DIY Beauty: yogurt for soft and smooth skin
Thursday, 18 September 2008
Yogurt features as one of the main ingredients in a number of the homemade beauty recipes. Its high nutrient content, plus the lactic acid and enzymes soothes, softens and hydrates the skin, leaving it soft and smooth. Because yogurt has antibacterial and antifungal properties, it also provides excellent cleansing properties.
Choice of yogurt for homemade skincare recipes
You can purchase yogurt for your homemade DIY beauty recipes from the supermarket. It’s best to choose yogurt with live active cultures in order to get the full benefits. Otherwise, just remember to buy plain, unflavored and preferably set yogurt. And depending on your face type, you want to be careful about the fat content. For dry skin type, those original formula that contains fat would be very nourishing. However, I found this too much for my combination skin. So if you have combination or oily skin, use non-fat formulas even though the consistency of some are much thinner which means the yogurt could be dripping off. I personally like the 99.8% fat free natural set yogurt from Pauls.
What I like about using yogurt is that it can be used alone or blended with other natural ingredients. I’ve tried it with cucumber, with carrot, with tomato and with lemon to much satisfaction.
Yogurt recipe for moisturizing & hydrating the skin
- 2 – 3 tablespoons of plain yogurt
- 2 tablespoons of grated carrot
Mix the combination together, apply to face, neck and anywhere else you like. Leave on for about 15 minutes and rinse off thoroughly.
I tried this everyday for a week using non-fat yogurt and it was good. No breakouts nor irritation. And my skin certainly felt smooth and supple afterwards.
Yogurt recipe for skin whitening/lightening
This recipe is from Leon at Glowing Diva which is said to be able whiten/lighten your complexion in less than fifteen days.
- 2 tablespoon fresh plain yogurt
- 1 tablesppon of orange juice.
Mix the mixture together and apply on your face and rinse off after fifteen minutes. Moisturize your skin and don’t forget to apply your sunscreen cream/lotion because orange contains AHAs(Alpha Hydroxy Acids) which can make your skin photosensitive.
Yogurt creamy cucumber facial cleanser recipe
This recipe is taken from Blended Beauty by Philip B.
For normal to dry skin:
- 1/4 cucumber (chopped, do not peel)
- 1/8 russet potato (chopped, do not peel)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 whole egg
- 1/4 cup plain yogurt
If you have oily skin:
- use nonfat yogurt
- add 2 teaspoons of lemon juice
- increase baking soda to 2 tablespoons
- use egg white only; discard egg york
In a blender, mix cucumber and potato together on medium speed for 20 seconds. Add remaining ingredients and blend on low speed for 1 minute. Moisten face with warm water and apply cleanser with a washcloth in a gentle circular motion. Rinse clean with warm water; follow with cool-water rinse.
Use yogurt consistently at least 3 times a week for visible benefits
Like I’ve mention, yogurt is a wonderful ingredient and there are many possibilities of using it for your skin’s benefits. For example, I also understand that when combined with honey and lemon juice, yogurt makes a moisturizing and exfoliating mask, great for softening the face and neck and minimizing discoloration. So you really have lots to experiment. But to get long term benefits, you need to use it consistently at least three times a week. An exception is those with oily skin because even non-fat yogurt maybe a tad rich and the best way to use it is probably as a cleanser than a mask.
Oh, and I should add. Yogurt may not smell great to some of us. It took me a while to get use to the strong diary scent.
© www.vivawoman.net copyright notice
_______________________________________________________
Stumble This | 
Get Email | 
Subscribe to RSS
Posted in Homemade/DIY | 32 Comments »
previous post: Silicones clog pores & cause skin irritation
next post: New L’Occitane Immortelle Concentrates
Related Posts
- DIY Beauty: oat mask for smaller pores
- DIY Beauty: homemade hydrating face mask
- DIY Beauty: chocolate anti-aging face mask
- DIY Beauty: cucumber to brighten skin
- DIY Beauty: lemon for pigmentation
September 19th, 2008 at 8:30 am
i used to use yogurt for my skin and you’re absolutely right: yogurt does wonders for the skin! i don’t know why i stopped using yogurt but reading your blog inspired me to stop being lazy and use it again. thank you
andrea: Glad to hear that!
September 19th, 2008 at 10:18 am
thanks for the tip. i think i really need to become hardworking with the natural ingredients instead of lazying around all the time. btw, for combi skin, i think we can actually mix 2 different yogurt and apply them to respective zones. likewise, this is also how i use my cleanser now
2 diff cleansers for different zones 
prettybeautifui: That’s an interesting idea! But I’ll stick to the non-fat yogurt. It’s better for me. Actually I used to think that using natural ingredients are troublesome but now that I get a hang of it, I realized it’s pretty easy and not time consuming except if you have to put together many ingredients.
September 19th, 2008 at 3:53 pm
Hey Sesame, great recipes:) I love Yogurt, its a wonder food.
Leon: Hey, one of it is from you!
September 20th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
Thanks for posting it Sesame:)
Leon:
September 23rd, 2008 at 11:33 pm
oh~~ it so nice!!
i like DIY with simple ingredients!!!!
October 1st, 2008 at 8:58 am
Hi Leon, as usual you are keeping your site running with the best of care for your readers and customers. Good job.
October 1st, 2008 at 9:53 am
[...] smell and easy application In my last entry about yogurt homemade beauty recipes, I mentioned that yogurt do not smell great. But with oats, the smell is different and I quite [...]
October 28th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
I know this is kind of off topic but I was wondering whether you had any DIY cleansers that I don’t need to put in the fridge and that I don’t need to leave on for awhile?
