Soda (bicarbonate, sodium bicarbonate) is an affordable and universal product used not only in everyday life, cooking, but also in cosmetology. Thanks to its antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects, soda relieves inflammation and is also effective in the prevention and treatment of acne. When used correctly, you can achieve great results comparable to expensive trips to beauty salons.
To understand why soda is useful for acne, you need to know the meaning of the concept of pimple. This is an inflammatory skin disease resulting from blockage of the sebaceous glands by sebum. There are other types of rashes: acne, blackheads, comedones.
Since sodium bicarbonate has properties that can help eliminate skin problems, it is worth familiarizing yourself with this product in more detail. Useful properties of soda:
- opens pores, cleanses them of stagnant sebum;
- cleanses the upper keratinized layer of the epidermis, allowing healthy cells to breathe;
- normalizes the acid-base balance (pH) of the skin;
- reduces irritation, has an anti-inflammatory effect;
- stimulates collagen production, thereby accelerating the healing process of scars;
- dries out inflamed and purulent rashes on the body;
- reduces sebum production, restoring normal functioning of the sebaceous glands;
- tightens enlarged pores;
- has a rejuvenating effect;
- improves blood circulation, refreshes and evens out the complexion.
How does baking soda work on the skin?
It is possible to achieve beneficial effects on the skin due to the active components contained in baking soda. Used within reasonable limits, it eliminates age spots and teenage acne. The substance has many beneficial properties, among which are:
- degreasing sebaceous skin and narrowing pores;
- rejuvenation and healing of skin cells filled with toxins with the help of oxygen;
- improved skin regeneration due to the fact that sodium actively affects metabolic processes;
- cleansing pores using carbon, which is part of bicarbonate. Coal gets under the epidermis, cleansing it of toxic substances and excess subcutaneous fat;
- acne and pimples are noticeably reduced thanks to a massage using soda, and the keratinized layers of the epidermis are easily cleaned off with a brush;
- freckles and age spots lighten with regular use of bicarbonate;
Efficacy and use of honey-soda mask
Many people are interested in what is the secret of such an excellent product that gives quick and desired results. The fact is that despite the fact that anyone can make a mask of honey with the addition of soda at home, it is a unique means for cleansing the face. The fact is that this mask contains two unique and simply necessary components - honey and soda, which have important properties.
Namely:
- Honey nourishes those areas of the facial skin that have acne and inflammation. One of the functions of the bee waste product is that it perfectly blocks the spread of inflammation. And the last thing for which it is needed in this mask is to soften the effect of soda.
- Baking soda cleanses the pores of the face from various impurities, thereby removing inflammation. After all, most often it is what causes acne. Soda is distinguished by its soothing and antibacterial properties.
Another important nuance is that soda contains sodium, which is necessary for the cells of the body for their normal functioning.
It is also sodium that is responsible for ensuring that the skin of the face and body has the constant necessary moisture. And the vitamins contained in the waste product of bees are exactly the source of vitamins that inflamed skin cells so need.
That is, together, these two elements give exactly the effect that allows you to quickly, uselessly and practically free of charge to get rid of inflammation and acne on the skin of the face.
How to properly use baking soda for acne?
Baking soda does not contain vitamins and microelements. But thanks to its chemical and fairly aggressive properties, sodium bicarbonate copes with any contaminants, so you need to use it carefully, without causing harm to yourself. Soda cleans dishes from rust, which is worth remembering when preparing soda face masks. Preventing rashes and acne requires following a few simple rules:
- if the skin is sensitive and soft, and often flakes off, then cosmetologists recommend not using soda masks;
- if there are wounds and scratches on the epidermis, it is strictly prohibited to use soda;
- Before applying a soda mask to your face, you need to conduct a test to avoid an allergic reaction. To do this, apply a small amount of the mixture on your wrist and wait 30 minutes - if redness, swelling or itching does not appear, you can start applying the mask to your face;
- the procedure should not last more than 10 minutes, otherwise it may lead to itching and redness;
- Frequent use of soda masks harms the skin, so you need to do them no more than once a week;
- Before applying the mask, you need to cleanse your face with a scrub made from baking soda. It is necessary to mix the substance with micellar water and carefully apply the resulting mixture to the skin, avoiding getting the mask on the lips and eyes;
- It is advisable to hold your face over the steam for a couple of minutes or wrap it in a damp, warm towel before applying the mask to the skin;
- the mixture is strictly forbidden to be applied to the areas around the lips and eyes, because the skin in these areas is susceptible to burns or injuries;
- After the mask is washed off with warm water, a thin layer of nourishing cream should be applied to the skin.
The effect of soda can be mitigated by other components, but inept use and preparation can lead to severe chemical burns and injuries to the epidermis.
