Baking soda composes of sodium and a PH neutralizer which exfoliates the dead skin cells throughout the skin. Baking soda is a versatile kitchen ingredient that can be used to enhance your beauty when you incorporate it into your beauty regimen.
Baking soda composes of sodium and a pH neutralizer which exfoliates the dead skin cells throughout the skin.
Regular application will make your skin whiter, softer and shinier. Good news for those with oily skin, baking soda acts as a good oil which absorbing agent to clear excess oil.
Honey is a powerful ingredient for a skin treatment that fights against bacteria, tightens the skin pores, protects the skin from sun damage and moisturizes the skin.
Baking soda and honey
Mix baking soda and honey in a 1:2 ratio to make a fine paste.
Apply this on the affected skin.
Leave on for 15 minutes and then wash off with water.
Baking soda, olive oil, and honey
Mix 1 teaspoon of extra – virgin olive oil, ¹/₂ teaspoon of raw honey and 1 teaspoon of baking soda.
Apply on the affected skin and massage gently in a circular motion.
Wash it with lukewarm water after 10 minutes.
Apply once a week.
Benefits of Baking Soda for Your Skin
From banishing acne to keeping your feet happy, and from eliminating body odor to lightening blemishes, here’s why baking soda is a must-have home remedy. We share the several benefits of baking soda for your skin and the right way to use it to enhance your beauty.
Benefits of Baking soda for glowing skin
Glowing skin is a sign of healthy, youthful skin and isn't easy to achieve. Unless you eat healthily, have an impeccable skincare routine and get eight hours of sleep, adding a glow to your skin is not easy. However, natural ingredients that are packed with essential nutrients can come to your rescue. We use baking soda and orange juice to make this pack and their properties help boost the skin’s collagen and remove impurities. Oranges are packed with vitamin C that adds a natural glow in your skin while baking soda gently exfoliates the skin removing the layer of dead skin cells.
How to use it
- Mix one tablespoon of baking soda with double the amount of fresh orange juice
- Now evenly apply a thin layer of this paste on your face and neck
- Make sure you wash your face before you do this
- Leave it to dry for about 15 minutes
- Using a wet cotton pad, wipe it off and then splash cool water to remove any residue
- Use this pack once a week to remove dullness and add that much-needed glow into your skin
Baking soda for banishing pimples
The mild exfoliating property of baking soda makes it a wonder ingredient to help banish acne and pimples from your skin. It is safe to be used on the face as well after it is diluted with water. Baking soda helps dry out the pimple and its anti-bacterial property helps prevent further breakouts on your skin. If you have active acne, give this remedy a try but if your skin reacts, then stop the usage.
How to use it:
- Take one teaspoon of baking soda and mix it with the same amount of water to make a paste
- Clean your skin with a face wash and then apply this paste on acne
- You can also use it on blackheads and whiteheads
- Leave it on for two-three minutes and then wash your face with lukewarm water
- Since this opens your pores, gently rub an ice cube on your face or apply a toner to close them and pat dry your skin
- If your skin feels slightly dry, use a light moisturizer and make sure it is non-comedogenic which means it will not clog your pores
- Use this paste twice a week to see a visible reduction in the appearance of acne
Baking soda for lightening dark spots
Have blemishes and spots on your skin? Baking soda can come to your rescue to lighten them. This is because baking soda has bleaching properties that help in fading away marks and spots on the skin. But because using baking soda as it is can be harsh, we mix it with another natural ingredient to make it suitable for skin application. In this case, we add lemon juice which is another natural bleaching agent.
How to use it:
- In a bowl, add one teaspoon of baking soda and squeeze the juice of half a lemon in it
- Mix the two to get a thick paste. Now on a clean and slightly damp face, apply this mixture
- You can first cover the blemishes and marks and then use the rest to apply on the remaining areas
- Leave it on for a couple of minutes and then wash your wash first with warm water and later with a cold splash
- Pat dry the skin and apply a moisturizer with SPF
- It is preferable to apply this at night as sun exposure after using lemon juice can darken to your skin
- Use this once or twice a week to see visible changes
Baking soda for preventing blackheads
If you have oily skin, chances are, it is prone to pimples and blackheads that often show up on your face. And if you have large pores, the occurrence of these problems is even higher, making your face look unclean. Baking soda can help minimize this issue by closing your skin’s pores and also shrinking them slightly in appearance. This ingredient has astringent-like properties that help close the pores and prevent them from clogging with dirt that gives rise to blackheads and acne. Here’s what you need to do.
How to use it:
- Take one tablespoon of baking soda and add it to a spray bottle
- Now fill it up with water and shake it well to mix the two
- Wash your face with a cleanser and wipe with a towel, then spray the solution on your face and leave it on so that your skin soaks it
- This will help close the pores. You can store the solution in the refrigerator so it works even better
- Make this a part of your everyday cleansing ritual to prevent skin woes. You can apply your face moisturizer after using this natural toner
Baking soda for removing dead skin cells
Grime, dirt, pollution often settle on our skin and do not always come off with our regular face wash. To remove these tiny particles of dust, we need a more effective cleanser that cleans the pores and removes these impurities. A face scrub comes in handy for such skin woes. Baking soda helps exfoliate the skin that removes the dead skin cells along with these impurities.
How to use it:
- Take one tablespoon of baking soda and half tablespoon of water
- The idea is to make a thick, grainy paste so that it can exfoliate the skin so make sure that it does not get diluted with water
- After washing your face, apply this scrub in circular motions, carefully avoiding the area around the eyes
- Now wash off with regular water and then pat dry your face
- Apply a moisturizer to avoid the skin feeling irritated
- This scrub is not suitable for dry and sensitive skin but works best on oily to combination skin type
- Use it once a week to keep your skin looking fresh
Baking soda for soft, pink lips
Unhealthy habits like smoking, licking your lips and even wearing long-stay lipsticks can harm your lips and darken their color. While most of us have naturally pink lips, the shade changes when we do not take ample care of them. Sun exposure is another cause of dark lips. If you want to regain their natural color, baking soda can help. We mix it with honey so that it is not too harsh on the delicate skin and also moisturizes it in the process.
