15 Best DIY Homemade Masks to Get Healthy and Glowing Skin

2. Cocoa and Oatmeal mask

This combination and cocoa and oatmeal work really well as an exfoliating mask. Cocoa is something that we generally use to make mouth-watering desserts or cakes. Did you know that cocoa is also jam-packed with antioxidants and will help boost your skin to fight off free radical damage? Oatmeal, on the other hand, is a fantastic exfoliator and skin cleanser. The combination of cocoa and oatmeal for a mask can be used on both oily and dry skins alike, with a slight variant in each preparation. Let’s tackle dry skin first.

• 1 ½ tablespoon of coconut oil
• 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon of honey
• ½ a tablespoon of ground oatmeal

Preparation

• 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder and add into the bowl
• Add ½ tablespoon of oatmeal
• Then 1½ tablespoons of coconut oil and a tablespoon of honey

Application

• Mix all the ingredients together into a paste
• Wash and dry your face
• Evenly apply a layer over your entire face avoiding your eyes
• Allow this mask to soak into your skin for about 15 to 20 minutes and then rinse your face well with lukewarm water. If you feel you need it, then you can add a light moisturizer to your skin.

Oily skin

• 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder, which is rich in antioxidants
• 1 tablespoon of honey – great (antibacterial and helps prevent pimple and acne breakouts
• ½ tablespoon Gram flour – for exfoliation and will absorb excess facial oil
• 1½ tablespoon Yogurt – a great cleanser and helps tighten up your pores

Prepare and apply the same as above – remembering to avoid your eyes. You can use this mask at least twice a week for fantastic results.

3. Baking soda and Olive Oil Mask

Olive Oil is an incredibly healthy fatty acid that is packed with antioxidants. This oil can really penetrate deeply into your skin and help reverse skin damage on a real cellular level. This deep penetration and cell repair will help reduce the fine lines and wrinkles you may have. It will also greatly improve your complexion. Baking soda, on the other hand, is a wonderful defoliant.

This mask recipe will also need honey – the world’s best bacterial fighter. If you want a bit of a collagen boost at the same time you can simply add an egg yolk.

What you will need:

• 1 egg yolk (this will improve your skin’s elasticity)
• 1 tablespoon of natural honey (our antibacterial ingredient)
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil (helps to prevent premature skin aging)
• 2 tablespoons of baking soda

Add the ingredients to a small bowl and mix fairly vigorously as you want the egg to be completely whisked. When you have a paste you are ready for the application process. Apply gently and evenly onto your face using a soft brush (if you don’t have one then just use your fingers). Avoid sensitive areas like your eyes. You can also apply this mask to your neck area as well.

You can leave this mask on for about 15 to 20 minutes or until you feel the mask tightening on your skin. Then rinse off thoroughly using lukewarm water. Pat your skin dry after that. Once completely dry you can now apply your skin toner and a moisturizer. You can use this mask once a week and it will greatly assist in keeping your skin evenly toned and firm.

4. Natural Clay Masking

Smoke, exhaust fumes, make-up, adverse weather and unhealthy diets are literally stripping our skins of their natural glow. Many of us take vitamins to boost our immune systems but what are we doing to help our skin?

Clay is a natural earthly product and will certainly help our skin detox and allow our natural healthy glow to return. If you think of the basics of what clay does. Simply put it sucks up everything around it. Now imagine that clay on your face sucking out all your skin’s impurities. The combination of the clay and these other ingredients will help rebalance your skin’s pH levels as well.

What you will need:

• 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar – this will help restore your pH levels
• 2 drops of lavender oil – lavender acts as a soothing agent for our skin
• 2 drops of tea tree oil – this is a wonderful antibacterial agent
• Clay – it’s called earth clay and most health stores will have it for sale

Using a small bowl, start by adding the 2 tablespoons of clay. Then add in the 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and then the 2 drops of lavender oil and the 2 drops of tea tree oil. It’s best to use a wooden spoon here to mix this all up into a paste.

Apply the paste evenly over your face and neck, but not your eyes. Allow the paste to dry completely. This is usually about 20 minutes or so. When dry use a warm and damp cloth to wipe off the mask. Rinse your face thoroughly with water afterward and pat dry. When your skin is dry gently apply moisturizer. You can use this detox mask at least once a week.

5. Egging it up

Aside from tasting yummy did you know that eggs are a great source of proteins and will help your skin’s elasticity? Egg whites are a great way to shrink your facial pores and this helps reduce things like those nasty black or whiteheads. An egg mask will need some honey added to it as this will help keep your skin hydrated. Then you also need to add a bit of lemon which is a natural lightening agent that will improve the tone of your skin.

