste thick enough to spread on your face.

A relaxing treat for feet

Rosemary Foot Reviver
225ml (8fl oz) milk
50g (2oz) fresh mint leaves
Six large sprigs of fresh rosemary
6 drops peppermint essential oil

Simmer the milk and fresh herbs over a low heat for 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, and pour into a bowl large enough to bathe your feet in. Top up with warm or cool water, as preferred – or, best of all, more milk. Add the peppermint essential oil and swish. (NB If you put pebbles or marbles in the bottom of the bowl, you can roll your toes over them while you soak your feet, which is totally relaxing for body, soul – and soles.) Several other herbs will effectively help put the spring back in your step: make enough tea from the following herbs(fresh or dried) to comfortably cover your feet, and soak them in it while still warm (brew the tea just as you would for drinking). Try lavender as an instant tonic, horsetail for tired feet (and to reduce sweatiness), thyme for cleansing, or lovage as a strong natural deodorant.

Words: Josephine Fairley