Face Good

It's been awhile since I last wrote an article about DIY beauty methods! Given rising costs of living and worsening inflation, I'm back to experimenting with home remedies that are comparatively cheaper to branded facial products in the market.

Some fruits and vegetables, when in contact with your skin, produces natural moisturizing and nourishment effects and can remove wrinkles in the long run.

Brinjal Mask
Mash up a brinjal (unskinned), soak it in a small jar of rice wine and add about 2 to 3 tablespoons of natural honey. Keep in a sealed jar and refrigerate for a week. It helps to smoothen skin and remove wrinkles.

Banana Mask
Mash a banana, add half a tablespoon of olive oil and mix evenly until the mixture is very fine. This masks helps in eliminating wrinkles.

Water melon wipe
Wipe your face with a clean piece of watermelon skin and then rinse your face with clear water. This helps to refresh and moisturize your skin, thus preventing the formation of wrinkles.

Snake gourd mask
Juice a snake gourd and mix the juice with half a cup of rice wine and 2 tablespoons of honey. Apply it to your face and rinse off when dry. Snake gourd is effective against wrinkling skin.

Cucumber mask
Probably one of the most popular and easiest methods. Simply place slices of cucumber over your clean face. It helps to refresh your skin as well as soothe wrinkled skin.

Tomato Mask
Mix 2 tablespoons of honey with a glass of freshly squeezed tomato. Tomatoes protect skin against sunburn and premature wrinkling.

All masks are to be applied directly to skin for about 15 to 20 minutes unless otherwise stated, and washed off with clean water. However, before applying these masks to your face, always apply a bit of it to the back of your ear or neck to test for allergy reactions. Instead of applying the masks to your entire face, you can also do spot treatment by applying it just to drier, more wrinkled parts of your skin and monitor its progress to see if it works. As with all products, results and effects vary from person to person.

At the beginning of a new year, one of the types of books that sees increased sales are horoscope forecast and zodiac geomancy books! After all, those who believe would want to know their fortune for the rest of the year so they know what to expect and how to adapt. Of course, some people consider this hogwash, but all the same, it makes for entertaining reading! How many ladies can honestly say that you've never in your life read the horoscope prediction page at the back of your magazines?

When it comes to beauty and skin care, different people adopt different beauty regimes based on their personalities and characteristics, which some attribute to the stars. Not that I'm a firm believer in this, but I do sometimes find how interestingly coincidental the description of my zodiac sign is with my personality!

For this entry, to make things a little more interesting than usual, I'm going to do something a little different from usual. Based on the personalities of the different signs, I will advise on beauty tips and cautionary notes. You may take the horoscope reading like a pinch of salt, but if you see your personality up there, the tips may very well work for you!

Capricorn - The Risk Taker

Capricorns rarely deliberate on decisions. If they decide to go for it, they'll go for it. Home remedies like baked soda, aspirin mask and all sorts of trial and error recipes have the largest audience in them, even if these methods are not scientifically proven. The Capricorn owns the richest collection of make-up and beauty products, counter-bought or self-made.

Tip: Your courage and perseverance for change is commendable, but you should still exercise caution when using these products. At least read up on the ingredients used or consult friends who have used them. Bear in mind that some mistakes made in your beauty regime are irreversible!

Taurus: The Diligent but Stubborn Bull

Tauruses have incredibly high expectations on beauty and spend lots of time and effort toiling away at their beauty regime. They dislike change and once having settled on a brand, they'll swear to use it for the rest of their lives, buying and using every companion product of the same brand.

Tip: As the saying goes, "If it's not broken, don't fix it". If you're comfortable with your current state, by all means, carry on. However, it's good to try some new brands and products occasionally on the recommendation of friends. You may be in for a pleasant surprise! If you're not comfortable with completely switching brands or products, you can always ask for a sample from the sales rep at the beauty counter.

Gemini: Always in Two Minds

Geminis sound very knowledgeable about beauty care. Indeed, they have probably bought and dabbled with many different products but each is never fully utilized for the Gemini changes her mind like the weather and loses focus easily, jumping from one beauty regime to another.

Tip: Products don't work magic overnight. At least wait until you've finished using it for the stipulated period of time before assessing it's functionality!

More zodiac signs to come next week, so stay tuned!

This is the last installment of a series of tips on damaging lifestyle habits.

7. Using your hands to scoop your facial products

Long term effect: If your products get contaminated, your skin could get worst from the presence of germs and dust from your fingers and the surrounding air.

If your product comes in a wide-mouth jar, use a spatula to scoop the required amount and cap it immediately.

8. Over-reliance on home remedies
DIY remedies, if appropriately administered, are effective and cheap. But if inappropriately administered, they may result in sensitive and injured skin in the long run.

