DIY FACE MASK FOR OILY/ACNE-PRONE SKIN
Hey everyone! Lately, I've been breaking out even more than usual, and it seems like most of the face masks I've been trying to help out my skin are just breaking me out more. So, I decided to take matters into my own hands and make my own homemade face mask for oily and acne prone skin. This face mask is only made of 3 (amazing) ingredients that are proven to help benefit your skin, not just for oily types but for all types! I chose these ingredients based off of research I've done on natural skincare, and these 3 in conjunction work perfectly for a skin type like mine: super oily and acne prone, but also extremely sensitive. The three ingredients are rice, lemon, and egg whites!
Egg whites are known to help reduce the appearance acne scars and help combat acne. They also soak up excess oil and sebum very well and tighten skin; perfect for pore minimizing! I've also seen a lot of Korean skincare brands use egg whites in their pore strips and other pore products, so that must mean that they're a great option for oily skin. Ingredient 2: Lemons! Lemon juice is a powerful astringent that fights off acne causing bacteria and lightens skin to reduce the appearance of scarring and discoloration. My goal for the lemon juice is to lighten the small acne scars and hyper pigmentation on my face from old acne and to also disinfect the areas that I'm prone to getting breakouts to prevent future ones. Lemons are also known for reducing excess oil so that's another plus! Last but not least, rice! Rice minimizes the appearance of pores and tightens them. A great benefit to using rice is its property to reduce redness after a breakout and to soothe irritated skin, helping heal acne as well as sunburns!
Now that you know everything about the ingredients' benefits, lets get into the 'recipe!'
What You'll Need:
1/2 cup of rice (jasmine, brown, white long grain, whatever you have in your kitchen!)
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
2 eggs
This is enough for multiple uses, about 3, so I suggest not keeping this in the fridge for a while, and instead, make this on a day where you can do it with your friends and split it into thirds (or adjust the recipe to your liking :) ).
First thing's first, before anything else, rinse your rise with some water a few times to get rid of the dirt and impurities. Then, add just enough clean water to your bowl so the water level is just above the level of rice in the bowl. Put some cling wrap over it and leave it to soak for a couple hours or overnight. I did mine overnight and it really helped the water was much more cloudy and the rice was softer so I could grind the rice a little bit to get more nutrients out of it and into the water.
Another really great thing you can do is put your rice and water into a jar and keep it in your bathroom to use the water as a facial toner. This happens to have a very similar effect to the popular SK-II facial treatment essence. If you do this, make sure you replace your rice and water every couple of days to keep it fresh!
Time for egg whites! Start by cracking your first egg into a bowl. My little trick when separating yolk and white is to take an empty plastic water bottle and use the drinking hole to create some suction, making the yolk suction up into the water bottle, and leaving the white in the bowl. Of course, separate your second egg as well, and whip them up together so they're nice and frothy.
After whipping up the whites, I squeezed about a tablespoon of lemon juice into the bowl. I didn't want to add too much lemon because it is pretty acidic and I don't want to irritate my skin. I have a feeling that the acidity in large numbers may be too much for my very sensitive skin, but depending on your preference and skin type, you can decide how much lemon you use.
Finally, we can return to our soaking rice. Pour all of the rice water into the bowl and if you want, you can add a couple of the rice granules (about a teaspoon) in there too for a little bit of exfoliation when you're washing off the mask. Mix everything together and boom! Homemade face mask for oily/acne-prone skin!
Here's how to apply it:
I found this nifty tool at elf at the new e.l.f. store near me that is basically just a double-ended face mask brush. One side is a silicone paddle that makes it easier to apply face masks evenly. Although it's better for muddy or creamy face mask, I thought this would do well for my mask so I didn't have to get egg white everywhere and all over my hands.
Another tip! Make sure that you have a towel on your lap if you're sitting down while applying. Since this mask is pretty liquidy, the mixture may drip down your face at first so the towel will help with any sort of mess that causes.
Before you put on the mask, wash your face with some warm water to open up your pores in and to clean it off your face a little bit. Now you can apply your first layer, very thinly. Once that dries, apply thicker coats onto your face: I'd say three or four. Then, just wait for to dry! It takes about 15 minutes. I take the dry mask off by taking a wet washcloth and just wiping it off. No need for force or vigor, the rice granules and dry pieces of face mask will exfoliate your skin fabulously. After that, I just wash my face thoroughly with some more warm water, dry off, and continue on with my regular daily moisturizer.
(Above photo sequence is *left to right* Before, During, and After the mask use) Overall, my face feels extremely smooth and there's definitely a reduction in oil. Obviously the fading of the pigmentation and acne is not gonna be as visible immediately after you do this mask but I definitely feel that my face, especially in its acne prone areas, feels cleaner and less gross.
If any of you try out this DIY or make a variation of it I'd love to hear how it works out for you! Contact us on our Instagram with a face mask selfie and how you liked it :) Until next time-- Hannah <3