Inflammatory Herbs Make a Soothing Herbal Face Mask
Whip up this soothing herbal face mask for soft skin in no time. Here's how to make it.
Whenever I get a facial (read: not as often as I should), the esthetician inevitably exclaims, "Wow, you have sensitive skin!" Meanwhile, my baby bro phrases the same sentiment another way: "Bahahah, you look like Rudolph!" (Siblings...amirite?) Both statements refer to the fact that my face is typically angry, inflamed, and as red as a stop sign.
Fortunately, Supernatural founder Rachelle Robinett offers a solution to my woes in the latest episode of Well+Good's video series Plant-Based: a DIY, skin-soothing face mask. As an herbalist, Robinett takes this home remedy far beyond the ubiquitous honey masks proliferating your YouTube feed by supercharging it with the legit healing powers of calendula, arnica, and more.
"Calendula is known as a wound healer," she says. "It helps to heal the epithelial lining, which is sort of a coating that goes around our skin and our glands and our organs and all these different parts of our body that are exposed to other surface or other environments."
Arnica, meanwhile, is an ingredient with which you might be familiar if you're partial to natural remedies for aches and pains. "It's a fantastic plant for topical use," Robinett says. "The action of arnica comes from two different phytochemicals, which modify the action of immune cells, which in turn can kill bacteria and reduce inflammation." This, she explains, can reduce swelling and redness.
To find out which ingredients Robinett mixes in to finish out this soothing mask, watch the full video. (Spoiler alert: one of them "puckers your membranes," so...) While I'll be concentrating application on my nose, Robinett suggests thinking outside the box when applying the healing mixture. "You can also use it anywhere else on your body," she says. Maybe this year I'll make neck masks a thing?
You know what else fights redness? This ingredient, which is called the "new Vitamin C." Plus, two additional remedies, for both short- and long-term help battling discoloration.