Bear in mind that DIY remedies are not substitutes to fundamental skin care products like cleansers, toners and make-up removers. They are supplements which would help to enhance skin care and thus help to reduce costs on additional facial products like acne and age spot treatments that are expensive and would not be needed if you take good care of your skin regularly. Besides, not any home remedy you see on the web works for you, because most home remedy recipes are written based on the writer’s personal skin health and desired achievements, which may not be applicable to you. Home remedies are also a product of trial and error, and there are some careless people who may post home remedies online without verifying them. Always do some research on the composition of the recipe before using it, and if you can’t verify how the ingredients in the recipe contribute to the promised result, don’t use it! Also, do consider the fact that when different ingredients mix, they may produce side effects!

9. Using the same make-up remover for eyes and other parts of your face.

Long-term effect: Using non-eye make-up remover around the eyes can cause various skin problems around the eyes like puffy eyes and dullness.

The skin around your eyes is different from the skin on other parts of your face. Makeup removers that are specific to the eyes should be non-comedogenic and its PH value should be similar to that of your tears so that it is gentle on your eyes. Make-up removers for other parts of your face would contain a different composition that is likely to be unsuitable for the sensitive area around your eyes.

That's all for the moment, but it's not a comprehensive list! Always put your common sense and analytical skills to good use, especially if you're going to do something that would have a direct impact on your body!

Here are some simple masks made from food that can be used to extract blackheads!

Green Melon Mask

You will need:
1 Green Melon
1 Facial mask sheet

Instructions:
1. Put the green melon in the blender, add in some water and blend.
2. Filter the mixture, setting aside the liquid for use.
3. Pour the green melon water onto facial mask sheet and wait for it to soak up all the liquid.
4. Cover face with mask for 20 minutes.

Apart from removing black heads, its cooling effect reduces infections and swellings. If you have pimples, you’ll soon be rid of them!

Egg nose mask

You will need:
1 Facial Mask Sheet
Egg White from 1 egg

Instructions:
1. Cut out from the facial mask sheet, the portion that covers the nose. This will be used for the nose mask.
2. Apply egg white on the nose mask
3. Place nose mask on nose. Make sure it sticks on your skin and don’t leave space for bubbles.
4. Sit in front of a fan to dry the mask. Once the mask is dry, remove it. You should be delighted to find black spots (your blackheads) on the mask!

Tea is an all-natural beauty and health supplement! Dermatologists say that regular consumption of tea makes your skin smooth and radiant and lengthens the time period for wrinkle formation.

Apart from drinking tea, there are some simple things you can do with tea to improve various aspects of your wellbeing!

If your eyes are tired from prolonged computer usage, use a cotton pad to soak up a small amount of cooled tea and wipe your eyes gently with it. After a few minutes, splash some cold water on your face. It brings instant relief for your eyes!

Teabags are also great remedies for dark circles and eyebags. You can view the article that I wrote on it months ago here.

Tea soothes sunburnt skin too! Just gently dab some cooled tea onto the peeling and flaky parts using a cotton pad. Do it for as long as you like until you’re satisfied with the results.

If your eyes are swollen and red due to lack of sleep or failure to remove your eye-makeup completely, you can bring down the swelling with tea bags. Take 2 tea bags that have been soaked in luke-warm water and place them over your closed lids for 10 minutes. But don’t place them directly over the slits of your eyes in case tea gets into them.

Last but not least, you can make a tea facial mask! You will need brown sugar and red tea leaves for this. Add 2 teaspoons of red tea leaves and brown sugar to a tea pot. Add a little water (until approximately 1 finger widths from the base of the pot) and boil the mixture. After the tea has boiled, stir flour into the mixture until you get a gooey and evenly blended mixture which would serve as your mask. Wait till it is cool enough, then apply the mask to your face. Wipe the mask away from your face after 15 minutes. This mask is especially good for people with dull skin. If you keep this up for at least 1 month, you should be able to put some radiance and colour back to your skin!

You may find the large selection of herbal and all natural teas these days overwhelming. However, you don't have to worry about exactly which tea to choose as all natural tea (not the ones with artificial flavouring, mind you) generally have beauty and health merits, so you could use any. Examples of natural tea include red tea, black tea, Jasmine tea and green tea. My personal recommendation is green tea because it is known to have detoxification effects!

Here’s a recipe for a new face mask which I saw on the Taiwanese beauty show 女人我最大. It's a quick and simple respite for your tired face!

