Green Living Workshops in Singapore and Simple Skincare Recipes From Our Kitchen

This month at Pasture Living, we are doing a series on how to take care of our skin naturally. The skin is the body’s largest organ and it absorbs everything we put on it directly into the body’s bloodstream; bypassing the organs that would filter out harmful ingredients. This is why it is so important to know what we put on our skin.

I came across Green Living about two months ago and was really excited about what it does. They share simple tips and tricks on how to live greener and healthier lives. I came to know the founders of Green Living (Militza Maury, who is the author of Little Green Dot blog, a guide on the best ideas, brands, and places to living an eco-friendly lifestyle, and Delphinia Tam-Lower, who is part of the family behind Four Cow Farm, a range of all-natural baby skincare products) when I attended their natural skincare workshop. They shared so many valuable insights about what goes on in our skincare, how to read skincare labels, and why we want to avoid conventional skincare products. Many of the ingredients that we put on our skin on a daily basis comes from petroleum origin, believe it or not, including baby oil, which we put on our babies from the day they are born (yikes!).

Skincare workshop hosted by Green Living

With Militza and Del

One of the biggest lessons I remembered from that workshop is that expensive skincare products do not mean they are good for us. It's likely we are only paying for the brands. Maybe some brands are better than others, but unless we know exactly all the ingredients that make up the products, we are at risk of exposing the largest organ of our body, our skin, with harmful and even toxic chemicals that are possible causes for allergies, eczema and skin irritations, headaches and migraines (from synthetic fragrances), etc. I believe God has given us everything we need to live healthily in nature. We can take care of our body by avoiding eating processed food or using synthetic chemicals. They are not only bad for our body, but also to our environment. The way they are manufactured produce waste that won't decompost anytime soon and even releases toxic chemicals into the ground soils and water, which then affects crops and wildlife and it comes back right back at us when we consume them.

You will be amazed how many things in our kitchen cabinet can be used for our skincare routines. They are not only economical, but also very effective. Here are some examples to start you off with:

Baking soda: It serves as a mild abrasive that is gentle enough to polish your whole body, sloughing off dead skin cells, blackheads and other impurities, and leaving your skin smooth and shiny!

Coffee powder: Coffee powder pulls out excess water from the body, that's why it's used in many eye and cellulite creams. 

Milk powder: The lactic acid in milk is a good exfoliant that improves skin's texture by moisturizing, removing dead skin cells, and promoting collagen growth. It's the reason lactic acid is often used in wrinkle and line reducer creams.

Oatmeal Scrub (ground oatmeal and water)

Oatmeal: Ground oatmeal is a nice and gentle way to scrub and exfoliate the skin, leaving it soft and fresh.

You can simply mix any of the above ingredients with water or natural liquid soaps and apply to your skin.

If you like to learn more about tips and tricks for greener and healthier lives, don't forget to sign up to Green Living facebook page. They host workshops on skincare and nutrition from time to time if you are interested to join. Militza and Del are very knowledgeable in this area. They are energetic and explain things in a clear and simple way. You will leave the workshop inspired, with recipes in your hands to start you off on a healthy journey. You will be impressed!