Bringing Balance Back: Beauty Products from the Kitchen

Bringing Balance Back is a monthly series on Diehard Foodie, by Kat Beck. Kat is my sister, best friend, role model and go-to expert for all healthy living outside of nutrition. We work together to support and better each other. I give her advice on healthy eating, and she gives me so much advice on other aspects of healthy living (that I sometimes neglect!) My hope is she will become your guru on these aspects, and bring more balance in your life as well. Let me come clean by admitting I used to blog about beauty products and since I started living more holistically, I haven’t purchased any of those products again. A couple of years ago I started a more holistic lifestyle with my food selection (peace out lean cuisines) and that naturally led me to do it with my beauty products. Actually, I bet you already have most of the ingredients I use for my current skin care routine as they come from the kitchen.

Here's how I use products from the kitchen to keep my skin feeling so fresh and so clean clean: exfoliate: baking soda + coconut oil (I do this about 3x week) spot treatment: honey + cinnamon (I apply whenever a zit starts to form) mask treatment: greek yogurt + lemon juice + turmeric for 20 minutes (I've seen avocado used in this mask recipe here but honestly I love avocados too much to put them on my face) makeup remover: coconut oil (Nothing works better for mascara and it deeps cleans your skin at the same time)

My daily moisturizer is a mix of sweet almond oil + essential oils = melaleuca, frankincense, cedarwood, geranium, and lavender. I call the blend “Forever Young” as the combination does wonders for calming irritated skin, healing acne, and reducing wrinkles, scars, and age spots. I love using sweet almond oil as the carrier oil since it assists in removing the appearance of dark circles and under eye bags. It is also SUPER moisturizing as it is jam packed with Vitamin E, monounsaturated fatty acids, proteins, potassium, and zinc.

Basically, my skin has been really grateful since I made the switch to using more natural products and essential oils. I’ve noticed a difference in how my skin feels and I’m wearing less makeup at 30 than I was when I was 25. I created this little shop to share my love of essentials oils with everyone. Check it out if you’d like me to make a blend for you or a friend: Bella Earth Essentials

Namaste y’all, Kat Beck