Home Made Cosmetics

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Taken from "Things my Mother should have told Me",from The Best of Good Housekeeping Magazine 1922-1940

1.Skin Preparations. Rose Face Cream.(Keeps at least a year) Melt 2lb of best lard in a large basin placed over a saucepan of boiling water.When the fat has melted put in 2lbs of rose petals,preferably red rose petals & mix well. Allow to stand over the saucepan all day,stirring frequently.Then pass through a sieve. Next day melt the fat as before & add another pound of fresh petals. This process should be repeated two or three times. After straining through the sieve for the last time pour into small pots & cover with jam pot cover. (I guess you at least halve the quantities used !)

Rosemary Hair Lotion Chop up a few sprigs of rosemary very finely & add to 1/2 pint of cold water.Bring to the boil,simmer for 10 minutes & allow to cool. Filter & bottle. Alternatively,you can substitute,sage or peppermint for rosemary.

Elderflower Water.(apparently good for sunburn) Add 2lbs of elderflowers with cold soft water & bring to the boil.Allow to simmer for a few minutes.then allow to cool.Strain 7 bottle.

Elderflower Cream. Make as for Rose cream above.

Thyme FacePack. Mix 1/2 cup of yoghurt with 2/3 teaspoons of dried or fresh thyme. Leave it to permeate for 30 mins. Clean face & apply yoghurt facepack for 15 mins.Wash off with warm water.

Dandelion & Young Nettle FacePack. Pick dandelion & young nettle leaves early in the morning.Chop finely & put into a bowl with water & simmer until the leaves form a thick mash.Remove from saucepan & place on a piece of muslin.Clean the face normally & apply cool dandelion & nettle mash to face for 15 mins.Remove the pack with warm water.If used regularly there is a distinct improvement after 14 days.

Facial Steam. Into bowl put 2 handfuls of yarrow or other herbs & pour boiling water over them.Cover the head & bowl with a towel & let the steam cleanse & soften the skin for 10 minutes.

-- Chris (griffen@globalnet.co.uk), April 03, 1999

Answers

Now here is someone who has their priorities in order...

sheesh

[ gee Mabel , How DO you keep your face looking so youthful and soft as your slowly starving to death?? ]

-- (is this @ joke.?), April 03, 1999.


Hey,

You never know,you might even be able to earn some money from all this female vanity !

Want a receipe for talcum powder for babies's bottoms,a cough medicine,a herbal antiseptic lotion or a shampoo?

No,I guess you don't.

-- Chris (griffen@globalnet.co.uk), April 03, 1999.


Laugh, but once food/water/shelter is taken care of, the smallest luxuries may be very valuable. We can talk about starvation and shoveling bodies but you know, I don't want to disappoint everybody, but I think IF this is the Y2K case it'll mostly be in the biggest cities -- not necessarily that way for most of the country, from mid-sized cities to rural farmland. Eastern Europe's (mostly previous) black market makes it clear that small luxuries -- whether tobacco and coffee or levis and pretty scarves -- are valuable (and they have faced many similar challenges). Even assuming we all have planned well enough to have food et al., after a few months, either (a) it won't be THAT bad and some elements of society will be returning to normal, or (b) it WILL be that bad and by then most of the people without food will already be dead, at which point, some elements of society will be returning to normal (or trying, as they did after the first wave of the black death, when suddenly partying and luxuries became tremendously popular).

I'd be interested to hear the others you have Chris, especially the talcum powder one...

"Knowledge is never wasted."

PJ in TX

-- PJ Gaenir (fire@firedocs.com), April 03, 1999.


If we sign up to be AVON ladies, we can get some good barter items. Got roll on?

-- Homeschooling Grandma (Donna@glennet.com), April 03, 1999.

Yup, don't knock it. During WWII, when stockings with seams up the back were the norm (and panty hose unknown, even in theory), there developed a terrible shortage because any textile manufacturing capability went to uniforms, army blankets, parachutes, etc. Women who wanted to look well-dressed drew or painted "seams" on one another's legs.

A friend whose Russian cousin needed an extended hospital stay in Moscow sent her innumerable lipsticks, perfume samples, lotions and other fripperies so she could bribe her way to a shower and nice, sharp disposable needles for injections (rather than the resharpened, old-fashioned kind). And she's a paramedic!!! Another cousin, a provincial college professor, begged my friend to send her a couple of bras because they're unobtainable. Shoes are also valuable but almost always stolen by mail handlers.

It's almost always the little stuff that becomes valuable, as well illustrated by PJ, above.

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), April 04, 1999.



I seem to remember a thread just a few days ago with info from someone who had "been there" and told about how valuable a few luxeries are in times of great need. Everyone likes to feel human and sometimes it takes just a little "fluff" to do it!

Chris, keep posting! Some of us want your recipes!

-- linda (smitmom@hotmail.com), April 04, 1999.


Let me tell you something, if anybody is going to bust their backs for the little things the problems in this materialistic world will never stop. Cosmetics? Give me a break. Remember Vanity is one of the seven deadly.

-- (~~@~~.com), April 04, 1999.

I guess we have a couple of DGI's here.

Maybe,if I had positioned this post in a different way .....

How about..SEEKING A NEW CAREER IN THE MILLENIUM ???

