Different ingredients seem to work for different people. I have tried many homemade mask with a limitless list of ingredients such as honey, bananas, eggs, avocados, oats, some yogurt, and milk which are known to be real moisturizing ingredients. For some reason most of those really irritates my skin as soon as I apply on the skin even if I wasn’t tested to be allergic to them. Perhaps it would be better if I used an organic version instead because I am THAT sensitive. When it occurs, my face would instantly get heated up, stimulating eczema bubbles on the spot and turns bright red. However some people had good results with certain ingredients that hasn’t worked for me according to some blogs & articles written by other eczema sufferers. Therefore, results vary among individuals, so i’m hoping to share my best experiences to help narrow it down & pinpoint what causes your Eczema to flare-up.
Facemask 1:
So far, I found Greek yogurt mixed with Tumeric is the best one I’ve tried without irritating my skin. Greek yogurt seem to be creamier than normal yogurts and even Jessica Alba recommend Greek yogurt in one of her homemade masks in her current book “The Honest Life: Living naturally and True To You”. Turmeric is good for skin irritations, acne, can reverse some sun damage which prevents aging and brighten the skin. Turmeric is a secret ingredient in face masks used in India to give their best look especially before a wedding day. It is also part of Thailand’s facial mix as well. The face mask I used was based on Michelle Phan’s ingredient used in one of her tutorial videos. The only difference is I used Greek yogurt instead of normal plain yogurt.
Yogurt also plays a role in dissolving dead skin cells, so scrubbing your face beforehand is not necessary. According to a facial guru (who i randomly saw on television), over scrubbing the face can worsen for those of us with hypersensitive skin, so be advised on your discretion. If you have any wounds, it may sting a little.
Yogurt & Turmeric face mask ingredients:
- 1 tbsp of Greek yogurt (plain)
- 1 tsp of turmeric (powdered)
Directions: Simply mix the two ingredients together until it reaches a consistent yellowish color. You can use your hands or a brush to apply the facemask on your face except the eye area & lips. Leave it on for 10-15 minutes. Over time you will feel the mask harden & cause a bit of skin tightening, so I find it’s best to lay down & don’t move while it does it job. Then carefully rinse off the mask by lightly patting your face with water to dissolve it off the face and then followed it up by your normal skin cleansing routine. I suggest doing this during night time because it leaves a bit of a yellowish stain on the skin, but it will disappear over time.
Facemask 2:
Manuka honey is currently a bit of a buzz when it comes to eczema. I found this “Manuka honey” face mask mix from a web-blogger, Britanie, who claims it saved her eczema-prone skin. A couple of others claimed it worked as well, so I’m hoping this will work on you too! I decided it was worth a try after doing couple of researches on this specific honey while learning through twitter. The honey itself is used in some skin products to help improve eczema.
Some may even eat it believing that it helps improve the immune system which results to better skin. As some of you may learn from my personal body butter recipe, honey in general has the ability in retaining moisture. There are plenty of benefits besides skin healing that it’s worth looking into. When I used just “plain” raw honey, it didn’t seem to have the same type of effect as Manuka honey, but you can try raw honey to see if it does have an effect before trying Manuka. Manuka is known for containing more benefits compared to other honeys.
The Calming Face Mask for Eczema, Sensitive and/or Acne Prone Skin ingredients consist of:
- 1 tbsp of Manuka honey (or raw honey)
- 1 tsp of ground Nutmeg
- ½ tsp of vitamin E oi (or 1 capsule of it)
Nutmeg is quite similar to Turmeric in terms of its anti-inflammatory properties in soothing irritated skin, skin brightening, and reducing acne & scars. A slight difference is that it can buff off dead skin cells due to its grainy texture which gives you the option in scrubbing afterwards.
Vitamin E oil is commonly known to be beneficial in the skin. it has the ability to be absorbed by the skin and helps prevent premature aging, scars & irritated skin. If any of you read my body butter recipe, this oil can also be used as a natural preservative in prolonging shelf life. Martha Steward shared her secret in the “The doctors” show of obtaining good skin by using the vitamin E capsule (in its cheapest and possibly most concentrated form as a facial serum). I personally used a bottle with a little droplet for its simple use, of course the capsule form is probably cheaper. I’m not going to go too much detail into it since its common knowledge, but if you like more information, check out this site: http://beautybybritanie.com/tag/alba-botanica/
Directions: Mix ingredients into thick paste. Apply mixture on face especially on problematic area(s). In this case, its best to apply with your fingers due to its sticky consistency that may be difficult to put on at first, so avoid rubbing it in. You can leave the mixture on for 20-60 minutes because it is more of moisturizing mask compared to my Yogurt turmeric mix that is likely to cause skin tightening. You may enjoy watching TV or do other non-physical activities while you’re at it. Afterwards you have a choice to exfoliate the skin with the nutmeg or skip it & rinse it off with lukewarm water.
