How To: Brightening Face and Hand Mask

Valentines Day is coming up, and to celebrate, may I suggest we apply things to our face, neck and hands that make us look fabulous, will brighten and freshen our skin, and add a little toning and firming action while we're at it?

Good, I'm glad you're with me.

I apologize for the slightly out of focus picture but as you might guess - I had to employ a little help to get this photo. My hands were busy being mask models and were unable to touch much without spreading 'maskiness' all over, the photographer was not at all used to taking pictures, and to make matters worse, he kept giggling at the subject.

This is a fresh food mask that is easy to make and doesn't require all kinds of fancy ingredients or equipment.

Welcome to a little mask-making fun!

We're using a simple combination of foods, clay, herbal powder, and glycerite for this mask. And if you don't make your own glycerites, don't worry - it can be replaced with glycerine (or even left out).

Ready? Let's get busy!
The following is enough for a single application to face neck and hands as shown above.

LisaLise’s Brightening Face and Hand Mask

Ingredient	Grams	Ounces
Fresh Kiwi	38	1.4
Clay of Choice	7.5	0.3
Mint Powder	2.5	0.1
Yoghurt	12.0	0.4
Cucumber Glycerite	2.0	0.07

Method

1. Peel and grind the kiwi until smooth
2. Transfer to a small bowl
3. Add yoghurt stir until homogenous
4. Add dry ingredients and stir
5. Add glycerite and stir until homogenous
6. Apply to face, neck, and backs of hands in a thick layer
7. Allow to sit for 10-20 minutes
8. Remove mask, rinse and pat dry.

About the Ingredients

Herbal Powder

I used my own handcrafted mint powder because I find it incredibly refreshing and delightful, but you can use bought herbal powders as well. For brightening effect, a combo of licorice and orange peel powder might be worth considering – or make your own blend of powders.

Clay

I used a mix of rhassoul, montmorillonite, and yellow clay for this mask, but you can use any clay you like. Check my clay guide for an overview of cosmetic clays.

Fresh Kiwi

Kiwi is an enzyme-rich fruit that offers a brightening effect, but you can replace this with fresh pineapple, papaya, mango, or strawberries if you can't source fresh kiwi. Don't use canned fruits as these will not add a blessed thing other than texture and unwanted additives to your mask (that may sound harsh but it's unfortunately true).

Glycerite / Glycerine

I used a cucumber glycerite in this mask because I am a bit of a cucumber glycerite addict. I love the fresh scent and find it really refreshes the skin. You can easily replace the glycerite with glycerine or if you prefer to leave it out entirely, this is also an option. I added it to this mask for an extra moisture boost and it also made me smile. (Proof positive in the picture above).

Yoghurt

This could be replaced with milk but you will need to do some texture adjustment with the other ingredients. Yoghurt also comes in all kinds of viscosities. The pictured yoghurt is a Greek yoghurt from a local supermarket.

Enjoy!