Easy, Inexpensive Facial Masks
If youve never tried a facial mask, you really should! Theyre a great way to condition and clean your skin. And theyre a great way to relax and calm down after a hard day or week.
You can find any number of facial masks in your grocery, health food, or beauty store, but you can also make facial masks at home from all natural ingredients in your kitchen.
Here are a few facial mask recipes you can try at home. Try some and see which you like for your particular skin type. Feel free to modify, tweak, or even invent your own, too!
Of course, all these masks will need to be washed off. Use warm water only or warm water and a soft wash cloth.
If you have acne or oily skin, try this Apple Zinger mask: one medium apple, grated and mixed with 5 tablespoons of warmed honey. Leave on for 10 minutes.
Another recipe for oily skin takes a little more time, but youre worth it! Beat 1 egg white until its fluffy. Then add 1 teaspoon grapefruit juice and 1 teaspoon sour cream. Leave on your face for 15 minutes before rinsing off.
And a third mask good for acne prone skin is a tomato-lemon mask. Scoop the insides from an overripe tomato and put it in a blender. Add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and 1 teaspoon instant oatmeal. Puree the ingredients in the blender and apply to your face. Let it sit for about 15 minutes.
For fresh, revitalized skin, mash up half an avocado and leave it on your face for 15 - 20 minutes. Yep, thats it. Just avocado.
How about a combination of ½ mashed banana, 2 tablespoons of yogurt, and 1 tablespoon of honey? Double the recipe and you can use half for a mask and half for breakfast. Try that with a store-bought facial mask. Well, no...DONT try that with a store-bought mask!
Or you can make a banana-oatmeal mask. Mash a soft, medium-large banana. Add about 1/3 to ½ cup of oatmeal. How much you need will depend on the size of the banana. Mix the oatmeal into the banana until it is all moistened. Leave this one on for 15-20 minutes, too.
If you have dry skin, you can try a classic milk mask. Mix 1 teaspoon powdered milk, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 teaspoon aloe vera gel, 1 tablespoon pulverized almonds, and 2 drops of a favorite essential oil. This mask, too, should stay on for 15 minutes.
If you have sunburned skin, try this soother. Mix two parts chilled plain yogurt to one part old fashioned oatmeal. You might like to add 2 drops of jasmine essential oil, too. Leave this mask on for 10 minutes. You can use this to soothe sunburn elsewhere, too, especially on the shoulders.
And finally, to exfoliate your skin, try a yogurt-walnut mask. Mix ¼ cup plain chilled yogurt with ¼ cup ground walnuts. Apply this to your face and massage it in gently to exfoliate dead skin. You dont need to leave this one on - just rinse with warm water when youre done massaging it in.
These are only a few of the homemade facial mask recipes you can find on the internet. Once youve tried a few, if you havent found the perfect mask for you, get creative and mix the products you like.
Rodger Harrison is the owner and operator of the popular Spring Creek Beauty Supply website. They are suppliers of top beauty products such as Pureology hair products and Redken styling products.