Well, after yesterday's rousing post I thought I'd do something a little more inert today. I wanted to share with you how to make your own homemade clay facial mask. People have used clay masks for thousands of years to help clear pores, slough off the dead outer layer of skin and soothe and calm inflammation. It's really very simple to make at home and you can get the clay at a natural foods store.
In this recipe, the lactic acid in the milk (alpha hydroxy acid) helps slough off dead skin cells, the clay helps to clear out your pores and the honey helps to soothe.
3 - 4 tablespoons whole milk
2 tablespoons clay (Green or French Clay and White Kaolin are good choices)
1 teaspoon honey
4 drops essential oils (optional)
Mix the ingredients together adding more milk or water if the mask is too dry. Apply evenly to face (and neck if you want) avoiding the eye area. Leave on for 15 minutes or until dry and rinse off with warm water. I usually wash my face following a mask just to ensure that I've removed all of it.Now, my favorite facial mask is an aspirin scrub that I use in conjunction with a clay mask. This works well only if you have oily skin that is not sensitive. Essentially, the salicylic acid in the aspirin works like any commercial product in helping clear out your pores.
What I end up doing is dissolving about 3 uncoated aspirins in a very small amount of water and mixing it into the clay mask. It acts as a scrub when you put on the mask. Leave it on for the same amount of time and voila! Clear skin.
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15 comments:
Unless the milk has gone sour it will not work. Unspoiled milk lacks the enzymes to slough off dead skin, buttermilk will work. If you have a sunburn whole milk will feel better though, the fat helps calms inflammation.
sort of true... milk is acidic enough that you don't really need enzymatic action to get rid of the skin cells. The acidity will take care of that.
oh and that post was meant for kool not crunchy.
Looks way cheaper than a facial! I just got a bunch of essential oils that I can experiment with too - maybe I can make a Christmas mask with Cinammon, Nutmeg and Sweet Orange. That should be invigorating.
Hausfrau, just be careful with those oils. All three of them can be caustic to skin, especially sensitive skin. Use in VERY small amounts.
Okay, at this point, I just gotta know: do you do ANYTHING that is selfish, just for yourself and not for the environment? Like eat Twinkies or throw away some aluminum because your recycling bin is already too full? C'mon - you can't be so great all of the time!
Or can you?
I have some leftover clay from a pottery class. I have no idea what kind, it's sort of reddish. Is all clay skin-safe?
diana
Love the pic. Thanks for the recipe.
Hmmmmm .... wondering how the asprin addition would work for dry cracked heals from too much barefoot gardening.
Just might try something like that!
Cool! I have some of the clay powder, but I've only ever used it mixed with plain water.
koolchicken - I suppose if you are looking more for a facial peel then using buttermilk will work a whole lot better with the higher acid content. But, as Mimi said, milk by itself is slightly acidic.
Texan - I do not always practice what I preach and I'm sure there are many readers out there who live far more environmentally friendly than I. I have a lot of good intentions though!
Diana - I don't know if all clays are created equal and wouldn't know if pottery clay has some additives in it that clay sold for use on the skin doesn't. It's probably not worth the risk. Clearly you use it on your hands and it causes no problems but I'd be wary about putting it on my face.
I bought a jar of mask clay recently that had the suggestions of using carrot juice for mature skin, tomato juice for troubled skin, or green tea or grapefruit juice for oily skin. I have never used anything but water personally, but I did buy a bar of soap made with tomato and it does help my troubled skin.
I love making my own masks and have done it for years. The aspirin thing is a new idea for me though. I can see the benefit of salicylic acid, however I think I would use a bit of a white willow bark infusion instead of the aspirin.
good idea. i've been fretting over the cost of natural beauty stuff.
When I was a little girl, my mother would coat my sunburns with yoghurt (real whole plain basic yoghurt-yoghurt). I'd then sleep all night with it, and voila! No sunburns left in the morning. The sheets needed a wash after all that though, but it definitely works!
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