Homemade Skin Care Recipes

Lovely fun recipes for make-it-yourself  face masks

WHEN you have a facelift, the surgeon gives you a younger face. Your skin is smoother tauter, firmer. Lines and little wrinkles are ironed out your complexion has a new bloom and clarity.

It is an expensive and fairly drastic process mainly for women who really need it to lift sagging skin and remove deep lines and wrinkles. However, the same sort of benefits – finer-textured skin, smoother and firmer skin tone – can be obtained on a temporary basis, with the aid of a good face mask.

There is very little cost involved, it is safe and quick and pleasant, and you can do it yourself at home

An important point to remember: face masks are not strictly for older women Teenage skin often cries out for the really thorough cleansing and toning that only a suitable face mask can provide. The type of mask you use, and the frequency with which you use it, are the deciding factors. Not your age.

There are several types of face masks based on various ingredients. They can take one of many forms — clay, gel, cream or liquid The task each mask performs depends entirely upon what goes into its make-up.

clay-type face masks

As a general rule clay-type face masks are spread thickly on the skin’s surface and tighten as they dry. They absorb excess oils and dirt from the skin tighten pores and help stimulate circulation. The tightening effect can be a little drastic and uncomfortable for those with sensitive skins or dry skins, and greasy, coarse-textured complexions are best treated with such masks.

Gel masks

Gel masks are just what they sound like – clear runny, usually pastel-tinted concoctions you spread evenly over a clean skin and allow to dry. Most gel masks take a drying time of 10 to 20 minutes, and are peeled off the face in one piece rather like rolling off a second skin. Always peel masks off starting from the chin and lifting upwards. Do this carefully and you will also lift out dead cells, skin soil and even fine facial hairs and small blackheads.

Gel masks can suit anything from normal to dry and combination skins but they haven’t the oil-blotting properties of clay masks They cannot be prepared at home and are best bought m handy one-application tubes, or in bottles with their own built-in applicator brush.

Cream-type face masks

Cream-type face masks generally suit dry and weather-beaten or older skins; they are the consistency of thick, whipped cream. They feed skin cells provide necessary emollients and moisture, and bring back bloom and softness. As they often contain oils and other rich ingredients, they are unsuitable for greasy young skins. Sluice this sort of face mask off or follow any specific directions for removing, then blot skin dry.

LIQUIDS and lotions that spread on the face with a brush, spatula or your fingers can range from fruit-based preparations for general toning and cleansing to milk-based masks for skin refining. These are normally sluiced off with warm water after a period of 10 to 20 minutes. Because of the variety of their basic ingredients, these masks can be tailored to suit an equally wide range of skin types and conditions.

There are other masks of course, such as foam masks in special aerosol cans and “exercise” masks that develop into a sticky consistency on your skin and provide a pull-and-stretch action to exercise your facial muscles. But these are specialized masks and you cannot duplicate them at home. They are also best suited to more mature skins.

One important rule to remember with all face masks is, follow directions Whether you are using a cosmetic preparation or putting together your own face mask in the kitchen always do as instructed on the tube or bottle, or in the recipe you are following That way you can be sure your skin will be better not worse, from the treatment.

Few ground rules

First step
There are a few ground rules to observe before and after a face mask. The first – start with clean skin Remove every scrap of make-up and eye make-up using a cleanser, followed by a toner or astringent.

Second step
If your skin is normal to dry, smooth on a very light film of moisturizer before you apply the mask. You can dispense with this step if your skin is greasy.

Third step

Third step is to secure your hair off your face, using a headband or scarf. And have a place to sit or lie down while your mask dries. If you are using the gel-or clay-type mask you must avoid facial expressions or speaking because this will stretch the mask and prevent it doing its proper work.

KEEP masks away from areas like eyes and mouth. The skin here is finer, more prone to being stretched or damaged Apply your face mask over forehead, nose, cheeks temples, chin and neck (don’t forget this part – the skin here is often very neglected and it needs just as much care as your face or it can look very much older). Keep clear of your eyebrows too, or you may find yourself losing part of them when you peel your mask off  later!

Finally, when you remove your face mask, be sure to smooth on a film of moisturizer over your face and neck. This is a vital final step and must never be neglected. Try not to apply make-up afterwards, and allow the skin to “breathe” for several hours. You will probably find it most convenient to set aside one night a week for your facial when you can simply go to bed with moisturizer on and give your skin a real treat.

Here now are some recipes for home-made masks you might want to try:

Do match the mask to your particular skin type, and if you have combination skin with a very oily center panel and very dry cheeks, you can use two different facial preparations – a mask for dry skin on the dry areas, another for oily skins on the center panel only This will help balance both areas while doing the necessary cleansing and toning which your skin needs.