Green Clay Mask

Unfortunately, we are family who have all suffered with acne; everything from deep cystic acne to white & blackheads. Over the last several years I have done a lot of research & trial & error to make my own skin care ~ most of my skin/body care recipes are already here on Marmee's Pantry. I have OFTEN said to our friends & family...on this blog...& to customers where I work that if I had known in my teen & early 20's what I know now about skin care, I could have saved my parents, literally, THOUSANDS of dollars in dermatologist bills. For years, I was on just about every type of topical & oral acne med you could think of (although, after learning the side-effects of Accutane, I turned it down. And gladly so).

So, after I had such great success w/my face wash (& it's SO incredibly simple!), I wanted to find a mask recipe that our help w/the acne & w/removing some of the toxins & impurities that tend to build up in our bodies & come out in our skin. And, being an old Clinique girl (I worked for them from '79-82), I love a good exfoliator!

Once you start researching homemade skin care & home care products, it is truly amazing how simple ~ yet effective ~ they are! We don't need all those chemicals & preservatives...& all those things that we can't even pronounce, much less know what in the world they do!

If you have oily/acne-prone skin, THIS is the mask for you!

You will need:

~1 TB French green clay; you can buy this in bulk at your local health food store or at many bulk food stores or packaged

~aloe vera juice; as pure as possible. Purity rating is usually on the tube or bottle

~2-3 drops of German chamomile essential oil

1) In a bowl, use a whisk to mix together the clay & enough aloe vera to make a good, spreadable, pasty mask.

2) Stir in the essential oil.

3) Spread the mask all over your face & down onto your neck, avoiding your eyes & lips. It will take up to 30 minutes to dry completely. You may even want to lay down w/some lovely music & treat as your own little 'spa day'!

4) Rinse off w/cool water & do a final splash w/cold water.

But wait! There's more! :-D

In case you didn't know it, a clay mask also makes a great zit zapper! Before you go to bed, mix up just a very little bit of the clay/aloe vera/chamomile mixture (even less than a ts-full) &, taking a Q-Tip, dab a little bit of mask on any blemish you have ~ especially the deep, cystic kind ~ & keep it on all night. In the morning, wipe off any that remains & a wet washcloth. (FYI...another zit zapping trick is to do the same thing w/EITHER honey OR tea tree essential oil; cover w/a small Band-aide till morning ~ the zit may very well even be GONE by morning!)

If you have ever suffered w/acne, I know EXACTLY how you feel, I was in my late 40's ~ STILL suffering w/acne ~ until I started making my own face care & my skin looks the best it has ever looked in my whole life. Please give my recipes a try, you will not regret it.

Blessings from Ohio...Kim<><