Natural Facial
Cleansers for Oily Skin
Lemon Juice and Baking Soda Cleanser
Ingredients:
§ 1
tablespoon baking soda
§ lemon
juice as needed, or water
If you’re looking to exfoliate and scrub your face, try
combining baking soda and lemon juice. You only need a tablespoon or so of
baking soda. Apply enough juice to make a paste–the mixture may fizz, and
that’s ok. Apply to your skin for a couple of minutes, then rinse off. You’ll
enjoy the combination of gentle fruit acids plus a good scrubbing agent.
If baking soda is too harsh for you, then simply create a toner
by mixing lemon juice and water in a 2:1 ratio, and apply with a cotton ball.
Egg White and Lemon Juice Natural Face Mask
Ingredients:
§ One egg
white
§ Few
drops of lemon juice
Egg
whites are oil free and contain lots of nutrients. They do a great job of
stripping dirt and oil off your face, so don’t forget to use that moisturizer
afterwards.
Simply take one egg white and beat in a bowl until it’s frothy.
Add a few drops of lemon juice to get more AHA exfoliating power. Apply to your
skin and leave on for ten minutes, then add a second layer. Wait fifteen
minutes. Wash it off with lukewarm water and moisturize.
Apple Cider Vinegar Natural Face Toner
Ingredients:
§ Apple
cider vinegar
§ Water
Apple
cider vinegar has lots of great properties. In addition to being a gentle form
of AHA, it also has antiseptic, oil-cleaning, and pH-balancing properties.
You can
use it as a face toner. Simply mix equal parts of apple cider vinegar and
water; if this is too strong, add additional water to suit you. Apply to your
skin with a cotton ball. Allow to dry or rinse off, your choice.
Natural Face Cleaners for Dry or Sensitive Skin
Dry
skin requires ingredients that soothe, heal, and moisturize. Aloe vera, milk,
cream, honey, and green tea are all great possibilities.
Milk and Honey (Or yogurt and honey) cleanser
Ingredients:
§ 1
tablespoon of whole milk or yogurt
§ 1
teaspoon of honey for milk, 1 tablespoon for yogurt
Milk and honey have been used as a face cleanser for generations.
Simply combine about a teaspoon of honey (preferably dark honey) with a
tablespoon of whole milk. Put the mix in a small bottle and dip it in hot water
until the mixture gets warm and the honey can thoroughly mix with the milk by
shaking it. Make sure it’s comfortably warm but not scalding. Shake well and
apply.
Instead
of milk, you can also use yogurt. Use a 1:1 ratio of each, apply and leave on
for about ten minutes, then rinse off with warm water.
Green Tea Toner
Ingredients
§ Green
tea or green tea leaves as needed
§ Plain
yogurt sufficient to cover skin
Green
tea contains lots of polyphenols as antioxidants. It can help to rejuvenate and
has anti-inflammatory properties. It is also gentle on the skin.
You can
use green tea directly as a toner by simply applying cold green tea (preferably
that you have brewed yourself and refrigerated) to your face with a cotton
ball. You can leave it on your skin if you like.
Or try this as a scrub or mask: Take crushed green tea leaves
(or tea from inside a teabag) and combine with plain yogurt. Mix together.
Apply to your face gently and leave on for a few minutes. Use the bits of green
tea leaves for doing a bit of scrubbing if needed. Wash off with warm
water.
Aloe Vera and Cucumber Natural Face Mask
Ingredients:
§ 2
tablespoons of aloe gel
§ 1/2 cucumber
Have an
aloe vera plant handy? These wonderful plants contain a gel that is rich in
moisturizing and anti-inflammatory ingredients, and their usefulness in
treating minor burns and cuts is well known.
If you’re using your own aloe plant, simply cut a leaf stalk off
with a knife near the base of the plant. Wash the stalk then cut it down the
middle. Use a spoon to scrape out the clear gel, avoiding any yellow
material that may be found on the inside of the stalk. Strain the gel through
some gauze to remove lumps.
Do this
until you have 2 tablespoons of aloe gel.
Then take ½ cucumber, wash and peel it, take out the seeds and
cut it into pieces. Combine the cucumber bits with the aloe gel in a blender
and create a smooth paste. Spread it gently and evenly on your face or skin.
