D.I.Y. Facial

How to do it:
Before you begin, gather your supplies, tell everyone else to leave you alone for an hour (it won’t take that long, but take all the time you can get) and make sure you can be comfortable for a while.

1. Cleanse

To cleanse your face, massage your oil of choice into your face. You don’t need a lot of oil but take time to really give yourself a nice, relaxing massage. One of my guilty pleasures is watching massage how-tos on YouTube – it’s almost as relaxing as getting the real thing. If you’re not sure about face massage, check out some YouTube videos before you begin, I like this one and this one (a little more intense!), but do what feels good to you. Even better, convince someone else to do this step on you! Once you’ve finished, take a warm, damp face cloth to wipe off any excess oil.

2. Scrub

A scrub exfoliates the dead skin cells off your skin. I actually do this on a semi-regular basis (about once every six months) by taking in a spoonful of sugar into the shower, dampening it, and rubbing lightly over my face before rinsing.
Using one of the scrub ideas above, lightly massage the scrub all over your face and neck. Rinse off with warm water. I use a combination of raw sugar, honey and lemon or lime juice and my skin looks great and feels smooth and soft, even after just this step.

3. Steam

Steaming opens the pores of your skin, can help you breathe but most importantly, can be relaxing. Steam from plain water is fine, or you could add some herbs, camomile tea bags or a drop of essential oil. Drape a towel over your head, relax and breathe in the steam for around 10 minutes. Pat your face dry.

4. Mask

The next step is to apply your mask. I use plain yoghurt with a little lemon or lime in it, but check out the recipes (link above) for alternate idea. Apply the mask then lie down and relax for 10 minutes. If you like, you can apply some cotton balls steeped in cold camomile tea to your eyes. Rinse off the mask in warm water and pat your face dry.

5. Tone

Toning is optional. I don’t bother as I add lemon to the mask, but you can tone you face using one of the ideas above if you feel it needs it. Simply wipe your toner over your skin with a cotton ball.

6. Moisturise

Finally, finish off by applying your favourite moisturiser.

Tips

• A little goes a very long way. You only need a tiny dribble of oil, a tablespoon of mask and half a teaspoon of scrub.
• If you want to massage along to a YouTube video, put the video on before applying the oil and use the auto play so you don’t get oil all over you computer mouse.
• Rinse the mask off well; you don’t want to be smelling like rancid milk later on.
• The scrub mixed with the mask tastes delicious and makes a nice treat.
• If you eat your mask before you use it then you have to go down and face a messy kitchen to get more, and that can kill the mood.