DIY beauty: Kitchen cures for glowing skin
Updated: Feb. 03, 2015
The ingredients you need for great skin can all be found in the kitchen. Here’s how to make your own all-natural facial cleaners and masks
Source: Best Health magazine, October 2014
Oat scrub
Use this on your face every other day. Oats moisturize and exfoliate your skin. The amounts of dry ingredients below make a large supply of scrub; store it in an airtight container in the fridge.
How to make it: Grind enough oats in a food processor or coffee grinder to fill ½ cup (125 mL). Mix with ¹⁄³ cup (75 mL) ground sunflower seeds, a large pinch of dried mint and ½ cup ground almonds. Mix a spoonful of these dry ingredients with a little half-and-half cream. Scrub your face and neck with the mixture, then rinse well with cool water.
Grapefruit smoother
The acidity of this citrus fruit and its vitamin C provides smoothing power for rough, dry elbows.
How to make it: First, exfoliate your elbows in the bath or shower. After drying yourself off, cut a grapefruit in half and rest an elbow on each half, letting them soak up the grapefruit for 15 minutes. Rinse well.
Mango mask
This mask is super-simple: It has just one ingredient. Mangoes help to clean and tighten your skin’s pores.
How to make it: Peel mango and mash flesh until it turns soft and pulpy. Then massage it into the skin and leave it on for a few minutes before rinsing.
Pumpkin pureé facial
Pumpkin is rich in vitamin C, vitamin A (beta-carotene), enzymes and amino acids. This is a good mask for acne, and overall rejuvenation.
How to make it: To ½ cup (125 mL) of pumpkin purée, add 1 teaspoon (5 mL) lemon juice, a natural astringent. Add a drizzle of honey ‘and, if you also want to exfoliate, a little white or brown sugar. Mix well and pat onto your face. Allow to dry for 15 minutes; rinse. The rest can be stored in the fridge a few days.
Strawberry skin peel
Strawberries provide high levels of skin-brightening alpha-hydroxy acids; white willow bark contains salicylic acid, which removes dead surface cells and cleans pores.
How to make it: Mash 4 strawberries in a bowl. Grind a white willow bark tablet to a powder and add to bowl. Add an egg yolk, a drizzle of honey and 2 drops of frankincense essential oil, and mix well. Thicken with a little cornstarch. Smooth mask onto damp skin and leave it on for 10 minutes. Rinse well.
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