I've been a huge fan of jasmine essential oil, particularly as a seductive fragrance in my personal scent, for a while, but I hadn't started playing around with the hair and skin benefits of jasmine flowers until recently. Those tiny, adorable jasmine buds let me combine two of my favorite things: flowers and DIY beauty recipes that are as effective as they are beautiful. I first purchased the jasmine for purely aesthetic purposes, but I'm happy to report that these petals are an excellent ingredient for your skin and hair too.
Although jasmine flowers are thought to be native to the Himalayas, they are currently cultivated across Europe and Asia. With over 200 species of the stuff, you better believe it makes for a variety of soothing teas. According to sources at StyleCraze, jasmine flowers are a hidden treasure: They're anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, and an analgesic which means it's no stranger to treating the pains and appearance of skin conditions like acne and dry skin.
You can definitely play with the essential oil, but using dried jasmine flowers has specific uses like being a natural, gentle exfoliate and being able to be used solo by making tonics, toners, and teas. According to sources at Women's Health Mag, jasmine can restore skin and balance moisture. While the essential oil is quite potent, the dried flowers have a more subtle, seductive scent.
Sure, jasmine flowers aren't quite as renown at healing as their flower counterparts like lavender and calendula, but they sure do their job making your skin feeling smooth, sexy, and incredibly touchable. These are just some of my favorite ways to use dried jasmine in my beauty routine.
1. Jasmine Clay Mask
The only thing I love more than playing in flowers is playing in clay, so floral face masks are my jam. Add petals to the clay creates a gentle exfoliate on top of the clarifying abilities. For this particular recipe, I crushed up dried jasmine petals and added a half tablespoon of them to a mixture of French clay and filtered water.
2. Jasmine Honey Facial
My favorite way to introduce a new natural ingredient to my skin care routine is just to simply use it with raw honey and see how my face reacts. This recipe (1-2 tablespoons of dried jasmine flowers plus four ounces of raw honey) helped relieve blackheads on my skin and brightened up my complexion. Apply on makeup free, damp skin and allow to settle for three to five minutes before rinsing with lukewarm water.
3. Pink Jasmine Body Scrub With Macadamia Nut Oil
Obviously, the best way to use any dried flower is to toss it into a body scrub. For this restorative scrub to be truly complexion saving, I used about four ounces of himalayan pink salt, two tablespoons of Macadamia nut oil, and one tablespoon of dried jasmine buds. Mix your ingredients together vigorously, adding a teaspoon of water to loosen up the consistency and store in a sealable container for your weekly exfoliating treat.
4. Jasmine And Rose Toner
I love making natural toners. For this recipe, I used one part jasmine tea (adding the flowers inside a teabag in hot water or steeping the flowers in hot water will work) and two parts rose water. Allow your tea to cool naturally before adding it to the rose water. Fill up a sealable container and store in the fridge as teas can be highly perishable.
5. Jasmine Hair Rinse
Speaking of making tea, I wouldn't be doing curly hair justice if I didn't include a jasmine tea infused hair cleanser. Brew a strong cup of jasmine tea with raw honey melting in the same cup as the tea is steeping in. Once the tea has naturally cooled, add a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and cleanse your scalp with soaking wet hair. Leave your 'pooless wash in for five to eight minutes and rinse with warm water.
To feel as pampered as I do, you can purchase dried jasmine flowers or buy an fair trade, organic jasmine tea to make any of these recipes or make an assemble of dried flowers and jasmine in an adorable linen satchel for your sock drawer. Yum!
Image: Kristin Collins Jackson (8)
