DIY Sunday: Lemon Facial Steam For Deep Cleansing

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Welcome to DIY Sunday, where we give you the best of the best of natural beauty! This week, we’re going to be giving you a roundup of the best way to pull toxins out of your skin that you get from day-to-day life, like smoking, use of excessive skincare products, consumption of dairy, alcohol, and other not-so-healthy things.

Steaming!

What is steaming, you ask? Steaming your face is putting your face over a bowl of hot, steaming water with additives to deeply cleanse and open pores for removal of blackheads and other debris.

Today, we’ll tell you all about lemon steaming for your facial skin.

Lemon is a natural antioxidant and disinfectant, making it a great additive to steam. The heat from the steam opens up your pores so that the lemon essence can get in and detox your polluted skin. Steaming is great for those who suffer from acne due to excess sebum and also dilates blood vessels for a natural glow.

If you have rosacea, stay away from steaming as your vessels are already dilated.

Additionally, lemon is frequently used as an age-preventer and dark spot treatment as it boosts collagen and neutralizes the skin’s pH levels over time. It has also been known as a skin lightener.

It doesn’t remove melanin, but as we go through life, skin pollution frequently makes the skin seem darker than it really is. Lemon also helps with skin damage and is often used as a homeopathic acne remedy!

What You’ll Need:

Fresh Mint Leaves (optional, but known to shrink pores and help acne-prone skin.)
About 4 Cups of Water (more or less depending on how big your bowl is.)
Heat-Safe Bowl (big enough to fit your face in.)
Lemon Juice, Lemon Essential Oil, or Fresh Lemon Slices
Cooking Pot
Bath Towel
Cleanser
Exfoliator
Serum
Moisturizer
Face Mask (optional)

To Make:

Put water into a pot with 10 drops of lemon essential oil, 10 drops of lemon juice, or a couple of slices of a freshly cut lemon. Add in the mint leaves if you’re using them. Place the lid on the pot and bring the water and lemon to a boil.

Take off the lid and let stand for about 5-10 minutes, until water is no longer boiling.

While you’re waiting for the mixture to slightly cool, cleanse your face with a natural, non-toxic cleanser (like THIS) and also exfoliate. This removes dead skin cells and prepares your pores to be dilated and open.

If you don’t cleanse, you may allow the excess sebum to enter your open pores and cause more blackheads and acne.

To Use:

Once slightly cooled (but still steaming) take the towel and place it over the bowl. If you have long hair, make sure to pull it back so that it won’t fall into your face or into the bowl of water. Lift the towel over your head and put your face over the bowl; make sure to keep your eyes closed as lemon (and mint) stings!

Do not put your face too close to the water or you may burn yourself. Don’t even put your face in the bowl; simply hover over the bowl for about 10 minutes.

Once the minutes are up, gently rinse your face with lukewarm water. Finish with a homemade face mask (we have one up for another DIY Sunday!) and then your favorite serum and moisturizer, or omit the face mask and simply finish with serum and moisturizer.

And there you have it, clear, glowing skin!