Bee: Hmm…I can’t think of any offhand. All requires some sort of preparation. Unless you’re thinking of using oils; like jojoba, etc which you can cleanse your face with but you need to use a warm washcloth to get rid of the oil. However, if you’re looking for natural exfoliant or scrub, then baking powder can do the trick.
November 2nd, 2008 at 2:17 pm
thakz i will try it out 2night.ur the best
Rubbi: Hope you’ll like it!
November 3rd, 2008 at 10:07 am
i tried it .my skin was so soft.thaks n should i do this daliy??
rubii: I’ve tried it daily for awhile then switched to alternate days. Three times a week would be just about right.
November 18th, 2008 at 7:37 am
Do you need to wash your face with a cleanser before using this? Should I moisturize after using it?
Bee: Yes, you need to make sure your face is clean and you can tone and moisturize afterwards. Or skip the toning if you don’t do it.
November 26th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
Wow! I ask so many questions.. do you think expired yogurt will still work? Though it’d smell pretty bad.. but I remember people saying Cleopatra bathed in sour milk and yogurt’s made from milk..
Bee: Erm…I really wouldn’t recommend. I mean, it’s your face…I won’t take the risk. For Cleopatra, I only remember milk…haven’t heard about the sour milk part. I guess she didn’t use it on her face?
March 5th, 2009 at 8:58 pm
I love the smell of ginger, can I add fresh ginger root for the aroma w/o clogging my pores? Also, I have roseacea, any risk of inflammation?
March 21st, 2009 at 2:06 pm
Organic fatty yogurt 30 minute facial…I tried it and the lactic acid is great! Forget glycolic acid. Stick with organic yogurt. Just slap it on your face for 30 minutes, rinse off and your set to go!
Melanie: I’m keen to try organic yogurt but I haven’t try it yet. Must go to the organic food stores to find them one of these days…
April 24th, 2009 at 8:05 am
Hi, I’m new to your blog and stumbled across while searching for diy masks. I am actually trying the oatmeal and yogurt mask right now while waiting 30 mins. I have a question, can i store the left over yogurt/oatmeal mixture overnight for tomorrow’s usage?
Dawn: Yes you can. Overnight is fine. Don’t keep it too long; the fresher the better.
June 4th, 2009 at 2:12 am
[...] and test out certain amounts to see what’s good for you. For more DIY Beauty, do visit VivaWoman, Essential Day Spa and Leon’s Beauty Tips and Secrets. I’ll be back with a mini haul [...]
June 4th, 2009 at 5:23 am
how effective is the carrots and yogurt for whitening? and how often do I have to use it to see its effectiveness?
Do i make a new mixture everyday, and how long do i live it on my skin before i take a shower?
sesame Reply:
June 4th, 2009 at 11:32 am
3 times a week should be about good. But it may take awhile to see results. Cucumber is also good.
June 10th, 2009 at 8:58 am
ohhhh
this is nice to try with added honey =)
sesame Reply:
June 10th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
Never tried with honey….but it might be interesting.
July 21st, 2009 at 4:41 am
Have you ever heard of combining yoghurt and Almond Oil? I’ve heard it does wonders for the skin – just curious to see if anyone has tried it?
sesame Reply:
July 21st, 2009 at 8:22 am
No, I’ve not tried. It sounds really wonderful but I wonder if it’ll be too rich for certain skin type.
July 31st, 2009 at 9:02 am
I would like to add that adding manuka honey is good too due to the anti-bacterial and soothing effect, not to mention it smells great! and another thing is tumeric powder, yes the one u use for curry.. it has good anti-acne effect and since using it 3 weeks ago and twice a week, my acne has been under control (i don’t have very serious acne problem, but always frequent outbreaks and i only have clearer skin maybe less than a week every month)
Hope that helps..
sesame Reply:
July 31st, 2009 at 10:08 am
I’ve heard a lot on tumeric. Tried but it leaves a stain doesn’t it?
September 3rd, 2009 at 11:32 am
[...] beauty recipes because of its natural lactic acid and enzymes. As I’ve written before, the beauty benefits of yogurt include soothing, softening and hydrating the skin, leaving it soft and smooth. In addition, [...]
September 12th, 2009 at 9:33 pm
Did you mean to say even non-fat yogurt is not suitable for oily skin? I really want to try out the yogurt mask but i’m afraid it’ll make my face oiler even though I’ll be using non-fat.
Looking forward to your reply.
sesame Reply:
September 12th, 2009 at 11:41 pm
It might be too rich for oily skin so I suggested using it just as a cleanser. If you want, you may want to try it once and see how it works. But don’t use it too frequently…maybe like once a week at most.
September 13th, 2009 at 4:25 pm
I see. Thank you. Do you also have a recipe for yogurt cleanser? Sorry.. I’m asking too many questions.
sesame Reply:
September 14th, 2009 at 10:07 am
For cleanser (make sure you use after you have removed all traces of makeup and dirt first), you can use yogurt and oatmeal or yogurt and honey. But I haven’t tried it as a cleanser so not sure how’s the result. I suggest you use it sometimes and see how it works for you first.
September 14th, 2009 at 1:05 am
liked ur recipees very much.my skin is oily so for me non-fat yogurt will b suitable with lemon juice n egg white.but can i leave baking soda??means if i wont use baking soda will it b fine????
sesame Reply:
September 14th, 2009 at 10:09 am
Should be okay. Sorry I only saw your comments now.
September 14th, 2009 at 1:05 am
pleas reply me i wnt to try it soon…