DIY Face Mask for oily and sensitive skin

I’ve posted an entry in the past about a burning mask that floated around Pinterest that worked pretty well with cleansing the dead skin, but my pores were still the same. Also, another dilemma I faced with that scrub was that I found it made my skin oil/greasy if used too close in proximity to my last scrubbing.

I’m on a hunt to find the perfect cleansing mask or scrub. What do you all do that works?

I recently tried the baking soda, lemon juice, and honey mask, and wasn’t all that impressed with it… initially. I left it on for a bit, and washed it off when it started to burn. I definitely wasn’t expecting that to happen so quickly! Yes, yes, I know. I should have thought that one through. Both baking soda and lemon juice could potentially cause a burning sensation, and there was a disclaimer on the tutorial from The Glossier. But, they had said 5-15 minutes! I lasted two…

Initial reaction for me consisted of mostly irritation. Baking soda is gritty which aids to the exfoliation, but it’s also a pain to wipe off cleanly without just splashing water across your face. After an annoying clean-up process that lasted longer than the mask itself, I saw no difference in my pores.

Alas! I was quite disappointed. I’m not all that feminine when it comes to taking care of my beauty on a regular basis, so this was something I psyched myself up for. I got to bed, and the next morning I definitely saw some change: my pores had shrunk down! Not the miracle I expected, but still pretty darned good results. They were about a quarter size smaller than they originally were!

Now, I posted a before photo on this blog entry, so you can see just how bad my nose is. I’m allotting my disappointment to that and the fact that my skin is a little sensitive. It’s difficult to have a problem area and then be patient with results.

I tried the mask again after 5 days, and my pores remained the same from the last time. I was a little disappointed with that, so I started to do some research on the different types of mask and ingredients that you can use in them, and concocted my own to suit my skin.

This is what I used that worked for me:

• 1 tablespoon of sugar (exfoliator)
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil (moisturizer)
• 5-6 drops of witch hazel (astringent)

I was a little hesitant with my experiment, because my skin does get oily. The use of oil in a scrub or mask was a new and scary thing for me. I still gave it at shot. The results were... interesting. Let me explain why. My pores, no real result with those. But, my face? Oh my goodness! It's soft, silky, and has this BEAUTIFUL glow to it. I would post photos, but I'm not sure if I want my face plastered in the interwebs. 

I think I've made a decision that I'll be doing both the mask and the scrub within a couple of days within one another. This attempt was done 5 days in between. They worked EXTREMELY well in succession and completely unintentionally. The baking soda left my skin somewhat dry, and the olive oil seemed to replenish it.