Milk and Organic Sugar Face Mask for Smooth, Creamy Skin

Glycolic acid is all the rage in anti-aging skin care. One of the alpha hydroxy acids, it promotes skin rejuvenation. Used regularly, it is said to smooth out the skin, creating a glowing, radiant complexion. Well, I thought I'd give glycolic acid a try with some organic sugar cane (don't use processed sugar!) and another one of the alpha hydroxy acids — lactic acid from a little milk.

Warning! My milk and sugar cane face mask is messy. It is not going to dry on your face like the typical neat and clean face mask. It is a great skin treatment for evening out the complexion and giving your face an exfoliating, nourishing experience. The milk really helps to make the skin feel soft right after use, while scrubbing with the sugar stimulates the skin, which is always a good thing for boosting nutrient and oxygen intake for cells. The small things count when it comes to skin care.

To make this milk and sugar facial treatment you will need:

• 2 tablespoons organic cane sugar
• 3 teaspoons milk or cream
• 2 drops of neroli essential oil

Stir together the milk, sugar, and orange blossom oil. Cleanse the face with your daily facial cleanser, opening pores with a splash of warm water to rinse. Coat your face with the mask. I do this over the sink, continually reapplying the milky sugar and buffing the skin with the sugar crystals.

This is really more of an exfoliating sugar scrub, but wearing it on the face like a mask for a few minutes is a great way to give your skin some nutrients from the milk as well as the beneficial properties from the neroli oil, which, by the way, stimulates cell growth — the perfect addition for this renewing, anti-aging facial.

Image(s): FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Watermelon Sensitive Skin Face Mask for Summer

Summer is right around the corner, which means you are going to find sweet, fragrant watermelon at the market — the perfect ingredient for a
sensitive skin face mask to help replenish and repair sun-damaged skin. This ultra pink melon is high in vitamin A, a key nutrient for protecting skin cells from damaging UV rays. Eat up your fresh watermelon this summer (go for the apricots, peaches, mangos, and summer carrots as well) and slather your face with this cooling, hydrating fruit. Wear a broad spectrum sunscreen everyday, and you should be able to keep your skin in goddess worthy condition.

Watermelon is also a good source of vitamin C and silica, two nutrients that are required for the production of new, healthy collagen. You also get some antioxidant activity from the vitamin C and carotenes. Like cucumber, watermelon soothes irritated, dry, or damaged tissue. I like to add aloe vera juice for more repairing, regenerative properties. Yogurt helps to gently exfoliate, while also moisturizing. Finish with calming lavender and this mask is going to restore and renew even the most sensitive skin.

This is one of the best homemade facials for rosacea, dry skin and mature skin. It is therapeutic for any face that has spent the day in the sun. To make this sensitive skin face mask you will need:

• 1/4 cup fresh watermelon chunks
• 1 teaspoon aloe juice
• 1/4 cup plain yogurt
• 2 drops lavender essential oil

Blend the melon, aloe, and yogurt in the blender. Move to a bowl and then add the lavender. Apply to a clean face. While letting your face mask set, rinse out the blender and make a fresh watermelon smoothie for more nutrients for gorgeous skin. The double dose of vibrant nourishment will really replenish and restore your complexion. My personal favorite recipe — a handful of blueberries, fresh watermelon, a squeeze of fresh lime juice, five or six ice cubes, and a spoonful of raw honey.

photo credits: Mary K Baird 

Image: Master isolated images / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Pore Refining Face Mask With Green Clay and Orange Blossom

Isn't it wonderful that some luxuries in life are actually good for you, like chocolate and French green clay? Grab your piece of rich dark chocolate and some green clay powder, and try out this pore refining face mask. It is one of the best for smoothing out the complexion, deep cleaning, and shrinking those oh-so-horrendous pores on the face. It combines nutrient-rich French green clay and calming, toning orange blossom water. Once you have the clay powder and flower water you can whip up this facial in no time for a fraction of the cost of a commercial mask or a trip to the spa.

