organic cinnamon sugar scrub by St. Ives. Printed with permission from weheartit.com
For those of you who don’t know, DIY stands for Do It Yourself. And where there’s lots of money to be spent in the beauty community, there’s also plenty of room to save. One of my favorite ways to get creative is with skincare. I always try to look for more organic products with healthier ingredients — and sometimes those ingredients are sitting right in your kitchen. Why spend a fortune when you could make your mixture at home for a fraction of the price?! One of the most exciting ways to have an at-home spa night is to create your own skincare essentials.
First thing’s first: cleanse. Because I can get very dry skin in the winter, I like to cleanse my face with oil. I know this probably sounds terrifying for those with acne-prone and/or oily skin but using oil is actually good for your skin. The more you deprive your skin of oil, the more oil it feels like it needs to produce. One popular at-home ingredient is olive oil which is great for hydration and sun protection. (Given its abundance of antioxidants.)
After cleaning the face, it’s a good idea to go in for the deeper cleanse by exfoliating. Simply cut a ripe tomato in half — if you’re doing this with a friend, each of you can use a half — and load up the inside portion with sugar. Taking your sugar-topped tomato, move it around your face in circular motions. Tomatoes are incredibly good for the skin because they contain an ingredient called lycopene, which highly protects against the sun’s UV rays which can cause skin cancer. Sugar makes a good exfoliator because it is slightly more abrasive and can clear away any dead skin cells sitting on the surface. Removing dead skin cells opens up the pores and allows the skin to breathe, increasing cell turnover.
After rinsing the raw tomato scrub, try applying lemon juice to your face. If you’re looking to go all out and elongate your spa experience, lemon juice is a great follow up step. The citric acid in lemons is a natural exfoliator. Allow it to sit on the face for five to ten minutes to remove excess dirt. You may have heard people using lemon juice to lighten hair, but it also brightens skin and it’s great for fading acne scars.
A common favorite for DIY projects is facial masks. There are a handful of foods that work wonders for the skin and depending on your concern, you can mix your mask with the foods that will best benefit your skin type. One of the easiest to make is the egg mask. With a large mixing bowl, all you need is two egg whites and a spoonful of plain yogurt. Mix the two until you get a pasty consistency and then leave it on your face for five to ten minutes. Egg whites provide a great anti-aging effect by tightening the skin and eliminating dead skin cells. Yogurt also contains helpful nutrients such as zinc, lactic acid, calcium and b-vitamins. Zinc is great for acne-prone skin because of its anti-inflammatory properties, while lactic acid helps to reduce and prevent wrinkles. The antioxidants in calcium aid dry skin and B-vitamins will keep the skin moisturized and hydrated. This mask is especially great for dry skin types. Another great natural moisturizer is oatmeal! Throw some oats in your miracle mask to keep your skin smooth and supple. Add some honey for extra hydration to keep your skin from looking dull or flaky. Another great natural moisturizer is oatmeal! Throw some oats in your miracle mask to keep your skin smooth and supple. The nice thing about these masks is that you can always make more with more ingredients.
Lastly, take both the olive oil and sugar from earlier and mix those together to create an all-natural, at-home lip exfoliator. Scrub the mixture across your lips to remove dry, flaky skin. Doing so will seriously make your lips look bigger.
When all is finished, take a washcloth and soak it in hot water. This will open up and unclog your pores. It’s the perfect final touch to a relaxing night. When my friend and I did this, we saw unbelievable results. She has slightly more oily/acne-prone skin and after performing this routine, her skin looked clean, healthy and almost entirely clear. Do this once a week and you’ll really prevent your skin from acting up. Natural beauty can, in fact, be done naturally.