Pure Ella

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beauty week : natural homemade masks and scrubs

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I am having so much fun with this beauty week, the green smoothies are great, the extra exercise is awesome, and I’m sleeping better – but this is by far the best and most fun tip this week!

I’ve put together several of my favourite homemade recipes for face, hands and feet. You can do most of these masks at home with all natural ingredients, most of them you probably already have in your fridge or pantry. I tried a few myself and LOVED the results. It is fun, kind of messy, kind of scary (for my daughter to see me in the papaya mask ;), but it is a wonderful little ‘spa’ treatment that you can do for yourself right at home for nothing extra. A little tlc goes a long way to revive your tired looking skin. I’m sure we all have some areas to work on from the long colder months. Now that we’re starting to show a little more skin, it is almost a priority to return the cry for help and take care of those beautiful body parts you’ve got there!

So what are you waiting for. Give these recipes a quick read and run to your kitchen. Maybe some of these you can do right now, and take a break and treat yourself ;)

FACE MASKS

PAPAYA FACE MASK – softening and revitalizing

  • 1/2 cup of cut up papaya
  • mush with a fork or blended with a hand held blender. Apply to face and leave for 10-15 minutes. Washed off with warm water and a soft scrubby brush.
  • (I loved this one. Your skin automatically gets revitalized – you feel it. It leaves the skin really soft and supple. Still feels great ;)

EGG WHITE – moisturizing and soothing

  • 1 egg white, separated from the yolk and placed in a bowl
  • 1 tablespoons of plain yogurt
  • Separate the egg white from the egg and place in a bowl. Add 1 tablespoons of yogurt (do not use flavored yogurt!). Mix them up and apply to face. Leave on face for a few minutes then rinse face in warm water, followed by a warm washcloth.

OATMEAL – cleansing and rejuvenating

  • 1 tbsp oatmeal, finely ground
  • 1 tbsp live, organic yogurt (skip the flavored stuff)
  • A few drops of honey
  • Add the yogurt to the oatmeal in a small bowl and mix together. Warm a few drop of honey. To do this, warm a spoon under hot water for a minute, then add a few drops of honey to the spoon. Stir the honey into the yogurt and oatmeal mixture. Apply the mask to the face. Leave it on for 10 minutes, then rinse off with several splashes of warm water. Follow with a warm washcloth. Apply moisturizer.

TURMERIC – natural skin brightener

  • Mix a tablespoon of turmeric powder
  • in 1 cup of plain yogurt.
  • Leave on for 5-10 minutes, then rinse off.

BANANA – for oily skin

  • 1/2 banana
  • 1 tsp honey
  • a few drops of juice from an orange or lemon
  • Mix ingredients. Apply to face for 15 minutes before rinsing with a cool washcloth or a steaming warm washcloth.

HAND & FOOT SCRUBS

COFFEE GRIND SCRUB – moisturizing and renewing

  • 3 tbsp of used coffee grinds (from coffee maker or french press)
  • 1 tbsp of olive oil
  • squeeze of lemon juice
  • Mix the ingredients and scrub all over hands or feet. Rinse under warm water with a mild soap.

BASIC BAKING SODA SCRUB – cleansing. perfect for everyday use.

  • 2 to 3 Tbsp. Baking soda
  • Small amount of water
  • Mix the ingredients into a paste. Using a circular motion, apply to face and gently scrub.

CORNMEAL SCRUB – renewing and softening

  • 2 to 3 Tbsp. Cornmeal
  • Small amount of water
  • Mix and apply in the same manner as baking soda scrub.

AZUKI BEAN SCRUB – Banish your blackheads. Especially effective for combination and oily skin types.

  • ½ cup dried azuki beans
  • Grind beans. (Having a small coffee grinder set aside specifically for beauty recipes is a wise idea).
  • Add a little water to the mixture and apply.

ALMOND SCRUB – To brighten and soften skin.

  • 1 tsp rosewater
  • 1/2 tsp almond flour or finely ground almonds.
  • Mix into paste and apply.

BANANA OATMEAL SCRUB – skin softening. A very finely textured, delicious-smelling scrub

  • 2 tsp mashed banana
  • 2 tsp rolled oats
  • 1 tsp milk
  • 1 tsp honey

HONEY SUGAR SCRUB – softening and renewing

  • 1 tsp. of honey
  • 1/2 tsp. of sugar (either cane or brown — both work well)
  • Blend in bowl. Apply. Scrub gently in a circular motion.
  • Rinse very thoroughly, as this recipe can be slightly sticky.

FOR SOFT LIPS

  • this great recipe for honey sugar scrub above is also wonderful to softy scrub into your lips to smooth and pamper them.

I’m getting hungry just writing these ingredients down ;)  These home made masks and scrubs are great for most skin types and are suitable for any part of the body actually. I’ve divided them up, but a nice textured sugar and honey scrub would be wonderful for the face as well. These are not only delicious, but also all natural – it’s hard to find good quality chemical free cosmetic products out there that are easy on the pockets too. These simple DIY recipes are easy to make and apply and cost you nothing more and will really work wonders for your skin. Trust me ;)

Comments

  2. just popping in to say i’ve been enjoying your posts this week! lovely things you share with us, ella.

  4. Just discovered your blog and I am loving it!! Great post…I am definitely going to try a few of these this weekend!

    • Thanks Lori ;)
      Yes it would be fun with more girls!
      We still have that in the plan ;)

  8. you are a mind reader. I’ve been thinking I have to find a good online guide to homemade skin care. Looks like I just found it! thanks :)