Homemade face masks are the bees knees for healthy skin
Natural face masks offer so many benefits for skin. Adding ingredients rich in fatty acids, fruit acids and vitamins can repair sun damage, rehydrate skin by plumping out cells, and by stimulating the skins natural process of repair and renewal.
Even some of the most simple ingredients in home made facial masks can repair damage and promote collagen production by invigorating your skin’s cells, waking them up and stimulating them into action.
Natural ingredients in homemade face masks:
Essential fatty acids:
Essential fatty acids or amino acids are the life preservers of the skincare world. They protect skin cell membranes, allow moisture to penetrate then lock it in for plumper dewier skin.
Using ingredients rich in fatty acids in your facial masks hydrate skin plus help to deliver other beneficial nutrients deeper into your skin’s layers. Many of these ingredients also contain vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant (see below) to protect against free radical damage.
Natural Face Mask Ingredients include:
- Many carrier oils
- Avocado and avocado oil
- Seeds and nuts
- Dark green vegetables, such as broccoli, kale, spinach and seaweed (yum do I hear Sushi?)
- Coconut oil
- Essential oil blends
- Fish
- SOME cooking oils (olive, avocado, rape seed, flax seed, coconut oil)
- Coconut cream
- Dairy products
You can make many homemade face masks using these ingredients pureed or blended together. Consuming these foods in your diet is also important to support your skin from the inside.
Fruit and other acids:
Many fruits contain alpha hydroxy acid, glycolic acid, salicylic acid (great for for acne), and other acids. These acids help to remove the surface layers of skin including dead skin cells, and stimulate the skin into repair and “remodelling mode”.
Natural Face Mask Ingredients include:
- Strawberries (high in acne fighting salicylic acid)
- Raspberries, blueberries and other berries
- Tropical fruits like pineapple and papaya
- Kiwifruit
- Pomegranate (also rich in antioxidants and other skin protective nutrients)
- Tomatoes (another good ingredient to use in acne masks)
- Cane sugar (ok it’s not actually a fruit, but cane sugar is naturally high in glycolic acid)
- Dairy food (again not fruit but can be high in malic and lactic acid, a good alternative to fruit acids)
Antioxidants:
Most fruit and vegetables contain some form of antioxidant. Antioxidants scavenge free radicals which degrade cells and cause premature ageing. A diet rich in antioxidants increases energy, helps alleviate all sorts of ailments and of course protects skin against free radical damage. Fruits contain vitamins A and sometimes E (a potent antioxidant).
Natural Face Mask Ingredients include:
- Most fruits and veggies but especially melons, green vegetables and carrots
- Carrot seed oil (derived from carrot seeds) is incredibly rich in skin transforming vitamins A and C
- Peppers
- Bananas
Enzymes:
Papain is an enzyme found in Papaya and Canteloupe. It has an amazing ability to dissolve dead skin cells and stimulate new cell growth (and collagen production too). Homemade face masks made from melons work like a mini facial peel, lifting off flaky dull skin to reveal a soft dewy brighter complexion. The fact they contain high amounts of antioxidants and vitamins as well makes them fabulous for facial masks and scrubs!