Instructions for use
In order to achieve a positive result and not encounter some troubles, you need to carefully study the instructions for using sodium bicarbonate:
- A small number of people have an individual intolerance to soda, so before applying the composition to the skin, its effect should be tested on the crook of your arm. To do this, apply a little product to the skin and wait 10 minutes. If there is no itching, redness or rash, then it can be used.
- Products containing sodium bicarbonate should not be rubbed into the epidermis. They should be applied to clean skin with light movements along massage lines.
- You should not apply baking soda to the skin around the eyes and lips, as this can cause irritation and redness.
- Most often, it is recommended to wash off the soda solution after a quarter of an hour.
- For each procedure, the mixture must be prepared anew.
- It is necessary to wash off the composition from the face with water at room temperature.
- When the product is washed off, you need to wipe your face dry and apply a nourishing cream suitable for your skin type.
Taking baking soda orally for acne
Often, acne on the face and body appears due to intestinal dysfunction. To cleanse the epidermis and eliminate existing disorders, a soda solution is used, which must be taken orally. After this procedure, toxins and waste leave the gastrointestinal tract, and the acid balance returns to normal.
To prepare the solution you will need 200 mg of boiled water and one teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate. Mix the ingredients and drink the resulting liquid in the morning on an empty stomach. After 14 days, acne will disappear, the skin will become clean and healthy.
Precautionary measures
Baking soda is a relatively safe remedy for treating facial acne as long as you take precautions.
Which are as follows:
- If your skin is hypersensitive, you should use topical soda with extreme caution , as it can cause redness, burning and other discomfort;
- Regardless of skin sensitivity, it is recommended to pre-test soda to make sure there is no negative reaction from the body;
- In the absence of an undesirable reaction, you still cannot use soda on a regular basis , since this can give the opposite result: a violation of the acid-base balance, leading to the growth of pathogenic microflora, the development of inflammation and an increase in the number of acne on the face;
- The recommended frequency of topical application of baking soda on the face is 2 times a week.
Baking soda and water for acne
The simplest recipe for eliminating acne and rashes is a compress of water and bicarbonate. You need to take a small container, pour the required amount of baking soda into it with the addition of water, and beat with a blender until smooth. Wait 3 minutes, then use a cotton swab to treat the affected areas of the dermis. After half an hour, remove the mask using a cotton pad.
Soda peeling is effective for oily skin types. It is necessary to cleanse your face, then mix soda and water in your palm and apply it to the epidermis using massage movements. Massage your face for a minute, then wash well. This procedure is repeated three times every seven days.
Is it possible to wash your face with soda?
The organic alkaline compound is an effective bactericidal anti-inflammatory agent. Washing your face daily helps prevent inflammation and acne. Upon contact with water, microcrystalline powder dissolves and does not injure the epidermis.
The food component has a weak scrubbing effect. Gently exfoliates and removes dead cells. The mild irritating effect increases blood circulation in capillaries and arterioles, improving the enrichment of dermal cells with oxygen and nutrients.
Be sure to read:
Popular recipes for oatmeal masks for acne: a quick way to get rid of acne at home
Soda with salt for acne
Baking soda and salt are more effective as a mixture for exfoliating the skin. However, this procedure should not be resorted to if a person has:
- severe inflammation;
- purulent acne;
- acne;
- sensitive skin.
Table salt should be mixed with bicarbonate in a 1:1 ratio. Lather your hands with soap until foam forms, which should be applied to the face in a circular motion. Then cover the skin with the resulting dry mixture, massaging it. After 10 minutes, wash off the paste and lubricate your face with any nourishing cream.
Reviews
- Elena, 36 years old: “My daughter is now at the age when pimples and acne do not give her rest - a transitional age. She uses various expensive cosmetics, but they do not help. And then I remembered the product that I, my mother, and my grandmother used. And it turned out that this remedy is still relevant today. My daughter started using baking soda to wash her face, and her acne began to go away.”
- Ekaterina, 30 years old: “Acne is my problem, and I have suffered from it almost all my life. I read a lot of reviews on the Internet about using baking soda for such cases. And I decided to try. After a month I saw the result, now I will use this product until the problem goes away completely.”
- Nadezhda, 28 years old: “I use baking soda as a facial scrub. It cleanses the skin of acne and exfoliates. I do the scrub 3 times a week, but you can do it 2 times. After a month, my face became very clean, the effect was amazing. Before I started using this scrub, blackheads especially appeared in the forehead area, as well as all over my face. I tried a lot of gels and scrubs, their prices also varied greatly. But in the end it turned out that soda is both effective and worth a penny. Pimples stopped appearing. But it is worth noting that it is ideal for oily skin, but not so much for dry skin. You can simply dry out your face. Therefore, you need to know moderation in everything.”
