Take your self-care to the next level and get glowing skin with these easy DIY face mask recipes. There are a few critical steps to a successful home-made face mask. First up, always apply your mask to a clean face. You want to make sure to remove surface-level impurities and make-up before applying your mask. Additionally, after your mask, it’s good practice to use a toner to close up the pores, then to moisturize. Secondly, when usig at-home ingredients, check their use-by dates. Just like you wouldn’t eat off food, you shouldn’t put it on your face either. Finally, make your masks fresh each time. The recipes below are all perfect for a single application. Optional additions for extra indulgent self-care include a cup of tea or a glass of wine, your favorite music, and a fluffy bathrobe. Enjoy!
1. Turmeric Face Mask for Acne-Prone Skin
Acne-prone skin needs a little extra love and care. The build-up of oil, dead skin cells and bacteria that clog the pores cause breakouts. These breakouts can cause inflammation and discomfort. As such, a soothing and antibacterial DIY face mask is perfect. Turmeric is a natural anti-inflammatory, while honey is antibacterial, antimicrobial, and can help the skin heal. If you can afford to splash out on manuka honey from New Zealand, it has extra healing benefits. Extra tip, keep the turmeric away from your clothes and hair, to avoid the stains.
RELATED: How to Get Rid of Acne for Clear and Even Skin
What You Need
- Half a teaspoon of turmeric (powder or paste)
- One tablespoon of honey
Instructions
- Mix the turmeric and honey into a smooth paste.
- Apply to your face with your fingers or a brush, and leave it on for 10-15 minutes.
- Rinse with warm water and a washcloth.
2. Honey Face Mask for Sensitive Skin
Similar to acne-prone skin, sensitive skin needs extra love too. This mask contains honey for its anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and soothing properties. Green tea, in the form of matcha, contains antioxidants to fight free radicals. However, do make sure the powder you’re using is pure green tea and doesn’t contain any sweeteners or additives. If you don’t have matcha powder, you can use green tea leaves as an alternative. Finally, the oil ensures the skin doesn’t dry out. If your skin is especially sensitive, it might be a good idea to do a patch test before committing to your whole face.
What You Need
- One teaspoon of matcha powder
- One tablespoon of honey
- One teaspoon of sweet almond or jojoba oil
Instructions
- Mix the matcha, honey, and oil into a smooth paste.
- Apply to your face with your fingers or a brush, and leave it on for 15 minutes.
- Rinse with warm water and a washcloth.
3. Avocado Face Mask for Dry Skin
A dry skin mask needs to pack in as much nourishing moisture as possible. Avocados, in addition to being delicious, are chock full of good fats. Combining this with the antioxidants in honey, as well as the natural oils in almonds, will give your skin the moisture boost it needs. The ground almonds also have the bonus of acting as a gentle exfoliant, scrubbing away any dead skin and dirt.
What You Need
- A quarter of an avocado, mashed
- Two tablespoons of honey
- Two tablespoons of finely ground almonds
- Optional: Swap one tablespoon of honey for one tablespoon of sweet almond or jojoba oil
Instructions
- Mix the avocado, honey, and ground almonds into a smooth paste. The smoother you can mash the avocado, the easier it will be to spread on your skin.
- Apply to your face with your fingers, and leave it on for 15-20 minutes.
- Rinse with warm water and a washcloth.
4. Banana Mask for Oily Skin
Bananas are more than just nature’s energy sticks. They’re full of potassium, fiber, antioxidants, and silica. Combined with vitamin B6 and vitamin C, they’re great for your skin. The banana in this DIY face mask will help to absorb excess oil, while the lemon juice cleanses. It may seem counterintuitive to use an oil in a mask for oily skin; however, the extra virgin olive oil will add moisture. Skin that’s prone to excess oil production will create even more oil if the face is dried out too much, exacerbating the problem. That’s why it’s still important to moisturize oily skin.
What You Need
- One banana, mashed
- 10 drops lemon juice
- One teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Mix the banana, lemon juice, and olive oil into a smooth paste. Similar to the avocado in the mask above, the smoother you can mash the banana, the easier it will be to spread on your skin.
- Apply to your face with your fingers, and leave it on for 15 minutes.
- Rinse with warm water and a washcloth.
5. Aloe Vera Mask for Flaky Skin
Aloe vera is a power plant when it comes to treating skin maladies. Packed full of vitamins A and C, antioxidants, and enzymes, it’s fantastic for dry, flaky skin. The enzymes help to exfoliate the skin in a very gentle manner, and the anti-inflammatory nature soothes irritation. Combined with bananas and almond oil, you’ve got a mask that will be cooling, soothing, and smoothing.
What You Need
- One banana, mashed
- Two tablespoons aloe vera gel
- Three teaspoons almond oil
Instructions
- Mix the banana and aloe vera into a smooth paste, then add in the almond oil. Again, the more the banana is mashed smooth, the easier it is to work.
- Apply to your face with your fingers, and leave it on for 15 minutes.
