Photo by Juliane Huang
The Matador Life team test runs home-made beauty recipes. Candice tries to eat hers.
Would you call me crazy if I told you you can smooth your skin, clear your pores and soften your hair with only a few simple ingredients probably already found in your kitchen? Yogurt, honey, oatmeal and almonds. Yeah, you probably would. “That’s not beauty,” you might tell me. “That’s breakfast.”
You wouldn’t be the first.
Think of it this way: would you eat that honey almond mask you find at the pharmacy? What about the cucumber sugar scrub you just bought for thirty dollars or more at your local Body Products Galore Store? Then why would you put in on your skin?
And I’ve personally used each of these numerous times and have always been happier with the results than with any product I’ve bought.
Still not convinced? OK. To prove how beneficial these home-made products can be, I enlisted the help of the Matador Life team in testing out my favorite beauty concoctions.
All the ingredients necessary. Hungry yet?
Yogurt, Honey & Oatmeal Mask
Like it sounds. You mix plain yogurt, raw honey and rolled oatmeal together in a bowl until it’s a spreadable consistency. Put on your face and relax for about half an hour. Wash off. The oatmeal is best when slightly ground, but you still want a bit of texture to it.
This mixture is particularly good for dry and especially inflamed skin. Obviously this applies to slight inflammation. If you have a weeping rash, go to a doctor. This bit of breakfast cereal won’t help. If you have a bit of redness, though, oatmeal can soothe and smooth your skin. The yogurt tones and moisturizes while honey has gentle antibiotic properties.
The lovely Candice Walsh roped her roommate Renee into the process and had the following to say after applying this mask to her face.
Candice is ready to put oatmeal on her face.
It was ridiculously easy to make, more enjoyable with a teaspoon of honey to get started. A small amount of each is more than enough.
Renee — my roomie — and I spread it on our faces. The texture was weird for a facial, gritty, but the mixture was extremely cool and felt nice to apply. Both of us are redheads, so our skin has been through sheer hell with this Canadian winter. We’re very prone to dryness and irritation.
After 30 minutes, the facial starts to harden and become crusty, but not so that it becomes uncomfortable. Renee and I both agreed when we washed it off that our faces felt nice…really moisturized but without the greasiness.
You can modify this recipe to include finely ground almonds instead of oatmeal for a gentle scrub and extra moisturizing.
Avocado Skin Treatment For Dry Skin
As with all these treatments, they’re fantastically simple. Step one: Mash an avocado. Step two: Mix with a bit of plain yogurt and raw honey. Put on any body part you want to be more moist than it was before.
The inimitable Nick Rowlands roped his mother and brother into testing this mask. He provided us with ongoing commentary before and after they slathered this taco topping on various parts of their bodies.
Before:
Top: before; Bottom: after!
Nick: “OK. According to my editor, Leigh, this thing is great to put anywhere you want to feel more moist. How do you feel about that?”
Jamie: [Sniggers] “I’m all oily and greasy coz I’ve been working all day. Feel a bit of trepidation about putting avocado on my face because avocadoes are for eating. Not for putting on your face!”
Mum: “What a waste of a good avocado! I’m a bit apprehensive. I won’t like the gunginess of it.”
After:
Me: “So, how do you feel now?”
Mum: “I’m positively glowing, but it made my nose red.”
Jamie: “I’m gonna go home and watch the Sex and the City movie!”
Mum: “And I’m going to save some in a pot and do a face mask before Frances’ wedding.” [Frances is Nick's sister. She's getting married on Saturday.]
It concerns me, though, that anyone felt itchiness or tightness while wearing the mask. This should not happen with this or any other of these recipes. Also, it should not make your nose or any part of your face red. The ingredients are extremely gentle and if you feel any discomfort, wash it off immediately.
And of course, congratulations Frances and the Rowland family. I’m so glad my little avocado concoction could be part of the pre–wedding week. Oh, and Jamie, don’t blame my mask for your desire to watch Sex and the City. If you suddenly had the yen, that’s all you.
Herbal Facial Steam
This is my favorite. It’s relaxing and helps clean your face. Also, if you have a cold or allergies, it can help clear out your head a bit. You’ll find yourself sweating quite a bit with your head over the water. Again, nothing should hurt or burn.
