Following our DIY Makgeolli Face Mask which generated a lot of interest from our readers, we decided to test out a simple homemade exfoliant recipe inspired by Lamuqe, one of the top Korean beauty bloggers!
(Credit: Soompi)
She shared her secret to good skin on Get It Beauty 2015. Lamuqe simply adds organic black sugar and sake together, let it sit for 2 days without stirring and voila! Your own exfoliant is ready for use!
Since black sugar is a tad more difficult to procure than brown sugar in Singapore, I used the latter for convenience sake. From what I have read online though, it seems that black sugar is kinda like an upgraded version of brown sugar. It is said to contain more potassium, iron, calcium, vitamins and minerals than your average brown sugar! So I guess if you can lay your hands on them, your scrub will be even better!
In any case, unrefined sugar (both black and brown ones) is used as an exfoliant for the scrub. Sugar is suitable for sensitive skin since its particles are fine so it will help get rid of pesky dead skin cells alongside white and black heads. In sunny Singapore, exfoliation now and then is all the more important since deep cleansing of your skin by removing the sebum and germs from your pores, prevents breakouts from occurring. Lastly, these sugars contain glycolic acid which expels toxic and bacteria on top of locking moisture in your skin, preventing dryness.
Also, whilst Lamuqe uses sake, we stuck with our trusty Makgeolli since it seemed to work relatively well in our previous experiments. You can find out all about the benefits of Makgeolli and the results of our experiments here.
So here is how to get started with your very own facial scrub.
You will need:
1. A clean, sterilised glass container
2. A pack of black or brown sugar
3. A bottle of Makgeolli
4. A wooden spoon
First, fill 3/4 of the container with the sugar. Then slowly pour the Makgeolli to submerge the sugar. Now, I know we all cannot resist stirring it but lets hold our horses for this one! This is very important because you do not want the sugar to fully dissolve. Let the solution rest for two days (you can just leave it capped in the bathroom!).
After two days, you will find that a thick syrup has formed on the top layer whilst there is still a visible layer of sugar at the bottom. To use, spoon a generous amount of the syrup and layer it on your face and massage gently. Next, dig deep and spoon a generous amount of the sugar on one palm and begin gently rubbing them on your face, in circular motion using only the 3rd and 4th fingers of your other hand. After which, rinse off and moisturize your face as you would!
Ps. You can also rub a copious amount of sugar on your lips to make them oh-so-smooth and kissable!
Here are some before and after pictures.
As you can see, the blackheads around hub's nose have became less noticeable and his skin appears smoother and more refined! It also appears brighter (we tried to keep the lighting the same!) and less oily/more matte.
I understand that many skincare gurus advise against applying alcohol on your face because it may irritate sensitive skin, promote dehydration and or rid the face of essential oils resulting in over stimulation of the cells that produce sebum. I guess that is why Lamuqe chooses to let the solution rest for 2 days before using it. It seems that this resting period will rid some of the alcohol content through evaporation but I'm not too sure about this nevertheless. In any case, Makgeolli is less strong than sake so it could be more suitable for sensitive skin.
Most importantly, I actually tried the scrub on 5 other guinea pigs (shoutout to hubs, ming, jen, shen and yy!) and nobody had any adverse reactions. All of them had much smoother skin (and lips) and some had brighter skin! But as always, YMMV!
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