The Truth About Home Made Facials
I started making facial masks after reading several books on
natural cosmetics. Common ingredients used in home made facials
are eggs, lemon, milk, honey, cucumber, tomato, essential oils
and lots more fruits, herbs and other ingredients.
The assumption I had was that home made cosmetics, being all
natural and preservative free were much safer than the
commercial masks you found in stores. A wrong assumption. You
know the saying. Never assume anything. It makes an ASS of U and
ME. Did you know some of the deadliest poisons on earth are 100%
natural?
There are complaints about preservatives irritating the skin and
all that. That may be true especially for a person with very
sensitive skin. But preservatives actually make cosmetics safe
to use. Preservatives kill or at very least, inhibit the
bacteria, mold, viruses and nasty things that would otherwise
thrive in the cosmetics we use. Commercial preparations usually
contain some preservative or other to make these products safe
for use. Some of the very high end cosmetic formulations are
packed in sterile capsules to do away with or at least,
minimimize, the need for preservatives.
If you make your own skin care for use later in the week,
chances are, unless you are anal about sterilizing everything
and freezing every batch once it has cooled, thawing it only
when you are going to use it, and keeping your cosmetics away
from the raw meat in the freezer, eventually, you could find
yourself using contaminated home made cosmetics, which could
lead to a skin irritation.
I used to make my own skin care but found all the precautions I
had to take such a hassle, now I buy mine off the shelves.
Even if you make your facial products for immediate use, you
have to be careful about using only the freshest ingredients. A
mouldy fruit or anything that is spoilt can lead to disastrous
results on your skin.
Then there is the safety of the ingredients used in your
skincare products.
I once told a pharmacist about the lemon remedy I was using on
my pimples. She was horrified. Lemons are highly acidic. Lemon
juice is pH 2. Sulphuric acid is pH 1. Lemons can cause a nasty
acid burn if you are not careful.
We had a discussion about this. She told me about a customer who
showed up with an acid burn. Turns out, she had a sunburn. Back
in Australia, she would soothe that sunburn by rubbing cut
cucumber over her skin. The juices would ease the sunburn. This
time around, she was unlucky. The cucumber she used was more
acidic than the ones she was used to and she ended up with a
really nasty acid burn.
Though cucumber is soothing, cucumber contains Alpha Hydroxy
Acids as do most fruit and some of the other ingredients used in
homemade beauty recipes.
You see, in home made skin care, the exact chemical makeup of
the ingredients you use may vary, leading to unpleasant results
if you are unfortunate. That is why, everytime you make any
facial mask, test it on the inside of your wrist first, before
you let that mask touch your face.
I was lucky. The lemon facial I did helped clear my skin by
killing the bacteria, without burning my skin. The pharmacist
said I was fool hardy. As did my cousin who has been making her
own beauty products for years already.
Lemon can thin the skin. It is so acidic. The pharmacist thought
the other things, like the almond meal I mixed with the lemon
juice helped neutralize the extreme acidity. Also, when I used
freshly squeezed lemon juice directly on my face, I would dilute
it with water first.
Yet the books I read with home made beauty recipes often include
lemon in their recipes. After all, lemon has lightening
properties. Lemon juice is often used to lighten freckles. Lemon
was even recommended in a book by a former model, for use as a
toner.
Not all ingredients are that dangerous though. Oats is an
excellent ingredient for use in soothing facials. That was
recommended to me by a doctor. For my toddler's rash. Cooked
oats in a bag in the bath water is a home remedy to soothe itchy
skin. Here is a facial that uses oats and rose water. http://www
.womanht.com/facials/RoseOatsFacial.htm
A home made face mask can be as simple as putting some mash
fruit your face. Fruity facials tried and tested outlines such
experiments with fruit.
Different skin types require different ingredients. Dry skin can
use richer, nourishing ingredients. Really dry skin would love
the moisturizing effect of sweet almond oil or olive oil. Oily
skin, on the other hand would break out in pimples if you try
massaging these oils on your face. What works for your best
friend may be disastrous on you.
The easiest thing to do nowadays is to simply buy a great mask
for your skin type off the shelf for your home facial. I use
commercial masks these days after some disastrous experiments
trying to find new ingredients for new home made facial masks
for my site. The successful facials were published with these Home Made Facials .