Take any of the following plants, flowers or herbs: Chamomile, mint, calendula, basil, rosemary, lavender. Whatever you use should be dried. Boil water and pour over the herb(s) of your choice. Tent a towel over your head and let the steam and herbs from the bowl comfortably wash over your face for about ten minutes.
Chamomile will help dry an oily face but also works for nervous tension. Rosemary is a bit more drying and will also help with acne. Basil is good for overall relaxation. Mint stimulates. Lavender is gentle, helps with just about anything from stress to insect bites to rashes to really anything. Calendula is antibacterial and helps clear out pores. Mullein can help clear your sinuses.
Photo by: Mel B.
Oil & Sugar Body Scrub
Take any oil you want. Almond, sesame, peanut, cocoa and olive oil are heavier and better for dry skin. Grapeseed or sunflower oil are good for more sensitive or oilier skins.
Fill a bowl with about one cup of sugar. Then slowly add oil, mixing with a chopstick until you have a consistency you like. Some people like it looser and oilier, but you want it so that most of the oil is mixed in and not floating around. You can also add ground herbs or essential oils to this.
This is great to use in the shower. You rub the scrub slowly over your skin in the shower, then rinse off when you’re done. Careful not to slip. It is after all, oil.
Deep Conditioning Hair Mask
Heating the mixture in a hot water bath.
Take one egg and about 4 tablespoons of olive oil in a heat safe dish. Mix together well. Then heat.
Heat a pot with about 1 inch of water. Put the dish in and let the mixture heat up very gently, mixing the entire time. When it starts to emulsify or look more thick and cohesive, take it off the heat. It should still be comfortable to touch with your bare hands. You can also heat it in the microwave. Heat for 2-3 seconds. See if it’s warm. If not, try another 2 seconds. It happens very quickly.
Too hot and the egg begins to scramble. If that happens, just keep scrambling and put it on some good bread with cheese and a dash of hot sauce.
Assuming you don’t overcook, the next step is to slather the stuff all over your hair. Cover hair in a plastic bag. Cover plastic bag with a towel and sit and relax. My hair is extremely thick and dry, so I find I can’t leave this on for long enough. The more the better. If your hair is thinner, more oily, try for 15-30 minutes.
The fabulous Juliane Huang slapped this eggy mixture on her long strong locks e-mailed the results at the end:
Juliane has egg in her hair.
The hair mask was very easy to do, and my hair is feeling super soft and silky right now– success! I had heard about this mask years ago, but never got around to trying it. Plus didn’t know specific instructions so got really interested when you told me about it.
It totally smells like egg, though. I suppose because the mixture was heated, it brought out the egg smell more? The smell disappeared after I washed it out.
End result– soft, silky, and not limp! that’s usually my problem with conditioners; they tend to weigh down my hair and make it really flat and limp. This mask doesn’t do that AND still conditions!
Some last notes: It’s better to use raw honey and ingredients that are as unprocessed as possible and don’t contain any ingredients other than itself. So no flavored oatmeals, sugared yogurts or salted nuts.
So there you have it. Cheap easy methods you can take directly from your kitchen.
Thank you to Candice, Juliane and the Rowlands for being such good sports and for teaching me the word gungi.
COMMUNITY CONNECTION
Learn more about herbal remedies and other simple methods of keeping yourself healthy and relaxed both on the road and at home in Matador’s Travel Heath section. For more information about potential herbs to use, check out 10 HerbsTo Use For Common Ailments.
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16 Comments... join the discussion!
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I love the aspirin mask! I’ve read conflicting reports as to how effective it really is, but from personal experience, it makes my skin feel great so I keep using it. I’m interested in trying the baking soda one now too. Thanks for sharing!
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Absolutely! Salycilic acid is an ingredient often used in some really expensive brand astringents.I was shocked when I learned it was just a simple aspirin.
That said, I think with both baking soda and aspirin it’s good to test before using too much, because they can burn the skin if left on too long. But Ithat’s easily tempered by simply washing it off if you feel any tightness or burning.
You can also use baking soda to wash your hair. Then use apple cider vinegar after to neutralize the baking soda. I assume you could use the same principle with the baking soda face mask.
Thanks for the additional ideas!
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Great stuff! Olive oil works wonders, I’ve used it before in my hair. I simply couldn’t do the avocado one, however; I have to eat any avocado I see. It’s a rule of life.
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Agreed on the avocado!!
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I remember these recipes from when I was in high school. I tried some then and again in college. They were fun to try.
