Taking good care of your skin is the essential foundation for all your beauty efforts. Salons and supermarkets are packed full of creams, lotions, and potions which claim to make skin care easy, but why spend a fortune on these products when you have most of what you need in your kitchen cupboards?
Here are nine homemade, all-natural skin treatments that will help keep your complexion smooth, soft, youthful, and glowing with health.
Natural, unprocessed honey is a wonderful source of antioxidants which help to prevent and repair skin damage, and it also contains powerful antibacterial agents to cleanse your pores. Cinnamon has strong anti-inflammatory properties, and combining the two into a face mask treatment is an excellent way of dealing with acne, blotchy skin, mild sunburn, and even insect bites to keep your complexion clear and smooth.
Sour cream is a rich source of lactic acid, which smooths skin by helping it to retain moisture while also boosting the natural production of collagen. Bananas are packed full of vitamins to nourish your skin, as well as potassium which moisturizes and helps repair damaged cells.
Combine the two by mashing a very ripe banana with enough sour cream to make a luxurious facial mask which will leave your skin supple, fresh, and glowing.
Pure sea salt has a powerful antibacterial effect which helps prevent pimples and rashes. It's also immensely rich in minerals such as magnesium, potassium, and calcium, which help feed your skin and also balance natural oil levels. Use it by mixing with a little of your favorite skin-loving essential oil, then gently massaging it into your skin and rinsing off with warm water after ten minutes.
Simply mix one part of apple cider vinegar to 15 parts of pure water to create a face wash which gently clears bacteria and fungus, while at the same time reducing inflammation and enhancing skin tone.
The health benefits of drinking green tea range from lowering blood pressure to preventing cancer, but it's also excellent as a topical application for smoothing fine lines and wrinkles, as well as keeping oiliness under control. Make your green tea as usual, let it cool, and dab it gently across your face with a clean cloth. Do this nightly before bed, and you'll soon see a real difference in the clarity and suppleness of your skin.
It's not just green tea that can be used for beauty. Put a used, ordinary black tea bag in the fridge to cool for a couple of hours, then press it against your eyes to reduce puffiness and revitalize bloodshot whites. This relies on the combination of caffeine and coldness to tighten dilated blood vessels, so make sure you don't use a decaf brand.
A face mask made from blending ripe avocado and live yogurt is full of vitamins A, D, and E to nourish your complexion, lactic acid to boost collagen and improve skin tone, and an anti-inflammatory agent called Persenone A, which calms acne and soothes sunburn.
*Suggested Tip: Try opening and adding the contents of one Lezuna Turmeric capsule for added antioxidant benefits!
Oatmeal contains natural sugars called beta glucans, which both moisturize skin and reduce its sensitivity to irritants. Mix a teaspoon or so of medium oatmeal into any homemade face mask recipe to enjoy its benefits, or combine one part coarser oatmeal to one part natural honey and three parts yogurt for a scrub which exfoliates and reduces inflammation at the same time.
Simply rub the cut side of a fresh orange wedge across your skin after showering to soften rough patches, unblock clogged pores, and cleanse the dead blood and skin cells which can cause acne.
Nature often knows best when it comes to skincare, and that's why so many commercial products are based around natural substances.
One of the most important reasons to use vitamin C serum is that it can aid in protecting the skin against the damage created by environmental pollutants and in neutralizing free radicals. As a result, it enhances protection against exposure to UVA and UVB rays, two of Mother Nature's biggest villains.
According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, UVA rays are able to reach the skin's thickest layer of skin. If the skin is left unprotected, UVA rays can cause premature wrinkling and aging of the skin. They can also lead to the suppression of the body's immune system.