Winter tends to be harsh in Nebraska...very cold temperatures, biting winds with unbelievable wind chill. Then comes summer, hot and dry.....did you ever see photos of actual pioneers.....my ancestors were farmers and settled in Nebraska. They had a hard life. Their photos show weathered faces and rough, scaly hands. I image the rest of their bodies were the same.
Forget those beautiful dresses and creamy skins of the pioneers in movies....not true to life. 
One of the things that my ancestors did was to make their own soap...but not the great natural soap that we get today. They didn't have the oils, etc. to make it smell good nor good for the skin. It mainly consisted of lye (from wood ashes) and fats from animals. It cleaned, but not too well. They may have added flower petals or herbs if they were available.
Of course, if you are on some medications, they can cause dry skin, hair, etc. but lets pretend that you are basically healthy and your medications are not too harsh for your body. Hand or body soap without sodium tallowate, acid, sodium chloride, triclocaban, tetrasodium edta, bht, titanium dioxide, D&C yellow #10, and D&C orange #4 just may be good for your skin too.
Look at the ingredients in your shampoo or even your hand soap, Dove, Ivory, Irish Spring, etc. And you wonder why your skin is flaky and itchy...
If you are really interested in how handmade soap is made....have a look at this site:
http://www.countryrosesoap.com/handmade.htm
But, even some handmade soaps contain harsh chemicals....look at the ingredients.
What is "handmade soap"?
Beauty Tips with every day products
BEAUTY TIPS using everyday day products.......Some of these beauty tips have been around for a long time....some are surprising, some work and some are "iffy". Bet you remember your mom telling you to put tea bags or cucumbur slices on your eyes!
EYE DROPS will remove redness not only from your eyes but also from red blemishes. Freeze a drop in a spoon then place the frozen liquid over the blemish and hold. It will shrink swelling.
TOOTHPASTE (white paste) will help heal acne breakouts.
JELL-O (cherry flavored powder) — dab a Q-tip into the powder and apply it to your lips. Let the powder sit for 5 minutes then lick it off. This will give your lips a natural red coat.
TOOTHBRUSH AND VASELINE will exfoliate and plump up your lips.
VASELINE added to any eye shadow will make a gel blush or lip stain.
WET/USED TEA BAGS (inexpensive non-herbal) act like a poultice and draw out excess fluids while refreshing and soothing the eye area. The tea contains tannic acid, which is an antioxidant.
RAW POTATO SLICES will take away dark circles under the eyes (potatoes contain potassium).
CUCUMBER SLICES will draw out excess fluids, reducing baggy eyes.
ANBESOL — when tweezing eyebrows, apply Anbesol to them. This will numb the brow area and spare you from the pain.
PARSLEY will help freshen your breath from the inside. Parsley contains chlorophyll, which is found in Certs and Clorets.
WEIGHT LOSS TIP — take two Garlic Tablets and two Papaya Enzymes before every meal. You can lose up to 5 pounds in one week.
HAIR CONDITIONER — instead of shaving cream use hair conditioner to shave your legs. Conditioner will leave them silky and smooth.
BAKING SODA – use 3/4 cup baking soda mixed with ¼ cup water and gently rub for 3 minutes onto the face, then rinse. This is a great, inexpensive exfoliator.
LEMON JUICE will whiten brittle fingernails and will dry up and help get rid of a pimple.
LEMON, LIME, HONEY & YOGURT - Yogurt can lighten age and sun spots. Mix the juice from 1 lemon, 1 lime, 2 tablespoons of honey and 2 ounces of plain yogurt. Massage this mixture into desired spots at least once a week.
CAFFEINE is the main ingredient in those expensive cellulite creams. Your regular caffeinated coffee grounds (used from this morning) can be rubbed into those annoying cellulite areas. Since this can get a bit messy, try doing it in the bathtub or shower.
HERBAL WRAPS are easy to make. Create your own, similar to the ones offered at the expensive spas, by using 1 cup corn oil, ½ cup grapefruit juice and 2 teaspoons of dried thyme. Combine the ingredients and work the mixture into the thigh, hip and butt areas. Cover the areas with a plastic wrap, locking in the heat from your body. To accelerate the results, lay a heating pad for several minutes over the desired areas.
VITAMINS E, A or C capsules (in gel form) from your local drug store, can be used instead of the costly creams that contain these ingredients. Prick open the capsule and add it to your moisturizer. You'll get all the benefits of expensive creams without the extra chemicals or the expense.
