Is your skin begging for a pick-me-up? Put one of these natural face masks on your shopping list.

Making your own nourishing facial mask is easy and cheap, but it does take time and the right ingredients. If you’re busy, or your pantry is bare, buying natural face masks is the next best thing–but don’t just grab the first one you see.

The beauty aisle is crowded with products that claim to be natural face masks, but are chock full of unnecessary toxic ingredients that could actually irritate your skin and affect your health. Which defeats the entire purpose!

Not to worry, we at EcoSalon poked around to find some of the best natural face masks on the market. If you can’t (or just don’t want to) make a DIY face mask, these are a worthy substitute.

7 Of The Best Natural Face Masks Money Can Buy

1 . Miessence Purifying Mineral Mask

Made from certified organic ingredients, the Miessence Purifying Mineral Mask is perfect for oily or problem skin. Made with natural green clay, organic echinacea and witch hazel to tone and purify, this mask comes as a dry powder that you combine with water when ready to use (this means there’s no danger of drying out if you forget the cap!). “It pulls so many toxins out of the skin, it’s amazing!” said Danika Carter, blogger and owner of Your Organic Life. “It even helps detox trapped toxins in the arm pit when switching from antiperspirant to organic deodorant.” $28.65

2. Juice Beauty Green Apple Peel

Perfect for sensitive skin, this product may call itself a peel, but it’s one of the best natural face masks on the market. Using organic ingredients like apple juice, white grapes, lemon and aloe, the Juice Beauty Green Apple Peel is designed for all skin types except those with rosacea or extremely sensitive skin. It’s a best-seller because it exfoliates and refines to reduce fine lines and wrinkles, and lighten hyperpigmentation. $39

3. Lush Mask of Magnaminty

With a name like that, a mask could either be pretentious or awesome, and thankfully this product from Lush is the latter. Made with China clay, fresh peppermint, adzuki beans, and vanilla, Mask of Magnaminty gives you that deep down tingly clean while also exfoliating and soothing dry skin. $24.95

4. La Bella Figura Bio Active Purifying Mask

Using a combination of Manuka honey, mineral rich actives and purifying activated charcoal, Bio Active Purifying Mask is perfect for those who want to eradicate bacteria and dirt while balancing skin tone. “I love this mask because I can feel the clay drawing out toxins. It leaves my skin feeling super clean and refreshed,” says Paige Wolf,  a PR specialist for green businesses. “I also love the look of a “mud-mask” for scaring my 4 year old!” $60

5. Pangea Japanese Matcha Tea, Acai, Goji Berry Facial Mask

No list of natural facial masks would be complete without mentioning Pangea. This company has been dedicated to producing the highest quality natural beauty products since day one, and this superfood-packed facial mask is no exception. It will noticeably improve the quality, tone, and texture of your skin, leaving you soft and glowing. $40

6. S.W. Basics Hibiscus Mask

Few natural face masks can boast an ingredient list that’s only three items long, but that’s exactly what you’ll find on this bottle. Made with direct-trade hibiscus, French green clay, and organic lavender, this Hibiscus mask comes in a powder formula that you mix with water, yogurt or honey to smooth and detox. $22

7. Kiss My Face Deep Pore Cleansing Mask

I don’t know about you, but what I want from natural face masks is pore minimization. Made with cloves, tea tree, lemongrass and other natural extracts, the Deep Pore Cleansing Mask from Kiss My Face attacks facial both acne and blackheads for smaller pores and tighter, fresher skin. $15

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Top Image: echolife. Mask images are the property of their respective brands

The post 7 Of The Best Natural Face Masks Money Can Buy appeared first on EcoSalon.

Twelve DIY face mask recipes so you can start 2014 with healthy, glowing skin.

I live in Colorado where winter weather means one thing (besides terrifying driving conditions): dry skin. My skin is naturally on the oily side, so the arid climate creates an uncomfortable conundrum. Either my face feels tight and dry, or I moisturize and clog my pores.

Over the years I’ve learned that a good face mask treatment can work wonders to balance out my skin and restore a natural glow. Facials are an expensive spa treatment but there’s no need to go broke. A good DIY face mask can clear your pores, cleanse, detoxify, and hydrate your skin just as well as the $100 treatment, you just have to know which one to use.

To help, we’ve rounded up 12 of the best DIY face mask recipes the internet has to offer, and conveniently organized them by skin type so you can zero in on the ones that will help restore your skin to its rightful beauty.

12 DIY Face Mask Recipes For Your Skin Type

Acne-prone Skin

If you struggle with acne, what you need is a DIY face mask that will exfoliate and heal.

