Fresh home-made beauty recipes are always the best! Ever heard of the famous St. Ives Apricot Scrub? Would you like to create a scrub of your own, which is better than that? Here is the recipe that I have come up with myself 4 years ago. This 'PERFECT' home-made oat and rice scrub will make your skin appear more refined, softer, smoother and brighter.



The ingredients that you will need are:
1) Oats (1/2 a cup)
2) White rice (1/2 a cup)
3) Dried Basil leaves (3 Teaspoon)
4) Dried Thyme leaves (9 Teaspoon)


Method:
1) Blend the oats until fine, but NOT too fine like powder. Ensure that it remains coarse enough to act as a scrub.
2) Transfer the blended oats into a clean and dry container.
3) Now blend the white rice, dried basil leaves and dried thyme leaves. This time, blend these ingredients until very fine like powder.
4) Then, transfer the rice, basil and thyme powder into the container containing the blended oats.
5) Close the lid of the container and shake it rigorously for 1 minute to ensure that all ingredients are mixed well.
6) The scrub is now ready to be used.


Direction:
Wet your hands a little and take a small portion of the scrub you just made to form a paste. Spread it all over your face and scrub as usual. Rinse and pat dry.

Your skin will feel the difference immediately. Your complexion becomes clear from any residue such as oil and dirt. Other commercial scrubs too give this result, but the skin will usually feel dry. This 'perfect' scrub will however leave your skin feeling soft and supple.


You may also take another few additional steps to optimise the result using this 'perfect' scrub. These will help further improve visibility, refine pores, reduce scars and contribute to an overall fairer complexion.

1) Prepare 2 Tablespoons of milk mixed with a little portion of lemon juice.

2) Mix a small portion of the ‘perfect’ scrub (enough for you to scrub your face) to the additional new ingredients.

3) Scrub as normal. Then rinse and pat dry.



Benefits of using the ingredients listed above:

Oats
Oats are well-known for their soothing abilities and are often used to comfort and nourish the skin. It also contains the necessary antioxidants, which are helpful to mature skin and anti-aging formulations. Oats also makes your pores smaller. Besides that, your face will appear softer and suppler.

Rice
Rice has been well known for its beauty properties. I have described how rice can make one’s skin smoother and softer in my previous article “Rice Water for Clear Complexion”.

Basil
Basil, originally known to be the most popular spice of great Italian dishes, is now discovered to be a stamp of quality and pampering in the gamut of health and beauty products. The ingredient is said to be crucial for hair growth, which results in lustrous and shiny hair that is more manageable and strong. Basil is excellent to make one’s skin feel more moisturised and may even tone and deodorise your skin.

Thyme
Thyme is often known as a powerful antiseptic with healing powers, which may even relieve dermatitis. This is because the spice has anti-inflammatory properties. A calming cleanser, thyme tones and refreshes the skin. Besides that, the smell of thyme is great and it provides a soothing effect whenever one is stressed out. Thyme also prevents hair loss!

Lemon
Lemon contains enzymes, which aids in clearing the skin from dead cells. Using a little lemon in your beauty regime will tremendously refresh and tone your skin. Over time, your skin appears fairer, smoother and softer.

Milk
As many already know, milk is the secret ingredient that Cleopatra, the world’s great beauty, used in her beauty regime. Research has discovered that milk works wonders because the lactic acid in milk is an alpha hydroxyl acid, a natural material that dissolves the ‘glue’ that holds dead skin cells together. Milk can cleanse the skin down to its deepest layers. It also makes your skin soft and smooth like all the other ingredients in the above. You can read all about Cleopatra's beauty secret in my previous article titled: "Be Cleopatra for Your Skin's Sake".

CAUTION: When you are using milk as part of your beauty regime, please make sure that you thoroughly rinse away every trace of milk from your face after scrubbing to prevent any bacteria growth.


Happy Scrubbing!



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Author: Genevieve Tan Shu Thung

Copyright © 2012 Sandhya Maarga Holistic Living Resources
Holistic Living Annex (Volume 1, Issue 4 - MAY 2012 Edn)