DIY Remedies to Get Rid of Ugly, Painful Cold Sores

Now this beauty doesn't need to hide.

At some stage in your life, you probably will come down with a cold sore.  Unlike a canker sore, this is a fever blister caused by the active herpes simplex virus 1 that appears outside of the mouth unlike the canker sore, which painfully appears inside the mouth with grayish or white sore wrapped in red inflammation.

The strange thing about the herpes simplex virus is that it can stay dormant inside the body for a long time before surfacing or it can be triggered in several different ways. 

An outbreak can occur due to internal causes.  For starters, take stress.  When you’re under a lot of stress, your body works against you, releasing chemicals like cortisol that can cause an outbreak.  

Missing sleep because of that stressful situation or trying to take on more than your body can handle also does the same thing in confusing your hormones and brain chemicals to react against you.

Something as harmless as staying in the sun too long can cause a cold sore to emerge.
The reason for this is because the sun’s rays can weaken your immune system.  

Of course, you can always blame your period.  Menstruation causes hormone chaos that can lead to cold sore outbreaks.  

Food allergies are another.  When your body reacts and spurs histamine into action, which causes wild disruption in your system, this can also account for cold sores.

If you happen to get one, then you know how painful and unsightly a cold sore can be.  Therefore, you need a plan of action to heal promptly. Here are several DIY remedies that can help with the pain and speeding up drying the cold sore.

What you might want to try is ice on the cold sore.  The extreme cold of the ice will do the trick to slow to down the herpes virus since it causes the skin’s metabolic rate to plummet. 

Another DIY trick is using a wet black or herbal tea bag.  The tannic acid can help slow down the reproduction cycle of the  herpes simplex virus.

Plain yoghurt can be useful to rescue your ailing mouth.  Apply a little of the yoghurt with a cotton ball to the sore will help alleviate some of the pain due to its probiotics.  At the same time, it is a good idea to eat about a cup a day.  It can help internally since it has lysine that can curb the effects of the arginine, the amino acid culprit behind the outbreak.

I hope that a cold sore will not happen to you, but it is always best to be prepared!

Sunburn? Try This DIY Strawberry Sunburn Relief Available From Your Kitchen Pharmacy!

Sunburn hurts. Strawberries are one way to rid you of the sting plus more DIY help!

Sunburn can sneak up on you when you’re having a good time or fall asleep in the sun without proper protection.  Sometimes, you might not even think it is that bad until later when you get home and bathe, only to feel it flame up on your skin. Hopefully, this won’t happen to you this year, but just in case your kitchen can be your own pharmacy because relief can be within your refrigerator.

I shared a few other DIY sunburn soothers before that help ease the pain.  One sunburn fix was with dry powdered milk and some honey that did exceptionally well for cooling, preventing infection and even help accelerate healing that you might want to check.  The second sunburn fix is another wonderful milk-based one due to its fat and proteins that also uses tomato juice.  Remember to keep the water cool just like the milk also helps lower the skin’s hot feeling.  

You may wonder why switch from a DIY remedy that helped in favor of another.  The answer is because I had to improvise on what was in the refrigerator and pantry at the time the problem occurred, which you might have to do as well.

This is why I have yet a third DIY strawberry sunburn soother remedy for you today.  Strawberries are on sale a lot now being in season.  You probably have a package in your refrigerator if you’re as fond of those berries as we are.  Anyway, strawberries with their tannic acid and the probiotics in plain yogurt make an awesome combination when your skin is on fire.  

All you need to do is to take about six large strawberries (about 1-1/2 cups) to ½ cups of plain yogurt.  I did not use anything fancy like Greek style, just the ordinary plain yogurt that I use for my sauces and salads. Clean and mash the berries first before combining.  Then slather it over the burned areas.  Keep this mixture on about twenty before rinsing off.  By the time you do, you will notice how much better and even lighter the burn seems to get.

Depending on what you have on hand, all three of these sunburn relief DIY remedies are worth trying.  You just need to go with the one that you have the ingredients to prepare it with.  

A DIY Reviver to Invigorate Tired Legs and Feet!

Stylish pair of heels are great, but legs and feet can pay a price at the end of a day.

