Another Hot Mom Monday is upon us, and Hot Mom Natasha Rao of Fashionalities is here for every single one of you – mom or not – who craves to make her daily life at home just a little more spa-like. Natasha is a mommy of a one-year-old daughter and a wife to an Air Force officer. She has exited the full-time fashion career path temporarily to be a stay at home mom.  But, she still works freelance doing what she loves in fashion occasionally and maintains her fashion blog, Fashionalities, that she has had for almost six years. Here, Natasha divulges six of her super simple beauty escapes around the house that make her feel wonderful in her spa-deprived life.

But Natasha – we have to say – a trip to the spa now and then does the mind and body SO much good, helping you tackle motherhood in the best of health! Your manicurist called, and she misses you.

By Natasha Rao

Ever since becoming a mommy, I’ve promised myself I’d still get some “me time.” However, I no longer get my nails done once a month, and I can’t remember the last time I got my hair trimmed. That being said, I try to find quick and easy spa treatment-like rituals I can do at home.

Here are a few to try that I love. I get these ideas from all different places, from the Martha Stewart Show and Whole Living Magazine to books like Passport to Beauty and an oldie-but-goodie Beauty Recipes: Cosmetics You Can Whip Up at Home; Over 100 Natural Beauty Aids at a Cost of Pennies!

6 Cheap & Easy At-Home Beauty Escapes

1. As mothers, we wash our hands all the time and our hands get dried out. It’s as simple as having a lotion or oil at every sink in the house. And, taking the time to (mini) massage and nourish your hands. It really goes a long way.

2. Martha Stewart made a great point recently if you don’t have time to steam your face. Get the dishwater really hot and open the washer and hold your face over the steam for a minute or so and relax. It’s like a mini-steam facial.

3. Every morning drink a cup of hot water with lemon. It’s great for your skin!

4. Take a 10 minute break: Dip a dish or hand towel in hot water with rose petals or chamomile, then cover your face with the towel and for 10 minutes. This will clean and open your pores and acts as an antioxidant/anti-inflammatory treatment. It’s great for treating stressed out skin and smells great! Wash your face before, and rinse with cool water afterwards.

5. I saw another great tip recently on TV – after your shower, put Vaseline on your feet at night and cover with plastic wrap (loosely). This really helps soften your feet.

6. Once a week, I have my husband massage my head and hair with coconut oil. You can leave the oil in your hair for an hour and then wash it out. Or, do like I do and keep it on all night and wash the next day for a deep conditioning treatment.

Have you tried any of these at home? Will you try one tonight? Comment below, and check back next week for more from our Hot Mamas!

Last week we put 3 guest bloggers up to the challenge of trying out a homemade Australian hair care “secret.” Read all about it here… or just see their pictures and results below and decide: will YOU start keeping cracked beer bottles next to your loofa?

1. HONEY

The Australian Secret: “Dissolve one spoonful of honey into three cups of warm water. Once dissolved simply pour over wet, freshly washed hair and let dry. Do not wash it out. Then just style as normal. This leaves hair soft with intense shine.”

Guest Experimenter: Rachel, Uncurbable Craving (Twitter @ThatTweetThing). Why her? Because she’s as tweet as honey.

Rachel’s Review: Honestly, I wasn’t entirely convinced that this humectant treat would be enough for my wild mane. I wasn’t sure if it would condition or add sheen to my hair enough. Usually I add a TON of conditioner… tons and tons, really. In this case, I didn’t use my bottle of conditioner at all. I shampooed my hair and then poured the honey mixture allover my freshly washed hair and then hopped out of the shower. I didn’t rinse it out. It didn’t leave my hair sticky in any way, in the shower or out.

When my hair was dry, I could tell that it felt soft. It had a nice shine to it. What was most notable to me was that the leave-in honey treatment almost acted as a styler. It seemed to hold my waves in very nice spirals. I think I’ll try this again; a good way to sometimes save on very expensive conditioner by switching it up!

2. EGGS + MAYO

The Australian Secret: “Combine one egg and mayonnaise together and apply to washed hair. Leave in for five minutes then rinse for great shine and body. Or you can replace the mayonnaise with two teaspoons of castor oil for a healthy scalp and roots. Eggs are used to add body, shine and softness to any head of hair.”

The Guest Experimenter: Nova McGinty, Good Food North East (Twitter: @novamc). Why her? Because she’s from the UK (a non-American P.O.V. yet still our toilet-water hemisphere) AND she’s writing about food anyway.

