Papaya Enzyme Skin Cleanser

The pulp of a papaya is rich in vitamin A and helps the skin repair itself. Regular use can help in reducing the appearance of scars, blemishes and wrinkles.

Apply the pulp of papaya directly onto the face using slow circular motions. Leave it on the skin for about 15 to 20 minutes before rinsing if off with water. It helps if the water is lukewarm as warm water helps the skin get ride of impurities.

Oatmeal and Yogurt Cleanser

Oatmeal is a natural astringent or in other words, it helps tighten the skin and reduce pores. Oatmeal also helps in improving the skin complexion and giving skin that natural glow. Plain yogurt on the other hand is a natural cleanser and a skin hydrater.

To make this cleanser, mix raw oatmeal with plain yogurt to form a nice paste. Apply this paste to the face using your fingers and leave it for around 15 to 20 minutes. Rinse if off with warm water.

Coconut Milk Cleanser

Coconut milk nourishes and smoothes the skin and is an ancient beauty treatment as used by the Egyptians.

Take the meat of fresh coconut, grind it using a grinder and use a strainer to filter the milk out. Apply this milk to the face using smooth circular motion and rinse if off with warm water.

Lemon Cleanser

All citrus fruits like orange, lemon and lime have astringent properties and help soften the skin giving it an improved complexion.

Squeeze a fresh lemon and keep its juice in the fruit overnight. Apply this juice on the face the following morning and rinse if off after about 10 minutes. You can follow this technique once ever week or so.

Avoid this if you have sensitive skin.

Cleanser for Oily Skin and Acne

Mix lime juice and boiled milk together and after cooling apply to face and neck areas with cotton wool.

Dry Skin Cleanser

Mix Almond Oil, milk and honey to form as stiff a paste as possible. Apply to skin, rubbing in as you go. Continue process for a few minutes and rinse clean with warm water.

What recipes do you use? Do you know of a natural cleansing recipe that is effective? Let us know in the comments below so everyone can benefit from it!

1.) Using “sugaring” method to remove facial hair

The advantage of using the “sugaring” method to remove facial hair is that it’s delicate on the skin, does not leave any scarring and it removes even the shortest of hairs (as small as 1/16th of inch). It’s also easy to execute, making it one of the most favored methods to remove facial hair naturally.

It’s quite easy to prepare the sugaring solution at home, using the below process:

• Use a standard tea cup for the preparing the solution.
• Mix 2 cup of sugar in half a cup of water in a pan over medium heat, stir it till the sugar dissolves and pour a quarter cup (1/4 of the cup) of lemon juice into this solution.
• Heat the solution till it bubbles.
• Remove the pan from the heat source and allow it sit for while till it’s no longer too hot to touch.

While the solution cools down, you can cleanse your face with some “gram flour” or corn flour to remove facial oil (so that the solution grips the facial hair more firmly). Once the solution is ready (when it’s warm but not hot enough to burn the skin), you will need to apply it evenly in a thick layer over the facial area from where you want to remove the hair, you can use your fingers for this purpose. Place a cotton strip or a muslin strip (or some commercially available denim strips), over the layer of solution and smooth it out in the direction in which the hair has been growing – the strip should stick firmly into the solution.

After 6 minutes or so, when the solution has cooled on your face and the strip has hardened around the solution, hold the end of the strip that’s in the direction of your hair growth and tear it away, firmly, in the opposite direction so that it pulls out the hair in that movement. There will be some pain when the hair comes out of the follicle, but it’s quite tolerable. You might need to repeat this process if you missed out on some hair.

Nowadays one can procure a “sugaring kit” for facial hair removal directly from the market (would be available at the skin care section of pharmacies). The sugaring kit will contain a “gel” that you would need to heat up and some “denim” strips that’s more effective than cotton strips. It’s not very expensive and the directions are similar to what has been mentioned above except that you don’t have to make a sugaring solution, you will just need to heat the gel that comes with the kit.

2.) Using resin wax to remove facial hair

Sugaring is a more preferred method for removing facial hair as comparing to using resin wax because the latter can cause some redness (or even scabs) around the area where it’s applied. Waxing is more suitable for removing hair from other body parts like your legs or hands, while sugaring is more preferable for your face. However, if you wish to try out waxing, to remove your facial hair, there are several home kits available for this purpose with explicit directions on how to use them.

3.) Tweezing with coil hair removers

Tweezing your hair out with a pair of tweezers can be quite an ordeal but this process has been made more comfortable with the advent of “coil” hair removers. You can buy them at shops that provision health care products. They are easy to use and not very painful. Be sure to apply some light antiseptic around the region when you tweeze your hair out to prevent any advent of infection.

