September/October 2009 Alternative Health
The Humble Art of Zen-Cleansing Yourself

by Michael DeJong

Clean up your actby pampering and cleansing every part of your body from head to toe - naturally. You can mindfully and safely clean yourself with five common household ingredients: baking soda, salt, white vinegar, olive oil and lemon.

Try these simple eco-friendly recipes for cleansing your skin, and you may never use chemical-ridden personal-care products again.

Skin Softener

Mix together equal parts of extra virgin olive oil and salt to create a wonderful skin softener. Mix the two, so that the salt soaks up the olive oil, and then scrub your entire body, head to toe. Expect to be energized as well as exfoliated. Massage the mixture into your body and wash off thoroughly. You'd pay good money for this treatment if you were at a spa.

Citrus Dermadip

Cut two lemons into super-skinny slivers. Dribble half a dozen drops of olive oil onto the citrus slices. Give it a toss, and finish with three cups of sea salt. Then, it's hands off while the concoction cures for at least five minutes. Add yourcitrus dermadip to a hot and steamy bath. Lock the door, put on some soothing music, and submerge yourself into the citrus mix by loosening up and settling down for a long, luxurious, lazy soak. Reappear recharged and revived.

All-Over Exfoliator

Liberate yourself of dead skin cells with this awesome all-over exfoliator. Blend three quarters of a cup of sea salt or coarse kosher salt, three tablespoons of baking soda and one-quarter cup of olive oil in a bowl. Jump into a warm-to-hot shower, douse yourself down, dip a washcloth into the mixture and scrub everything you can reach with the all-over exfoliator. Rinse well. Find your newly revealed, stunningly soft skin sparkling fresh and re-energized.

Michael DeJong, author of Clean Body: The Humble Art of Zen-Cleansing Yourself, is an environmentalist and eco-activist. Visit www.mykindofclean.com.