The latest fad in the skincare industry, facial Popsicles’, can become a refreshing part of your to-go skincare routine in the hot and humid months. These frozen serum packs don’t just refresh your skin, but also to replenish and rejuvenate it.
They can be made at home with simple ingredients to tackle your skin’s specific problems while cooling your skin down in the rising temperatures. So, have a rummage through your refrigerator and kitchen cabinets to source skin-friendly ingredients. Then you can freeze your own version of a DIY facial Popsicle to combat skin inflammation, redness, and congestion.
So, keep reading to find out more about them and some great examples of ingredients you can use.
What Happens to Your Skin during the Summer Months
Summer months bring with them high temperatures and humidity. In just the couple of minute’s transit to work, you are sweating like crazy and feel like going back home to take another shower.
When you perspire in summer, the humidity makes the sweat go back into your pores and doesn’t let it evaporate quickly. This can cause your skin pores to become blocked and lead to many skin issues like rashes, puffiness, redness, and even acne. It is important to take care of your skin during extreme weather conditions. The regular cleansing, toning, and moisturizing routine won’t suffice.
While adding sunscreen to your daily skincare routine is a definite must, another ‘cool’ way to help your skin deal with the heat and humidity is using facial Popsicle’s. Additionally, they can help target specific problems your skin might have and get rid of them too. The best part, you can find all the ingredients you need in your kitchen cabinets.
Let’s dig deeper into this intriguing skincare step and understand how best to incorporate it into our regimen.
What is a ‘Facial Popsicle’?
The concept of facial Popsicle’s originated in France and has now spread too many countries in Europe, North America, and Asia.
Offered in a few skin clinics and spas, the main ingredients in a Popsicle includes hyaluronic acid, elastin, collagen, and other similar ingredients. These ingredients help to make the skin supple, less inflamed, refreshed, and young-looking in the hot summer months. A facial Popsicle is technically a frozen version of important ingredients, like those found in skin serums.
The product should then be applied all over the face, neck, and chest regions while it is still frozen and cool. The coolness of the Popsicle soothes the skin and helps to lower the body temperature. The low temperature also aids in the vital components being easily absorbed into the skin and exerting their respective beneficial effects.
Instead of a regular facial using lotions, creams, and face packs, a frozen serum pays special attention to the skin’s requirements in the high environmental temperatures.
The skincare benefits of this are plenty. When making facial a Popsicle at home, you also have the option of customizing them according to the ingredients you have available and those that will benefit your skin. Every individual’s skin might not need the same benefits from a facial Popsicle.
Therefore, picking ingredients that will work for your skin problems the best is possible when DIY’ing your way through this skincare breakthrough.
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How Does It Benefit Your Skin?
When the surroundings have a higher temperature than our body, our sweat glands start to produce more sweat than usual in order to cool down the skin and body temperature.
Increased humidity in our surroundings during such hot temperatures makes our sebaceous glands overactive too. This translates in the form of increased sebum (natural oil) production which makes our skin greasy and shiny. The heat and humidity make a powerful combination wherein the oil and sweat don’t evaporate and tends to clog the pores. Clogged or blocked pored lead to a stuffy skin that can develop heat rashes, bumps, and acne breakouts.
Increased body temperature also leads to redness and inflammation (swelling) in many people. Facial Popsicle’s help to cool the skin down instantly and this reduces the load on the sweat glands and sebaceous glands. The sweat and sebum production lowers and the congestion caused by them can be avoided. The cooling sensation also soothes the skin and reduces inflammation and redness, if there is any.
If you want to target specific skin issues that crop up because of the blocked pores, such as pimples, then specific ingredients can be added to the Popsicle to reduce their incidence.
Certain ingredients that aid in removing sun tan can also be added to lighten the skin and restore its natural tone. Apart from the ones mentioned, the other benefits of using facial Popsicle’s include:
- Improves blood circulation
- Hydrates the skin
- Replenishes the skin with nourishment and moisture.
