Natural recipes for skin care

I can't stress how important it is to know your skin type when making natural recipes for skin care. Knowing the skin type will guarantee you are using the right ingredients suitable for your skin type. Just because an essential oil smells nice and feels nice doesn't mean it won't cause major trouble.

There are 5 skin types:
Normal - has a fine texture, glow and doesn't feel oily or dry.

Dry - though it can have a nice texture, it feels tight if not moisturized and is often marked by fine lines around mouth and eyes.

Oily - The overall texture is coarse and large pores, pimples, and blackheads appear often. No matter how much you wash the face, the greasiness reappears.

Problem skin - Its texture is coarser and prone to acne and inflammation in general. Natural recipes for skin care for problem skin type are most problematic (excuse the pun ;)) because it has to address the oiliness, large pores, and irritation that may all be present at the same time.

Combination - Only the T zone is oily but the rest of the face is dry.

Now that you know what your skin type is, it is time to start making Natural skin recipes for skin care.

The most confusing of all aspects of skin care. There are 4 steps to it:

Step 1: Cleansing - It cleanses the surface of the skin. When using a cleanser, rub the skin gently and in upward motion. They are generally used in the morning and evening.
Oatmeal cleanser
Mix a small amount of ground oatmeal with water, enough to make a paste. Apply on the face and neck, rub gently and rinse with lukewarm water.

To kick it up a notch, prepare a facial steam.

Normal skin - Use mandarin or lavender essential oil.
Oily skin - Use lemon or eucalyptus oil.
Dry skin - Use rose or chamomile essential oil.

Pour 1 gallon of boiling water into a bowl. Use 4 drops of the essential oil suitable to the skin type. Lean over the bowl and cover your head with a towel. Stay in that position for 10 minutes and then pat dry.

Step 2: Toning - It not only tones the skin, it removes the extra impurities left behind by cleanser. It is plenty to use it once or twice a week.
Simple green tea facial toner
Steep 2 teaspoons of powdered green tea in 1/2 cup of boiling water. When it's cool, apply on the face using cotton balls or pads. Rinse off with warm water.
Step 3: Exfoliating - Used once or twice a week, facial exfoliants (scrubs) slough off dead skin cells to expose the new, rejuvenated and radiant skin. For tons of great facial exfoliant recipes, click here.
Step 4: Moisturizing - In preparation of natural recipes for skin care, the most important step. If you miss this one, you might as well miss others. Use a good moisturizer or make one yourself, the most simple one being a moisturizing and hydrating mask:

Moisturizing Avocado facial mask recipe

1 avocado
1 teaspoon of apple vinegar
1 egg white
3 teaspoons of olive oil

Preparation:

Peel and mash avocado and start adding the rest of the ingredients. Egg white should be beaten before you put it in. When the mass is done, apply to face and wash off after 20 minutes or so. This mask provides great moisture for skin, making it soft and elastic.

Natural recipes for skin care tip #3 - Invest in good ingredients

Although most natural recipes for skin care are cheap to make, there are certain ingredients that might cost a bit, most commonly, essential oils. I always recommend you invest a bit and get a great quality ingredient to make sure you're getting the best out there and avoid any adverse effects on the skin.

Sure, you can start concocting recipes on your own and it can be fun to do so, but... There are numerous ingredients out there that can be used in preparation of natural recipes for skin care. Most are great, some are OK, and some, when used improperly are downright dangerous and can cause more trouble than you really want to deal with. You need to inform yourself about these ingredients, what they do and how to use them properly. There are tons of information online but why waste time looking for all that info when there are books that already cover all that!

To avoid getting sidetracked, I personally use Natural recipes for skin care - The Handcrafter's Gude to Making Spa Quality Skin Care Products.