How To Clean Your Face Naturally At Home?

Are breakouts, acne, blackheads becoming a regular problem? A face clean up might be your best option for avoiding many such skin conditions and rejuvenating your skin, giving it a healthy, young glow.

“Ayurveda recommends daily detox of body wastes through urine, stools and sweat. Skin plays an important role in detoxification. Daily Abhyanga (massage) and Udvartana (using powder cleansers / Ubtan) aids this process and keeps the body clean internally and externally,” says Dr. Zeel Gandhi, Chief Ayurvedic Doctor at Vedix.

Scroll down to know the benefits of a face clean up and how to do one naturally at home.

What Is A Face Clean Up?

Your face is one of the most exposed parts of your body that is susceptible to the harmful effects of dust, pollution and sun. A face clean up is a complete cleansing [1] procedure that removes dead cells, sebum and dirt build up thus improving your skin health. Including a face clean up in your skin care [2] routine reduces the chances of breakouts, acne and other skin concerns. A face clean up includes the following steps of cleansing, scrubbing, steaming, applying a face mask and a soothing moisturizer.

Pampering yourself with a face clean up is simple and can be easily done at home with natural ingredients that improve the health of your skin and keep skin problems away.

How To Clean Your Face Naturally At Home?

Including natural Ayurvedic herbs in your face clean up regime is a great way to achieve healthy skin. According to Ayurveda, an imbalance in your Doshas are responsible for various body ailments including ‘Twak Rogas’ or skin disorders. A rise in Pitta Dosha causes excess sebum secretion leading to oil build-up and acne while an aggravated Vata Dosha causes skin dryness. Ayurvedic texts mention a variety of herbs that improve skin health and prevent ‘Twak Rogas’. Visit your Ayurvedic doctor to determine your skin type to know the perfect combination of herbs that will help improve your overall skin health.

Follow the 6 basic steps of face clean up with natural ingredients to achieve glowing skin that is free from skin problems.

1. Wash Your Face First

Start your clean up with a routine face wash. Use lukewarm water to gently remove dust and dirt particles from your face. A mild face wash can remove excess oil and prepare your skin for the clean up process. If you have make-up on, then first remove the make-up with a make-up remover before washing your face. Coconut oil can also be used in place of a chemical make-up remover for added skin benefits.

2. Use Natural Cleansers

Natural cleansers [3] are a great way to deep clean your face. Deep cleaning helps you to get rid of unwanted dirt, oil, sweat, and bacteria that clogs your pores causing skin problems. Unlike the chemical alternatives available in the market, using natural ingredients reduces the chance of skin irritations and dry skin.

A. Oatmeal And Honey Cleanser For Dry/ Sensitive/ Combination Skin

Rich in saponins, a plant derived surfactant, oatmeal acts as a great cleanser for your face. Easily available in most homes, a little oatmeal paste gently exfoliates and cleanses your skin, without disturbing its pH balance. Adding a little honey to the mixture can help remove sun tans and give your face a natural glow.

B. Cream Of Milk Or Malai For All Skin Types

Using cream of milk or malai for face clean up has been an age old practice. The slightly thick, yellow cream that forms on the surface of boiled milk has great cleansing properties. Rich in lactic acid, malai effectively removes dead cells and helps in the growth of new cells. It leaves your skin feeling soft and supple for a long time. Simply apply the cream on your face and leave it to dry. Gently massage the slightly hardened milk to exfoliate and wash off.

C. Lemon And Honey For Oily/ Combination Skin

Lemon not only removes excess oil but is also good for skin that has acne. It also improves skin that has been suntanned. Known to have certain antibacterial properties, lemon removes bacteria build-up in oily or combination skin that often leads to different skin problems. Add some honey to create the perfect cleanser that not only cleans but also leaves your skin hydrated.

D. Fuller’s Earth Or Multani Mitti For Oily/ Combination Skin

Multani mitti or fuller’s earth has been a part of skincare for centuries owing to its purifying properties. It is especially beneficial for oily and combination skin that is prone to breakouts due to sebum build-up. Multani mitti removes excess oil and impurities and cleans your pores.

