Green Skincare: Fresh From Your Kitchen

Natural Treatments for Breakouts
The holidays are a joyous, wonderful time to enjoy and catch-up with friends and loved ones. However, the stretch from Thanksgiving through the New Year can take a toll on your complexion. Lack of sleep, stress, late nights, and crazy days can cause breakouts. Here are some of my favorite, quick remedies for those surprise blemishes, fresh from you kitchen.

honey
Use this to sweet treat to help attract dirt, oil and clean skin with breakouts. Bees release a glucose enzyme when creating honey that is a natural antiseptic and has antibacterial properties. When applied topically, it draws body fluids and nutrients to the area assisting in cell growth and scar prevention.
~lie down, drape a warm, damp towel on face to open pores
~relax for 5 minutes
~using clean fingertips, apply honey to your face and neck in gentle upward, circular motions
~rinse off, gently using warm, damp towel to assist

Honey is also readily available in the organic form! Pick some up from your local farmer's market.

flax seed
this amazing ingredient tames a blemish quicker than any salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide or other zit cream I've ever tried. I always keep some fresh flax seed handy in the fridge (for complexion purposes alone!)
~Simply sprinkle ground flax in the palm of your clean hand, and add a few drops warm water or aloe juice to form a paste
~Apply to blemish, leave on like a mask for 20 min. rinse with warm water.

Flax seed can be found at Trader Joe's or health food stores. I've even seen it at many supermarkets here in California. If you can't find ground flax seed, you can do it yourself in a clean coffee grinder.

If I have a bad breakout and the time, I like to combine these treatments. The flax seed treatment can also be left on overnight to calm a red, inflamed zit, just don't forget to change your pillowcase in the AM!