Mask of the Month: Ay, Poppy!

The first of our poppies have opened their eyes! We celebrate this time each year with family pictures in the poppy patch, a tradition that started the day we brought our first daughter home from the hospital. I have such a strong connection to these poppies, as they signify for me birth, motherhood and new beginnings.

Poppy is not a traditional ingredient in skin care these days and I have never used it prior to now, but it does have some traditional skin care applications. An infusion of poppy petals is said to minimize wrinkles and the seeds can be used as a gentle exfoliant. Poppy seed oil is used today in some commercial preparations as a moisturizing ingredient. In folk beauty care, using a mask of whole poppy petals is said to plump and hydrate skin.  In Edwardian times, women crushed poppy petals and used the juice as a lip stain (how totally Edwardian is that!).

In the spirit of this beautiful plant, here is the mask of the month! After using this mask, my fine lines (yes, we all have them!) were gone! My skin felt very tight, toned and plump. I was surprised at how astringent the poppy infusion felt on my skin, which is usually on the oily side.

I know not everyone has poppies around the house, but I thought this would be fun to share. If you do not have access to poppies, you can still purchase poppy seeds at the store and use them for the honey/poppy seed exfoliant (see Step #4):

Ay, Poppy!

24 fresh poppy petals
1 cup water
2T honey
1t additional honey
Poppy seeds

1. Place 15 poppy petals in a mug, pour water over them and allow to infuse for 30 minutes.
2. Add 2T honey to the poppy petal infusion.
3. Cleanse skin with your favorite cleanser.
4. Add enough poppy seeds to the additional 1t honey to form a scrub-like texture and massage lightly over skin to gently exfoliate.
5. Rinse skin thoroughly with lukewarm water and pat dry.
6. Apply the poppy petal infusion with a cotton pad generously over the skin.
7. Arrange the additional fresh, whole poppy petals over your face while it is still damp.
8. Leave on for 15-20 minutes, remove the petals, rinse with cool water and apply your favorite toner and moisturizer.