spa

9 DIY Beauty Masks Made From Food

Andrea Cannon — Fri, 17 Jul 2015 11:00:09 +0000

Did you know that making DIY face masks at home will save you money, time, perfect your skin, and give you that spa experience at home? If you just don't feel like splurging on a facial, these masks can give you instant, noticeable results, without ever having to step foot outside of your home. And by using items you already have in your kitchen, you won't have to spend a dime either.

Whenever possible, try using organic ingredients for the best results and to avoid the risk of negative side effects from pesticides or chemicals. Below are simple recipes for DIY masks that can perfect your skin and help you clean out your fridge and pantry at the same time. Best of all, you won't have to spend any of your hard-earned money at the spa.

1. Lemon

Lemon can rejuvenate and balance the skin, leaving you with a natural glow. It also has antibacterial and antifungal properties and can brighten the skin with regular use. To take your lemon mask one step further, check out the recipes below.

Lemon and Baking Soda Mask

Baking soda can serve as a powerful microdermabrasion and leave you with healthy, radiant, glowing skin. This mask is also ideal for acne-prone skin and can fight breakouts, blackheads, and enlarged pores all at once.

½ lemon
2 T baking soda

Cut a lemon in half. Sprinkle baking soda over the sliced lemon half. Gently rub the lemon half over your face, in circular motions, avoiding your eyes. After about 10 minutes, wash your face thoroughly and pat dry with a clean towel. If you prefer, you can also mix the lemon juice and baking soda separately to form a paste, which you can then apply directly to your skin.

Lemon and Honey Mask

This mask is also ideal for acne-prone skin and can fight breakouts, blackheads, enlarged pores, and acne scarring, all at once.

½ lemon
1 T honey

Cut a lemon in half. Pour honey over the sliced lemon half. Gently rub the lemon half over your face, avoiding your eyes, in circular motions. After about 10 minutes, wash your face thoroughly and pat dry with a clean towel. If you prefer, you can also mix the lemon juice and honey separately, which you can then apply directly to your skin.

2. Eggs

Using eggs in a facial mask can be off-putting for some people, but egg whites can help tighten the skin and reduce pore size, so most people agree that the results are worth it. Some DIY recipes call for eggs, while others call for only egg whites, so whatever you have will work. To get more from your extra eggs, check out these recipes.

Egg Whites and Berries Mask

Berries can fight free radicals, so your skin will appear brighter, smoother, and more radiant after using this mask. This mask is also loaded with antioxidants and will leave your skin looking brighter and tighter.

¼ cup frozen berries
1 T egg whites

Mash berries and egg whites together. Apply to entire face, avoiding the eyes. Leave on for about five minutes. Wash your face thoroughly and pat dry with a clean towel.

Eggs and Coffee Grounds Mask

Don't throw out your old coffee grounds. Instead, mix them with a whole egg to preserve and renew your skin with protein and nutrients. If you don't like the idea of using eggs, simply substitute a tablespoon of raw honey for the egg.

1 whole egg
1 T fine coffee grounds

Combine the egg with the coffee grounds. Gently massage the mask onto your face, in circular motions, avoiding your eyes. This will gently exfoliate your skin and remove dead cells off the surface. Leave on for about five minutes. Wash your face thoroughly and pat dry with a clean towel. If you still have coffee grounds left over, use them to scrub your body in the shower. Studies have shown that the caffeine in coffee grounds can fight the appearance of cellulite, while the grounds themselves are an effective exfoliator.

3. Honey

Honey is incredibly nourishing for the skin. Raw honey can moisturize the skin, as well as fight acne, the signs of aging, and oily complexion. You can slather honey directly on your face and after five to 10 minutes, rinse thoroughly with warm water and pat dry with a clean towel to produce noticeable results. To take your honey mask one step further, check out the recipes below.

Honey and Oatmeal Mask

By adding oatmeal to your mask, you can soothe dry or irritated skin. Oatmeal can gently exfoliate the skin and has also been effective at healing acne, dealing with excess oil, and unclogging the pores.

1 T powdered oats
1 T raw honey

Combine the powdered oats and raw honey. Apply to entire face, avoiding the eyes. After five to 10 minutes, rinse thoroughly with warm water and pat dry with a clean towel.

Honey and Avocado Mask

Avocado is incredibly moisturizing, so it is ideal for dry or irritated skin. If you do not have any honey on hand, simply smash up a ripe avocado and apply it directly to your skin.

1 ripe avocado
1 T raw honey

Stir together until well combined and apply a thick layer to the entire face or any area prone to breakouts, avoiding the eyes. Let sit for 20 minutes and rinse with warm water.

4. Yogurt and Whole Milk

Yogurt is a great base for a number of DIY masks. The cool, creamy texture feels good on the skin and won't slip off while you're wearing the mask. It is also incredibly moisturizing, antibacterial, and contains helpful lactic acid.

