OK—before I dive into this Honey Bee Sheet Face Mask recipe, I need to warn you guys about something. If you’ve been following me for a while, by now you are used to my mask recipes coming with a few goofy-yet-cute selfies of me with pasty goo all over my face. This is not one of those recipes. Oh sure, I took the selfies… but they are neither goofy nor cute. They are more like horror-movie-set-in-a-spa, is-she-going-to-eat-my-face kind of… not cute. Pretty much flat out terrifying. And this is because this is a sheet mask. And there is a reason sheet masks do not make it into spa promo photography. But I love you guys, and wanted to give these things a try, so here we are. You’re welcome/I’m sorry.

I found these little sheet mask pellets at the Muji store in London, on the Kensington High Street. We went for pens (and SWOON, their pens are fantastic), and in the beauty section I stumbled up these tiny little pellets in a plastic bag. The line drawing on the back showed a serene looking lady with a sheet sort of thing on her face. A few readers have written to be about these things, and they were just a couple pounds, so I grabbed a packet and then we headed off to Hampstead Heath.

Upon returning home, these mysterious little nuggets were just begging to be played with. My first attempt was just a few spoonfuls of some random botanical extracts whisked into water. I tossed in the mask nugget and BAM! It expanded upwards like some sort of Dr. Suess dance routine. I carefully unfurled the resulting thin sheet of fabricy paper and lay in on my face (and took a handful of horrifying selfies for Instagram moments, muahahahah). Interesting. It was a great way to hold a bunch of water soluble stuff to my face for an extended period of time, and because there was no clay, it was a really hydrating mask instead of drying one—just what I need in February!

 

So, I got to thinking about the sort of things I like on my skin that are sort of hard to get on it in large dozes, and I immediately thought about bee goodies. A couple years ago I shared this, and while it is lovely, it can be quite drippy—so I thought I’d add a sheet mask to the mix and see how that went.

First off, let’s chat ingredients. Raw manuka honey is loaded with enzymes and anti-bacterial goodness; this is because the bees that make manuka honey are feeding on the same tree that gives us tea tree oil; Leptospermum scoparium. Cool, no? Pollen is packed with vitamins, and propolis boosts healing. Honeyquat PF is a positively charged humectant, meaning it helps condition and hydrate our skin. And last but not least, royal jelly—this is the jelly worker bees feed to larvae to cause them to grow into queen bees instead of worker bees. It contains amino acids, trace vitamins and minerals (like vitamin B6 and C), and antibacterial properties. The last two ingredients are pretty odd, so feel free to eliminate them if you don’t have ’em.

I whisked some raw manuka honey, bee pollen, propolis tincture, honeyquat PF, and royal jelly extract into some water, added the sheet mask, and slapped that soggy bad boy on my face. After taking a series of terrifying selfies that could make children cry I let it soak for twenty minutes or so before peeling it off, throwing it away, and rinsing my face. The first thing I noticed was the hydration—aaaaah. My skin needs all the water it can get these days, and water + humectants (honey + honeyquat PF) = happy skin. I was pretty gentle with my rinsing, and though my skin felt a bit tacky at first, after about ten minutes it just felt incredibly soft and hydrated, which is exactly what I was hoping for.

I hope you’ll give sheet masks a try, and I hope you get a laugh out of these terrifying selfies 😂 If you’ve tried sheet masks before, what are your favourite things to soak them in? I had lots of fun with this Honey Bee Sheet Face Mask and I’m looking forward to playing some more!

Honey Bee Sheet Face Mask

~ 1/2 tsp manuka honey (or other raw honey)
1/16 tsp powdered bee pollen
10 drops propolis tincture (learn to make your own)
5 drops honeyquat PF (USA | Canada) (optional)
2 drops royal jelly extract (USA | Canada) (optional)
30g | 1.06oz warm water

2 sheet masks

Whisk the honey, pollen, propolis, honeyquat, royal jelly, and warm water together in a small, deep bowl.

Once the mixture is uniform, add the mask nuggets, and let them fully hydrate. Unfurl each nugget, and lay the sheet across your face, lining up the mouth, nose, and eye holes. Now, go terrify some children! Or hide in the bathroom—your choice.

After about twenty minutes you can discard the sheet mask and rinse off your face. Enjoy your lovely soft, hydrated skin!

This is definitely a single use, all-in-one-go mask. This recipe makes enough liquid for two sheet masks, so consider halving it if you’re not going to do facials with a friend. Any unused liquid can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to four days.

Alright… let’s do this thing!

Smoothing it down… this was moderately effective.

Hmm, these eye patch things are odd.

I’m scaring myself.

Err.. what have I got myself into?

Eeeeep. Well, best let this soak in and see how it goes…