DIY Beauty: slather me silly with 623g of oat flour

I am so pleased with myself for having found this – oat flour! I love using oats in my recipe and at one point, used it almost daily either with honey or yogurt to work into a face mask. They’re great to soothe my skin and keep my pores looking smaller. However, I was so lazy to pound up the rolled oats because I don’t use a grinder and so I have not been using oats for awhile now. This packet of oat flour is just perfect for my need and I can use it in so many ways without tiring my hands with all the pounding. And I’ll love that they’re super fine!

Use an oat mask for smaller pores
You can look up my entry on DIY Oat Mask for the recipe. I used yogurt back then but you can use honey or even just water to mix the flour into a paste and apply it liberally to your cleansed face. Wait about 20 minutes, rinse off and then moisturize as per normal.

Preference for readily available ingredients
So today I’m not going to share anything new in terms of recipe but I want to share a secret with you. Ha. Okay, it’s more like a confession I want to make and that is, I love to shop at the supermarket. Now, this is pretty normal but the thing is, I don’t love to cook. I can browse the supermarket every day and it’s not for culinary purposes. Well, the thing is, I like to check out stuff that I can use for my DIY beauty recipes and so the supermarket, being the most accessible, is my favorite haunt. I don’t really fancy the idea of having to order stuff for such recipes as I believe the ingredients should be readily available from my kitchen.

Wide selection of flour
I’ll be checking the organic section in particular and recently, I noticed that there is a greater selection of Bob’s Red Mill brought into the stores. I used to spot just a few types of flours but now, I see a much wider selection. I was so excited that I found arrowroot! But guess what, I haven’t bought it. It’s not so cheap at around S$12 and so I just want to make sure that I have adequate need to use it. I really don’t want to stock up packets of flour and then let them just expire.

Available at Cold Storage
I think the selection also depends on which supermarket, and in this case I’m talking about Cold Storage. I’ve noticed many more types of flour in one store than another. They have grains too but those are no good for my purpose. No way am I going to grind or pound them up. Flour is just excellent for it saves me additional work.

Organic flour cost more
And lookie! Organic white rice flour. Remember my skin brightening rice powder recipe that got a number of you excited? I didn’t use this brand of rice flour but this is one of the options you can consider although I’ll concede that it’s not a cheap source as it’s close to S$10. However, if you use it extensively, then that’s very little cost. Do also note that not all of the flour from Bob’s Red Mill are organic so the prices do account for the differences.

Where do you normally get your DIY beauty ingredients?

iherb

Comments

  1. Carrie says:

    Wow I am excited for you too! I wish NZ would have more readily available and affordable powders like Singapore. But now I am rather confused, coz in your blog you’ve mention all those good properties for different flours (and some shares similiar effects), now I don’t know which would be the best to use. I have oily prone combination skin (oily on the outside, but dry under the skin), which would be more suitable? Green gram or oatmeal flour? Thanks!

  2. sesame says:

    Both are good. You might want to try oatmeal flour first. It’s mild and very soothing…suitable for most skin types. I tried green gram when I had acne issues and it was good too. Or maybe you decide based on smell. Heheh.

    Anyway, I would have thought you have more of such products in NZ than here.

  3. Carrie says:

    Thanks for the advice. Will definitely look out for oatmeal flour now ? Well, NZ doesn’t really that many products to choose. I mean I haven’t seen oatmeal flour in supermarkets yet (possibly didn’t know it existed since I haven’t looked for it before), might need to go do Indian shops to look for these, as it’s where I get green grams from. I might also need to search in organic shops too, but they are all very expensive. Actually, with the inflation rate everything you buy in NZ ain’t cheap >”< (Just realized the 'reply' function is working! Yay!!)

  4. sesame says:

    Yay, the reply function is working!

    Oh, didn’t know it’s expensive there. I was thinking that perhaps some of the organic stuff are grown there and so it’ll be cheaper…guess I’m wrong.

  5. Chris says:

    I was just looking at some oatmeal facial recipes the other day. I’m hoping to recreate the effects I achieved using this oatmeal & almond soap I bought as a teen. The issue is that the soap isn’t very natural, so I stopped buying it.
    I also make my own coffee facial scrub (I love scrubs). Take one egg white, mix in some sea salt and used coffee grounds, then smoosh it on your face, rub gently and finally, rinse it off. ?
    Chris last post is: Lipstick Lust: NYX Doll

  6. Jasmine says:

    Oh wow! I’ve been recently thinking about making oat pancakes of some sort … I tried using pure oat bran but it was too heavy on fibre. So lucky of me to have chanced on this ?

  7. Mai says:

    c00l i’m g0nna try this 0atmeal mask since i’m n0t sure 0f any g00d natural mask in the market.

  8. sesame says:

    You can DIY a lot of mask…this is good for you or you can try green gram powder mung bean powder). Try using honey or just water as the base instead of yogurt cos you’re having pimple issues. Or if you use yogurt, use low fat ones.

  9. sesame says:

    Haha…happy pancake making.