E. Oil Cleansing Method for Dry and Combination Skin

Oil fights oil is the baseline of the oil cleansing method. A popular face clean up procedure that depends solely on nourishing oils. Choose your favourite nourishing oil - coconut, olive, sesame or any other and follow the below mentioned simple steps.

1. Dab your face with a lukewarm moist towel to loosen dirt and oil from the surface of your skin.

2. Now massage a nourishing oil all over your face and neck.

3. Wipe off with a moist cloth to reveal skin that feels clean and nourished.

F. Cleansing Grains

Cleansing grains are a type of dry face washes that deep cleans your face by removing dead cells, impurities and bacteria that are responsible for acne and breakouts. Prepare your own cleansing grains by blending oatmeal, yashtimadhu, orange or lemon peel, tulsi and multani mitti or kaolin clay. Add rose water or honey to the mixture to make a paste. Apply this on your face and leave it on for 10 to 15 mins before washing off.

3. Ayurvedic Scrub

A. Dried Coconut And Yashtimadhu Scrub

Both dried coconut and yastimadhu are great skin exfoliators. They also work on sun tans, blemishes and improve your skin tone. You can either buy coconut powder or dry coconut flesh and grind it with yashtimadhu to make this scrub. Add a little water or rose water to adjust the consistency of the mixture and gently exfoliate your skin.

B. Orange Peel And Apricot Scrub

Orange peel is known for its ability to fight acne and remove dead cells from your face. It also helps in maintaining your skin’s oil balance and keeps it fresh and oil free. Apricot is frequently used in many face scrubs for its natural exfoliating quality. Being gentle on skin, it effectively removes dead cells, revealing younger looking skin after every use.

C. Turmeric And Sugar Scrub

Turmeric is an ancient herb that is mentioned in many Ayurvedic texts for its anti-bacterial and skin friendly properties. Turmeric helps in excess oil control, fights bacteria that causes breakouts and improves your complexion. It is often used to cure skin that is damaged by excess sun exposure. Sugar is a natural exfoliator which in combination with turmeric cleans your face and unclogs your pores allowing for new cell growth.

D. Cinnamon And Honey Scrub

Cinnamon is an Ayurvedic herb with anti-microbial properties that works wonders for skin that has acne or breakouts. It is a good pH balancer and keeps your skin clean and oil free for hours. Rich in antioxidants, cinnamon prevents free radical damage to your skin, making it look younger and tighter with frequent application. Honey being a natural humectant, keeps your skin hydrated and feeling fresh. Thus, cleaning your face with cinnamon and honey prevents skin problems and enhances your skin complexion.

4. Face Steaming

Steaming is an integral step in a face clean up process. The warm steam calms the skin on your face and loosens dirt and sebum build up. It is also beneficial for removing blackheads and whiteheads. Face steaming opens your pores and makes your face more receptive to the face pack that is usually applied after this step. The warmth of the steam improves blood flow to the skin and promotes new cell growth.

A. Neem, Tulsi and Yashtimadhu Face Steam

Both Neem and Tulsi are known as antibacterial herbs that prevent various skin disorders. Yashtimadhu is a natural skin healer. It is trusted by various Ayurvedic medicines for curing sun damage, blemishes, dark spots and acne. Yastimadhu’s role in promoting the production of collagen helps tighten your pores making your skin look younger and fresh.

Simply add the ingredients and boil the water for some time to release the herbal extracts. Now bend over the vessel and cover your head with a towel and let your skin soak in the herbal steam for a good 10 mins.

B. Kesar, Tulsi And Rose Face Steam

Kesar or saffron is great for sun tanned skin. It is also helpful in reducing skin inflammations and breakouts. Both kesar and rose water help improve skin complexion that is often damaged by overexposure to the sun and pollution. Tulsi being rich in phytonutrients, helps improve your skin’s health and prevents many skin conditions that are caused by a bacterial build up. Adding these amazing herbs to your face steam gives your skin an amazingly purifying experience.

5. Ayurvedic Face Mask

A face clean up is incomplete without a rejuvenating face pack. Packed with the goodness of Ayurvedic herbs, these herbal face packs are suitable for most skin types and easy to prepare at home.

