Homemade Oatmeal Facial Mask

I was in need of a little "mommy pampering" time today. I decided to have my own personal home spa. And it only cost me a few cents. Bonus! And it involved all natural ingredients from my kitchen, no extra added chemicals. Double bonus!

I took an oatmeal milk bath (scented with dried rose petals), you can find the recipe for this at http://www.allfreecrafts.com/homemade-gifts/oatmeal-milk-bath.shtml . I also conditioned my hair with a homemade hot oil hair treatment, which I posted previously http://thethriftyhousewifeblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/homemade-hot-oil-honey-hair-treatment.html .

I decided that along with all of that, I wanted to try my hand at making a homemade facial mask. I came up with this recipe using things I had on hand at the house. I think the one I ended up making would probably work best for those that have combiniation skin and struggle with acne (that's me!). After using this mask, I did notice that the redness from my acne was reduced some, and my skin felt fabulous!

Oatmeal Facial Mask

1/4 cup ground oatmeal (grind in a blender or food processor)
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 tablespoon honey
1 1/2 tablespoons witch hazel
1/2 tablespoon lemon or lime juice (I used lime because that's what I had on hand)

Mix all ingredients together. Initially, it will fizz a little from the baking soda and lime juice, but not much. Wet face with warm water. Apply mixture to face and leave on for approximately 20 minutes. Rinse off and pat dry.

This facial mask does tingle a little bit, so if you have sensitive skin, you may want to test it on a small area of skin first. To me, it felt very similar to store bought facial products that have alpha-hydroxy in them. Overall, I am very pleased with the results and like it better than any product I have bought at the store. I will definitely be using this again!