I woke up Sunday morning with a frazzled face. I hate when that happens, it is usually due to Menzies, but this time around it was just too much over indulgence and too little sleep. So I decided that my long suffering guinea pig and I would have a home spa day. (Queue begging and promises of guaranteed enjoyment.) After a quick Google search I found a recipe that I could make with what I had available in the kitchen, some on the verge of expiration strawberries and oats. Also papaya and some plain yogurt but since my guinea pig was ready to bolt I figured the less complicated the better. So a strawberry and oats face mask it was.
You will need:
- Some strawberries
- Some raw oats
- Essential oil
- Food processor or a hand blender
First pulp the strawberries using a food processor or a hand blender.
Add some raw oats and blend. (At this point I realised a bowl is not the best vessel to do this in, strawberried and oats EVERYWHERE!)
Keeping adding oats until you have a thick paste consistency.
Mix in an essential oil of your choice. I used grapefruit oil for no other reason than it smells good.
The resultant mixture looks a little disgusting, thoughts of chopped liver and mayo did enter my mind, ‘sies ga man’. But the smell makes up for it, it really smells good enough to eat.
Cover your face and your neck with it and leave it on for 20 – 25 minutes.
Wash off with warm water. (Remember to put a filter in the water outlet.)
The guinea pig absolutely hated the consistency of the mask and couldn’t get it off his face fast enough. But even he agreed that his skin felt softer and smoother afterwards. What I loved about it is that there was no need for moisturiser afterward. Usually face masks leave my skin feeling taut and like it is in need of a good dose of moisturiser, not so this time. Your skin feels refreshed and ‘plump’ afterwards. I also found my skin less oily after a serious gardening workout – the compost heap needed turning and it is just too hot to do it during the day – which makes this concoction a win in my book.
So this is not really a Christmas gift, unless you make it part of a home spa day with the gift recipient. (I imagine all the female members of my family are now all ‘knyp oë toe en hoop dis nie ek nie‘!) But it is cheap and easy and regardless of how gross it looks, it is an effective and sweet smelling face mask.