A. Milk/ Coconut cream, Chandanam, Kesar, Rose Water

Coconut cream or coconut milk is super hydrating for your skin and helps restore the moisture that keeps your skin fresh, soft and supple. You can extract coconut milk from grated coconut or take the flesh from a tender coconut and grind it till it forms a creamy paste. Both have amazing skin rejuvenating properties. Sandalwood paste or chandanam helps in oil control, improves your skin tone, fights acne and skin rash and prevents skin pigmentation.

Add kesar and rose water to the mixture for more skin benefits. Blend all the above ingredients and apply the pack for 20 mins before washing off with water.

B. Yastimadhu, Lemon And Honey

A perfect face pack to prevent skin pigmentation, sunburn and tanning. Both yashtimadhu and lemon have antibacterial properties that help fight acne and skin rashes. Honey rejuvenates, moisturizes and hydrates your skin, leaving it soft and glowing.

C. Turmeric, Malai (Cream Of Milk) And Honey

Turmeric’s use in face packs is an ancient tale. Its antibacterial, antifungal and anti-inflammatory properties fight various skin disorders. It is effective in lightening skin tone, especially for skin that is often exposed to the harsh rays of the sun. Malai being rich in lactic acid, promotes new cell growth by removing dead cells. Honey prevents your skin from losing its natural oils and keeps it smooth and hydrated.

D. Neem, Methi And Kumari

Neem with its bacteria and acne fighting properties help prevent skin breakouts. Methi fights skin pigmentation, blemishes, and dark spots and also helps reduce suntan. Combining neem and methi together makes this face pack power packed anti-acne agent. Aloe vera is great for all skin types as it helps maintain the natural pH balance of your skin. It hydrates and seals moisture in your skin to prevent dryness. Its anti-inflammatory properties soothe irritated skin and help with sunburns.

6. Moisturizing

A face clean up process is usually wrapped up with moisturizing your skin. After you’ve cleaned and allowed your skin to absorb the goodness of the face pack, it is time to seal your pores and lock the moisture with a moisturizer [4]. Natural moisturizers are always a preferred option as they improve your skin health without exposing your skin to harmful chemicals. Kumari Or Aloe Vera, glycerin, honey, ghee, coconut oil, sesame oil, olive oil are amazing natural moisturizers that prevent the loss of essential oils from your skin. Aloe vera and coconut oil are also anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory in nature that makes them great microbe fighting agents that keep your skin healthy and nourished.

6 Benefits Of Cleansing Your Face

1. Reduces Tanning & Pigmentation

If your work gets you frequently exposed to the sun, then skin tanning is unavoidable. Pollution too takes a toll on your natural complexion, causing pigmentation and dark spots. A face clean up reduces pigmentation and reverses the effects of sun exposure and pollution revealing your natural glow.

2. Skin Remains Refreshed And Rejuvenated

A face clean up deep cleans your skin and removes dead skin cells that give your face a dull appearance. Exfoliating reveals the new healthy skin layer making your skin look younger and refreshed. Natural ingredients in a face pack add nourishment to your skin and improve its overall appearance and health.

3. Reduces Skin Breakouts

One of the main reasons behind skin breakouts and acne are bacterial build-up on the surface of your skin. With the accumulation of sweat, sebum and dirt, your face becomes the perfect environment for bacterial growth. A face clean up removes oil build-up and unclogs your pores preventing acne causing bacteria.

4. Removes Dirt And Impurities

Invisible to the eyes, dirt and impurities keep accumulating on your skin whenever you step outside. These block your pores over time and can cause chronic inflammation. Dirt build-up on your skin can also cause oxidative damage which in turn affects the skin or epidermal barrier leading to premature ageing. Frequent face clean-ups can prevent such unwanted damages to your skin.

5. Brightens Your Skin

Frequent face clean-ups remove dead skin cells and bring to surface new cells that automatically make your skin glow. Natural ingredients in your face clean up such as lemon, kesar, turmeric, yastimadhu, chandanam are known Ayurvedic herbs that help remove sun tan and skin pigmentation. Hence, your skin naturally brightens after a face clean up.

