There are so many great reasons to smear your food on your face… Foods like yogurt can help boost natural beneficial bacteria on the skin, while many fruits and vegetables offer vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
Face masks have been used for centuries and were a method of skincare long before there were high-priced designer skin care lines. As we discover more about the skin microbiome, and the ability of the skin to absorb nutrients, these old time skin remedies take on a new allure.
The beauty of homemade face masks and remedies is that you can customize the ingredients to your skin type and preferences. This particular mask is one of my favorites for my skin type, which tends to be naturally slightly oily with very occasional hormonal breakouts.
Matcha Green Tea Face Mask?
Matcha is a special type of green tea produced by shading the leaves of the green tea plant at the end of growing to increase the chlorophyll content and create a very mild and bright green tea.
The leaves are then dried and powdered into a very fine powder. Unlike many types of teas and tisanes, the leaves are not strained out, but mixed in carefully with a special whisk when brewing Matcha for drinking. The result is a powerful, anti-oxidant rich blend that is absolutely delicious.
Matcha is excellent on its own, and it can also be added to many types or recipes for color or taste (like these homemade matcha marshmallows).
Matcha is an excellent ingredient for the skin as well. The same properties that make it beneficial for drinking are great for the skin, especially epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), which is helpful in reducing inflammation and evening skin tone. The antioxidants may also be helpful for reducing acne and increasing skin elasticity.
Either way, this mask is so simple to make and leaves skin feeling like silk. I use several face masks regularly and this is one of them.
How to Make a Matcha Green Tea Face Mask
This two-ingredient mask is very simple to make and can be made in advance and stored for future use since both ingredients are shelf stable. To create a perfect consistency and additional benefits, I use honey as the base to mix Matcha into for this mask.
This results in a smooth, nourishing and moisturizing face mask that I use about once a week for my skin. The directions below are for a single use, but I’ve also just mixed several tablespoons of Matcha into a small jar of honey and store in my bathroom for regular use.
Ingredients:
- 1 teaspoon Matcha Green Tea Powder
- 1/2-1 teaspoon raw honey
Instructions:
Mix the honey and Matcha to form a paste. Depending on the consistency of your honey, you may need slightly more or less.
Spread the honey over your face and neck using circular movements. Leave on for 10-15 minutes and remove with a warm, wet washcloth.
Face Mask Variations
For a probiotic-rich variation, you could mix the Matcha with plain yogurt instead of honey.
For a simpler version, matcha mixed with a few drops of water will work well too.
For dry skin, try mixing Matcha with an oil of choice. Olive, coconut and castor oils are generally good choices.
Other Foods to Put On Your Face
- Pumpkin– In this firming face mask.
- Bananas– Smoothing mashed bananas on skin is said to help with dry skin.
- Vinegar– I make a vinegar toner with diluted apple cider vinegar and while I don’t love the smell, nothing leaves my face feeling better. I use this daily and my skin has never been better.
- Avocado– Mashed avocado is supposed to be extremely nourishing for dry skin.
Have you ever made a face mask? What did you use?
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