4.) Using turmeric, lemon and gram flour for reducing facial hair growth

Though there is no real scientific proof to support the claim, but several women swear by turmeric to reduce facial hair growth (quite popular in southern India states). Also the use of lemon and gram flour (red lentil gram flour) mixture, in combination with turmeric powder is suggested to be effective in reducing facial hair growth in women, especially when their application is followed on consistent (twice a week) basis over a period of a few months.

Turmeric is excellent for natural skin care because it softens the skin and acts as an exfoliator that removes dead cells and facial hair. You can make a thick mix using turmeric powder, lemon juice and some gram flour, and apply it over the area of your face where you want to reduce facial hair. Leave it on for 15 to 20 minutes, while it hardens around that area, and then scrub it off in a slow movement by rubbing your fingers in a circular motion (wet your fingers lightly for scrubbing). Once you are done scrubbing off the paste, you can cleanse your face with some warm water. If the turmeric leaves any yellow stains on your face, just cleanse that area further with some gram flour.

Follow this method twice or thrice a week for a period of a few months seems to achieve the desired effect. However, this is just a traditionally used method, there are no scientific studies conducted to test its effectiveness. But since turmeric is good for the skin, you are obviously going to benefit from the use of this method.

When you are mature in your outlook, and are rooted in your inner wisdom, you allow for a stress-free mind which results in a balanced mental state. The combination of a healthy diet and balanced mental state creates a harmony in your physical body which is reflected externally as glowing skin, bright eyes and charismatic aura.

In this article, we limit our discussion to one half of the pre-requisite for a healthy skin, which is a “healthy diet”, by giving insights on what you should eat in order to maintain a healthy skin.

Foods for a healthy skin

Your body is a virtual chemical factory and it requires certain foods, raw materials, which it assimilates to acquire building blocks to maintain the structure and equilibrium of your organs – your skin being the biggest “organ” of the body.

Let’s take a look at the essential nutrients required for a healthy skin and the foods that provide you with it. You can plan out a diet for maintaining healthy skin based on the foods recommended below.

Foods rich in Vitamin C

It’s found that anti-oxidants present in vitamin C are essential to protect your skin against free radicals and damage from external pollution.

Natural Sources: Some foods that are rich in Vitamin C are Oranges, Kiwi fruit, Water melon, Grapes, Lemons, Plums and Strawberries. It’s a great idea to start off your mornings with a big bowl of these fruits, or have a juice made from them.

Foods rich in Selenium

This mineral is found to be the “catalyst” that activates certain anti-oxidant enzymes in the body that protects skin against sun damage and discoloration. It also helps in building up white blood cells when fight against internal infections and inflammations, and thus can potentially reduce outbreaks of acne.

Natural Sources: If you observe symptoms of skin discoloration, it could well indicate a deficiency of selenium in your diet. You can get selenium naturally through foods like Tuna, Brazil nuts, Sardines, Salmon, Turkey, Mutton Liver, Shrimp, Oats, Barley, Chicken Eggs and Sunflower seeds.

Foods Rich in Vitamin E

Most topical creams that help control skin wrinkles and sun damage (protection against ultra violet rays) have the presence of Vitamin E in them – taking Vitamin E through foods is more beneficial than topical application alone.

This vitamin also helps in improving skin tone, skin moisturization and reducing skin inflammation. Vitamin E is a strong anti-oxidant that helps fight against free radicals generated in the skin through external pollution and bad diet.

Natural Sources: Foods that are rich in Vitamin E are Almonds, Blueberries, Spinach, Papaya, Olive oil, Tomatoes, Broccoli, Sunflower seeds and Bell peppers (red).

Foods rich in Omega-3 fatty acids

The membrane of your skin cells are made from fatty acids. Eating foods rich in Omega-3 (which are essential fatty acids) ensures an excellent skin health through protection against early-age skin wrinkles, improving skin firmness, reducing outbreaks of skin inflammations like acne and protection against skin dryness.

Natural Sources: Oily fish, like Salmon, Sardines & Tuna, are the best source of omega-3 fatty acids; you can also take fish oil supplements made from cod liver oil. Other foods sources rich in omega-3 are Walnuts, Flax Seeds, Soybeans, Tofu, Scallops and Shrimp.

Foods rich in Vitamin A

This vitamin is essential for fighting against early-age wrinkles, improving your skin tone/coloration and reducing skin inflammations. The “Beta-carotene” present in Vitamin A is essential for maintain a smooth and younger looking skin.