6. Prevents Other Skin Issues

Including antibacterial herbs in your face clean up is a great way to prevent various skin issues. Ayurvedic herbs like neem, tulsi, yastimadhu, turmeric are often used in various Ayurvedic medicines to relieve skin problems. A normal face clean up also removes oil and dirt build-up thus preventing bacterial growth.

Vedix Tip: Aloe Vera is a natural sunscreen that protects the skin from harmful UV rays. Apply Aloe Vera all over your face, arms and feet to prevent skin tanning and pigmentation.

How Often Should You Do A Face Clean Up?

A face clean up is needed at least once a week to keep your skin problems away. With constant exposure to the sun and pollution in our busy lives, a face clean up is a great way to rejuvenate your skin. Excess oil, dirt and impurities that clog your pores, make way for bacterial growth and breakouts. Cleaning your face at home with the above mentioned natural ingredients improves your skin health and reveals your skin’s natural glow.

12 Natural Ingredients For Face A Clean Up At Home

You can easily do a face clean up at home with available natural ingredients. Combine ingredients that help to improve your skin condition and watch your face glow. Below mentioned are some of the most commonly found ingredients at home that have amazing skin benefits.

1. Turmeric

• Prevents acne and breakouts
• Improves skin complexion
• Prevents skin pigmentation
• Good for sun protection
• Heals skin and promotes a natural glow

2. Cinnamon

• Controls excess oil
• Fights acne
• Prevents skin pigmentation
• Anti-ageing properties

3. Aloe Vera

• Moisturizes and nourishes the skin
• Prevents acne
• Heals skin pigmentation and sunburns
• Prevents dryness

4. Honey

• Hydrates skin by preventing loss of essential oils
• Treats suntan and sunburn skin
• Prevents acne

5. Avocado

• Moisturizes skin
• Tightens your pores
• Prevents dryness
• Promotes skin health

6. Milk

• Removes dead cells and cleans face pores
• Prevents oil build-up
• Promotes growth of new cells
• Anti-ageing properties
• Anti-inflammatory properties

7. Coconut milk/ Coconut Cream/ Coconut Oil

• Nourishes skin
• Moisturizes dry skin
• Improves skin elasticity
• Prevents premature skin ageing
• Fights acne, rashes and many other skin problems

8. Oatmeal

• Maintains oil balance
• Prevents acne
• Skin rejuvenating properties
• Unclog pores, and cleanse skin

9. Lemon

• Acts as an antioxidant and prevents skin ageing
• Prevents excess sebum secretion in oily skin
• Prevents acne and breakouts
• Improves skin tone and prevents skin pigmentation

10. Neem

• Fights acne and minor skin infections [5]
• Fights skin pigmentation
• Lightens skin tone
• Can cure sun tan

11. Licorice or Yastimadhu

• Anti-inflammatory
• Fights acne, skin pigmentation
• Heals sun burns
• Improves skin complexion
• Promotes production of collagen and slows down skin ageing

12. Rose Water

• Fights acne
• Prevents bacteria build up
• Improves skin tone
• Promotes overall skin health

Which Water Is Best For Cleaning Your Face?

Skin specialists recommend lukewarm water for washing your face. Hot water can dry out your skin and cold water may not be able to clean your face thoroughly. Using lukewarm water is advisable as it gently loosens the dirt and grime from your skin and eases the cleaning process. Make sure the water you use is not too hard as too many minerals and chlorine in water can cause the loss of essential oils that keep your skin hydrated.

The Last Word

Face clean ups whether done at home or by a professional is mandatory to maintain skin hygiene. If visiting a salon is time consuming, you can easily do a face clean up at the comfort of your home. Several natural ingredients found in your kitchen have skin cleansing and nourishing properties. Ingredients like turmeric, yastimadhu, kumari, honey, help calm your Doshas and prevent skin conditions that arise from a Dosha aggravation. A natural face clean up at home is also a better option as it prevents exposure to harmful chemicals that are present in most skincare products. So combine your favourite natural ingredients and give your face a boost of health.

At Vedix, we carefully evaluate your skin type and Doshas and based on that curate a personalized skin care regimen that’s exclusive to your skin.

Know Your Dosha Now