My DIY Facial Routine

I have only ever had two professional facials in my life and I did not like them. I do not know what it was but my face did not feel as good as I was told it would after the facials; and they were done at two different places over sometime. So I decided no more professional facials for me. I have been taking care of my face from my very early twenties, I was around 21 or thereabouts when I started using face scrubs every now and then and was using face masks and steaming weekly by my mid twenties mostly clay based face masks as I have an extremely oily face. By the time I hit my thirties I was on the natural path – everything I use on my face other than my makeup is natural – natural soap, natural oils, natural face masks, natural scrubs you name it. In a way I am grateful for my oily face because it is the major reason I started taking care of my face so young as I was always on the lookout for remedies for the oiliness. I keep saying that on a good hot and humid day one can fry an egg or two on my face no kidding! This is my facial regimen that I have stuck to religiously for over two years now before that it was do a facial as and when needed.

I use a face mask three times a week as follows;

Sunday night -  bentonite clay mask; draws out impurities/toxins, clears clogged pores thus reducing the oiliness

Wednesday night – Egg white mask to tightens pores/skin and removes dead skin

Friday night – Fruit/Veggie mask I typically use whatever is available at the moment and this could be avocado, tomato, papaya/pawpaw, honey, natural yoghurt, banana, bicarbonate of soda etc. I sometimes add ground cinnamon or ground turmeric to these masks. Just Google to read more about the benefits of each mask mentioned above.

My natural face wash is good old liquefied African Black Soap which has been very effective in combating my oily face. I used Clean and Clear face wash the one that gives one a mini scrub as you wash I forget the name now for years before I switched to African Black Soap and would recommend it to anyone who prefers “regular” face washes any day.

My natural face scrub is a mix of honey and coarse cornmeal/maize meal.

My natural face oil/moisturiser for the longest time was coconut oil but I now alternate between that, Ugandan shea butter and sweet almond oil I use just a pea sized drop for the liquid oils. I am looking forward to trying out avocado oil and grape seed oil next which reminds me I need to look for some pure non capsule based vitamin E oil that has been on my list for the longest time. And I just discovered baobab oil!

 

Avocado face mask is one of my favs i use it on it's own or sometimes add turmeric for a beautiful glow

I also use diluted fresh lemon juice as a cleanser. My toners have included everything from ice cubes, to fresh aloe vera juice, to rose water to diluted white vinegar etc to be honest I hardly ever feel the need to tone since I do a final rinse with ice cold water works just as well as ice cubes in my opinion . I hear witch hazel is good too as a toner so I may try it out soon. I steam by simply pouring hot water in a bowl which I use specifically for this purpose bending over that and covering my head with a towel to let the steam do its work. When feeling lazy I just use a hot towel and pat down my face with it. Wednesday and Friday are mask days and Sunday is reserved for a proper facial routine when I have the time to do everything cleanse, steam, scrub and mask I make it a point to try and do a full DIY facial at least twice a month. I got into a routine of using these masks as soon as I took of my makeup in the evening and washed my face and it simply became part of my evening face wash routine so I don’t feel like it is extra work or anything like that. Besides these face masks take about 20-30 minutes before they need to be washed off time in which I spend doing other things as I wait to wash it off. I have always been a heavy water drinker so I guess that has played a critical role in keeping my face clear of blemishes I suffer the occasional breakouts just like most people and get the worst case of white heads in hot and humid weather but thankfully my DIY facials take care of that quite easily.