Natural Way To Healthy Skin
Healthy skin is an essential part of health and natural beauty. Good skin is a
reflection of inner health.
Causes of
Unhealthy skin
Faulty
diet. Refined
foods like white flour, sugar and products made with them, tea, coffee, and soft
drinks deplete energy, bring about wrinkles, unattractive skin and premature
aging.
Lack of
healthy blood.
Healthy blood adds a glow to the skin and keeps it well-nourished, moist, and
free from dryness and roughness.
Inadequate cleansing.
Very often, our skin looks superficially clean; but they really are not. Dirt
and dust particles can hide in the pores of the skin and clog sweat and
sebaceous glands. Proper cleansing not only removes all the dust, dirt and
make-up, which accumulate during the day, but also stops the oil-secreting
sebaceous glands from getting clogged.
Diet
Diet
plays an important role in maintaining the health of the skin. Diet should
supply all the nutrients needed to build health, namely, protein, carbohydrates,
fats, essential fatty acids and all the essential vitamins and minerals. Such a
diet will consist of liberal quantities of seeds, nuts and grains, vegetables
and fruits, supplemented by special protective foods like milk, vegetable oils,
yogurt, honey and yeast.
Nutrients play an important role in maintaining a healthy skin.
Examples:
Your
skin is unusually dry and rough. You have blackheads and whiteheads. You are
probably lacking sufficient vitamin A. You could also be suffering from the
deficiencies in iron, iodine and the B Vitamins. Adequate amounts of protein and
vitamin C are also important.
The
vitamins of the B group are important in producing beautiful skin.
Vitamin B1 aids skin health by helping to keep the circulation normal.
Vitamin B2 or riboflavin deficiency can lead to brown pigmentation, or liver
spots on the skin. These ugly spots usually disappear if generous amounts of
vitamin B2 are given over a period of six months. Severe riboflavin deficiency
can lead to oily skin and hair and small deposits of fat under the skin of the
cheeks and forehead and behind the ears. More severe deficiency of riboflavin
causes the skin under the nose and at the comers of the eyes and mouth to crack
and become sore.
Vitamin B6 or pyridoxine deficiency can result in dermatitis or eczema.
Niacin
deficiency can also cause an eczema type of skin eruption with brown
pigmentation, largely on the face, forearms and legs.
Deficiency of pantothenic acid, para-aminobenzoic acid, and biotin: This also
leads to types of eczema. The symptoms will go away completely when these
vitamins are generously added to the diet.
It is
clear that Vitamin B plays a pivotal role in maintaining a healthy skin. So,
diet that is rich in Vitamin B can go a long way in skin health. One of the
important food in this connection is brewer's yeast. Even the person whose skin
seems smooth and healthy usually notices improvement in texture and glow, a week
after adding two or more tablespoons of brewer's yeast to the daily diet.
Persons with eczema should, for an entire month, take a tablespoon of yeast
stirred into citrus juice or water after each meal, between meals, and before
retiring. If the diet is adequate in all other respects, the eczema is usually
cured in a month 's time.
Anemia and Pale Skin: Anemia results from lack of protein, iodine, calcium,
niacin, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, folic acid, cobalt, copper, and iron. Take diet
rich in Vitamin B. Folic acid and vitamin B12 are especially important.
Natural Aids for Beautiful Skin
Several natural aids have been found useful in promoting healthy and beautiful
skin.
Lime Juice
Lime
juice is an important natural aid for healthy skin.
1.
Lime Juice
Formula
Squeeze lime into a bowl. Add a glass of boiled whole milk and a teaspoon of
glycerin to it. Stir well and let it stay for half an hour. Apply this mixture
on the face, hands and feet before going to bed at night. This treatment every
night will help you to look young and beautiful. It will also help cure pimples.
2. For
very oily skin
Squeeze lemon juice in a bowl of iced water. Splash this over the face, massage
for five minutes and then wash off with water.
3. T o
improve a dull and greasy complexion
Mix
half teaspoon of lime juice with one teaspoon of cucumber juice and a few drops
of rose water. Apply on the face and neck and leave on for 15 minutes. Remove
with water.
4. To
improve a dry and rough skin
Take
an egg yolk and mix in a few drops of lime and olive oil. Spread on the face and
leave it till the skin feels dry. Wash off with ordinary water and splash on
cold water.
5. To
relieve tired eyes
Take
four tablespoons each of lime juice and iced water. Saturate cotton pads in this
water and place over your closed eyelids for 10 minutes.
6. To
remove freckles
Blanch
and grind two almonds. Mix it with white of an egg to which half teaspoon of
lime juice has been added. Spread on the face and leave it on till the skin
feels dry. Then, wash off first with warm water and then with cold water.
Peach Treatment
The
skin of the peach is useful in improving the complexion.
Gently
massage the inside of peach peelings on the face every night for a few minutes.
Don't rub off the moisture afterwards. This will cleanse the skin thoroughly and
free the pores. It also has an astringent action and tightens the muscle of the
face slightly, thus preventing sagging tissues.
Anti-wrinkle cream
Mix a
teaspoon of olive oil with an egg. Smoothen the face and neck with it. Let it
remain till the skin gets dry.
To
Remove The Cream:
Add a teaspoon of soda bicarbonate to hot water. Stir. Dip a piece of
cotton-wool to this mixture and use it to remove the cream.