- Rinse with warm water and a washcloth.
6. Face Mask for Blackheads
Activated charcoal boasts many benefits, including acting as a drawing agent to pull dirt and impurities from the pores. As such, it’s excellent for using in a blackhead mask. Blackheads are pores that have been clogged with dirt, dead skin cells, or bacteria. They’re black because the pore stays open, and all that gunk starts to oxidize. This mask will dry, and when you peel it off, the charcoal will have drawn out all the blackheads, and they’ll come off attached to the mask. It’s guaranteed to be gross, but satisfying.
RELATED: How to Get Rid of Blackheads Fast
What You Need
- Two teaspoons unflavored gelatin
- Two tablespoons water
- Six activated charcoal capsules
Instructions
- Break open and empty the charcoal capsules into a small bowl.
- Mix the gelatine, water, and charcoal powder into a smooth paste.
- Apply the mix to the t-zone only, and wait until it dries. Be careful not to get it in your eyebrows; otherwise, you might be in for an unexpected wax.
- Once the mask is dry, gently peel it off and discard it in the trash.
- You can remove any small bits of residual mask with a soft, damp washcloth.
7. Moisturizing and Hydrating Face Mask
This face mask is another one that uses the power combo of avocado and honey but also features oats. Again the avocado is full of good fats, while the honey is healing, antibacterial, and is also a humectant, allowing the skin to retain moisture. The added benefits of oats are threefold. Firstly, they are incredibly moisturizing, with the starches, sugars, and oils in the grain acting as a humectant. Secondly, they’re exceptionally absorbent, allowing them to draw out excess oil. Finally, they contain a compound called avenanthramides, which acts as both an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory.
What You Need
- Half an avocado, mashed
- One tablespoon of honey
- A handful of oats
Instructions
- Mix the avocado, honey, and oats into a paste.
- Apply to your face with your fingers, and leave it on for 15 minutes.
- Rinse with warm water and a washcloth.
8. Charcoal Peel Off Face Mask
Peel-off masks are great for declogging pores and removing dead skin cells and impurities from the face. The way they work is through drawing all the dirt and oil out, which then become stuck in the mask as it hardens and dries. This particular mask contains a surprising ingredient — glue. It is a common ingredient in DIY peel-off face masks to act as the adhering and drying component. The benefits of glue, rather than a different adherent such as gelatin or egg whites, is that it should peel off in one smooth sheet. Make sure you use a gentle, non-toxic glue such as PVA. This mask also contains the power powder, charcoal. As mentioned above, charcoal acts as a drawing agent to pull the nasties out.
What You Need
- One teaspoon activated charcoal
- 2 tsp non-toxic PVA glue
Instructions
- Mix the glue and charcoal into a smooth paste.
- Apply to your face with a brush, and leave it on for 15 minutes.
- Gently peel the mask off. Don’t rip the mask off like wax, as you do risk damaging your skin.
9. Brightening Face Mask
Would you like to glow like the sunrise? If your answer is yes, then this is the mask for you. A potent combination of lemon, egg whites, and honey will see your skin looking bright and tight. The lemon acts as a cleanser, but the acid can also lighten discoloration and pigmentation. The eggs whites will tighten the skin, while the honey allows the skin to retain moisture. The honey’s antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial properties will also soothe and prevent irritation.
What You Need
- One egg white
- Half a tablespoon of honey
- Half a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Whisk the egg white, honey, and lemon until it’s foamy.
- Apply to your face, and leave it on for 30 minutes or until dry. The mask will tighten as it dries.
- Rinse with warm water and a washcloth.
DIY Face Mask FAQs
How do you make a homemade face mask?
Homemade facemasks are generally as simple as mixing regular pantry ingredients into a paste and applying it to your skin. Common components include honey, avocado, ground almonds, oats, natural oils, lemon juice, banana, and egg whites.
What's a good homemade face mask?
There are lots of good recipes around for different results. Combine a teaspoon each of matcha powder, honey, and jojoba oil for a sensitive skin mask, or mix half an avocado with some oats and a tablespoon of honey for a really nourishing option. If your skin is dry and flaky, blend a banana, two tablespoons of aloe vera gel, and three teaspoons of almond oil together. Finally, create a peel-off charcoal mask using two teaspoons of gelatine, two tablespoons of water, and activated charcoal powder.
What's the best homemade face mask for acne?
If you have acne-prone skin, mix together half a teaspoon of turmeric powder and one tablespoon of honey. This will help to unblock pores, kill bacteria, and act as an anti-inflammatory. You can also try a banana mask for oily skin, using one banana, ten drops of lemon juice, and one teaspoon of olive oil. The banana absorbs extra sebum, while the lemon cleanses, and the olive oil moisturizes.
Alexandra Linde is an experienced writer holding a bachelor's degree in Journalism. She is the owner of Alexandra McKiterick Creative and has expertise in travel, fashion, fitness and lifestyle. Alex has previously written for Flightcenter, Travello, and Backpacker Deals.
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