DIY time!

I had a facial once that left my skin dried out and abrasive for three days. It was a honey facial. Let me point out here that honey is great for spot-clearing a pimple because of its antibacterial properties. But a whole face slathered with honey? In the winter? Uh-uh. Yet, this place loves honey, uses it all four seasons. The word honey is in the spa’s name, honey is in loads of treatments. Honey, honey, honey.

What’s up with that?

Or what’s with the whole food-in-treatments trend? Once I allowed myself to be covered in chocolate. It was supposed to make me feel luxurious as well as being abundant in antioxidants, good for reigning in free radicals, pollution cleansing, protection against the sun and to revivify the skin after a night of too many margaritas. It’s a huge trend—or at least it was when everyone was playing the game of How Many Different Ways Can We indulge Ourselves With Chocolate, but is it worth it?

You can save yourself some bucks if you employ another trend, DIY—do it yourself at home! You probably knew cucumber has been used for ages, especially to eliminate puffy eyes. Easy enough to do yourself. Green tea is also used in many a pricey spa treatment, under the eyes and for many other uses. But did you know cranberry is a powerful antioxidant? Especially its skin of the fruit.

Then there’s mashed watermelon to tighten skin in a pinch, just like tomatoes do. (Avoid the zits, however, because it may sting. And, by the way, did you know that bread soaked in milk is good to vanquish those zits, too?) These are all tips I learned by way of Rona Berg’s “Fast Beauty, 1,000 quick fixes" book, which I bought at the ISPA conference in Las Vegas last year, where Rona spoke and which was tons of fun. Keep the book in your bathroom and check out Rona’s website, which is listed in my Good Links list.

The book also gave me the greatest DIY tip for getting rid of chapped lips, which I’ve inexplicably been plagued with since May. Rona says take a soft toothbrush, apply toothpaste and exfoliate the lips by. . .lightly brushing them. Then follow with ONLY these lips balms: Vaseline, or any petroleum-based product; shea butter; or beeswax. No Carmex or Blistex, as that will only exacerbate it the condition.

Finally, I have to give a shout out to my superbadfriend Jessie, who responded to my previous colonics post by noting that she’s about to DIY her colon with some herbs by Blessed Herbs. I’ve never tried it but Jess is sold, and from the looks of the gag-provoking photos, seems like it'd be a “productive” purchase.

And back to the more socially acceptable DIY facial and body topic, if you’re not into pulling out the mixing bowls and gooping up the bathroom with homemade remedies, check out products by Eminence skin care line. They’re a Hungarian company and have been in the business since for over 40 years and their line is huge—all handmade and using organic ingredients.