- Makes the skin supple
- Reduces puffiness
- Refreshes the skin
- Gives a natural glow
- Evens out skin texture
You can replace your regular serum with these frozen varieties to aid better absorption of healing and soothing ingredients into the skin.
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Can You Purchase Facial Popsicles?
Commercially available facial Popsicle’s are not that easy to find. There are only a handful of spas and skin clinics in the world that are currently offering this skincare option. Vitamin C, hyaluronic acid, collagen, and other active ingredients are used in their formulation to ensure a power-packed effect from the facial Popsicle.
The dearth of the availability of facial Popsicles’ has inspired dermatologists and aestheticians to come up with ‘Do It Yourself’ versions of them.
Even though the ingredients you use to make a Popsicle yourself are not going to be as enhanced as the commercial ones, the benefits are still worthy.
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How to Make Them at Home?
To make facial Popsicles’ at home, the main ingredient that you need is distilled water. Distilled water has a neutral pH compared to tap water and hence, it has a lesser chance of wreaking havoc in your skin and causing further damage. Due to its low mineral content, distilled water is also beneficial to the sensitized skin seen during hot and humid weather conditions. Once you have distilled water ready in a bowl, add the ingredients of your choice. Some beneficial examples of ingredients that contain skin-nourishing components include yoghurt, cucumber water, coconut water, rose water, turmeric, etc.
Pick a combination that will suit your skin’s needs the best and mix everything together. Pour the liquid into Popsicle trays or even an ice cube tray and let it freeze for two to three hours at least. Cleanse your skin and pat it dry before gently rubbing the facial Popsicle all over it. Continue doing this as long as you can bear the ultra-coolness of the ice. Use a hand towel to hold the Popsicle, if required.
After the Popsicle has melted, let the ingredients sit on your skin for a few minutes and then wash them off with room temperature water. Pat your skin dry and continue with moisturizer and sunscreen application.
What Different Ingredients Can You Use And What Are Their Benefits?
The list of ingredients you can use make facial Popsicles’ at home is endless. We have listed a few items that can be found in most households and those which are the most beneficial to the skin.
These include:
Yoghurt
Any version of yoghurt will do, but the best one for your skin is definitely is Greek yoghurt. Natural moisturizing agents present in yoghurt make your skin supple. The lactic acid found in it will aid in removing all the dead skin cells and excess oils from your skin.
Cucumber
The high water content of this wonderful ingredient will help to keep your skin hydrated. It refreshes the skin and also reduces puffiness.
Rose Water
A common ingredient found in many skincare products is rose water. This is a great addition that you can make to the DIY Popsicles’ that you can buy from stores or make yourself from scratch. It tones the skin, reduces any inflammation and/or redness, and cleanse the pores as well.
Mint
While adding a few mint leaves to your lemonade, add some to the facial Popsicles’ you are making too. Mint is a great skin refreshing agent. It soothes the skin and alleviates any irritation.
Turmeric
The ‘King of Spices’ is termed so because of its versatility and a wide range of beneficial properties. This super spice is packed with anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and healing properties.
This can help to calm the skin, reduce redness, puffiness, and also deal with acne-causing microbes.
Coconut Water
It has skin brightening and anti-ageing properties that make it a notable ingredient to add to the facial Popsicles’ recipe.
Oatmeal
Ground oats have skin exfoliating and nourishing properties. The antioxidants present in it help to reverse the damage caused by the harsh sun. Applying oatmeal on the skin can help to reduce itching and inflammation.
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Make Sure You Do a Patch Test
Lemon juice, activated charcoal, essential oils, berries, honey and coconut milk are also great ingredients with great skincare benefits.
When deciding on the combination of ingredients to use, make sure that you have used those ingredients on your skin. Ensure that they will not cause any allergic reactions before you put them into your Popsicles’ tray.
To learn more about DIY skincare, click here to read our article on how to make your own DIY Natural, Hydrating Body Wash for Dry Skin.