Over the past few weeks the stress of moving has gotten to me. And while I did my best to do lots of yoga, deep breathing and affirmations, the stress made itself known through poor eating, lack of sleep and less-than-lustrous skin. My poor face was in need of some serious TLC!
I’ve been making the move to more natural care products lately, something I’ve wanted to discuss on the blog here, but never got around to it! So I figured this was a great opportunity to give you guys an alternative to store bought, artificial and chemically loaded facemasks and creams.
I’d been wanting to try out a couple different facial masks I’d discovered through Pinterest but when I looked at all the various ingredients and what they did, I figured I could concoct my own that would help address all of the individual issues I was having! Thus this avocado, strawberry and turmeric facemask was born!
Each of the ingredients has it’s own role to play:
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avocados are high in fat and water therefore they are incredibly moisturizing and they are also very high in Vitamin C which is a powerful antioxidant. Avocados are your friend for youthful, plump, healthy skin!
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strawberries contain a compound called salicylic acid which is anti=bacterial and astringent! That means it’s great for fighting acne and oily skin. You’ll find it’s a common ingredient in store-bought acne creams and washes. It also acts as an exfoliant, helping to slough off dead skin cells.
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matcha is powdered green tea which is super high in antioxidants and polyphenols which help prevent the aging of the skin and help with inflammation
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turmeric is a great anti-inflammatory both taken internally and applied externally, helping with skin conditions like acne. It also helps even out skin tone, reduces appearance of wrinkles and helps to exfoliate!
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almond milk is high in vitamin E which is a potent antioxidant
Therefore this mask is great for people with acne-prone skin, or even just oily or combination skin. It will help reduce oil without drying the skin out and leaves it feeling plump and fresh!
My skin began as tired, dull and with breakouts..
I found that after using this for a couple days my skin looked significantly brighter and not nearly as red!
Avocado, Strawberry and Turmeric Mask
Makes enough for ~5 masks
- 1 small avocado
- 1/2 cup strawberries
- 1 tsp matcha
- 2 tsp turmeric
- 1/4 cup almond milk
Either mash the strawberries and avocado with a fork or add to a processor and process till smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir to combine.
Apply to the whole face and allow it to dry for 20 minutes or so. Rinse off with warm water and pat the skin dry!
Store covered in the fridge for up to a week. This feels amazing when applied to the skin all cold from the fridge!
For those of you who are worried this will stain your face because of the turmeric- I promise you, it doesn’t! It washes off very easily. The only time I noticed a slight yellowish tinge to my face was on the 5th day of using it straight. All it took though was wiping my face off a bit better and problem solved. Also, while each ingredient has a role to play, feel free to skip out on ingredients based on availability or individual skin concerns.
One final note, as with any skin product, make sure to test in on a small patch of skin first to make sure you don’t react to it.
Wish me luck on my first day of classes everyone :)