Ingredients: 1 egg, 2 tablespoons of honey, half glass of milk, flour

Crack the egg into a bowl and scoop out the egg yolk into another bowl. Add honey, milk and flour into the bowl containing the yolk and mix. Amount of flour added should be in accordance to your preference of how watery you want your mask to be. When the mixture is thoroughly mixed, apply it evenly on your face. Leave it on for 20 minutes and wash it off with lukewarm water.

It will nourish your skin and make it more radiant!

I hope everyone gets to greet your relatives during Chinese New Year with a joyful and glowing face!

Everyone wants smooth, tender skin, but sometimes our body just won’t comply with our wishes. With poor lifestyle habits, it’s not uncommon for skin to have uneven pigmentation or look pale and dull. It must be emphasized again that using good facial products and treatments help to improve and maintain skin quality on the surface, but if your health is poor, the problems are just going to keep returning.

The most effective way to improve your skin condition without compromising too much of your regular lifestyle is through eating more vegetables! Different types of vegetables are especially suitable for treating different types of skin conditions!

Red Face
By this, I don’t mean radiant rosy cheeks or the flushed cheeks you get from blushing or drinking, but red patches in various parts of your face. This is usually attributed to eating too much animal cholesterol and animal protein. To counter this problem, include a large amount (estimated 2 servings) of leafy green vegetables when having a meal that’s heavy on meat. Such vegetables include spinach, celery, and lettuce. They are more effective when eaten raw, but you can also make juice out of them.

Crimson Red Face
Similar to the red face, the pigmentation is spread in various parts of your face, but they look more pronounced. Fortunately, they aren’t permanent and only occur when your blood circulation is poorer i.e. during cold weather. Still, that shouldn’t stop you from looking your best at all times. There are two solutions to this problem. You can take warm baths and massage the red portions more often to quicken your blood flow. You should also take in foods rich in vitamin B1, C and D to allow the body to absorb protein efficiently.

Oily skin and dark pigmentation
This usually results from consuming too much oil – namely animal and vegetable oil (yes vegetable oil is still oil after all!). The solution is to reduce your oil intake by consuming less oily foods, and eat more leafy green vegetables. Before a meal, drink a glass of warm vegetable juice.

Freckles
Asians are rarely born with freckles. If you have freckly cheeks, one of the causes could be consuming too much salt. If your diet consists mainly of animal cholesterol and protein, this will affect your liver’s function negatively, causing freckles to become more obvious. You must include plenty of vegetables and fruits in your diet. Medical drugs are also bad for skin, especially sleeping pills, which result in the secretion of acid. Medication should be avoided when unnecessary.

Uneven dark pigmentation
Generally, consuming too much salt results in rough, dry and dull skin. Exposure to sunlight worsens the condition. If your skin is losing its radiance and turning dull and dark, it is a warning for your body to expel the salt. To improve the condition, you should reduce your salt intake and consume more water and fibre (from vegetables) to aid the colon to function more effectively so that the toxins can be passed out through waste. If you have a bath tub, soak in a warm bath until you perspire. This helps your body to detoxicate.

This method was revealed by the popular Japanese beautician Saeki Chizi on her talkshow about skin care. Apparently, many Japanese girls subscribe religiously to her shows, and we all know how Japanese girls are famed for their young appearances. It’s quick, painless and cheap, so let’s give it a go!

You will need:
- Normal cleansing facial mask. It can be any sort of mask; clay, peel-off, DIY… just get one that you normally use. However, do not use an overnight mask as this is not an overnight treatment.
- Permeable plastic wrap (the type used for wrapping food)
- Massage oil or lotion for face
- A steamed towel. To steam a towel, soak it in hot water, take it out and wring it dry, and put it in a microwave oven and heat for 30 seconds. Don’t heat it for longer than that or it may burn up.
- Facial mist spray
- Facial essence
- Facial cream
- Chilled towel (refrigerate a towel overnight)

Here's what you do:

1. Use a facial mask to correct surface problems on your face (such as zits and blemishes).

2. Place a layer of plastic wrap over your facial mask. Remember not to cover over your mouth and nose! Vapour moisture that passes back and forth the plastic wrap helps to moisturize your face. The effect will be more pronounced if you do your facial while having a soak in your bath tub (there’ll be lots more water and vapour).

3. Remove your mask and plastic wrap according to the time span you are supposed to use the mask for.

4. Massage your face with massage oil/lotion. This will help your skin to regain its radiance, elasticity and intensity. Simultaneously massage the lymph nodes on your face (under your chin and on your cheeks) to promote the removal of toxins and reduce facial swelling.

5. Place a steamed, warm towel over your face for five minutes or so, until the towel has cooled. This will open up your pores, allowing your skin to absorb moisture and nutrients.

6. Spray mist on your face to refresh skin.

7. Apply facial essence to nourish skin.

8. Apply a layer of facial cream which will act as a protective layer, locking in moisture and nutrients inside your skin.

