Beauty care with natural ingredients

Shahnaz Husain *

Women all over the world have been using commercially-produced beauty products containing harmful ingredients, toxins and chemicals that can cause more harm than good .

The majority of usual drugstore beauty products come packed with artificial colors, fragrances and preservatives which is easily absorbed through the skin’s pores, potentially causing breakouts, irritation, pigmentation ,rashes etc .

Most of women with hectic life style and extremely busy schedule either ignore beauty problems or rely on expensive market beauty products as a quick fix that have been linked to cancer, birth defects, genetic mutation and reproductive harm.

In order to get rid of chemical laden expensive beauty products people are always looking for cheap natural products. Plant products and natural substances are ideal for beauty care and have been used as beauty aids since the ancient times. Not only are they a storehouse of valuable vitamins and minerals, but have definite curative and beauty enhancing properties. Natural ingredients can also be related to individual skin types and needs.

A skin treatment usually comprises of specific actions, like cleansing, toning, nourishing, moisturizing and protection. By using natural ingredients, these treatments can be made even more effective. Just remember that natural beauty recipes need to be refrigerated and should not be kept in the fridge for more than 2 to 3 days. Use only fresh and clean ingredients and follow strict hygiene while chopping, grinding or blending.

Cleansing and Exfoliation:

For cleansing normal to dry skin, add olive oil to warm milk. Apply on the face and wipe off with moist cotton wool. It removes impurities without disturbing the moisture balance of the skin. To cleanse normal to oily skin, mix rose water and lemon juice in equal quantities. Apply it on the face and wipe off with moist cotton wool.

Scrub for all skin types for exfoliation: Take one teaspoon ground dry orange and lemon peels, one teaspoon oatmeal and one teaspoon ground almonds. Add one teaspoon rose water. Apply on the face and rub gently with circular movements. Then wash off with water. For oily skins, scrubs can be used more frequently.

Orange and lemon peels should be dried thoroughly in the sun and kept in a tightly closed container. You can use the oats which are available for making porridge. Oats works wonders on oily, blackhead prone skin. Mix oats with egg white and apply on the skin. When it is dry, dampen with water and gently scrub it off the skin. The face should be rinsed off, or soak cotton wool pads in rose water and wipe the skin with it.

For dry skin you can mix oats, honey, milk and a few drops of almond oil. The paste should be applied, left on for 15 minutes and then rinsed off with water.

Toning:

You can also make your own skin tonic, with rosewater and witch-hazel. For normal skin, mix together three-fourth cup rose water with one-fourth cup witch-hazel. For oily skin or oily areas on combination skin, mix rose water and witch-hazel in equal quantities. For dry skin, mix three-fourth cup rose water with one-fourth cup witch-hazel and half teaspoon honey. Keep the lotion in a tightly closed glass jar in the refrigerator.

For pimple-prone skin, make a skin toner with cucumber and mint. Take half a cucumber and 3 tablespoons washed mint leaves. You can get the best results by putting them through a liquidizer and then strain. Add one tablespoon witch hazel. Keep the lotion in a glass jar. The cucumber and mint pulp can be used as a face mask.

Mask

Clay masks can be made with Fuller’s Earth or Multani Mitti and are useful for oily skins, as they absorb excess oil. They also tighten the skin and stimulate blood circulation of the surface. One tablespoon Fuller’s Earth can be mixed with rose water and used on oily skin.

For oily skin, one teaspoon honey can be mixed with egg white and lemon juice and enough Fuller’s Earth to mix into a paste. Apply for 20 minutes and wash off with water. For dry skin mix Kaolin with aloe vera gel and rose water. Add a teaspoon of honey or almond oil. The paste should be applied on the face and rinsed off after 20 to 30 minutes. Fruit and vegetable masks can be ideal skin-pampering treatments.

Most fruits and vegetables can be made into a pulp and applied on the face like a mask. Fruits like banana, apple, papaya and orange can be mixed together and applied on the face. They should be mashed or made into a pulp. Keep it on for 20 to 30 minutes.

Papaya is rich in enzymes and helps to cleanse dead skin cells. Banana tightens the skin. Apple contains pectin and helps to cleanse the skin. Orange is rich in Vitamin C. It restores the normal acid-alkaline balance. For ageing skin, take cream of milk (malai), one banana and 1 Vitamin E capsule. Mash the banana and mix with the other ingredients. Apply on the face and wash it off after 10 minutes.

While applying masks, avoid the lips and area around the eyes. After applying the mask, apply a little pure almond oil around eyes. Then dip cotton wool pads in rose water and use as eye pads. Rose water not only brightens the eyes and removes fatigue, but the aroma of rose helps to calm the nerves and induce relaxation. Beauty care with natural ingredients can be most renewing and refreshing, apart from enhancing beauty.