My favorite new beauty trick is also the freest: freezing skincare into serums. It all started after I picked up a box of Anne Semonin Express Radiance Ice Cubes. They are literal jam packets full of serum that you put in the freezer until they become frozen cubes of serum. Then you slip a cube in a cute little gauze baggy (for easy grip and control over the cube) and rub it all over your face. As it melts, the serum infuses your face with whatever the serum has to offer (in Anne’s case it’s spring water, evening primrose oil, and azelaic acid), along with all the benefits of cryotherapy (firming, depuffing, and relaxing skin). It’s an innovation I can’t believe I didn’t think of before. And a delightful do-it-while-watching-TV-activity that made me ask, what else can I freeze?
A lot, it seems! The most obvious among them is tea. Brew a cup, let it cool, and cube it—just like that. Green tea instantly becomes an antioxidant rich facial, probably for free because I bet you have a few bags of it lying around. Chamomile is a controversial one: great if the ingredient loves you, not so great if you’re allergic to it (and a lot of people are). It’s particularly good around puffy eyes, I find. Rosehip tea also strikes me as a good option, particularly for anyone who’s on the rosehip oil bandwagon. I’ve yet to find a rosehip tea that doesn’t have artificial colors added to it…but when I do, I’ll let you know.
While searching the fridge, my eyes also wandered to a carton of milk. Last summer I soothed my rosacea-prone face with a washcloth full of cold milk at the behest of one Samantha “Does The Most” Wilson. It worked, but it also made a bit of a mess. Freezing the milk is much easier (requires a little bit of foresight though), and it allows you to work the lactic acid in where you need it and not where you don’t. Also no wringing out a milk-laden washcloth after the fact. Unfortunately it’s not more efficient end-to-end if you’re freezing the milk, but the cleanup process is better, I promise you.
Lastly there’s the over the counter version. Aspirin, inspired by Laura Yeh’s take-no-prisoners acne face cleanse as explored in her Top Shelf. If you’ve got a breakout you’re looking to dry up and clear out, this option is for you. Dissolve an aspirin tablet in some water and then, you guessed it! Freeze it on up. Then place the cube on the affected area and let it soak up the cube. You may not need (or want) the whole thing. Either way, the cold of the cube will also help decrease inflammation on the spot. The acetylsalicylic may take a minute to work though. But hey—not bad for something you paid exactly zero money for.
—Emily Ferber
Photo via ITG.