9. Turn in early and have a good night’s rest.

10. On the second day, before you put on make-up, use a chilled towel to cover your face for five minutes. This will minimize your pores and make your make-up last longer.

Now we all know that fruits and veggies are good for skin, but some don’t taste very nice unprocessed, and we get sick of the common fruits. It’s good to have some variations, isn’t it? Here are some self-invented juices that will help you lessen the harmful effects of late nights on your skin! And they taste great too!

Veggie Delight
You will need 1 radish, 1 carrot, a few stalks of spinach and celery, half a glass of fresh milk, 2 tablespoons of honey and a few ice cubes.
Cut up all the vegetables into small pieces and place them into the fruit juicer. Add the milk, honey, and ice and mash them all together.

Creamie Fruitie
You will need one banana, a slice of papaya and a small carton of yogurt (250ml). Peel the banana and remove the skin of the papaya. Cut the banana and papaya into small pieces. Put them into the juicer with the yogurt and mash them all together.

Sour Stimulation (warning: It’s really sour! Good for digestion though, especially when you’ve just returned from supper!)
You will need 2 kiwi fruits, 4 oranges and 1 lemon. Remove their skins and cut them into small pieces. Mash them together in the juicer.

Sweet and Sour
You will need three pomeloes, a bunch of grapes and 2 tablespoons of honey. Peel the pomeloes and cut them into small pieces. Mash them together in the juicer. The mixture will be a nice balance of sour and sweet!

Minty Cool
You will need 1 cucumber, 500ml of soya bean milk, 3 peppermint leaves. Skin and slice the cucumber. Mash and mix them up in the juicer. It’s cooling and makes you feel more energetic!

I'm back with the final installment (for now) of beauty tips for late nighters!

If you're going to be up late, the least you can do is make the night constructive for your skin! With some simple steps, you can improve your skin's ability to absorb nutrients from skin care product, and subject your skin to more restful sleep, almost making up for the damage wrought from late nights!


Apply night serum before 11pm

In a previous article, I mentioned that 11pm is the recommended time for your body to rest since it would be when various detoxification processes begin in your body. Sadly that seems to be a luxury that not everyone can afford. Most people apply night serum / moisturizer just before bed time as it is the last step of your nightly skin care routine. I would recommend you do it before 11pm instead, so that the detoxification process does not affect the skin’s ability to absorb the serum.

Take your supplements at night

When your body (and consequently your skin) lacks sleep, nutrient loss outweighs nutrient gains from your diet. If you have a habit of taking supplements, do take them at night, instead of taking them in the morning, especially Vitamin C and collagen. When your body is in its rest state at night, it will absorb the supplements more effectively for efficient reparation.

DIY Aromatherapy

Most salons these days add some fragrance to your treatment room or incorporate fragrance oils into the beauty treatment process because natural fragrance helps your mind to relax.
You can also include fragrance oils in your steam facial to relax your skin and help you sleep more soundly at night.

After cleansing your face, prepare a basin of steaming hot water. Add a few drops of fragrance oil and stir evenly. Place your face over the basin so that the steam emitting from the hot water opens your pores. Cover your head and the basin with a towel to prevent the steam from escaping. When the water has cooled down significantly, cleanse your face with the water. If you’re afraid of perspiration dripping from your hair and dirtying the water, you should wrap up your hair in a towel prior to steaming.

Different fragrance oils can help to improve different skin conditions:
Rose, sandalwood and chamomile are kind on dry, peeling skin. Rose and chamomile will also restore radiance in dull skin.
Geranium and lavender are suitable for oily, moisture-deprived skin.
For those plagued with acne problems, go with chamomile, peppermint, eucalyptus and frankincense.
These fragrances can usually be found in skincare specialty shops like The Body Shop, or shops specializing in aromatherapy.

One last milk mask for this series before I go on to something new next week! If you are plagued with age spots and uneven pigmentation, this mask will help you to fade the problem spots and restore even skin colour!

You will need a tablespoonful of milk, two tablespoonfuls of Hydrogen Peroxide Solution (H2O2), three tablespoonfuls of pearl powder and a little water.

H2O2 solution has been used to treat acne as well as diminish marks caused by acne. However, bear in mind that it can be quite drying and irritating especially on sensitive and dry skin. Milk does help to alleviate some of the dryness, but go for a solution with as low a concentration as possible. 3% concentration is the most commonly available one often used as antiseptic. Most pharmacies should carry it, so do consult the pharmacist on its contents and concentration. H2O2 with a concentration of 10% and above can burn skin!

