I love giving myself facials. They do all sorts of great things for my skin, and I look like a martian with green goo spread all over my face (major bonus points). Over the last few months I’ve come up with a recipe I like, and a routine. Every other Saturday I spend about 10 minutes with green paste on my face and then revel in how smooth and radiant my skin is. And how dirty my sink is. Whoops.
I suppose “recipe” isn’t the right word… it’s moreso a combination of ingredients that I like, and use in varying amounts each time I make a mask. I deal in pinches, drops, scoops, and spoonfuls, and use consistency to figure out when it’s perfect. And it works very well.
The key ingredient is French green clay. A spoonful of that starts things off. Then I’ll add a teensy spoonful of each bee pollen and powdered seaweed, and maybe a generous pinch of honey powder (you could also just use liquid honey). That’s it for the dry stuff. Next up is a few drops of some fancy oils, like jojoba, buriti, black currant, baobab, and tamanu. After that, I’ll add some bee propolis, a small blob of Dead Sea mud, and essential oils of patchouli, lavender, and tea tree. I’ll finish it off with water, added gradually, to make a creamy paste.
I’m not entirely certain what everything does, as this recipe has grown in ingredients as my concoctions pantry has. I know the French green clay is great at pulling things out of your skin and pores. It’s like a green, pasty, pore vacuum. The seaweed and pollen are full of loads of vitamins. The oils help offset the drying nature of the clay, and some of them supposedly help with a variety of ailments, like zits, wrinkles, and rosacea. I’m not sure I really believe they have magical/medicinal properties, but I add them anyways. I’m sure you could get away with just adding a bit of almond or jojoba oil (USA / Canada). Bee propolis is like natural polysporin; it’s the substance bees use to keep their hives sterile. And it’s loaded with vitamins. I happen to have Dead Sea mud, so I add it, but it’s totally optional. And, the essential oils smell nice together and are supposed to have healing/antibacterial benefits.
Awesome Homemade Facial Mask
2 tbsp French green clay
½ tsp powdered seaweed
½ tsp bee pollen
½ tsp dried honey (or 1 tsp normal honey)
½ tsp oils, whichever ones you want, in any combination
6 drops bee propolis tincture
Essential oils of choice, 6-8 drops total
Water, to form a pasteMix together the dry ingredients. Add the wet ones, except the water, and stir. Add the water, a wee bit at a time, until you have a nice, smooth paste.
Spread the paste onto your face, avoiding your eyes, mouth, and nostrils. Let it dry for about 10 minutes before washing off. Try not to make too many dramatic facial expressions towards the end or the mask will just start to crack and fall off.
I have found humblebee and me thru facebook via everydayroots.com. I am very interested in the products you make and would like to try myself, can you guide me to site or places to find the ingredints. I live in south texas and have the opposite temp problem as you have posted but love it. thank you for any help you can give . i will continue to follow your blog
Karen—You should be able to get pretty much everything you need from New Directions Aromatics! I buy from their Canadian store, so I’m sure you’ll be happy with their American store 🙂 Thanks for reading—I really appreciate it! And enjoy that warm weather! It hit 27°C (81°F) here on the weekend, it was amazing!
Hello,
This mask seems like the perfect gift to give my friend! I’m just wondering what I should do to modify it so that it can be gifted? Should I just omit the water, or do I have to leave out the oils too? Also, how long do you think a big batch of the mask would keep?Thank you!
Hi Josie! Great idea, masks make awesome gifts 🙂 Just leave out the water, and then blend the EOs and oils into the clay mixture using your DIY specific coffee grinder (if you don’t have one you should definitely pick one up at your local op shop—they are SO handy and they make your face masks silky smooth). Once the oils are blended in, you’re good to go! I would be sure to gift them in a sealed container with as little excess air as possible, though, just to be sure, and tell your friends to use the mix within 6 months.
Hi Marie,
What a lovely recipe! I would like to try it out however I am not able to find Bee Pollen on several online websites. Can I use the powder inside the Bee Pollen capsules? Is that the same? Thank you!
As long as the ingredients are 100% bee pollen (no fillers, etc.) you should be good to go! Also, check your local farmers market—most have a bee stand, and even if they don’t have bee pollen that day, you may be able to specially request it.
Where do you find your bee pollen and propolis? I haven’t been able to find them on either SB or NDA…
These are two ingredients I actually end up buying locally, usually at farmer’s markets, or a shop in Calgary we have called The Beehive. If you know of any local apiaries try giving them a call and seeing if you can buy a bit of each from them 🙂
Hi Marie,
This recipe looks so cool. Once mixed, how long will the mask keep? I wanted to make a big batch for my sisters to use too.
Thanks. x
Hi Milly! The powder will keep pretty much indefinitely if stored in a sealed container, but once mixed with water it will start to mould in a day or two. I like to mix up a big batch of the powder and then hydrate a teaspoon or two of it as needed 🙂
Hello
I just came across your facial recipe I am resarching bee pollen and I can only find it in capsules 500 milligram can i use that?
That’s probably ok, but it’s sort of the white wonderbread version of bee pollen; I’d recommend checking with your local beekeepers to see if you can get some fresh stuff 🙂 It should look like this.