Natural Sources: Some foods that are excellent sources of vitamin A are Carrots, Kale, Sweet Potato, Red Bell Peppers, Mutton Liver, Spinach, Asparagus, Cabbage, Plums, Oranges, Prunes, Milk and Papaya.

Food rich in Vitamin B family

Vitamin B is an umbrella term to cover all the B vitamins like Vitamin B1 (thiamin), Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3 (niacin), Vitamin B6 and Vitamin B12. B vitamins are essential for a good skin health and are found in topical creams for preventing skin wrinkles, skin dryness and improving skin tone. B vitamins like niacin contain anti-inflammatory properties to potentially reduce out breaks of acne or skin eczema.

Natural Sources: Food sources that are rich in B vitamins are Tuna, Mutton Liver, Beef, Banana, Chicken, Salmon, Lentils, Corn, Green Peas, Black beans, Whole Cereals and Sunflower seeds.

Foods rich in dietary fiber

In order to maintain a healthy body it’s important to have a healthy excretory system which allows for efficient discarding of wastes, thus reducing the toxin levels and stress on your body. This indirectly helps improve your skin health. People who suffer from issues like constipation or improper bowel movement are seen to acquire skin problems like acne, skin discoloration, skin dryness and a lack of skin-glow. Eating foods rich in dietary fiber ensures efficient excretion of wastes resulting in a healthy body and skin.

Natural Sources: Foods that are rich in dietary fiber are Soybeans, Lentils, Barley, Black Beans, Kidney Beans, Oats & other whole cereals, beets, sweet potato, cauliflower, eggplant, strawberries and cucumbers.

You can use the information above to plan out a diet for healthy skin, which indirectly also allows for a healthier body as a whole, because what’s good for the skin is good for the body per se. Apart from eating foods, that promote healthy skin, make sure you drink at least 8 glasses of water per day to improve your body’s ability to flush out toxins from the cells. Also make sure that you reduce the intake of foods made from refined sugar or hydrogenated fats, since they adversely affect skin health.

You cannot defy age. Wrinkles will appear as you age along. What you can do is ensure there is no premature sagging or wrinkling of your skin. Facial exercises, for clear skin, can help you achieve this quite easily and harmlessly.

If you are persistent with the facial exercises you will see improve skin tone with a reduction in wrinkles and crows feet. It will also improve your facial appearance by toning up your cheek muscles, chin and neckline.

There are three muscle groups that you need work on to ensure a toned face.

1. The muscles around your eyes
2. The muscles around your cheek bones and mouth
3. Neckline and chin muscles

Here are some simple facial exercises that really work which you can do on daily basis to ensure proper toning of your facial muscles. Make sure you wash your hands thoroughly and moisten your face before performing these exercises.

Exercise one

This is for your eye muscles. It helps minimize crow’s feet around your eyes and provides a nice brow lift. The idea is to work your upper and lower eyelids together.

A nice illustration is provided in the following youtube video: eye muscle exercise video

Exercise two

This exercise works great to tone up the muscles around your cheek bones and remove the sagging lines around your mouth. Your cheeks will look more full and toned if you practice this work out regularly.

The idea is to open your mouth slightly wide and smile with your lips inverted inside your mouth and lift your face upwards. Maintain the position for 10 seconds and relax. Repeat at least 10 times.

You can get a better idea by watching this youtube video: cheek and mouth muscle toning

Exercise three

You can make your neck look more shapely and tone up your chin muscles with this workout. Perform close to 10 repetitions of this exercise holding each position for 5 seconds.

It’s difficult to illustrate this exercise in words so you can understand it better by watching the this video on youtube: Neck and chin toning

Other simple exercises you can perform on your facial muscles are as below. These facial exercises work wonders to avoid wrinkles and sagging prematurely.

1. Rub your hands together to generate heat. Place your hands flat on your face and give it a taunt massage using circular movements.
2. Using your hands stretch your face back to the ears. Your lips should feel stretched flat. Now blow out air in a manner that vibrates your lips (blowing a strawberry).
3. Stretch your face up completely (without using your hands) by opening your mouth fully wide, opening your eyes wide, sticking your tongue out fully and raising your eye brows. Relax back to normal after 5 seconds.

If you work on your facial muscles regularly they will stay toned and taut giving your face a beautiful structure while minimizing your wrinkles. The improved blood flow would help your face look more pink and radiant.

Botox and artificial face lifts are expensive and unnatural solutions which are better left alone. Facial exercises help keep your facial skin healthy, clear and elastic naturally for long.

If you are disciplined in performing these exercises at least 4-5 times a week, you will see visible results in a span of a month. You can document the results by keeping a record of your facial appearance (using a video preferably). When you see the results it will motivate you to stick to the exercise regime.