There isn’t much a good face mask can’t cure, and particularly at this time of year. They’re just as amazing at taking the stress out of returning to the office post-festive season as they are at banishing unsightly parched patches, minimizing pores, and zapping blemishes.
But instead of raiding the beauty hall for your next mask fix, you might want to look a little closer to home. Like the myriad of TikTok trends surfacing right now, we’re talking about the contents of your fridge.
Trust us on this one because humble ingredients like yogurt boast exfoliating properties on par with heaps of skincare products, while honey is brilliant at busting spot-causing bacteria and cacao powder is a great glow-booster – hello, supermodel skin.
So whether your new Prada loafers have left you more out of pocket than you had planned, or you simply fancy getting creative in the kitchen, here are the best and most spa-worthy homemade face masks to whip up during hibernation season.
10 Home-Made Face Mask Recipes
1. DIY Face Mask Recipe For… Balancing Dry Skin
If you’ve exhausted your stash of hyaluronic acid serums and your dry skin still isn’t getting the memo, then Escapada Health Co-Founder, Emilia Herting’s DIY face mask recipe is the one for you.
What You Need:
- 6 tsp clay
- 2 tsp aloe vera juice
- 1 tsp natural raw honey
- A splash of natural spring water
How It Works:
“The best way to balance dry skin is with the right foods and moisture,” explains Herting. “This refreshing spring mask will hydrate your skin from within. For calming effects simply add a few drops of lavender essential oil to the mix. Lavender is probably the best-known essential oil; its distinctive scent can help relax the nervous system and it is particularly useful for relieving symptoms of restlessness, irritability, and insomnia.”
Mix all of the ingredients together to form a smooth paste, massage gently into your face and neck and leave on for 20 minutes before rinsing off with warm water.
2. DIY Face Mask Recipe For… Targeting Hyperpigmentation
If you’re not keen on throwing every acid and vitamin in the book at your pigmentation, then founder of inclusive wellness platform thy.self, Chloe Pierre, has got you sorted with her DIY face mask recipe that targets just that.
What You Need:
- 1 tbsp of fresh turmeric/ turmeric powder (juiced or pressed)
- 1 tbsp of fresh lemon juice
- add water to make a paste
- 1 tbsp of honey or 1/2 a beaten avocado if you’ve used juiced turmeric
How It Works:
“My go-to face mask recipe uses small amounts of fresh turmeric and lemon juice to pinpoint hyperpigmentation,” explains Pierre. “Turmeric as an ingredient has been clinically proven to address hyperpigmentation, reduce skin irritation, and wrinkles over the course of at least 4 weeks. It’s worth noting turmeric originates from India and South Asia. It is a member of the ginger family.”
Simply mix up, apply to specific areas (wear gloves to protect your hands), and leave on for 3 minutes before rinsing off. Repeat at least twice a week for five weeks to see results.
3. DIY Face Mask Recipe For… Soothing And Calming Your Skin
Between eleven-step skincare routines, city smog, and hay fever, our skin can get overwhelmed, and irritation and redness are inevitable. Let nutritionist Rosemary Ferguson’s homemade face mask recipe soothe and calm your skin in an instant.
What You Need:
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
- ¼ ripe avocado
- 2 drops of lavender oil
How It Works:
Like one big glow in a bowl, this delicious-sounding face mask delivers deep hydration from the coconut oil, gives your skin a hit of antioxidants with the honey, and soothes redness with the lavender oil. Mix it up and paint it on with a face mask brush for the ultimate at-home spa experience.
As Rosemary herself puts it, “For moisture and suppleness for the skin, you should turn to essential fatty acids – like coconut oil and avocado. This is a great mask for moisture and to calm the skin.”
4. DIY Face Mask Recipe For… Hydrating And Nourishing
A flaky forehead is not a good look, but if your current moisturizer isn’t doing much to quench your dry skin, look no further than this homemade hydrating face mask.
What You Need:
- 1/2 Avocado
- 1 tablespoon of honey
- A handful of oats or oat bran
How It Works:
Yes, it sounds like an Instagram-worthy breakfast, but refrain from scoffing the ingredients for a second because they’ll work much better all over your face.
