Saturday is Spa Day

If you remember from my New Year's Aspirations post, one of my aspirations was thus:

I wish I had better skin
but instead of getting stressed about it
(which only makes it worse)
I'll be chill and not worry
+ take steps to help my skin stay clean.

So I've decided that Saturdays are to become Spa Days. Below is my new Saturday regimen:

Morning

• 30 minutes of athletic/energizing yoga (makes you work)
• 15 minutes of facial steaming followed by a peel-off mask
• exfoliate with a face brush
• manicure & pedicure

Evening

• nice long bath (with bubbles)
• 10 minutes of stretching/relaxing yoga (winds you down)

Somewhere in there I'm going to try to get to the Y for a little exercise and clean my room.

At the time of writing this post (10:30) I've just tried my first facial steaming and I love it. Basically the steam opens up your pores and lets the toxins and gunk that may be clogging or darkening them just slide right out. It's a sauna for your face and it only takes 15 minutes.

How to Do a Facial Steaming

You will need...
- a large bowl (big enough for your face to fit into but not much bigger)
- a bath towel (not a hand towel)
- Kosher salt
- boiling water
- straw
- (optional) lavender essential oil and/or calendula essential oil

Directions...
1. Start boiling your water. Put about 2-3 tablespoons of salt into your bowl and a few drops of essential oil (if you're using it).
2. When the water is boiling pour it over the salt and oil mixture in the bowl.
3. Quickly transfer it to the table/floor where you'll be sitting for your steam. (Make sure it's comfortable!)
4. Drape the towel over your head so no steam can escape. You will probably want to use your straw to breathe, it gets pretty muggy.
5. Keep your face 2-4 inches away from the water at all times.
6. After 10-20 minutes (not too long or you could dry out your skin) remove the towel and go wash your face with cold water.
7. You might want to follow this with a clay mask, since your pores are all opened up. At least moisturize.


Stay Safe...
- Don't do this more than once a week, it can dry out your skin. And dry skin can actually lead to acne.
- The water is obviously very hot, so keep your skin out of it.
- The steam can cause issues for people with severe athsma, etc. Also, if you have really really bad acne, this may make you break out more.
- For everyone: this treatment opens up your pores and brings the toxins to the surface. After doing this you might actually break out a little more than usual. Don't worry, it will clear up quickly. But do this in advance of a big event.

I really love doing this sort of thing... and using a mask afterwards is a bonus. I'm about to go out and buy a peel-off or clay mask from the drugstore (I haven't decided which yet) but here are three masks you can make at home with the contents of your fridge that I've tried and really like. They all use yogurt and honey as a base; make sure you're using plain, unsweetened yogurt, preferably full-fat (Greek yogurt is supposed to be wonderful as well) and pure honey.

Three At-Home Masks

{via}

Moisturizing 

• 2 tablespoons yogurt

• 1 tablespoon honey

• 1-2 tablespoons cooked and cooled oatmeal

Mix all this together in a small bowl. Apply to face and let dry for 10-20 minutes. Wash off with warm water.

Nourishing

• 1/2 ripe banana

• 1 tablespoon honey

• 2 tablespoons yogurt

Mash banana and mix with yogurt and honey. Apply to face and let dry for 10-20 minutes, wash off with cool water.

Anti-Acne

• 1 tablespoon yogurt

• 1 tablespoon honey

• Fresh lime juice

Mix the yogurt and honey; add a dash of lime juice (approximately 1/4 of a teaspoon, more or less). Apply to face and let dry for 10-20 minutes. Wash off with warm water.

Have fun, girls! It's nice to pamper yourself once in a while.

By the way, if you have any good spa@home recipes, I urge you to share them in a comment. I'd love to try them out and post them!