I am loving cucumbers for my skin! It has such a wonderful cooling and soothing effect. Definitely great to be used in our hot weather.
Cucumber (Cucumis Sativus) extract is widely known for its astringent and soothing effects, on top of its anti-inflammatory actions and skin tightening properties. I’ve been using it for the past two weeks in the hope of tightening the pores on my face. My skin does feel tight when the juice dries on my face but I haven’t seen any noticeable reduction of my pore size though. I suppose I need to be more patient since it has only been two weeks. But I did notice a slight brightening effect on my face instead.
Leave on for 10 to 15 minutes before rinsing off
I have been using the cucumber juice on my face twice a day after washing. What I did was to apply some juice on my dry face, leave it on for about 10 to 15 minutes before rinsing off. Over the weekend, I also tried this cucumber anti-blemish mask which I picked from The Ultimate Natural Beauty Book by Jo Fairley. It’s a very fun mask to put on but be warned; this mask can draw out quite a bit of impurities and you may end up with some small zits like what I have now on my forehead.
Recipe for Cucumber Anti-Blemish Face Mask:
- 2.5 cm (1 inch) chunk of cucumber
- 1 drop rosemary essential oil
- 1 egg white
Blend the cucumber in a blender or grate the cucumber until it becomes completely liquid, then add the drop of rosemary essential oil. Whisk the egg white until stiff, fold in the cucumber mixture and smooth over the face avoiding the eyes and mouth area. Remove after 15 minutes using a clean, damp washcloth.
The egg white definitely tautened my skin and my face felt wonderfully soft afterwords. The pores were also much smaller, but it was only temporary. But like I mentioned, be careful that this mask will draw out quite a bit of impurities and cause some zits. You may also like to cut up two thin slices and placed them on your eyes to reduce puffiness while you’re having the mask on.
Use organic cucumber whenever you can
If you can, use organic cucumber. It doesn’t cost that much especially since you only need to use a little of the juice extract. One cucumber can last me about two weeks actually; including using it once for the anti-blemish mask and cutting up thin slices to reduce puffiness on my eyes a couple of times. And you don’t need a blender to extract the juice. Because a small grater can do the job wonderfully too.
And oh, I also used the cucumber juice on my hands. They help to soften the skin quite a bit!