OK.So you haven't got good manual skills or dexterity,do not possess a workshop full of tools and are not cut out to be a hairdresser or teacher.You have been using your administrative/cerebral skills this past twenty years & now suddenly those skills are not in demand.

One option that might be worth considering is producing a homemade product for sale.

However,several considerations need to be addressed before deciding on the nature of the product.

1.The skill levels necessary. 1a.Amount & cost of equipment needed.Can replacements be found if necessary? 2.The continuing availability of raw materials & consumables used in the process. 3.The amount of space needed for the production process. 4.The amount & nature of power sources in the production process. 5.The time taken to produce the goods 6.The demand for the product. 7.High profit margin

Ideally in the Post Y2K world,minimal & simplistic equipment should be required,a continuing supply of raw material should be available locally(within say cycling distance) or be capable of being bought in bulk very cheaply.Power consumption whether in terms of mechanical or heat energy should be minimal.Some products need to mature,like paper or cheese.Ideally the time from production to sale to be minimal.For those who are more use to using their brains as tools rather than hands,the skill levels should be low or easily learnt.Finally the motivation for buying the product should strongly appeal to practical/emotional side of the consumer.

Making simple herbal & floral cosmetics,lotions & remedies utilising home grown plants & easily obtainable bases such as lard & water is a project worth considering.Equipment is simple,just a couple of saucepans,a pestle & mortar,chopping board & knife,a sieve or strainer & a lot of jam jars.Oh yes,don't forget the Coleman stove.

If you run out of jam jars,revert to ancient practices when customers provided their own containers.

Demand & profit & competition.Traditionally cosmetic & medicinal preparations have had a very high profit margin.Scarcity is not likely to erode this.Demand,think of chapped hands from all that hand washing of clothes,the misery of untreated nappy rash,untreated cuts & abrasions,chapped lips,upset stomachs from eating all those beans and so on.Cosmetics...yep.Three months into next year & I bet many men would get a terrific psychological uplift by being able to get a can of their favourite beer locally.Women on the other hand may well find that some face cream or hair conditioner makes all the difference! Competition.If there are supply change problems,there will be no competition.

Skill Levels needed.Ability to garden & simmer liquids on stoves. .................................................................... I am NOT trying to persuade anyone to produce cosmetics as such.I posted these simple receipes to hopefully spark off ideas for self employment using the minimum of resources.By the same token,if people think that shampoo & face creams are among the necessities,I,for one, are not going to tell them they are wrong!

PS>Recipes will posted here later this evening.

-- Chris (griffen@globalnet.co.uk), April 04, 1999.


TALCUM POWDER FOR BABIES. Mix up the following: Talcum 87.5 gms Boric Acid 2.5 gms (It is the addition of Boric Acid that makes this good for babies) Magnesium Carbonate 5 gms Magnesiun stearate 5 gms

TOOTHPASTE Precipitated chalk 90 gms Sodium Bicarbonate 4 gms Oil of peppermint 1 drop Oil of Cloves 1 drop Oil of Cinnamon 1 drop PETROLEUM JELLY Mix up Beeswax 1 oz(melt) 1/2 cup of Mineral oil(cosmetic use)

NB.The above ingredients can be bought from a chemical supplier at usually a very low price.You may need to say that you are setting up a herbal business.You may be able to order them through your local chemist.

COUGH MEDICINE Take a handful of sunflower seeds & put them on a baking tray in a slow oven.Leave them to roast until honey brown in colour.When cold grind them a powder in a coffee grinder. Pour 1/2 cup of boiling water onto a small teaspoonful of the powdered seed.Leave to cool & stain off liquid into a stoppered jar.Store in a cool place & use within a day or two.

COUGH SYRUP Boil up a handful of sunflower seeds in a pan with two cups of water.Simmer for 25 mins or until reduced by half.Strain & add 4 tablespoons of sugar.Stir until dissolved,bring to the boil & boil hard for 2 mins.Allow to cool before pouring into a bottle.

SORE THROAT GARGLE/HEALING LOTION FOR MINOR CUTS Pour two cups of water onto a handful of chopped sage leaves,bring to the boil & simmer for 10 mins.Remove from heat & leave to stand for 10 mins.Strain & use when warm.

GYPSY SLOE LIQUOR- for boosting the circulation,raising blood pressure & conveying amazing warmth to the body.(Boy,do I love it)

4 oz of fresh picked sloes. 17 fl.ozs of red grape juice 15ml of lemon juice 4 heaped tablespoons of honey 1/4 tsp ground clove 1/2 tsp nutmeg.

Pick,de-stalk & rinse sloes.Warm grape juice in pan,stir in honey,nutmeg & lemon juice.Leave to cool. Prick sloes with fork & place in large glass container with clove,cover with gin.Add honey mxture,cover.Leave in a warm place for 10 days.Strain into jug,squeezing all liquid from sloes.Discard solids & pour wine into bottles.Seal.Store in cool place for 9 weeks.Decant separate from sediment.Seal & leave for 3 months.

When I have more time,I'll put a few more up.

-- Chris (griffen@globalnet.co.uk), April 04, 1999.


Do you young 'uns know the old trick of putting a cucumber slice over your eyes to cool, soothe, and help with dark shadows?

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), April 04, 1999.


How about bear grease and rose petals for that rough skin?

-- A (A@AisA.com), April 05, 1999.

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