Drawing out impurities and dosing the skin with trace minerals from decomposed plant matter, French green clay is wonderful for refining pores. The more gunk — oil, dead skin cells, bacteria, dirt, and makeup — in pores, the larger they are going to appear. The super cleansing action of green clay is the ultimate solution to this problem, sucking out all of the gunk, while also supplying the skin with silica (think collagen production), zinc (think anti-bacterial action) and other nutrients. Toning and tightening, it also draws blood flow to the skin, bringing oxygen and nutrients to nourish cells.

Why orange blossom water? This delicately astringent hydrosol helps to shrink pores while also refreshing the skin and calming inflammation (great for acne). Wait, it gets even better. Orange blossom water is also regenerative, so you get a pore refining, anti-aging homemade facial.

To make this green clay pore refining face mask, you will need:

• 3 teaspoons French green clay powder
• 3 teaspoons orange blossom water
• 2 drops rose essential oil
• 1 drop frankincense essential oil

Mix everything together in a glass or ceramic bowl. Use more or less flower water to make a paste. To prepare the face, lay a warm, wet cloth over the skin for about thirty seconds. Very gently pat the skin dry. Apply the mask, smearing an even layer over the entire face. Rest, enjoy some music, or to get really luxurious, sip on a cup of drinking chocolate (try making with soy milk or water to cut down on dairy products, which aren't the best thing for the skin). After ten to fifteen minutes, rinse off the mask, dry, and put on your best face cream.

To refine pores, try using this treatment three times a week for the first week. Then, scale back to once a week. If you don't have oily skin, use this homemade refining treatment once a week. Another tip for dealing with large pores is to increase your water intake. Try drinking more water and herbal tea to help balance oily skin.

Honey Lime Face Mask to Balance Skin

Honey is sweet and softening, lime is sour and tightening. Together these two
ingredients can help to balance the skin, whether it is too oily or too dry. This honey lime face mask, using fresh lime juice and raw organic honey, is a super sweet natural treatment to create more beautiful skin. It is easy to make, so try it two times a week to see how well it improves your skin.

Raw, high-quality honey is first of all nourishing. It contains antioxidants, amino acids, and other nutrients to help protect and repair skin. Honey is one of nature's best tools for softening the skin. Dry and aging skin will benefit from the moisturizing properties of honey. Anyone who is prone to blemishes (aren't we all?) will appreciate the anti-bacterial properties. Putting honey on the face in a homemade facial is a great way to make it so bacteria cannot survive on the skin.

Lime juice adds some collagen boosting vitamin C, some exfoliating alpha hydroxy acids, and some great natural astringent action. Being very acidic, fresh lime juice is great for tightening and toning the skin. Add some lavender essential oil for an extra harmonizing kick. Lavender calms and normalizes, and like all essential oils it is anti-bacterial.

To make this balancing honey lime face mask, you will need:

• 2-3 tablespoons raw honey
• 2-3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 3 drops lavender essential oil

Warm the honey and lime juice in a sauce pan over a very low heat, just until warm and soft. Move to a bowl and add the lavender. Smear over a clean face and neck, leaving on for twenty minutes. This is a great before bed mask. I like to wear it while soaking in a honey and milk bath for a double softening and cleansing skin treatment. This is a honey and lime heaven on earth pampering treatment. Relax, close your eyes and simmer in natural honey and citrus. Rinse well, splash the face with cool water and moisturize.

Exfoliating Oat Face Mask to Remove Dead Skin

With dried oats you can easily put together a homemade exfoliating facial to help
scrub away the surface layer of the skin, encouraging new cell growth. This face mask to remove dead skin combines oats with yogurt, honey, and patchouli essential oil to nourish, moisturize, and renew, as well as exfoliate.

The lactic acid in the yogurt also has an exfoliating action, helping to release old skin cells. Honey (use raw, organic honey!) is anti-bacterial and it helps to keep the skin soft and supple with humectant properties. Patchouli is the perfect essential oil to enhance this homemade mask. It is great for promoting healthy tissue regeneration, stimulating new cell growth. Patchouli has a balancing, toning effect on the skin and it is good for all skin problems, from acne to dryness.

