Scandle-ous Holiday Gift Guides

If you can't brave the store crowds on Friday, check out these gifting ideas, most can be purchased online. There are a few that have special offers/coupon codes, even a Scandle-ous one.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!


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Found some great holiday gift guides? Let us know....

Get ready, get set, SHOP!

Okay T-minus 3 days to Black Friday!!! Do you have your shopping lists and coupons ready to go? While Friday's official start to the holiday shopping season can be an absolute nightmare to some, don't forget, there are some natural ways to curb that holiday stress.

Throw some licorice in your bag before you set out. Licorice protects against the damaging effects of stress, reduces inflammation and boost the immune system. Valerian relaxes the nervous system and supports restful sleep. Passion fruit contains anti-anxiety properties. Kava is another great, natural stress reliever, it is used for anxiety, insomnia and as a over-all relaxant.

If you are going to be out and about all day, mix these ingredients in a small, leak-proof container and keep on hand to combat holiday fatigue and stress:

Mix:

• 1 tsp. of valerian rhizome.
• 1 tsp. of licorice root.
• 1 tsp. of siberian ginseng root.
• 1 tsp. of kava root.

Take one teaspoon every 3 or 4 hours.

Got any pre or post holiday shopping tips? Let us know.......

Herbal Dandruff Solutions

If there are flakes on your shoulders and it's not snowing out, you may be suffering from winter dandruff. I know that with the weather abuse and heaters on, I tend to suffer from the winter "flakes." There are shampoos on the market that are supposed to cure dandruff, but the only problem is that many of those shampoos contain chemicals that strip my hair of moisture, color (which I pay a ton for), and other goodies. So here are some natural solutions to get rid of dandruff, while preserving your tresses:

FENUGREEK is a common ingredient in Indian cuisine. But the seeds have also been used as an effective hair-health treatment throughout the subcontinent for thousands of years.

Crushed Fenugreek Scalp Treatment

Ingredients:

•2 tablespoons fenugreek seeds
•2 cups water
Directions:

Crush fenugreek seeds with a mortar and pestle and soak them in water overnight. The next day, apply the mixture to the scalp and massage well. Leave in for 10-15 minutes. Finish by washing hair with soap-nut (available at most natural food stores) or a mild shampoo. For maximum benefit, use this treatment twice a week.

Fenugreek and Yogurt Scalp Treatment

Ingredients:

•2 tablespoons fenugreek seeds
•1 cup plain yogurt
Directions:

Soak fenugreek seeds in yogurt overnight. The next day, apply the mixture to the scalp and leave in for 30 minutes. Finish by washing hair thoroughly with a mild shampoo. Repeat 2-3 times a week.

Wash hair with witch hazel and lime juice to fight dandruff, naturally.

WITCH HAZEL is a natural astringent with a wide variety of topical uses, from treating dandruff to bruises and insect bites.

Sweet potato, patato!!

It is now less than a week till Thanksgiving and your fridge is starting to fill up. We have covered just about every fall favorite at-home beauty treatment but there are still a few foods in your fridge you haven't use.

A recent study named sweet potatoes as one of the most important food secrets for beautiful skin. The beta carotene in the sweet potato can aid in a smoother complexion and reduction of fine lines within 10 weeks.

Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of potassium, riboflavin, folic acid and vitamins A, C, and B6. With all these antioxidants, sweet potatoes are effective skin protectors.

You can even use the water leftover from boiling your sweet potatoes as a soak to relieve joint pain and arthritis.

While you can eat your sweet potatoes on turkey day, you can also apply this amazing sweet potato mask before your guests arive:

Ingredients:

• 1 small sweet potato
• 1 tablespoon beer (the hops in beer are known to have a relaxing, cleansing effect on the skin)

Instructions:

• Peel and cube the sweet potato and boil it for 10 minutes (don't forget to save that water for a nice joint relaxing treatment later), drain
• Smash the boiled potato then add the beer and mix well
• Apply a thick layer to your face and neck for 20 minutes
• Rinse with warm water and apply your moisturizer
  

Got any sweet potato beauty treatments? Let us know......

An apple a day keeps the dermatologist away

Pumpkin pie, pecan pie and don't forget the apple pie are all staples of the holiday season dinner table. But did you know you can use apples to tighten your skin? So don't throw those leftover apples away!!

