- I wanted to see the end product of a popular DIY-er. Crunchy Betty has really great recipes on her site, and they are as natural as it gets for skin care. I often use other people's recipes as inspiration, but I can't help but change them when I try them myself (often because of ingredient availability or known sensitivities to some of the recipe's ingredients). This way, I can try her recipe as intended.
- I like her story of wanting to stick to skin care and writing and her husband stepping in to help run the business side of things. It's a nice story. I want to support their business venture since she generously shares her recipes for free.
Now what does
this all have to do with one of my favorite ingredients, oats?
Well the first
ingredient in the cleansing grains happens to be oats, which I know
my skin loves! At our local market, organic oats are inexpensive and
available in bulk. This makes them a staple in our kitchen.
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Image:
FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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First, what are oats? Oat, Avena
sativa, is a cereal grass cultivated
for its edible seed. According to Live Strong:
“oats are a whole-grain food and are rich in fiber, manganese, the
B vitamins thiamin and riboflavin, vitamin E and protein. They're
also low in sodium and fat and free of sugar, cholesterol and
saturated fats.”
One weight loss
tradition in my family has been to soak rolled oats in water
overnight and then drink the oat water first thing in the morning. I
can not tell you why this works, but I've been doing it for a few
months with really good results.
Now to get back
on track, oats also have amazing benefits for skin. Oats are
absorbent, helping to draw out skin impurities, and they act as a
mild exfoliant that gently smooths out skin's texture. Oats work well
on dry, itchy, sensitive skin and are often recommended for treating
eczema,
psoriasis and other skin ailments. Oh and did I mention they are inexpensive
and readily available in bulk?
In the spirit of
Crunchy Betty, I'm sharing my favorite oat-based skin care mask. It
also includes kaolin clay (aka white clay), a mild cleansing clay
that works well with most skin types. Like oats, kaolin is absorbent
and promotes circulation to the skin. Yogurt powder is high in
lactic
acid, an alpha hydroxy acid
that gently improves skin's texture. I've also used plain yogurt or
raw kefir in place of the powder when I have it available. It makes
for a creamier mask.
Purifying Oatmeal Mask
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon
White Kaolin Clay
1 tablespoon
Oat Flour
1 tablespoon
Yogurt Powder
Filtered
Water
Directions:
Mix the clay, oat
flour and yogurt powder with water until blended to the consistency
of...ummm... crunchy peanut butter! The mixture is definitely a
little gritty, but it does apply evenly and dries firm.
First use your
regular cleansing method to clean your face. Lightly pat dry, but
leave skin as damp as possible. Then apply the mask mixture gently
and evenly onto your skin using your finger tips; steer clear of the
eye area.
Leave the mask on
for 15-20 minutes for your first time; I can have it on as long as 30
mins. If you have very sensitive skin, try a patch test first.
Then wash it off
with lukewarm water and end with a splash of cold water; pat your
skin dry with a clean towel. Finally apply your favorite moisturizer.
If I'm not going out, I like to use raw shea butter. While shea is
very heavy, I feel like it envelops my skin in a thick, emollient
layer of goodness!
How else do I use
oats? To exfoliate, as a daily cleanser, in my deodorant recipes, and
I'm even thinking about using that oat water from my family tradition
to include in DIY hair preparations. I hope you have fun
experimenting with oats, and please share your favorite oat recipes
with me in the comment section, on Facebook or on Twitter @floraesthetics!
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