Go green this Valentine’s Day and give yourself a homemade facial and hair treatment.

What You’ll Need

• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp organic yogurt
• 1-2 tbsp honey

Hot Oil Hair Treatment
This treatment will give your hair lots of shine and hydration, and help reduce any split ends. To begin, wet your hair and microwave 2 tbsp of olive oil for 20 seconds. Massage the oil into your hair from scalp to the ends and then tie it back. While this treatment is working let’s start the facial.

Hydrating Facial (Scrub & Mask)
The facial consist of a scrub and a mask that will rehydrate your skin a give it a beautiful glow.

For the scrub, mix 2 tbsp of olive oil and 2 tsp of salt together. Apply this to your face in gentle circular motions concentrating on your cheeks, forehead and chin. After about 1 minute, rinse off the scrub with warm water – this will open our pores and help the mask to fully penetrate.

For the mask, mix 2tbsp of yogurt and 1-2 tbsp of honey, apply to your face and leave on 15 minutes.

The honey acts as a humectant that draws moisture from the air and locks it into your skin. Honey also helps to soothe, repair, and heal skin. The yogurt will even out and brighten your complexion.

After wards, hop in the shower and rinse your hair and face. If you have any olive oil and salt left over, you can scrub any part of your body that feels dry such as your elbows or knees.

Once your done in the shower – you’ll have an instant healthy glow and shine for Valentine’s Day.

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Congratulations to MommytoMonster and excellentgerwa for winning the Maggie handbags giveaway!

Thanks to everyone for participating, I really appreciated all your responses on what you doing to make our environment green. I promise more giveaways and more prizes soon!! xx

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It may surprise you that the average adult is exposed to over 168 synthetic chemicals each day from cosmetic products. Many of these chemicals are known to be toxic and can cause serious health problems like cancer, infertility, birth defects, and skin conditions like acne, eczema, and rosacea.

Choosing natural cosmetics are a great choice for both the environment and your skin. Read the rest of this entry »

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Stephanie Bellomo, an independent designer from Queens NY, creates fabulous handbags and accessories hand sewn from reclaimed leather. Her handbags are made from recycled leather, biodegradable faux-leather, and organic cotton.

All handbags and accessories are unique and original designs – a perfect companion to your everyday wardrobe to provide a pop of color, a deluxe adornment for your special night, or an eclectic addition to your style.

You can view all her entire eco-handbag collection in her Etsy store The Bungaloe Market.

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Enter to win 1 of 2 recycled handbags from Maggie Bags! 2 winners will be chosen at random. Good luck! xo

Contest Ends: Jan 31, 2010

Contest Prizes:

• 1 Tote (pink)
• 1 Backpack (2-tone)

To enter:

1. Tell me what you are doing to be green, ex: do you recycle? have you switched your beauty product over to organic? Leave a comment on Facebook or YouTube:

• http://facebook.com/glamology
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Umg2KkR59c

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The global demand for cars has left behind an abundance of surplus man-made materials. Each year millions of yards of seat belt webbing are rejected for the slightest defect, making the strap useless to the auto maker. The straps end up in our landfills and waste dumps.

Maggie bags has given new life to the unwanted fabric destined for a landfill – by creating a line of sophisticated and trendy handbags. The handbags are made from woven polyester strips and having been originally designed as the life saving seatbelt in your car, the material is of the highest quality and made to last.

The handbags styles range from Totes, Messenger, Hobo, Laptop Bag, Backpack, Diaper Bag, Carry-On, and come in a variety of colors and 2-tones.

I really love these handbags and even more so that they are made from recycled materials. I would like to see more green technology like this being applied to the fashion industry and divert unusable products from our landfills and create sensational products.

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There are few things more frustrating than trying to find the right products that work for your skin. There is simply too many options available and too much misleading and inaccurate product advertising. But fret not, your quest for the perfect skin care routine just got a little easier.

mySkin.com is a beauty database which gathers product reviews and ratings from real people with similar skin concerns. The website allows you to discover products that work well for your skin type. You start by entering information about your skin’s unique profile and then you are presented with a list of recommended products. There’s also a great user forum where you can ask skin care questions and discuss product experiences.

In addition to recommendations, you also get a personalized skin assessment report which outlines detailed information about your specific skin type, what sorts of ingredients to avoid and other useful bits of information.

What I would really like to see added to mySkin is a method to exclude products based on hazardous ingredients like parabens or fragrance and a method to sort by characteristics such as eco-friendly packaging or vegan.

