Homemade Face Masks for Glowing Skin

By Lilly Wallace, eHow

Having healthy, glowing skin depends largely on lifestyle factors, such as diet, sleep, and exercise. Topical treatments can also be very effective, but they are relatively expensive. If you enjoy DIYs or if you have a limited budget, you can do facial treatments at home with inexpensive ingredients that offer well-known skin benefits that even professionals acknowledge as effective.

The Problem: Dull Skin

Dull skin is often the result of the piling up of dead skin cells. Yogurt is a natural source of lactic acid, which provides gentle exfoliation, helps to reduce inflammation, and brightens the skin. The enzymes contained in the yogurt break down the substance that holds dead skin cells together, peeling them off and revealing fresh skin. A study evaluated how a face treatment containing yogurt affected the skin and it was found to successfully improve brightness and elasticity of the skin.

The Remedy: Yogurt Mask

Yogurt face mask in a bowl and a cotton ball

Things You'll Need

• Plain yogurt, preferably local and organic
• Cotton ball
• Bowl
• Optional: honey, preferably local and organic
• Spoon

The Problem: Dry skin

If your skin lacks luminosity because it is dry or because it has been exposed to environmental factors like wind, sun, and extreme temperatures, avocado is a great ingredient to include in your homemade face mask. Avocados are very rich in nutrients such as Vitamin A, E, B12, K, C, and fatty acids. It's softening, nourishing properties help with replenishing and healing the skin, as suggested by a 2013 study.

The Remedy: Avocado + Honey Mask

Things You'll Need

• 1 ripe avocado
• 1 tablespoon of honey
• Bowl
• Spoon
• Fork
• Knife

The Problem: Sun-Damaged Skin

If you have overdone your daily dose of sun and you have noticed photo damage, you can naturally renew your skin to get a glowing complexion with the help of green tea. Green tea has excellent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, which early studies have shown effectively help the skin cells to heal and regenerate. It is also considered an effective anti-aging ingredient because it counteracts the effect of free radicals.

The Solution: Green Tea Masks

Here are two simple green tea-based masks to choose from that you can make by mixing the green tea powder with either honey (best for oily/blemish prone skin types), or avocado (best for dry/mature skin types).