How to use it:
- You need equal quantities of baking soda and honey and since it is for the lips, you do not need more than a teaspoon
- If your lips are too dry, add more honey than soda
- Mix the two well and then apply this on the lips, rubbing in small, circular motions
- This will help exfoliate them and get rid of the dead skin cells
- The honey will remove impurities and also add the much-needed moisture
- Let this pack stay on the lips for a couple of minutes before you gently wash them off with warm water
- Apply lip balm with SPF after the process
Baking soda for dark elbows and knees
Fair skin is not a measure of beauty, but even the fairest of women often have dark elbows and knees. If this difference in skin color bothers you, you can lighten it by using this pack. We use baking soda and potato juice, both of which have natural bleaching properties. Since these areas have thicker skin than the face, anyone can use it safely without it being excessively dry. But we recommend using a moisturizer with SPF daily to keep these areas soft.
How to use it:
- Peel one small potato and then grate it finely
- Squeeze out its juice in a bowl and then add a teaspoon of baking soda to it
- Mix well and then using a cotton ball, apply this solution on your elbows and knees
- Leave it on for 10 minutes so that the ingredients can work their magic, and then wash under running water
- Apply a moisturizing sunscreen after the application
- Use this remedy once or twice a week and soon your skin will look a shade lighter
- You can also use this solution on dark inner thighs and underarms
Baking soda for ingrown hair removal
Ingrown grown hair is such a menace as it appears like a hard bump on the skin and refuses to go away until it is tweezed. Ingrowth is basically the hair growing inside the hair follicle instead of sprouting out which makes it difficult to get rid of it with usual hair removal methods like shaving and waxing. While it is difficult to completely stop the occurrence of ingrown hair, you can use baking soda and a few other ingredients to remove it. Mostly, women who have thick hair growth or oily skin type are more prone to ingrown hair.
How to use it:
- First massage castor oil into your skin where you have ingrown hair
- Once the skin soaks the oil, wipe off the excess liquid using a damp cotton pad
- Now mix baking soda with half the quantity of water to make a thick paste
- Rub this on the affected area to exfoliate it. Using a tweezer, pluck out the ingrown hair with ease
- Apply a cotton pad soaked in cold water to close the pores
- The oil makes sure that your skin isn’t dry and irritated, while the soda helps loosen the hair from the follicle
Baking soda for eliminating body odor
Baking soda has several properties that make it such a wonder ingredient. If you are someone who sweats a lot and has body odor issues, baking soda can come to your rescue. This is because it has an antibacterial property that kills the odor-causing bacteria. Baking soda also absorbs the excess moisture when you sweat and alkalize your body. This helps in not just controlling body odor, but also brings down perspiration.
How to use it:
- Take a tablespoon of baking soda and mix it with equal parts freshly-squeezed lemon juice.
- Once you have a thick paste, apply it where you sweat the most such as underarms, back, neck, etc.
- Let it stay for 15 minutes and then hit the shower. You can also store this solution in a spray bottle and spritz it once a day before bath.
- Do this for a week and then reduce it to every alternate day when you see it working.
Baking soda for soft feet
Our feet also need some TLC but we often don’t pamper them enough. In order to keep them looking pretty and feeling soft, we need to take care of them regularly. If you don’t want to go for elaborate pedicure sessions in a salon, you can use baking soda to soften the callus and even cleaning your toenails. The exfoliating property helps remove dead skin cells and soften your feet, while its antibacterial action keeps infection at bay.
How to use it:
- Fill half a bucket with warm water and add three tablespoons of baking soda to it
- Let it dissolve and then soak your feet in the solution for 10 minutes
- Keep a pumice stone next to you that you can use to exfoliate the dead skin from your soul
- Once done, wash your feet with regular water and wipe them dry
- Then apply a moisturizing lotion and wear socks so that they stay protected
- Do this at least once in 15 days and your feet will thank you for it
FAQs
Q. Are cooking soda and baking powder the same as baking soda?
A. While cooking soda and baking soda are the same thing, just the name varies, the chemical composition of baking powder is different from baking soda. The latter is stronger as it has a high pH, which leads to the rising of dough when used for baking. If you are substituting a teaspoon of baking powder with baking soda, you will need only 1/4th teaspoon of soda for the required result.
Q. What are the side-effects of baking soda?
A. The side-effects of consuming baking soda in excess include gas, bloating and even stomach upset. When using for beauty purposes, it is advisable to use it as instructed by diluting it, so that its harshness is reduced. However, if you have a skin condition, it is best to consult your dermatologist before using it topically.
Q. How to make a baking soda face mask?
A. We’ve listed several ways to use baking soda above, but another simple face mask that you can make using this ingredient is by mixing it with milk. Take a teaspoon of baking soda and a tablespoon of milk and mix them well. You will have a runny liquid. Apply it on your face evenly and leave it on for 10 minutes before washing it off with lukewarm water. Don’t forget to apply a moisturizing sunscreen after this. You can use this once a week to get rid of dirt from your face.
Q. Is baking soda fine for sensitive skin?
A. Sensitive skin reacts more quickly due to its composition. Baking soda can be a bit harsh for this skin type. If you have sensitive skin, you should do a patch test on your arm before you apply any face pack containing baking soda. If there is no irritation or redness, you can use it. However, do not use it too frequently; once a week is ideal.