If I had any luck influencing the English language, I would coin a new synonym for the word ‘Mom’ and that word would be ‘Super Women’. Actually, every one already knows about it and it’s just a matter of time before it gets formally recognized. Now in case you are thinking how is this related to a hub on skin care tips….. let me tell you that unless you understand the busyness of being a mom, you will never realize why spending quality 30 minutes every day on skin care is such a big challenge.

With morning madness of getting kids and the other ‘big kid’ ( yes…. I am talking about the kid’s dad ! ), ready for school and office, cleaning, cooking, daily house-work, evening cooking and night routines, there is hardly any time left for skin care. Most often moms are willing to trade the 30 minutes of personal care to an extra 30 minutes of sleep.

Keeping this in mind, I am listing some easy ways to indulge in skincare while being busy with daily chores.

MORNINGS

• Wash your face with gram flour. It is a very well-known skin care product in Asian cultures. For even better results, mix one tea spoon of ‘turmeric powder’ with 1 cup of gram flour and store in an air tight container. Wash your face using one teaspoon of this powder every day in the morning. You will see immediate results.

• Don’t use turmeric if you are about to step out in the sun in the next half an hour, as it will darken your skin. Apart from that turmeric is a magic skin care ingredient and is famous for its healing benefits.

• If you have difficulty finding turmeric, check out any Asian/Indian store. If you ever wondered how the famous Indian curries get their yellow color, turmeric is the secret behind it.

• This whole exercise will take one minute and you will start your day on a bright note.

• After washing the face, pat it dry and then apply pure ‘rose water’ all over the washed skin. A bottle of Rose water can be stored in a fridge and as soon as you enter the kitchen to start the morning chores, just apply some of it on the face.

• Rose water has been used for centuries as a gentle astringent. It is an excellent gentle option for anyone with dry, sensitive skin as it has been proved to not have any drying effect on the skin.

• Better yet, it has a wonderful smell and will make you feel like being pampered in a luxurious spa.

DURING THE DAY

• Before you start cooking the lunch, mix one tea spoon of oat meal ( regular ones available in department stores for kids) with water or milk and use as a scrub on the face. I don’t have enough words to describe how smooth it leaves the face after being washed. For better results, soak the oatmeal for at least five minutes before applying on the face

• While the food is being cooked, mix any of the following ingredients together based on the availability for a wonderful pace pack – Gram flour, yogurt/lemon juice, honey, rose water. Leave it on for 15-20 minutes. Ideally, it is recommended to sit down and relax while you have a face mask on, but this is a hopeless dream in a mom’s world. My advice is that put this mask on and keep doing the daily chores only taking care not to ‘talk’ during this time.

• If you don’t have the energy for any of the above, then cut a thin slice of potato and rub it under the eye and your face. Wash it off as per your convenience, once it is dry. It has natural anti-oxidants and is well known for curing dark circles under the eye. I use this regularly to fight my dark circles since they have a hard time leaving my face!

• Fresh Lemon juice can also be applied on the face to get a clear skin. It is another of my tested favorites. If you have a sensitive skin, mix lemon juice with rose water or honey before applying. Leave it for 30 -45 minutes and wash with water. Lemon juice works as a natural bleach on the skin and gives immediate effect.

EVENINGS

• While cooking the evening snack or dinner, mash one inch of ripe banana in your palm and just rub it on your face. Offer a banana to your family in the evening and save the lower one inch for your skin care! Just wait till it dries on your face, roughly about 7-10 minutes. Wash it off with water and if possible follow it up with rose water.

• When banana starts drying, the face mask starts to turn brown/black. Not a pretty sight huh… but this ten minutes of brown face will enhance your skin with ultimate softness. Have your husband touch your skin after washing it, and he will never make fun of your brown banana face!

• For even better results, mix 2-3 drops of honey to the mashed banana before applying to the face. Mixing honey will keep your mask soft, in case you don’t like the tightening masks.

• In case there is no banana in the house, the same routine can be done with any of the following fruits – strawberry, pear, grapes, orange, melon, avocado

NIGHT

• Cleanse your face by mixing 1 table spoon of milk (fat-free milk is better) with 5-6 drops of coconut oil, and applying it on your face with cotton. After this wash your face again with gram flour and apply rose water.

• If you are having problem sleeping in the night or have a dry eye for some reason, dab a cotton ball in cold milk (fat-free is better) and keep it on top of your closed eye. It will relax you in no time. If you don’t have milk available, the same trick can be used with chilled water.

I will not list any more tips because I know that taking out time for even half of what is mentioned is a big achievement. Investing time in skin care is just a matter of discipline. In my opinion, everyone knows a few tricks and everyone struggles to follow them consistently, every day.

If it helps to make anyone feel better, let me confess that inspite of having fairly good knowledge of natural skin care tips, I struggle with the same issue of not being able to follow them consistently. This article is also to motivate myself to take out those 30 minutes during the day for my skin. All the moms deserve to see a beautiful glowing face in the mirror after a hard day of  work.