Home Facials

by Valerie Gladstone — May 4, 2007

Until recently, I always bought exfoliating scrubs and masks at my drug or department store, never finding any that seemed any better than the one before. So I decided it might not be a bad idea to see what I could concoct myself, depending only on ingredients that I could get at the grocery store and/or health food store, to determine if there was a noticeable difference. I wasn't under any illusion that they would be safer because they were "natural," but I thought they might be better, and I knew they would be cheaper.

People have been misled into thinking “natural” indicates good and safe and that preservatives are always bad. In fact, there are many “natural” poisons and preservatives in cosmetics that actually make them safer to use. That doesn’t mean someone with sensitive skin might not have a bad reaction to the preservatives in a cosmetic. But generally preservatives kill or at least inhibit the bacteria, mold, viruses, and other nasty things that might otherwise thrive in our cosmetics. Commercial preparations usually contain some preservative to make these products safe for use. You can also find very high-end cosmetic formulations that are packed in sterile capsules to do away with, or at least minimize, the need for preservatives.

Even if you make your facial products for immediate use, you have to be careful about using only the freshest ingredients. A moldy fruit or anything that is spoiled can lead to disastrous results on your skin. For instance, using lemon for acne. Lemon juice is highly acidic, at pH 2 (sulphuric acid is pH 1), and can cause a nasty acid burn if you’re not careful. You can also get an acid burn from rubbing cucumber over a sunburn. Though cucumber is soothing, it also contains Alpha Hydroxy acids, as do most fruits and some of the other ingredients used in homemade beauty recipes.

You have to keep in mind that the exact chemical makeup of the ingredients you use may vary, leading to unpleasant results if you’re not careful. Every time you make any facial mask, test it on the inside of your wrist first, before you apply the mask to your face.

Given all these variables, I decided to keep it simple. All the following recipes for masks worked just as well as any I have bought, and left my face feeling cleaner and looking brighter. I did try a fresh strawberry mask and it made no difference--maybe because the strawberries weren’t fresh enough. The only downside of these mixes is that they don’t keep. I’ll try more over the next months. Please let me know if you have any luck with them or any others.

Leave all these maks on your face 15 to 20 minutes, then rinse off.

For Dry Skin

Combine 1 egg yolk with 1 Tablespoon olive oil and 1 Tablespoon plain yogurt

For Oily Skin

Combine 1 Tablespoon lemon juice with 1/4-cup ground oatmeal and 1 Tablespoon yogurt (the oatmeal makes this a little less easy to apply)

For Normal Skin

Combine equal parts honey and yogurt

Terrific Exfoliating Masks

Combine baking soda and water (enough to make a paste that will adhere to skin)

Apply honey all over your face

Moisturizer

For dry skin: apply olive oil or sweet almond oil