Guest Post by Sreeparna Ganguly
Harsh winter tends to steal all the moisture from our skin. The skin becomes dry and rough. To protect our skin it becomes very important to seal the moisture into the skin. Those of us who are blessed with dry skin treat the skin with heavy moisturizers. But due to the presence of some pore-clogging ingredients, moisturizers with richer formula are not at all perfect for oily skin types.
Being an oily skinned girl, I have to face this moisturizer dilemma every winter. If I use heavy creams or lotions even once, I get major breakouts in no time. This year, however, I decided to try a moisturizing face mask with kitchen ingredients to solve this problem. This way I am able to continue with my oil-free moisturizer as this face mask will supply me the essential nourishment.
I have selected ingredients in a way that this face pack will help to reduce my sun-tans too. Today I am going to share my version of Honey-Oatmeal-Rice Flour Replenishing Face Mask. As I will be using products suitable for oily skin, I would suggest a few substitutes for dry skin side-by-side. So, sit back and read on.
Things You Will Need & Why Do You Need Them
Oatmeal Powder
This face pack has two main dry ingredients and oatmeal powder is one of them. Oatmeal is known for its skin lightening properties. Being rich in polysaccharides Oats can diminish dryness and nutrify the skin. I make oatmeal powder at home by grinding rolled oats.
Rice Flour
Rice flour is another important dry ingredient in this pack. I made this ingredient at home by fine-grinding rice in my mixer-grinder. I am using rice flour because it has anti-inflammatory property that helps to soothe dry skin. If you do not have rice flour at hand, use whole wheat flour or gram flour instead.
Honey
Honey is great natural emollient. That means, it has a tendency to attract humidity towards itself. In my pack this ingredient acts as a nourishment agent. Texture wise honey is a bit heavy. Currently I am having lesser breakouts, that is why I used honey. If you are very prone to pore clogging, glycerine would be a neutral solution.
Toner
In my face mask, I am using a good quality facial toner to bind all the dry ingredients together to achieve the desired consistency. In place of toner, you may use rose water, milk or even plain drinking water depending on your skin’s current condition.
Turmeric Powder
This is the X-factor of this face pack. Turmeric is known for its strong anti-septic and skin lightening properties. Cinnamon powder or orange peel powder can be used as a substitute to this ingredient.
How to Prepare?
Step-1: Take 1 teaspoon oatmeal powder in a bowl.
Step-2: Add same amount of rice flour to it.
Step-3: Take 2 pinches of turmeric powder and mix all the dry ingredients.
Step-4: Now pour 1 teaspoon toner to it and blend with spoon.
Step-5: Add ½ teaspoon honey to it and give a good mix to achieve the desired consistency. Let the dry ingredients soak for 4-5 minutes before applying it on the face to optimize the benefits.
How To Use
First I cleanse my skin properly. After patting my skin dry, I apply the pack evenly on my face and neck. I wait for 20 minutes and then wash off with lukewarm water. I like to follow it up with a non-comedogenic moisturizer. I am using it three times a week and I am liking the results so far.
Bonus Tips
1. The application can be messy so do not wear good cloth or your dress may get ruined.
2. Use very less amount of turmeric because it has a staining tendency.
3. You may add a bit of facial oil or skin nourishing essential oil blend for extra benefits.
Try it some time, you will love it.
XOXO.