Natural Face Mask Ingredients include:
- Papaya
- Pineapple
- Canteloupe or honey dew melons
Essential oils with renewing repairing anti-aging properties:
Essential oils are the secret ingredient in many of my homemade face mask recipes because they offer “miraculous” properties for skin. They can repair, plump and out tighten skin reducing wrinkles and signs of ageing. Because they are so concentrated, they are super rich in vitamins, acids and other “mysterious” compounds to deeply nourish and repair skin. You can read about these oils and how to use them in my book Natural Homemade Skin Care Recipes or a less comprehensive list can be found here
Natural Face Mask Essential Oil Ingredients include:
- Angelica oil
- Atlas Cedarwood oil
- Basil oil
- Bergamot oil
- Black Pepper oil
- Cajeput oil
- Calendula oil
- Camphor oil
- Caraway oil
- Carrot Seed oil
- Cedarwood oil
- Celery oil
- Chamomile oil
- Cinnamon Leaf oil
- Cistus oil
- Clary Sage oil
- Clove Bud oil
- Coriander oil
- Cranberry Seed oil
- Cypress oil
- Elemi oil
- Eucalyptus oil
- Fennel oil
- Frankincense oil
- Frankincense oil
- Galbanum oil
- Geranium oil
- German Chamomile oil
- Ginger oil
- Grapefruit oil
- Helichrysum oil
- Jasmine oil
- Juniper oil
- Karanja Oil oil
- Laurel oil
- Lavandin oil
- Lavender oil
- Lemon oil
- Lemon Myrtle oil
- Lemongrass oil
- Lime Distilled oil
- Mandarine oil
- Manuka Oil oil
- Melissa oil
- Mints oil
- Myrrh oil
- Myrtle oil
- Neem oil
- Neroli oil
- Neroli oil
- Niaouli oil
- Orange oil
- Oregano oil
- Palma Rosa oil
- Parsley oil
- Patchouli oil
- Peppermint oil
- Petitgrain oil
- Pine oil
- Pomegranate oil
- Roman Chamomile oil
- Rosehip oil
- Rosemary oil
- Rosewood oil
- Sage oil
- Sandalwood oil
- Sea Buckthorn oil
- Spanish Marjoram oil
- Spanish Sage oil
- Spearmint oil
- Spike Lavender oil
- Spikenard oil
- St Johns Wort oil
- Sweet Basil oil
- Sweet Orange oil
- Tangerine oil
- Tea Tree oil
- Texas Geranium oil
- Thyme oil
- Thyme Linalool oil
- Thymus Vulgaris oil
- Vetiver oil
- Yarrow oil
- Ylang-ylang oil
Acne:
Acne is one of those problems you have to deal with on many levels to eliminate it for good. Acne bacteria starts in your pores and can be activated by hormonal, environmental or hereditary factors.
If you have oily skin for example, your skin may be more susceptible to blackheads and clogged pores. This can lead to bacteria collecting in those pores resulting in pimples.
Many natural ingredients have bacteria fighting properties, especially essential oils like tea tree, neem or lavender oils. Spices like turmeric are also naturally antibacterial as are fruits rich in salicylic acid. Honey is a “natural antibiotic” and is healing for skin. The following ingredients have naturally occurring antibacterial properties and many relieve redness or discomfort associated with acne.
Natural Acne Face Mask Ingredients In Acne Recipes include:
- Yogurt
- Clays
- Honey
- Tea tree oil
- Manuka oil
- Aloe vera
- Willow bark
- Bananas (the potassium retards acne bacteria)
- Tomatoes
- Strawberries
- Aspirin (crushed)
- Basil herbs and parsley
- Extra virgin coconut oil
Humectants and healing:
Humectants are compounds that attract moisture. Many natural humectants are also healing for skin like honey for example and aloe vera. Use these in homemade face masks to aid healing and keep skin moist. Glycerin is a humectant that’s great for use in cleansers and moisturizers.
Natural Face Mask Ingredients include:
- Aloe vera
- Honey
- Beeswax
- Jojoba oil
- Vegetable glycerin
- Hyaluronic acid (manufactured)
These are the main groups of mask ingredients I use most frequently in my homemade face mask recipes.
You can mix and match ingredients here but I have found that using specific combinations of ingredients in your face masks can dramatically increase their benefits for your skin. Essential fatty acids in avocado for example, can deliver the benefits of vitamin rich ingredients like carrot seed oil much deeper into your skins layers.
Using oil blends and serums as cleansers and moisturisers, many of which you can make lotions and moisturizing creams with, boost the power of these masks giving you a full skincare regime that can give you even better results than some of the biggest brands.
I hope you enjoyed reading this and that this list has inspired you to create some of your own recipes. You can also try our wizards as a guide to what ingredients to use for your skin type and condition.
For a list of Facial and Body Scrubs Click Here
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