Body & Soul: Love Your Garden, Love Your Skin

Enlarge Image Image Gallery Temper the harsh effects of sun and soil on your skin with easy-to-make herbal treatments. For instance, to repel mosquitoes, add a few drops of citronella essential oil to sunscren before applying it.

What better workplace could there be than a garden? Tending plants, surrounded by blooms, birds and sunshine, seems more like play than work. And within just a few weeks, your efforts bring additional rewards in the form of a beautiful, lush landscape and delicious food for your table.

The cost of a day spent working outdoors can be rough hands, sunburn and an occasional insect sting. But by taking just a few minutes to protect yourself before and after you go outside, your skin and hair can look as vibrant and healthy as your well-tended plants.

Here are a few easy recipes and tips to keep you glowing and growing.

Lavender Hand Cream

Makes 4 ounces

Our hands are our most important tools. In the garden, we depend on them to plant, pick, pull and haul.

To keep your hands looking and feeling their best, use this rich cream before and after you work outdoors. The dark sesame oil acts as a mild sunscreen (SPF about 6; if you burn easily, use a commercial sunscreen as well). The lavender is a traditional insect repellent. Keep a jar next to all of your sinks and outdoor faucets.

3 tablespoons grated beeswax

½ cup dark sesame oil

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1 teaspoon honey

2 tablespoons spring water

2 to 3 drops lavender essential oil

⅛ teaspoon baking soda

Combine all ingredients in a heat-resistant container or double boiler. Gently heat (do not boil) the mixture in a microwave or on the stovetop over medium, stirring often, until wax and oils melt completely. Pour the mixture into a container or jar and allow it to cool. After it has cooled completely, give it a final stir before capping. To use, massage the cream into clean hands.

Natural Insect Repellents

Encounters with flying and crawling insects come with a gardener’s territory. Not all insects are "bad bugs," however. Lacewings, ladybugs and ground beetles, for instance, help control aphids, caterpillars and other garden pests. If you let these good bugs do their job and practice other organic methods, you can avoid using harsh chemical pesticides in your garden.

When you need to protect yourself from pesky insects, such as mosquitoes and ants, try these effective, natural repellents (use only as directed and do not apply undiluted essential oils to your skin):

• Citronella. Add a few drops of citronella essential oil to your favorite sunscreen or lotion in the palm of your hand, then apply it to your skin before you work outdoors. Citronella oil is a popular insect repellent widely used in candles, incense, lotions and oils. Extracted from the lemongrass species Cymbopgon nardus, citronella oil has a pleasant, lemony scent.