Imagine browsing through skin care aisles and finding that one, perfect product that boasts of all-natural ingredients. Serendipity, right? Then you go and read the label expecting to find a virtual salad but instead finding yourself reading benzoic acid, butyl stearate, and some totally unpronounceable names. You’re no botanist but you’re sure that those stuff don’t grow on trees. This is because most commercial items meant for skin care nowadays contain preservatives and other chemicals to maintain their consistency and shelf life. Problem is, most of these chemicals can actually irritate more sensitive skin.
What solution is there for this kind of crisis? Simple. Mix your own, homemade skin care line. There’s nothing to it as most ingredients are found in your fridge or fruit basket. All-natural skin recipes are easily found in the Internet or even in magazines. Usually, these skin care mixes are composed of a combination of one or two fruits. Combinations like these can include either the fruit pulp, fruit juice, or both. Milk, water or honey are usually added to smoothen the mixture. Add-ons such as oatmeal, wheat germ, brown sugar, and dried herbs are also included for more specialized concoctions such as a pimple treatment, flaking, and oily skin.
1. Avocado: It is a fruit that is delicious to be served as a special juice. This fruit brings many advantages especially for our skin. Take an avocado from your refrigerator, cut it into two parts. Take the pulp of avocado only and make it a creamy avocado. Dab the cream in your body for about 15 minutes. The last way, take a bath with warm water.
2. Aloe Vera: Many people have known that Aloe Vera has advantage in nourishing our hair. However, just few people know that this plant also has advantage in keeping the moisture of our body. It heals dry skin quickly since consists of minerals, amino acid and vitamins. Take the mucus of Aloe Vera, and then dab it in your body for about 15 minutes. The last way, take a bath with warm water.
3. Shea Butter: Shea butter is an excellent moisturizer and it helps a lot in combating dry skin. It works well for use on any part of the body especially those prone to dryness like the hands, elbows, knees and the soles of the feet. For cracked heels, it is usually recommended to slather on shea body butter at night before covering the feet with socks. As with any body butter however, it is important to remember that the shea body butter has a shorter shelf life compared to its lotion counterpart. Whatever brand you choose, a good rule to keep in my mind is that body butter needs to be used up within six months from its first use.
4. Cucumber: A DIY face mask list is simply incomplete without the cucumber face mask. This face mask is one of the most basic yet powerful, effective face masks of all time. Among the many many benefits of the cucumber, it works to hydrate, soften and relax your skin. It helps to prevent water retention and reduces swelling giving your skin a break from irritation. It is even effective for treating sun burns! I am sure the phrase ‘As Cool As Cucumber’ is making more sense to you now.