Face Care

Leave-on, wash-off, and the order between them

Kerala practice regards the face as continuous with the rest of the skin, which is why several of the oils here also appear on the body shelves. What changes is the amount and the patience. A facial oil is applied by the drop onto clean skin, usually at night, and left. Using it as you would a body oil wastes it and does the skin no favours.

The order is the part people get wrong. A face pack and a wash come off; an oil or a serum stays on. Applying a leave-on oil and then washing over it undoes it. Kumkumadi is the preparation most often asked about and the one most often misused — it is a night oil, a few drops, on cleansed skin, and it is expensive because saffron is. Give any of these six to eight weeks before forming a view.

Three things the face asks for that the body does not

1. Smaller quantities — Two to four drops for a whole face. If you are using more, you are using it as a body oil.
2. A patch test first — Facial skin reacts sooner and more visibly. Test behind the ear and wait a day before committing.
3. Time — Six to eight weeks is the honest window for any of these. Anything faster is the wash, not the oil.

See also Skin Care and Bath, Body & Hair.

Always read the label and directions on the pack you receive, and speak with your physician before starting anything new — particularly if you are pregnant, nursing, managing a health condition or taking prescription medicine.