Healthy All Natural Skin Care Products
You can spend a lot of money on face creams, cleansers and the like. Natural remedies require a bit of work, but are a lot cheaper and are possibly better for you than a pot load of chemicals. Unless otherwise specified, rinse all of these off with lukewarm water.
DRY AND/OR SENSITIVE SKIN
Dry and/or sensitive skin will benefit from:
Bananas. Mash a whole banana and apply. Leave on for no more than 5 or 10 minutes, then rinse off completely.
Honey is great for dry skin. A tablespoon of honey, a lightly beaten egg white and a teaspoon of glycerin, mixed together with finely ground oatmeal to make a paste, is a great moisturizer. Apply, rinse off thoroughly after about 20 minutes. Glycerin can be bought from chemists’ shops quite easily. It’s also good for mouth ulcers – apply a couple of drops on a fingertip to the ulcer. It helps slough off the skin, which sounds horrible but speeds up the healing process.
Half a cup of canned coconut milk, warmed in the microwave until runny – about 30 seconds on high – mixed with two tablespoons of honey, smells like summer on the beach. Massage into the skin, rinse off after about 10 minutes.
Honey is also believed to be a natural antiseptic. Useful if you have any pimples or cuts on your face.
OILY SKIN
A good skin toner can be made out of one teaspoon of cider vinegar and two tablespoons of water. The cider vinegar does smell rather strong, though.
Tomatoes are beneficial for oily skin because they contain natural exfoliants and acids. Skin a ripe tomato and puree briefly, then apply, washing off after 15 minutes. (It’s a bit difficult to get it to stay on the face, though – it tends to slide off).
A bit of raw oatmeal, mixed with half a cup of lemon juice and a lightly beaten egg white to make a paste, does wonders for oily skin. Rinse off once the paste has fully dried out.
Oily skins can be balanced out with strawberries. Crush a handful of strawberries and apply for five minutes. Like tomatoes, a little difficult to keep on the face.
Honey is not just good for dry skins. A mixture of a pureed ripe peach and a teaspoon of honey is great for oily skins, too. Rinse off after five minutes.
FACE MASKS
Apply a soothing facemask once a week and watch your skin benefit.
Pawpaws contain a tenderizing enzyme. Mash half a medium-sized ripe pawpaw, mix with one well-beaten egg white. Rinse when the mask is almost dry to the touch.
Two tablespoons of aloe vera (or honey), mixed into a paste with two tablespoons of almost meal, makes a nice face mask that should be left on to dry for about fifteen minutes.
Mix two tablespoons of honey with two tablespoons of plain yogurt. Leave to dry for about 20 minutes.
Wrinkles may be kept at bay with a Vitamin E mask. Mix one egg yolk with the contents of a Vitamin E capsule (you want the oil inside the capsule, not the capsule itself – snip off one end with scissors and pour the oil carefully into the egg yolk). Rinse off after fifteen minutes.
Sensitive skin, which is often aggravated by facemasks, will enjoy a soothing treat with this one. Enough pureed green grapes to cover the face, left on for 20 to 30 minutes while you relax – good enough to eat.
Stew an apple gently in milk for 20 to 30 minutes. Puree it and apply, warm but not hot, and rinse off when cool.
Two tablespoons of sour cream, mixed with a grated raw potato (medium-sized), can be left on for 20 minutes before being rinsed off.
Try these suggestions, you will be captivated by the fresh smell.
By: Judy Edmonds
