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What are the Different Types of Homemade Face Masks?

T. Briseno
T. Briseno

Though caring for facial skin can involve expensive treatments in salons and spas, getting a pampered glow can be as simple as making homemade face masks from ingredients in the kitchen or bathroom. Just as there are different types of complexion concerns — dry skin, large pores, oily zones, and others — there are varied homemade face masks for addressing them. Even those men and women with clear, enviable skin can typically improve the radiance of their facial tone with a few simple mixes. Homemade face masks can be created in innumerable combinations and can be applied cold, warm, wet, crumbly, or finely mixed. They can be left on the skin for either a few minutes or overnight to achieve the desired results.

Some common ingredients of homemade face masks include fruits and vegetables, such as bananas, cucumbers, strawberries, lemons, and avocados; raw eggs in whole or part; honey, oats, yogurt, milk, and oils; and powders and spices from common sugar to turmeric. An assortment of medicine cabinet spot treatments and folk remedies is also used: toothpaste is believed to dry blemishes; aspirin can be ground and made into pastes for shrinking pores and exfoliating; and aloe vera may be applied to calm redness and cool skin sensitivity. Even hemorrhoid creams are used to reduce under-eye puffiness and milk of magnesia is used to prep and smooth skin for makeup applications.

Applying a thin layer of yogurt mixed with banana and oats can bring extra moisture and plumpness to skin in dry climates. Honey with lemon can clarify pores and brighten the whole face. Egg whites can tighten the skin and reduce dark spots.

Yogurt can be used to make a face mask.
Yogurt can be used to make a face mask.

Olive, grape seed, almond, jojoba, and essential oils are some commonly used mixing agents or solo treatments for homemade face masks that provide deep cleansing and moisturizing. Cucumber slices and purees can refresh tired eyes and complexions. Adding sugar, cornmeal, or baking soda to moist ingredients can create an effective exfoliator that removes dry top skin layers and boosts the absorption of moisturizers.

Cornmeal can exfoliate skin.
Cornmeal can exfoliate skin.

A vast array of recipes for homemade face masks can be found on Internet beauty and skin care websites, and numerous books and magazines print concoctions for improving skin appearance at home. Finding a needed boost for skin health, however, can be as simple as taking common-sense stock of kitchen and bath inventories. Getting creative with scents and textures and relaxing with a slathered face can heighten the expectations of how the skin will look and feel when it is unmasked.

Discussion Comments

wavy58

I have tried several homemade face masks for dry skin, and I have found that the best one is an avocado and yogurt mask. Some of the other masks used ingredients that irritated my skin, but I had no problem with either of these ingredients.

I did try a cucumber mask, but it burned a little when I put it on. This worried me, so I rinsed it off right away.

The avocado and yogurt feel very smooth and soothing on my skin. I just put them in a blender together. I leave the mask on for fifteen minutes, and I can tell a big difference after washing it off. It is very moisturizing, and it even has a cooling effect that lasts for awhile after I remove it.

orangey03

I was reading about some homemade acne face masks in a beauty magazine last month, and I was surprised to find that some people use just an egg to create a mask. They crack it open and pour the whole thing into a cup, and then they mix it up with a whisk.

The magazine said to use a brush to apply it. I imagine that it would be pretty hard to apply this by hand, since it would be so fluid.

The article claims that egg has the ability to clear pores of blackheads and firm up the skin. I haven't used it, because I have problems with tight skin as it is, but it seems like a great thing for people with oily skin to try.

DylanB

@seag47 – I am also wary of using a lot of honey in a face mask. You can use the lemon juice from the recipe to make a different kind of mask that will give you the same results, though.

One of the best homemade face masks I have ever tried uses lemon juice, oatmeal, olive oil, and an egg white. The lemon juice does a deep cleaning and clears out your pores, and the oatmeal helps it along. The olive oil moisturizes your skin, and the egg white gives you a temporary face lift.

You can get all of this without adding any honey. Nothing in this mask recipe is sticky enough to mess up your hair.

seag47

Natural homemade face masks sound like a great idea. I have never made one before, but I have noticed that even most masks that you can buy in stores contain several types of natural ingredients.

I do wonder about the honey and lemon mask, though. Has anyone here ever used one? It seems like it would be incredibly sticky and hard to wash off!

What if you get some in your hair? Will shampoo wash it out, or will you have to cut it out?

I don't want to use anything that might result in me having to get a haircut. I do want to give my face a brighter look, though.

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    • Yogurt can be used to make a face mask.
      Yogurt can be used to make a face mask.
    • Cornmeal can exfoliate skin.
      Cornmeal can exfoliate skin.
    • Honey can be used in facial masks to relieve dry skin.
      By: Jaimie Duplass
      Honey can be used in facial masks to relieve dry skin.
    • Bananas can be used to make a homemade face mask.
      By: Nikolai Sorokin
      Bananas can be used to make a homemade face mask.
    • Aloe vera is a common ingredient in masks designed to relieve inflammation.
      By: cedrov
      Aloe vera is a common ingredient in masks designed to relieve inflammation.
    • Avocados can be used in a face mask.
      By: Richard Villalon
      Avocados can be used in a face mask.
    • Face masks are used to hydrate the face.
      By: Warren Goldswain
      Face masks are used to hydrate the face.
    • Under-eye puffiness can be treated with hemorrhoid cream.
      By: Angel_a
      Under-eye puffiness can be treated with hemorrhoid cream.
    • A homemade face mask can be made with oats.
      By: eAlisa
      A homemade face mask can be made with oats.
    • Sugar is a natural exfoliant that is often used in homemade face masks.
      By: bit24
      Sugar is a natural exfoliant that is often used in homemade face masks.
    • Cucumbers are often used in cleansing masks due to their powers of hydration.
      By: food pictures studio
      Cucumbers are often used in cleansing masks due to their powers of hydration.
    • Avocado is intensely moisurizing.
      By: LanaK
      Avocado is intensely moisurizing.