Cider is produced when the bacteria in the air, which is a natural occurrence, convert small amounts of alcohol in apple juice to acetic acid. This gives vinegar its tangy taste. It is said that small doses of this can help increase longevity in humans and even pets.

You can make your own mixtures of cider vinegar to help with itchy skin, purify the skin and even one for varicose veins. Here’s how.

• For Itchy Skin: This mixture even works for skin that has been sunburned and other minor burns. Soak a cotton cloth in a small amount of cider vinegar and water. Wring out the cloth and apply to the effected area of the skin. You can do this treatment on hives and minor rashes on children as well. Pouring a cup of cider vinegar over the hair can help with an itchy scalp too.

• For the Skin: Purifying the skin has dated back to when Cleopatra ruled and milk was said to help keep the skin looking young and healthy, but cider vinegar can help purify in the same manner and hale cleanse the body of acid residues. A daily 20-minute bath in hot water and 1 cup cider vinegar will do the trick. Also can help with fungal disease and treating other minor skin issues as well.

• For Varicose Veins: Making a compress with cider vinegar will help ease the pain and swelling that is associated with varicose veins and massaging the area with cider vinegar can also help improve blood flow and help in tightening the tissue around the effected area. When you do massage the area, always massage toward the heart on the limbs, as to not make the veins anymore damaged. Elevating the legs when the compress is applied and cover with a dry towel that has gone through the dryer.

Natural rinses act to stimulate circulation in the scalp rather than coating the hair and other simple techniques will help to repair and keep your hair looking great. Here are a few that can help and some can be done in less than 30 seconds.

• Linden Flower Rinse: boil 1 cup water, and 1 tsp linden flowers. Steep the linden flower and allow to cool a bit, strain out the flowers and rinse over stressed or over-dried hair. Can be used for up to 6 weeks.

• Sesame Oil Rinse: 1 tbs. of sesame oil into the hair and scalp can help guard your hair against sun damage. Apply to hair and scalp before heading out into the sun.

• Chamomile Rinse: 1 cup boiling water plus 1 tsp. chamomile flowers. Pour the water over the flowers and steep. Allow to cool slightly and filter out the flowers. Rinse hair and scalp with this water mixture and it will give your hair sheen; you can also use this to lighten blonde hair healthy.

Use these rinses incorporation with your normal shampooing routine to help keep your hair and scalp healthy in a natural way. Hair rinses date back to before women took the time to care for themselves and just using their old techniques can keep your hair looking great everyday.

2 tbs. cocoa butter, crated
2 tbs. almond oil
1 tbs. cocoa powder
1/2 cup sea salt
4 to 5 drops wintergreen essential oil

Gently heat the cocoa better and almond oil until completely melted. Do not allow to boil. Remove from the heat and allow to cool a bit. Add the sea salt and the essential oil and mix till completely combined. Massage into clean feet and allow to stay on the feet for a few moments. Rinse with luke warm water and finish with a bit of foot lotion infused with peppermint oil. Place cotton socks on your feet and relax for about 15 to 20 minutes.

2. Cocoa Infused Lip Balm

1 1/2 tsp. grated cocoa butter
1/2 tsp. coconut oil
1/2 tsp. grated chocolate
1 to 2 drops essential oil of peppermint
1/2 tsp. shea butter

Combine all ingredients in a microwave-sage bowl and heat in 5 minute intervals until the mixture is completely melted. Pour into a small jar or lip balm container and cool completely before using. Use this lip balm with the hint of peppermint and a hint of chocolate whenever your lips feel a bit dry or chapped. The taste is amazing.

3. Chocolate Cuticle Cream

1 tsp. cocoa butter, grated
2 tbs. coconut oil
2 tbs. olive oil
2 tbs, grated chocolate pieces
1 tsp. shea butter

Slowly heat the cocoa butter and oils in a small double boiler over medium high heat. Add the chocolate and allow to melt completely. When mixture is completely melted, do not allow to boil. Stir well and pour into a clean dish and allow to cool completely. Massage this mixture with chocolate infused smell into your cuticles after an at home manicure or pedicure.

