Fresh Cucumber and French Clay Mask

Lately, I've been on a bit of a quest – trying to find the perfect combination of fresh food ingredients with clay for the ultimate mask experience. There are 2 great reasons for combining clay with fresh food.

The Clay Reason

Apart from having all kinds of benefits for the skin, clay masks are a dream to work with – they stay where they are put and don't make a drippy mess of your kitchen, bathroom, and clothes.

The Fresh Food Reason

Fresh ingredients bring the maximum cocktail of vitamins, moisturizing, firming, and other skin-loving goodies to the mix.

The Best of Both Worlds

This mask marries clay with food and is not only easy to make, it will leave your skin feeling like you have just come from a full-on luxury facial treatment. The best part – you only need 4 ingredients!

Raw honey: soothes, moisturizes, tones, and heals (I always use organic)
Raw cucumber: moisturizes, calms, and tones (I always use organic)
Hempseed oil: moisturizes (can be replaced with olive, hazelnut, or sweet almond oil)
French Green Clay: removes impurities and cleanses (can be replaced with white clay)

Wash and puree the cucumber (you only need about 1/4 of a cucumber). Transfer 2 tablespoons puree to a small container.

Add 1 teaspoon hempseed oil

Add 1 teaspoon raw honey. Stir until the mixture is even.

Add clay a bit at a time. Stir thoroughly between additions. Continue until you have a texture that is thick enough to 'stick to the spoon' but not so stiff that it won't easily spread. Tip: Go slow while adding the clay so you won't have to adjust the texture (and dilute your lovely mixture).

Cleanse your face and neck, then apply the mask. (I use a natural bristle brush to apply, but the back of a spoon works just fine too). Keep your lips and eye area free.

Let the mask sit for 10-15 minutes (and enjoy the fact that you can look down and move around without dripping bits of mask all over the place). Tip: Always remove a clay mask before it is completely dry – clay only 'works' while it is moist.

To remove: wet a natural sponge to soften and remove the mask.

Pat dry. Finish with a spritz of hydrosol and light layer of face oil.

Enjoy your gorgeous toned skin!

Do Tell

Do you have any fresh foods you like to use as a face mask? Have you ever combined them with clay?

More Fresh Food and Clay

Read about another fresh food mask here.
Visit this post at Colin's Beauty Pages for a clear, concise description of exactly how clay works.