Make It Yourself - Oatmeal Face mask

Hey guys!  Embracing the theme of 'no-buy October' I've decided to start a series on homemade beauty , exciting I know!  This is the first in the series and it's how to make an Oat Face mask.

Benefits of Oatmeal Face masks

Oatmeal contains 18 different amino acids, which is one of the reasons why it's such a popular ingredient in face masks.  It's suitable for people with sensitive skin, or even skin allergies.  When you add other ingredients to Oatmeal, it helps keep moisture in your skin too, and due to it's texture (quite coarse), it makes a great exfoliant.  As far as I'm concerned, all great reasons to give it a go :)

You'll need:
1 tablespoon of rolled oats,
1 tablespoon of organic natural live yoghurt,
a few drops (half teaspoon) honey (preferably runny, but if you don't have runny, any will do)

 You'll also need a bowl for mixing, a tablespoon for measuring, and a facecloth to wash the mask off.

How to make the mask

(You'll notice I changed my bowl, I opted for a smaller one) First of all, add the rolled oats and yoghurt to the bowl and mix.  When it's all mixed, add the honey (tip: if you're using set honey, soak the spoon in hot water first, it'll help to melt the honey) and mix until you can't see the honey any more.

Once it's all mixed, apply to the face.  You can do this however you prefer, either by using a foundation brush (generally better for smooth face masks), a spatula or your hands.  I used my hands as I massaged it in at the same time to help exfoliate.  Once your face is covered, leave it for 10 mins (you can leave it for 20 mins if you prefer).

Tip:  Things you can do in 10 mins

• Listen to your top 3 favourite songs
• Meditate
• Unload/load the dishwasher
• Clean out all the old food from your fridge
• Make a cup of tea and flick through a magazine
• 10 mins of Wii-Fit

Now you're ready to take your face mask off!  Fill your skin with hot water.  Once that's done, take your facecloth (I used the muslin cloth that comes with Liz Earle cleanse and polish) soak it in the hot water, and wipe the mask off your face.

Finally, after patting your face dry with a clean towel, apply your favourite moisturiser and let your skin rest.  Voila - your first homemade fase mask is done!

I don't know about you, but my skin looks pretty radiant after that, and feels amazing!  It feels very soft, exfoliated and so so clean.  It's also worth noting that for me, there was enough left over to do a second mask, so that amount would be enough for you and a friend, or you could just apply it a lot more generously than I did :)

Other things you can add:

• Mashed up strawberries (for this quantity, use 1 or 2)
• Mashed up banana (about 1/4 of a banana)
• Tablespoon of lemon (great for oily skin)
• Cucumber (diced and blended)
• Egg white (helps bind it together)
• 2 teaspoons of olive oil (great for dry skin)

Have you ever made a homemade face mask?