Running around on your feet all day can be agony by the time you return home. Aching muscles and burning feet are crying out for relief. Besides a long soothing bath or shower and immersing feet in a therapeutic soak, I have another suggestion to help revive them again with this DIY leg and foot remedy.

You don’t need to buy a lot of fancy ingredients to prepare this homemade lotion, which refreshes them amazingly well.  This lotion with peppermint essential oil has antiseptic and antimicrobial properties to further help.  

You will need to cook and then cool a batch before you can feel better.  Nonetheless, this is great to have on hand when this tired leg and foot problems happen, especially in the summer due to its cool sensation.


DIY Reviver for Tired Legs and Feet

½ cups of aloe vera gel
2 teaspoons of cornstarch, leveled
3 drops of peppermint oil
2 teaspoons of witch hazel
1 tablespoon of olive oil 


Mix all the ingredients except the peppermint oil together before placing in a pan to cook enough to thicken slightly.  You want a spreadable consistency.  Once that stage is reached, let this mixture cool before adding the peppermint essential oil.

Keep in a jar that can seal. A clean peanut butter jar works just fine for this purpose.

When you’re ready, start rubbing some over your legs and feet.  Soon you will notice a wonderful coolness set in to replace that tired feeling.

Some Great Tricks to Get Rid of Puffy, Swollen Eyes!

Swollen eyes are no fun.  However, there are simple solutions that can come to your aid.

When you have allergies, you tend to have more than your share of swollen eyes due to fluids building up from irritants. A while back I shared some helpful tips to reduce eye swelling.  Since that time, I found more ways that I also liked for dealing with this problem that you may also be interested in trying.

The first one that I want to tell you about is about is in your refrigerator. Cleanse your face first.  Next, head to your kitchen because you’re going to need milk.  Pour a little into a cup, clean lid, or bowl and take it with you to wherever you keep your cotton balls.  Dip one in the cold milk (preferably whole milk for the most benefits) and then go stretch out on your bed, wearing this saturated compress for about 10 minutes or so. 

Before the time is up, the high fat content from the milk will have accomplished two things.  Being a cold liquid helps the swelling probably just as much as some ice water, but due to the high fat content this method moisturizes while soothing any feeling of irritation that you also might be experiencing.

Not only do I use this method when my eyes puff, but I also highly recommend using milk as a final rinse after cleansing when your skin becomes irritated and sensitive. For a while, I had problems and kept switching one skin care product after the next.  Nothing that I seemed to put on was feeling good on my skin. What rescued my suffering skin was when I applied milk and kept it on until it dried before rinsing.  This simple trick worked to comfort it through a difficult period.   

Another thing that helps swelling is picking up a bottle of aloe vera gel.  Keep it refrigerated and apply when you need it the same way to your clean eyes with a loaded cotton ball.  By the time you lift that cotton ball with aloe vera, its vitamin E helps shrink the puffiness.

Something else that is very important that I want to pass along is drinking more water for this problem.  After all, the puffy eyes and dark circles that you could be having might be due to toxins building up in your system because you’re actually dehydrated. Your fluid intake is not the only factor you need to consider. Medications, even over the counter drugs, can contribute to this problem so try drinking more water (between six and eight glasses) a day.  

I hope this helps you as well because swollen eyes are far from beautiful.    

Mary to the Rescue With a Helpful Trick to Relieve Swollen Feet!

You will be shocked at how much relief your swollen feet will get following this simple fix.

If your feet have a tendency to swell when you are on them too long, I have a helpful tip that really does bring fairly quick relief.  You need to set aside five or ten minutes for this fix to work, but I promise it is well worth it.  

What you should do is grab two pillows or cushions and take them to your bedroom or wherever you have room to stretch out and recline.   Now place both pillows or cushions stacked at the foot of your bed and get comfortable so that your feet after you lay down will be elevated higher than your head.

This position works because it lessens that build up of fluids that is causing that pain.

I also highly recommend getting a bottle of a vitamin P enriched lotion from Reviva Labs.  It is called Varicose Vein Lotion, which honestly does help with swelling for this problem.  I wrote about the product earlier, please read that review because it will further help.

Just try this fix and you’ll feel so much better.  I promise!  

For a Baby-Soft Bod, You Need to Try My Super Softener Body Exfoliator Recipe!

