Seaweed is pretty amazing stuff for skin care; it’s rich in vitamins, minerals, and amino acids. Its texture is a bit sandy, making it a great gentle exfoliant, and when applied to the skin it is said to be a fantastic detoxifying ingredient, drawing out impurities. It can combat irritation, acne, and eczema, and leaves the skin glowing. It’s also one of relatively few ingredients that can be sourced within Canada, which is pretty exciting! All in all, it’s not hard to see why I purchased a big ol’ tub of it fairly early on in my DIY-ing days. So, when I got a recipe request from Deb for a seaweed mask she’d fallen in love with from a spa in New Brunswick, I thought it was high time (high tide? 😝) to dig out my tub and whip up a mask!
The first thing I noticed about seaweed powder when I first got it was the smell. It smells distinctly (but lightly) of seaweed when dry, but when combined with water it blossomed into the smell of a beach at low tide, and not in a lovely “I want a mai-tai” sort of way. If you grew up near the sea I’m sure it’s a lovely, nostalgic sort of smell, but I wasn’t hugely keen on it. Thankfully, this lovely mask is water free—we’re turning the powder into paste with oils, which helps keep the seaweed smell pleasantly (rather than overwhelmingly) ocean-y.
The original ingredients list Deb sent used a few sort-of butters I didn’t have—avocado and soy—so I swapped those out for shea. Avocado “butter” is hydrogenated avocado oil, so I figured I’d choose a real butter that I had on hand instead. If you happen to have avocado or soy butter on hand, feel free to use either (or a combination of the two) instead of the shea butter, though! To the shea I added some lovely virgin coconut oil (coconut oil and seaweed just seem like a brilliant combo, no?), and some richly moisturizing jojoba oil. A touch of lovely lavender essential oil rounds the whole thing off, helping to balance the seaweed scent a bit as well. If you don’t have (or love) lavender, you could easily use something like tea tree, rosemary, or eucalyptus instead.
Because this mask doesn’t contain clay or water, it doesn’t dry out or get tight as it sits on your skin, which is great if you have more sensitive or dry skin and don’t enjoy that pulling sensation. Since it doesn’t dry or start dropping clay it doesn’t get uncomfortable to wear, either, so you might find yourself going about your daily business with it on for much longer than you’d intended. If you’re more familiar with clay masks, you will find the consistency of this one a bit odd as you put it on—it’s not as smooth as creamy as a clay mask, but you won’t have any trouble smearing your face up like a seaweedy bagel, I promise.
Once you’ve got your goblin face on, all that’s left is to leave it on until you get sick of it (twenty-ish minutes) and rinse it off. The slight graininess of the seaweed powder will exfoliate your skin as you wash it off, and thanks to all the oils and butters in the mask, your skin won’t be nearly as dry as it would be after a clay face mask (you’ll probably still want to follow up with some sort of moisturizer, though).
I hope you love this vitamin rich detoxifying mask! I look forward to Deb chiming in and letting us know how it compares to the original 🙂 Happy making, and thanks for the request, Deb!
Deb’s Canadian Seaweed Mask
6g | 0.21oz virgin coconut oil
4g | 0.14oz shea butter
4g | 0.14oz jojoba oil (USA / Canada)17g | 0.6oz seaweed powder (more or less as needed)
10 drops lavender essential oil
2 drops Vitamin E MT-50 (USA / Canada)Prepare a water bath by bringing about 3cm/1″ of water to a bare simmer over low to medium-low heat in a small saucepan.
Weigh the coconut oil, shea butter, and jojoba oil into a small heat-resistant glass measuring cup or a 120mL/4oz mason jar. Place the measuring cup in your prepared water bath to melt everything through.
Once the oils and butters have melted, remove them from the heat and begin whisking in the seaweed powder, a spoonful or two at a time, until you have a smooth, thick mixture with a consistency similar to that of natural peanut butter (you may need more or less than the amount called for depending on your seaweed powder—no worries, the consistency is more important than the amount). Then, whisk in the lavender and vitamin E oil. That’s it!