I liked that in addition to conventional beauty products, the database also contains organic and natural products from some of my favorite companies like 100% Pure and Eminence Organics.

mySkin is invite-only at the moment but you can register with the special code “glamology“.

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Products labeled as “green” are everywhere these days. As much as we might want to be healthier – advertisers will do whatever they can to get us to buy their product; going as far as promoting it as organic, natural, green or environmentally friendly, when it really isn’t.

The EcoLuxeLife was founded by three women on a personal quest who understand how misleading and confusing purchasing natural products can be. In an effort to impart what they’ve learned; they created an open platform for others to share what they know.

The EcoLuxeLife is an online store of green beauty, fashion, baby, pet, home, and food products. Their goal is to bring awareness and help you find and evaluate new products and services to decide what is right for you. Most people want to make efforts to use healthier products, reduce the use of chemicals and be kind to the planet, and The EcoLuxeLife makes that a much easier.

Do you like samples?
If your new to green products or just like to try new things out, you can purchase a membership with The EcoLuxeLife and you’ll receive a package four times per year stuffed with a range of fabulous eco-friendly products. Each package is season appropriate and they also pack in some extra surprises too!

Sydne, from The EcoLuxeLife, was kind enough to extend a 20% discount off their membership fee to my readers, just use the coupon code “Glamology”.

Be sure to follow them on Twitter and Facebook.

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In Summer our skin looks great but in Winter it feels dry, uncomfortably, and itchy. Here’s 10 tips to help you have healthy skin all Winter long.

1. Drink lots of water
Don’t let you skin go thirsty, hydrate it by drinking lots of water. Try carrying a metal bottle (BPA free) with you at all times. Drinking herbal teas are also great, especially when it’s really cold outside.

2. Use a humidifier
Put moisture back into the air with a humidifier which will help your skin remain supple instead of cracked and dry. Look for a cold mist humidifier and fill it with distilled water, as this will help reduce bacteria from forming.

3. Exfoliate face and body
Don’t forget to exfoliate your face and body at least once a week. Scrubs help to remove old dry skin cells and allow the body to breath and better absorb moisture.

4. Use an oil based moisturizer
This will help nourish your skin and protect it from moisture loss. I like using an oil serum at night, in particular Argan oil since it it light, very moisturizing and great for all skin types including oily and acne prone skin.

5. Wear sunscreen
Remember to wear sunscreen all year round as it will protect your skin from aging. UVA rays are strong from summer to winter, but UV rays are actually more intense in the winter due to the glare from the snow. Protect your skin from the elements by applying an SPF-30 every morning.

6. Wear gloves
Don’t expose your hands to the cold. Wear a good quality pair of gloves that doesn’t irritate the skin to keep your hands dry and warm.

7. Eat flaxseed oil
Flaxseed oil can is great to moisturize your body from the inside. It’s rich in fatty acids and can do a lot for your overall health. I like adding it to my morning smoothies – yum!

8. Take an oil bath
Add a little jojoba oil or sweet almond to your bath water to nourish you skin. You can also add some dry milk powder with a few drops of essential oils as an alternative.

9. Lower the blow dryer setting
Hot air dries out your scalp and can irritate your skin. Lower the setting on your blow dryer and hot iron or try the tousled wavy style for the winter.

10. Don’t lick your lips
Saliva is acidic and will dry out and chap your lips. Remember to keep an organic lip balm in your pocket or purse and apply it regularly. Use only lip products that don’t contain petrolatum (petroleum jelly) or other petroleum based ingredients as these nasty chemicals will actually dry your lips even more! Learn how to make organic lip balm at home with only a few ingredients.

Have a happy, safe, and hydrated Winter season!

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Many conventional beauty products contain dozens of toxic chemicals. Lip Balms often have petroleum-based ingredients such as Petrolatum, also known as petroleum jelly. It has no nutrient value for the skin and can interfere with the body’s own natural moisturizing mechanism, leading to dryness and chapping. It often creates the very conditions it claims to alleviate. Manufacturers use petrolatum because it is unbelievably cheap.

This DIY organic lip balm is free of any toxic ingredients or preservatives, is very inexpensive to make, and keeps your lips well moisturized.

Ingredients
2 oz Beeswax
1 oz Organic Coconut Oil (or Olive Oil)
5-10 drop Essential Oil (ex: Peppermint)

Directions
Grate beeswax into a large Pyrex cup and add coconut oil. Fill a large pot with a small amount of water and heat at medium/low. Place Pyrex cup into water and stir to melt fully. Carefully remove cup from water and let cool a minute. Poor into a small glass container and add essential oil and stir. Let cool for an hour or so.

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