5 All-Natural Skincare Ingredients Hiding in Your Kitchen

Guess what, ladies: the secret to great skin may be hiding in your pantries. Forget combing through aisles of drugstores looking for the right brand of cleanser, moisturizer or toner. These all-natural ingredients deliver benefits to the skin without all the added chemicals that harm more than they help. What's great about the ingredients listed below is that they are inexpensive and easy to incorporate into your skincare routine. So, here are five all-natural ingredients that you should be using on a regular basis to help improve your skin. 

1. Honey

We normally think of honey as a sweetener, but while it's a great addition to your cakes and drinks, it's also great for your skin. 

Honey is a humectant which means that it attracts moisture and seals it into your pores. A honey facial will therefore benefit areas of the face that are dry and itchy. One of honey's best skincare benefits is that it adds elasticity without drying out your skin. This is the opposite of what a lot of store-bought facial washes do. 

2. Olive Oil

Olive Oil isn't just for salad dressing. It has been used for centuries as a folk remedy for dry skin. 

Recent studies have also proven that olive oil can protect the skin from sun damage and cancer. A study published in the investigative cancer journal, Carcinogenesis, showed that lab mice that had been painted in extra-virgin olive oil experienced delayed onset of skin tumors than the mice in the control group.

3. Lemon Juice

There's an old saying, when life gives you lemons, use them to make skincare products. Maybe that's not the exact wording of the saying, but lemon juice is great for skincare. A natural astringent, lemon juice can remove impurities from the skin and boost antibacterial benefit.

4. Salt & Sugar

Salt and sugar are exfoliating agents, which mean they’re very effective in removing dead cells from skin surface, leaving it look smoother and brighter. Exfoliation also helps promote better circulation and lets the skin breathe easier. Salt has the added benefit of having anti-fungal properties. When making salt scrubs, use sea salts as they are well-known purifying agents which can remove toxins from the skin and clear the pores. 

Salt scrubs are more abrasive because grains of salt have sharper edges than sugar. They should therefore never be used on the face but rather on rough sections on other parts of the body. 

Sugar scrubs are a lot gentler since sugar granules are round. They are also less drying than salt scrubs. In addition, the glycolic acid in sugar helps protect the skin against toxic agents and helps condition and moisturize your face. 

5. Oatmeal

Oatmeal isn't just a superfood, it's also a powerful all-natural weapon in your skincare arsenal. Oatmeal contains Saponins, which are natural cleansing agents that can remove oils and dirt from your pores. 

The secret to using oatmeal in your skincare is to turn your rolled oats into oat flour. This is simple to do. 

You can grind your oats using a food processor or blender. The result will be a fine powder that you can use on your face and hair. Use your oat flour to make a mild all-natural homemade face wash. How to make: take 1 tablespoon of oat flour and add 2 tablespoons of water. Apply this mixture to your face and then rinse it off with warm water. You'll be pleasantly surprised by how smooth the skin on your face will be. 

Your kitchen contains some of Mother Nature's best skincare ingredients. It's time to stop wasting your money on products that contain harmful chemicals and start stocking up your pantry with these all-natural skincare ingredients.