Homemade Beauty

I absolutely love doing face masks! It's such a simple beauty ritual that we so often neglect. Whether it's because we think we don't have time or we don't have a mask at home, most of us skip out on the instant happiness booster that is the face mask. I'm going to share a few of my favorite recipes for masks and maybe you'll try one and make it a ritual of your own.

Sweet as Honey (adopted from Rezvan's recipe)

2 tablespoons honey (I prefer organic, clover honey)

1 tablespoon raw sugar

1 squeeze of juicy lemon (is that like a teaspoon?)

1 teaspoon olive oil

mix the ingredients together, wash your face with warm water to open up your pores, apply the mask in a circular scrubbing motion avoiding the eyes, relax for 10 minutes, scrub your face again and then rinse off with warm water

your face is going to feel ridiculously soft - it's incredible

do this mask once or twice a week; daily applications could irritate skin

benefits:

honey has natural antimicrobial properties

the sugar is used as an exfoliant

the ascorbic acid (vitamin C) in the lemon juice yields numerous benefits to the skin and your body. In this case it acts as a lightener (you seem to glow just a bit), an astringent, and an exfoliant

olive oil is a perfect hypoallergenic moisturizer that has been the beauty secret of women in the Mediterranean for centuries

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The Nevis Mask (adopted from Nidhi's recipe)

2 tablespoons gram flour

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 heaping tablespoon yogurt

wash your face with warm water, apply, relax

rinse off once the mask has fully dried and make sure not to move your face, i.e. talk/laugh because apparently you'll get wrinkles (I'm not sure if this is a myth or a fact but I'm not taking any chances!)

benefits:

gram flour or "besan" as it's known in India has been used in skin treatments for centuries; it cleanses and exfoliates

turmeric helps reduce the appearance of scars, sun damage, and hair growth - it also leaves your skin with a healthy glow due to it's rich golden pigment

yogurt calms and cools your skin and the lactic acid helps balance the pH of your skin as well as helping your skin retain the needed amount of water to stay supple and healthy

I call this the Nevis mask because back when I lived in Nevis, my roommate Nidhi and I would do this mask all the time and we loved it! I mostly used it because it visibly reduced the appearance of the sun spots I had acquired.

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Cucumber (family ritual)

this is the easiest mask, all it takes is one ingredient: a cucumber

you can either peel the cucumber and lay the peels on your skin flesh-side-down 

or you can simply rub the cucumber all over your face, including around your eyes and on your eyelids

benefits:

your skin will feel instantly tighter and more smooth; great for acne prone skin as well

cucumber juice is a natural astringent so it could be used as a mild toner 

you can apply this mask daily

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I hope you found these ideas helpful! Try them, I promise you'll fall in love with at least one.

boos!