This little one has every reason to smile with that beautiful skin and adorable face.

As babies, all of us are born with the ultimate in fresh, soft skin. Sadly though, this beauty changes the more we experience the world and age.  Regardless of what is a natural part of life, there is still a way to make your body feeling as ultimately soft as a newborn through this great nourishing DIY skin care exfoliator that I have for you today.

My recipe involves two steps–-the exfoliation itself followed by feeding the skin before finally rinsing the ingredients off.  It may sound like extra work, but consider it your spa day since you’re in store for beautiful skin.

What you’ll need to accomplish this doesn’t call for any fancy, expensive ingredients, but things that you probably have in your refrigerator or pantry right now.  If not, then put a container of plain yogurt, olive oil, honey, and plain sugar on your grocery store list because these are what you’ll need.

The sugar crystals will help with the rougher exfoliation of dead skin cells.  Check the sugar because you are better off using one with a finer grain over a coarser crystal.  

The lactic acid in the yoghurt will also help speed along exfoliation since it is an alpha hydroxy acid that can help slough off dead skin cells for improved skin texture.  This ingredient, which you’ll also be using to feed the skin is also wonderful for holding in its moisture.

Both olive oil and honey are humectants, which have the capability of helping the skin retain moisture and smoothing.  The olive oil is packaged with antioxidant power from vitamin E, plyphenols and phytosterols. Honey is a rich source of amino acids, peptide and vitamins while it also has antimicrobial properties for healing the epidermis as well.

My Super Softener Body Exfoliator 

1 cup of sugar
2 tablespoons of plain yogurt + 3 tablespoons for the final skin nourishing follow-up
2 tablespoons of honey
1/4 cup of olive oil

Combine the ingredients and then proceed to your bathroom.  If you have a body mitt, you might want to use it or you can just apply the mixture once you take a shower with your fingers.  

Apply to your clean, moistened skin using circular motions when you start exfoliating, working toward your heart.  

When you finish massaging the exfoliator in, then rinse and massage in the remaining three tablespoons of plain yogurt and then rinse.

You won’t believe the petal softness that your skin has once you step out of that shower.  

Try to moisturize the still damp skin within five minutes after you emerge for the ultimate baby soft skin.

Some Calming Relief for Sunburn You May Want to Keep Handy With These DIY Remedies!

Enjoying the sun is great, but you can't say the same thing of sunburn.  

Summer is when you should be having fun–-not suffering with sunburn.  Hopefully, you won’t find yourself in this predicament.  If you do, then  I wanted to share some additional home remedies that can help take your pain away.

Some time in the water does wonders to ease pain.  Therefore, you might want to try soaking in cool bath water with two cups of apple cider vinegar.  The vinegar can restore the skin’s pH level and help it heal.

Oatmeal can also come to your skin’s rescue for sunburn or relieving the itch of poison ivy.  In fact, you can use it in two ways.  Try adding one-half cup of oatmeal (not instant) to a tub of cool bath water and soaking. Skip drying off with a towel.  Instead, air drying is better for your body when you are in this condition. 

To save yourself from a messy tub, you could also take a thin material like gauze or muslin and cut a square large enough to accommodate  that one-half cup of oatmeal, securing it with a tie.  Let it float in the cool bath water about ten minutes first before you emerge and soak.  You can also use that oatmeal pouch to place very gently over the areas for further help in calming the skin.

Lavender essential oil is something else that you may have on hand or want to look into due to its antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties.  This is one of the only essential oils that you can safely apply to your skin without the need of a carrier oil to dilute it.  Take a cool bath first and then try about three or four drops of the lavender essential oil on a wet cotton wash cloth.  Hold it tenderly over the afflicted areas helps cool as well as spur the healing process into action. 

Another sunburn remedy is derived from a comfrey root.  Of course, you are not going to feel like digging up something from your herb garden or do you want to. You only want to use this ingredient in a cream and not if your sunburn has blistered and is open. However, this ingredient may be in one of your current skin care creams so do check. Comfrey roots have allotonin that can aid the inflammation while also stimulating the wounded cells to regenerate.

Read my two earlier posts for more DIY sunburn remedies that also truly lessen the pain!