10 DIY Skin Treatments

It's quarantine time y'all and sometimes you're waiting on your Pumpkin Enzyme Peel to deliver but you need a fix NOW.  I remember being in a modeling class in 6th grade where our teacher gave us all facials (and we were all allowed to sit next to one another - memories!) - Ofie Herrera, the prettiest of us all, got to use one from a tube (which seems so fancy!).  The teacher told me my skin type called for an egg.  Literally.  A raw egg brushed over my skin.  I may have felt thoroughly grossed out at the time but in retrospect our teacher was helping to pave a course of me putting all kinds of foods on my face and in my hair to treat them for pennies on the dollar.  Here are some of my faves that work that you don't have to fight Tina for at the grocery store and which involve two ingredients or less:

ICED TEA REVAMPED
Got a Zoom video conference but you spent all of last night Googling bidets because no one has toilet paper?  I've got you - you've heard of putting used tea bags on your eyes to relieve tired eyes or cold spoons to take down puffy eyes (yes to both of those by the way) but I'm also fan of making a pot of tea - green, black, white, whatever you like - and pouring it into an ice tray and taking one out in the morning to rub under your eyes if you're feeling tired and puffy.  You can do it straight if you're hardcore or you can wrap it in a paper towel or pop it in a Ziploc bag.

WATERPROOF EYE MAKEUP REMOVER
Olive Oil will get almost anything off - I find it's easiest to put a little on a cotton pad to get all of your shadow/mascara off.  This is a GREAT tip if you're out of town at a wedding (once we can do that again - trips, groups of people sitting close together, hugs), wearing waterproof mascara and don't have any waterproof remover on hand (which might have happened to me).  Just ask room service to send a little cup of olive oil up and tip well!

EGG WHITE MASK - OILY SKIN
Ms. Modeling Teacher was right - an egg white mask is kind of awesome for oily girls.  You just separate the yolk out and apply the egg white to clean, dry skin.  Allow it to sit for 15 minutes or so, rinse and your skin will feel clarified and tightened.  Some people follow with the yolk but I'm too lazy to do that.  If putting raw eggs on your face grosses you out my 12 year old counterpart totally understands.

AVOCADO & HONEY MASK - DRY SKIN
 You'll need a half of an avocado for one person so this one is fun to do with a friend, or at least it used to be when we were allowed to have those.  In this case I rec a small batch of guacamole with your other half of avocado and Facetime someone who you otherwise might do this with.  I like to just add enough honey to make it easy to blend in the food processor or mixing bowl.  It's best if you do this after a scrub to get the most benefit out of the mask.  Apply to clean, dry skin and rinse after 15 minutes.

MILK TONER - ALL SKIN TYPES
I am not a huge toner girl but if you soak milk in cotton balls and apply to the face it's a great gentle exfoliator due to the lactic acid milk contains (like the yogurt!).  It's soothing, calming and lifts away dead skin in the least irritating way possible.  It's great for girls with rosacea.  And no, it doesn't work with nut milk - you need a real cow.  

PINEAPPLE BRIGHTENER - ALL SKIN TYPES
Pineapple is loaded with antioxidants and I have a girlfriend who swears by slicing off a piece of pineapple every morning and rubbing it all over her face for a couple of minutes.  She's in her 60's and says it has helped to brighten her fair skin that has a bit of sun damage.  Rinse after using and apply your serum/moisturizer.

SUGAR FACE SCRUB - ALL SKIN TYPES
This is easy - grab your cleanser and some white sugar (white is more gentle than brown).  Squirt 2-4 pumps of your cleanser into your hand, add enough sugar to make a paste and use it as a scrub.  It's that easy!

SUGAR & HONEY BODY SCRUB
This combo leaves you super hydrated and exfoliated - just mix sugar - white or brown - in a plastic bowl (glass bowls freak me out in the bathtub) and throw in some honey til you have a texture you like.  It is sticky but you'll be in the shower so it's fine.  The honey leaves behind crazy hydration while the sugar buffs off all the dry winter skin.

COCONUT HAIR MASK
Again, super easy - grab some Organic Coconut Oil at the grocery store.  I like to keep it in the fridge if your kitchen gets warm in the summer as coconut oil liquifies at 75 degrees and it's easier for me to pull through my hair if it's a little solid.  Grab a spoon, get however much you want and work it through your ends.  If your hair is dry throughout then run it from root to end.  You can also throw the leftover oil on your elbows, knees and heels - it's a fantastic humectant for any part of your body (but avoid your face if you're breakout-prone as it is comedogenic).

So get into your kitchen and start cooking!  Figuratively speaking - even though everyone has turned into Laura Ingalls Wilder's Ma and is cooking every meal at home - we'll make it folks!