I have, in my nearly 25 years of experience in the beauty business, seen that women and men are still confused about their skin types and therefore as to what products and ingredients would suit them. The ‘umm’ and ‘ahh’ I get in questioning tones when asked what your skin type is, says it all about skin ignorance!
Here is the most essential part of skin care-CLEANING… and that can only be done properly if you know your skin type.
If you have oily skin you can very easily clean your skin with a paste of fuller’s earth- a natural clay that has been used since time immemorial to cleanse the skin.
Take 2tsp of this clay and add a pinch of powdered camphor to it and mix with water and massage onto wet skin and wash off.
If you have combination skin, I think mashed papaya mixed with oatmeal and a little milk and scrubbed all over the face and neck not only cleanses, as paw paw has powerful cleansing enzymes, but also helps reduce tan, dark patches and adds natural alpha-hydroxy acids to the skin.
The use of yoghurt to cleanse the skin is also excellent when you have oily to combination skin and just 2tsp can be massaged daily at the end of the day and washed off. This will cleanse as well as prevent your natural skin pH levels from being destroyed.
One of my all time favourites for oily to combination skin is mashed strawberries and although it is true that I have a soft corner for this fruit, not only because it’s delicious and you can always lick some off your face, but because I associate my childhood years in Nagaland with it, where it used to be found in abundance!
Just rub 3-4 mashed strawberries into the skin and leave on for five minutes before washing off. Not only will it help soften the skin but also make it look brighter and give an external dose of Vitamin C.
If you have dry skin and require cleaning dirt and grime from your pores, make the following:
Not only will this dislodge dirt and grime but gently exfoliate the skin too.
Tomatoes are also one of my favourites and there’s nothing quite as simple and cleansing as rubbing cold tomato halves onto the skin. Not only does this cleanse but also helps shrink pores making the skin look supple and tightened.
Last but not the least, gram flour has been a popular cleanser for most skin all over India and if you mix this with yoghurt and massage onto the skin, it is excellent for oily and combination skin, and if you mix it with milk and massage, it helps cleanse and improve dry skin as well.
Whatever your choice of natural ingredients, use them wisely with the right combinations to create the magic to make your skin smile and be cleansed naturally!
suparna trikha
The columnist is a beauty and nature care expert
@suparnatrikha