Hot and Cold Skin Care: DIY Ice Cube Facial

Guest post by Brittney Helmrich

Fall is upon us and Mother Nature can’t make up her mind! One minute it’s too hot, the next it’s too cold. Instead of being annoyed by the ever-changing temperature, incorporate it into your nightly beauty routine! Pamper yourself before bed with this easy, at home, hot and cold spa treatment and get extra-healthy, beautiful, glowing skin even in the weirdest of weather.

Part 1: The Big Chill – The Ice Cube Facial

While it may sound a little strange, ice cube facials work wonders for your skin. They’re easy to do at home, and have several beauty benefits. The ice increases blood flow to your skin, giving you rosy cheeks to combat that pale, ashy autumn look we all dread. It also tightens the skin, shrinks pores, and reduces dark circles and swelling as well as acne. You may be concerned about the cold, but don’t worry –your skin will get used to it quickly, and you can look forward to warming up after.

You can use plain ice, but a great way to make it more luxurious and get even better results is to infuse the ice with different ingredients that are good for your skin. You can play around and infuse the ice with almost anything like fruits, veggies and teas, but a great combination to try is cucumber and rosewater. Here is the recipe. Make sure you prepare the ice in advance so it has time to freeze!

What you’ll need: 2 cucumbers, a bottle of rosewater, a small pot, an ice cube tray, gauze.

1. Cut up 2 cucumbers into small pieces.

2. In a small pot, combine equal parts rosewater and cucumber – it doesn’t need to be perfect. Tip: If you don’t want to use a lot of rosewater or you want to make a bigger batch you can add regular water to the mixture.

3. Boil the mixture for a just a few minutes.

4. Remove from stovetop and let cool completely before freezing.

5. When the cucumber-rosewater mixture is cool, strain the cucumbers from the mixture.

6. Pour the rosewater-cucumber juice into an ice cube tray and let freeze.

To do the facial, you only need one ice cube, so you can save the rest for later! At night, after you’ve washed your face, take one ice cube and wrap it in gauze. Slowly rub it over your entire face in small circular motions until the ice cube melts completely, and enjoy!

Part 2: The Warm-Up

After that frozen treat, you’ll need to turn up the heat a little! Make moisturizing so much more luxurious with this quick tip.

What you’ll need: bottle of body lotion, hot water.

Before starting your ice cube facial, fill your sink with hot water. Be sure to tightly seal your body lotion so that no water can get in, and rest it in the sink under the water. While you’re doing your ice facial, your lotion will heat up just enough for you to enjoy a little warmth before you hit the hay.

Would you try the fire and ice facial treatment? Do you ever spa at home?

Feature photo via