- Angelina, 45 years old: “Soda – how much is hidden in this word. The product is used both as a cosmetic and as a universal detergent. One day, after a hot summer, I noticed that my skin began to look simply terrible. I was so swamped with work that I had no time for self-care. The skin became oily, the pores became clogged, pimples and blackheads appeared. And this is where baking soda came to my rescue. Every day I applied a mask of baking soda and water to my face. After some time, the skin became clear, without acne, and the complexion improved.”
- Natalya, 25 years old: “When acne appeared on my face, I, like all girls, began to buy a variety of products to overcome them. And then I was simply horrified to discover that I was allergic to the components contained in the care products. Now I was faced with the task of how to fight. I decided to try soda, because it definitely couldn’t get any worse. I started using a mask that also included hydrogen peroxide. The result I received exceeded all my expectations."
Toothpaste and soda
Toothpaste, when mixed with baking soda, clears acne from the skin and removes blackheads. Using such a mask, you must first test your body for possible allergies. Wash your face and steam it, holding it over a container of hot water. To prepare the mixture, take one teaspoon each of toothpaste and bicarbonate, pour everything with a glass of water. Apply a mask to the epidermis, simultaneously massaging it.
After 5 minutes, the mixture is washed off or removed using a moistened soft towel. Moisturize your face with a cosmetic product with nourishing properties. Carry out the procedure no more than once every 7 days.
Adding baking soda to cosmetics
Baking soda can be used to add to various cosmetic products to increase their effectiveness in treating facial acne.
Suitable for these purposes:
- Various lotions for facial skin care;
- Tonics for the treatment of acne;
- Ointments and other products for topical use with low density.
With such treatment, there is a combined effect, feeding the epidermis with care products and cleansing the skin with soda, and the soft structure reduces the risk of damage from soda particles.
You can prepare a product based on this component using the following instructions:
- The selected cosmetic product in a volume that is usually taken for a single application is placed in a separate container;
- A small pinch of baking soda is added to the cosmetic product , after which the mixture is thoroughly mixed;
- Apply the product with the addition of soda to the skin of the face with light finger movements , while you need to make smooth massaging movements for deeper cleansing of the pores;
- Additional moisturizing after treatment is not required ; such treatment can be carried out 1-3 times a week.
Acne mask recipes
Today, cosmetology is replete with masks with bicarbonate, which help against acne and pimples, gently affecting the skin, which cannot be said about peelings and scrubs. They are highly effective and widely used for cosmetic purposes.
Oatmeal and soda
An anti-inflammatory mask helps cleanse the skin, and it also dries out acne in a short time. Mix one spoon of bicarbonate with one glass of oatmeal. Mix the ingredients until you get a creamy mixture. Apply the substance to the affected areas of the epidermis and remove after 20 minutes.
Soda and flour
Flour obtained from wheat is mixed with bicarbonate in a 1:1 ratio. Dilute the substance with a glass of water until the consistency becomes creamy. Cleanse the skin and apply a mask on it, leave it on for no more than half an hour, then rinse with water.
Soda and honey
This cosmetic product is very simple to prepare. You will need to dilute 3 teaspoons of bicarbonate with water and a glass of linden honey. Mix the mixture thoroughly and apply to the skin. Leave the mixture on the skin for 15 minutes, and then wash and treat your face with cream.
Soda and sugar
Take 1 glass of boiled water and dissolve granulated sugar and a pinch of soda in it. Take a cotton pad and soak it in the resulting liquid. Wipe all affected areas of the dermis and wait until the face is completely dry. Then wash the skin using laundry soap and dry it with a towel.
Soda with kefir
To prepare the mixture, you need to take 50 grams of oatmeal and add it to two tablespoons of kefir. Wait until the flakes swell and add a pinch of soda. Mix the ingredients and cover your face with the resulting mixture for 12 minutes, then remove with water.
Soda with brewer's yeast
Dissolve brewer's yeast (2 teaspoons) in warm water until a liquid slurry forms. Cover the mixture in a warm room for 20 minutes, then add a pinch of baking soda. Mix and apply to face, wash well after half an hour.
Cucumber soda
For this mask, you can take both fresh cucumbers and ripe strawberries. Wash a small cucumber or two berries and make a puree from them. Add half a teaspoon of baking soda, mix and apply the mixture to your face. Leave for 20 minutes and remove the pulp by rinsing with water.
Peelings
You can independently carry out light peelings to eliminate keratinized and exfoliated particles of the epithelium, which will bring tangible benefits to the face.
Important! Peeling is strictly prohibited for inflamed purulent acne!
Honey peeling
Instead of a mask with honey and soda for acne, it is useful to do a light peeling. To do this, combine 30 g of melted honey and 10 g of sodium bicarbonate in a glass container. Rub with light pressure in a circular motion, avoiding stretching the skin, for 3-5 minutes, then remove the mixture with any herbal decoction. Baking soda and honey for acne will not aggressively disinfect and nourish the skin.
