There are a few things I really hate about going to spas. The first is when I don't get treatments tailored to me--like when the aesthetician at a posh spa tried to convince me that the Carita line of products, which is a best-seller in France, would benefit me even though any research shows that darker skin needs different ingredients. Or when I get slathered and massaged with what essentially amount to garden variety lotions that don't pack any punch at all. I can slap on moisturizer myself thank you very much! As trips to the spa will likely have to be curtailed in this current economic climate for a while (boo), check out some effective treatments you can make right at home, that specifically target issues many Indian women complain about.
*DEEP PORE CLEANSE. For a deep-pore cleanse, try the aspirin mask. Aspirin is a beta-hydroxy, which means that it both exfoliates and cleans deep into your pores. This is the easiest, and the most effective, at-home remedy I have ever tried. This is obvious but just in case--don't use this mask if you are allergic to asperin.
Step 1: Take 6 uncoated aspirin and break each into halves. Put in a small cup or a lid. It is important that the aspirin is uncoated.
Step 2: Add 3-4 drops of warm/hot water, and use a stick to smush the aspirin around. If it's too dry and doesn't dissolve, add 1 drop of water at a time until it forms into a thick white paste. For extra thickness, you could add a dollop of honey.
Step 3: Spread thickly onto your face. Leave for 10-15 minutes. You'll know it's ready when bits of white powder start falling off your face.
STEP 4: As you wash it off with warm water, gently massage it into your skin, using small circular motions.
STEP 5: Pat face gently dry.
*COMPLEXION BRIGHTENER. Indian skin tends to get a little "ashy" without mild exfoliation. To brighten up your complexion, try this super easy tomato-lemon mask.
Step 1: Put 1 overripe tomato, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon instant oatmean in the blender. Puree on low speed until smooth but still lumpy.
Step 2: Smooth mask over your face. Leave for 20 minutes. It should tingle slightly.
Step 3: Rinse off with warm water.
Bonus: The lemon may help with hyperpigmentation--the little spots of darker skin that Indian women are prone to.
*FULL-BODY EXFOLIATION. For all over exfoliation, whip up this ginger mint body scrub (which I use when I am out of one of my all-time favorite products, Fresh's brown sugar body scrub):
Step 1: Mix the following ingredients in a bowl:
- Honey
- Freshly grated ginger root
- Chopped fresh mint leaves
- Olive oil
- Brown sugar, light or dark
Step 2: Buff the desired areas with the scrub. It is particularly effective on hands and feet. You can even try using this in the shower.
Step 3: Rinse off with warm water. Your skin should feel instantaneously smootherl
Relax, pamper yourself, clean your pores--without defaulting on your loans...! Got any of your own DIY beauty treatments to share?
Deepa is a wife, mother, writer and she sometimes masquerades as a lawyer as well. She revels in friendship, humor, champagne, and laughing at herself--often. She never ever reads US Magazine, thinks Rushdie is a genius, wishes she could write one sentence as funny as "Arrested Development," and lives in the Bay Area with her motley crew. She can be reached at deviswithbabies@gmail.com
I have tried a few masks that include lemon and I have to say i do think it lightens some of the spots i have created from popping zits. I have heard alot about the aspirin mask. gonna try it tonight!
nuh-uh. sorry deepsies.
"which I use when I am out of one of my all-time favorite products"
this must either be never. or when something that sandeep is cooking vaguely resembles this recipe. tee hee.
ps. love you! recipes sound awesome!
Haha--desperate times call for desperate measures Par...even if that includes ME using a blender...! Shona, let us know how the aspirin mask worked!
the aspirin mask is amazing! one warning though, something about aspirin makes you sneeze.
Okay. I have to say that I have heard about the aspirin mask for some time but didn't think it would work. And after I did it and kept it on for 20 minutes, my skin felt softer but I wasn't blown away. BUt at work today two people totally told me how godd my skin looked! I am a convert and i of course love that all you need is aspirin. I did it without the honey by the way, thank you for the tip!
Anu and Shona--so glad you liked the aspirin mask. I actually used it last night too. Nothing like pretending you are getting a facial while bouncing a 9 month old and watching old episodes of "The Office"...!