So you need the following:

• A small bowl
• ½ a tablespoon of honey
• ½ a tablespoon of lemon juice
• 1 egg white

Add the single egg yolk into your bowl and then add ½ tablespoon of lemon juice and ½ tablespoon of honey. Use a hand blender to mix it up into the white firm foam. If you don’t have a blender you can just use a fork to mix it. It’s a bit more work. But see it this way – your arm is getting a work out too.

Once you have it all whisked up you are now ready to apply it to your skin. Before you start applying the mask make sure you have washed your face and patted it dry with a towel. Evenly apply the mask to your face and neck and make sure to avoid your eyes.

Leave the mask to dry on your face. Rinse off with slightly warm water thoroughly and pat your skin dry. After this apply a light moisturizer. This is a great weekly regime you can get into and it will allow your face and neck skin to be firm and healthy looking.

6. Coffee and a Coconut facial scrub

Not only do coffee and coconut smell great the two together form the most incredible exfoliation scrub for your skin. Have you ever noticed how the smell of freshly brewed coffee always makes you feel happy – even if you don’t drink coffee? Well, this scrub will not only leave your skin glowing but will lift your mood too.

Coconut oil is an incredible skin healer and protector and also provides great hydration for your skin. Coffee is packed with and highly rich in antioxidants and will help to fight off those nasty free radicals that cause damage to our skin. The caffeine content will allow an increase in blood flow to your face and will give your skin a natural healthy glow. Please use ground coffee and not instant coffee.

What you will need for this scrub

• 2 tablespoons of virgin coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon of honey
• 3 tablespoons of coffee
• A small bowl to mix the ingredients in

Add the 3 tablespoons of ground coffee to your bowl. Then add the teaspoon of honey, followed by the 2 tablespoons of virgin coconut oil. Gently blend and mix them all together until you have a paste.

Using your fingers apply the facial scrub to your face making circular motions. Remember you are now scrubbing your skin. Once you have circulated your entire face and neck area with your scrub leave it on then for about 15 minutes to now act as a facial mask. You will note a slightly textured feeling to the paste. After 15 minutes wash the paste off your face and dry then apply a light moisturizer to both your face and neck.

7. A Green Tea facial mask

A Green Tea face mask is particularly good for you if you have generally oily skin. The use of this tea as a mask will greatly reduce that “shine” that we don’t like others to see. This will give you that healthy glow you want to see on your skin.

Green Tea is not just great to drink but to use on your skin as well. It has a very high count of antioxidants – which works and helps as a natural go-between to help in the reversal of damage to your skin (and your hair). These antioxidants also have an astringent property which helps to reduce the size of your facial pores. By adding rice flour to this mask mixture you then also have an exfoliator and natural skin-lightening elements in your mask.

What you will need:

• 2 teaspoons of brewed green tea
• 2 tablespoons of rice flour
• 1 teaspoon of lemon juice

Take a small bowl and add in the 2 tablespoons of rice flour first and then add in the 2 teaspoons of green tea and the 1 teaspoon of lemon juice. Blend them all together into a paste.

When your paste is ready to apply it evenly over your face, remembering to avoid your eyes. Also, apply to your neck area. Now sit back, close your eyes and just relax for about 20 minutes and let your mask do its thing. Putting on some gentle and relaxing music will also help. Maybe find some sea sounds and play that for 20 minutes. After 20 odd minutes, gently wash the mask off your face and pat it dry. Apply a light moisturizer. This mask you can do this at least twice a week.

8. Gram Flour and an Aloe Vera Mask

For those who don’t know what Gram Flour is – simply put it’s chickpea flour. If your skin is prone or plagued with pimples or even aches then this is a really good mask for you. Aloe Vera is tightly packed with an abundance of anti-inflammatory agents as well as antibacterial agents. Aloe Vera is a serious contender when it comes to fighting off bacteria on your skin.

Gram flour is a wonderful absorbent and will absorb all the excess sebum in your skin, whilst also being a great exfoliator. This mask also makes use of olive oil. Olive oil will help nourish your skin, but not make it oily. It will also act as a natural soother for your skin.

Ingredients for your mask

• 2 tablespoons of Rosewater
• 1 teaspoon of Olive oil
• 1 teaspoon of Aloe Vera gel
• 2 tablespoons of Gram flour (chickpea flour)

Using a small bowl slowly mix together all the ingredients, starting with the Gram flour first and then the olive oil, followed by the Aloe Vera gel. Mix them gently together and then add the 2 tablespoons of Rosewater. You will now have a well-mixed paste that also smells really nice.

When the paste is completely smooth apply gently and evenly over your face (avoiding your eyes) and neck area. If however, you don’t want to cover your entire face and neck area, you can simply just apply on the areas where you have pimples or acne. Leave the mask on for about 15 to 20 minutes. Once it feels dry wet your fingers and gently massages your face, slowly wetting it more and more as you go. Rinse off completely with cold water.

