Before you raid the kitchen cupboards please remember the following:
- Avoid applying certain ingredients directly onto your skin – always pre-mix ingredients like lemon juice and apple cider vinegar as they can cause bleaching and make the skin sensitive to light.
- Check use-by dates carefully – if you wouldn’t eat it, it’s not a good idea to slather it all over your face.
- Do a patch test first – it pays to do a quick patch test to see how your skin will react. If in doubt, patch test on an area that is out of site, like the side of the neck before applying all over the face.
- Use the mask on the day you make it – ingredients exposed to air and bacteria will very quickly go off and could easily irritate the skin. To be on the safe side, make your mask with fresh ingredients and use it within an hour of mixing.
To Hydrate and Nourish
Ingredients:
- 1/2 avocado
- 1 tablespoon honey
- Handful of oats/bran
Mash together the avocado (if you don’t have any at home, substitute for 3 tablespoons of milk), honey and oats. Massage onto your face and neck, then leave for 15 minutes and wash off with warm water.
The honey helps skin retain moisture without feeling oily, but also reduces scarring and helps healing and tissue regeneration. Oats are featured in top moisturisers because of their healing and moisturising properties, but also help by healing and soothing the skin. Avocado oils are super moisturising and leave your skin silky smooth. If you’re substituting milk for the avocado, the lactic acid will gently exfoliate the skin whilst brightening without irritation.
To Improve Uneven Skin Texture and Tone
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon plain yogurt
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon turmeric powder
Mix in a bowl and apply to the face and neck. Leave for 15 minutes and wash off.
Like milk, yogurt contains lactic acid which exfoliates and brightens. The honey again acts as a moisturiser without increasing oiliness, and the turmeric is useful for combating pigmentation – perfect if you’ve been sun-worshipping a little too long.
To Create an Otherworldly Glow
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon cacao powder
- 1/4 papaya
- A squeeze of aloe vera gel
Mix in a bowl and apply to the face and neck. Leave for 10 minutes and rinse.
Aloe Vera is filled to bursting with vitamins A, C, E, B1, B2, B3, B6 and B12 . Papaya is packed with exfoliating enzymes that will dissolve dead skin cells, and the cacao powder works total wonders, too and will brighten and boost circulation.
To Fight Acne and Blemishes
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon honey (ideally manuka)
- 1 teaspoon tumeric
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt (ideally Dead Sea salt)
Just mix them together, apply to your face (paying extra attention to your T-Zone), and let it work it’s magic for 10-15 minutes before rinsing off with warm water.
Both the healing and bacteria-zapping properties of manuka honey are pretty impressive, while turmeric is brilliant at bringing down redness. Dead Sea salt will also help to clean, reduce inflammation and infection.
To Minimise Enlarged Pores
Ingredients:
- 1 egg white
- 1 tablespoon honey
- A squeeze of lemon juice
Mix together and apply to clean skin. Leave for 10-15 minutes. Rinse off and dry well. Be careful not to get any in your mouth!
Both the egg white and lemon juice have clever astringent properties which will tighten the skin and make enlarged pores much less obvious. The addition of honey is important, as it’ll boost your skin’s moisture levels, provide suppleness and take away that uncomfortable, taut feeling.
To Combat Oily Skin
Ingredients:
- 1/2 avocado
- 1/4 cucumber, blended
Mash together and apply to the skin. Leave for 10-15 minutes, then wash off with warm water.
Cucumber mainly contains water which will hydrate and prevent excess oil production but it also contains vitamin C and will reduce any break out activity. Avocado regulates oil production, and it’s rich in Oleic Acid which helps reduce inflammation.
To Protect Against Pollution
Ingredients:
- A handful of ground almonds
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- (you can also add matcha green tea powder if you want)
Mix together and apply to the face and neck. Leave for 10-15 minutes and rinse well.
The fatty acid content from the almonds is able to penetrate the skin, leaving it soft and supple, while the vitamin E from the olive oil acts like a coat of armour against free radicals which can lead to dullness, dehydration and fine lines. If you’ve added the matcha green tea powder, it is high in antioxidants and it’ll neutralise pesky free radicals and, in turn, help prevent the breakdown of collagen.
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