Easy 3-Ingredients Botanical Facial Steam for the Mother's Day Gift

If you’re anything like me, it would take a whole of effort to drag you out of work.
To relax.
To take a break and clear your mind of everything that has made you feel stuck.
Even if it would take only 5, 10 or 30 minutes – out of that many hours you’ve got in a day!
Beware of the potential burnout, my friend.
Train yourself to give yourself a self care whenever you need it.
Little by little – maybe start from something that you would do daily, regardless.
Modify one of your routines and enhance the experience from doing it in your everyday life.
Give your self a spa day at home by adding this simple, but surprisingly super-relaxing routine.
Let’s give this eaaaaasy 3-ingredients DIY minty floral botanical facial steam a try, shall we?

Why Facial Steaming?

It’s relaxing! It’s a way to relax and have some me-time in the comfort of your own home – without paying extra bucks!
It improves circulation; which could prevent the follicles from getting blocked. This would in turn decrease the chance of the anaerobic acne-causing bacteria to multiply in great numbers.
What’s more is that improved circulation = improved skin nourishment = healthy glow.
It could be really, really hydrating, especially if you know what to do and apply to your skin just before the routine to boost the hydration effect. *More about this on the “How to Use + Tips + Caution” section below, at the end of the post.
It helps improving our skin barrier. Great skin hydration is essential for healthy skin barrier. By hydrating our skin, facial steaming could help us maintain good skin barrier functioning. Healthy skin barrier would be able to better protect our skin from free radicals and properly does its job in topical absorption. The latter allows the actives in your favorite skin care products to be more effectively absorbed into your skin.
It improves skin’s flexibility. In his book, Mark Lees explains that steaming does not “open the pores”. It does, however, hydrate the surface, considerably improving the skin’s flexibility. This will, in turn, make any kind of extraction a whole LOT easier, thus more gentle. Hence, low chance of irritation and inflammation from extraction and other physical/mechanical processes.
And guess what, here is the bonus: it helps with clogged nose. This particular botanical facial steam contains dried peppermint leaves in it. But of course, you can boost the effect by adding 1-2 drops of peppermint essential oil and maybe also lemon essential oil. Don’t forget to close your eyes and you’re good to go!

Ingredients

1. Dried rose petals

INCI: Rosa damascena (Damask rose) petals.

In their study, Tatke and colleagues have confirmed the broad spectrum antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of Rosa damascena flower petals aqueous extract. To be more specific, they’ve also explained that the presence of flavonoids and phenolic compounds in the extract might be the one that contributes to these desirable antimicrobial and antioxidant properties.

If you’re one skin care enthusiast, chances are you’d highly appreciate the presence of antioxidants in your skincare products as well as your diets. Not only do they improve the signs of aging but they also protect our skin from free radicals and external aggressors. All of which might probably come from urban pollution, unhealthy diets, UV exposure, just to name a few.

The rose petals I’ve got here have been sourced from a local business in Bali, Indonesia. You’re welcome to see my scrambled thoughts on this product here. Anyways, these beautiful dried rose petals give off subtle, deep and sweet fragrance which, I think, no one would dislike.

2. Dried jasmine buds

INCI: Jasminum officinale (jasmine) buds.

Why buds, not flowers?
Although not as fragrant as the flowers, buds contain both the flower- and leaf-parts. Hence more beneficial phytochemicals (active compounds) that have been known and researched – to date. I found this interesting blog post about jasmine brew, which I think might shed some light on the difference(s) between jasmine buds and flowers when used in a brew. Especially when it comes to the fragrance they would give off.

If you’re suffering from acne, there is good news for you. In his paper, Al-Snafi shared the incredible antimicrobial activity of different extracts of leaves and flowers of Jasminum officinale against various types of pathogens. Including the infamous acne-causing P. acnes and S. epidermidis.

In the same paper, Al-Snafi also shared about the antioxidant property of various extracts of Jasminum officinale. In fact, the measured antioxidant activity of the plant is significant when compared to the standard ascorbic acid, for the same radicals.

Who wouldn’t want some antioxidant activities in their skincare products nowadays?

For this batch, I’ve used Jasminum officinale buds which has been locally sourced here in Indonesia. The characteristic jasmine fragrance is accompanied by that sweet, milky notes.

