Looking for a top-class facial this summer ladies? There’s no need to be tipping the purse empty at a trendy spa when everything you need for a luxurious half an hour break is buried between the bags of spaghetti and tinned fruit in your cupboard at home.
A quiet room and a simple recipe should do the trick, we promise you’ll feel like a whole new woman afterwards.
Starting off simple, here are four of the finest face masks:
1. Honey, honey..
If it’s dry, dehydrated skin you suffer from, look no further than a jar of honey. Any type of honey will do. Gently apply the conserve to your face and leave for a few minutes. Rinse with warm water and pat dry. Ta-dahhh, glowing skin that would have any dewy-faced celeb jealous.
2. Olive Benefits
A waited-for dish never boils. Don’t we know ourselves. But now the awkward twenty minutes waiting for your pasta to cook can be filled with a one-of-a-kind facial experience, with the olive oil. Gently rub extra-virgin olive oil onto make-up free skin and rinse. Result.
3. Cool and Soothe
Unflavoured yoghurt is the perfect cure for toning any type of skin and, for us pale-faced beauties on those rare Irish sunny days, is an effective, cooling sunburn treatment. Apply a thin layer and let it sit for a few minutes. Rinse and pat dry. If it’s sunburn you’re looking to cure, apply aloe vera oil or cream afterwards to soothe.
4. Bigger and Better
If you’re looking at the kitchen cupboard with a bigger sense of adventure, try the following treatment. The oatmeal face mask, as well as being a fabulous bath soak, is the queen of all homemade facial treatments. Mix 3 tablespoons of herbs, 2/3 cups of boiling water and 1 tablespoon of ground oatmeal. Cool and strain the mixture. Lavender, basil and mint are recommended for all skin types while acne breakouts respond to thyme and rosemary. Parsley, lemon balm and fennel are good for dry skin and sage works well for oily skin. Apply to your face and relax for ten minutes. Who said we can’t have our own spa experience at home?
And…Don’t Forget to Take Care of Yourself
If you have medium to oily skin, do consider a post-face mask skin treatment. Apply lemon juice or apple cider vinegar to your skin with cotton wool. The acid in these juices will be in sync with the natural acid balance of your skin and will tighten up pores nicely. You can also get some benefit from rosemary steeped in a bit of warm water and rinsed on your skin. And it might smell a bit better too…enjoy!
