Organic Beauty Products… by You.

With such a wide variety of beauty and health products in the stores, who would have thought that all we need can be found in our pantry? If we just looked closely, we can have a world of organically grown beauty and health products within our reach.

A few days ago, I took a really interesting body care workshop from Sola Adenekan at Raices y Brazos, in San Jose del Cabo. Sola (pronounced Shola) has been actively working with her nonprofit organization Create Plenty in teaching how to live a more organic life with a waste-free approach.

The place looked warm and inviting and was the perfect setting for me and four other ladies that wanted to learn about making our own body scrubs and beauty products. I was expecting complicated, hard to find ingredients that would take forever to prepare… but I was pleasantly surprised by their effortlessness. As Sola worked in preparing a Cinnamon & Ginger Body Scrub, we absorbed the sensual smells emanating from it. Here is how to make it:

Cinnamon & Ginger Body Scrub
• 1 cup of sea salt
• ½ teaspoon of ginger powder
• ½ teaspoon of cinnamon powder
• 1 cup of olive oil

In a medium bowl, combine these ingredients until mixed well (for a more concentrated scent use a whole teaspoon of your preferred powder). Store it in a container and enjoy its therapeutic power whenever you feel like pampering yourself. The sea salt will gently scrub your skin and the olive oil will nourish and hydrate it while the powders will leave a sensual fragrance you’ll love. It is great for your hands and all your skin.

As the evening continued, we prepared bergamot infused bath salts and lavender softening powder with such little effort that we were also discussing different ways to incorporate herbs like rosemary, eucalyptus or even ginger in our everyday uses: for a shinier and naturally dark-colored hair, make a rosemary infusion and wash your hair with it once a week, it will bring out its natural dark color; an organic way to avoid mosquitoes when you’re outdoors is by rubbing just a couple of drops of eucalyptus essence in your legs and arms, it will not only offer you a great refreshing scent, but it will keep the mosquitoes at bay…

By spending just a couple of hours with Sola, I remembered that we don’t need fancy or complicated remedies when Mother Nature offers us its most beloved products. If we start preparing them, even as a hobby, it is also a great excuse to spend some time together with our friends and family. You can make your own tooth paste, bath & body lotions, deodorants, sunscreen, lip balm and many more products which are all made with fresh ingredients from your pantry.

If you are interested in learning more about the different ways you can create different health and beauty products, Sola will be writing a biweekly column exclusive for Escapes Magazine online, sharing her knowledge in nature, recycling and organic living. Stay tuned for more of her practical and fun ideas to beautify you.

Raices y Brazos is an integral community and wellness center for the exploration of individual and collective evolution in San Jose del Cabo. http://raicesybrazos.com/