Natural skin care and beauty recipes like face-packs, facial masks and scrubs, based on herbs and natural ingredients provide natural oil and moisture to the skin and help to get flawless skin and beauty.

Skin Care

Skin Care : Cleansing

Clean your skin every evening - The skin pores get blocked dut to exposure to air pollutions, wind, sun, air conditioning, dirt and grime from our fingers.

It is really important to remove stale make-up, perspiration, dirt, dust, excess oil etc. Use a good, natural cleanser that removes only the impurities without stripping the skin of nutrients and moisture.

Wipe your face with a piece of cotton wool dipped in milk (unboiled or not heated). Almond oil is a good cleanser for skin under the eyes.

Clay Masks
Clay helps to deep cleanse and draw out impurities and to soften and condition the skin.

Skin Care : Moisturising

Moisturing helps to protect your skin from daily pollutants. Moisturising morning and evening with a natural moisturiser will hydrate, moisturise and protect your skin.

For a moisturizing and nourishing mask, blend a mashed banana with white cosmetic clay and apply.

For normal skin care, mix 1 cup yogurt, 1 tablespoon orange juice and 1 tablespoon lemon juice and apply it on your face. Clean it off after 20 minutes.

For dry skin care, use a mixture of cooked oatmeal and honey; it is a very good moisturizer and cleansing agent.

Body Care

For Hands: Mash a banana with some butter and rub on your hands.
Before Shower: Body brushing helps exfoliate, tone and stimulate the skin as well as helping the natural drainage of our lymph glands. Dry body brushing before a shower with a natural bristle brush. Always brush upwards to the heart in quick, rhythmic strokes and brush down to the heart when you reach the shoulder/neck area.
After Shower: Apply body lotion. Water is a natural hydration for the skin.

Natural Skin Care Tips 

• Avoid excessive exposure to sun. It may result in sunburn. Read the treatment for sunburn.

• Avoid excessive use of cosmetics. Health experts say that excessive usage of cosmetics by children enhances their risk to various types of cancer and other problems later in life. Most of cosmetic products use potentially dangerous chemicals like parabens and phthalates. The parabens chemical have been recently found in breast cancer tissues. This chemical can affect the hormone oestrogen. The phthalates are linked to lower sperm counts in men, premature breast development and allergies.

• Regular sleep gives our body the chance to work on repairing cells.

• Regular Exercising and massage stimulates circulation and blood flow.

• Drinking eight glasses of water a day keeps skin plump, hydrated and healthy. The body is composed of 70% water. Well hydrated skin is healthy and young looking.

• Take only warm showers and stay away from prolonged sauna exposure.

• Stay protected from the sun to prevent the skin from becoming dehydrated and the damaging effects of UV rays on the skin.

• Eat a balanced diet, avoid foods high in fat, cholesterol and sodium.
  Follow an anti-aging diet rich in fruits and green leafy vegetables that are full of natural antioxidants. Antioxidants help prevent free-radical damageto the body. If you do not get enough antioxidants from your diet, then your skin cells could lose their ability to function well.

The antioxidants include ingredients such as vitamins A, C and E, flavonoids, beta carotene, selenium, glutathione and zinc. Eat foods high in antioxidants.

Homemade beauty care recipes like face-packs, facial masks and scrubs based on natural ingredients help improve the skin disorders like blemishes and acne scars. They provide natural oil and moisture to the skin.

Homemade Facial Masks

Making a facial mask at home is quite easy and inexpensive. You may have all the ingredients in your kitchen to make a fabulous natural "homemade facial mask". Home made facial masks containing natural ingredients are quick and simple to create at home. In the following homemade facial masks for different type of skins i.e. oily skin, dry skin, combination skin, ageing skin, etc are given.

Homemade Facial Mask Recipes

Turmeric Facial Mask
This is the traditional mask, also used for a bride, seven days in advance of marriage.
Take in a cup half a cup of besan (gram flour), 2 tsp of turmeric powder, 2 tsp of sandal wood powder, 2 tsp of ghee or almond oil, add some water to make a paste. Apply to face and whole body and leave for 5-10 minutes. Rub with pressure with both palms and fingers to remove all the paste.

Honey Facial Mask
Rinse your face with warm water to open up the pores. Apply honey and leave for half an hour. Rinse with warm water, then use cold water to close the pores. Rinse with warm water, then use cold water to close the pores.

