Are you planning a sleepover with your best girl friends, and are looking for a fun activity to do together? One of our favorite ways to spend time with friends is by experimenting with some DIY skincare recipes. 

Homemade skincare products like mud and clay facemasks allow you to save money and also give you the opportunity to experiment with ingredients. You can play around with essential oils and different types of clay so you can discover something that not only works for you but also smells and feels exactly like you want it to. 

That said, before you can start experimenting, you need a base recipe to work with. Here are some fun clay and mud mask recipes that you can try out at home, whether it’s during a self-care session or a night of gossip with your girls!

 

Hydrating Blue Clay Mask

French blue clay is one of the mildest clays around, and you can use it to hydrate your skin, soothe skin irritations, and stimulate circulation. While sourcing French blue clay may be challenging in North America, you can also make a DIY version of this clay by mixing white cosmetic clay with blue spirulina algae powder.

Once you’ve got your blue clay ready, you’ll need to gather all your ingredients together:

• 2 tablespoons (or 20g) of French blue clay
• 2.5 tablespoons (or 40g) of either aloe vera gel or water. Aloe vera gel is the preferred option.
• 1 tablespoon (or 10g) of fractionated coconut oil
• 3 drops of an essential oil of your choice

Making the mask is pretty simple – all you need to do is mix the ingredients together. Blue clay is extremely absorbent, so you may need to add a little more of the liquid ingredients to get it to a usable consistency. The coconut oil may separate from the other ingredients before you can use this mask. However, if that happens, all you need to do is give the mixture another stir. 

The aloe vera helps soothe and hydrate your skin and treats skin irritations that include sunburns, eczema, and dry skin. The coconut oil also boasts hydrating qualities and helps the clay detoxify and purify your skin.

This mask has a shelf life of about 7 days if refrigerated.

 

Powder Matcha Green Tea Mask

A number of DIY spreadable masks tend to have a limited shelf life. While this isn’t an issue if you’re having a relaxing night in with a friend, this becomes a problem if you want to stock up on a DIY mask for a couple of months. 

That’s where this great cleansing mask comes in. It’s made as a powder, and you need to mix it with a liquid whenever you want to apply it. Here are the ingredients you’ll need:

• 40g French green clay
• 40g kaolin clay
• 0.5g allantoin
• 10g matcha powder
• 1g aloe vera gel powder. Make sure that the powder is labeled “200X” – this indicates that it can be used in health products and is the highest possible quality of aloe powder available.
• 10g honey powder
• 5g spirulina powder
• 20g goat milk powder or yogurt powder (optional). While this powder is rich in vitamins D and A, it reduces the shelf life of the mask. Without it, you can store the mask as a powder for up to 6 months.

To make this mask, all you need to do is mix the ingredients together. You can also add a few drops of your favorite essential oil to the mixture. When storing, store in an airtight container in a dry and dark place.

When you’re ready to use this mask, all you need to do is two teaspoons of the powder with one teaspoon of liquid until you have a spreadable paste. Some liquids you can use for the mask include:

• Water
• Aloe vera gel
• Yogurt 
• Glycerin
• Green tea 
• Hydrosols 

 

Lavender and Sea Clay Face Mask

Tired of excessively oily skin? Constantly reaching for a tissue to wipe your face clear, even when the air conditioning is turned on?

Don’t worry – we’ve got the perfect face mask for you!

To make this mask, you’ll need:

• 0.5 cup of sea clay
• 0.5 cup of lavender hydrosol
• 1 tablespoon chamomile powder
• 1 tablespoon lavandin (or lavender) powder (optional)
• 2 teaspoons of honey (or 1 teaspoon of honey powder)
• 5 drops of chamomile CO2 extract (optional)
• 1 drop of lavender essential oil

To make this mask, first, combine the sea clay and the powdered ingredients. Once that is done, add the lavender hydrosol and the lavender essential oil. If you’ve chosen to use honey over honey powder, or are using the chamomile CO2 extract, add those in as well. Then, whisk the mixture until it’s smooth.

This mask has a shelf-life of up to two weeks, as long as it’s stored in the refrigerator. 

Lavender and chamomile both have a calming effect on the skin, and sea clay is a great option for people who have oily and acne-prone skin. This mask will help balance your skin, so you can feel cleansed and relaxed.

 

Detoxifying Mud Mask

Is the stress of your daily life having a noticeable effect on your skin? If you’re seeing an increase in acne breakouts and early wrinkles, don’t worry – here’s a face mask that can help!

The ingredients you’ll need for this mask are:

• 26g Dead Sea mud
• 5g bentonite clay
• 3.5 silk peptides (optional). If you’re vegan, you can also replace it with hydrolyzed oat protein.
• 7.5g water
• 2 drops of tea tree essential oil

To make:

• Warm the water and mix it in with the dead sea mud.
• Mix in the silk peptides and the bentonite clay until the ingredients are fully combined. If needed, add some more water or a little more clay to get it to your preferred consistency.
• Add the essential oil and mix once more. 

The silk peptides will help moisturize your skin and help it look smoother. The tea tree essential oil acts as an anti-microbial, reducing the risk of breakouts and other skin conditions. It also reduces inflammation and puffiness and balances both oily and dry skin.

 

Coffee Mud Mask

Your love of coffee doesn’t just have to be limited to what you drink – with this mud mask, you can apply it to your skin as well!

For this mask, you’ll need:

• 2 teaspoons of French green clay, bentonite clay, or kaolin clay
• 1 teaspoon of coffee grounds
• 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar diluted with a teaspoon of rose water
• 3 drops of tea tree essential oil

To make this mask, first, mix the clay and the coffee grounds together. Then, add the diluted apple cider vinegar (ACV) and the essential oil and mix all the ingredients well. Once it’s a paste-like consistency, it’s ready for application.

The coffee grounds work as an anti-inflammatory and are also a great natural exfoliant. Additionally, the ACV helps maintain the skin’s pH balance and helps you attain a more even skin tone. Finally, as mentioned above, the tea tree essential oil is great for preventing skin conditions like breakouts and acne.

 

Malibu Mud Dark Sea Face and Body Mask

DIY face masks are fun, but they’re not always convenient. Sometimes, you want a face mask you can apply as soon as possible, especially if you’ve got a busy schedule. Additionally, most DIY mud face masks can take time to dry on your skin, which is again an issue when you’re on a limited time frame.  

That’s where Malibu Mud’s Dark Sea Face and Body Mask comes in.

This mask is made up of 10 natural ingredients with no toxic additives. You get the same goodness that you would with a homemade mask without having to go through the effort of whipping up the mask yourself. The mask comes premixed, so you won’t even have to make the time to blend it yourself.

All ingredients are listed transparently, so you’ll never have to worry about being surprised by harmful ingredients.

Additionally, unlike many other masks – both DIY and commercial – Malibu Mud has been specifically formulated to ensure that it can be used daily. In fact, you can even go as far as to replace your face soap with this mask! The three muds and clays in the mask – Dead Sea mud, bentonite clay, and kaolin clay – ensure that it is gentle enough to be suitable for all skin types. At the same time, the other ingredients (including the aloe barbadensis leaf juice) ensure you don’t have to worry about it drying out your skin.

The best part of this mask?

Instead of having to go to the effort to source ingredients for a DIY mud mask, you can simply have this premixed mask delivered straight to your doorstep. And once it’s on your doorstep, you can open it and get applying right away!