Essential face care

If you smoke, wear heavy make-up everyday, drink, party, starve and are often under stress (I know I do it all), you have found a recipe for a disastrous face complexion.

First of all you have to learn how to thoroughly cleanse and moisturise your face. Here are some easy to do steps to a perfect complexion.

1. Pull up your hair and fasten it.

2. Use soap and lukewarm water to wash your hands (don’t forget the nails!)

3. Make some gentle soap foam in your palm and apply it to your face, avoiding eye area. Rinse thoroughly.

4. Open face pores with camomile steam. You can use natural oils and hot water if you like.

5. Apply peeing to still moist skin, let it soften the skin for 2 or 3 minutes afterwards massage the face in circular motion, paying special attention to nose and chin area. Rinse.

6. Now that your skin is clean the moisturising ingredients of masques can penetrate deep. Use some home-made, and rinse after 10 minutes.

7. Apply a rich amount of moisturising cream.

Home made beauty goodies even I can make

Pineapple/papaya peeling

one cup fresh pineapple, half-a-cup fresh papaya, two tablespoons honey

Puree pineapple and papaya in a blender, add honey and mix thoroughly. Wash your face and then apply the mixture to your skin, avoiding the eye area. Leave on for no more than 5 minutes, rinse with cool water. Don't use more than once a week. Note: when using this peel for the first time, keep for only 1-2 minutes to make sure there is no skin irritation.

Why it works: Pineapple contains bromelain and papaya contains papain. Both are proteases, natural enzymes that can break up proteins. When applied to the skin in small amounts, these enzymes help gently remove dead cells from skin surface producing mild peeling effect. Honey is added to increase moisturizing effect of the treatment.

Yogurt/oatmeal masque

two tablespoons plain yogurt, one tablespoon oatmeal, one tablespoon honey

Mix ingredients together to form a paste. Wash your face. Massage face with the paste in a circular motion. Keep on for a minute or two then rinse off

Why it works: Yogurt contains lactic acid (an alpha-hydroxy acid) and a number of nutrients that may mildly stimulate collagen production in the skin. Oatmeal and honey act as moisturizers. It works as a natural face-lifting if you let the first layer dry completely and then apply another layer on top of it. Rinse when it dries.

Yogurt/aloe healing masque

half-a-cup plain yogurt, two tablespoons aloe gel (or a fresh aloe leaf)

Simply mix ingredients together to form a paste. (Aloe gel can be purchased in a health food store. Alternatively, you can take a fresh aloe leaf, remove the skin and mash the pulp.) Wash your face. Massage face with the paste in a circular motion. Keep on for a minute or two then rinse off.

Why it works: Yogurt contains lactic acid (an alpha-hydroxy acid) and a number of nutrients that mildly stimulate collagen production in the skin. Aloe is a good moisturizer, and contains anti-inflammatory substances. This masque is good for irritated, sensitive skin.