Some random thoughts on Skin issues.

I have been battling my skin since a teenager, I blogged about that previously.  But one thing that I think might actually be something worth noting is the candida(yeast) imbalance acne connection.  I am no stranger to yeast imbalance, aka my constant need to ward off my foot fungus, which I have made an all natural treatment for that, that is working better than anything else I've tryed and is chemical free.  I will post that hopefully soon.  Anyhow my point, overall my skin has been doing way better and I think part of it is the role of baking soda.  Baking soda is alkaline.  Let's talk PH balance for a minute, I'm no dr or expert, anyway the balance is between acidic or alkaline.  Yeast thrives in an acidic environment, we all have yeast on our skin and in our intestines, which isn't a problem, it's when the balance gets thrown off that the yeast overtakes.  A big part of helping the skin and immune system is maintain a healthy balance.  I have done so much research this summer because after mowing on a really humid day, I was so itchy from a sweat rash that I deemed candida because it would NOT go away after I cooled down for weeks.  So I tried to cut way down on sugar that feeds yeast, and take acidolpholis, caprylic acid, garlic oil, bentonite clay, aloe vera gel, apple cider vinegar.  Sound desperate? oh I WAS!!  I also made up aloe vera gel to put on myself with tea tree, and grapefruit oil.  At one point when it was disrupting my sleep, I ( and I quote my husband) went against everything I stand for and sprayed Tentactin on my back for a week.  I will still get a little itchy if I am out the humid heat for very long.... annoying.  But back to the point, from the inside out, yeast can be dealt with.  My body obviously wants to be acidic and yeasty.  ANYWAY back to this and acne.  I use baking soda on my face every night.  Sometimes, I have only been doing oil cleansing if I have makeup to remove but either way, I scrub my t zone with, only really scrub my nose and chin and smooth the baking soda all over my face and let it sit and wipe with a washcloths at the end of showering.  Anyway I am thinking it helps alkalize what I think is yeastyness that wants to thrive.  So random skin tip.  I have more... I just don't have the time to post them.

So coming up, someday,;) footfungus oil, face oil, astringent and the role of the all natural glycolic peel.

Citronella and Alcohol Free Bug Spray

Sorry for the low quality ugly pic on my ugly counter,  I should take pics on my table, I'm that lazy I guess.. but it gives a visual of the brands of products I used to make my own bug spray.  The skeetos, as my 3 year old calls them, have been bad this summer because of all the rain we have gotten.  I've looked over a couple bug spray recipes that I had pinned and ended up tweaking them and forming my own.  The field testing has been limited to just this weekend.  I sprayed my son who was getting bit and afterwards he said nothing was biting him.  And my husband who usually get attacked while mowing, said he was left alone except for one on his ankle at the very end of the long job of mowing and he said that's because he probably sweat it off.  Very humid.  So yes after a while of being outside if you are sweating it off you will want to reapply.  A lot of recipes call for citronella essential oil but I opted for other bug repelling oils as I read citronella can be cancer causing.  Didn't research it for myself it's just what I was reading as I was going over recipes online.  And there are so many anti bug oils to choose from it really wasn't a big deal.  I chose lemongrass, clove, peppermint, and eucalyptus oil, all around 5$ or so.  A sidenote, I believe clove is also an anti fungal, so if you're like me and struggled with ,what I self diagnosed myself with, candidal sweat rash this summer, you get that added benefit.  So here is the recipe, it makes 4 ounces and I used my old bug spray bottle, but in an ideal world, this would be better in a blue or amber glass spray bottle, because light deteriorates the essentials and essential oils can break down plastic.  So I keep it in the cabinet when we aren't using it.

Recipe:

2 TBS Witchhazel <alcohol free if you prefer.

1 TBS Aloe vera gel, the kind you can drink.

20 drops of Eucalyptus oil

10 drops Clove oil

10 drops Lemongrass oil

10 drops of Peppermint

Water.

I used my pirex cup so I could see the ounces,  I put in all the ingredients except the water, then filled the cup with water up to the 4 oz mark.  Shake before applying. ( I ordered all this from iherb)

Of course you can google all the different kinds of essential oils that repel bugs, these are what I landed on personally.

Tip: works for the 3 year old.  Bentonite clay for itchy bug bites.  (I keep a jar with clay mixed with enough water to make a mask-like consistency) 

I'm still here.

School is just around the corner and I plan to get back to blogging, not just for the sake of blogging but because my skin has been doing so good over all and I want to share about that. AND I made my own deodorant that WORKS!!  I've made my own toothepaste, astringent and foot fungus treatment.  All of which I am very happy with.  The toothepaste I may tweak to be a powder but really, I'm happy with it... and I'll be back. ;)