  10. sesame says:

    I like coffee scrub for the body but I don’t use it on my face cos I find them a bit rough. Wow, you even add sea salt.

  11. Amanda says:

    I use the finest oatmeal I can find to make diy masks. I don’t like the chore of grinding and mixing, so I usually wait for about 5 minutes for the water and honey to soften the oatmeal. That way, my grinding job would be easier.

    Yup, I do love the idea of shopping in supermarkets for diy ingredients. I especially love to read the differences between different brands. And when you look closely at the descriptions, you will get to know why some products are more expensive than others. It’s another learning process ?
    Amanda last post is: Lesson Learned From an Old Beauty Stash

  12. Soos says:

    Bob’s Red Mill is a wonderful brand. They have a terrific prewashed quinoa – a high-protein grainlike seed. Yes, I cook what I find in the market!
    Soos last post is: A Cool Choice for Lunch

  13. sesame says:

    I think so too…I love the wide selection they list on their website. Just wish they’ll bring in all.

  14. sesame says:

    Oh you grind them when they’re wet? So you have a dedicated grinder for the purpose I suppose. I hate washing grinders. ?

    I’m still learning to read the ingredients I buy from the supermarket. Llike I initially thought all products under Bob’s Red Mill are organic but on closer examination, realized some are not.

  15. Swati says:

    yeah organic flours do cost more!!! but they are definitely hand enough…I shall try the oats recipe coz I need something for my pores but I don’t have access to rolled oats…we just get instant oats here…lets see if it works quite the same way!!!
    Swati last post is: Reminiscing Life through Beauty Products {Beauty Products}

  16. Amanda says:

    Oh sorry, I meant mixing only. Mixing takes a little bit of time and patience, but it’s convenient because it doesn’t involve any complicated tools like a blender.
    Amanda last post is: Lesson Learned From an Old Beauty Stash

  17. sesame says:

    Instant oats would have lost some of the vitamins so not so ideal…

  18. sesame says:

    Oh ok…I see what you mean. When they’re wet, they’re soft and easier to blend. You can sort of mash them up. When I pounded my rolled oats, they were not that fine but ok to be used so I think rolled oats are okay if you don’t pound or grind them too. But I love this oat flour…just perfect.

  19. Mai says:

    Arghhh i just prepared this with y0ghurt a few mins ag0..didn’t read y0ur reply pri0r t0 d0ing this. It’s n0w sitting in my fridge. 0h well i just g0tta grind a new batch. Silly me, actually i cud have grind m0re than just 2 tablesp00n ;P

  20. sesame says:

    Hope you didn’t throw away the earlier preparation as you can use the yogurt one on your body.

  21. Flee says:

    Hi Sesame, the talc free powder that i buy from a US website uses Arrowroot powder with cornstarch powder. The seller state that arrowroot powder is more fine and silky compared to using cornstarch alone.

  22. sesame says:

    Yes, it seems so. I’ve been looking for it to create dry shampoo, body powder as well as thinking of trying to use it as a face powder.

  23. Mai says:

    I used it 0n my feet ;P it felt s0 sm00th n s0ft after that!!!

  24. sesame says:

    Haha…actually I hate the combination of smell – yogurt + oat meal. But the result I relish.

  25. Linh says:

    Hi Sesame, may I ask which Cold Storage store did you go to? Is it the one in Takashimaya? Thank you.

  26. sesame says:

    No, I didn’t check the one there. I found stocks at the one in Nex and Compass Point. I got the oat flour at Compasspoint; didn’t see it at Nex’s.

  27. pom says:

    After seeing your post I just happen to find Red Mill’s white rice flour in my kitchen…! However it isn’t organic like yours, does it make a big difference?

  28. sesame says:

    Not all Red Mill’s are organic…it doesn’t matter…can still use. But of course organic is purer.

  29. Faith says:

    Hi Sesame! Thanks for sharing such a great post! I’m definitely gonna try it out. Anyway, would you suggest mixing mung bean powder together with oat flour? I’ve got acne/blemished prone skin and am not sure whether it will be suitable.

  30. Sesame says:

    Yes, it’s okay! I tried mung bean when I was acne prone without problems…just make sure the yogurt is non-fat version.

  31. mangomaddnes says:

    I exfoliate with my DIY Oat and Chamomile Facial Scrub (organic oat flour/organic chamomile flower petals/leaves).* It’s gentle and effective. I use it everyday in the shower — I our some powder in my hand, activate it with water, massage the paste into my face and rinse. It leave my skin super smooth and soft.

    *I use Arrowhead Mills Organic Oat Flour and I sourced chamomile flower petals/leaves from Trader Joe’s Organic Chamomile Herbal Tea.

  32. mangomaddnes says:

    our=pour

  33. Sesame says:

    Sounds like a good recipe!

  34. Pc says:

    Hi sesame!
    Pardon for my question. I’m urgently looking for the oat flour that you are using. Are they still selling in cold storage? Or u manage to find them in other supermarkets? ? really appreciate your reply! ?

  35. Sesame says:

    Yes, I see them in Cold Storage. But only the big ones carry them.

Leave a Reply