This post is part of a week long spa feature. Other posts include:
Sugar Scrubs
Hair Treatments
Super Smoothie
My cute friend Emily introduced me to homemade facial treatments at one of our annual
Girls Weekends a few years ago. I wasn’t sure about slathering the colorful goo on my face, but once I saw the wonders they did for my skin I was quickly a believer! There’s a reason that the beauty treatments you see in stores and spas get most of their main ingredients from nature. That’s where the good stuff is!
I will have you know that I experimented with a LOT of stuff this week and some of it was down right nasty. Other things looked and smelled yummy but didn’t do squat for my skin or hair or whatever it was I was treating. So I want you to know that everything I post this week is stuff I actually use and love. Hopefully you’ll find something you love too. Let’s get on with it!
Before you start any facial, make sure you start off with clean, make-up free skin. To really sooth, start off with a steam. Steam hydrates, warms the skin, and opens pores. Plus it feels really really good.
Instructions: Bring a pot of water to a simmer. I put lemon slices and mint leaves in mine. Lavender is also awesome, especially with lemon. When water comes to a simmer, remove from heat. Let it cool off for just a minute and then with a towel over the back of your head to trap in steam, lean your face over the pot. NOT TOO CLOSE. Just had to make that noticeable to avoid necessary lawsuits 🙂 Don’t scorch your face, okay? Just get close enough that you feel the warm steam all over. I stay there until I can’t feel the steam any more- do it for as long is comfortable and then pat your face dry. (Buy some lemons and some mint and when you’re done with your face steam, make some of this!)
For me, next comes exfoliation. I can’t tell you how much I love a good scrub. It sloughs off dead skin cells leaving your skin soft and smooth.
This one stars oatmeal, which is one of the most popular and most effective natural products for your skin. Not only are they ultra moisturizing, but they contain saponins which help gently clear dirt and grime out of your pores (see ya blackheads!). Oatmeal is also soothing, and great for sensitive skin.
Oatmeal Exfoliator:
2t oats
1t baking soda
warm water
Place oats and baking soda in a small bowl and add small amounts of water just until it comes together in a spreadable paste. About 1 1/2 t should do it. Use your fingers to rub it on to your face in circular motions. Massage for 1-2 minutes and then rinse off with warm water and pat face dry.
I loved this mask, it was so super soothing. I combined 3 of the very best natural sources for skin treatments. Plain yogurt contains lactic acid which helps reduce the size of your pores. Yogurt also moisturizes and reduces oiliness. Honey brightens, tightens, and smooths. It’s well known for fighting both acne and wrinkles too! And of course Cucumber soothes and softens skin.
Honey Yogurt Mask:
1/2 T honey
1 T plain yogurt
1 t cucumber pulp
Warm the honey in the microwave for just a few seconds. Just to make it easier to stir. Add yogurt and combine. Use a microplane or a fine-holed cheese grater to make the cucumber pulp. Add it to the honey-yogurt mix. Chill if you want a cool mask, or just use as is. Apply to your face, pop a couple of cuc slices on your eyes and chill out for about for 3-5 minutes (or longer if desired). Rinse with water and pat face dry. Moisturize after.
I think of all the face treatments, this was my favorite. It smells so yummy and it’s bright pink. How fun is that? Strawberries contain vitamin C, antioxidants, and alpha-hydroxy-acid. The cornstarch dries on the skin soothing irritation and leaving it super soft. This is a great one for oily skin.
Tightening Strawberry-Lemon Mask
1/4 C roughly chopped strawberries
3 T corn starch
1/2 t lemon juice
Use a mini food processor or a fork to mash the strawberries into a pulp. Stir in lemon juice and corn starch. If the mixture is too runny to stay on your face, add more corn starch. Smooth onto skin and let sit for about 20 minutes or until dry. Rinse off with water (and a wash cloth helps) and pat skin dry. Moisturize after.
If there is a super-food of natural beauty treatments, it’s the avocado. It’s been used for years by just about every culture for heath and wellness purposes. Skincare is no exception. It’s one of the best natural moisturizers there is. It’s also filled with monounsaturated fats, Vitamin B and E, and has way more potassium than a banana. Avocado is especially soothing on sunburned skin.
