Home Made Face Mask

home made face mask

By Amanda Bown

Homemade face masks are one of the easiest and cheapest DIY beauty creations. So delicious and nutritious are these face mask recipes, you'll find it hard to resist a lick - so remember, this is food for your face. Here are 4Beauty's tips on how to make a face mask for your skin type, whether you have dry skin, oily skin, combination skin or sensitive skin.

Preparation

Start by cleansing your skin, then apply your homemade face mask, leave on for up to 10 minutes, rinse-off with warm water, gently pat skin dry and apply usual moisturiser.

Face Mask for Dry Skin

Avocados boast moisturising properties from vitamin E, essential fatty acids omega-9 and omega-6 (which aid skin and tissue growth and keep skin supple), and chlorophyll (the nutritious green stuff in plants), which helps regenerate our skin cells. It's also easily absorbed, which makes it ideal for dry skin.

Method: Mash-up a ripe avocado. Add a teaspoon of runny honey (which is super-hydrating too), blend the ingredients and apply to face.

Face Mask for Combination Skin

"Bananas contain highly-moisturising agents which make the skin flexible, pliable and super-soft when applied topically. But they are also non-oily so they're good for combination skins," says Helen Ambrosen of Lush (opens in a new window). "Peaches remove any excess sebum (oil) by softening the sebum, so it can leave the follicles with ease, and without stripping skin. Honey is excellent for skin that's prone to breakouts, as it reduces redness of pimples and dries them-up, thanks to its concentration of sugar solution, which withdraws moisture from pimples." Add some ground almonds, to polish the skin and remove dead surface cells - two tablespoons should do it.

Method: Blend two bananas, two tablespoons of honey and two stoned and peeled peaches. Add the ground almonds, mix-up and blend again. Finally add a small handful of rolled porridge oats, to bind mixture together. Apply to face.

Face Mask for Oily Skin

"If your skin is spot-prone, try a plum and yoghurt mask," says Sarah Stacey of the Green Beauty Bible (opens in a new window). "Plums contain vitamins A and C (known as anti-oxidants), which fight-off free radical activity, strengthen skin's elasticity and general appearance." Both these vitamins are often used in anti-acne and oil-control style skin care products. Stacey adds, "Plain yoghurt is an excellent skin hydrator, packed with lactic acid which aids sloughing of dead skin cells and increases cellular turnover."

Method: Poach four fresh plums, strain really well and leave to cool. Mash-up and blend with one or two tablespoons of plain yoghurt, a teaspoon of sweet almond oil (which contains anti-microbial properties to help prevent spread of the bacteria responsible for acne) and some cornflower to thicken and bind mixture (make to suit) and apply to face. Warning ladies, this one gets a bit messy!

Face Mask for Sensitive Skin

Plain old butter is an excellent source of vitamin A, so grab the (unsalted) butter from the fridge and leave it out for a few hours until it warms up to room temperature. Vitamin A helps to rejuvenate skin, improve its texture and stimulate blood supplies to deeper collagen fibres within the skin. It's also good for fine lines and wrinkles. The oatmeal will calm your skin and yoghurt makes for a soothing mask.

Method: Soften a tablespoon of butter. Add a small handful of rolled porridge oats and a tablespoon of soothing natural yoghurt. Blend together until fairly smooth. Apply to face.