Five Herbs To Make Natural Beauty Products

Making your own beauty products is fun. Growing your own herbs to use in these beauty products is cost-effective, as well as fun. There are other perks too - growing your own herbs means that you know what's going in your hair, what you're scrubbing with, etc. For centuries, herbs have been an important part of beauty products. If you want your own beauty garden, below are five essential herbs that are easy to grow and super-useful for making beauty products!

Lavender

 

Lavender is one of the most commonly used herbs for beauty and well-being. Lavender is grown for use in beauty products for many reasons, and in many ways. The flowers of lavender are fragrant and give your beauty products a great scent. Lavender is often used to promote relaxation and calmness. The stems and leaves of the flower are often used in body lotions, facial cleansers and toners, foot soaks and salves. 
Chamomile

 

Chamomile is grown directly from the seed, then transplanted into a garden in warm weather. Due to the size of the flowers, it’s smart to grow chamomile plants all at once, so you can gather a lot of flowers to use in your beauty products. Chamomile is best grown in a drained garden bed, or it flourishes well on the porch in a container. The flowering part of the plant is used in skin, hair lotions and shampoos. The flowers are put in for their scent. A nice chamomile soak is a great way to remedy a sunburn or chapped skin from wind burn.

Parsley

 

Parsley is a great addition to your beauty garden. Because it's so popular, it's easy to find in seeds and plants, but it requires a bit of patience if you choose to grow it from the seed. Years ago, the Romans and Greeks used parsley to cover odors, but now the leaves are used in beauty products to help fight acne. Parsley is also used in shampoo and conditioner to enrich and strengthen locks.

Lemon Balm

 

Lemon balm can be grown right on your windowsill. Because lemon balm can take over a garden bed in no time at all, it's wise to confine it to a pot or a bordered bed. It's a perennial plant, so you only need one. You can gather the green leaves for a nice citrus scent to add to all your homemade beauty products. Lemon balm is the most commonly used hair rinse to get other hair products out. It is also used as a face wash to get rid of and relieve acne due to its antiviral products. It's used often in salves and lotions to treat dry skin.

Aloe Vera

 

Every beauty garden needs some aloe vera. Aloe vera is well-known for its healing properties. It is grown for use in balms, lip balms and lotions to treat dry, burnt or chapped skin or to work into dry summer hair. Most people don’t realize that aloe vera is still used today to treat radiation burns.

You can grow these herbs in your very own home and begin making your own beauty products today. 

 

This article was written by Sally Rodriquez of Guest Post U. Sally writes all about natural health and wants you to know that she is planning on pursuing an online nursing degree. Guest Post U www.guestpostu.com, provides free writing services in exchange for advertising. I've found the articles to be well written and researched.

Eco-Friendly Toys

Keeping a child entertained is never easy, as parents and guardians have to avoid exposing a baby to dangerous pieces or chemical substances that are on practically everything. Besides this, they have to make sure the toys have a positive influence on growth and development. However, you can avoid most pitfalls by going for eco-friendly toys for toddlers. Here is what you need to know.

Best Plastic Toys
Most toys found in our homes are made of plastics, because parents find them cheap, easy to clean or maintain, durable and to some extent, we can say that it’s because they're easily found in kids' playstores. However, there are harmful substances like PVC, VOC and lead found in most plastic toys, not excluding the highly regarded brands. Although it takes an expert to identify the safe to use brands, there are many websites and publications that can help you make the right decisions when it comes to plastic play toys.

Going Green
Since babies like putting things into their mouths, parents should consider toys made from recycled or natural wood. Talk about killing two birds with one stone; entertaining your kids in a safe way and promoting environmental concerns. Sustainable wood products especially those made from organic rubber are not only safe but also durable.
Organic Cloth or Plush
In terms of the safest play pieces, organic toys or plush ones are among the top brands. However, parents shouldn't overlook the fact that some brands made from organic, hemp, cotton or wool contain chemicals and dyes that can harm a child. Guardians should look out for certified organic cloth and plush eco-friendly toys for babies.

Battery-Free toys
Although battery-powered toys excite most babies, they should be discouraged, because they hinder creative minds. Baby toys should encourage them to do things on their own, given that when children pushes, pulls or moves objects around, it helps improve their eye-hand coordination. Batteries have toxic metal compounds dangerous to the health of little ones, and they also degrade our environment, as they're among the hardest to dispose of waste materials.

Toy-Buying Tips
There are many ways to make sure that children have minimal exposure to harmful toys. Going natural is a way of maintaining safe standards. However, you should go the extra mile to read labels carefully and avoid those with toxic finishes. You can also convert things like empty boxes, and other safe to use objects in your home, or simply buy fewer practical, durable and safe to use toys that can be passed down from generation to generation as a measure of minimizing exposure to harmful toys. The idea is to look for the best alternatives when you want to keep babies entertained. On the other hand, you're better off playing with your kids as well, as this not only helps develop stronger bonds, but also allows the child to play under your supervision, which is the best way to keep them safe while playing.

The end result of any play time should be a healthier baby and this task is always simpler when the choice is safe, healthy and eco-friendly.

Black and Into Green Readers, if you liked this post, you have Joseph Rodriguez of Guest Post U to thank. Joseph writes about parenting tips and child development. His recent work is on his plans to earn an online mba in healthcare management. It is good to know that there are environmentally friendly healthcare administrators in the college pipeline! If you occasionally need support with your writing and blogging, you too can use the services of Guest Post U, The University of Great Content at www.guestpostu.com. The business model is that you get great free writing, in exchange for linking to the service and an ad, in addition to helping a college student. A fair exchange in my opinion.

Fruit Foraging Tips

 

It's harvest time and some harvests may be available to you even if you weren't involved in the planting. Occasionally, I'm surprised to find a delectable yield of luscious fruits in the most unusual places. Parking lots, growing wildly along the fence of an abandoned house or in the case of the first photo below, as part of an intentional or unintentional commercial landscape. Before you start your harvesting of these urban delights, you must read this informative foraging article by You Grow Girl blogger, Gayla Trail. If you do forage, please share your finds with Black And Into Green.

 

 

A clump of cherry tomato plants and a pear tree near an alley dumpster.


 

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