There really isn't anything better than a little pampering to make you feel all refreshed and rejuvenated. Unfortunately, regular trips to the spa for facials and treatments to get such a feeling just isn't in the cards for many of us, myself being one! I've always been a DIY-er, not saying that things always turn out the way I want (I have an extensive list of Pinterest and DIY fails), but I'm always willing to give things a whirl. Not only are these at-home beauty treatments absolutely WONDERFUL, but they are essentially fail-proof. Not to mention the ingredients can be found amongst things you already have stocked in your kitchen. Since there's nothing but dust and chaos from the construction going on at our house, I headed to my mama's and recruited her to test this goodness out with me!
Cocoa & Coffee Facial
The first thing we jumped into was making this face mask consisting of coffee and cocoa. Apparently these two ingredients are quite the dynamic duo. Not only do they brighten your skin and give you a glow, but this particular mask is supposed to decrease puffiness as well. We added an egg white to this recipe which helps to tighten skin and minimize pores, and used goats milk instead of yogurt because of its' calming and nourishing benefits. What to do:
-4 Tbsp. ground coffee: anything that's finely ground will work, so ground up espresso beans, instant coffee, etc.
-4 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
-2 Tbsp. honey: all natural is best!
-8 Tbsp. dairy: This could be unflavored yogurt, whole milk, almond milk,
coconut milk, or as we used, goats milk! Obviously the yogurt will provide you with a thicker consistency though.
-1 egg white: remember this is optional, but based on our experience I highly
recommend adding it!
Now throw it all in a bowl and mix it up good! (We warmed ours up in the microwave for 15 seconds just for a little added "ooooh" when we slathered it on our faces).
This is what you'll end up getting if you do everything the exact same as us. Consistency was somewhat runny and it smelled like cake...therefore it took every ounce of resistance from my pregnant, hungry self to not take a spoon and dig in!
We just used our hands and slathered it on while over the sink. Make sure you have clean skin before applying! We left the mask on for about 20 minutes, you'll notice it dries on your face pretty quickly and you'll get an instant "tightening" sensation from the egg whites too! When you're ready to take it off, make sure you use a warm washcloth and pat your skin as opposed to rubbing, otherwise the coffee grounds will serve as an exfoliator and you might end up with redness.
Results:
Ohh yes, everything it was supposed to do. My 25 year-old skin and my mama's 50 year-old skin (sorry for the age call-out mum) both felt and looked wonderful once we took this puppy off. Not only was our skin super smooth, but we got that brightening effect and had less noticeable pores/fine lines! Success!
Essential Oil Sugar Scrub
In the midst of hanging out with cake on our face we decided to start on some good ole' scrubs. The first is an essential oil scrub, which means you can tailor this recipe to use any of your favorites (just make sure the essential oil is pure as to not irritate skin)! What you'll need:
-1 1/2 Cups raw sugar
-1 1/2 Cups pure granulated cane sugar
-1 Cup + 2 Tbsp. soybean oil
-10+ drops essential oil: Try not to go overboard, but you can add as little or as many drops of the essential oil as you'd like! We made 2 batches and put 10 drops of Lavender-TeaTree oil in one, and 10 drops of Lemongrass oil in the other.
Now mix it all up and enjoy! My hands now feel like silk, really.
Brown Sugar & Vanilla Scrub
Just like the cocoa-coffee mask, it again took every bit of willpower in me not to eat this.
-2 Cups brown sugar
-1 Cup pure granulated cane sugar
-1 Cup soybean oil
-1 Tbsp vanilla extract
Again, mix it all up and dig in (with your hands, not mouth). Just as a side note, each of these scrub recipes filled about three 8 oz. jelly jars, so share some with friends and family or stuff in one big container for yourself!
That was it for our self-pampering today. But keep an eye out for more at-home beauty goods and ideas! My mom makes killer soy candles and all natural soaps as well so I'll eventually be putting a link on here as to how you can get your hands on those!
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