Nova’s Review: I’m the girl willing to try most things once, I pay over £6 (around $12) each for my shampoo and conditioner and if I can try something that I can put together from my kitchen cupboard and it saves me money I’m willing to try it. But when Michelle asked me to be a guest blogger and my mission if I should choose to accept it was to use eggs and mayo on my hair… I was a little dubious.
I along with 3 friends blog on a regular basis about food – but we go to restaurants and eat it.
But being a lover off all thing that Michelle does at Spa Week and in NYC, I’m putting my trust in her and joining in with the edible hair experiments from down under.

Okay, so before I even begin, I go to raid the cupboard to discover we have NO mayo – yeah that’s right no mayo! Our house isn’t a big fan of it and I don’t like to eat it if I can help it but I have no issues layering it on my hair in the name of Spa Week science. If I’m honest I think I have the raw (no pun intended) end of the deal. I think I’d prefer the beer task any day! (Don’t speak too fast, Nova!)

Before (Nice Body)

After (Flat and Split-looking)

I wash my hair with my regular shampoo, then mix the egg and mayonnaise together and apply to my hair, It’s very messy and I’m surprised there isn’t much of a smell. I leave in for 5 minutes then rinse. Whilst trying to get it out of my hair I notice it feels kind of greasy. I rinse a little more until it feels okay.

My hair now fully dried doesn’t feel full of body. The shine is there but it feels as if there’s a layer of something left on my hair and I’m contemplating washing it again.

Aussie-brand hair products are the only Australian thing I’ll be using in my hair in the future.

3. FLAT BEER

The Australian Secret: Apply flat beer to the hair and scalp, then rinse it out. Beer has a cleansing quality that will clarify the hair and leave it shiny and free of any built-up product.

The Guest Experimenter: Oz Sultan of Perks Consulting News (Twitter: @ozsultan) Why him? Because what else was he gonna do with that six pack in the fridge? (Not to mention that luscious hair!)

Oz’s Review: I ended up looking like Nicole Kidman from “Days of Thunder”. I’m not quite sure what sort of woman washes her hair with flat beer, I can however assure you that if it were a curly haired lass, that it was Kylie Minouge in the 1980s.

Since you’ve probably never tried this, let me describe the experiment in detail. Two-day flattened beer has this sort of frat-house like vinegary scent which doesn’t quite wash out in the shower. One is left with this “hint of hops” that lingers long after you’ve exited the subway and made it to work. Now, I should mention that my hair is naturally wavy-to-curly depending if I’m in the desert or a tropical jungle. The flat beer wash curled my hair like crazy – which lasts more than one day. By the way.

Conclusion: Inadvisable unless you can handle the curls!

Nicole Kidman photo courtesy of www.screenrush.co.uk

Last week I got an email from an online Australian hair salon website looking to guest blog on Spa Week Daily. I emailed back and said: Let’s see what you’ve got. Within minutes I received a long-winded essay that included only 3 points of interest: 3 Australian “hair secrets” that involve food.

But obviously, dear reader, I wouldn’t just take their word for it. When you’re dealing with a place where the toilet water spins the other way, especially when it involves raw eggs, you’ve gotta test the waters on your own turf. To that end, I’ve enlisted 3 guest experimenters to try these edible hair claims at home.

1. HONEY

The Australian Secret: “Dissolve one spoonful of honey into three cups of warm water. Once dissolved simply pour over wet, freshly washed hair and let dry. Do not wash it out. Then just style as normal. This leaves hair soft with intense shine.”

Guest Experimenter: Rachel, Uncurbable Craving (Twitter @ThatTweetThing). Why her? Because she’s as tweet as honey.

2. EGGS + MAYO

The Australian Secret: “Combine one egg and mayonnaise together and apply to washed hair. Leave in for five minutes then rinse for great shine and body. Or you can replace the mayonnaise with two teaspoons of castor oil for a healthy scalp and roots. Eggs are used to add body, shine and softness to any head of hair.”

The Guest Experimenter: Nova McGinty, Good Food North East (Twitter: @novamc). Why her? Because she’s from the UK (a non-American P.O.V. yet still our toilet-water hemisphere) AND she’s writing about food anyway.

3. FLAT BEER

The Australian Secret: Apply flat beer to the hair and scalp, then rinse it out. Beer has a cleansing quality that will clarify the hair and leave it shiny and free of any built-up product.

The Guest Experimenter: Oz Sultan of Perks Consulting News (Twitter: @ozsultan) Why him? Because what else was he gonna do with that six pack in the fridge? (Not to mention that luscious hair!)

Check back next week and see what our guest experimenters have to say! And if you know of any other edible beauty claims that need to be verified… comment below and we’ll call in the troops.

And because I’m extra nice… the anchor link, as requested: hair salon ;)