Beauty Treatments with Thanksgiving Leftovers

We Won!

LOTD and $1000....Thank you, Squidoo!

Doing the happy dance with pie on my face : )

High in Vitamin A (that's what's in betacarotene that gives pumpkin their orange color), a pumpkin facial exfoliates and rejuvenates your skin, exactly what you need after a long weekend of cooking and shopping!

Since leftover pumpkin pie is rarely a problem, you can make your facial from leftover fresh pumpkin or from an extra can of pumpkin pie filling.

Pumpkin Facial with Fresh Pumpkin
Take 1 medium slice of fresh pumpkin with skin removed.

Cut into small chunks and puree until smooth in a blender or food processor.

Add 1 egg yolk and 2/3 cup milk. Blend again until egg is well incorporated.

Apply the mixture to a clean face and neck, keeping away from the eye area. Leave this mask on for 20 minutes before rinsing with lukewarm water.

Pumpkin Facial with Canned Pumpkin
For overly oily skin, mix canned pumpkin with enough lemon juice to make a nice paste that will spread smoothly on your skin.

For dry skin, mix canned pumpkin with enough milk to make a nice paste that will spread smoothly on your skin.

Apply the mixture to a clean face and neck, keeping away from the eye area. Leave this mask on for 20 minutes before rinsing with lukewarm water.

Cranberries contain a power house of healing properties. They have rejuvenating and skin-peeling effects. Cranberries help to kill bacteria so are useful for treating blemishes and breakouts. They are a rich source of flavonoids, polyphenols, vitamin C and natural fruit acids. They have various antimicrobial effects, and have been used historically in folk medicine to help improve eczema and other skin rashes and disorders."

It's best to use fresh cranberries for the following recipes, however, there's a great use for left over cranberry sauce...a delicious cranberry drink to sip while enjoying your spa treatments!

Cranberry Drink

Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon of Cranberry Sauce

2 Tablespoons of Cranberry Cocktail (use the frozen blend found in the cans in the freezer section)

Sparkling White Wine, or Sparkling White Grape Juice chilled

Directions:
Put in the Cranberry Sauce first, then the Cranberry Cocktail, then either the alcohol or the juice. Mix thoroughly before serving. Serves 4.

Cranberry Lip Gloss

Provides flavor and a hint of color.

Mix 10 fresh cranberries, 1 tbsp of sweet almond oil, 1 tsp of honey and 1 drop of vitamin E oil together in a microwave-safe bowl.

Microwave for a couple of minutes or until the mixture just begins to boil.

Stir well and gently crush the berries. Cool mixture for five minutes and then strain through a fine sieve to remove all the fruit pieces. Stir again and set aside to cool completely.

When cool, transfer into a small portable plastic container or tin. Ta da! Your very own lip balm...your lips will thank you!

Cranberry Facial Scrub

Blend 1/2 cup raw or frozen cranberries, 1 teaspoon almond oil, 2 teaspoons raw sugar, 4-5 drops orange essential oil and 1 tablespoon oatmeal.

Gently press onto a clean face and neck, using your fingers to roll the product on the skin instead of scrubbing the skin.

Rinse with luke warm water and moisturize.

Note: Get good quality orange essential oil at a health food store (or below). Orange is known for its ability to lift your spirits. Almond oil is also available at health food stores.

Like pumpkin, sweet potatoes are full of Vitamin A and antioxidants. They are excellent for deeply nourishing and moisturizing the skin. Many facial topical treatments include ingredients that are derived from vitamin A, which aides in production of new skin cells helping to keep our skin soft, smooth and resilient.

If you are cooking sweet potatoes and adding a lot of ingredients for your Thanksgiving dinner (such as marshmallows), consider setting aside a couple of cups for this facial.

Sweet Potato Facial

Ingredients:
2 ounces cooked mashed sweet potatoes
1 tbs oats (oatmeal)
1 tbs raw sugar
1/2 tsp olive or almond oil (or any oil you have on hand)
pinch of nutmeg

Directions:
Mix all of the ingredients together to form a thick like consistency. Adjust the ingredients if needed, add more oats to make it thicker or add more liquid (water or milk) to thin it out. Apply this mixture to face and neck, leave on for about 5-8 minutes. Use warm wash cloths to gently remove the bulk of the paste, then rinse with warm water, and gently pat skin dry.

Eye Rejuvenator

Take two thin slices of sweet potato and place over the eyes. Leave on for 20 minutes. (You can do this with any of the facials listed here). Helps restore the eyes and make them shiny!

Want super silky skin? This green bean mixture will make you smooth to the touch. Feel free to put it on your elbows, feet, heels, hands. The yogurt is calming to irritated skin. As with all of these recipes, try a little bit on the inside crease of your elbow before applying to larger areas.

Before using your left over green beans, wash in hot water (if they contain butter). Pick out the onions, but if you have added almonds...leave them in!

Green Bean Skin Treatment

Grab a handful of cooked or fresh green beans and mash/blend them up.

Add a bit of plain yogurt and mix together until it becomes a lotion.

Massage this green mixture into your skin and let it sit for 10 minutes.

Rinse with lukewarm water and pat dry. You will notice smoother skin almost instantly!

Potatoes help release inflammation that shows up in the eyes and feet (such as swollen feet from too much standing in the kitchen or shopping). It also helps heal cracked heels. The cooked potatoes retains heat longer than just a normal foot soak. May I dare suggest listening to the Monster Mash while soaking?

Eye Restorer

Slice two thin slices of potatoes and place over the eyes to reduce puffiness (associated with overeating and overshopping!) Can be done with any other facial.

Foot Soak

Try your leftover mashed potatoes, thinned down with warm water as a foot soak. Or use dehydrated potatoes and mix according to directions, then add extra warm water to thin down. Soak feet for 20 minutes.

Bonus: This same concept can be used with Oatmeal. Oatmeal will soothe and deeply restore dry, cracked and painful feet.

While doing my research on this topic, I came across the following use of turkey fat. I'll bet the pilgrim ladies did this, but not sure I could handle the smell. I'm willing for you to try it, though! I've added a place for you to leave your comments about it.

Turkey Moisturizer

Elena Shell, a New York based facialist says:
"Take the fat trimmed from a turkey, heat it in the microwave, and use the oil that seeps out of it as an alternative to face cream.

It's good for very dry skin. If you're having Thanksgiving up in a mountain somewhere and forgot all of your beauty products, you can use this for a few days.

Mixing that same fat with sweet potatoes and applying it as a mask also makes for an amazing, nutritive facial, because the fat moisturizes while the veggies provide vitamins."