6 g batch of botanical facial steam fills up 3 sample jars.

3. Dried peppermint leaves

INCI: Mentha piperita (peppermint) leaves

In Fundamentals of Pharmacognosy and Phytotherapy, Heinrich and co-writers also talk about the components of peppermint leaves. Rich in essential oil, this plant also contains the non-volatile polyphenolic rosmarinic acid and derivatives, flavonoids and triterpenes. All of which are responsible for the peppermint extracts’ antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. Some if not most of these bioactive compounds are soluble in water.

As we all know, antioxidants help us in counteracting that annoying free radicals attack from e.g. pollution, UV exposure and smoke just to name a few. Put together antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds and you’ll get faster wound healing and skin barrier repair. And, by the way, this would also mean less stress for the skin, hence less wrinkles, fine lines as well as hyperpigmentation. Because, let’s just admit it; we all know that aging is inevitable, but at least we can strive for healthy and graceful, not premature aging.

…we all know that aging is inevitable, but at least we can strive for healthy and graceful, not premature aging.

As for the dried peppermint leaves I’ve got in hands here, they originate from Central Java, Indonesia. The characteristic aroma gives off that pleasant sweet and super fresh notes.

Minty Floral Botanical Facial Steam Recipe

Time to activate our Minty Floral Botanical Facial Steam.

Ingredients, in grams (for a 6 g batch):

3 g dried Rosa damascena (Damask rose) petals
2.88 g dried Jasminum officinale (jasmine) buds
0.12 g dried Mentha piperita (peppermint) leaves

Here I’ll also share with you the recipe in terms of percentages. This way, you’ll be able to decide the batch size for yourself.

Ingredients, in percentages:

50% dried Rosa damascena (Damask rose) petals
48% dried Jasminum officinale (jasmine) buds
2% dried Mentha piperita (peppermint) leaves

Directions:

Weigh the dried rose petals in a glass bowl.
Weigh the dried jasmine buds in the same bowl.
Lastly, add the dried peppermint leaves to the flowers.
Gently mix the herb and the flowers.
Store the dried botanicals in a jar.
Put a label on the jar, containing information about the ingredients, quantity, expiry date, as well as the directions for use and storage. *Please feel free to download the lovely printable label below.

Minty Floral Botanical Facial Steam Printable LabelDownload

You can download the printable label by clicking the download link above.

2 grams of our botanical facial steam for each sample jar.

HOW TO USE + TIPS + CAUTION:

Pour steamy hot water on the flowers and peppermint leaves to make a lovely botanical infusion.
Drape a towel over your head and a large bowl, and hover over the steaming infusion for about 5 minutes. Adjust the distance between your head and the water for more or less heat. Mark Lees suggests a distance of 14 to 20 inches (36 to 51 cm) between your face and the bowl.
Cool off whenever needed.
Don’t forget to close your eyes and relax – maybe set your favorite music or song in the background beforehand!
Add 1-2 drops of Damask rose or Jasminum officinale or peppermint essential oil or absolute to the steamy infusion to enhance the whole relaxation experience. Or, really, you can add any other oil(s) you like although they’re unrelated to the botanicals we’re using here. Just make sure you’re not allergic to it.
In his book, Mark Lees suggests applying hydrating fluid on the skin during facial steaming, especially if your skin is red or sensitive. This helps soften rough-textured skin, attract the nourishing steam, loosen the impactions and make the skin more pliable.
In the same book, he also shared some words of caution. There he says that an overuse of hot steam can set off irritant reactions, especially in known sensitive skin. So, if you decide to try this botanical facial steam routine, keep this in mind, and remember to not get too close to the steamy water. The bottom line is that we need to avoid overstimulating our skin at all times, whatever we do.
If you’re new to facial steaming, start with weekly facial steam. I wouldn’t recommend doing this for more than twice a week, though. Especially if you’ve got sensitive skin, as it could over-stimulate particularly irritable skin.
To maximize the benefits of facial steaming, make sure that you’ve cleansed your face beforehand and apply a serum and something to moisturize your skin afterwards. If you’re anything like me (simplicity for the win!), you’d love applying some botanical face oil at the end of this relaxing routine.