Do you use astringent? It’s often neglected, but it’s a very important part of your skincare routine. Astringent helps open and cleanse the pores of your skin, helping to prevent acne. For this reason, those who want natural anti-aging or acne solutions should turn to astringents.
Why are astringents so beneficial?
First, they work to help improve circulation, which is important for skin health. Astringents also help to reduce oiliness and they also help to refine your pores if you have skin that is rough and unevenly textured. Since it has antibacterial and antiseptic properties, it’s been used within the medicinal and cosmetic fields to help eliminate dirt and bacterial from pores.
If you have oily skin or combination skin, you should be using an astringent every day as a part of your skincare routine.
Below is the list of homemade recipes for astringents made from natural products, which are safe to use.
①
Orange/Lemon/Cucumber/Tomato:
Some of the best and readily available fruits and vegetables make the best astringents. Lemons, oranges, cucumbers, all help in tightening skin pores and giving your skin a refreshing feeling. Grated cucumber juice, orange juice, tomato juice, and lemon juice will work wonders for your skin. These work well for all skin types.
Direction:
- Choose one of the fruit to use as astringent.
- Apply the juice to your face, leave on for a few minutes, and rinse it off well with water.
- In case of peaches and cucumbers, you can also cut thin circular slices and leave them on your face for 10-15 minutes before rinsing.
- You can even add a few drops of rose water to the cucumber juice for best results. You will start to feel the freshening effect immediately.
②
Aloe Vera Astringent:
The juice of this plant, found abundantly all over, works very well as an astringent. Buy it from your local store or extract the juice from the leaves if you have an aloe vera plant at home.
Direction:
- Apply it over the face and leave it on for 10-15 minutes.
- Rinse it off well with water. (But for me, I just let it dry on my skin and apply my favorite moisturizer and rinse it off the next morning.)
③
Apple Cider Vinegar Astringent:
Direction:
- Mix a glass of 1/8 cup distilled water (or bottled water)
- 1/8 cup vinegar (ACV or apple cider vinegar is the best), and 1 tablet of aspirin (crushed into powder).
- Mix the ingredients very well and place in a bottle.
- Gently apply this solution with a cotton pad all over your face, let it sit for 10-15 minutes before rinsing. (But for me, I just let it dry on my skin and apply my favorite moisturizer and rinse it off the next morning.)
④
Rose Water Astringent:
Direction:
- Boil a bowl of water. Add a few fresh rose petals to it.
- Let the petals soak in the water for half an hour.
- Drain the petals and use the water as an astringent. No rinsing needed. You can read my post here on how to create a homemade rosewater.