7 Products and Ingredients to Detox Your Skin

Sea Salt / Epsom Salt / Pink Himalayan Salt

Salt is a popular exfoliating ingredient that can be found in many face scrubs. Tiny salt crystals help remove dead skin cells and unclog pores. As a result, you get soft, smooth, and toxin-free skin. But exfoliation isn’t the only way you can use salt to detox your skin. A detox bath with any kind of salt will pull out toxins from your skin, improve microcirculation in the epidermis, and relax sore muscles. In addition, salt provides the skin with minerals that strengthen its moisture barrier and therefore prevent dehydration and help protect the skin from the environment.

Clay / Charcoal

Various types of clay (kaolin, bentonite, rhassoul, multani mitti, etc.), as well as charcoal, are valued for their absorbent properties. These ingredients literally pull out dirt, pollution, makeup residue, and other impurities from your pores, giving them a deep clean. In addition, charcoal acts as an exfoliant, removing impurities from the surface of the skin, while clay provides it with minerals. Each type of clay has its own mineral composition and properties. For example, bentonite clay composed of aged volcanic ash elements balances oily skin, and iron-rich French pink clay is great for dry and sensitive skin.

Dead Sea Mud

Dead Sea mud is probably the best known cosmetic mud. Like other Dead Sea products, it is extremely rich in minerals such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium. Dead Sea mud purifies the skin, improves its texture, and balances skin pH. In general, the properties and benefits of Dead Sea mud are similar to that of cosmetic clays but mud is somewhat gentler to the skin.

Green Tea

Green tea is one of the most antioxidant-rich products out there. Antioxidants neutralize free radicals that cause premature skin aging, making green tea a really great skincare product. It detoxes the skin, boosts circulation, combats acne thanks to its antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties, reduces puffiness and swelling around the eyes, and soothes irritated skin. To detoxify your skin, you can both apply green tea topically and drink it.

Spices

Most spices have antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant abilities. Some of the best spices for skin detox include turmeric, black pepper, cardamom, and black sesame. Ground coffee isn’t technically a spice but we will include it here because it has a similar effect. You can mix ground spices with water or oils and apply this mixture to your skin, add them to DIY facial scrubs based on salt or sugar, or you can simply buy cosmetics with spice-infused formulas.

Algae

Although algae don’t offer the same kind of deep clean that you would get from salt, clay or charcoal, they have a whole range of other benefits. Algae are full of minerals, vitamins, amino acids, antioxidants, and other compounds which have detoxifying, anti-aging, and restorative properties. In addition, most algae contain polysaccharides that strengthen cellular membranes, helping keep your skin hydrated.

Honey

Honey masks are a great way to detoxify very dry skin. Honey is extremely rich in nutrients, and it has great absorbent and antibacterial properties. As a result, it sucks toxins out of your pores, kills pathogenic bacteria that cause acne breakouts, nourishes the skin, provides extra hydration and ensures moisture is locked in, and improves complexion.