Acne Face Mask 2

This acne face mask is a great topical remedy for alleviating symptoms of breakouts, boils, pimples and mild acne on the skin. It can be used standalone or as part of a complete home facial, such as this routine, by replacing the face pack step with the following one.

The face mask is just a topical remedy. Accompany this with appropriate diet and lifestyle changes to truly address your acne problem, inside out. Avoid oily, spicy, fermented, salty, processed foods and opt instead of fresh, whole food that is not overly salty, sour or pungent. Hydrate yourself well. Avoid using makeup for some time until you are able to get a handle on the acne situation. Wash your face at least twice a day and definitely once before going to bed. Protect yourself from too much of sun exposure. Add some relaxation and stress-relieving activities to your lifestyle!

Ingredients:

• Gram Flour (you may use mung flour or oat flour also) (1/2 tsp)
• Turmeric (haldi) powder (1/4 tsp)
• Sandalwood powder (1/4 tsp)
• Neem powder (1/4 tsp)
• Rose powder (1/4 tsp)
• Tulsi (holy basil) powder (1/4 tsp)
• Amla powder (1/4 tsp)
• Milk (1 tbsp)

Note: You can use all the ingredients above or skip some of the herb powders, depending on what’s available to you.

Method:

• Mix all the powders in a bowl.

• Add some milk to make a paste that is of a consistency that is easy to spread on the skin.

Usage Instructions:

• Massage the paste in concentric circles, portion by portion on your face.
• After you have finished massaging all parts of the face, apply some of the paste and leave it on as a face mask for 10 minutes.
• Don’t wait till the pack is super dry, or you might experiencing some discomfort when the dried pack starts pulling on your skin. Wash and pat dry.

Notes:

• Besan and mung flour are popular choices in Ayurvedic and natural skin care products because of their high nutritive content, cleansing, exfoliation and unwanted topical hair reducing properties.
• Rose petal powder in the scrub is cooling and helps pitta body types.
• Tulsi helps with blood purification and also helps treat skin rashes, infections etc. It is good for kapha body types.
• Turmeric has antiseptic, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial qualities and is overall great for the skin when applied topically.
• Neem has anti-fungal, antibacterial and antiseptic properties. It helps to purify the skin and flushes out toxins from the sweat glands. It is cooling and helps reduce pitta.

photo credit: Treatment via photopin (license)