Cleansing is as vital to skincare as strawberries are to summer (can't wait!). Consider the pollutants, dust, oil, dirt and particles our gorgeous skin is blitzed with on the daily... need we say more? In addition to cleaning, cleansers exfoliate the skin surface to promote circulation and skin renewal. But we have to be careful not to use harsh chemiclas that will strip the face of its natural oils and protective layer and actually promote aging. A homemade facial cleanser made from a few organic ingredients that are tailored to your skin type will get glowing skin in the bag... for decades to come.

We recently featured this natural beauty jem in our DIY recipes for a Sweet Scrub for a Sexy Body and in our Pedicure Gift Set. People were so thrilled, we thought, let's delve into jojoba a little more and join in on the action (of extolling its virtues that is).

It's that skin around the eyes; a dead giveaway you're of age for a rental car... and say goodbye to the glory days of being carded for cocktails. Sure, embracing our age as we weather with both grace and wisdom is an awesome intention. But the skin around your eyes contains very few sebaceous and sweat glands coupled with very thin skin. What results? The first tell tale signs of aging - wrinkles. So, while fighting off the inevitable is a fool's game, giving that extra sensitive skin the moisture it so desires is just plain old nice. Plus, with this recipe for homemade eye cream, you get to avoid all the gimmicks, the nasty chemicals and the exorbitant price tags.

The awesomeness of avocados cannot be overstated. Truly. What's not so awesome - however - is the toll that these winter months can take on our most useful of body parts - the hands. Dry, cracked, scaly and painful, our paws wear the shock of this hot-cold banter. And while avocados are not in season right now (and the ones you see around town likely came from faraway lands), avocado oil is available all year round and easily obtainable at health food stores. Throw together this DIY concoction of deliciously natural and organic ingredients for the most slather-worthy cream your hands could ever crave. 

When you think of body oil, perhaps a greasy massage comes to mind, or some otherwise well - oily - experience. But in fact, body oils added to a luxurious bath and/or applied to the skin, just after bathing (and towel drying), can be rubbed in flawlessly for a nourishing and moisturizing effect that is anything but greasy. Your skin will look healthy; not like you're priming for the slip 'n slide. And, you'll find you get a much smoother result than from lotions and creams.

Sure, you can seek out an exotic spa that offers a chocolate skin treatment for some ridiculously insane price. But why do that when you can make it at home for a couple of bucks? At OA, we are increasingly excited about the idea of creating our beauty rituals from natural, organic foodstuffs with our own two hands; highly satisfying. And also, highly effective!

Bamboo is an incredible green plant - undoubtedly so. It's as strong as steel, more sturdy than concrete and grows to timber size in a year - making it a renewable junkie's fantasy. But I bet you never looked at these stronger-than-thou stalks and thought they might be beneficial to your beauty regimen. Think again. Add to bamboo's roster: versatility. 

That shiny blue color flaunting all of its metallic glory on your painted nails might add a flash of style to your fingers, but it’s wreaking havoc on the environment—and your health.

You’re no eco-dummy. You don't need to do a lick of research to know that a product that comes in every hue of the rainbow—and then some—is anything but natural. What makes that glossy nail polish so eye-catching-ly shiny and able to stick to your nails for days? A slew of chemicals, of course. We know you're pretty eco-savvy, but do you know just how much bad stuff that one teeny bottle holds?

If you're scrambling - as many of us are - to come up with some thoughtful, organic present substance come tomorrow, there's still time to whip up one, two or all of our Do-It-Yourself Holiday Gift Ideas. That said, these need not be relegated to Christmas. Whip them up as the perfect gifts all year long... especially for yourself.

In our series of handmade gifts that take price, time and effort into consideration - whilst not skimping on thoughtfulness - comes something so sublimely sweet you'll want to rub it all over your body. And by all means, please do! This brown sugar body scrub and polish creates a sumptuous take-the-spa-home experience... and can make the perfect gift for couples with instructions on how to lovingly give your partner a sexy scrub down... not that they'll need them.