9. A citrus face mask

Usually, when we eat oranges we throw away the peels. But dried orange peels ground down in a blender will do wonders for your skin as it not only lightens the skin but makes it look so healthy. If you don’t have dried orange peels then most health stores will sell orange peel flour.

Orange peels are rich in vitamin C and packed with antioxidants. This combination will infuse your skin with a healthy boost of vitamins whilst simultaneously preventing it from being damaged by free radicals like harmful UV rays, smoke, smog, exhaust fumes to mention a few. Combing ground dry orange peels with gram flour (chickpea flour) will also balance out oily skins.

What you will need for your citrus mask:

• 1 tablespoon of water
• 1 teaspoon of ground and dried orange peel
• 1 tablespoon of chickpea flour (gram flour)
• A small bowl
• A teaspoon for mixing

Using a small bowl add in the dry and ground-up orange peel, followed by the tablespoon of gram flour (chickpea flour) and then finally add the 1 tablespoon of water. Mix well. This will soon turn into a thick paste which you can then evenly spread over your face (avoiding your eyes) and neck area.

Allow this to sit on your face for about five minutes and then gently rinse off with slightly warm water. Dry your skin on a soft towel and then apply a light moisturizer. This vitamin-infused mask with huge amounts of antioxidants used twice a week will not only boost your skin quality but will leave it with a natural glow and decrease the oiliness of your skin.

10. A blended Carrot, cucumber, and almond oil face mask

We have all been told that carrots help us see in the dark. Not really so sure about that one, but I do know that carrots are incredibly good for your skin and making a facial mask using carrots will certainly benefit your skin and leave you with that healthy skin glow. Carrots are high in vitamins A, D, and K, which together are powerful antioxidants. Whilst the beta-carotene locks in the moisture and allows for the renewal of skin cells.

Cucumbers have amazing skincare benefits as well. They are loaded with vitamin C and caffeic acid. Both of this help fight off and reduce inflammation or even irritated skin areas. Due to its high water content it also perfectly hydrates the skin. Olive oil is gentle and easily absorbs into the skin and dislodges dirt that hides in our pores. It is also high in vitamin A.

What you will need

• A small bowl
• 1 tablespoon of cucumber juice
• 1 tablespoon of carrot juice
• 10 drops of almond oil

Mix them all together into your bowl and stir until you have a mixed and smooth texture. Now using your fingers gently dip them into the mixture and slowly in circular motions move around your entire face and neck area. Take your time here and just enjoy the gentle massage. Usually 5 to 7 minutes will do the trick. Then find a comfy place to sit and relax for about 15 to 20 minutes and listen to some music, chat with a friend on the phone or just close your eyes and relax.

After 15 to 20 minutes you can gently wash the mask off your face using lukewarm water. Rinse properly and then pat dry on a soft towel. You will be amazed at how good your skin looks. You can do this mask at least once a week.

11. A Papaya facial mask

Papaya is also known as pawpaw or papaw and originates from the tropics of America; some believe they originate from southern Mexico and its neighbor Central America.

Fantastic to eat and makes the base of the most incredibly rejuvenating facial mask. The enzyme Papain which is found in papaya is a really good exfoliator that leaves your skin feeling rejuvenated, soft and elastic. If you don’t want to make up an entire facial mask, you could simply pulp the papaya and rub it into your skin and leave it on for a while. But you will add some extra benefit if you create a mask using honey and milk with it.

You will need the following:

• A small bowl
• 2 tablespoons of milk
• ½ a cup of papaya cut into really small pieces

Add the papaya pieces to the bowl. Then using a fork mush and mash them up. Then add in your two tablespoons of milk and mix into a pulp. Finally, add your 1 tablespoon of honey and blend well into a paste.

Apply evenly over your facial area, making sure to avoid your eyes. Also spread over your neck area. You can either use a soft small brush or use your fingers. Once you have spread the paste evenly over your face just sit back and relax for about 20 to 25 minutes and let the papaya work its magic on your skin. If you use this vitamin-enriched papaya mask once or twice a week it will keep your skin beautifully hydrated and leave you with that healthy skin glow you desire. Who knew that papaya was not only great tasting but could be used as a mask?

12. Avo and Honey face mask

Avo or avocado is not just a wonderfully tasty snack or topping for a pizza or as part of a great salad mix. But it is also incredibly good for your skin, and completion and adds that healthy glow that we all want to our faces.

If you use a combination of avocado with honey it will help to hydrate and smooth your skin and neck. Avocados are rich in healthy fatty acids, vitamins, and power-packed with antioxidants. Honey, on the other hand, has amazing skin-saving properties. It’s a natural antibacterial, so it is great for pimples or acne skin. When it comes to aging skin, honey is a great “brake” as it slows the entire process down. It also works well as a complexion booster and is both nourishing and soothing to your skin.

So what will you need to make an avocado mask?