To make this oat face mask to remove dead skin, you will need:

• 3 tablespoons dry oats, crushed or lightly ground
• 2 tablespoons plain yogurt
• 2 tablespoons raw honey
• 3 drops patchouli essential oil

Stir together the yogurt and honey. Add the patchouli and then stir in the oats. Wash the face with warm water and then put on the mask. Leave it on for five minutes. Then, scrub the mask into the face using fingertips. Rub in a circular motion, focusing on the forehead, nose, cheeks, and chin for about two minutes. Rinse well (try rinsing over the kitchen sink to minimize the mess). Pat dry and put on your moisturizing lotion.

Tomato Honey Olive Oil Face Mask to Replenish Dry Skin

For dry, brittle skin, drink lots of water, eat lots of fresh fruits and veggies, tofu, and eggs, and use this honey olive oil face mask with fresh tomato. It is perfect for replenishing the skin with nutrients to nourish and protect. With humectant honey to help hold in moisture and fatty acids from the olive oil to form a protective barrier against moisture loss, this homemade treatment is perfect for balancing dry skin. Add some fresh tomato for some topical beta-carotene and lycopene to give this traditional mask an extra anti-aging edge.

Warning! Regular old processed honey and olive oil are not optimal skin care ingredients. Use raw, organic honey for the maximum amount of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and amino acids for the skin. Raw honey also has anti-bacterial properties, which is great for acne protection. Use extra virgin olive oil as well. The higher quality, unrefined oil may be a little pricier, but it is the only way you are going to create a facial for your skin that is loaded with vitamin E and anti-bacterial action.

To make this tomato honey olive oil face mask, you will need:

• 2 tablespoons raw honey
• 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of finely chopped tomato

Stir the honey and olive oil together. Finely dice half a plum tomato, three or four cherry tomatoes, or about one-quarter of a medium tomato to get your two tablespoons of fresh tomato. Smash the tomato dices with the back of a form or muddle in a mortar and pestle. Mix into the honey and olive oil so the juice from the tomato is well blended into the mask.

Gently cleanse the face and then dab dry. Apply this super moisturizing mask for dry skin over the face. Leave it on for fifteen minutes. Rinse well. For these extra sticky masks (as in all homemade honey facials) I wear the mask before taking a shower so I can rinse it off in the shower. Finish with a toner, such as distilled witch hazel or rose water, or even try Burt's Bees Garden Tomato Toner, and then moisturize.

Rose and Egg Face Mask to Tighten Skin

This is an aromatherapy twist on the classic egg white facial. It combines whipped egg white, which refines pores and pulls the skin together, with two astringent essential oils — rose and lemongrass. If you have sensitive skin, skip the lemongrass as it can be irritating. The rose and egg combine to create the ultimate face mask to tighten skin, ideal for oily skin or for an anti-aging skin tightening treatment, or to help reduce large pore size, which is often tied with excess oil production and acne.

So, how does it work? Egg white tightens (you will feel it tone the skin with a pulsating sensation from the increase in blood flow like you would with a clay mask). This helps to create a smoother complexion. It won't eliminate fine lines or clear up blackheads overnight, but it is a great, natural pore reducing treatment. Egg is also a great source of amino acids for the skin; you may as well feed your face while refining pores.

Both rose and lemongrass are wonderful astringent essential oils that are ideal in skin care recipes. They tone and tighten, while also helping to keep the skin clear and bacteria free. Both rose and lemongrass also have a calming effect.

To make this face mask to tighten skin, you will need:

• 1 egg white, whipped
• 3 drops rose essential oil
• 1 drop lemongrass essential oil (omit if sensitive)

Add the egg white to a non-plastic bowl. Add the essential oils. I used lemongrass (and have sensitive skin). It is slightly irritating for the first three or four minutes of wearing the mask. Using it is definitely optional. Next, whip, whip, and whip. With a wire whisk it does take four to five minutes to create a nice, frothy, nourishing skin tightening mask. I recommend savoring a piece of chocolate while whisking for a few antioxidants, and to make the egg whisking more fun.

Cleanse the face, rinsing with warm water. Apply the rose egg foam over the skin, being careful of the eye area. Leave this mask on for twenty five minutes. Rinse with warm water and pat dry. Dab with rose water for an extra toning treatment. Your face will instantly feel softer and smoother. Finish with your skin moisturizer.