cucumber

When it’s summer we know that temperatures soar up high, your skin needs that extra care and hydration to keep itself glowing. None other than cucumber can be your best friend to help you out.

When we say cucumber for skin, the vivid picture that comes to our mind is a woman who has a towel wrapped on her head at a spa, having cucumber slices over her eyes and all masked up. But is it only on screen and does cucumber really help your skin. The answer is definitely yes.

Swelling, puffing, dark circles or whatever concerns the area around your eyes your inexpensive go to treatment was and is cucumbers.

So let’s see how it helps skin.

Cleanses skin

Cucumber helps in eliminating toxins from deep down the pores. Its a natural cleanser. Due to high water content it can be used as a toner that offers instant freshness when used on skin. Cucumber juice is an excellent alternative to alcoholic toners which comprises of harsh chemicals which can harm your skin.

Reduce dark circles

With abundance of antioxidants and silica , cucumbers help in lightening the dark areas around the eyes making it a successful home remedy for treating dark circles.

Treats fine lines and wrinkles

Though cucumbers contain higher water content they are also good agents for moisturising skin. Applying cucumber slices on the eyes and surrounding areas help in increasing the moisture there by reducing wrinkles and fine lines.

Reduce puffiness

Ascorbic acid and caffeine help in controlling water retention levels. Cucumbers have these in abundance and hence a great ingredient to help you deal with puffiness of eyes. Controlling water retention levels in turn helps in reducing swelling and puffiness around the eyes and surrounding areas.

Cooling agent

The cooling property of cucumber is the main reason that cucumbers are part of many skincare products that concern soothing inflamed skin. The cooling property helps in soothing the inflammated area and helps in faster healing. Products that have cucumber or simply using cucumbers for after sun skin problems will help in faster healing.

Here are some DIY eye pads that can help heal dark circles and puffiness

You need cotton pads and cucumber juice as main ingredients.

Cucumber and sandal

Sandalwood has skin brightening properties and hence when mixed with cucumber juice it makes a great face pack to lighten pigmentation.

Add 2-3 tbsp of cucumber juice to 2 tbsp of sandalwood powder. Apply on face and wash of when it dries off.

Cucumber and potato juice

Potato juice is another best ingredient in treating pigmentation. Imagine how the combination of potato and cucumber will work then.

Use juice of one cucumber and one potato. Dip cotton pads and place over eye. Remove after ten minutes. Do this on a regular basis to see amazing results.

This blog post is part of the blog challenge ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla.’

We are surrounded by a lot of C’s that can be incorporated into your skincare habits to get you the healthy glowing skin.

Coconut oil:

Coconut oil with its combination of natural fats makes it one of the staple in the kitchen. The fats present like the linolic and lauric acids makes it a good skincare ingredient. But do keep in mind that only pure coconut oil or extra virgin coconut oil will yield you the benefits.

HELPS IN LESSENING PIGMENTATION AND DARK CIRCLES
Coconut oil helps in lessening of dark spots or pigmentation under the eyes when massaged generously. It also helps in reducing the puffiness or eye bags as commonly known due to its anti-inflammatory properties.

ALLEVIATES STRESS
Stress can be induced any time and for people at any age. A calming coconut oil massage is all what you need to soothe your senses. The subtle fragrance also helps you calm your mind and make you relaxed.

HIGHLIGHTER
A highlighter is what elevates the beauty in your makeup especially at the cheeks. Just a squeak line of coconut oil over the cheeks sure does give you a glow that reflects light. This is one of the major reasons coconut oil is one of the major ingredients in base makeup products.

REMOVING EYE MAKEUP AND A GOOD EYECREAM
Though we generally prefer using waterproof kajal or mascara for their long lasting smudge free looks, it is highly a tiresome job to take them out. Coconut oil works like a wonder in such cases and makes removal of kajal and mascara pretty much easier. If your skin under the eyes is dry due to weather or dehydration all you need to do is to dab a light layer of coconut oil under the eyes and pat gently. This sure does help in eye relaxing and also improving complexion of the darker areas.

LIP BALM OR LIP SCRUB
Coconut oil can be used as an ingredient in lip balm and also lip scrub.

If u mix it in with brown sugar and honey and apply foe a gentle exfoliation it works great as a scrub.
For a lip balm mix in coconut oil, bees wax and cocoa butter and heat using double boil method. Once melted you could add them to lip balm containers and if needed also include essential oils.

You could play with the ingredients in terms of quantities so that you get the desired consistency.

GREAT USAGE AS CLEANSER
As a first step to face wash, you could apply coconut oil on your face and massage with circular motions and wash off with your regular face wash. Due to its anti bacterial, anti fungal and moisturizing nature its the best nighttime skincare product that most women could vouch for.

COFFEE GROUNDS

Next time after making coffee if you are left with coffee grounds that you decide to trash, you may rethink and pause. The caffeine in coffee grounds has antioxidants that help prevent sun damage. They can be repurposed into excellent exfoliators for both the body and the face.
But if you have sensitive skin this might not be great for you as coffee grounds could be harsh on your skin.

EXFOLIATION
Mix in coffee grounds with a spoon of yoghurt and apply on to face and neck. Once dry rinse with warm water for glowing skin. Make sure you use this only once a week.

BODY POLISH
Make a mixture of granulated sugar, almond oil and coffee grounds. Apply on your body and gently scrub especially the dry areas like the knees and elbows. Say hello to shiny skin.

FOOT SCRUB
Coffee grounds can also play a good role in making them one of the best foot scrub. Mix in coffee grounds with epsom salt and olive oil. Apply on to feet and heels. Scrub gently and wash off to discover feet with baby soft skin.

REDUCE CELLULITE APPEARANCE

As we age one other major concerns are the cellulite marks that make you embarrassed.Worry not when you have coffee grounds. Mix in coffee grounds with water or coconut oil apply on areas where cellulite marks are visible. Wash off after a gentle massage. Do this twice a week to see the marks making slow disappearance. The scrub breaks down the fat and increases blood flow to the area thereby visibly reducing the cellulite marks.

Cucumber is packed with skin loving nutrients . They particularly contain vitamin C which is an antioxidant and caffeic and folic acid which help in boosting collagen production and help fight signs of ageing.

KEEPS SKIN HYDRATED
When skin is well hydrated it has good elasticity and firmness. When its not the skin becomes dry and flaky. Include a lot of cucumbers in diet to keep skin hydrated. The 96% of water present in cucumber is the main reason cucumber provides superior hydration to skin.

GREAT ASTRINGENT
Astringents help to tighten pores in skin and is especially beneficial to acne prone skin. Cucumber is a mild astringent that works great for acne prone skin.

HELPS TREAT PUFFY EYES
Cucumbers are perfect to treat puffy eyes. Just cut few slices of chilled cucumber and place over eyes for a cooling effect.

DETAN AND SOOTHE SUNBURN

Cucumber juice when applied on affected area can help in removing tan and also provide soothing sensation to areas of sunburn.

DIY

FOR DRY SKIN: Mix in equal parts of cucumber juice to aloe vera gel to boost hydration to dry skin. Let this sit for 15 minutes and then wash off.

ACNE PRONE SKIN: Mix in cucumber juice to oatmeal one table spoon and honey one tablespoon. Apply and wash of after 15 minutes. Cucumber juice helps in soothing, honey provides anti bacterial goodness and oatmeal helps in removing excess oil.

This post is written as part of Blogchatter’s A2Z challenge.