Cleansing is a vital step in your skin care regime. Proper cleansing with products specific for your skin type will improve your overall appearance. Daily cleansing is important to remove dirt and bacteria, sweat, air pollution, excess oils and in addition cleansing exfoliates the skin surface to promote circulation.
Proper cleansing starts with clean hands. This prevents the transfer of bacteria to your face. Apply your cleansing cream at the forehead and then sweep the cleanser over the face, lips, and neck. Massage the cleanser into your skin in a gentle circular motion. Eye make up can be removed with specially formulated eye creams, as some facial cleansers are not suited to be applied to the eye area. Thoroughly rinse your face with cool or tepid water (not to hot or to cold). Extreme hot or cold water can cause flushing and break sensitive capillaries in the skin. Hot water will open the pores and expose these pores to environmental pollution and dirt.
The best cleanser is those that clean the skin without stripping them of the natural fatty oils that protect and waterproof the skin. Removing excess oils in the skin can be accomplished without harsh soaps and strong cleansing creams that dry out the skin. This drying affect leaves the skin exposed to bacteria, cellular damage, and prone to fine lines and wrinkles due to lack of moisture.
Below are easy recipes for various skin types:
Normal Skin
No matter what skin type, choose mild liquid or soap gels for
cleansing your face. Soaps made for bath, body and hands tend
to be drying no matter what skin type and should be avoided on the
face and neck. When buying store bought cleansing creams look
for avocado, coconut, or wheat germ. These natural
ingredients are suitable for normal skin types. In addition,
below is a facial cleanser for normal skin types:
Gentle Facial Cleanser
1/2 cup oatmeal or cornmeal
plain yogurt (add enough yogurt to form a paste)
Mix ingredients to form a paste. With your fingertips and in
an upward circular motion, gently massage the paste into your
skin. Rinse with warm water and then apply a toner and
moisturizer.
Dry skin
First, stay away from hot water when cleansing the face and
neck. The hot water opens the pores and extracts the natural
moisture quickly. Your cleansing creams should contain
non-detergent ingredients that will rinse off easily. When
selecting your cleansing cream look for products that contain
natural ingredients such as almond, olive or jojoba oils.
Below is an easy cleansing recipe for dry skin types:
Honey Cleanser (For Dry Skin)
*Castile soap
1 Teaspoon Honey
Wet face. Pour a little castile soap into the palm of your hand, add honey. Mix honey and soap into a lather, wash face.
*Castile soap is made from vegetable oil as opposed to animal fat like other soaps. Oils used in castile soap include olive, coconut, almond, hemp, and jojoba
Oily skin
Avoid wax-based cleansers, as they are prone to clog pores.
An easy recipe for oily skin is as follows:
3 tablespoons oatmeal
2 teaspoons witch hazel
a few drops of water
Dampen oatmeal with few drops of water then add the witch hazel. Apply to your face with an upward and outward circular motion. Rinse with lots of warm water. This recipe is good for all kinds of skin. If you have dry skin add a little oil such as olive oil.
Combination skin
Use a foaming face wash in the morning to keep oily areas at
bay. Your evening skin care regime you should use a cream
cleanser to soothe the dry areas. The oatmeal recipe above is
suited for all skin types and would be useful for combination skin
types.
Sensitive skin
Cleanse with gentle, milky, water-soluble lotions and tepid
water. Avoid gels or soaps that contain drying alcohol,
preservatives, or strong-acting acids. Avoid exfoliating
scrubs or astringents, which can cause inflammation.
1 cup dried chamomile
4 tablespoons honey
1 cup milk
8 teaspoons wheat germ
Steep chamomile in milk for a few hours. Strain, keeping liquid. Add honey and wheat germ to liquid mixture. Blend well. Place in a bottle. Refrigerate any used portions. Keeps up to a week.
The ingredients in this recipe add a variety of benefits to your
skin. The Chamomile is one of the most used herbs in the
cosmetic industry. It is used in soaps and cleansing creams
to soothe and soften the skin. The milk a natural alpha
hydroxyl acid that helps the skin exfoliates and removes dead skin
cells off the surface of the skin. It is very hydrating and
soothing to the complexion. The wheat germ contains vitamin E
and B, which makes this ingredient nourishing and very
soothing. In addition, the granular texture gently sloughs
off dead skin cells, which makes it a perfect ingredient for
sensitive skin.
Carol Belanger, author of 300+ Skin Care Recipes.
For wonderful homemade skin care recipes, including body scrubs,
facial peels and masks, etc., visit Complete
Skin Care Therapy
For skin care products that are truly natural visit Natural Skin
Care
Cruelty free and no toxic chemicals in this products!