So back to the mask! Mix the above-mentioned agreements together until it becomes a nice gooey mixture. Apply it to your face. Be careful not to touch the brows and area around the eyes because they are too delicate to handle the H2O2. After the mask dries, rinse off with warm water.

Tip: Masks are great for deep cleansing. However, if you have no time to make your own masks, you can simply pour a little milk into your face wash basin, dip a mask sheet in the wash basin and place it over your face. Once the sheet dries, wait a few minutes and then remove the sheet and rinse your face with water.

This article is shared at Face Good on Facebook! Please join it if you have a facebook account, and discuss and contribute!

In my previous article, I wrote about the wonders of milk, and using fermented milk to make masks. However, it seems some people really dislike it (my mum. oh dear. she nearly threw up because of the smell). So if you think that fermented milk smells too bad for your liking, here are a few more milk masks, made from fresh milk! Take your pick!

#1
Mix three tablespoonfuls of fresh milk with three tablespoonfuls of pearl powder and stir until it becomes an even gooey mixture. Apply it all over your face. Once the mask is dry, wash it off with warm water. You should only use this mask twice a week or less.

#2
Mix a tablespoon of fresh milk, a few drops of olive oil and 1 table spoon of pearl powder together until you get a nicely even mixture. Apply it to your cleansed face. When it dries, wash off with warm water. This helps to reduce wrinkles and maintains your skin’s suppleness and elasticity. Similarly, only do this no more than twice a week, and if you use one, don’t use the other.

#3
Mash 50g of strawberry. Juice it by placing the pulp in between porous sheets or a porous bag. Pour the juice into one glass of fresh milk and stir evenly. Massage this all-natural strawberry milk mixture over your face and neck. Wash off after 15 minutes. This cleanses, tones and moisturizes your skin and prevents wrinkles!

This article is shared at Face Good on Facebook! Please join it if you have a facebook account, and discuss and contribute!

I’m back with my first post for the New Year! I hope everyone’s New Year started out great! My new year was tonnes of fun, but I’m so exhausted! I’ve been staying up past 2am for the countdown and parties. My poor skin’s gone through the mill! To make up for the late nights and unhealthy food and beverages, I’ve been giving my skin a treat – milk masks!



Since historical times, milk has long proven its worth in beauty and skin care. Concubine Yang, one of the four great beauties of China, was famed for taking a milk bath everyday. Even in modern times, Fan Bing Bing, touted as one of the greatest beauties in Chinese entertainment, revealed milk baths as one of her beauty secrets!

However, milk baths are rather extravagant, and not all of us have bath tubs to begin with! On the other hand, using milk on your face once in a while is pretty affordable!

For this week and the next, I'll share with you some recommended DIY treatments and masks derived from milk!

Wrinkle-removal & whitening mask

Milk is rich in dairy fat, vitamins and minerals. It has natural moisturizing properties and is easily absorbed by the skin. It prevents skin from drying, and reduces dry wrinkles. It is a great all-natural skin care product!

First of all, place a glass of milk in a warm part of the house for a few days. This will cause the lactic acid in the milk to ferment, thus releasing its anti-bacterial properties. Scoop up about 2 tablespoons of milk and set aside. Add a tablespoon of pearl powder paste to the rest of the milk and stir until it becomes a gooey mixture that is thick enough to stay on your skin surface.

Do not choose low-fat milk or skimmed milk. Freshly collected, unprocessed milk straight from the farms is the best, but this is not very conveniently available, so you can make do with packet milk.

Here’s how to milk the treatment for all its worth!

1. Using some milk from those 2 tablespoons of milk that you previously set aside, apply it onto your face. Massage it all over your face for about one minute.

2. Wipe your face clean with a warm towel.

3. Apply the milk mask thickly to your face. Rinse off with warm water after 20 – 30 minutes.

4. Dab green tea water or alkaline toner (because lactic acid is acidic) to your face and wait till it dries.

5. Massage the remaining fermented milk all over your face. You don’t have to wash this away. However, if you can’t tolerate the smell from it, you can use fresh milk, or mix fresh milk with fermented milk. Pure fermented milk is still the most effective though!

After doing this five or six times, you should find that your skin looks visibly better!

Tune in next week for more!

On another happy note, I've created a Facebook group for Face Good! It's still rather empty but I'll spruce it up soon and invite more members. Apart from discussing my articles posted here, you can discuss anything and everything to do with beauty. So do come and join up and contribute your wealth of knowledge, and invite your friends!

More DIY masks to reduce acne scarring!

Red wine with Honey

Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of honey into a small glass of red wine. Stir until the mixture is even and apply on your face. When about 80% of it has dried up, wash away with warm water.

You use this mask every alternate day.