“Salty” peeling
Dissolve 10 g of iodized salt in 5 ml of water and add 10 g of sodium bicarbonate. Rub with light pressing movements for 5-7 minutes, then rinse with plenty of water and wash with chamomile decoction.
Soft scrub “Sweet olive”
Combine 1 tbsp in a glass container. l. cold pressed olive oil, 1 tsp. granulated sugar, 1/2 tsp. fine salt, 1/2 tsp. soda Apply the scrub with massage movements for 5 minutes, then wash and use a nourishing cream.
Masks for oily skin
For people with oily skin, there are special soda masks to get rid of acne. You can use the following recipes:
- For an apple mask, you need to take 1 small spoon of baking soda, grate one tablespoon of apple on a fine grater and add warm water. Apply the paste to the dermis for 15 minutes.
- Mask with added hydrogen peroxide. Combine 2 tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide with 1 spoon of bicarbonate, treat the skin with the mixture, and after 20 minutes, rinse the substance with water.
Can you drink baking soda as an internal remedy for skin problems?
In folk medicine, baking soda is used internally to solve many health problems. Such procedures are aimed at normalizing the acid-base balance and a general healing effect on the body, due to which the number of skin rashes also decreases.
Taking soda orally is carried out according to the following scheme:
- Dissolve a teaspoon of baking soda in a glass of warm boiled water and stir the solution;
- The product should be taken orally in small sips; it is recommended to do this in the morning before breakfast;
- Reception is carried out on a daily basis, 1 time per day.
Scrub recipes
Due to their effective properties, acne scrubs with added bicarbonate should not be used more than once a week. Among the many recipes, the following stand out:
- Combine baking soda and soapy water in a 2:1 ratio. Mix the components thoroughly and apply to the skin with massage movements. In 20 minutes. remove the substance with a towel moistened with warm water;
- Grind the crushed oatmeal flakes with a spoon of bicarbonate and a pinch of cinnamon. Pour a glass of water into the container, stirring until a thick paste forms. Lubricate the skin of the face, massaging for 5 minutes, then rinse off the mask and wipe the skin with lemon juice.
Baths with soda for acne on the body
Just like on the face, unwanted acne and pimples can often appear unexpectedly on the legs, arms, chest and back. In order to get rid of them in hard-to-reach places, you need to take baths with the addition of baking soda. The substance cleanses contaminated pores from fat deposits and dirt, softens the skin, and fights pathogenic microorganisms and acne. You need to take a bath until acne and pimples completely disappear.
The procedure for taking a soda bath is simple:
- Fill the bath with water, monitoring the temperature level, which should remain at no more than 40 degrees.
- Add 300 grams of sea salt and 150 grams of sodium bicarbonate to the water. Mix the components until they are completely dissolved in water.
- You need to stay in such a bath for no more than 20 minutes.
- Taking a shower after a soda bath is strictly prohibited. You need to cover your body with a terry towel and lie down for 30 minutes.
Effect of soda-honey mask
Honey and soda: benefits for skin
The main component of the mask is soda, so the pores are actively cleansed, the substance gets rid of all types of impurities that cause rashes. This way the skin can be soothed, protected from various bacteria, dried, and pores narrowed.
Honey is an additional component that prevents soda from having an aggressive effect on the skin. Bee product is the best disinfectant, prevents the development of the inflammatory process, and saturates damaged cells with the necessary components.
Soda contains sodium, which keeps moisture in the skin of the face under control, which must be present for skin cells to function fully. Honey contains a large amount of vitamin components, with their help you can heal tissues that are damaged, it restores and rejuvenates the skin of the face. If you connect the components, you can immediately notice the effect.
Contraindications
Both before external and internal use of bicarbonate, be sure to familiarize yourself with the list of contraindications that soda can cause. It is prohibited to use the substance:
- for various types of inflammation;
- purulent wounds or pimples;
- with an allergic reaction to soda;
- individual intolerance;
- with visible vascular mesh (bursted capillaries).
Expectant mothers and women who are breastfeeding are also not recommended to use soda masks or baths. People suffering from gynecological diseases are strictly prohibited from drinking soda.
You can find soda ash on sale. This is a cleaning and cleaning product. It is absolutely not suitable for cosmetic procedures and oral administration. All recipes below use only baking soda.
Side effects
External use of baking soda to treat acne rarely causes side effects.
However, if the basic rules for using the product are not followed, it can lead to the following undesirable reactions:
- Redness at the application sites , accompanied by itching and burning;
- Drying of the skin , leading to peeling;
- Increased activity of the sebaceous glands due to the removal of too much natural fat;
- Violation of the acid-base balance due to the systematic use of soda;
- The worsening of the situation and the appearance of even more rashes most often occurs when exposed pimples are treated with soda.