Oily Skin Mask
Mix 1 tsp. brewer’s yeast with plain yogurt to make a thin mixture. Apply it thoroughly into all the oily areas and leave for 15 - 20 minutes. Rinse with warm water, then use cold water to close the pores.

Dry Skin Mask
Mix 1 tsp. of butter in 1 teaspoon of water. Apply it thoroughly into all the dry areas and leave for 15 - 20 minutes. Rinse with cold water.

Banana Mask for wrinkles
Mash 1/4 banana until very creamy and apply on face and leave for 15-20 minutes. Rinse with warm water, then use cold water to close the pores.

Avocado Facial Mask
Mash the meat of the avocado into a creamy texture. Apply it thoroughly on face and leave for 15 - 20 minutes. Rinse with warm water, then use cold water to close the pores.

Oatmeal Facial Mask
Take 2 tsp oatmeal and 1 tsp baking soda and add water to make paste. Apply to face and all over the skin and rub gently.

Facial Mask
Squeeze half a lemon and mix the juice with one beaten egg white. Apply on your face and leave for overnight. Wash your face with warm water.

Clay Facial
Choose the right clay for your skin type. Add plain water or floral waters or try wetting agents such as fruit purees . Make a thick paste of the clay. Apply the mask to your skin and let it dry for 20 minutes. Rinse well with warm water and pat dry. Repeat weekly.

Multani (Gypsum) Mitti Body Mask
Make a paste of multani mitti adding water to the mitti powder. Apply to whole body and hair. Take bath after half an hour.

Grape Cleanser
Split 2-3 grapes and rub the flesh over face and neck. Rinse with cool water.

Banana Face Pack for Dry Skin
Mash half cup of natural yogurt, 1 tablespoon of honey, and 1/4 ripe banana. Apply this pack on face and neck and leave for 10 minutes and then rinse off.

Cucumber Face Pack to get Smooth Skin
Mash 1 whole cucumber, strain water, add 1 tablespoon of sugar and mix well. Put in a container ,l keep refrigerated and take out whenever you want to use it. Apply on your face and leave for 10 minutes, then wash with cold water and enjoy the smoothness of your skin.

Facial Masks for Skin Types

Homemade Facial mask for normal skin

• Make a paste of some powdered with milk or lemon juice if you want to fade spots on your skin.

• Blend 1 egg white, 2 tsp vegetable oil and 1 tsp apple juice until smooth.

• Mix 1 egg white, 1/2 cup cooked instant oatmeal and 1 tsp olive oil until smooth.

• Apply a raw egg yolk and rinse with cold water. The high vitamin A content of egg is very effective in healing blemishes.

• Mix well 2 parts milk,1 part fuller's earth clay, 1 tsp honey and essential oil.

Homemade Face mask for oily skin

• Blend 1/2 tsp lemon juice, 1 egg white, 1 tsp honey (heat in microwave for a few seconds to melt it), 2 strawberries and 2-3 drops eucalyptus oil or jojoba oil (optional).

• Mix well a tsp of baking yeast in a some warm milk.

• Make a paste by mixing some potato flour in tomato puree.

• Rub some Milk of Magnesia, and let dry, then rinse with lukewarm water.

Homemade Facial mask for sensitive skin

Warm some hone to melt it, then apply. Leave the mask on for 20-25 minutes.

Homemade Face mask for dry skin

• Mix ½ avocado (or 2 tsp avocado oil) with ¼ cup honey.

• Mix 1 egg yolk, 1 tsp olive oil and 1 tsp warm honey, some vitamin E oil (optional).

• Blend 50g ripe avocado flesh, 25g orange juice, 1tsp honey, 1 tsp molasses and 4-5 drops of some essential oil.

Homemade Facial mask for combination skin

• Mix 1 egg white, 1/2 cup cooked instant oatmeal and 1 teaspoon olive oil until smooth.

• Rose Mask: This mask is good for both the oily and dry areas of your skin.
  Take Soak 5 rose petals and soak in water and then crush them. Add 2 Tbsp rosewater, 1 Tbsp yogurt and 1 Tbsp honey (heat in a microwave for a few second to melt it) and mix well.

Homemade Facial mask for ageing or maturing skin Take 3 Tbsp sugar and dissolve it in 4 Tbsp warm water.
This mask is good for maturing skin and will help soften the wrinkle lines.

Homemade Face mask for chapped or sunburned skin Mix 1 cup plain yogurt and ½ cup oatmeal and apply to the skin for 15 minutes.