When my skin needs some serious T.L.C. I like to turn to natural remedies I can make at home and, more specifically, with ingredients (at least most ingredients) I can find in my pantry at that moment. Not only, then, do I know what’s in the recipes I use to help flush out my skin but I also am able to make as much or as little as I need. Below I’ve shared five of my favourite DIY recipes to help detox your skin when it’s looking for a little extra love.
Side note: during any and all cleanses, be sure to keep hydrated!
This is likely my favourite DIY recipe that I make and use as often as I can. Especially since I use natural deodorant, I find that this detox is essential to do at least once a week in order to keep my skin clear — and unwanted odors to a minimum. Our lymphatic system is the system of our body that helps detox toxins and bacteria and it is through our armpits that these toxins and bacteria are released.
A lot of the time what happens is we’ll put deodorant to help mask the smell, but what is also needed is to actually detox our armpits as a way of fleshing them up. Think about it: if garbage were to pile up without being thrown out, it would really start to stink. It’s the same for our own bodies: we need to continuously flush out of underarms to avoid a buildup of excess toxins and bacteria. This also helps remove the buildup of smell, too.
Stephanie from hello glow shares her Armpit Detox Mask recipe (finished product pictured below), which features three simple ingredients: 1 tbsp of Bentonite clay, 3 tsp of water, and 5 drops of lemon or tea tree essential oil. I would also add that many recipes replace lemon or tea tree oil with apple cider vinegar to help activate the clay, but I would avoid this if your skin is on the sensitive side.
Mix together until the treatment becomes the consistency of greek yoghurt and spread across your underarms. Let it sit for 5-10, maybe even 15 minutes, depending on your sensitivity and then wash off.
For the coffee drinkers and chocolate lovers out there, this detoxifying face mask might just be for you. Since coffee (1 tbsp ground) is rich in both caffeine and antioxidants, it helps boost or energize your skin by reducing puffiness and exfoliating dead skin. Cacao powder (1 tbsp raw) helps fight aging and the yogurt (2 tbsp) in the recipe moisturizes.
The three ingredients together not only combine to make an invigorating blend — both for your skin and your nose — but they also work to help make your skin appear more youthful and awake. Think of this mask as giving your skin a natural boost.
As per Adventure Yogi‘s instructions, mix all ingredients into a bowl and apply evenly onto your skin, letting sit for about 20 minutes (or less if you aren’t sure how your skin will react to the treatment). Next, wash off with warm water and you’re done!
I love a good bath. Yeah, showers are fine and all but when I have the opportunity — and, really, the time — to have a bath, I jump at the chance. I think of it as my time to really detox not only my body but my mind. I give myself that time to not think about work or stress, but to just be. That might look like putting on my favourite playlists, lighting some candles, putting on a diffuser to name a few rituals I like to perform.
One thing I’d like to add more regularly in my bath is natural detoxifying mixes to help flush out the toxins and bacteria within my body. This Himalayan Pink Salt, Grapefruit, and Ginger recipe helps to stimulate your natural healing system, which includes pulling the toxins out of your body. The Himalayan salt balances the moisture content of your skin and helps improve circulation, while the grapefruit essential oil stimulates the lymphatic system to eliminate toxins (like the bentonite clay in the armpit detox) and the ginger essential oil improves the circulation of all of these systems in your body.
The three core ingredients combine to really get your body moving and healing naturally — what more could we really want in our baths?
Not until I got a pedicure done recently was I reminded of how much our feet go through on a daily basis. The aestheticians really had to soak and scrub my feet before making them look pretty. Give your feet a little T.L.C.; they work extra hard for us and are usually a little underappreciated. The beauty of this foot soak is that does not only release toxins from the body but it also helps to reduce levels of stress and increase circulation. I know I would feel instantly calmer if my feet were in a nice, hot soak. It would help me feel grounded and soothed.
The ingredients for Parenting Lounge’s foot soak are likely those you’ll have in your pantry already: baking soda, sea salt, Epsom salt, and apple cider vinegar. If you don’t like ACV and want to remove it altogether, you absolutely can. If you don’t really want your feet smelling like french fries for this period of time, you can also add different oils to your soak.
All you have to do is boil the water, adding both the sea and Epsom salts into the mix. Once that’s boiled, add in cold water to tone down the temperature, mixing in the ACV and oils in. Soak your feet for approximately 30 minutes.
Probably the most important way to detox the body is, you guessed it, drinking your water! I admittedly have to work on this because I don’t think I get as much water as I need, but water is essentially the best way to flush out all the toxins from your body.
Adding different fruits and veggies to your drink like with this recipe will only be beneficial to you (pictured below). The cucumber provides serious hydration to help eliminate toxins while lemons are rich in vitamin C and the mint is just a perfect way to cool down. An unbeatable combo to help you be and feel healthy!
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