We have talked a lot over here about how beauty products can be so expensive. I love and stand behind the fancier products that I write about but we can also have some fun with creating our own at home beauty remedies. I’m working on a post with some more affordable skincare options but I really believe that at home treatments (especially face masks!) are where it’s at if you’re looking to save money. You get to have total control of the ingredients in the treatment, there’s no preservatives or chemicals, and they’re fun to make!
DIY Turmeric Face Mask
I have been having a lot of fun playing around with creating my own natural remedies and am committed to sharing more face mask recipes here. We talked about egg beauty benefits a couple weeks ago. Egg whites + egg yolks have a ton of great benefits – you can do a lot of great DIY treatments at home for hair, skin, and body. This turmeric face mask DIY is a new favorite as it is so good for your skin.
The mask uses just four ingredients (which you probably already have at home!) It’s super easy to make in just a couple minutes, is great on all skin types, balance and evens out your skin tone and the results are just as powerful as a lot of the fancier and more expensive face masks I use. It exfoliates, brightens, and makes your skin so so soft. After using it, your skin will be softer, brighter, and GLOWING. And that’s what we all want, right!?! It’s all about glowing skin right now.
Turmeric Beauty Benefits
I feel like turmeric is in every healthy food right now. It started as a main ingredient in curry (that bright yellow orange color is hard to miss!) but has become super trendy over the past few years, and for good reason – it has a lot of great health benefits and healing properties. If I’m starting to get a cold I’ll get a turmeric shot at Juice Generation… golden milk is all the rage, and it seems to be creeping up in everything from salad dressing to dessert! It targets free radicals and its healing benefits make it so good for you to eat, but it’s also great for your skin!
Indian brides have used turmeric scrubs and masks to purify and cleanse their bodies and get glowing. It’s great for deep cleansing and purification but since it’s also high in anti-oxidants, it has amazing anti inflammatory properties which can help soothe irritated, angry skin.
Turmeric is great for acne and purifying the skin, but it’s great for dry skin as well. It’s basically a wonder herb. What makes it so powerful is curcumin (a phytonutrient) with anti-inflammatory abilities.
Turmeric Face Mask DIY Recipe
Ingredients
Turmeric // We talked about turmeric above but it has incredible anti inflammatory properties, is great for purifying the skin, and a natural exfoliant. Leaves skin brighter and helps to even the skin tone: it can help to lighten dark spots.
Honey // I use this manuka honey (which I also take if I’m getting sick). It’s a little pricier than regular old honey (which you can totally use) but it’s highly anti-bacterial (so again, great for purification) but also suuuuuper hydrating so it cleanses the skin while adding insane hydration. As an aside, if your skin is ever super dry you can use this honey on its own as a face mask for hydrated, glowing skin.
Greek Yogurt // Greek yogurt is actually great for your skin as it contains lactic acid (a natural exfoliant + moisturizer). I used Fage 2%; honestly any yogurt will work. I like this yogurt as it’s really creamy so it gives the mask a nice texture and makes it good for dryer skin types (me!). It’s also the yogurt I eat most mornings for breakfast, so it was convenient. 😉
Apple Cider Vinegar // It’s a natural astringent (it is great for oily skin types and makes a great spot treatment for pimples, FYI!)
A few quick notes: be careful with the turmeric as it can stain the things around you (it won’t stain your dishes or sink, just rinse them immediately)… and you can leave out the apple cider vinegar if you hate the smell.
Directions
- Wash your face so that you are starting with clean, dry skin.
- Combine 1 teaspoon greek yogurt, 1/2 teaspoon honey, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder, and a few drops of Apple Cider Vinegar*
- Apply the mask evenly all over your face with a paintbrush. Avoid the eye area.
- Allow to dry. (About 15 or 20 minutes!)
- Remove with warm water and a wash cloth. I suggest using a wash cloth you don’t really care about as the mask will turn it a bright yellow orange!
*Be careful with how much ACV you use. You really only need a few drops. The reason this mask took me a little while to perfect was that I was using too much. It was too strong for my skin. Nothing bad happened, the aroma irritated my eyes.
Turmeric Face Mask Benefits
After applying this mask my skin is so, so soft. It’s really good for brightening and evening the skin tone and detoxifying the skin.
Turmeric is great for treating acne and can also help with fading dark spots (melasma, acne scars). I don’t have either of these skin conditions so cannot personally attest to whether it works but there are a lot of articles out there (like this one) that say it can really help. (Definitely consult your dermatologist.) If you do this mask to help fade dark spots, consider adding a few drops of lemon juice as well.
You can mix turmeric with just about everything (try adding it to the egg face mask I talked about in this post!) Coconut oil would be another ingredient to consider adding, as it’s so hydrating. I left it out in this case as I wanted a mask that was more detoxifying and brightening… but if my skin was feeling dryer than usual I would add 1/2 teaspoon of melted coconut oil to this formula! I think that will be my winter version of this mask.