To use, spread to green goop over your skin and leave it for twenty or so minutes (until you get tired of having it on your face, basically). I highly recommend a dark washcloth and/or a shower to rinse this one off! You’ll find your skin is left lightly exfoliated and looking rather lovely. I did need to follow up with a few drops of a serum, but not as much as I would post-clay-mask as this one is nowhere near as drying.
Makes enough for 2–3 applications. Because it doesn’t contain any water it’ll keep relatively well, but I still wouldn’t recommend making it in batches any larger than this as seaweed is super delicious bacteria food, so any potential contamination from dipping into the mask with your fingers will quickly run rampant. Store any leftovers sealed in the fridge (this is where making in a mason jar comes in really handy!) and use within two weeks.
Hi, so,what variety of seaweed is in the powder? Bladderwrack,kelp etc?
Yes,it is important to know this.
Thanks
I used Ascophyllum nodosum 🙂
THANK YOU , THANK YOU , THANK YOU !!! Yes, I’m “that” Deb
I’ll be making this today !! One question…would the addition of Phenonip extend the shelf life ? It’s OK in oil based products like this one if added to the heated oil phase. At least that’s my understanding. I have some but haven’t used it. I will also let you know how it compares to the original. Again, THANK YOU !!!!!
PS…why did the original have sodium lactate as the last ingredient ? Is it a humectant in this recipe ? I don’t think they added it to slow the oils from becoming rancid (???)
You’re very welcome! Thank you for the suggestion 🙂 Phenonip will certainly help if any water gets into the mask, but I’m just saying that from research, not from actually trying 🙂 I do suspect the sodium lactate was included as an antioxidant to extend the shelf life (anything like this should include some sort of antioxidant), but I’m guessing the humectant-ness is why they selected that particular one 🙂
Thanks Marie, I misunderstood the use of Phenonip. I was thinking that oil could also grow mould etc. And I assume the Vitamin E oil was chosen as a sub for Sodium Lactate as it is not only skin loving but an anti-oxidant ? Still learning and loving it. More later with “test” results to the original.
Yup! Right on both fronts 🙂 I look forward to hearing how your further tests go!
Seaweed on the face? But I just bought seaweed to eat! Yum!
An oil mask. Interesting! That would make the skin very soft! Wonder what this would be like for a body wrap? Especially for winter skin!
Excellent post Marie! I’m keen to wait for Deb to share How it compares to the original.
Those seaweed wafers with wasabi—SWOON. My first thought on the body wrap is that it would be messy haha, so I’ll leave that to you!
Something I don’t understand – if you saturate the kelp with oils, then how can it detox your skin if all it’s ability to absorb is monopolized by the oils?
Awesome question! From my reading, the detoxing powers of seaweed is because topical application encourages sweating, so you sweat ’em out (toxins… whatever those are supposed to be lol). The oils will also help, as like dissolves like—so the oils in the mask will help pick up any oils on your skin (any anything hanging out in them), and carry those away. I’ve also found some sources that say the mineral content of seaweed also helps, but I haven’t been able to find anything too credible there. The sweating part could definitely be replicated many other ways, but seaweed is still rich in minerals and vitamins and other things, which sitting in a sauna isn’t so… your call, I guess? 😛
Ooo, I’ve never made a mask liquified with oils instead of water! I definitely am going to be giving it a try.
Have fun and let us know how it goes 🙂
I made it and love it. I can relate to the seaweed powder with water mask smelling beachy in not a good way!!! This seaweed and oil mask keeps the smell inoffensive and skin feels fantastic both during and post mask.
Yay! I’m so glad you love it 😀 Enjoy that sea-kissed glow 😉
I will report more later but for now I will say that I tried this and it is heavenly. I didn’t use any essential oil and I didn’t find the seaweed smell bad at all. Maybe it’s my source but I was using Organic Seaweed Kelp from Canada so it was the right stuff. I might add a bit more seaweed powder as it could be a bit thicker. I had it on for a long time last night and eventually I had a few drips on my keyboard. Couldn’t figure out what was happening as I’d forgotten I had it on. But, after washing off my face was so hydrated. No face cream necessary after this mask…at least for my skin.
Wahoo! I’m so thrilled to get the word straight from “THE” Deb 😉