1. Homemade Facial: Clean you face and apply an algae mask on your damp face. Lay back and relax with the mask in place for about 15 minutes. Rinse off and pat your skin dry. Apply a facial serum that contains some sort of skin rejuvenating ingredient. Finish off the facial with a lotion that contains age fighting ingredients.

2. Relaxation Facial: Clean your face and place a warm wash cloth of your face and lay back and relax for about 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the wash cloth and pat your skin dry. Apply a facial lotion that contain age-fighting ingredients and relax for another 5 to 10 minutes.

3. Age-Fighting Hair Treatment: Take 10 drops if your favorite scented essential oil and blend it with 1/2 cup of olive oil Massage your oil mixture into the scalp on dry hair. With green French clay, part your hair and apply the clay to the scalp in sections of the hair. Rinse the entire application of oil and clay mask under warm water and wash your hair with shampoo and then condition as normal.

4. Full Body Spa: With sea salt and essential oil mixed, massage into the body and on your arms and legs rub the mixture into the skin toward the heart. After rinsing the sea salt scrub off the skin, and while your skin is still damp, apply lemon body oil over the entire body. Pat your skin dry and apply your favorite body lotion all over the skin. Warp your whole body in a warm towel from the dryer and lay back and relax for about 15 minutes.

Materials needed:

Beeswax/honeycomb wax
Wicks

What to do:

Warm the wax by placing it in a 250 degree oven on a towel lined cookie sheet for about 3 to 5 minutes. Next, determine the height of the candle you are wanting and cut the sheet to that length. Cut a piece of wick about 1/2 inches longer than the height of the candle itself. Place the wick 1/8 inches off the edge of the wax sheet and push it firmly into place so that it will stay, then begin rolling the sheet tightly and with a warm metal spatula seal the edge of the sheet. Trim the wick down and to increase the candle size roll another sheet around the first one your started with. Keep going till you get the size of the candle you want.

You can also find beeswax sheets in different colors. These will be a great addition to anyone’s gift giving. You can make a few and place them within ribbons on the top if the gifts you are going to give this year. With that hot spatula and a bit of practice you can scroll the receivers name in the candles as well.

1. Chocolate Coffee Facial Mask
Makes: 4 ounces

4 tbs. finely ground coffee
4 tbs. cocoa powder
4 tbs, green clay (you can find this at any health food store)
8 tbs. whole milk

Mix together all ingredients until you have a smooth paste. Spread the paste all over your face and neck, avoiding the eye and mouth area. Let sit for about 15 minutes and rinse well with luke warm water.

2. Cocoa Walnut Body Scrub
Makes: 8 ounces

1/2 cup raw sugar
1/4 cup walnut oil
1 tbs. finely chopped walnuts
1 tbs. cocoa powder
1 tbs. raw honey

Stir together all ingredients until well mixed thoroughly. Standing in the shower, massage into your damp skin, rinse well and pat your skin dry.

3. Chocolate Bath
Makes: 16 ounces

2 cups milk
1/2 cup cocoa
1 tsp. honey
2 tbs. liquid soap

Stir all ingredients together and pour into the running bath water as your bath fills. Relax in the mixture for about 20 minutes. Milk baths are one of times oldest tricks for keeping skin soft and supple.

4. Cocoa Body Lotion
Makes: 4 ounces

1/4 cup grated cocoa butter
1 tbs. grated dark chocolate
2 tbs. olive oil
1 tbs. sesame oil
1 tbs. grated beeswax
1 tbs. shea butter

Place all the ingredients in a microwave-safe container or on the stovetop in a double boiler. A double boiler maybe best so the ingredients don’t burn or cook too much. Melt the ingredients gentle and continue stirring the entire time while they melt.

Pour the ingredients into a container with a tight fitting lid. Allow to cool completely and use on dry areas of the body.

Using oatmeal on your skin can help soothe many skin ailments such as poison ivy, eczema
and hives. Aveno has come out with many items that contain oatmeal to help with these very conditions. I never believed that oatmeal could soothe itchy skin until a few years back I was exposed to green bell peppers, which I am highly allergic to, and I soaked in oatmeal I had blended in the food processor. Besides the fact that it helped me to stop itching, it certainly was soothing in more ways than one. But, oatmeal isn’t just for skin rashes and other issues; you can make certain facial creams and masks to benefits you skin overall.

