Most of us just love to potter around our kitchen, opening cupboards to whisk up some magical beauty recipes that will make our skin and hair glow naturally! However, there is some danger when mixing or using the wrong ingredients, and I have always propagated that natural ingredients need to be changed in usage with the seasons, which means what you were using at 16 degrees cannot be used at 60, and that beauty products need to change in summers and again in winters. So what are some of the kitchen ingredients that could make your skin dry? Let’s have a look:
Gram flour: This highly popular ingredient has been used in face masks, body ubtans and scrubs nearly all over the country. However, avoid as a face pack during winters; this is when our skin needs to be kept moist. In the dry, dormant air, face packs and scrubs mixed with reducing agents like besan atta dry out the skin and make it look dull and lifeless.
Rice flour: As it has high contents of starch, it can dry out already dry skin and make it look and feel stretched and leathery. It can also add lines and wrinkles to the skin, which is something that you don’t want!
Lemon: An all-time favourite for many beauty recipes, this is another kitchen ingredient that needs to be avoided during the winters. Being highly acidic, it can strip the skin of its natural moisture and lead to severe burning and rashes. It is also phototoxic, which means when you go out after applying lemon, it can lead to burning of the skin and irritability. If you have dry skin, lemon should be avoided at all costs. However, the same ingredient when mixed with moisture-giving ingredients like olive oil, coconut oil or even glycerine and massaged into the skin can work wonders in lightening and clarifying the skin.
Cucumber: A very popular ingredient for lightening and skin soothing, and refreshing, cucumber loses its natural moisturising properties in winter, and as the climate is drier, the water content in cucumber does not actually go into the skin as much, and it can strip the skin of its natural oils.
Potato: Used to lighten the skin and make it fairer, potatoes are also used for their high starch content, which helps tighten and keep the skin supple. However, raw potatoes should be avoided during winter as they dry out the skin due to their high content of starch, and make the skin dehydrated and dull. This simple and easily available kitchen ingredient can damage the skin if applied to already dry skin, so much so that it can lead to itching and irritability of the skin.
Some of the above ingredients are magical when used in the right weather and conditions on the skin, but the very same ingredients can worsen or even damage the same skin when used in winter. Especially in the winter months, skin requires extra care and attention. It’s the use of the right kitchen ingredients that will work their way to benefit your skin – so choose wisely and carefully!