Natural Facial Treatments

Everyone knows that we should eat more vegetables. I'm sure you can hear your mom’s voice in your head right now saying  “eat your broccoli!” or “No dessert until those veggies are gone!”. Mom and Dad were right about ingesting more veggies and you are probably guilty of using those same Mom-isms on your kids. But we’re here at Oasis Skin Care Clinic to remind you that you can “Wear Your Veggies” on your skin too! Ask us if this natural treatment can complement your current home skin-care routine.

Cucumber Eyes…

We’ve all seen those TV shows and photos of some wealthy woman wearing cucumbers on her eyes, usually accompanied by a mask of light-green Noxema relaxing in a posh spa.
You might not believe it but the lowly cucumber is a pretty powerful skin friend.  People have found that cucumber extract has high levels of antioxidants, is good for acne, strengthens the skin barrier, and all-in-all promotes significantly healthier skin. Who’d a thunk it? Those rich folks were on to something! You could start with cucumber water and use it for eye or face compresses. Here’s how it could be done:
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• Take 2 seedless cucumbers
• Wash them and pat dry
• Slice paper thin horizontally with peel on
• Add to a sterilized container with warm water
• Cover, shake, then let sit for 10 minutes
• Optional: add lemon or lime or a sprig of fresh mint for scent

​Be sure to make this fresh daily.  Don’t re-use it. If you run the above ingredients through a juicer, you could add it to other face treatments such as dry exfoliating or clay-based treatments. (Be sure to make fresh batches when needed!)

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JUST THE FLAX, MA’AM…

Another item that many health-conscious consumers have in their kitchen cabinet is a flaxseed oil. This is another food we should all be ingesting AND rubbing on our faces to improve our skin. Flaxseed oil is rich in much needed omega-3 fatty acids and helps repair skin cells as well as hydrate our skin brilliantly. One other thing it does extremely well is fight the effects of inflammation and the havoc it can wreak on our entire body. Be sure to eat more flaxseed in your diet than you rub on your body...We don’t only want to look good and healthy, we want to BE good and healthy! So, here’s a great mask you can use:

Flaxseeds when boiled end up in a gel-like state.  If you boil 2 cups of cucumber water (yet another use!) then add a third of a cup of flaxseed and let simmer and stir until a gel forms (usually in about 10 minutes time) you’re off to a great start!  
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Next, strain the mixture through cheesecloth and into a sterilized container. You can now apply to your face and decollete with a fan brush for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the mask with a warm towel and now you’re ready to face the day (or night)! The flaxseed gel can keep up to one week in the fridge, waiting for your next application.

Gut Bacteria...On Your Face?!!

Did you know that the probiotics in your typical Greek plain yogurt can reduce acne lesions by up to half over an 8 week period? Time to slather it on! Apparently, those tiny live cultures curdling all that milk are powerhouses of antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial goodness when used on our skin. So how can we use this to our advantage? Mix up the following batch of deliciousness:

Take 4 tablespoons of Greek plain yogurt, 1 tablespoon of sunflower seed oil (or hint, hint, that jar of flaxseed oil cucumber gel in the fridge) and optionally add in a tablespoon of honey.

Mix it all in a bowl and apply with a fan brush to your face and decollete for 5 to 10 minutes then remove with a warm towel. Easy peasy! Now you know how to take things we commonly find in our kitchens to help us in our battle to age gracefully and retain the moisture and balance in our skin.  

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