Cheers! Here's mud not quite in your eye - but on your face, body, hair, even squishing between your toes the way it did when you were a kid.
Europeans have valued mud's therapeutic properties for centuries. And there's nothing muddy about its cosmetic benefits, say the beauty cognoscenti, who swear by it. Sure, it's not pretty, but its fans say mud promotes a clear, youthful-looking complexion, fights acne, and combats wrinkles. And - if ooze is your style - marvelous, messy mud is nature's own relaxation therapy.
But you can't just scoop some dirt from your backyard. The mud must be enriched with minerals typically found in volcanic ash and organic deposits. Not all muds contain clay, but all clays can be considered mud.
Though muds differ, folk theory says they work by absorbing toxins from the skin and replenishing its outer players with minerals. As the mud dries, a suction effect draws out superficial toxins and stimulates circulation, say mud specialists. When washed off, the mud's grainy texture sloughs dead cells.
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Minerals give mud its distinctive coloring - red, green, brown, or black - and its restorative reputation. Common minerals include magnesium, calcium, and potassium; bentonite (an absorbent); sulfur (a mild disinfectant); and zinc, iron, and sodium.
Mud varies with the mineral content of the region and, according to mud specialists, so dies its action. A sfor your personal mud style, take your choice - dip in it, soak in it, or apply it as a face or body mask.
"Choose a mask according to you skin type and the effect you desire," says New York skin-care specialist Lia Schorr. And she suggests varying your mask from time to time as your needs change. "A once-weekly or once-monthly treatment is the usual course, depending on the individual." For oily skin or acne, Schorr uses mud from Israel's Dead Sea. The mud is spread on the face, chest, or back for fifteen minutes and removed with cotton and water. After three to six months of thrice-weekly treatments, says Schorr, the skin should be clear.
The minerals in Dead Sea mud include zinc oxide (a sun-block and mild disinfectant), magnesium carbonate (makes skin feel tighter), and sulfur. The mud also contains clay, which hardens on the face stimulating circulation in the tiny superficial capillaries.
And then there's enhanced mud - mud with an earthy bonus, such as dead plants and decomposed snails. Yes really. "The more the better" says Ilona Meszaros, owner of six salons that import mud from Hungary. "Biologically, the mud is incredibly active and nourishing because of the vegetation and snails that have died in it."
Women with skin dried by sun or age need a different mud prescription, say skin care specialists. For example, Revlon claims its Terme di Montecatini Fango contains minerals and other compounds that help bond moisture to dry, abused skin.
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