• A small bowl
• 4 tablespoons of natural Honey
• 1 ripe Avocado (even an overripe one will do – don’t throw it out – throw it on your face and neck I say.

Cut open the avocado and scoop out the contents (throwing the pip away) into a small ball. Then take a fork and mash them into a smooth pulp. Once you have done this add your 4 tablespoons of natural honey. Blend well until you have a smooth paste-like consistency. If you have more than one overripe Avo then use that too and double up on the amount of honey. What you have left over can be placed in a jar, sealed and kept in the fridge for you to use later in the week.

Using your fingers gently apply the paste to your neck and face, remember to avoid your eyes. Gently massage the paste into your skin. You will already feel the soothing begin as you gently do this. Leave the avocado and honey mask on your face for about 20 minutes. During these twenty minutes just relax and read a few pages of your book or close your eyes and listen to music. After 20 minutes, gently wash your face with warmish water, towel dry and look in the mirror and smile. You can repeat this mask treatment at least twice a week.

13. Banana face mask

Bananas are known as “a meal in a peel” but now it has now been discovered that bananas also make the most astounding face mask. Bananas are packed with potassium, moisture, vitamins A and C. All of these promote clear and healthy skin. Not only does it serve as an incredibly natural and healthy moisturizer that serves to completely hydrate your skin, but it also leaves it soft and silky smooth to the touch.

What you will need

• A small bowl
• A ripe or even overripe banana
• A fork

Peel the skin off the banana and break it into pieces into your bowl. Take your fork and gently mash the banana into a mushy pulp. That’s it. Using your fingers to scoop out some of the pulp from the bowl gently start massaging it into your neck and face. Try avoiding your eyes, please. When things get into your eyes they burn. This is supposed to be a relaxing and healthy treat for you.

Once you have completely covered your face and neck. Sit down. Put your feet up. Close your eyes and just be still for a while. If you cannot sit in silence for twenty minutes – that’s how long you need to leave the banana mask on your face. They go make a cup of tea or take a walk around the garden.

After 20 minutes, gently and with slightly warm water rinse the banana mask off your face. Then gently pat dry your face with a soft towel. Your skin will be clean, glowing and silky smooth and so soft to the touch. You can do this banana mask at least once or twice a week.

14. Cucumber, Honey and Yogurt facial mask

If you have really dry skin or have been out in the sun and outdoors for a while, you will have been exposed to moisture-sapping UV rays and all those other awful free radicals like smog, smoke and exhaust fumes. Your skin is going to feel like it was dragged through the desert on a blistering hot day. If you want a mask that will hydrate and literally bring the life and luster back to your skin then a cucumber, honey and yogurt mask will do the trick.

What you will need

• 1 tablespoon of plain yogurt
• 1 tablespoon of honey
• 1 teaspoon of pureed cucumber (it’s like a slice or two that you just quickly toss into your blender – if you don’t have one, just mush it up with a fork.
• A small bowl

Peel the cucumber pieces and slice them into small pieces. Put these in the blender or just mush them up with a fork. Then stir in the tablespoon of honey followed by the tablespoon of yogurt. Now I know this sounds super delicious. It is not for eating but for smoothing your skin.

Once you have your mixture all blended. Gently apply to your neck and face and avoid your eyes, please. Allow the mask to dry completely (it usually dries in about 10 to 15 minutes). Once dry. Gently wash off with slightly warmish water. Gently dry your face with a soft towel. Stand back and look at the difference in your skin. It’s glowing and has been completely hydrated and moisture restored to it. This is a really easy mask to make at least once or twice a week. It will keep your skin moist and supple and look good.

15. Salt and honey facial scrub

Whilst this is theoretically not a face mask, but more of a facial scrub I am going to share it with you. If you leave it on your face for a few minutes it goes from a scrub to a facial mask.

The really cool thing about this facial scrub/mask is that you can make a fair amount of it at a time and share it as gifts with your friends and family. Whilst the two ingredients are so simple, please do not be fooled by its simplicity. They both are really incredibly powerful skin enhancements.

Honey is a natural healer and is loaded with antioxidants. It’s a fantastic moisturizer and skin soother, and these are just a few of its benefits. You can do a quick online search and be amazed by how fantastic it really is. Salt, on the other hand, is an often ignored skin element. Have you ever noticed that when you have spent hours in the sea salt water your skin is never pruned or wrinkled? That’s because salt actually helps your skin retain its moisture. Salt is loaded with magnesium which helps reduce water retention (like bloating or puffiness) in your body.

What you will need

• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 cup salt
• For fragrance, you can add in a drop or four of essential oil

Add all the ingredients together and mix thoroughly. Apply evenly to your face and neck and gently massage in circular motions for about 5 minutes. Then leave for a further 5 minutes. Wash off thoroughly and dry your face. Just have a look at how radiant your skin looks.