Honey, Yogurt, and Banana Mask

This mask can fight acne, unclog the pores, and add moisture to the skin. Bananas can also assist in the anti-aging process, but if you don't have a banana, you can omit it from the recipe. Honey and yogurt work very well on their own to fight acne and perfect the texture and appearance of the skin.

¼ cup plain Greek yogurt
½ T honey
1 overripe banana

Stir together until well combined and apply to entire face, avoiding the eyes. After about five to 10 minutes, rinse thoroughly with warm water and pat dry with a clean towel.

Whole Milk and Green Tea Mask

This mask can fight redness and leave your skin glowing. It is also packed with antioxidants and can improve both the health and appearance of your skin.

1 T green tea
1 T cold whole milk

Combine and refrigerate to create a cool compress that you can apply to any facial redness using a cotton ball. To get even more from your mask, place the used tea bags on your eyes to reduce any eye redness and puffiness. After five minutes, remove the tea bags from your eyes, wash your face, and pat dry with a clean towel.

5. Hot Oils

Many different oils can work for a hot oil mask, but most people find that they get the best results from using either extra virgin olive oil or pure coconut oil.

¼ cup oil

Microwave oil for about 20–30 seconds until it is hot, but not scalding and apply for five minutes. Rinse your face thoroughly and pat dry with a clean towel.

Enjoy your bright, beautiful, glowing skin, and feel good knowing that none of those extra ingredients in your kitchen went to waste!

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This article is from Andrea Cannon of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Save $100 on Your Next Spa Visit by Buying Cold Medicine

Linsey Knerl — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 21:10:51 +0000

We’ve been hearing a lot about how you can save money by shopping at Walgreens lately. Their recent free ink refill promotion and their always popular rebates have been making them a great place for frugal shoppers to visit. Walgreens is again offering a unique and potentially very valuable rebate, when you purchase from a select list of Wyeth items, that can be used on spa services!

Here are the details:

Visit WalgreensSpaRewards.com for a full list of eligible items that must be purchased at a Walgreens store in the SAME transaction. (Centrum, Advil, and Dimetapp are just a few.)

For every 2 items you buy, you are eligible for a $50 reward. For every 4 items you buy, you are eligible for a $100 reward.

Be sure to pick up the Walgreens Easy Saver Rebate form at your local Walgreens. This contains the submission form you will mail in with your receipt. If your store is out, ask a manager for an additional form, or visit the Walgreens website to download and print a copy.

Follow the directions carefully for rebate submission.Include your receipt with your form and mail to the address of the form.(I suggest making a copy for your records just in case.)

You have until November 24, 2007 to make your purchases. You will receive your rebate in the form of a SpaRewards rebate to be used on your next spa service purchase. When you get your certificate, call the number on the certificate to find a participating spa near you. (You can also visit the WalgreensSpaRewards website to be sure there is one near you before participating.) There is a maximum of one $100 certificate per visit. Certificates are good until March 1, 2008 so these would make great Holiday Gifts!

[NOTE: Calls to the SpaRewards 1-800 number have given some additional information on this offer. Products purchased must be full sized, and the Robitussin items cannot include cough drops. Also, one customer service rep is quoted as saying that if your spa service is costs less than the value of the certificate, it will be free (subject to tax and tip.)]

No matter how you slice it, this is a great rebate for simply stocking up on a few seasonal OTC items. Happy pampering!

This article is from Linsey Knerl of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Stop Skin Cancer at the Spa

Andrea Karim — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 23:20:26 +0000

By way of More magazine, the premier magazine for women over 40, comes exciting news that a trip to your favorite medispa could actually prevent skin cancer!

You already know how important it is to wear sunscreen, and to do all you can not to damage your lovely epidermis, but it turns out that once some of the damage has been done, you can still help to prevent skin cancer with something as simple as a chemical peel.

According to reserachers at Stanford University, actinic keratoses (spots on the skin caused by sun exposure) are so common in adults that your average over-40 adult has 8 of them! Actinic keratoses are essentially precancerous lesions, and you can have them removed through expensive laser treatments at your dermatologist. But it turns out that using a chemical peel, such as a five-percent fluorouracil at-home cream, are equally adept at removing the blemishes, and thus reducing your risk for skin cancer.

In a study at Stanford University, researchers gave 24 patients with the spots a five-percent fluorouracil at-home cream, a chemical peel, or laser skin resurfacing. All three worked equally well to remove the precancerous lesions, getting rid of about 90 percent of them.

So, for roughly $100, you can do the same amount of good that a very expensive laser resurfacing treatment would. You're not only saving money, but reducing recovery time, and saving yourself a lot of pain (some of the pricier procedures hurt like hell).

This article is from Andrea Karim of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread: