You don’t have to tell us twice that winter skin is the absolute pits! It’s dry, raw, flaky, sapped of its summer glow. Our lips are too chapped to step anywhere near the mistletoe. And don’t even try kissing us on our raw, red cheeks! Thank goodness there’s an easy fix. And by easy, we’re talking three ingredients easy. This black seed and honey face mask is your winter skin BFF.
While crèmes, lotions, and fragrant botanicals are more commonly associated with glowing skin, the newest beauty superstar, black seed (nigella sativa), also known as black cumin, or cumin seed, is an unsuspecting skin friend.
According to natural health expert Dr. Axe, black seed helps the skin to promote proper melanin production, which protects the skin from damage. In one study, Dr Axe notes, black seed was as effective as the skin cream Betamethasone “in improving quality of life and decreasing severity of hand eczema.”
If it’s proven to help with eczema on hands, it’s a good bet that it’ll do great things for your face, too.
Plus, Dr. Axe says black seed oil “has virtually no side effects,” making it a worthwhile go-to for easy winter skin fixes.
And it’s worth noting that black seed isn’t just revered for its skin-boosting properties when applied topically. It continues to show promising results in protecting the liver, improved glucose tolerance, weight loss, cancer prevention, and the ability to fight off antibiotic-resistant infections such as MRSA (Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus.)
But back to our lackluster dry, flaky, itchy winter skin. It needs help and a DIY face mask is just the thing. This one calls not only on black seed oil for its regenerative properties, but also lemon (or vinegar) and honey to slough off the dead skin cells and bring relief to damage skin. You can expect your skin to feel softer, smoother, and more like its best self after just one treatment.
Make this face mask one to two times per week.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon black seed oil
1tablespoon raw unfiltered honey
½ teaspoon pure lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
Directions
Combine ingredients and mix well. If honey is too hard, soften a bit in the microwave first.
Spread the mask over face and neck, allowing to set for 20 minutes. It’s sticky, so avoid contact with clothes and hair.
Rinse off with lukewarm water and pat dry.
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I see all mention regarding face masks is about mixing black seed oil with honey. However I recently bought from Planet Organic some black seed honey grown on Yemen mountains. Can it be used for a face mask? Any clarification or recipe would be welcome.