Seattle has been very sunny in the past few days. As with every other Seattleite, I’ve soaked
up my share of sun rays including its UV component, while being fully aware
that UV induced free radicals are causing havoc on my skin—the radicals are
breaking down and crosslinking collagens lining my skin causing wrinkles and
large pores and activating melanocytes leading to dark spots. Every day, after hiking in the sun, I always
lather my face with a radical fighting mask to counter the damages caused by
free radicals.
How do you fight free radicals? Think antioxidants. Look around your house—you should be able to
find numerous antioxidants rich ingredients that you can combine into a facial
mask—tea, strawberry, apple, ginger, rose, and, of course, Vitamin C in your
medicine cabinet.
Vitamin C is one of the few compounds with proven collagen
boosting and free radical removal activities.
The downside of Vitamin C is that it is extremely unstable and oxidized
quickly when exposed to air. Because of
its instability, I usually use a freshly crushed Vitamin C pill for my facial
mask.
Here is a receipt for the Vitamin C mask I used the other
day:
Crush one pill of Vitamin C into powder form. I usually use 1000mg (1g) pill. You can put the pill into a zip lock bag and
crush it with a mug. Immediately combine
the Vitamin C powder with 3 grams of oat powder, 1 gram of wheat germ powder
(which is rich in Vitamin E, another good antioxidant), 0.5 grams of Rose
powder (optional), 0.5 grams of ginseng powder (optional), 0.2 grams of aloe Vera
powder or sea weed alginate (both are in rich in polysaccharides, which help
with the consistency of the mask). Mix the
powder with warm water to make a soft paste.
If you skin is very sun damage, add a little half-half, which is rich in
fatty acids and helps sooth the skin.
Spread the mask liberally over your clean face and neck
using upward stroke. Sit back and relax
until the surface of mask is no longer stick to the touch of your finger. Wash off with warm water and finish with a
splash of cold water. Enjoy your refreshed skin!
Thanks for reading.
Connie
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