CHICKPEA ANYONE?

I have always been a fan of ingredients in our kitchen cupboards which can easily be used on the skin. I was recently chatting to a friend when we just happened to talk about facials and she mentioned the use of chickpea flour.

Chickpeas are grown in the Mediterranean, western Asia, the Indian subcontinent and Australia. Domestically they can be sprouted within a few days all year round with a sprouter on a windowsill.
Mature chickpeas can be cooked and eaten cold in salads, cooked in stews, ground into a flour called gram flour (also known as besan and used primarily in Indian cuisine), ground and shaped in balls and fried as falafel, fermented to make an alcoholic drink similar to sake, stirred into a batter and baked to make farinata, cooked and ground into a paste called hummus or roasted, spiced and eaten as a snack (such as leblebi). Chick peas and bengal grams are used to make curries and are one of the most popular vegetarian foods in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the UK.

Although I did not get the exact measurements, I was given the ingredients as follows: * chickpea flour
* sugar
* salt
* vegetable oil
* fresh lemon juice
* turmeric

You basically add the oil, flour & lemon juice before adding the sugar & salt.
As I always mention, prime your face before treating yourself to a facial mask.
Apply the mixture, leave it on for ~ 30mins for it to dry. Gently massage your face before rinsing off.

Salt is a bit harsh on the face but this I believe will dissolve hence the addition of the sugar.

This is what I ended up using over the weekend:
*~ 2 tbs chickpea flour
* 1/2 lemon juice
* 1 tsp table salt
* 1/2 tsp turmeric
* 3/4 tbs shea oil
<- I know these were not weighed as I was camping at the time and did not have access to weighing scales :)
I know I looked like a warrior but the treatment was very effective and worth it.