A scrub is a body care product that is applied to the skin and rubbed in a circular motion. It contains small solid inclusions, the action of which provides an exfoliating effect. If the scrub is used correctly, it can be used to remove dead particles of the epidermis, open and cleanse the pores. If used incorrectly, the cosmetic product will not work to its full potential and may even cause harm. Therefore, you should know the basic principles of how to use a scrub in a bath.
The sauna will make your face soft and clean
If you are planning to improve your skin condition by visiting a steam room, first take a contrast shower. Afterwards, do not blot your skin with a towel.
- Stay in the sauna for about 10 minutes to allow the steam to expand your pores.
- Apply the scrub to your face and massage your skin.
- Wait 5-6 minutes, then leave the sauna to wash your face with warm water.
- Dry your face with a soft towel and return to the sauna.
- Apply the selected oil to your face using massaging movements.
- Allow the oil to completely absorb into the skin (this will take a few minutes).
- Wash your face with cool water.
After cleansing your face in the sauna, you should not use creams, otherwise the skin pores will become clogged, making the procedure ineffective.
For dry skin types, olive or coconut oil is suitable; oily or combination skin will become matte after using aloe, jojoba or avocado oils, and macadamia oil will help mature ladies get rid of wrinkles. If your skin is too sensitive, use universal products - extract from chamomile seeds or evening primrose.
Skin preparation
Both store-bought and self-prepared scrubs should be applied only to previously prepared skin. It should be steamed thoroughly. According to bath lovers, the first visit to the steam room is not the right time to use any care products. The ideal moment for this would be to exit the steam room after the second session, when the pores are maximally opened. Moreover, it is recommended to take a shower first and only then apply the scrub to clean skin.
Face masks in the sauna
Food-based formulations do not contain harmful additives and heal the skin in just a few uses.
Yeast mask
- Mix 5 ml of sunflower oil and 20 g of brewer's yeast.
- Add egg yolk to the mixture.
- Apply the composition to your face for 6-7 minutes.
Honey mask
- Take the yolk, add 25 ml of olive oil and 20 g of honey.
- Keep the mixture on your face for 30 minutes.
Curd mask
- Combine fresh cottage cheese, kefir, carrot juice and olive oil (25 g of each ingredient).
- After 20 minutes, rinse off the mask with warm water.
Whitening mask
- Take ½ banana, mash and soak in milk.
- Apply the paste to the skin, and after 10-15 minutes, rinse with water at 35°C.
Post-sauna mask “Eternal youth”
- Prepare a homogeneous mass of 50 g banana, 5 ml orange juice and 25 g honey.
- Use the composition immediately after visiting the sauna.
- Wash your face after a few minutes.
Hot mustard in bath procedures
Tiny mustard seeds with an unusually spicy aroma and fiery taste have been known to the peoples of the world for more than 5 thousand years. In Ancient India and Ancient Egypt, powdered seeds were used in medicine, cosmetology and cooking. Mustard is mentioned in the Torah, Koran and Bible as a symbol of small things, but of great significance. Ancient healers treated many ailments with mustard; the Greeks and Romans added it to wine to increase strength and energy.
In the Middle Ages, the Vatican introduced the position of a mustard man, who was supposed to oversee the cultivation and production of mustard in the monasteries. In Germany there was a whole Order of the Mustard Seed. In the United States, National Mustard Day is celebrated on the first Saturday in August, and in Wisconsin there is a Mustard Museum and Mustard College. And finally, in France in 1937, a government decree was issued that assigned the world's most famous Dijon mustard a controlled appellation of origin and protected its production.
Such a plant could not help but find application in bath procedures. Beauties of all times and peoples used mustard to cleanse their skin and hair, along with honey, which we wrote about in the article Honey is the sweet friend of beauty and health.
Mustard recipes
Live steam
It has preventive and therapeutic properties during colds, and is also famous as an excellent warming agent during cold weather.
To prepare mustard steam, soak birch brooms in water, dilute a teaspoon of dry mustard in half a liter of warm water and pour into the broom infusion. Pour the prepared solution over the hot stones while steaming. At the very end, moisten cotton wool with mustard pulp and bring it to each nostril, inhaling the hot steam several times.
Birch essential oil has an analgesic and anti-inflammatory effect, mustard increases blood circulation and warms, and together they can easily cope with any manifestations of a cold.
Rubbing
Warming up and increasing sweating using mustard rubs in combination with steam procedures are very good for regulating metabolism and improving overall well-being, reducing weight and reducing swelling. They promote a sharp opening of pores, activate blood vessels, increase blood circulation and stimulate nerve endings.
For rubbing, ready-made table mustard or, if you have increased sensitivity to acids, mustard powder brewed with water yourself is suitable. To do this, dilute the dry mustard with warm, never hot, water until it becomes sour cream. Already in the bath, dilute the prepared mustard to a liquid puree.
Before rubbing with mustard, you should not take massage sessions or apply cold to the skin - microtrauma to the skin and noticeable pain will be inevitable. It is best to take a warm shower without detergents after the second warm-up in the steam room and then evenly spread diluted mustard over the entire surface of the body, avoiding the mucous membranes. After a couple of minutes, go into the steam room and sit on the first or second shelf, away from the heater. When the mustard is absorbed and profuse sweat appears, take a neutral shower again and go to rest. After 30 minutes, you can carry out any other planned bath procedures.
