Natural Beauty with BeautyCraft App

Save a few shekels and make your own simple hair and skincare products with the BeautyCraft App.

Fancy trying your hand at making beauty products at home, using natural ingredients bought in your local shops? BeautyCraft is an illustrated beauty product recipe book app for iPhone and iPod touch that can show you how…

The app contains lots of recipes to teach you how to craft your own simple hair and skincare products. Each recipe is simple to follow and uses only natural ingredients. Here’s a couple of their step-by-step recipes for you to try at home.

Revitalising Banana & Strawberry Face Mask
Banana moisturises and soothes while strawberries cleanse and exfoliate your skin. This face mask can give you a bright, healthy complexion for summer.

You’ll need:
• 1 banana
• 5 strawberries
• 1 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp natural yoghurt

Step 1. Wash your strawberries properly, particularly if your fruit is not organic. Mash up the banana and strawberries in a bowl. You can either do this by hand or in a food processor.

Step 2. In a double boiler, gently warm the honey so that it becomes slightly runnier. Be very careful not to heat the honey too much and keep a close eye on it – you only want to warm it gently, as you could easily hurt yourself if it becomes too hot. Test the warmed honey on a small patch of skin on the inside of your wrist to check the temperature. If it’s too hot, allow it to cool to a comfortable temperature before using.

Step 3. Mix the warmed honey and yoghurt in with the fruit mash.

Step 4. Pull back your hair and wash your face and neck, so they’re clean before you apply the face mask. Apply the mask all over your face and neck, avoiding your eyes and mouth. Leave on for 10-15 minutes. Use this time to relax properly. Wash the mask off and pat your skin dry.

Storage and Use: It is recommended that you apply this face mask no more than 1-2 times a week. This face mask is best used immediately, but will keep in the fridge for 1-2 days.

Smoothing Milk and Brown Sugar Scrub
The best way to kick start your summer DIY beauty regime is by giving yourself a thorough body scrub, giving a skin a gorgeous glow.

Milk contains lactic acid which is thought to dissolve the proteins that hold together dead skin cells, as well as gently exfoliating and cleansing the skin. Brown sugar is a source of Vitamin B and helps to scrub away dead skin cells.

You’ll need:
• 100g brown sugar
• 25ml full fat milk
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Step 1. Mix together the sugar, honey and oil until you have a crumbly, sticky mixture.

Step 2. Add in the milk, a little bit at a time, until your scrub is smooth but not runny. Be careful not to add too much milk as the mixture can quickly get too thin.

Step 3. Pour the mix into an airtight, sterilised jar or container. When applying, scrub firmly over your body in a circular motion, avoiding the face. Rinse properly with a washcloth and pat yourself dry with a towel.

Storage and Use: It is recommended that you use this sugar scrub no more than 1-2 times a week. It will keep in the fridge for 1-2 days.

If you want to learn more about natural beauty, download BeautyCraft app for iPhone and iPod touch. Visit www.herbhedgerow.co.uk/app.html for more information.

Guest post by Herb & Hedgerow, developers of BeautyCraft.