According to Clean Beauty co-founder Dominika Minarovic, honey is an excellent humectant, which means it helps the skin retain moisture without feeling oily – but that’s not all. “It’s a wonder ingredient,” says Dominika. “Massaged onto affected areas, it helps with the appearance of scars and increases both healing and tissue regeneration.”
And if you want to step up your face mask game, mix it with oats – an ingredient even beauty brands like Aveeno and Garnier pack into their moisturizers.
“Oats have healing and moisturizing properties,” explains Dominika. “They’re brilliant at nourishing, calming, and soothing the skin too.”
And thanks to the ultra-nourishing oils, the addition of mashed avocado will banish any roughness, leaving your skin silky smooth. If you don’t have any at home, substitute for 3 tablespoons of milk.
“Adding milk, which contains lactic acid, will gently exfoliate the skin whilst brightening without irritation,” explains Lorraine Scrivener, skin expert, and director at Eden Skin Clinic.
Leaving it on for 15 minutes is ample.
5. DIY Face Mask Recipe For… Improving Uneven Skin Texture And Tone
You don’t need to spend megabucks on facials or stock up on scrubs to achieve super-smooth and supple skin.
What You Need:
- 1 tablespoon of natural, plain yogurt
- 1 tablespoon of honey
- 1 tablespoon of turmeric powder
How It Works:
Just like milk, yogurt is filled to the brim with lactic acid, which makes a visible difference to the skin by lifting away rough and lackluster surface cells to uncover much newer, brighter ones. If it’s good enough for Priyanka Chopra…
Thanks to moisture magnet honey, the skin feels soft and elastic, while Kate Protopapas, founder of Isla Apothecary, mentions that turmeric is useful for combating pigmentation – perfect if you’ve been sun-worshipping a little too long.
6. DIY Face Mask Recipe For… An Otherworldly Glow
If a dull and lackluster complexion is your biggest beauty bugbear, you need this mask in your life – and there isn’t a strong acid in sight. Girls with sensitive skin, rejoice!
What You Need:
- 1 tablespoon of cacao powder
- 1/4 papaya
- A squeeze of Aloe Vera gel
How It Works:
Aloe Vera is filled to bursting with vitamins A, C, E, B1, B2, B3, B6, and B12, which means its radiance-boosting, skin-soothing, and hydrating properties are pretty much unrivaled. Teamed with papaya – which is packed with exfoliating enzymes that will dissolve dead skin cells – it’ll take your face mask sesh (and skin) to the next level.
And the added cacao powder works total wonders too. When layered over clean skin, it brightens and boosts circulation for a plump and pillowy look and feel.
Simply pop all three ingredients into a bowl, stir, leave on for ten minutes, and tissue off.
7. DIY Face Mask Recipe For… Fighting Acne And Blemishes
Whether it’s an angry red acne cluster or a team of pesky whiteheads, spots aren’t a good look, and we totally feel your pain. But if you want to take a break from the spot treatments and are looking for something a little more natural to try, give this wonder trio a whirl.
What You Need:
- 1 tablespoon of manuka honey
- 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of Dead Sea salt
How It Works:
Both the healing and bacteria-zapping properties of manuka honey are pretty impressive, while turmeric – yep, it’s not just for fancy lattes – is brilliant at bringing down redness.
“Turmeric is a great option for raw, acne-prone, angry skin,” says Isla Apothecary’s Kate. “It is anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial. Incorporating Dead Sea salt will also help to clean, reduce inflammation and infection. A little goes a long way.”
Together, they launch a three-pronged attack on infection, irritation, swelling, and excess sebum, which can block pores and lead to spots and blackheads. Crystal clear skin? Um, yes please.
Just mix them together, use a clean foundation brush to apply to your face (paying extra attention to your T-Zone), and let it work its magic for 10-15 minutes before rinsing off with warm water.
8. DIY Face Mask Recipe For… Minimizing Enlarged Pores
Despite what you might have heard, there’s actually no real way to ‘close’ your pores, but there are clever ways to obscure them, which is amazing news seeing as we find ourselves flung in front of megapixel smartphone cameras on the regular!