Here’s how to make your own oatmeal mask.

1/3 cup of rolled quick oats, cooked
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup of water

Mix the quick oats with the water over medium high heat on the stove top. Cook the oatmeal till it is about semi moist about the same as it would be if you were to eat it. After the oatmeal as cooled partially, mix in the honey and mix in completely. Allow the oatmeal to cool to about room temperature at least tolerable to apply to your face. Do not apply to the face when it is any hotter than to touch. Allow to dry till it is about tacky to the touch and rinse thoroughly with warm water.

I few years back my mother had given me a collection of sunflower-type items to add to my kitchen and with that came a little sachet of wonderful smelling pellets. The scent was called “Sea Spray” and it’s a sachet of pellets made by The Willow Brook Company. They can be placed in the bath room, the vacuum bag, trash cans, closets, linen closet or even place them in your car. I loved it. I placed mine in the vacuum bag and it scented the entire home as I vacuumed.

They carry a wide range of different scents, so I ended up purchasing quite a few for gifts as well as for myself. Here are the ones I picked; they may help you with last minute shopping as well.

• Orange Vanilla Swirl
• White Cotton
• Southern Breeze
• Lily of the Valley
• Fresh Blossoms
• Trade winds
• Suds and Soap
• Laundry Line
• Grapevine
• Dahlia Delight
• Orange Clove

Of course these are just a few of the ones they carry in the sachet collection, but they also carry other items that can have your home smelling super fresh, especially for the holidays. They carry room sprays in the same scents as the sachets and the sachets come in a smaller skinnier version of the large original packages.

If you have a business they sell wholesale and in large quantities to help your customers choose the best fragrance or even pick up a few to try at random.

2 tbs. dried herbs or you can use 1/4 cups fresh herbs
2 cups boiling water

Steep the herbs in the boiling water just as you would if making a tea. Steep for about 5 to 10 minutes depending on how strong you want the highlights. You may want to experiment with lighter teas then work up to darker colored teas depending on what color you like best on your hair. Let the herb steeped tea cool before using, you don’t want to scald your scalp.

Use chamomile to lighten your hair.
Use sage to darken your hair.
Use hibiscus to put red highlights in your hair.

• Keep a Healthy Scalp with Mint Tea

1/4 cup mint tea or you can use mint tea bags (4)
1/2 cup boiling water
1/2 cup witch hazel

Steep the tea by using the boiling water just as you would as if you were making tea to drink, about 5 to 10 minutes. You want to make the tea strong. Cool the tea completely before using; you don’t want to scald your scalp with the hot tea. Strain the leaves if you are using fresh herbs or loose dried herbs, if you are just using tea bags, just remove the bags. Mix the tea with the witch hazel and massage a small amount into your scalp, or you can hang your head upside down over the edge of the bathtub and pour the mixture right over your head then massage into the scalp. Be sure and do this process after you have shampooed your hair. This mixture will help keep the scalp health and clean and will help prevent dandruff from forming.

• Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) is a popular tonic in the Ayurvedic medicine field and it’s good for anything that is troubling you or ailing you. It is traditionally recommended to help clear the mind, calm the nervous system, and help you to sleep better. It can also help improve your thinking skills and the active ingredients in the tonic, which are called withanolides, help bolster the immune system, reduce stress and protect the liver as well.

• Guggul (Comminphora sp.) is a resin that is found in a small Indian tree. It helps to simulate the mucous membranes and the kidney to help excrete toxins from the body. It helps to relieve pain, strengthen the thyroid gland and is a strong anti-inflammatory. Helps relieve the pains of arthritis and has cholesterol-lowering properties. It may also help reduce excess body fat as well.

• Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra): The word means “the sweet stalk” in Sanskrit and it is rich in flavonoids that is recommended for asthma, bronchial problems, coughing and inflammation of the mucous membranes within and throughout the body. It is great for sore throats problems as well as arthritis, bladder and kidney problems. It can help relieve tummy troubles and peptic ulcers as well. It has anti inflammatory, antioxidative, and antimicrobial properties and helps improve memory function. It can relieve headaches, high blood pressure, lower potassium and sodium levels in the body and help with water retention as well.