Herbal Facial – Cleansing – part 2 of 7
The first step is the cleanser. Cleansers should be very gentle and are used to remove dirt and makeup from the skin.
Oils
It may seem weird, but oils can make very good cleansers. This is why soap can clean oils off of skin, because it’s made from oils or fats. Oil can help clean oil, something water doesn’t do very well. However soap can be a little drying to the skin for the same reason.
Plain, unsaponified oils are a gentler way to cleanse the skin and remove makeup, which they do very well, and they can actually be very good even for oily, acne prone, skin. Various oils can be used alone or in combination. They pack a powerful punch in their combined ability to help clean as well as having medicinal benefits.
Castor oil is considered to be very good for helping remove toxins, helping in various skin conditions, it’s anti-inflammatory action, healing, and improving poor circulation. So,it can be really nice for oily skin.
Olive oil has a long history of being used for skin and hair. Not only is it nourishing, studies shown that it has medicinal benefits in terms of action against various skin infections. Can be really nice for dry skin, and reduce itching. It combines well with Castor oil. Olive oil is a good oil for infusing herbs into, which can give the skin even more benefits.
Although commonly called Jojoba oil, it is in fact a wax. It has fungicidal properties, which can be useful when dealing with some skin conditions. It is also considered to be the most similar to your skin’s own natural oil (sebum).
Another nourishing oil for the skin is unrefined Avacado oil. Antioxidant rich, it is high in vitamin E and various other nutrients.
You can also add quality essential oils to your oil cleanser. Lavender would have soothing effects, as would chamomile. Cinnamon appeals to the senses of some and has antimicrobial benefits for the skin.
Just apply the oil to your skin and rub/massage gently. You can remove the excess oil afterwards with a soft clean cloth. Don’t worry about leaving some on it will help with the next step in the facial.
Another Cleanser
You can also make a cleanser using a combination of herbs and soap flakes – something gentle like a good pure castile soap is good. Just run a bar of soap over a kitchen grater and you have your soap flakes.
Mix the soap flakes with herbs like chamomile, lavender, rose, chickweed, or calendula and wrap them in a soft cloth (i.e. cheesecloth or muslin). Similarly you can buy reusable cloth tea bags to use for this purpose. Using them is easy, just dampen in water and very gently rub (NOT scrub) the face. Pssst: Even clean cotton “shop rags” can work. You can use fresh, not too hot, herbal tea to dip this in instead of water.
Soap is very good at removing oils but this is what also can make it drying. So I suggest using this method as a cleanser only once in a while.
You are really only limited by your imagination. Have fun experimenting!