Citric acid stimulates cell renewal, thus causing dark pigmentation to lighten and makes skin smooth and whiter. Honey has moisturizing and nurturing purposes. However, people who do not react well to alcohol (such as getting red patches on skin upon consumption) should not try this method.

Green bean and Bai Zhi mask

You can use this mask 2 to 3 times a week.

This mask has detoxification and cleansing properties and will be especially suitable for people with oily faces.


Bai Zhi is a Chinese herb that you can get from a Chinese medicinal hall or the supermarket.

Pearl Powder and Yoghurt Cream

Mix about a teaspoon of yoghurt (natural yoghurt, not flavoured ones!) with a pinch of pearl powder and apply the cream to your acne scars before you go to bed. You don’t have to wash it off.

This can be done once every day.

Do refrain from adding too much pearl powder even if it’s famous for beautifying properties. Too much of it can clog your pores. Just a pinch will do, and it should be fully absorbed into the yoghurt.

Choose skimmed or low fat yoghurt to avoid the formation of oil bumps.

Acne scars are more bothersome than pimples! At least the most humongous pimples go away after a couple of days if you leave them alone, but acne scars can stay up to several months! Acne scars can be concealed, but if not done well, especially when they’re dark and require lots of coverage, your multiple layers of make-up could draw more attention to your blemished visage.

Here are some tried and tested home remedies by myself and my friends which have lightening effects or help to speed up the process of skin cell renewal so that your scars take a shorter time than usual to fade out! Do be reminded that the results for home remedies vary for everyone! Some remedies don’t work for me while others work particularly well. You can try a few to see which works for you, but don’t use more than recommended. Also, don’t try to use several different types simultaneously on a regular basis. You wouldn’t be able to monitor its effectiveness, and more importantly, it may be too much for your skin to bear.


Pearl Powder and Egg White

Pearl Powder and Egg White soothe irritated skin and have lightening purposes. Mix egg white from an egg and a pinch of pearl powder so that the mixture becomes a gooey mask that you can apply on your face. It helps to smoothen skin and lighten scars.

Use this up to twice a week.

Seaweed Mask

Stir 20g of seaweed (dried ones from the supermarket, not seaweed snacks!) into clean water (boiled and cooled till mildly warm). Wait for the seaweed to expand so that the little flakes are stirred evenly with the water. Then take up the wet seaweed and cover your clean face with it. Do this when you’re lying down because you’re obviously going to have issues doing it standing up. After 10 minutes, wash off the seaweed with clean water and apply your regular moisturizer and creams that you use after the toner.

Use this twice a day.

Aspirin mask

This is actually quite a popular home remedy. Some people swear by it while some claim it doesn’t work. Again, this is rather subjective and dependent on many factors such as your skin type.

Pound 5 – 6 aspirin tablets into powder. Add a ladle of clean water and stir to mix.

For first time users who wish to test for sensitivity, apply a little of the mixture on the back of your ear.

Apply the mixture evenly on your face. Wash off after 25 minutes. As aspirin mask is quite drying, do put in more effort in keeping your skin well-moisturized at all times.

You can use this mask once or twice per week.

I have a few more remedies to recommend in my next update. Look forward to them!

Spending long hours in an office environment is unhealthy for anyone in the long run, and particularly has detrimental effects on skin. Office ladies who don’t bother to take the appropriate precautions will soon find themselves the epitome of Plain Janes. Being able to hide yourself in the office doesn’t mean you can neglect your image. These health and skin problems will continue to plague you, even if you leave office life behind. It’s wise to keep the problems under control while you can. In this post and the two coming ones, I’ll discuss these problems and ways to keep them at bay.

Problem 1: Dry skin
For ladies who do use make-up, you may find it difficult for your make-up to blend or stay on. The moisture level of your skin has a direct impact on the adherence levels of your make-up. Air-conditioning and radiation from the computer cause water loss, resulting in rough, flaking skin that easily creases into wrinkles.

Hydrate your skin
The natural solution is to keep your skin well moisturized. A moisture spray allows you to effortlessly hydrate your face directly. Before using it, dab away oil from your face and use a clean, wet cotton pad to wipe off dirt on your face. Spray some water evenly over your face. It’s a good way to stay awake too! Alternatively, you can place several pieces of clean cotton wool soaked in water over your clean face.

Drink water
It is common knowledge that you need at least 8 glasses of water per day for your body to function properly. If you are often too distracted by work to drink, make the effort to drink lots of water before you go to work. Do not try to make up for the requirement by drinking at night as it will have detrimental effects instead, and you’ll experience disrupted sleep from frequent trips to the toilet.

Blend moisturizer with liquid foundation
Mix 2 to 3 drops of your regular moisturizer with foundation in the amount that you normally use. It’s hydrating and makes it easier for the foundation to stay on.