What You Need:
- 1 egg white
- 1 tablespoon of honey
- A little squeeze of lemon juice
How It Works:
Both the egg white and lemon juice have clever astringent properties that will tighten the skin and make enlarged pores much less obvious. It’s the perfect pre-foundation ritual – just be careful not to get any in your mouth!
The addition of honey is important, as it’ll boost your skin’s moisture levels, provide suppleness, and take away that uncomfortable, taught feeling.
9. DIY Face Mask Recipe For… Combating Oily Skin
“This is a great remedy for decongested pores,” says Lorraine Scrivener, and seeing as excess sebum can lead to spots, this is a good way to target them before they erupt.
What You Need:
- Half an avocado
- 1/4 cucumber, blended
How It Works:
“This is a super-cooling mask that will leave the skin feeling clean and fresh,” says Lorraine.
“Cucumber mainly contains water which will hydrate, but it also contains vitamin C, and this will reduce any breakout activity.”
As for the avocado? It cleverly regulates oil production, and according to Lorraine, it’s rich in Oleic Acid, which helps reduce inflammation, “all while working on those fine lines!”
We’re sold.
10. DIY Face Mask Recipe For… Protecting Against Pollution
We’re only just beginning to understand the damaging effects that environmental aggressors like pollution have on our skin, but that’s where this savvy concoction from the girls at Clean Beauty comes in.
What You Need:
- A handful of ground almonds
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
How It Works:
The fatty acid content from the almonds can penetrate the skin, leaving it soft and supple, while the vitamin E from the olive oil acts like a coat of armor against free radicals, which can lead to dullness, dehydration, and fine lines.
And if you really want to amp up the protection? Add a teaspoon of matcha powder. High in antioxidants, it’ll neutralize pesky free radicals and, in turn, help prevent the breakdown of collagen.
Leave it on for 10 minutes, but before rinsing it off, gently massage the paste into your skin to really dislodge everyday grime, makeup, dead cells, and oil.
Things To Remember Before You Raid Your Kitchen Cupboards…
1. Avoid Applying Certain Ingredients Directly Onto Your Skin
“DIY face masks are perfectly safe,” says Lorraine Scrivener, “but there are a few at-home products you should avoid putting directly onto the skin without pre-mixing first, such as lemons and apple cider vinegar.”
Why?
“These could make the skin sensitive to light and could also possibly cause skin bleaching,” she explains.
2. Check Sell-By Dates Carefully
The tub of yogurt that’s been in your fridge for ages? Yeah, don’t use it – even if it’s unopened. If you wouldn’t eat it, it’s not a good idea to slather it all over your face – you want skin that’s clear, glowy, and gorgeous – not covered in red blotches.
3. Do A Patch Test First
Just like trying out a new laser or acid treatment, 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 sight, like the side of the neck before applying all over the face,” says Lorraine because an allergic reaction is not cool.
She adds, “Skin products purchased over the counter undergo rigorous testing and contain preservatives and anti-irritants, and while raw ingredients may seem more of a natural alternative, it’s always best to test them first.”
4. 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.
Conclusion
Who needs a spa when you can whip up these amazing homemade face masks using simple ingredients found in your kitchen? These masks offer spa-worthy benefits that’ll leave your skin feeling refreshed, rejuvenated, and healthy. So, go ahead, indulge in some self-care and give these DIY face masks a try for a glowing complexion.
FAQs
Q: Are homemade face masks safe for the skin?
A: Yes, homemade face masks can be safe for the skin as long as you avoid using certain ingredients directly on the skin without pre-mixing. It’s also essential to check sell-by dates and do a patch test before applying a mask all over the face.
Q: How often should I use a homemade face mask?
A: The frequency of using a homemade face mask depends on your skin’s needs and sensitivity. It’s generally recommended to use a face mask 1-2 times a week, but you can adjust the frequency according to your skin’s response.
Q: Can homemade face masks provide the same benefits as store-bought masks?
A: Yes, homemade face masks can provide similar benefits to store-bought masks. The key is to choose ingredients that suit your skin’s needs and ensure the masks are made fresh and used within a reasonable time frame.
Q: Can I customize a homemade face mask recipe?
A: Absolutely! Homemade face masks are highly customizable, allowing you to tailor the ingredients to address specific skin concerns. You can experiment with different combinations of natural ingredients to find what works best for your skin.