Something different for the product of the week today, a simple homemade face mask that I've been using not just this week, but for a while. It requires three ingredients which I'm sure most have at home: 

I just eyeball the amount needed, there really is no rule. It's simple, add some freshly squeezed lemon juice to the baking soda. It will fizz for a while and when that is over, I add a bit of honey and apply it on your face.  I mix all on my hand, so I can just apply it straight away and there is no extra mess with other pots or containers.

Because of the lemon juice, it does tingle from the start and for that reason I wouldn't recommend it to someone with very sensitive skin, because it could be too uncomfortable for them. I leave it on for 20 minutes and then rinse it off. Of course, you can leave it on for less time, again there is no rule, however, I wouldn't leave it longer. 

Lemon juice makes your skin look brighter and fades marks, while baking soda exfoliates the skin. Honey is antibacterial and contains loads of nutrients, minerals and vitamins, leaving your skin moisturised and supple. It can be a bit drying without the honey, but you can skip any ingredient if you don't have it at hand. 

I started using this mask, when some blackheads appeared out of nowhere on my nose (I've never had them before in my life!) and this worked brilliantly. It removed them in the first go. It's an easy mask that anyone can whip out at home and works for every skin tone (except perhaps on very sensitive one). I did a post on other homemade recipes I'm using here.

Thanks for reading!

There are a lot of homemade beauty recipes. Everything from hair masks, face masks, scrubs, etc. that you can make at home. I use quite a few, all from ingredients that I always have at home. Most recipes I stumble upon either online (mainly MUA) or in some magazine use some ingredients I'd have to go buy specifically for that mask or treatment (like avocado for example) and because I'm usually not that committed to do that my collection of recipes is rather limited. But these are all the ones I use quite regularly. 

First thing that I use very often are oils. Mostly I use them for my hair. My favourites are coconut, macadamia and olive oil. The first two are great for really dry hair. Coconut oil reduces protein loss, helps hair growth, gives shine, plus it's smells nice. It's great for your scalp and helps with dandruff. The latter can also be applied to macadamia oil (a fact I have noticed myself). Macadamia oil contains a lot of vitamins and minerals that your hair needs. It makes your hair more silky and smooth, it's also supposed to help hair growth. The one that I have (from Spar) has a very nutty scent. My mum doesn't like it, I personally don't mind it that much, but yes, coconut oil does smell nicer. Coconut oil is solid at room temperature, so you have to warm it up between your hands to melt it and then apply it on your hair.

I use oils as a pre-wash treatment, which means I apply oil generously all-over the hair including massaging it into my scalp. I leave it on for at least an hour, but the more the better. Do not be afraid to leave it on overnight (wrap you hair in a towel or put on a shower cap to avoid getting your pillows greasy). Then I proceed with my normal routine - shampoo, conditioner and styling products. It makes such a difference, my hair feels more moisturised, I feel like my conditioner works better, it feels more silky and smooth. If your hair is very dry give this a go.

There is plenty more uses for oils, like as a make up remover (great for removing waterproof mascara) or as a moisturiser.

This is a mask that my hairdresser recommended when she noticed how dry my hair is. She recommended to  use egg yolk on my hair. It contains a lot of protein that help to strengthen the hair, make it less brittle and dry. As with oils I use it as a pre-wash treatment. You can use both the egg yolk and egg white if your hair is normal or use only egg white is your hair is oily. 

First I beat one or two egg yolks and then add a tablespoon or two of oil (olive, macadamia, coconut,...). I add a bit of honey, I usually just eyeball the amount of all ingredients. I find that this mixture is too runny to just apply it on my hair, so I add conditioner to make it thicker. I apply it on dry hair all over including the scalp and leave it on for 15-30 minutes. Be careful that the water is not too hot when your rinsing it off. 

Baking soda is another very useful product to have. I use it as a face scrub. It makes my skin amazingly soft. Add water to make a thin paste and apply it on your face avoiding the eyes. I usually leave it on for a few minutes while I brush my teeth, then very gently massage it in and rinse it off (key word here is gentle, otherwise you might end up with a burn). I don't use it too often, but for now it's the only scrub I use, it's just so cheap and actually effective.

Aspirin and honey mask is a remedy I use when my skin starts to misbehave. Aspirin contains acetylsalicylic acid, a cousin of salicylic acid. It does not have the same properties that are good for preventing acne and blackheads, but it works anti-inflammatory. This means it will help reduce the redness. Honey is antibacterial, contains loads of vitamins, antioxidants and minerals. You can use them separately of course. I use honey mask when my skin is mega dry and it works better than any moisturiser I ever tried. And I used to use aspirin mask without honey. I just used 1 or 2 uncoated aspirin, then add a drop of water and it dissolves instantly. It looks like a thick paste which I applied on the face. Now I add honey just so it's easier to apply and it works even better. You can also add cinnamon, or make a honey & cinnamon mask. Cinnamon is another ingredient that works antimicrobial.

I've been using aspirin toner for quite a while now. It's very simple to make. Just use two aspirins (there really is no need for more and it's expensive), dissolve them in warm water and it's done. I also add some aloe vera and honey, but it's not necessary. I make about 20 - 30 ml at a time, never the whole bottle. This toner is also great for razor bumps.

There is another modemade toner I used to use and it is camomile tea. It's another type of toner that helps calm down inflammations. The only bad side is that you have to make fresh pots regularly. We grow camomile at home so there is not fear of any chemicals.

If a massive red spot appears on your face and you need it to disappear as fast as possible, try ice cubes. Just hold an ice cube on the spot and it will calm the inflammation and reduce the redness.

Sugar scrub is probably the most known home made recipe and it's so easy to make. I often use it, because I don't have a habit of buying scrubs regularly. Most scrubs on the market contain sugar anyway. I just eyeball the amount of sugar and olive oil plus I sometimes add some honey.

Some homemade recipes I tried and didn't like:

Vinegar - In my desperate attempts to rid myself of dandruff I tried apple vinegar. You apply it on your scalp for a few minutes and then rinse your hair with some more. It's supposed to remove build up and add shine to your hair. Well in my experience it dried it out like nobody's business. It looked and felt like straw. I needed some heavy duty conditioner to fix it. Not for me.

Lavender oil - It's supposed to be a great spot treatment. I did not notice any difference at all.

And what are your homemade recipes? I'd love to read about it in the comments, you know - sharing is caring.

One more thing about a project I've been doing for the past two days. I made a swatch gallery of all the lipstick, lip gloss and lip liner on this blog. You can find it here and among the top tabs (under the blog banner).

Thanks for reading!