The Best DIY Face Masks

Update June 10th, 2015: I don't know what happened but i lost all but one of the pretty pictures I spent all day taking and I cannot recover them for some reason. Regardless, take the time to read and feel free to ask questions. 

I LOVE making my own face masks, ever since my teens. So I have been looking forward to blogging about this. There is lots to share!
I have tried alot of different recipes and have refined it down to these beautiful ingredients that I always have around the kitchen.

To start, I will mention that my skin is combination, prone to acne, delicate and sensitive. If you are suffering from acne, I would strongly suggest washing your makeup brushes and using my Apple Cider Vinegar Toner, morning and night. Doing just this clears me up quickly.

Most of my face masks are two ingredient recipes, except for one, it's a little more involved but it is THE BEST face mask I have ever used. I will post that recipe closer to the bottom.If you have all or a few of the following, you have the basis of many lovely face masks and toners:
Plain Yogurt, Coffee, Sugar, Honey, Ground Oats, Tea- usually Green or Chamomile in loose or bag form, Apple Cider Vinegar.

Grinding oats: I use certified gluten free rolled oats. For best results use a coffee grinder, to get that velvety powder that mixes so well. Pulse it for a few seconds at a time so you can control the coarseness of the grain to your liking.  

These are my go-to face masks, but feel free to mix it up with my other suggested ingredients. It's all natural so you cant go wrong!

Honey & Coffee Exfoliator- Coffee is an amazing exfoliator for removing dead skin cells and revealing healthy, new skin cells underneath. It also improves circulation in your face and is an antioxidant, so it has anti-aging benefits as well. This is my go to exfoliator! I will do it at least once or twice a week. Honey also has wonderful healing, antibacterial and antioxidant properties. Mix enough ground coffee with a table spoon of honey till you get a nice spreadable consistency. Add a pinch at a time, you don't need much. 

Soothing Yogurt & Oat Mask- This is a calming and cooling mask. Especially nice for people with sensitive, delicate or rosacea skin. Yogurt has so many benefits for the skin it makes a perfect base for face masks. I mix about 2 tablespoon yogurt to one heaping tablespoon ground oats. You can use this mask as a gentle exfoliator as well if you massage it into the face for about 3 minutes when you put it on, then moisten your fingers and massage the grains on your skin again before taking it off.
Sometimes i will add a touch of honey.

Deep Cleansing & Soothing Face Mask- Cetaphil Cleanser gel and oats! Oats have anti-inflammatory properties, as well they absorb and remove dirt while gently exfoliating. In combination with the best (and affordable) creamy cleanser on the market, they work so synergistically together! Mix about 1 teaspoon of ground oats to 1 tablespoon Cetaphil or until you get a spreadable consistency you like. Massage it around your face for 2-5 minutes. Wash off with a hot face cloth.

Extreme Moisturizing Mask- Do you have face cream you bought but are not really using it and its just sitting around on the shelf collecting dust? Make it into a fabulous face mask! Mix enough face cream with ground oats to spread nicely around your face. Leave it on for as long as you like! Eventually it will dry on the skin and little flakes of oats might fall off. This is really nice to do before hopping into a bath or while you are giving yourself a mani/pedi. Your skin will absorb the cream, taking in the added benefits with it. When you feel like it, wash off the remainder.
Optional: Finely grind some pure green or camomile tea in your coffee grinder and add that to your cream mixture for an added boost.

And now the best for the last... My ultimate face mask beast!

Green Tea Acne & Scar Reducing Mask with Toner

Good for:

-Acne
-Detoxify
-Exfoliation
-Skin brightening
-Lifting scars (yup!)
-Anti-Aging (can reduce age spots as well)
-Skin softening
The sugar in this mask produces Glycolic Acid; a natural alpha hydroxy acid that exfoliates the skin.

Ingredients:

-Green tea, that has been well steeped and cooled. Sometimes I add camomile.
-Apple Cider Vinegar. It is better to buy the kind that says "with the Mother" or raw and unfiltered. DO NOT use any other kind of vinegar. Only Apple Cider.
-White sugar
-Honey
-Pure Vegetable Glycerin (can be bought at most natural health food stores or beauty supply shop)
-1 drop of pure Geranium, Lemon or Lavender essential oil. ONLY ONE DROP! This is potent stuff. *More than 1 drop is too harsh for your delicate face.

In a bowl mix:

-2 tablespoons green tea
-1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
-5 tablespoons white sugar (i find if they are slightly heaping spoonfuls, i get a good consistency)
-1 tablespoon honey
-An additional 2 tablespoons white sugar
-three drops or about 1/2 teaspoon vegetable glycerin
-1 drop of your choice of essential oil OR 1 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice.
(Geranium or Lavender are both powerful acne treatments. Lemon is also good for acne, as well as brightening the skin and lifting scars.)

Stir together each additional ingredient as you go. The consistency should be a thick, runny paste that slowly pours off your spoon.

Application:

Apply mixture to a freshly cleansed face, careful to avoid eye area. Gently massage for 2-5 minutes. Leave on for 5-10 minutes. Moisten fingers and gently massage again for 2 minutes before removing with warm water and face cloth. Immediately follow with the Green Tea Toner (bellow) and a soothing skin cream.
*If you find your skin is too sensitive for this mask, omit the essential oil and just try lemon juice.

Store the remainder in a small glass jar. It will keep for about a week outside of the fridge.

Green Tea Toner:

I use this toner daily. The apple cider balances the Ph levels in your skin and is highly antibacterial, anti-fungal and antiviral which makes it SO GOOD for treating acne. It is refreshing to the skin, although a faint apple cider vinegar smell will linger on your skin for about five minutes. This will last for about two weeks in the fridge. I use this daily, and when i'm feeling lazy i will whip it up with filtered water instead of tea.

In a small glass jar mix:

-1 part Apple Cider Vinegar
-1 part cooled green tea (or camomile or both)

Application:

Apply with a cotton pad all over the face, avoiding eye area.
If you find your skin is too sensitive, you can dilute the ACV with more green tea.


PHEW! That was a long one. I tried not to get too technical, so feel free to ask questions. Try the masks and let me know what you think! 

My friend Style Hunter Fox recently posted a face mask recipe in her blog, so i gave it a try. It's an espresso and chocolate face mask, mmmm whats not to love? Check it out:
http://www.stylehunterfox.com/blog/homemade-face-mask/

Testing out Style Hunter Fox's face mask. Yep,
delicious. I approve!