Hibiscus Clay Facial Mask For Glowing Skin
Ready for your face to glow like a 1000 watt bulb? This simple DIY Hibiscus clay facial is the perfect recipe to reverse signs of aging, sun damage, acne, and give you a nice rose-colored glow!
Hibiscus is known for its benefits as a tea. It’s loaded with tons of vitamins, antioxidants, minerals and supports a healthy cardiovascular system. Read more on the health benefits of hibiscus tea in this article.
Benefits of Hibiscus for Your Skin
Just as hibiscus does wonders for your body internally, it does a great job for your skin too. Nicknamed the ‘botox’ plant, its high antioxidant and vitamin C levels play a major role in the perks it gives your skin.
This paper on antioxidant activity and benefits mentions vitamin C may help reduce sunburn cells by as much as 40% – 60%. It also helps in tightening and smoothing your skin via boosting collagen production.
Hibiscus has also been shown in this study to have anti-inflammatory properties which can be beneficial if you’re suffering from acne or other inflammatory skin conditions.
Aside from vitamin C, it also has naturally occurring mucilage, which also gives it moisturizing properties if used correctly.
So how do you tap into the goodness of hibiscus for your skin? Facial masks!
Combining hibiscus flower powder with other beneficial skin ingredients may be the thing that takes your skincare to the next level. In our recipe for today, we combine hibiscus flower powder with the healing power of kaolin.
Hibiscus flower powder creates a beautiful rose-colored, pigment-rich mask but is not known to stain skin. You may not want to use your favorite white towel to clean your face after though.
Benefits of Mineral Clays for Your Skin
Mineral clays like kaolin and bentonite(Indian healing clay) do wonders for your skin because of their adsorbent properties. This means they pull dirt, oils, and toxins from your skin and unclog pores leaving your skin fresh and clean.
Kaolin is a naturally occurring mineral clay that is great for cleansing the skin, providing gentle exfoliation, and getting rid of excess oils.
It works best for dry to normal skin types. It may be white, grey, cream or yellowish depending on where it is sourced.
Indian healing clay (known as bentonite) is one of the most popular clays used for facial and skin beauty treatments. It comes from aged volcanic ash, with very fine particles and works best for oily and acne-prone skin types.
So while the antioxidants in the hibiscus powder are healing your skin, the clay will provide gentle exfoliation and cleansing so you get a serious glow afterward. Win-win!
Because most mineral clays have naturally occurring minerals like silicon, aluminum, oxygen, and hydroxide, it is best practice not to let them come into contact with metal to preserve their mineral balance and efficacy. While kaolin is less likely to do this than bentonite clay, it is better to be safe than sorry.
Ingredients
You’ll need
1/3 teaspoon hibiscus flower powder
1/3 teaspoon of kaolin clay powder or Indian healing clay (depending on your skin type)
1 ½ tablespoon of water
A few drops of marula oil or tea tree oil (optional)
Equipment
A mortar and pestle or spice grinder
A face brush to apply your mask
A plastic, glass or wooden bowl
A plastic or wooden spoon for mixing
Method
- If you’re using hibiscus flower petals, drop a few petals in a spice grinder and mill until a fine powder is formed. Take care not to open the grinder right away to avoid pink dust going everywhere. If you’re using a mortar and pestle, grind a few petals until as fine as possible.
- Mix kaolin clay with water to form a smooth mixture. The thicker the mixture, the longer it will take to dry, and the drier it will leave your skin.
- Add a few drops (3 - 5 drops) of marula oil to clay mixture.
- Next add in hibiscus powder and mix till well combined.
- Apply to cleansed skin with a face brush, taking care to avoid the eye area. Let the mask sit on your skin till it’s tacky but not completely dry.
- Rinse off with lukewarm water and pat skin dry.
- Moisturize afterward with any moisturizer of choice or marula oil.
- Enjoy clean, refreshed, and glowing skin!
PS: Tried out this recipe? Share your results with us on social media!
