Improve your skin quickly with these easy and inexpensive recipes for homemade skincare.
A facial treatment with an AcuMedic cosmetologist using personalised Sinensis skincare is the perfect supplement to your skin regime. It’s also important to keep your skin nourished frequently with foods and herbs which can be easily mixed into fast-acting natural skin care.
In this article we show you how to make a natural herbal face toner and mask. Use these recipes in between your ultimate facials to maximise their effects.
Here are the recipes (you should have these ingredients in your kitchen already) and how to use them for a quick and easy anti-ageing boost:
JASMINE TEA FACE TONER
Both jasmine and green tea each posses unique skin benefits. Jasmine has been used for centuries to keep the skin soft and protected against the environmental damage caused by changes in weather, while green tea’s antioxidant’s can help prevent wrinkles by removing free radicals that cause our body’s cells to age.
A good jasmine green tea combines the skin-boosting properties of both plants, making it a perfect drink for an anti-ageing diet and an excellent ingredient for daily skincare.
Used in skincare, jasmine flowers can help maintain the skin’s elasticity and reduce dryness by balancing its moisture levels. The compounds benzaldehyde, benzoic acid, and benzyl benzoate contained in jasmine’s essential oils can help to keep the skin clear by regulating sebum production.
These compounds also possess antibiotic, antiseptic, antibacterial and antiviral properties, while jasmine itself can help to increase circulation, all of which can benefit the skin. In addition, jasmine can also be used to help alleviate skin eruptions and naturally clear away stretch marks, acne scars and wounds.
Green tea also has a calming effect on the skin. Its antioxidants can help reduce inflammation which is why, in a clinical study, green tea extract reduced redness caused by acne rosacea.
Here’s how you can harness the skin benefits of jasmine flowers and green tea leaves at home into a toner that’s just as easy to make as it’s to apply:
Ingredients
1 tablespoon of loose leaf jasmine green tea such as Dragon Pearl Jasmine or Dew Drop Jasmine (remember, real jasmine tea should not contain jasmine petals, but tea leaves infused with jasmine flowers)
1 cup of filtered water
1 piece of cotton cloth
Directions for preparation
Place the tea into a tea cup and pour over boiling water. Let it brew for at least 5 minutes.
Directions for use
Before using, make sure to clean your face and pat dry. Dip the cotton cloth into the tea and gently wipe over the face. You can also apply this toner over your entire body after taking a shower or a bath. You don’t need to wash this toner away. Leave it on your skin to dry.
WHITE TEA FACE MASK
White tea is routinely drank in China to prevent skin ageing and maintain youthful looks. The secret behind its endurance as the centuries-old beauty ingredient is the its ability to protect collagen for skin elasticity. Research has shown that using white tea extract can improve the skin’s defences against stress.
Here is how you can use white tea at home to create your own anti-wrinkle face mask:
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons of loose leaf white tea such as Silver Needle
3 or 4 tablespoons of rice flour
1 banana
Directions for preparation:
Brew a pot of white tea and let it cool at room temperature. Strain the white tea by pouring out the liquid into a bowl. Mix the cool liquid with 3 or 4 tablespoons of rice flour but make sure the liquid is not too thick or runny. Take a banana and mash it up in the mix to create a smooth and spreadable mixture (banana can add a moisturising property to your white tea mask).
Directions for use:
Before applying the mask, wash your face with a natural cleanser and gently pat dry with a towel. When the skin is dry and clean, apply the mixture to your face as a mask. Leave the mask on for 15 minutes. Rinse off the mask with water while gently rubbing the mask to exfoliate your skin. Dry your face gently and add your normal moisturising cream.
Try these recipes and feel the difference.
STEP UP YOUR SKINCARE REGIMEN BY COMBINING CHINESE HERBS & WESTERN SKIN SCIENCE
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