Leave the mask to dry for 30 minutes. Wash off with cold water and dry.
Natural Facial Cleansers for All or Combination Skin Types
Here
are some recipes any skin type can benefit from, especially for people with
combination skin types.
Oatmeal Natural Face Mask
Ingredients:
§ 3/4 cup
of ground oatmeal
§ 1/3 cup
of warm water
As
users of certain moisturizing lotions know, oatmeal is great for skin. It is
luxurious and silky smooth, yet great for exfoliating. It also has
anti-inflammatory properties.
Try
this simple recipe. It’s more of a natural face mask than a quick cleanser, but
should do a great job anyway.
First,
you need ground oatmeal. The best way is to buy rolled oats at the grocery
store and then grind them with a blender or coffee grinder. If you don’t feel
like doing that, then get some instant oatmeal without any sweeteners or
additives and use it straight out of the box–but this approach probably won’t
give you the best results.
Take 3/4 cup of oatmeal and mix it with about a 1/3 cup of warm
water. Use more or less water to suit, but you should form a nice paste. Spread
the paste onto your face or skin, then relax and allow it to dry. Rinse it off
with warm water and you’re done.
Here’s an alternative: use unflavored yogurt instead of water,
in a 1:1 ratio with ground oatmeal (say, one tablespoon of each.) Add a touch
of warm honey if you like (which you can do just by heating a spoon under hot
water for a bit then adding the honey.) Mix everything together, apply for ten
minutes, and then remove with warm water and a washcloth.
Oil-based Natural Facial Cleansing
Did you
know that washing your skin with oil is very good for it, even if you have oily
skin? First, let’s clear up some misconceptions. People often think that oil
causes acne, but this by itself is not true. Many other factors contribute at
least as much–including age/adolescence, hormones, clogging of pores with
trapped bacteria or dirt, and more.
Oil
dissolves oil–a phenomenon readily seen in chemistry. The right combination of
oils can clean, moisturize and protect your skin.
A well
known combination of oils for cleansing purposes is castor oil plus extra
virgin olive oil. The olive oil moisturizes, while the castor oil cleans.
Pick
the ratio of oils that’s best for you. For people with normal skin, start off
with equal parts castor and extra virgin olive oil, enough to clean your entire
face or whatever you’re cleaning (you don’t need much). If you have oily skin,
favor castor oil over olive oil, up to a 3:1 castor to olive oil ratio. If your
skin is dry, go in the opposite direction, up to a 3:1 olive to castor oil
ratio.
As an
alternative to olive oil you can consider jojoba oil, known to be a great
moisturizer, or grapeseed oil, which is used as an astringent. People concerned
about acne sometimes use a drop or two of tea tree oil, which is a natural
antiseptic.
Next,
rub the mixture onto your palms and slowly massage your your skin with your
fingers. Avoid water. Do this gently for one minute.
Then,
take a washcloth and dip it in hot water–but take care not to make it so hot
that you burn yourself. Comfortably hot is good enough. Apply the cloth to your
face until it cools to room temperature. This opens your pores and let the
cleaning/moisturizing oils do their job removing dirt, dead skin cells and
bacteria. Relax and enjoy a few minutes of quiet luxury while you do this.
Finally, rinse and wring out the washcloth, then use it to
gently remove the remaining oil on your skin. Your skin ends up lustrous,
moisturized, and clean without the use of abrasives or chemicals. Source.
Additional Options for Natural Face Cleansers and Masks
Here is
a list of ingredients that are often used to create natural cleansers. Some
have been covered above. For the others you should experiment and research
yourself, the options are almost endless!
Apple cider vinegar
Apple juice
Aspirin
Baking soda
Blackberries
Buttermilk
Cedarwood oil
Clay
Coconut oil
Cornmeal
Cream
Cucumber
Egg white
Grapefruit
Grapefruit oil
Grapes
Green tea
Honey
Juniper berry oil
Lemon
Lime
Marigold
Milk
Mint, mint juice
Oats or Oatmeal
Orange
Papaya
Peach
Peppermint oil
Pineapple
Rose oil
Sea salt
Strawberries
Tomato
Yogurt
A
natural facial cleanser is a great way to treat your face and your skin the
right and eco friendly way. You’ll look good and feel good without resorting to
chemicals, thus doing good for the environment as well as your health.