Apples are natural skin tighteners. They are also a good conditioner and toner because they have vitamin C, which has been shown to protect and repair skin cells, without the drying effect of citrus fruits such as lemon and grapefruit.

For a tightening and blemish reducing treatment, try an apple facial:

Ingredients:

• Pulp from 1 ripened apple
• 1/2 teaspoon of honey

Directions:

• Mash the pulp into a fine paste
• Add honey and mix
• Apply evenly to face, avoid your eye area
• Let the mask sit for 10-15 minutes, then rinse with lukewarm water

Got any apple beauty treatments to share? Let us know.......

Pamper your skin with pecans

Thanksgiving is right around the corner!! We have covered pumpkin and cranberries but we cannot forget about pecans. So while you are preparing that classic pecan pie, set some aside for a Sugar Honey Scrub.

Pecans contain vitamin E, zinc and magnesium, which are important ingredients for healthy skin. They protect skin cells from oxidative damage, provide nourishment to the skin and help smooth your skin texture.

This homemade Sugar Honey Scrub is sure to get your skin in tip-top shape for the winter party season. It exfoliates, moisturizes, nourishes and helps fight fine lines and wrinkles.

Sugar Honey Pecan Scrub

2 oz. of Brown or Raw Sugar
2 oz. of Crushed Pecans
1 Tbsp. of almond oil
1 Tsp. of honey
2-3 drops of lavender, rosemary, or citrus oil for scent

In a lukewarm shower, scrub the mixture in circular motions, let set for about 5 minutes, rinse.

Got any favorite pecan treatments? Let us know.......

Scandle-ous Holiday Gift Giving & More Reviews

All American Mommy Gift Ideas for Her




For a video on how to use your Scandle and other holiday gift-giving items, check out these videos. HandBookLive Holiday Gift Guide

Splendidly lemony

The scent of lemon can be found in products ranging from household cleaners to body fragrances and yes, beauty treatments. Just the scent of a lemon can awaken your senses, especially on a gloomy, cold winter's day but lemons are much more than a smell; they have been used in beauty regimes for centuries.

Lemons can be used in hair treatments, to restore shine and bounce, pedicures to revamp tired feet, skin care treatments to revive the skin, and they can even lighten age spots and discolorations.

For some great, at-home lemony treatments, follow the directions below, just don't use the bottled stuff. The real deal is much more effective as a treatment.

Lemon Hair Treatment:

Mix the juice of one lemon with one cup warm water and apply to hair.

Allow to remain for a few minutes, then rinse.

To exfoliate and treat age spots:

Gently rub a cut lemon and 1/2 teaspoon sugar granules over the skin for a few minutes.

Repeat at least once a week until the darkened areas fade.

Lemony Pedicure Treatment:

In a foot bath, combine:

1 cup lemon juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup milk

Enough water to fill the foot bath

Add a couple drops of your favorite essential oil

Soak feet for 15 minutes, then rinse with warm water.

Tell us your favorite lemony treatment.......

A Scandle-ous Friday!

Check out Marie Clair's sexy, sultry holiday gift giving in Massage Candle.

For a Scandle-ous experience, follow the tips in this review by The Next Big Thing.

Hybrid Mom's 100 Great Holiday Gifts from mom entrepreneurs is here. Check out some great holiday gift giving items for everyone on your list.

Skip the cookies, add it to your skin care!

Macadamia nuts are a staple in many sweet holiday baking goods but this delicious nut is much more than a baker's friend; it is a great beauty and waistline friend. Macadamias are teaming with fiber, monounsaturated fat and palmitoleic fatty acid, an omega-7 that helps fight weight gain.

Because of the nut's high oil content it is great for mature, dry and sun-damaged skin. Macadamia nut oil is soothing, nourishing and moisturizing; it is also easily absorbed into the skin. While the oil contains unique skin care properties not found in any other oil, the nuts also work in crushed form in scrubs.

For your at-home macadamia nut scrub, try this Grapefruit Spa Salt Glow.

