Beauty and The Wine

If you thought wine was only meant to be enjoyed as a drink, think again.

You can also use it to give your skin a refreshing glow and remove tans and blemishes. Mix a variety of ingredients for a rejuvenating vinotherapy or wine facial at home, which can cost you anything between 1,500-3,500THB in salons.

The antioxidant properties of wine help in getting the toxins out of the skin. Wine facials are also great for skin tightening. Every wine has a different composition and should be used according to skin type.

While red wine has anti-ageing properties, white wine is good for tightening of open pores and prevention of acne. Innovation is the key in wine facials. Using wine in conjunction with a cream that suits your skin type is a wise choice. Add rose water if you have sensitive skin, almond paste if you have dry skin or aloe vera juice if you have oily skin.

Wine facials?

You get a better glow from a wine facial than a regular facial. The anti-ageing and de-stressing properties make wine facials more beneficial. They often give an instant wrinkle-free effect. Wine’s active anti-oxidants are also beneficial. The positive and negative ions are a source of an active supply of oxygen into the skin.

For dry skin
Sweet white wines with alpha hydroxy acids are good for this skin type due to their water-binding properties. Commonly used wines are Michel Lynch Bordeaux, Chateau D’Ori Sauvignon Blanc and Sula Riesling.For oily skin
If you have acne-prone oily skin, go for a red wine facial, since it has a high concentration of polyphenol resveratrol, a chemical that helps reduces inflammation. Most commonly used red wines for facials are Sula Rasa (Shiraz) and Indus Cabernet Sauvignon.

Give yourself a wine facial
Use a cleanser cream to massage your face, moisturise the skin and eliminate dirt. Do so for five-seven minutes and wipe it off with a cotton pad.

Steam your face using a hot towel or steamer for five minutes. The steam will open the pores and the impurities will flush off through sweat.

After steaming, massage a mix of wine, herbs and essential oils on your face. The wine and essential oil must be selected according to your skin type.

Apply the blend on the face and pour some on the fingertips. The massage should start from the head with thumbs on the forehead and fingers on the sides. Press the space between the eyebrows using the thumb. Continue the massage in circular motion down the jaw line to the chin and draw a line under the chin till the sides. This will allow the facial muscles to relax and loosen and the wine will penetrate the facial skin.

Clean the face using a cotton pad and apply a wine face-mask that suits your skin type. Leave it on for 10 minutes and rinse with lukewarm water.

Make your own wine face masks
For dry skin: Mix 3 tablespoons of sweet red wine with 1/2 tablespoon of aloe vera gel and a tablespoon of honey. Add two drops of lavender essential oil. Mix well and apply on face and neck. Keep it on for 20 minutes and rinse.

For Oily and acne-prone skin: Blend 3 tablespoons of red wine with yoghurt and 2 drops of tea tree oil. Mix well and apply on to the skin. Leave it on for 20 minutes then rinse it off.

Wine and aloe vera mask: Mix red wine with aloe vera gel and leave it on the face for 10 minutes. Wash it off with lukewarm water. The gel of aloe vera cools the skin and the wine cleanses as well as repairs the skin cells.

Honey and port wine mask:
Mix port wine with 2-3
teaspoons of honey. Leave it
on the face for about half-an-hour and then rinse it off with lukewarm water. Honey helps
in toning the face while port wine repairs skin cells and works like an anti-aging agent.

Jira