Try:

1. Apple Cider Vinegar Acne DIY Face Mask & Scrub

2. Simple Baking Soda DIY Fask Mask

3. Burning Face Mask (designed to lighten up marks, blemishes and scars, and even out your skin tone)

Dry & Sensitive Skin

If you’re dealing with dry, flaky or cracking skin, you need a DIY face mask that will saturate your face with hydrating moisture.

Try:

4. Honey and Avocado DIY Face Mask

5. Oatmeal and Fennel DIY Face Mask

6. Organic Chocolate & Honey Nourishing Face Mask

Oily Skin

If your pores work over time to produce oil, the best DIY face mask is one that exfoliates and draws impurities out of the skin.

Try:

7. Yogurt and Plum DIY Face Mask

8. DIY Face Mask for Oily/Combination Skin with Cucumber, Egg White, Lemon and Clay

9. Banana Honey DIY Face Mask

Wrinkled Skin

As we age, wrinkles become more pronounced. Minimize those laugh lines and crow’s feet with a DIY face mask that tightens, moisturizes, and replenishes our natural collagen.

Try:

10. Egg White and Honey DIY Face Mask

11. Grapeseed and Blueberry DIY Face Mask

12. Cocoa, Avocad0, Honey and Green Tea DIY Face Mask

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Images: Zenspa1

The post 12 Market Price DIY Face Mask Recipes For Every Skin Type: Affordable and Effective appeared first on EcoSalon.

Fall is the time when farmer’s markets are filled with delicious goodies like cranberries, apples and more. So what better time to set aside some produce and pamper your prettiness? Check out our step-by-step guide to making an apples and cranberry facial mask, inspired by Narine Nikogosian’s Return to Beauty. Cranberries are extremely high in antioxidants, which help fight skin damage. They are also mildly acidic and make a great skin exfoliator.

Along with Erin Fox of Squee TV, watch us go toe to toe with mashed cranberries, shredding apples, and some absconded flax seed supplement!

Image: The Gifted Photographer

The post DIY Fall Beauty: Homemade Apples and Cranberry Mask appeared first on EcoSalon.

Some people think “eyes are the windows of the soul,” but I would argue that it is the skin. Think about it. If you sneak junk food that may or may not have originated from Golden Arches (no judgment, my fry-loving friend), it is likely to show up on your skin. And it’s not just bad food that can make an appearance on your epidermis. If you stress yourself, your skin will show the signs. If you’re hormonal or pregnant, your skin may show it before your mid-section.

Don’t believe me? Recently, in a moment of stress-induced weakness, I picked up a bag of frozen tater tots at the store. I generally eat very well – fruits, veggies, lean proteins galore. But I wanted tots, and for the love of Pete Campbell I had to have them. That night, blinds drawn, I ate the tots and was happy. The next day? Breakout city.

Morale of the story? Your body rids itself of toxins through the skin via sweating. So if there’s a build-up of bad things in your body, you may see it in acne, skin blotches and more. So treat your skin to a healthy diet and resist the siren call of the tots. Drink a lot of water to keep yourself hydrated. Cut out sugary foods, trans-fats and fried foods. As one expert suggests, “smooth, soft, clear skin depends on fresh fruits and vegetables.” Make friends with your local farmers’ market.

Product wise, there’s a slew of detoxifying masks on the market that can help speed up the process. Recently, I had the chance to check out Anthology’s Complete Skin Detox Face Mask ($13.95). Anthology only uses USDA certified organic ingredients and packages their bath and body works in recyclable glass bottles. Their line is vegan, cruelty-free, and void of chemicals.

And how is the Complete Skin Detox Face Mask? In two words: bloody cool. Just in time for Halloween, this mask paints your face with a red liquid hue that makes you look like you just got back from Carrie’s prom. Which is AWESOME, naturally. But you might want to warn anyone in your vicinity. Unless you want to watch them freak out, which has its advantages as well.

A word of caution. While using the product, just mix one teaspoon and a little bit of water. I made the mistake of mixing it will too much water and ended up wasting quite a bit of it. Also, the mask is really quite messy, so try to keep the wetness to a minimum. And keep some cloths on hand to wipe up afterwards.

The mask’s main ingredients are hibiscus flowers, clay, and cranberries. The hibiscus is said to have “anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, detoxifying, peeling and anti-oxidant effects” on the skin. The cranberries have antioxidants to fight free-radicals on the skin.

How does it work? I applied the mixture with a cotton ball and left it on for about 25 minutes, or as long as it took to dry. It was a little tingly and smelled like berry herbal tea. It left my skin feeling tight, smooth, and looking a little pink. It can leave your skin feeling a bit dry, so be sure to follow up with a moisturizer.

FTC Compliance

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