The winter months tend to make our skin dull and dry, not to mention pale. In just one day you can kick-start looking good and feeling great with a fabulous exfoliating scrub and vitamin-rich mask for your bace and body. All the ingredients you need are right in the grocery isle of your deli, so forget paying $$$ for expensive creams that have a shelf life of who-knows-how-many-years (yuck!) Try these fresh home-made beauty care methods that are Thupamodel-tested and Thupa-easy to follow!

Step 1

Let’s begin with a stimulating scrub that will slough off dry skin cells and reveal a healthy glow. I like using baking soda as a base and add extra ingredients for more effective results. Baking soda is very gentle, yet those little grains pack a punch, leaving your skin glowing and silky smooth. It also reduces redness, minimizes pores, alleviates acne. I prefer mixing the baking soda paste with one of the following:

Apple Cider Vinegar – reduces oil, redness, peeling; clears breakouts; acts as an antiseptic; normalizes pH of skin. Mixing it with baking soda will fizz, fyi!
Orange or Lemon – high in Vitamins A, C, E, also Potassium; provides antioxidant protection, skin rejuvenation, lightening, and a beautiful glow.
Kiwi or Tomato – high in Vitamins A, C, E, K, also Folate, Phosphorus, Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium; provides antioxidant protection, tightens pores, removes oil, reduces dark spots, peels the freckles, clears blackheads. Cool right?!
Fine coffee grinds –  firms and tones skin, redistributes fat cells, shrinks varicose veins. It’s too rough for the face, so use it as a body scrub.

Face scrub: mix a tablespoon of baking soda with a teaspoon of warm water, creating a consistent paste. Add two teaspoons of the extra ingredients mentioned above and mix well. Very gently, massage the scrub onto your skin with your fingertips. Leave it on for approximately one minute, then rinse clean with lukewarm water. (If you’s like to do a deeper cleanse, leave it on for up to 10 minutes.) Use a clean towel to pat your face dry. Voila!

Body scub: mix 1/2 cup of baking soda, 1 cup of fine coffee grinds, 1/2 cup of warm water, creating a consistent paste. Massage the scrub onto your skin with your hands in circular motion, avoid rubbing. Leave it on for 3-5 minutes, then rinse clean with warm water.

Step 2

Now it’s time to moisturize the skin, and replenish the oils we washed away in Step 1. (Oil is essential for a healthy glow, and without it the skin goes into a frenzy of extra oil production. Hello acne.)

Face mask: Mix 1 tablespoon each of Honey, Yogurt, & Banana, creating a consistent paste. Apply to the face with your fingertips, and leave it on for 15 minutes. Before you wash off the mask, heat up a clean wash cloth & place it over the face for 2 minutes. Rinse your face gently with water, do not use soap. This mask will moisturize and rejuvenate your skin, reduce any inflammation and swelling, and give you a taut and youthful appearance. No moisturizer necessary after!

For the body: Mix 1 cup of Oatmeal with 1/3 cup of hot water, and let stand covered for 5 minutes. Add 1 teaspoon of Olive oil, 1/2 Banana and mix well creating a consistent paste. Gently massage the mixture onto your body with your hands. Leave it on for 3-5 minutes, then rinse gently with water, do not use soap. These ingredients will leave your skin supple, soft, and moisturized.

What do you think? This is a great beauty care regimen to repeat weekly, so let me know how you feel afterwards! I like to put a little bronzer/tanner on afterwards (medium dark) just to give that extra glow. Next few days you will look like you’ve spent a weekend at a rsort spa!

Here’s a tip: one of the biggest visible effects on your skin is keeping it hydrated from the inside out, so I recommend drinking at least 5 cups of water per day (8oz each). This will make your skin look dewy, lively, and vibrant. What happens when you forget to water plants? They end up dull, dry, and lifeless, and your skin reacts the same when you neglect it.