PS – if you are more of a BUY vs DIY person, Kiehl’s has a great turmeric mask, this organic one is amazing, and I really love this one from APTO (I featured it in this post; it’s very similar to the one we made today).
PS – I also LOVE this DIY yogurt and avocado mask!
I’ve never tried turmeric in my skincare before, just in my food! Seems interesting, but I’m more of a buy over a DIY person, so I appreciate your recommendations! Especially since you mentioned Kiehl’s, since I’m a diehard fan of the brand. 🙂
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
I am a diehard fan too!!! But give this a try! It really is so easy! x
There are so many turmeric benefits! I try to sneak it into food every once in a while. I need to try this mask now!
http://stylebysamantha.com/florals-into-fall/
Yay – I hope you give it a try!!! Send me a selfie if you do! 🙂
How long do I see results
It depends what results you’re looking for but I personally saw results immediately (my skin was brighter, smoother, and super glowy!)
wats a good mask for oily & acne scars
I just tried it and love it! Thanks for the great recommendation 🙂
Oh wow you are quick! So happy to hear that!!! x
I’ve heard some stories of people’s skin having a slight orange tint for a couple days after using a turmeric mask – did you experience this at all?
Haha no but it was a little hard to remove, so I could see that happening. I had to give it an extra rinse to get it off (and it did stain my wash cloth so now I have a special yellow wash cloth just for masking!!!)
If you see a yellow residue after the mask, maybe just wash your face afterward! xo
Definitely going to try this one! When you say be careful with the tumeric it can stain your skin – Could the mask itself leave your skin yellow? Or did you just mean when you are handling the tumeric?
Sorry, that was a typo on my part! I was thinking about it staining your skin (it did take me a while to get it off my face but it didn’t stain!) but i just meant it can stain things around you. I just updated the post.
I can’t wait to try this! I really trust your beauty and wellness recommendations. I am especially interested in ones, like this, that are more budget friendly or DIY!
Ooh I hope you do! Let me know how you like it!
Did you use the mask immediately after making it? Wondering if I could make and store in fridge for a few hours before use??
Immediately afterward!
I am no expert but in my opinion/experience, homemade beauty treatments are best used immediately!
Thanks for the quick feedback and love what you do here! ❤️
you’re so welcome! xx
How often can I use this mask?
Depends on your skin! I’d say 1-3x a week, depending on ho sensitive you are.
another turmeric face mask you can make is:
– turmeric
– sugar to act as exfoliator
– coconut oil
I just tried this and my skin is glowing and is so smooth! I’m African-American with a darker complexion and I’ve been dealing with blemishes for a while. I look forward to this mask hopefully helping to clear all of that it up! How often do you recommend it being applied?
Oh good, I’m so glad! I think maybe once a week or so, depending on how sensitive your skin is!
Hi Grace,
Long time reader first time commenter. Turmeric is a spice, not a herb, and has been used in Ayurveda for over 4000 years. Indians have used turmeric in skin care for centuries. Most Indians grow up drinking haldi doodh, or as you call it ‘golden milk’. While you do reference Indian brides using it, the entire article reads like Columbus ‘discovering’ America. The West has co-opted several aspects of Eastern culture without giving appropriate credit. I would urge you to please provide appropriate references in your article re:turmeric use in India, and to please conduct a little more research the next time you’re writing about something that is clearly not part of mainstream culture in North America.
Thanks for the feedback!
Come on. We are simply talking about a spice here. This is a beauty tip article not a dissertation on culinary history and spice origins. IMHO your stern lecture to Grace was not needed.
I absolutely need to try this mask. I’m a mask lover and I always want to try new homemade recipes. Thank you for sharing!
Miki x
http://www.littletasteofbeauty.com
you’re welcome! Happy masking!
Okay I need to try this asap x
Lisa | lisaautumn.com
It’s a good one!!
I’ve never use tumeric before even in my food but I will definitely begin to use it, problem is my skin I’ve tried many products but nothing helped so now i believe that I have a solution to my problem. Thanks very much you’re the best keep informing us. “GOODBYE DESERT FACE AND HELLO TURMERIC FACE”.
Is it ok to make a face musk with honey,youghut or milk and lemon juice together with turmeric?.
I just tried this treatment, and I love it! It left my skin glowing, soft, supple, and hydrated!
Oh good I am so happy to hear that!
Ive tried a similar mask before and loved the results. I’ve got mine on now, im sure the results will be amazing. All the ingredients have Natural benefits and thats what I love. All the chemicals they put in face mask in stores break my face out because my skin is so sensitive. It’s so dry, but because of where I work it can get oily too.