If you’ve overdone the sun and your skin is feeling stressed this summer, then why not whip up your very own soothing skincare remedy? Natural ingredients make for calming, caring recipes, so forget the expensive lotions and potions and click through the gallery to see the seven soothing superfoods you need for your skin.
Aloe Vera
Known in ancient Egypt as the plant of immortality, this clever cactus plant works wonders as a skin soother thanks to phytochemicals and nutrients that are beneficial to both our health and our appearance. Its anti-inflammatory properties help heal almost any skin problem, including cuts, wounds, burns, and rashes, and the cooling gel found in its leaves offers instant relief and moisture to skin that’s feeling the effects of the sun.
How to Use It
The easiest and most effective way? Slice open the spikey leaves and squeeze the soothing gel out before applying it directly to any parts of your face or body that need some TLC. Simple. You can also make it into a soothing mask by combining it with olive oil. Leave it on skin for up to 20 minutes, then wash off with warm water.
Chamomile
Not only a calming cup of tea, chamomile can relax and soothe as part of your skincare routine. Rich in flavonoids, which heal numerous skin conditions from acne to mild burns, these little yellow flowers help balance sebum production so can be used on any skin type. High in antioxidants, they protect from free-radical damage and help calm stressed skin.
How to Use It
Buy a box of chamomile tea bags at your local grocery store and steep them in hot water until they cool. Next, place them in the fridge until they feel cold to the touch before applying them directly to skin, pressing down gently. It’s the best beautifying brew money can buy.
Oatmeal
Not just a healthy way to start the day, oatmeal also offers delicious delights for your skin. Used in skincare for hundreds of thousands of years, oats are full of vitamins, minerals, and lipids that boost moisture, and thanks to their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties they’re ideal for sensitive skin and help soothe sunburn. Containing 18 different amino acids, they also promote healing and regeneration.
How to Use It
Instead of munching your way through a bowl of oats, sink yourself in a bath of them – just like Ancient Egyptians and Romans did. Add one cup of oatmeal, wrapped in a muslin cloth, to your bath to soothe and soften irritated skin.
Honey
A sweet treat for stressed skin, honey has been used for centuries to heal various skin ailments thanks to its amazing antibacterial and anti-microbial properties. It not only helps protect against damaging UV rays, but it promotes healing by supporting the skin’s ability to rejuvenate and refresh itself. It’s also a natural humectant, meaning it draws moisture to the skin and helps lock it there, keeping you soft, supple, and soothed.
How to Use It
Any honey will do the trick, but, if you can, invest in organic, raw honey, or manuka honey, which is believed to have stronger antibacterial properties. Apply it directly onto damp skin, face or body, and leave on for 30 minutes before gently rinsing with warm water. Warning, you may be tempted to lick it off!
Yogurt
Packed with probiotics and protein, yogurt is a dairy dream for skin. Bursting with beneficial bacteria, antioxidants from calcium, and lactic acid, which helps to smooth and soothe roughness, it is also rich in B vitamins, which protect skin and keep it hydrated, and zinc, which helps heal and cool down the sting of sunburn.
How to Use It
Cleanse the skin and, when still a little damp (this will help lock in more moisture), apply a thick layer of cooling, creamy yogurt. Leave it on for about 15 minutes before washing off.
Cucumber
The expression “cool as a cucumber” couldn’t be more true, for these refreshing fruits are one of the best ways to cool and soothe skin. Containing absorbic and caffeic acid, cucumber helps to diminish swelling, and it’s made of more than 95 percent water, which aids with moisture retention. Abundant in antioxidants, it also helps fight inflammation.
How to Use It
Slice up a fresh cucumber and place the pieces in your freezer. Wait an hour, then place them directly on hot and bothered skin for instant soothing refreshment. You can also blend them up and cool them in the fridge to make your own natural mask.
Turmeric
Not just the secret to the perfect curry, turmeric is the spice to soothe skin. A natural anti-inflammatory loaded with antioxidants, it has antibiotic and antiseptic properties and relieves inflammation. Used in ancient medicine to treat skin conditions, from eczema to wounds, it fights free radicals and helps heal cell damage – perfect for skin that’s been overexposed to the sun.
How to Use It
Applying turmeric topically can temporarily stain skin, so the best thing to do is add it to any of your other natural skin-soothing ingredients. Mix it into your yogurt or stir it into honey, sprinkle it into your oat bath or add it to your cucumber mask – there are lots of ways to get nice and spicy.
