You don’t have to visit a spa to get the perfect facial to suit your skin type, try these lovely home made versions that will leave your skin looking just as gorgeous as it would if you had spent top dollar in a salon! Don’t forget to relax with your glass of wine while you wait for your mask to do the magic, and think about all the money you have just saved, and what shoes you can now purchase due to your clever saving techniques 😉
The Turmeric Face Mask – great for all skin types
The Turmeric face mask is famously used by Indian brides before their wedding day, but can be used on anyone who wants to brighten their complexion, help dry skin areas, brighten hyper-pigmentation and to remove minor acne blemishes. You will need pure honey, rice flour (for acne prone skin), gram/chicpea flour (for any skin type) or finely ground oats (for dry or mature skin), turmeric powder, and milk or yogurt.
Put 2 heaped tsp of your chosen flour/oats into a bowl, and break down with a spoon so that all the chunks are smoothed out. Add ¾ tsp of turmeric, and mix. Add 1 tsp honey, and ¼ of a cup of milk, or 3 tsp of yogurt, and mix together really well. The mixture should look like a yellow paste, and shouldn’t be runny. If it is, add a small amount of flour/oats to thicken it up. Apply all over your face (be very careful around your eyes), and leave to set between 15-20 minutes. Rinse off to reveal beautifully bright skin!
Tip: wear an old t-shirt (or…be naked…) as the turmeric will certainly stain clothing. You can also save any remaining mixture in a container and pop it in the fridge and use it again after 3 days. If you are acne prone, try adding a couple of drops of tea tree oil to your mixture.
Model Face Mask – great for normal to dry and mature skin
This mask is particularly great for dry or mature skin, as it instantly brightens the skin giving you a gorgeous glow, with a dewy youthful appearance. You will need half a banana, virgin olive oil, and one whole egg.
Mash up half a banana into a bowl, and try to get it as smooth as you can, as you don’t want any large lumps. Add 1 tsp of virgin olive oil, along with a whole egg. The proteins in the egg will help lift the face (temporarily unfortunately, but why not!) and smooth out wrinkles. Mix everything together really well. Apply the mixture to your face with a foundation brush, and you can also apply it gently to the under eye area to help smooth out any wrinkles. Leave mixture on for 20 minutes – you will feel the mask tightening on your face as it dries – this means it’s working, hooray. Rinse off, and apply your favourite moisturiser to finish.
Tip: you can also apply this mask to the back of hands to make them beautifully smooth!
Baking Soda Mask – great for clearing minor acne scars
Acne scaring can be really problematic, frustrating and expensive to solve. If you have deep acne scaring this mask will probably not improve their appearance too much, and you might want to look into laser treatments however, if your scaring is minor it can make a dramatic difference to helping them fade. Try it out! You will need baking soda (bi-carbonate soda), half a lemon, water, and an optional few drops of tea tree oil.
Drop 1 flat tsp of baking soda into a small bowl, add ½ tsp of lemon juice and mix. Add ½ tsp of water. Add an optional few drops of tea tree oil for acne scaring. Apply all over the face, or just to certain areas where there is acne scaring, and leave the mask to set for 10-15 minutes. Use warm water to rinse the mask off – don’t use water that is too hot as this will aggravate acne prone skin. You will notice that your skin is slightly red for the first 5 minutes or so after removal, but it will calm down quickly. Use this mask twice a week for a couple of months, and you should see results after just one week!
Tip: you can use this mask anywhere on the body (externally) where you have acne scaring.
W| By Christina Chrysanthou
