I don't know about anyone else, but come summertime in Florida, I don't stop sweating....ever. Here in the land of the sun, summer= three-four months of just pure, unadulterated beat downs by mother nature. And my apologies to those of you living in Florida with leather seats. That's like playing a game of hot potato, with your thighs, that lasts however long you car trip does. OUCH!!
My face especially feels the pain as I never feels my skin looks quite "right" during these months. It all begins when my pores look too oily due to aforementioned sweat-fest. Then, in a sad attempt to fix the oiliness, I apply too much toner and BAM the skin is now over dry. It's a fun little game I play all....summer....long.
That's why I'm always on the hunt to find new, natural washes/treatments that help restore facial skin. I've been seeing one such idea floating around Pinterest for months now. It suggests you wash your face using baking soda and nothing else. The original "pinner" (or author for those of your foreign to the uuber-addictive online pin board craze) stated that making a paste with just baking soda and water, and then applying this to the skin to let sit, makes for a type of microderm treatment. So, I gathered up my pennies, nickels, and dimes and gave this idea a shot.
First of all, when I say that I gathered up my nickels, pennies, and dimes to purchase a box of baking soda...that is what I actually mean. A box like this one cost me .59 at Dollar Tree. I've also seen a similar brand of baking soda at Aldi for .77. It is SOOO not expensive and baking soda is AMAZING for oh-so-many reasons. But I'll get to all the arguments for why baking soda rocks in uno momento por favor. For right now, let's get back to treating your face with the stuff.
Okay, so essentially, I just mixed baking soda and water together until I got a nice, thick consistency. P.S. THIS IS WAAAYYY TOO MUCH!!!
Then I applied the baking soda mixture on my face and let sit for about fifteen minutes.
Then I washed it off
Overall, I really liked the way letting it sit on my face made me feel. It kinda tingled as it sat there and it felt like it was really working on my facial pores. When I washed it off, my skin didn't LOOK any different, but it felt much tighter and more smooth in some areas.
Also here are two other reasons why baking soda rocks:
1) With the excess mixture from the face treatment, I used the water/baking soda pre-made mix in a really hot bath. It makes a silky, incredible texture that makes you feel like your bathing in something fancy-dancey. SOO nice
2) If you mix a touch of baking soda with a little water and apply to leftover mosquito bites (yet another fun reality of Florida summers)it really brings down the swelling and more importantly the itch.
3)Mix a touch of baking soda with your regular toothpaste to make an extra-strength whitening formula
4) Out of room spray? Mix a teaspoon of baking soda with a 1/4 cup of you favorite fabric softener in an empty bottle. Fill the rest with water. This makes homemade febreeze for 1/2 the cost.
Is it worth it?! For the cost of the box it's at least worth a shot!!! And I really enjoyed the way it made my skin feel (although if you have the sugar and honey at your home for the aforementioned face-scrub nothing beats that).
Until Next Time,
Baking Soda Beauty Bantering!!
Eliz