ALL THAT ZAZZ

By Mary N. DiZazzo

Feed Your Face 2015

Ciao bella,

Ahhhhh the ending of summer! Just a few weeks left to enjoy lounging in the sunshine. I always feel that when Labor Day rolls around, that's it! Summer is over! Although we all try to hang on to the last days hoping it will not end so soon. This season I felt many did not fall in sync with the rhythm of summer. Whether it was that devastating winter, the failed MBTA or our complete loss of June?

Anyway here are some fun recipes to cheer up your skin after all the rushing to the next summer fun thing to do!

Get your face and body ready for a natural cleansing and brightening with food from your fridge and pantry.

Exfoliating, Gentle Face Mask: use 4 well ripened mashed strawberries, 1 Tablespoon brown sugar and 1/4 cup Greek yogurt. Mix together and apply as a mask for 10-15 min. Use a damp cloth to buff off. Together the salicylic and lactic acid from strawberries and yogurt help to unclog pores leaving skin fresh. Brown sugar helps to soften.

Honey and Coconut Hair Conditioner: mix 3 Tablespoons coconut oil (less for shorter hair) and 1 Tablespoon honey. Massage into clean, damp hair from shaft down to ends. Leave on for 30 minutes and rinse. Use whenever hair feels dry up to 2 times a week. This protein packed combo acts as a reparative hair mask.

Calming Face Treatment with Cucumber: 2 Tablespoon plain yogurt, 1/2 cuke puréed Apply this mixture like a mask. Relax for 15 minutes then rinse off. Cukes are anti-inflammatory with high levels of caffeic acid to calm irritation and swelling.

Sugar Body Polish: 2 Tablespoon honey, 1/3 cup olive oil, 1 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup Greek yogurt. Make into a paste and rub gently into damp skin for a bit, then rinse off. The sugar granules act like a scrub to smooth. Also combined with the Greek yogurt the paste sloughs dead skin, both containing alpha hydroxy acids. The olive oil and honey retain moisture.

Gardening Trick: before putting on garden gloves. Apply fav hand cream then scrape your fingernails over a bar of soap. (Keeps nails sturdy and clean.) Apply thin plastic gloves then your garden gloves! You'll be already to dig and weed!

OK Glamour Pusses that's the lowdown on a Spa Home Beauty Routine! So go out and enjoy the last weeks of summer beautifully!

Buona giornata and God bless the United States of America!

Mary N. DiZazzo-Trumbull


Read prior weeks' "All That Zazz" columns at www.allthatzazz.com. Mary is a third-generation cosmetologist and a Massachusetts distributor of Kosmea brand rose hip oil products. She may be contacted at (978) 470-8183 or mary@mary4nails.com.