Problem 2: The Computer Affliction
Computers are a source of radiation emissions and prolonged exposure to it can disrupt your secretion system. If your cells are not regenerating properly, spots and pimples will emerge. Magnetic fields from the radiation also accumulate dust and impure air, causing skin to be clogged, yellowish and dull. In addition, ladies with oily skin will find that their oil glands have become even more active, resulting in pimples and enlarged pores, while those with dry skin will end up with even drier skin that can give way to wrinkles and dark pigmentation.

Keep your skin clean
No matter how late you get home, remove your make-up and wash your face thoroughly. Use a hot towel to steam your face for 30 seconds before you begin your cleansing ritual. It helps to open up clogged pores and makes your skin more receptive to the cleanser.

Salt water exfoliator
Scoop a teaspoon of salt into your palm, pour some warm water (warm, not hot. You don’t want to scald your hand!) over the salt and rub the mixture so that it becomes liquid enough to be applied on your face. Rub the mixture gently in circular motion over your T-zone for thirty seconds and wash off. You can do this twice a week.

Problem 3: Panda eyes
Due to poor blood circulation, eye bags easily emerge, a problem escalated by staying up late to work overtime. Wrinkles also develop easily due to exhaustion and dryness. Fortunately, the onset of wrinkles and permanent eye bags can be pushed backwards given the right treatments as early as possible.

Milk Massage
Gently massaging milk on the skin around your eyes helps to reduce dark circles. If your dark circles are serious, you can use a more intense treatment by soaking a clean, absorbent cloth in milk and put it over your closed eyes for up to 10 minutes.

Wolfberry tea
Wolfberry is widely known to be good for eyes. Wolfberry tea is a sweet, fragrant tea with a mellow sweet taste that would be gladly consumed by many even if not for its health benefits. To make wolfberry tea, you will need a small amount of wolfberries (half a fistful should be sufficient) and 3 to 4 red dates. Add these ingredients to a glass and fill it with boiling water. You can consume it when it cools.

Eye Exercises
Eye exercises originating from China are designed based on how applying pressure on various accu-pressure points helps to regulate your body system. These eye exercises are conducted in schools to reduce the occurrence of eye disorders. This website has very detailed instructions and clear illustrations for doing eye exercises!

In recent years, home remedies derived from flowers has become a trend in some Asian countries. Many people who indulge in these DIY flower teas are inspired by Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioners using flowers in their medicinal herbs. They believe flowers help to fade dark pigmentation and reduce rate of ageing. But there is really no scientific evidence that consuming flowers results in healthier and better skin.

There are indeed some flowers with health and skincare benefits, such as Jasmine. But there are also flowers that are poisonous, and would have to be taken in moderation, prescribed with antidotes when used in TCM or only prescribed in response to a certain illness. Some flowers may even evoke serious side effects. The Carthamus flower for example, when consumed without proper prescription, can cause hemorrhage or cardiovascular problems, which may in turn lead to death. Some flowers also cause diarrhea and allergy reactions.

In addition, nurseries often add chemicals like insecticides and fertilizers to their flowers to make them grow faster and better. During the transportation and handling processes, these flowers may once again be contaminated. Usually, TCM practitioners will sanitize the flowers by boiling them before using them for medical purposes. However, those who use flowers for home remedies tend to neglect this step and simply soak the flowers and consume them right away. This may cause food poisoning and in the long run, the accumulation of chemicals is certain to harm your body. Furthermore, if you’ve been prescribed medication at a Chinese Medical Hall, the physician usually prescribes you a variety of herbs, because different herbs are supposed to complement each other to produce the required medical effect. Flowers alone are not going to have substantial effects.

Some flowers that, when consumed on its own, do have health benefits. For example, white jasmine and honeysuckle, when brewed together, are known to keep one’s throat clear of phlegm and impurities. But do remember that in any event that you decide to use flowers in your home remedies, consult reliable sources about your concoction and always boil your flowers to sanitize them before use!

Honey is a natural food product. It contains natural sugars and does not need to be digested to be absorbed into the body. It is healthy and nutritious, and also renowned for its value in skin nourishment. Here are some hassle-free methods on how you can put these beautifying values of honey to good use!

1. Direct application to skin
Honey contains glucose, fructose, protein, vitamins and essential minerals which would nourish the cells in our skin and increase their metabolism rate so that old and dead cells are quickly replenished by new ones. As such, applying honey to your skin helps maintain skin elasticity and reduces occurrences of wrinkles.

