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DIY Beauty

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How to use everyday ingredients to achieve great skin

We don’t usually pay attention to what we eat and drink, and are often oblivious to the benefits of these ingredients when applied on to the skin. From the simple banana to nourishing green tea, you can make a great skin care concoction using many different everyday foods.

No tans, please

Feeling too tanned after spending time at the beach? Or maybe you’ve overdone it on the henna? Worry not, you have several options available to get remove the tan.
You can mix milk powder with lemon juice, or with plain water, and make a thick paste. Apply on tanned areas and leave until it dries. Splash with water and rinse off.
Papaya, which has bleaching agents, can work as a natural bleach and skin lightener. Just mash the pulp of a piece of the fruit, even an over ripe part will do, and apply all over your face and neck. Do this for a few days and your skin will look softer and the tan will be lighter.
The next time you are chopping potatoes, rub a slice all over your face or the part of your body that is tanned. Do this regularly and the tan will lessen as potato is a naturally mild bleach.
An age old remedy used since my grandmother’s time is besan and turmeric. Take a spoonful of gram flour (besan); add half teaspoon of turmeric and a teaspoon of cream. Mix all three together and wash your face and body with it every day. It is a natural scrub where the besan removes dead skin, the turmeric lightens the skin and the cream keeps your skin from becoming too dry.

For glowing skin

If you want softer skin, there are plenty of options you can take from the average kitchen shelf.
If you have almonds that are not very fresh and you don’t want to throw them away, just grind them into a paste, mix with a teaspoon of milk and apply all over the face and neck until dry. Rinse gently. In a week’s time you will find your skin softening and it will also have a natural glow.
An over ripe banana mixed with honey is also a great moisturiser that can makes the skin glow with regular use. If you don’t have honey, use some yoghurt instead.
You can even use the pulp of a tomato mixed with some sugar granules to scrub your face. It will give you smooth, glowing skin.

Multiple benefit ingredients

There are some items on the kitchen shelf which can be used for various purposes. From dandruff to cleansers and toners, these work across the board. I have already written about honey and apple cider vinegar.
Another wonderful beauty aid is the ubiquitous green tea. Drinking a few cups daily will help detox your system and cleanse your skin from within, but you can also make a cleanser, a toner and a mask with it.
To make a cleanser, mix two tablespoons of green tea infusion with a tablespoon of honey. You can use this as a cleanser after you have washed your face mask off.
If you have skin that is prone to acne, infuse a green tea bag for half a minute then mix in two tablespoons of honey and apply and leave on for about 15 minutes. If you have normal skin, you can mix in some Fuller’s Earth or oatmeal and apply to your skin.
To make a toner, just use a green tea infusion in a spritzer and spray all over your face; it works wonderfully in the summer months.
If you have puffy or tired eyes, take used tea bags, refrigerate them for half an hour then leave on the eyelids for 20 minutes. Your eyes will be instantly refreshed.
If you have an imagination and know your skin well, you can mix and match ingredients that work for you to give you the best benefits.

Minnal Khona
Minnal Khona
Minnal is a senior writer and editor. Her forte is lifestyle journalism, art, food, beauty and travel writing

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