Breakfast Mask Recipe

After the six hour flight from sunny Southern California back to wintry New England, my combination skin has been peeling and flaking from all the dehydration. To make matters worse, I've also started slightly breaking out again. I was caught in a bit of a dilemma because I don't have a wide range of products to fix this problem. Before I came back for my final semester, I decided not to bring my armory of treasured skincare products (DHC Cleansing Oil, Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair, St. Ives scrubs, etc.) because anything I don't finish, I will have to throw out. During my time in college, I've accumulated a ton of belongings so packing up and shipping out will be enough stressful as it is.

So recently, with a dining hall at my disposal (when will I ever have this luxury again?), I've been getting into homemade masks to help heal and improve my skin. The Internet is overflowing with recipes on how to incorporate food into your skincare regimen, but I've never used food other than egg whites on my skin because my parents would just consider it a waste, haha. Below is a recipe I concocted on the fly which I recommend if your skin needs some clarifying and moisturizing. Of course, you should only make it if these ingredients are readily and cheaply accessible! I call this mask the "Breakfast Mask" 'cause it's made of things I consume at breakfast, and tastes good enough to eat! :-)

You will need:
1) A cup of uncooked oatmeal - soothing, anti-inflammatory
2) Honey - as much or as little as you want, only if you're not allergic to it - moisturizing, healing, nourishing
3) A few slices of a lemon - lightening, brightening
4) One banana - moisturizing
5) Utensils--a pot, stirring spoon, bowl, knife, cutting board, etc.
6) Resealable tupperware

Directions:
Start by boiling a bit of water over a stove, and slowly adding in the oatmeal. You should cook the oatmeal a bit on the drier side, so it's thick and pasty, instead of runny or watery. When the oatmeal is done, scoop it out into a bowl. While the oatmeal is still hot, add honey into it and mix well. You can add as much or as little honey as you'd like. Next, peel your banana completely, and slice it as thinly as possible. Smash the banana slices all together until the banana has turned into mush, and then add this into the oatmeal. Stir everything together thoroughly. Your mixture should be a little more watery now. Next, add in some fresh lemon juice. If you're unsure of how much to add, a fourth of a lemon should be plenty. Mix again. Your mixture should be thick and mushy, but not runny. Take out the amount you need for your facial mask, and put the rest into a resealable tupperware container for the fridge. Apply the mask on a clean and toned face, and leave on for 5 to 15 minutes. Afterwards, rinse with water and follow with moisturizer.

If you want, you can also soak cotton pads in the mixture and put them on top of the paste on your skin. I find this helpful because the first batch I made was too liquidy, and glops of oatmeal and banana kept falling off all over the place. I would also suggest that you rinse carefully behind a mirror because the oatmeal and banana can get in your hair and be very difficult to wash out!

I tried this mask when my skin was very dry and congested. After rinsing my skin, it felt so nice and smooth. The next morning, my skin looked so much brighter and healthier, and my zits had reduced in size.

Some other oatmeal mask recipes to consider can be found here:
http://www.pioneerthinking.com/oatmealbeauty.html