Moisturizing Avocado Treatment:
1/2 mashed Avocado.
Apply plain avocado to the skin, or use one or more of these add-ins:
Honey– brightens, tightens, and fights wrinkles and acne
Oats– moisturizes and mildly exfoliates
Yogurt– refines pores and sooths irritation
Egg white– great for oily skin
lemon juice– great for oily skin
Egg Yolk– great for dry skin
Olive Oil– extra softening and moisturizing
Let sit on skin for a few minutes and rinse off with luke warm water. Pat skin dry.
If you have any great facial tips, please leave them in the comments.
I can’t wait to try the oatmeal one. I always need more help with exfoliation! Recently I used one with ground oatmeal and honey to help my pregnancy acne. It didn’t take it all away at once, but the redness went down, and over the next couple days it went away completely. So far, so good!
This is so exciting! My skin needs all the help it can get:)
Here are my suggestions for add-ins to the avacado: https://ourbestbites.com/2008/04/guacamole
😀 Haha Apply to your face then scrape off with tortilla chips! JK.
In all seriousness, these look super fun. I’m gonna have to give that strawberry mask a try!
BTW, my word verification today is “Osers” and it makes me miss Owen 🙂
I’m excited to see the different ideas you have. I’ll have to try this one out sometime. :0
Can’t wait to try the strawberry mask!
I can’t wait to try these!
what great ideas for a home spa party with friends. THank you for sharing your recipes. Can’t wait to try them out at home.
Here is my question: What does this stuff store? Like if you make too much can you refrigerate it and use it a few days later?
I particularly like the sounds of the strawberry moisturizer!
Kitty litter masks? WHAT???
I’ve used avocado before, and oatmeal, but never the yogurt…and I just bought some yesterday. Perfect!
Another fun thing to do is take half of a grapefruit (it can even be after you’ve eaten the good stuff out of it) and sprinkle sugar over it. Then rub it in gentle circles over your face. It turns into a citrus scrub!
wow, who knew!?
I don’t think I have ever done any at home spa treatments, maybe now is the time to try!!
These all look like so much fun…I have some oats sitting out right now, is it soo early in the morning for a facial?!?
I would have never thought of oatmeal as an exfoliant! I’ll have to try it out!
Boy, right now I can’t decide if I’m hungry, or if I want to make my face more beautiful. Thanks for these “recipes”!
if you process the oatmeal in the food processor for a couple minutes it produces a much better texture for the oatmeal scrub! Also, if you are pregnant and have melasma, don’t try adding lemon to your facials or it will bring out the melasma color and increase its’ size(by experience).
I can’t wait to try the avocado treatment. I just hope I don’t eat all the avocado before I put it on my skin.
Ooh! I want to try these! Thanks!
I am super excited to try these. Thank you for doing them in small quantities, makes life so much easier!
Great ideas for a girls night in!
I had no idea you could do so much with some of these everyday things! Can’t wait to try them out – my skin is in a crisis right now ever since having my baby!
what awesome recipes! i actually drink lemon mint /ginger water all day long. recently, i gave up my numerous diet soft drinks in favor of a more healthy alternative and i feel much better. no tummy aches! i never thought to steam my face with it, though. usually i use a pre-bottled stam from dr. hauschka. thanks!
These sound wonderful! I am adding a couple of items to my grocery list for this week – looks like I have a day of pampering coming up!
These are SO MUCH better than the kitty litter masks I learned in YW growing up. 🙂
I love at home “kitchen” ingredients facials. thanks for the new ideas. BTW, sugar is a great exfoliant on it’s own, I love to use it after I wash my face about once a week.
Well heck yeah! I am totally going to try these! Thanks!
This sounds like a great thing to do when my sister is in town.
I need to go buy some plain yogurt for that honey yogurt mask. And some lemons and mint. These all look divine!
oh I am so ready for these!! Thank you! I LOVE the pictures.. awesome and inspiring!
I can’t wait to try some of these!! Thanks for the great post!!