HYDROGEN PEROXIDE — apply with a cotton ball. It makes a terrific astringent.
PEPTO BISMOL a great face mask for sensitive skin. The same way it coats and soothes the stomach, it gently caresses the skin. Apply straight from the bottle with a cotton ball. Allow it to dry and rinse with cool water.
VODKA & LEMON will tone up tired skin. Dab ¼ cup Vodka and the juice from one lemon on face, neck and chest area with cotton. It is not necessary to rinse this mixture off. It will evaporate. The less rubbing, the better.
BABY WIPES can be used as a fast and inexpensive way to remove make-up.
MUD MASK/WRAP — combine 1 tablespoon clay (kitty litter, 100% natural clay only, without additives or chemicals) with water to create a muddy paste. Apply to face, let it dry and slightly harden. Then rinse off with warm water and washcloth. It's easy and refreshing and will feel just like those expensive spa mud masks.
SWEET ALMOND OIL will moisturize extra dry skin, help lashes grow and can remove make-up. The oil can also sooth sunburned skin.
CRISCO OIL will remove make-up and moisturize your skin. It can even be used to treat psoriasis and eczema.
To keep your eyes from blinking when applying make-up, try keeping your mouth open. It really works!
To prevent lipstick from getting on your teeth. After applying lipstick and/or gloss, place your finger into your mouth, wrap your lips around the finger and gently pull out your finger in a lollipop motion. The excess lipstick on the inside of your lips will end up on your finger instead of your teeth. Simply wipe it off on a tissue and you're good to go.
After a shower, putting your sports bra on can be a challenge. After toweling off, dust your upper body with a talc such as "Shower to Shower". Although you've toweled yourself dry, you skin is still damp......the talc dries the skin enough for the material to slide easier.
Bubble Bath -- be careful
When my 8 year old granddaughter developed a rash and burning in her pelvic area, we took her straight to her pediatrician.
The first thing she asked was "does she use bubble bath when she takes a bath?" Of course, what little girl doesn't love sitting in a tub of bubbles!
She told us to look at the bubble bath ingredients...."does it have Sodium Lauryl Sulfate listed?"
She then told us that sodium lauryl sulfate is a very strong detergent which is put in many products (see Sodium Lauryl Sulfate ) such as bubble bath to give them lots of foam and bubbles. But it can also burn the skin like diaper rash. Children are most susceptible. However, many of the elderly have sensitive skin and react the same way.
Jenny is older now and prefers showers to baths......but we still try to monitor the types of soap that all of us use.
Sometimes my skin will dry and flake for "no reason".....checked the label and sure enough there's that ole sodium lauryl sulfate.
Many health food stores carry soaps, shampoos and cleaning products.....but even some of the "natural" product contain a foaming ingredient.....unless you've been without a bath for a month, been working in a coal mine or living in the woods all of your life....you DON'T GET DIRTY enough to require something that strong!
Natural Shampoo and Conditioners
Last year I watched a segment of "the View" on hair problems -- very enlightening. So, thought I'd pass this along......I have purchased and am using all natural shampoo and am really pleased with the way my hair looks, shines and feels...no more split ends!
Have you ever read the ingredients on your shampoo bottle? Bet it contains Sodium Lauryl Sulfate That's a high volume synthetic chemical used in consumer products and regulated as a pesticide. Sodium lauryl sulfate can be drying and harsh for the hair and cause eye irritation, allergic reactions, and hair loss.
These substances provide a FOAMING quality to the product, allowing for better distribution of the product while washing hair or skin and while brushing teeth. When rinsed off, the product will have cleaned the area but will have taken moisture from the top layers of skin.
Soooo, what would you rather have, a headful of foam OR hair and scalp that still has it's natural oils? There's enough chemicals in a shampoo bottle to embalm an elephant! I would find hair bunnies in the shower drain after washing my hair -- and would wonder how many shampoos it would take before I was BALD!
And my husband, in addition to inheriting the classic Thomas A. Edison "balding on top" hairstyle, was shampooing his hair to death! Although he hasn't achieved the head full of wavy hair that he had as a teenager, there is a little more there than he had before. Its very fine but it's hair!
There are many "natural" shampoos and conditioners on the market.....just be sure to read the ingredients. Look for Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and if you find it.....look for another product.
Things floating in eyes???
Nope, I don't have anything serious but am/was bothered with floating things in my eyes. I kept thinking that I had little bits of dog hair or something since some of them were thin and slender.
