It’s simple and cheap to do facials at home using ingredients most people have in the kitchen. There is really no need for expensive cosmetics or treatments, most of which use very dubious ingredients that many people are allergic to or have reactions and actually can make the skin worse. Simple, cheap and natural are best. A general facial suitable for most skin types follows, with specifics for different types of skin.

Tie or wrap up your hair to keep it out of the way, best to wear a tee shirt that you don’t care about, and allow enough time so you are not interrupted.

First, massage the face gently and thoroughly with mild natural oil such as coconut, almond or refined sesame. Apricot is also a good gentle oil, and many people like grapeseed. Then let the oil sit on your skin while you collect the utensils and ingredients for your facial.

Step One
Steam your skin

Pour very hot water, almost boiling, into a large bowl on a table. Sit in a chair and hold your face over the bowl, allowing the warm steam to soak into your skin. If the steam is too hot, let it cool down a little. You can place a towel over your head to make a tent to capture the steam if you want. A few drops of essential oils can be used for the steam if you like.

Step Two
Cleanse and exfoliate your skin

Use a homemade powder to deep clean the skin and slough off dead skin cells and solidified sebum. The oiling and steaming have softened the skin and opened pores, so the cleansing will be more effective. The best method is to massage the skin with besan flour, found in Indian groceries or online, as this is traditionally used as a gentle and thorough skin cleanser.

A good alternative is oat flour, or you can make a mixture using both. There are two methods:

Make a paste of the flour and water
Rub the dry flour onto your wet face

If you make a paste of the flour, you can use milk instead of water for dry skin, yogurt for rashy skin, fruit juice for blemished skin.   You can also put a small amount of turmeric into the flour for added skin protection, turmeric is also anti-bacterial. You may find it helpful to make a jar of flour and any added ingredients and have on hand not just for facials but for daily face washing. Other herbs can be added in very small quantities, they should be fine powders:

Rose powder for older or reddening skin
Rosemary for tired or clogged skin
Peppermint for skin with poor circulation
Orange or Lemon peel for blemished skin

The flour paste can be left on for 5 or 10 minutes as a mask if desired.

Step Three
More Deep Cleansing for your skin

Next, use the steaming water or get fresh water – it should be lukewarm, do not use hot water on the face – and carefully wash off all the flour paste. Rinse with clear water, gently pat dry, and apply some mashed fruit. Here are a few ideas, some fruits work well for several conditions, so you can experiment.

Avocado for dry or wrinkled skin
Banana for irritated skin
Papaya for any kind of problem skin
Berries for oily skin
Melon for dry skin
Peaches or other similar fruits for blemished skin
Cucumber for wrinkled, irritated or reddening skin

The first time, don’t leave the fruits on very long, in case there is reddening or irritation. Rinse off and then apply plain whole or low fat (not fat free) yogurt and leave on for a few minutes, this balances the acid mantle of the skin and soothes after the previous treatments. Rinse off and gently pat dry.

Step Four
Final Cleansing and Hydration for skin

This is a really fun part – honey! Use a good quality honey, preferably unheated, and pat all over your face. Now using the fingertips, pat all over the face gently for some minutes. This pulls out impurities from the skin as the honey dries a bit. Honey is noted for healing skin problems and is antiseptic, and rehydrates the skin too. When finished, let the honey sit on your face for a while (it can drip) and then the final rinse and pat dry.

Step Five
Final Refresh for skin

A final rinse for your skin, either splash on or spray from a bottle. My favorites are Rosewater or Orange flower water – use only food grade, easily found at “ethnic” grocery stores. Just let it dry on. Other refreshers are diluted herb teas such as Chamomile, Lemon Balm, Lemon Grass, or make a weak tea from fresh flowers such as rose.

Your skin will feel extremely smooth and invigorated.

Thank You!