MINTY MANTRA

Mint has much more to offer besides adding a captivating aroma to your food. Read on to know how to use this herb in your daily beauty routine.

Rich in menthol and anti-bacterial properties, mint is a precious gift of mother nature. Packed with healthy vitamins such as vitamin A, C and B-6 its leaves are highly beneficial for the maintenance of a healthy skin. Moreover, it contains menthol, an active ingredient that exhibits cooling and anti-bacterial properties which are useful for treating different skin problems. Loaded with innumerable beauty benefits, mint is used in various cleansers, toners, astringents, moisturisers and DIY routines.

Let us explore some of the beauty applications of mint extracts that you might not know.

–  The leaves act as a great healer for pimples/acne.  Its external application helps to fade away the acne scars and internal intake purifies the blood and reduces acne re-occurrence. Salicylic acid present in mint helps in curing acne. Make a paste of mint leaves and natural rose water and apply this on your face. Rinse off after 20 minutes. Doing this regularly helps in getting rid of stubborn acne. This helps in removing the blackheads as well.

– Apply mint oil to your hair 3-4 times every week. Massage nicely and keep it on for 30 minutes (before a shower). Doing this will help get rid of lice, as mint is a natural repellent for insects. Do this regularly for a few weeks or months to completely remove any traces of lice from the hair.

– To scrub off the dead skin and tone up, put ½ cucumber, ½ lemon juice, ½ egg white, ½ apple juice and blend it in a blender for a smooth paste. Apply it on the face and neck, rinse off after 15-20 minutes with cold water.

– Boil mint leaves in water and once it’s a bit cool soak your feet in it. This helps soothe cracked heels, removes odour and makes heels soft. Not only this, the warm aroma of the leaves will help calm your nerves and senses, and help you relax.

– Using mint leaves for skin, controls oiliness as it contains Vitamin A. It rejuvenates and refreshes the skin making it bright and soft! A clay and mint mask proves excellent for the oily skin as it removes the excess oil generation from the skin. Just mix 2 tsp clay powder and 1 tsp of finely chopped fresh mint leaves along with water. Apply it all over the face, neck and wash off after 15 minutes.

– Chew a few mint leaves to stop bad breath and freshen your breath without adding any calories, unlike other breath fresheners that contain artificial sweeteners. It also leaves your teeth clean and prevents further build-up of bacteria that causes bad breath.

–  Infusion drinks are a great way to lose weight. A diet drink with mint leaves, ginger, lemon and black salt flushes away toxins, boosts your metabolism and the cooling properties of mint calms your mind and relaxes your mood. The antioxidant effects of lemon and ginger, fights against free radical damage and induces weightloss. Enjoy it as a refreshing evening drink!

– Mint leaves are extremely useful in curing those horrible dark under eye patches. All you need is a blend of mint leaves and rose water. Its leaf contains a good amount of vitamin A and vitamin C that soothes puffy and irritated eyes, removes dark patches around the eyes and brightens the under eye area.

– A skin-friendly and cooing body spray with mint leaves. Add 1/2 cup of finely chopped mint leaves and 1/2 cup of chopped lemon grass to a glass of water and bring it to a boil. Cool the concoction and add 4 drops of lemon essential oil and shake well. Your invigorating minty citrusy body spray is ready. This spray delivers a cooling sensation to the skin surface, energises and hydrates the skin, controls excessive underarms sweating and naturally whitens dark underarms.

With many potential benefits to the skin, it is one of the easily available natural ingredient you can give a try.

Expert consulted: Dr Shehla Agarwal.