Cheap Date Friday: Rise & Shine

I have a hard time eating breakfast. Food is the last thing I want when I wake up in the morning and it takes me at least an hour to settle in to the idea of eating something small, let alone a complete breakfast. Contrary to my stomach, my face loves breakfast. Breakfast food that is, minus bacon - I put selected breakfast foods on my face to stop it from looking like I've slapped bacon all over it.

Eggs and Oatmeal are amazing for your skin and serve many purposes. In the past I've given you all a couple recipes for egg white facials and I hope you've had a chance to try them, especially you combination/oily skinned gals - works wonders for your pores! This post will focus on all of the ways to ensure your pretty little face benefits from oatmeal.

Oats are very calming and moisturizing to the skin. Aveeno fans will notice that a lot of their products contain oatmeal to soothe sensitive skin or quench dry skin, but all skin types can benefit. I have tried two ways using oatmeal: as a mask and as an exfoliant. Since I am already slave to Dermalogica's Daily Microfoliant, I use it as a mask much more often, but for those of you looking to pinch a pretty penny, using oatmeal as an exfoliant is super cheap, super effective, and super easy. SUPER!

All you need for both is some good old Quaker Oats and a grinder [a magic bullet works well in this situation]

Oatmeal Mask: the base of this mask is oatmeal [duh] and water, but you can add in other ingredients to tend more to your specific skin type or concern.
First, place about a half cup of oats in a grinder and grind them until they are almost to a powder form [you'll want some bigger pieces to remain]. Next, transfer to a bowl and add little bits of water at a time, stirring until you've created a paste. I prefer mine to be on the thin side, but if you prefer to slap on the thick stuff, go easy on the water. Now you've got your mask - spread it on to your face for 15 minutes, and when you rinse off, use the bigger oatmeal pieces in the mask to slightly exfoliate as you rinse. Voila - plump, moisturized, soft and glowy skin.
Additions - adding honey to the mask is great for dry, irritated, or acne prone skin. Lemon juice is great for skin with a lot of redness or rosacea, and adding in egg whites is great for oily skinned gals looking to tighten your skin and shrink your pores. When thinking of portions, just remember that it's going on your face, not in to your stomach to give you energy for the entire day - stay on the lighter side.

Oatmeal Exfoliant: involves using oatmeal with your regular cleanser. Take about a cup of oatmeal, grind it into powder form, and place in a jar in your bathroom. Every time you wash your face, mix a little bit of the oatmeal powder with your cleanser in your hand and cleanse as usual, making sure to rinse well. Besides being cheap, this allows you to use your current cleanser which [hopefully] you like and your skin is already accustomed to. WIN.

There are more ways to use oatmeal but they involve boiling, straining, cooling...etc etc and frankly, that takes too much time. Most of you enjoy this blog because I'd take quick and easy over complicated any day.

Enjoy your weekends...

xxLM

[PS: the Magic Bullet I referred to above is the appliance advertised on TV, not the "magic bullet" I learned about in University]