Cleansing scrub
By mixing equal parts sea salt, honey and mustard powder, you can get an excellent cleansing body scrub. It is very effective, but quite aggressive, so before use it is best to do a small allergy test by applying a small amount of the mixture to your wrist. If the sensations are pleasantly warming and after removal the skin has a pleasant pink tint, then the scrub can be applied to the entire body, paying special attention to problem areas. After applying the scrub, go to the steam room and continue massaging your body with gentle movements for 10-15 minutes. After this, take a warm shower and apply moisturizer.
For smooth skin
Natural mustard oil actively nourishes and softens the skin, promotes the burning of fat deposits. It is often used to massage the entire body or individual problem areas. If you rub mustard seed oil into the thigh area a couple of times a week, then after a month you can easily say goodbye to the orange peel.
For a wasp waist, mustard-honey wraps have proven to be very effective. Mustard has the ability to surprisingly quickly activate the breakdown of fats, which is accompanied by a pleasant warming sensation and a slight tingling sensation. However, if you have problems with blood vessels, it is better to refrain from such procedures.
For hair
Mustard has long been used to wash hair. It perfectly cleanses, especially oily hair, strengthens the roots, stopping hair loss, and promotes growth. They say mustard even helps with baldness in men. To give strength, shine and volume to hair, it should be used regularly, once every two weeks.
To do this, dissolve 2 tablespoons of mustard powder in 2 glasses of warm water and stir thoroughly. Apply the resulting mixture evenly onto your hair with massaging movements, wrap it with a towel and, if desired, sit in the steam room for about five minutes. It is not recommended to keep the mustard mixture on your hair for more than 7 minutes.
If during a session the skin burns unbearably, you should immediately wash off the mustard. It is better to wash it off by thoroughly rinsing your hair in warm water in a basin and only then in the shower using shampoo. Initially, mustard is difficult to remove under the shower: it can remain in the hair and give the impression of dandruff.
Masks of youth
Thanks to the amazing properties of mustard, after these ancient masks for all skin types, blood supply to every cell improves, inflammatory processes are reduced, and after the first use the face acquires a healthy color, glowing with youth and beauty.
To prepare the first mask, a tablespoon of mustard powder is diluted with a warm infusion of chamomile or green tea to a creamy mass, and half a teaspoon of olive oil and honey are added. After thorough mixing, the mixture is applied to clean facial skin and left for 10 minutes. To rinse off, it is better to use chamomile infusion at room temperature.
The second mask is prepared as follows: a teaspoon of mustard oil is mixed with 2 tablespoons of steamed oatmeal when it has cooled slightly. Apply the mask in an even layer to the skin of the face and neck, and after 15 minutes, massage it off with warm water.
Oksana Smirnova
Tags: mustard, scrubs, skin masks, hair masks
Facial cleansing in a home mini-sauna
A steam sauna, or inhaler-sauna for the face, is a special device that allows you to:
- expand pores and free them from impurities;
- increase local blood circulation;
- eliminate pimples and blackheads;
- remove toxic substances;
- activate regeneration processes.
Exposure to such an inhaler is harmless to any skin type.
Rules for using a steam sauna
- Fill the device with water with additives.
- Turn on the inhaler and wait until it warms up.
- When steam begins to flow from the holes, place your face under the warm air streams and hold for the period of time specified in the instructions for the device or in the mask recipe.
The advantage of a steam sauna over a regular kettle is that the steam has a comfortable temperature and does not cause burns.
The following are used as additives to obtain healing liquid poured into the inhaler:
- herbs - sage, plantain, chamomile, etc. (plants saturate the epidermis with antioxidants and shrink pores);
- oils - for example, a combination of eucalyptus, jasmine and chamomile oils destroys infections, prevents aging and heals damage.
Before using any parts of medicinal plants, make sure that they are not allergens for you. After all, under the influence of heat, all components penetrate into the deep layers of the skin, so they can cause a very strong allergic reaction.
Many owners of inhalers complain that the device does not completely cover the skin of the face. To prevent this problem from affecting you, you need to choose a device designed for cosmetic procedures, and not for the treatment of diseases of the ENT organs. The best steam saunas for the face are:
- Gezatone;
- BaByliss;
- Smile;
- Bodyform.
Inhalations + masks – you are beautiful, like in a fairy tale
In addition to steaming your face with useful ingredients, you can use a cosmetic inhaler to prepare for applying a mask - the nutritional components penetrate the steamed epidermis faster.
Egg mask for skin with increased sebum secretion
- Beat the yolk and white, apply to a washed face.
- Turn on the inhaler and stay under steam for 5 minutes.
- Wash and lubricate your face with a mixture of cream and olive oil.
Anti-rash mask
- Combine 20 g of blue clay and 20 ml of water.
- Lubricate the skin with the resulting composition and wait until it hardens.
- Steam the skin for 6-8 minutes.
Mask for dry and dehydrated skin
- Take 1 tsp. honey and add 2-3 drops of peach or grape seed essential oil.
- Cover your face with this mixture and steam it for 5 minutes.
- When preparing this mask, you can use eucalyptus oil - in this case, you only need to steam the skin for 3 minutes.
If dirt remains on the skin after inhalation, clean the most enlarged pores with a special brush, and then lubricate them with salicylic acid.
Massaging movements
It’s not enough to just lubricate your body with a scrub. The expected result can be achieved by actively rubbing the skin. At the same time, movements should not be rough so that there are no microdamages left. Cosmetologists recommend massage from bottom to top, starting from the feet. Particular attention should be paid to rough areas of the skin (heels, knees, elbows).
A good effect is achieved by regular use of scrubs if there is cellulite on the surface of the thighs. The impact on problem areas should be more intense. Massaging them can improve blood circulation. Using a scrub will remove swelling.
