Skin Care Secrets from the Kitchen

The quest for a beautifully radiant skin does not always have to be expensive. Having a radiant and youthful looking skin is just about any woman's dream. The multitude of beauty products on the market which promise to deliver these results is concrete proof of this never-ending quest. However, the majority of these commercially prepared beauty products are expensive. This makes a lot of women (and men) wonder whether looking good really requires one to spend all those hard earned dollars.

But the truth is beautiful skin does not necessarily have to be achieved by using commercially prepared beauty products. Why not try looking in your refrigerator or kitchen cupboards for more affordable yet highly effective solutions?

You heard it right! Look inside your kitchen.

Fruits and vegetables undeniably do wonders for your skin. There is a whole range of fruits and vegetables available for every skin type and for every skin problem you might be dealing with. For our purposes, let us focus on the more problematic skin types - the oily skin, the dry skin and the combination skin.

Let us now explore this wonderful opportunity to achieve the flawless skin we have all been dreaming of!

Oily Skin No More

Excess oil on your face can be a source of embarrassment and can lead to other more serious skin conditions. Prevent this by considering these suggestions:

. Remove excess oil by mixing 2 tablespoons of wheat flour with the right amount of water and apply this on your face using an upward circular motion. Leave on for a few minutes before rinsing with cool water.
. Cucumbers can also offer great relief from oily skin! Grind half a cucumber and extract its juice for your face pack. Apply the juice onto your face and leave on for a few minutes. Rinse with water and pat dry. This can refresh and tighten your skin effectively!
. Aside from removing excess oil from your skin, fenugreek and red gram seeds can help remove blackheads. Simply soak 2 to 3 teaspoons of fenugreek or red gram seeds overnight in clean water, grind into a paste and apply onto face. Leave the face pack on for about a few minutes (until it dries up) before rinsing it with cold water. The excess paste can be stored in the refrigerator for future use. However, be sure that you use the fenugreek mixture within a week and the red gram mixture within two days after preparation to maintain its efficiency.

Moisturize Dry Skin

. Poppy seeds and peanuts both contain natural oils which can help nourish and moisturize dry skin. You can soak the poppy seeds overnight in water and grind it with milk to make a paste. Or if you want to use peanuts, you can grind 3 to 5 tablespoons of raw peanuts and add milk and ¼ teaspoon of honey to it. Apply your chosen mixture onto your face, leave it on until it dries and then rinse with water.

. Bananas can also provide great relief for dry skin! Simply mash half of a ripe banana and mix it with about a teaspoon of honey to make a paste. Apply onto face and rinse after a few minutes. The mixture is a great natural moisturizer and will help tighten your skin!

. Want to keep your skin supple? Try massaging fresh milk. Apply it using a gentle upward massaging motion. Leave on for a few minutes then rinse it off.

Combination Skin - Is It Twice the Problem?

A combination skin is usually dry in the cheek areas and oily in the T-zone (the forehead, the nose and the chin). However, achieving a healthier skin is not impossible. Consider these suggestions:

. One great solution can be achieved by mixing 3 to 4 tablespoons of Fuller's Earth (Multani mitti) with 8 to 10 pieces of mint leaves. Freeze the mixture overnight and let it cool for about 10-15 minutes prior to use. Apply the mixture onto your face and leave on for 10-15 minutes before rinsing with water.

. Ice it! A handful of lemon grass boiled in a liter of clean water and kept in the freezer can also be a great alternative. Rub a lemon grass ice cube onto your face after coming home from work of after an outing to cleanse away the dirt, which accumulates in your skin.

Michael Russell

Your independent guide to Skin Care

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Russell