How to Make an Oatmeal, Honey and Yogurt Facial Mask

My daughter and I have a weekly beauty night where we do things such as paint our nails, use face masks and deep condition our hair. I formulated the following facial mask recipe because I wanted a natural product that would deep clean our faces without irritating our sensitive skin.

The following recipe is simple because it has few steps to follow, requires no cooking and calls for items that are commonly found in most kitchens. To make this facial mask you will need the following items: hot water, 1/4 cup ground oatmeal, 3 tablespoons of yogurt, and 2 tablespoons of honey.

Begin this project by grinding the oatmeal in a food processor or chopper. The more finely ground the oatmeal is the better it will work in the facial mask. Many expensive bath and beauty products, such as Aveeno milk bath, contain colloidal oatmeal. This wonderful stuff is great for skin, but in reality colloidal oatmeal is simply another term for oatmeal ground so fine that it floats on water. Grind the oatmeal for a minute or two. Sprinkle a little bit of the oatmeal in a small dish of water; if it floats it is ready for use in the face mask recipe.

Blend the oatmeal with 3/4 cup of hot water. Do not boil the water; hot water out of the tap will suffice. Allow a few minutes for the oatmeal and water to steep before adding the 3 tablespoons of yogurt. If you have allergies I suggest that you use plain yogurt. If you do not have any known fruit allergies you may like to try using strawberry yogurt. Make sure that the yogurt contains real strawberries and not just artificial flavors. The vitamin C in the strawberries will help tone and tighten your skin when used in the face mask. After adding your chosen yogurt stir the mixture until it is well blended.

Next add two tablespoons of runny honey to the mixture. Using runny honey makes it a lot easier to mix the face mask. If the honey you plan to use has crystallized just hold the bottle under hot running water for a minute or two to melt it. After you have added the honey stir the mixture until it is well blended.

I do not recommend adding any essential oils to the mix. They smell nice, but many essential oils can cause irritation to delicate facial skin. Now your mask is done and ready for use.

To use the mask first wash your face with warm water and pat it dry. If you would like you can further prepare your face to receive even more benefits from the scrub by soaking a washcloth in hot water (as hot as you can stand it). Then wring the cloth out and spread it over your face. The hot steam from the cloth will open your pores helping the mask penetrate your skin better.

After you have prepared your face smooth the mask onto your face until you have a thick layer. Take care to avoid your eye area. Allow the mask to stay on your face for 4 - 6 minutes. Then use a damp washcloth to rub the mask into your skin, using circular motions.

Rinse the mask off of your face with lukewarm water. After you have completely removed the mask splash cold water on to it, the colder the better. The cold water will help close your pores so you can keep dirt out longer.

Now pat your face dry with a wash cloth and you are finished. Your skin should feel smooth to the touch.