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Masks for Oily Skin
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Simple Clay Mask:
2 tablespoons witch-hazel or toner
1 tablespoon Fuller's Earth
The ingredients are available at chemist's shops. You
will find that they keep well if bottles and jars are
tightly covered and stored in a cool, dark place. Mix
the ingredients to a paste and apply with a spatula.
Witch-hazel has a natural antiseptic action besides
helping to refine pores and dry up oily skin, so this is
ideal for greasy complexions with a tendency to
blemishes. If your skin is only mildly oily, you can
substitute the witch-hazel with rosewater, also from the
chemist. Or try a compromise - a tablespoon of
witch-hazel and one of rosewater. Allow the mask to dry
on the face, then rinse off with warm water and pat skin
dry with a clean towel or tissues. |
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Lemon Mask:
A little raw egg white
Half a fresh lemon
Half a cup of oatmeal
Beat the egg white in a bowl till slightly frothy, squeeze
in some lemon juice, then add the oatmeal. Mix all three
together. Spread mixture over your face. Tuck an old towel
into the collar of your housecoat - the mask is drippy but
it dries fairly quickly. Avoid any facial expressions and
speaking until it has dried. (It dries to a smooth, taut
finish you can really feel the tightening action of the
egg white.) Rinse off with warm water and smooth on a
light film of moisturizer afterwards. This mask is
particularly good for greasy, open-pored and rather coarse
complexions. |
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Yeast Mask:
1 teaspoon brewers' yeast
Plain yogurt
Mix the powdered yeast with enough yogurt to make a thin
paste and apply this over the face and throat, patting
well into particularly oily areas. Leave for 15 minutes,
rinse off with first warm, then cool, water. This mask
helps discourage oiliness and deep cleanses the skin. |
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Masks for
Dry Skin |
Sesame-seed Treatment:
Sesame-seed oil
A small, clean towel
Apply a liberal amount of sesame-seed oil to a clean face,
massaging it in gently. Leave eye and nostril areas clear.
Dip towel in hot water wring out, and place over face for
a few moments to encourage oil to soak into skin. Try to
lie down for this one, preferably on a slant board to
increase blood flow to your face. Repeat applications of
oil followed by the hot towel several times, then rinse
the skin with warm water and follow with a really gentle
skin tonic to remove all traces of oil. Apply a film of
moisturizer over the face. |
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Corn Mask:
1 fresh-picked young ear of corn
A clean cheesecloth bag
Husk the ear, removing all silk, and run a rough grater
down the sides of the corn to expose the rich, milky
fluids. Gather the kernels in a cheesecloth bag and
squeeze to remove the fluid. Add the pulp as well - you
only want to remove the corn hulls and pat this
pulp-and-fluid mixture on to your face and neck. Leave on
for 15 to 20 minutes, until dry. Rinse off and follow with
an application of moisturizer. The high protein and fat
content in corn soothes dry tissue and provides the
building material needed for a healthy skin. A feast for a
starved complexion.
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Fruit-and-Cream facial:
Half a ripe peach or a few ripe strawberries
Thick fresh cream
Mash the peach flesh or the strawberries (after washing
and hulling) in a small bowl and add an equal quantity of
thick, rich cream. Apply the mixture to the face and
throat by patting it into the skin. Lie down for at least
30 minutes and rest while the fruit and cream nourishes
and plumps out tired, dry skin. Rinse off and follow with
a film of moisturizer. |
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Masks for
Normal Skin |
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The Honey Mask:
2 tablespoons honey
Warm water
Have two small bowls handy, one for the honey and the
other filled with water as hot as you can bear. Wrap hair
in a towel to keep it off your face (which should be
clean), and dip your fingers first into the warm water,
then into the honey. Spread the honey over your face and
throat with an upward movement, patting it in well. Avoid
eye, nose and mouth areas. Leave on for five to 10
minutes, rinse off with lukewarm water and blot skin dry.
Leaves a complexion soft and glowing. |
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The Egg-and-Lemon Mask:
1 egg yolk
Juice of half a fresh lemon
Blend the egg yolk and lemon juice thoroughly in a basin.
Smooth this thin paste over your face and throat and relax
with your feet up for 15 to 20 minutes while it gradually
thickens. It won't really dry, but after the prescribed
time, rinse it off with warm water, pat skin dry and
smooth on a moisturizer. |
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Cucumber-Milk Mask:
1 large cucumber
1 tablespoon powdered milk
A little egg white
Grate the cucumber coarsely and squeeze to remove the
juice. Pour this into a small basin, add the powdered milk
and a little egg white, and beat all together until
blended. Apply over face and throat and leave for 15
minutes or until dry. Rinse off with cool water and
moisturize your skin. The sulphur and silicon-rich
cucumber juice combined with the calcium in powdered milk,
and the tautening qualities of egg white, make this a very
versatile mask for nourishing and toning the skin. If your
complexion is inclined to be somewhere between normal and
dry, leave out the egg white and apply only cucumber juice
mixed with powdered milk; a wonderfully cooling face pack. |
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Adding the Finishing
Touches
Now there is still more to be done. After the mask is
taken off with warm water, you should tone and refresh
skin and pores with a skin tonic. Of course you could use
one of the excellent tonics available in the shops, but
why not finish off with a make-it-yourself tonic too? |
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Toning
Lotions to use After Mask |
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For normal skin
250g (80z) of witch-hazel
½ tsp of alum (from chemist)
Mix them together. Keep in an airtight bottle in the
refrigerator. Use over face on damp cotton wool. |
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For dry skin
1 cup of distilled water
½ tsp of alum
1 drop of mint extract (make by boiling up 2 handfuls of
mint and straining the juice through muslin)
Mix them together. Keep in an airtight bottle in the
refrigerator. Use over the face on damp cotton wool. |
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For oily skin
1 teaspoon of alcohol
125g (40z) of distilled water
½ tsp alum
Mix together. Keep in the refrigerator. Use over the face
on damp cotton wool. Keep your skin tonic in the
refrigerator for two reasons: first, it lasts longer;
secondly, when your skin is hot, perspiring or flushed, it
feels fabulously refreshing. Don't attempt to keep it
longer than three months. |
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