I don’t think that because you wouldn’t eat it you wouldn’t put it on your skin is an absolute rule. Product knowledge is important of course and there are good ways to save money, but a product isn’t always bad for you if you can’t eat it.↵ -
Hey Carolyn,
Of course you’re right. Not every single thing that’s not edible is bad for you. It’s really a bit of a joke based on a truth. Many products we use contain ingredients we absolutely shouldn’t ingest. They enter our bodies just as well through the skin as through the mouth.
But I also use ingredients like beeswax, clay and lanolin in other products I’ve made that are not really edible. But they won’t do any harm.
I also wanted to say thank you for all the comments you’ve been leaving on Life in general. You always have something insightful to add to the conversation.
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I’ll definitely use these recipes in the near future… Thanks!
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Alaina,
Would love to hear how they work for you!
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Sweeeet, more self pamperage. Nick, your family looks like a blast.
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I’ve been doing the herbal steams for years and can’t recommend them enough! I can’t wait to try the other recipes.
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Thanks, Leigh.
I recently reread Michael Pollen’s book “Second Nature” – published in 1991, I think it was-before he was the big name he is now. I ‘m a gardener and Mom gave me the book thinking it is about gardening. It’s more about how we have this paradigm thing going with Nature – and this reflects on the beauty news too – We love to look at, recreate in, wade in , smell wildflowers, but when it comes to our own little patch of grass or wishing for untamed grass by our house, uh oh – if the wrong plant or animal encroaches.
As with beauty products – I’m a Mary Kay consultant. I love the products and what they do for my ’seasoned” skin. Then again – I have tried a bunch , if not all of your suggestions years ago.
So – I live a half-life as Brooke Williams says about wilderness and living in a house with amenities – attempting to balance the wholesome and closer to the earth things with some tried and true products from a factory.Humor is always good.Sometimes I get too serious.
I do enjoy your articles and working on submitting some things myself and looking into MatadorU as well.
I’ve written lots of articles on different topics and also love learning about new ways of writing. With a later in life start for more creative writing I have to remember that Laura Ingalls Wilder didn’t write ” Little House on the Prairie” until she was 65!Here’s a laundry tip from the 18th century – after you wash your white linens – sheets especially – lay them out to dry in the sun on Pachysandra.
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Oooooh…loved it…yet another recipe for me to pamper myself with!
My packs vary every time, depending on the ingredients available. And has generally given me good results…i love teaching my soft cheeks after every pack!
I normally mash any ripe fruit that I have at hand ( papaya is yummy, banana, strawberries, whichever fruit pack you fancy), add some oatmeal or wholewheat flour, a dollop of honey, some plain yoghurt, some fresh cream or milk…and i’m set. In an exotic frame of mind, I’ve even added sandalwood powder and ground flaxseeds( flax moisturises!)
If in a hurry, just rub the papaya peel( the fruity side, not the peel-y one!) over your skin to squeaky-cleanse.
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I love how people are coming to comment with additional ingredients!
Papaya is great for the skin. Not just for softness, but apparently has anti-cancer properties as well. Same with mango. I think they’re also good for treating sun burnt skin (along with aloe).
Your post reminded me of something I read by Rosemary Gladstar (not sure if that’s her birth name). She writes a lot of books on herbal medicine which also include a lot of beauty products, and has a great cream recipe I’ve used many times. She says how her family was used to coming home to find her with all sorts of different foods on her face, whatever they had in the fridge that day.
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I really enjoyed this piece, Leigh!!! Absolutely loved the tried and tested photos – too funny!!!
) I’ve made the yoghurt, honey and oatmeal mask and it works wonders! Cucumbers are also great for the skin, especially for clearing and shrinking the pores – all you do is take the peel and rub your face with the inside. Or, you can squeeze the cucumber juice and use it as a tonic. Coconut or almond oil work great for body lotion – thay keep the moisture in and make the skin soft and smooth. Loving edible cosmetics!! 
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Yep. Coconut and almond are great. I think I mentioned Rosemary Gladstar’s cream recipe above. I didn’t include it in the article mainly bc you do need things from outside the kitchen. Unless you keep cocoa butter, beeswax and lanolin in your kitchen.
But it’s a great recipe also, because depending how you mix amounts, it can be a loose body cream to a salve or even a lipstick sort of thing.
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