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 and my matcha green tea latte recipe).
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?
Hi Katie,
I love all of your face mask recipes but I was wondering if you have an idea for an overnight face mask? (if possible that doesn’t rub off on your pillow). This is mostly a Korean beauty movement and a couple of years ago I used a commercial brand (Missha). But since turning natural it’s been hard to find something that will work in place.
Keep up the good work 😉
I am not familiar with that practice, so I am not really sure what to suggest.
I love putting food on my face!! I live in a dry climate so during the winter I use banana/avocado/honey mask! Can’t wait to try this, I love matcha! Thanks for sharing all your wonderful beauty recipes!
What about kombucha on the face? Would that be the same/ similar/ or better than ACV?
I’m excited to try these different masks, Match green tea powder? Where to find ? , And I also want your opinion on the book you’re reading =) life-changing magic of tidying up? Have you had success? Thanks for the great info!
I am excited to try this;
I have been putting two Matcha green tea bags in my Epsom Salt soak and not only do my muscles feel great from the Epsom salts, my skin is amazingly soft from the Matcha!
Thank you! I will have to add this to my routine!
Blessings!
I started using ACV daily, and like you, skin has never been better. Pretty sure I got the recipe from your site (as well as the oil face wash)! Thanks a bunch! Will have to give this mask a try. Wonder if you have a blog post specific to anti aging/wrinkles?
The photo of you with the mask on – I laughed ’til the dogs were worried. Great recipe, Katie! 😀
Hi! Is this for every skin type? i thought green tea was for oily skin only.
Best regards
what about for oily skin?
Excellent idea, (and I will try this mask tomorrow!) like all the things that arrive from you to my mail box! I keep Macha on hand to make Green Tea Ice Cream; mix a tablespoon with a small amount of softened vanilla or plain yogurt ice cream, then mix with about 2 cups of the softened ice cream then refreeze. Love it! I also add about a half tbsp to plain Greek yogurt, some honey, and it is a great treat, less caloric than ice cream but just about as satisfying.
His dear
I have a problem under my chin or where the neck area is
Thing is My neck skin is gone very suggy
N loose
Can this matcha face masks help me my neck
Pls help me
Pakeezah
Eat as many greens as possible. See Dr. Esselstyn’s website or his daughter and mother’s You Tube videos on incorporating greens into your diet. Dark, leafy greens promote elasticity in tissues all over your body. To begin my day, I eat 1/2 of a 1 pound tub of spring mix greens dipped in either either a tiny bit of miso paste (I use either Mikari Miso or Ohsawa Brown Rice Miso, available on Amazon) or Ariston Balsamic Vinegar (sugar free–it is sweetened only by the natural grape must, also on Amazon). For lunch I eat unsalted beans or chick peas sprinkled with nutritional yeast and Table Tasty (on Amazon), original flavor salt substitute. I also add 1/2 teaspoon of chlorella powder to the legumes. Later in the day I may eat a different variety of legumes or some whole grains. See nutrition facts.org. If you don’t want to go fully vegan, add no more that 3% of you total calories of lean animal flesh, but be aware that any sort of animal flesh will cause inflammation, and your skin will suffer as well.