What can I use for a DIY face mask?
Honey
Honey; when you’re not eating this sticky and golden loveliness, try adding it to your next face mask recipe. Used for hundreds of years as a medicinal ingredient, honey has incredible antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and recovery properties.
If you’re looking to calm, moisturise, and dissipate red and spotty skin, then you need to be adding honey into your skincare routine. Whether that is in a face mask, in a body scrub or in your daily wash, it really is the miracle skincare product.
“When applied topically, honey acts as a humectant, drawing water out of the air and into itself, making it intensely hydrating. In its raw, unfiltered, and preferably wild state, honey is rich in minerals, antioxidants, probiotics, enzymes, and antibacterial properties, which act to protect and nourish damaged skin. For these reasons, honey is used today as an ingredient in many beauty products.” Parade reports.
Avocado
The super skin saver, avocado has a mass of positive properties and is a hero when it comes to improving skin. Perfect for those with dry skin, avocado can moisturise and nourish dry, chapped and flaky skin. The natural oils and fatty acids that it produces have long-lasting effects.
Reducing inflammation is another of the positive effects it can have, the antioxidants and vitamins can reduce skin issues such as eczema and psoriasis. As well as reducing common skin conditions it can also prevent and treat the signs of acne and acne scarring.
Kara from Politics of a Pretty Blog has told us what products she loves to include in her masks: “We all have different skin types but I feel like there's a bevy of options right in your own fridge. I think avocado and banana is great for moisturizing and anti-aging, strawberries are great for anti-acne treatment.”
Activated Charcoal
Activated charcoal may sound like an odd ingredient to include in your skincare routine, but it has some incredible benefits that you can’t ignore. Scientifically proven to minimise pores, remove toxins, balance oily skin and treat acne, activated charcoal is now your new best friend.
BeautyMunsta recently reported: “First off, what is activated charcoal and what does activated mean? Well, activated charcoal is simply common charcoal that has been heated in a way that it develops a lot of small spaces or ‘pores’ in it that traps chemicals.
It is produced by small particles of carbonaceous substances such as sawdust and coconut shells heated to very high temperatures, which forms charcoal. To ‘activate’ the charcoal, steam or very hot air is used to erode the internal surfaces thereby increasing its absorptive surface area. This absorptive surface area is the one which draws out harmful substances, toxins and impurities from deep within the skin.”
Yoghurt
Another unlikely ingredient that you should be including in your home DIY face masks is yoghurt. The holy grail when it comes to moisturising dry and chapped skin, yoghurt is chocka-block full of protein, calcium, vitamin D and probiotics, all the things you need for happy and healthy skin.
Yoghurt is typically mixed with honey for an equal balance of benefits, leaving skin radiant and hydrated.
Skin Care Wellness undertook a study on yoghurt and the benefits it has on the skin and found that it is great at giving the skin a healthy glow: “The reason a yoghurt face mask gives you glowing and youthful skin is all because of those healthy and wonderful nutrients that are present in yoghurt. These nutrients are skin-friendly, and that is what makes a yoghurt face mask so effective.”
Banana
Acting as an astringent for the skin, banana is the perfect ingredient for those looking to tighten the skin around the face and reduce the appearance of wrinkles around the eyes and forehead. Naturally reducing inflammation and irritation, it helps boost the healthy collagen production which in turn helps skin become firmer and tighter.
No 1.
The Skin Refresher
We spoke to Claire Baker, beauty and lifestyle blogger about her favourite DIY masks, her favourite ingredients make the perfect concoction for a refreshing skin hit:
“I absolutely love coming up with my own DIY masks to suit my personal skin needs. The beauty of compression sheet masks is that I can customise them to make them work for my skin’s specific needs on any given day. If you are like me, then your skin needs change regularly, and as a result, you can change your choice of sheet mask solution accordingly.
My personal favourite DIY mask recipe is one that I use to refresh my skin and it contains 2 teaspoons of cucumber juice, 1 teaspoon of raw honey and 1 teaspoon of rose water. The cucumber is so, so cooling and makes my skin feel really fresh and hydrated. The honey brings the antibacterial element and the rose water hydrates and tones the skin”
What you need
2 tsp Cucumber Juice
1 tsp Raw Honey
1 tsp Rose Water
Mix all the ingredients into a small bowl, apply to the face and leave for 15-20 minutes. Remove with a warm cloth for a refreshing and hydrating glow.
No 2.
Miracle Moisturiser
“Honey has incredible antibacterial properties so is great at healing spots, and Greek yoghurt is rich in probiotics as well as adding a shot of moisture to the skin. This is great if you have more sensitive skin as it can also help to reduce redness and inflammation” says Ellie from Life of Ellie Grace
What you need
1 – 2 tbsp Honey
3 tbsp Greek Yoghurt
Mix the honey into the Greek yoghurt to create a thick and sticky substance, apply generously to face and leave for 15-20 minutes. Wash off with warm water.