You'll need:

• 1/2 cup fine mineral salts
• 1/2 cup dead sea salts (don't forget your Scandle's Dead Sea Salt Soak & Scrub)
• 8 oz. macadamia nut oil
• 40 drops ruby red grapefruit essential oil
• 20 drops lemon essential oil
• 10 drops ylang ylang essential oil
  

Directions:

• Mix essential oils into the macadamia nut oil in a large bowel/container
  
• Add your salts and mix well
• Apply evenly over entire body with your hands, a loofah or a towel
• Take a shower to rinse off your scrub
• This treatment is great as a pre-shave routine, just avoid any cuts or scraps on your skin

Got any great at-home Macadamia nut remedies or treatments? Let us know.......

Scandle Lotion Candle Holiday Spa Set | Review and Giveaway

Scandle Lotion Candle Holiday Spa Set | Review and Giveaway

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Tea-rific Treatments

Tea has proven its staying power! Research shows the multiple health benefits you get from drinking a cup of green, black, chamomile, peppermint, etc.

Along with its inner beauty, teas can help with your outer beauty too!

For some outer uses, try out these at-home tea recipes:

For hair:

To add shine and bounce to a drab do, try a tea rinse. Blondies use chamomile, brunettes use black tea, and reds use an orange tea.

Boil around 2 cups of water and add 2 bags of your tea and let them sit for about 10 minutes.

Shampoo and condition your hair, then add your tea treatment.

Leave the tea in for 10 minutes then rinse with luck-warm water.

Towel dry, then style.

To keep hair looking holiday ready, use the rinse once a week.

For feet:

The holiday season is here. It comes earlier and earlier ever year. Get your feet in tip-top perfection so they won't betray you in the checkout line.

To rejuvenate tired feet and easy into shopping mode try a peppermint tea foot soak.

Brew a strong cup of peppermint tea and to a bowl of hot water. Add you favorite salt or soak (Scandle's Dead Sea Salt Soak and Scrub is perfect because it is odorless, no funny scent combinations) and relax.

Got a tea-rific beauty treatment we should know about? Let us know............

Pass the cranberries, please

Cranberries are a staple of the holiday season. They are used in candles, potpourris and sprays to enhance the "holiday spirit." And let's not forget the important part they play on Thanksgiving.

Along with these holiday season elements, cranberries are a great source of antioxidants in the form of vitamins A and C. These festive fruits have become a staple in sugar scrubs used in spas during the winter season.

To create your own at-home cranberry body scrub, follow the directions below:

• Combine 1/2 cup organic cranberries, 1/2 cup organic pomegranate airls (seeds separated from the pulp), 3 tablespoons almond oil and 1 teaspoon glycerin in a food processor or blender
• Lightly blend until the mixture has a thick consistency, avoid blending it into a paste.
• Pour the mixture in a bowl
• Blend 1/4 cup dry oatmeal into a fine powder
• Add 2 tablespoon to your cranberry mixture
• For an added spice, add 2 drops of an essential oil (such as, orange, rosemary or lavender)
• Massage the mixture into your skin and gently exfoliate, let it set for around 10 minutes, then rinse with warm water.

Got any great cranberry skin treatments? Let us know...........

Today's Featured Indie Business at Indie Beauty.....

Scandle Body Candle. To view our profile, click here. Thank you for the support!!!!

Luxurious Lavender, more than just a sweet smell

Lavender is one of the most distinctive smells in nature. Spas utilize lavender in many of their treatments because it helps relax the mind and the body.

Not only does lavender smell oh-so-relaxing, it also has purposes beyond the spa realm. Lavender can be used as a natural antiseptic, to treat minor cuts and burns and to treat bee stings, allergies and acne; and also as an anti-inflammatory.

Some research shows if you apply lavender oil to your temples, it will soothe headaches. It is also used as an aid to sleep and three flower-heads, added to a cup of boiling water can be used as a relaxing and soothing bedtime drink.


For a do-it-yourself, luxurious lavender spa treatment, see below:

Lavender Bath treatment

Ingredients:

• 4 cups distilled water
• 3 tbs. jojoba oil
• 4 drops lavender essential oil
  

Mix all of the ingredient and store in a sealed container until you are ready to use it. Pour the entire contents under hot running water and soak.

For the ultimate lavender experience, follow up your soak with Scandle Candle in Lavender or a Scandle Essentials in the Calming Blend, which contains pure french lavender essential oil.

Got any at-home lavender spa treatments? Let us know....