DIY Life

Join me each week as I explore the naturally aromatic side of DIY. Helpful recipes for your "scentual" pleasure: from essential oils, herbs, and other botanicals to soap-making, body care products and other useful blends.

Last week, you learned how to pamper yourself, some friends or your mom with a home pedicure. Recipes for foot soak, foot scrub and foot butter helped to set the stage for a day of feet-lovin' fun. Use those newly neat feet to gather supplies for the best home facial you can give -- just in time for Mother's Day.

After the break, I'll share recipes for making your own facial cleanser, face scrub, facial mask and face oil, ideas for packaging them as gifts, and tips for choosing oils and essential oils based on your skin type.

Did you know that petroleum jelly has been around since the late 1800's? It can be used as a lubricant for all sorts of little jobs around the house. I use my little jar of petroleum jelly to lubricate the annoying hinges on the doors of my bathroom sink, for coating my chapped lips in the winter, and even dab a little on my toddler's bottom when she gets a little too red.

Gomestic user Darlene McFarlane has compiled an awesome list of uses for petroleum jelly. She writes about everything from removing water rings on wood to using jelly to shine your shoes. How about using Vaseline to protect cuts and scrapes? It works just as well as Neosporin, in my opinion. It works wonders as a moisturizer, especially if you have sensitive skin like I do. I get really dry skin on my hands and feet, so I slather them with a layer of petroleum jelly and put on socks, allowing the jelly to be absorbed into my feet overnight. Voila, in the morning I have nice soft footsies. I do the same thing with my hands. Yeah, I know, it isn't the most romantic thing in the world to do, but I can get away with it on weeknights since my husband works second shift and I am sleeping by the time he gets home. Check out the rest of what Darlene has to say, I am sure you will find her list just as useful as I do.

Olive oil is great. Not only is it heart-healthy in foods, it works well as a light moisturizer for skin and a general lubricant for things like wood. Because it's one of those things I always try to keep around the house, I was glad to see this article by Curbly poster Chrisjob: a list of 25 Alternative Uses for Olive Oil.

One of my favorite tips is #11, Exfoliate your face and hands. Rub your skin with olive oil, then scrub with sugar or coarse salt, and rinse. I've been doing this for years. It always works, and is a good alternative moisturizer for people who don't want to have chapped skin on their hands, but dislike the feel of hand lotion. One caveat: if you're prone to dry skin or hangnails, skip the salt to avoid stinging. Plain granulated sugar works just fine. You can rinse if you'd like to leave a layer of oil on your skin, or wash if you'd prefer your hands to be a little less slick. I usually wash, then dab some oil around my cuticles, as in tip #3.

While a few of these suggestions would work with almost any oil, most are best kept to olive oil; however, since taste isn't an issue, any inexpensive olive oil will work just fine. And in the case of a handful of these ideas, while you can use olive oil, there are other solutions that are probably better. I'd use a plain graphite pencil or a colorless wax candle to unstick a zipper before I'd put oil on it.

Every wonder how to avoid chapped hands after heavy-duty cleaning or gardening? There's an easy solution: liberally apply hand cream to hands before you pull on garden or thick dish gloves. As you work up a sweat doing your task, your hands will indulge in a spa treatment. The added bonus is that you will be more likely to wear gloves around cleaners you may not think damage your skin, like floor cleaners; thus, keeping your hands and skin happy and healthy all the time.

Also, run your fingernails across a bar of soap before heading off to the garden. The soap will prevent dirt from sinking into the depths of your nails and it provides an easy way to clean your hands afterwards. Keep your hands looking as good as your garden.

Tall and tan and young and lovely. Seems like only yesterday you were sporting your coolest sunglasses, cruising the coast in your convertible, hair blowing in the wind with your darkest tan ever.

And now it's ... well, so faux pas to have a real tan. Even you certainly don't want to be the whitest person on the block. So here's everything you need to know to look like your a member of the local beach club - without the typical streaks associated with a fake tan.

1. Exfoliate, exfoliate, exfoliate. Yes, you need to get your skin smooth (that also means shave your legs) or you'll be stuck with elbows and knees that look like you've got a bad patch of orange eczema or streaks that look like make you look like you haven't bathed in weeks.
   
2. Moisturize. Your self-tanner will go on much easier if your skin is moisturized. Believe me, this step actually makes a huge difference ... it helps your self-tanner sink in more evenly.
   
3. Apply SPF. I know what you are thinking but the truth is most people forget to do this and really the reason you are giving yourself a fake tan is to protect yourself from the sun.