Milk and Honey Mask with Pink Clay

There are numerous possible fresh food ingredients that can be combined with clay to make an effective, at-home-spa mask. Here's my latest fave, with an ingredients list that is short, sweet, and (almost) good enough to eat: Milk, honey, macadamia nut oil and clay.

Any questions before we get started?

You: Lise, why should we combine clay and food to put on our faces?

Me: I'm glad you asked. There are 2 main 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.

Milk and Honey = Skin Friendly

This milk and honey mask is ideal for sensitive skin. You can replace the macadamia nut oil with olive, sweet almond or apricot seed oil, but if you can get it, macadamia nut oil adds a luxurious loveliness that kicks the moisturizing factor up just a notch.

Assembling the Mask

Put about 3 tablespoons milk into a small container. Sprinkle in 2-3  teaspoons of pink clay and let the milk absorb the clay before stirring (this will keep your mixture lump-free). The mixture should be a bit stiff-ish, but not difficult to stir. If necessary, adjust the milk-to-clay ratio until you have a satisfactory texture.

Add a generous teaspoon of raw honey and stir until fully incorporated. 

Add approx. a teaspoon of oil and stir. 

The mixture should be creamy and light - like a spreadable chocolate frosting. If you want to add essential oil, add 2-3 drops and stir thoroughly.

Method

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

Relax for 10-15 minutes - no more. Some think 'the longer a mask sits, the better the effect'. With some gel or cream masks it may be ok, but this is not the case with clay masks. Therefore, be sure to remove the mask before it dries.

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

Pat dry, and finish with a spritz of hydrosol or alcohol-free skin tonic and light layer of face oil.

Enjoy your gorgeous face!

More Fresh Food Skincare on this Blog

Read about my first experience with a fresh food mask here.

Try a cucumber and clay mask here.

Try a cucumber and spirulina mask here

Visit the How To page with even more masks

More About Clay

Visit this post at Colin's Beauty Pages for a clear, concise description of exactly how clay works (and an explanation of why you don't want to leave a clay mask on until it is dry)