Easy at-home facials!

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and got to enjoy the sunshine like I did.  I'm so eager for spring and summer, I can hardly wait!

We women do almost anything for the sake of beauty!

We women for centuries have been known to do and try almost anything for the sake of beauty.  Fortunately, there are some very effective treatments that we can do at home, and chances are you already have these "special" ingredients on-hand! Today, I am sharing with you some of the information concerning at-home facials from my favorite vintage beauty book, Westmore Beauty Book -- A Complete 1950s Guide to Vintage Makeup, Hairstyling and Beauty Techniques. I have tried several of them myself, and been very pleased with the results, so I thought I would share them with you.  I am paraphrasing the information contained on "complexion beautifiers" and "face packs for stimulating, tightening, beautifying" from chapter nine.

Egg pack for refining coarse skin:  Beat one egg white and apply it to skin, patting in well. Now apply cleansing over the pack and massage.  Remove, and apply a nourishing cream in an upward and outward rotating motion. After removing this, swipe the face with witch hazel.  Now apply the beaten egg yolk onto face and allow to dry.  Remove with towel soaked in tepid water.  Follow with a freshener.  Do this at least once a week--more often if desired.

*When I do this, I set the egg out in advance to warm to room temperature, just so the application is more comfortable.  Also, I like to apply the egg with a pastry brush as it seems to work more efficiently than by fingers alone.  When the egg yolk dries on your face, it will really turn into a hardened mask.  You may need to splash warm water onto your face in order to soften this up a bit before removing with a towel.

Honey facial:  This facial will have a stimulating, tightening, refining and possibly bleaching effect. It may be used on any skin type. Massage a cleanser on skin, then remove. Apply one tablespoon of honey to skin, taking care around the delicate eye area. Then place fingers onto skin, and pull away briskly, using the stickiness of the honey to stimulate facial circulation. Continue this for three to five minutes.  Allow honey to remain on face for 15-20 minutes more.  Skin should feel taut. Press a hot, moist towel over face to remove honey.  Follow with a towel dipped in ice water, then use a skin freshener.  Do this as often as you like.

Buttermilk (on right) is thicker and
richer than "sweet" milk.

Buttermilk facial: This facial may be used on all skin types. Use a powdered buttermilk and mix with enough water or milk to form a smooth paste.  Cleanse the skin, then apply buttermilk emulsion.  Do two applications, but do not apply too thickly.  Apply extra quantities to oily or sagging regions of the face.  Do not get into eyes, but protect and relax them with cotton pads saturated in witch hazel.  Relax for about 10-15 minutes, (leaving on longer for very oily skin) and then remove by using a soft towel dipped in tepid water.  After removing emollient, apply a lubricating cream, massage into face and remove.  Then apply a skin freshener.  If facial is done at night, leave lubricating cream on overnight. 

*I never keep powdered buttermilk, but I always have buttermilk on-hand for baking.  I have used this and feel that it is very effective.  I like being efficient, and using things I already have, so I doubt I'll be purchasing powdered milk for the sole purpose of using it for this facial treatment.  It is thinner than the would-be paste, but perhaps with some experimenting, you could turn the buttermilk into a paste (i.e. add flour, cornstarch, etc.).

Enjoy! (If you try them, let me know how they turn out for you!)