Soothing, natural facial treatments relieve stress

By Lisa Intrabartola
Gannett News Service

Therapists say that, in times of stress, it's important to be good to yourself, to take some time away from everyday life for pampering.

When it comes to healthy skin and hair care, look no farther than your kitchen, where you can find many foods that can be applied externally to give your skin and hair the nutrients they need. Gannett News Service

Homemade facials have the advantage of being relatively pure and a known quantity (especially if you use organic ingredients, or fruits and vegetables you've grown yourself), said Isabel Jacob, co-owner of Health Haven food store in East Brunswick, N.J.

It's not necessary to scan labels for unpronounceable chemicals when you're whipping up an egg-white mask. And you won't worry that the avocado and almonds in your exfoliant were tested on bunnies in a cosmetics lab.

Gail Adrian, a Glen Rock, N.J., "fragranceur," who uses natural ingredients to heal and for natural cosmetic purposes, readily rattles off a list of whole foods and botanicals that can be transformed into facial food.

For example, raw honey — a natural antibacterial ointment — is a perfect addition to masks and exfoliants for problem skin, she says.

But be sure to use raw honey, which has not been heated. This contains propolis — bark, pollen and other ingredients in bee regurgitation; beeswax and royal jelly — the queen bee's food.

Herbal teas also make terrific toners and facial steams, Adrian said.

Add your favorite one to a bowl of boiling water, drape a towel over your head, bend down — not too close — and soak up the fragrant steam. For a toner, steep and strain the tea, let it cool to room temperature and then pour into a glass spray bottle, Adrian doesn't advise using plastic, which can leach into the product. It will keep in the refrigerator three days.

One of Adrian's herbal favorites is green tea with jasmine. Be certain to steep green tea only one to three minutes, she says; any longer and the solution will be too astringent. For blemishes, she suggests using spearmint tea "because the mints have a very mild antibacterial effect, so it helps to calm the skin."

When adding water to herbal teas, Adrian recommends using distilled, spring or mineral varieties, not tap water. "Anything else has a certain amount of bacteria," she said.

Yogurt, strawberries, oatmeal, garlic and lemon are other household ingredients Adrian says work well in facials. Which foods you use will depend on what oils, vitamins and astringent levels your face needs to find balance. It is possible to maintain a healthy face and rely solely on whole, unprocessed products, she says.

Before steaming with tea or slathering other foods on your face, however, consider your allergies, says Barbara Fischer owner of Waterlilies Facial & Body Treatments in Highland Park, N.J.

Those who suffer from hay fever should steer clear of chamomile teas and oils, she says. The same rule applies to food allergies, she says. If you have a reaction after eating something, assume the same thing could happen if the food is applied externally.

Phillip Pizzolato, owner of Hairen, a Watchung, N.J., salon that uses pure botanical and vegetable-based hair products on its clients, recommends such concoctions because they work as well as chemicals, but don't break down the hair, he said.

Here are a few of Pizzolato's ideas:

If dandruff is your problem, head to the medicine cabinet and grab the Listerine — any flavor will do, he says. Brush your hair well, then wash with a quality dandruff shampoo. After rinsing, apply Listerine to your scalp, working it in with your fingertips and letting it set in for 10 minutes. Shower and rinse.

Using witch hazel the same way works to reduce oily patches, he says. After washing your hair, apply witch hazel to the oily spots, let it sit for 10 minutes, then rinse.

Some beauty magazines used to tout mayonnaise hair masks for dry tresses, but Pizzolato recommends using plain yogurt instead.

"Mayonnaise is a heavy fat molecule, where yogurt is a broken micronized protein," he says. Mayonnaise "leaves not only a smell, but grease in your hair because the base of it is oil."

Apply yogurt to damp hair and let it sit for up to 10 to 15 minutes, then rinse with cool water.

If the beer keg isn't empty, don't dump the leftover flat brew. Apply it to damp hair as a setting lotion, Pizzolato says, before setting with rollers and blow drying. He says the beer smell disappears once it dries.

Denise Marchisotto, director of Serenity Day Spa in South River, N.J., suggests a twice-daily face-cleansing routine between professional facials.

Begin with a mild cleanser. Once a week or so, exfoliate — gently! — by rubbing pastes made from ground almonds, oatmeal or cornmeal into the skin in a soft circular motion. Rinse.

After exfoliating, steam the face to open up the pores so impurities can again be gently extracted. Then comes the daily toner, which re-establishes the skin's acid balance.

Masks — many of which can be homemade — follow the toning step once a week to reopen pores and moisturize. Complete the cycle with a light moisturizer.