Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Pimple Juice (Skin care recipes/pimples/serums)

I used to have flawless skin as a teenager, but in my early twenties (right about the time I became allergic to synthetics) I began to develop blemishes. It caused redness and scaring around my nose, in addition to the rashes I'd get from using synthetic ingredients. I gradually switched to all natural products, which initially made my skin worse, as I applied the wrong ingredients (for oily or dry skin, instead of for dehydrated skin) incorrectly. The products were either too drying or too rich, and I was applying way too much product. It took me a while to figure out I had a little known skin type (dehydrated), and that natural products are concentrated (no fillers) should only be applied in tiny amounts to get the benefits without the greasiness. Right now my skin is pretty much clear, and though I still get an occasional blemish (around certain times of the month ;) ), my skin has healed and the redness around my nose is disappearing. I hope to eventually go over what natural facial cleaners, toners, and moisturizers each skin type should use (make it yourself and also brands) since as I've found out it is very important to use products that are catered to your skin, and to correctly apply them. To start out, I'd like to share with you my 'pimple juice', what I do put on my blemishes when I get them.

Ingredients:

alcohol (such as vodka)
essential oils, such as tea tree, lavender, helichrysum (aka immortelle aka italian everlasting), bergamot (make sure you use only during the night or get bergaptene-free as it is phototoxic, makes the skin tan)

Per 1 ounce (30 ml or 2 Tablespoons) of vodka, add 6-12 drops of essential oils. This will make a 1-2% concentration. Shake gently, and apply with a q-tip or cotton ball as a spot treatment.

You may use either the essential oils individually or a combination of them in this recipe; no matter how many essential oils you use, only use a total of 6-12 drops of essential oils (and NOT 6-12 drops of each esential oil).

I wouldn't use this on extremely dry skin though, as alchohol is drying (or if you have dry skin, use this on top of your moisturizer). This spot treatment is really effective at zapping my pimples away! This is similiar to such products as Burt's Bees Parsley Blemish Stick or Desert Essence's Tea Tree Blemish Touch stick, though a lot cheaper if you make your own!

Some people find alcohol too drying, or want to make a moisturizer with pimple zapping power, so they prefer making a serum.

Ingredients:

carrier oil for your skin type
essential oils

Make a 1-2% concentration.

Be sure you only use 2-5 drops of the serum on your face, and apply with plenty of toner, aloe, hydrosol, herbal tea, or water.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you Li for providing such wonderful information in your blog. I really enjoy and appreciate such a fountain of knowledge!

Kristen aka skinaddicted

Solarkat said...

Hi Kristen

You're welcome :) Good to see you here :)

Cheers,
Solarkat

Anonymous said...

Hello.
i am makingyour juice now!
yus!
thanks a bundle!

Solarkat said...

Hi

You're very welcome :)

Cheers,
LI

Rachel said...

hi Li, thanks for great info. What kind of vodka should i use (particular type or brand?)?

Solarkat said...

Hi Rachel

Thanks for posting :)

Any brand is fine, but try to get as high as a proof as you can (since a low proof won't have enough alcohol, so if you use a low proof, you'll need to shake well before use).

Cheers,
Li

Anonymous said...

Hi Li,

I usually have whiteheads and sometimes cystic acnes on my oily, acne-prone skin. Recently due to wrong use of carrier oils, my acnes are getting worse (I applied a mixture of jojoba and rosehip on my face, a terrible mistake that I didn't know until I read your blog). Currently I'm using BP but this seems to leave brown scars on my face. I want to treat both active acnes and scars at the same time, because I'm afraid old scars are difficult to fade. Can you suggest something that works for both purposes?

Thank you for the great blog. Your information is clear, complete and much easier to understand than a lot of articles I've read.

Liz

Solarkat said...

Hi Liz

Sorry for taking a few days to respond (finishing my thesis)

Try kukui nut oil. Be sure to only apply 2-5 drops to very, very damp skin.

Cheers,
Li