Natural Beauty Mask
Ingredients
1 tablespoon of gram flour
1/4 teaspoon orange peel powder
1 tablespoon beaten yogurt
1 teaspoon olive oil
Mix
the ingredients well and apply the paste to your face and neck. Let it remain
till the skin starts feeling a little dry and then rub your face with your hands
till it glows.
Wash
your face first with warm water and then with cold water. This will remove all
the embarrassing blemishes from the skin and make the skin soft and smooth.
To improve a dark and dull
complexion
Ingredients
1 teaspoon of gram flour
pinch of turmeric powder
few drops of lime juice
1/2 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon milk
Mix
the ingredients together. Apply the mixture to your skin. Leave it on for half
an hour. Wash off with water.
Cleansing Lotion
To
one-fourth teaspoon of lime juice stir in one teaspoon each of milk and cucumber
juice. Apply on the face and neck and wash off after 14 minutes. This lotion
cleanses and purifies the pores of the skin.
Cabbage Mask
Grind
a couple of cabbage leaves and extract juice. Dissolve one-fourth teaspoon of
yeast in it and stir in one teaspoon of honey. Mix well and apply thickly over
face and neck. Keep it for 15 minutes. Remove with cotton-wool soaked in water.
This mask will counteract any tendency towards wrinkles and dryness and give
your skin a flower-like bloom.
Tangerine Juice Treatment
The
use of orange or tangerine juice has also been found valuable for a glowing
complexion.
Dip
your fingers in fresh tangerine or orange juice. Apply it liberally over your
face, chin, neck, and forehead. Make a paste from the powdered sun dried pips of
unripe oranges. Use this paste on the pimples and acne at bed time.
Orange Tonic
Blanch
and grind a couple of almonds to a paste and mix in two tablespoons of milk and
one tablespoon each of carrot and orange juice. Apply thickly on face and neck
and leave on for half an hour. Removes scars and blemishes from the face and
makes it soft and smooth.
Watermelon Juice
The
juice of water-melon is useful in the removal of blemishes on the skin.
Prepare a lotion by grating and squeezing the juice of a small slice of
water-melon. Apply this lotion over the face and neck for fifteen minutes. Wash
with hot water. Follow this by a splash of cold water.
Tomato
Tomato, used externally, is good for getting a good complexion.
Apply
the pulp of a tomato liberally on the face. Leave this for an hour. Then wash
off with warm water. Repeat this daily. You will have a good complexion. It will
also remove ugly-looking pimples in a short time.
Tomato
Lotion
To one
tablespoon of tomato juice add a couple of drops of lime juice. Apply on face
and remove after 15 minutes. It is very effective for shrinking enlarged pores.
Tomato Tonic
To two
teaspoons of tomato juice add four tablespoons of buttermilk. Apply. Remove
after half an hour. It is excellent for removing sunburns.
Cucumber
Grate
or blend a cucumber. Apply this over the face, eyes and neck for 15 to 20
minutes. It is a great tonic for the facial skin. Regular use of cucumber
prevents pimples, blackheads, wrinkles, and dryness of the face.
Whitening Lotion
To one
tablespoon of cucumber juice stir in a few drops of lime juice and a dash of
turmeric powder. Apply on face and neck and wash off after half an hour. Makes
an excellent whitener for all types of skins.
Cucumber
Lotion
Mix
one tablespoon each of cucumber juice and milk and a few drops of rose water.
Apply on the face and neck. Remove after 15 minutes. Makes excellent whitener
for delicate skins.
Apple Tonic
Mix
one tablespoon of apple juice with one-fourth teaspoon of lime juice. Leave on
for 20 minutes. Makes excellent tonic for combating oily skin.
Amaranth Juice Treatment
The
juice of amaranth, applied over the face with a pinch of turmeric powder,
bleaches the skin, prevents it from drying and wrinkling, cures pimples and
makes one look fresh.
Add to
this mixture milk and lime juice. Massage the mixture delicately over the face
and neck for half an hour. Wash it off with lukewarm water. Do this every night
before going to bed. This is an effective skin tonic that increases and retains
its beauty.
Mint Juice
Application of fresh mint juice over the face every night, cures pimples and
prevents dryness of the skin. The juice can also be applied over eczema and
contact dermatitis with beneficial results.
Almonds
Make a
paste of almonds with mild cream and fresh rosebud paste. Apply it daily over
the face. This softens and bleaches the skin and nourishes it with the choicest
skin-food. Regular application of this mixture prevents the early appearance of
wrinkles, blackheads, dryness of the skin, pimples. It also keeps the face
refreshed.
To
improve rough and dry complexion:
Take a teaspoon of almond oil and mix it with half a teaspoon each of milk cream
and lime juice. Apply every night before going to bed both on the face and on
the neck.
Yogurt
Yogurt
is a very important natural beauty aid.
Apply
yogurt on the face every morning. Wash it off after a few minutes with cold
water. This will keep the complexion smooth, healthy and fresh. A mixture of
yogurt and lemon juice is ideal for softening hands.
A
paste of lentil and yogurt, applied as a mask, cleanses the skin and gives it a
glow. Let it dry. When dried, remove it with fingertips and wash off with water.
Honey, olive oil and a mixture of turmeric and sandalwood paste are all very
effective in rejuvenating dry , parched skin.
