Homemade Skin: How to Make Natural Fruit Masques

Head to the Kitchen for Healthy Skin

Why invest the money to pay someone for a facial when you can treat your skin - and give it a treat - with homemade, natural products? You can find dozens of ways to smooth and tone your skin with ingredients from your kitchen like fruit, oatmeal, and honey.

When using any masque, wash your face and neck before applying the mixture. Apply the fruit masque gently with your fingertips or a soft brush. Avoid the delicate area around your eyes and lips. After the product has done its work, gently wipe the solid residue from your face with a warm, wet face cloth then rinse your skin thoroughly with warm water.

Give your face a splash of cold water to tighten your pores, then finish your facial by skimming a coating of light lotion over your face. Use a lotion with an SPF rating of 15 or higher to help protect your skin from sun damage.

Peaches and Cream Complexion

This fruit masque is good for any skin type. Prepare a single serving of regular oatmeal. While it cooks, skin and puree half a ripe peach in a blender or small food processor. Add the cooked oatmeal, two tablespoons of plain yogurt, and blend well. Let the mixture cool until it is lukewarm then apply it to your face and neck. Leave it on for 5 minutes.

The alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) in peaches makes this great masque for general skin renewal. The masque helps reduce wrinkles, remove dead skin, and clean your pores. The oatmeal helps to heal irritated skin and moisturizes, as does the yogurt.

To add the benefit of antioxidants, substitute four very ripe strawberries for the peach. Test your skin in an inconspicuous place first, as some people's skin reacts to strawberries. You can substitute papaya or pineapple, which also are rich in AHA.

You may wish to add three or four drops of green tea extract to the mixture in the blender. This provides the advantage of antioxidants and buffers the AHA present in the fruit. It takes time for your skin to adjust to the increased cell turnover promoted by the acids so this buffering is especially important the first several times you use masques containing fruits with AHA.

Dry Skin Quencher