2. As food
The glucose in honey helps to strengthen weak body constitutions. When you’re healthy, you’d naturally look healthy and glowing too! Honey also contains anti-oxidants, which helps with detoxification. In the long run, regular consumption of honey prevents the emergence of wrinkles and age spots so that you’re always looking fresh and youthful!

3. Honey Bath
Add honey to your bath tub or face washing basin for a delightful honey wash! Organic honey is expensive, but you won’t break your bank account for this because an approximate ratio of water to honey would be 1:100. That means about a teaspoon of honey to your basin and a few tablespoonfuls to your bath tub! Honey water rejuvenates your skin, making it feel smooth and fresh!

Here’s an additional tip for a DIY luxurious fragrant honey bath.
You will need: 500g of natural honey, 100g of fresh jasmine flowers or 25g of dried ones
Boil the jasmine flowers, filter the juice and remove the residue. Add the juice and honey into the bath tub. After soaking for 20 minutes, shower to wash away the honey. Do this three to five times a week and you’ll see profound improvements to your skin. If you have body odour, fragrance from the bath will help you to coat the smell too.

That’s right! I’m referring to those humble squares of cotton that we use for make-up removal. With the right technique, you can turn these cotton pads into skin whitening tools!

This should be done after you've removed your make-up.

Step 1: Soak a thin, absorbent cotton pad in your toner. Use the thin ones as they are more absorbent. Do not use the reusable ones with paddings! Do not put in so much toner such that it becomes so mushy you can't even lift it up! It's such a waste of toner too! Just pour a small puddle of toner at the bottom of your container and spread your cotton pad over it and wait for it to soak it all up.

Step 2: When the cotton pad is thoroughly soaked, remove it, place it on your middle finger. Your index finger and ring finger should come together and close in on your middle finger so that you’re gripping the sides of the cotton pad that hang off from your middle finger. Gently rub the cotton pad over your face in circular motion, from inside to outside, until your skin absorbs the toner. This helps to smoothen cutin in your skin and accelerate cell renewal. After this rubbing procedure, remove the cotton pads, dab your fingers with toner and gently rub your face with your fingers.

Step 3: Soak a few pieces of cotton pads in your whitening lotion. Place them on your cheeks, forehead, chin and around your eyes for five to ten minutes. Your skin will absorb the nutrients from the whitening lotion.

Step 4: After removing the cotton pads, place both hands on your cheeks and press them down gently. This will create a warming effect that absorbs the lotion better and quicker. The moisturizing effect from the lotion becomes especially pronounced in dry weather.

Apply your favourite moisturizing cream as a nice finish-up. Pour a little moisturizing onto your palms, rub your palms together to induce heat, and rub the cream over your face. If you have any remainder, use it on your neck!

Chinese actress Fan Bingbing turns heads on the big screen and the red carpet with her black silky hair, snowy-white skin and large, expressive eyes. And she has never been in the tabloids for cosmetic procedures.

Now, anyone who understands beauty care knows that even the most expensive facial creams will be wasted on people with poor lifestyle habits, since the problems would return. With a typical hectic schedule of someone who works in showbiz, how does Fan maintain her good looks?

Barley for Skin Care

Fan revealed her interest in natural therapies and natural products for personal grooming. For healthy skin, she recommends barley, which she frequently consumes in the form of Barley water or Barley soup.

Milk Bath

Sometimes, the old methods are still the best. During the Tang Dynasty, concubine Yang Gui Fei, one of the four greatest beauties of ancient China, was famed for soaking in milk baths to nourish her skin. Apparently, it works for Fan too, who finds her skin especially smooth after a milk bath. She adds milk together with bath foam into her tub and retires inside for a relaxing respite.

Beer rinse for hair care

Despite what miracles hair salons insist their hair treatments can perform, those are still chemical methods which leave behind chemical particles in your hair. Fan uses the beer treatment at least once a week. The treatment is simple. Before shampooing hair, rinse hair in beer for ten minutes. Then, without rinsing out the beer, shampoo hair as per normal. After hair has absorbed nutrients of the beer, it will be exceptionally smooth and silky.

Minimize over-exposure to sunlight

Fan avoids standing in the open when the sun is scorching hot. But when her work forbids it, she applies sun block lotion in regular intervals. The SPF need not be too high, but it should be applied frequently while under the sun. She also drinks a lot of water.


Although Fan seems to place great emphasis on personal well-being, she actually doesn’t sleep the recommended eight hours of sleep required daily. She confesses that she sleeps three to four hours on average when she has filming projects, but she hasn’t had an issue with lack of sleep yet. In fact, she feels energetic when she works.

Oh well, late nighters are pretty inevitable for some careers, but there are some equally natural and effective beauty tips for late nighters that you can refer to here!

(Information from Fan Bingbing's interview in ELLEChina)