DIY Stress Relief Skin Recipes
The holidays are just around the corner and stress levels are at an all-time high! Prepping for the perfect holiday party or finding the right gift for your soon to be mother-in-law; maybe you’re planning a New Year’s Eve party or up to your ears in deadlines… whatever the stresses in your life may be, take some time to pamper yourself with these stress relief recipes. Whether you have 5 minutes, 30 minutes or an evening to spend a night in and create a spa experience at home, we’ve compiled these DIY skin care recipes that you need to unwind, relax and gear up for the next big thing!
Destress your Skin
Even if you only have 5-30 minutes, here are 10 DIY skin care recipes for the uber busy individual who needs a quick pick me up:
1. Hydrating Egg & Fruit Facial
- Egg
- Banana
- Avocado
In a small mixing bowl, combine 1 egg, 1 banana and ½ avocado. Mix ingredients until smooth. Apply mixture to your face and let sit for 5 to 15 minutes. Rinse thoroughly with warm water and follow up with your favorite daily moisturizer.
Benefits: Egg is effective at tightening the skin and bananas are an exfoliator. Avocados are known for their hydrating power. The combination makes this a great option for a quick facial to help destress.
2. Hydrating Coconut Cocoa Moisturizer
- Coconut oil
- Cocoa powder
Combine 1 Tbsp. coconut oil and 2 Tbsp. cocoa powder. Apply the mixture directly to your face and let sit for 15 minutes. No need to rinse. You may want to use a tissue to remove any excess remaining on the skin’s surface.
Benefits: The naturally moisturizing properties of coconut oil in combination with the exfoliation using cocoa powder create a moisturizer perfect for dry, stressed out skin. And enjoy the smell while you relax!
3. Soothing Oatmeal Honey Mask
- Honey
- Oatmeal
- Milk
- Water
In a saucepan, combine ½ cup of uncooked oatmeal, ½ cup milk, ½ cup water and 1 Tbsp. honey and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Allow the mixture to cool completely before applying to your skin. Spread mixture all over your face avoiding your eyes and allow to sit for 15-20 minutes. Remove mask using warm water and follow up with your favorite moisturizer.
Benefits: These ingredients work together to reduce redness of your skin. A natural exfoliator, oatmeal is great to use in many DIY skin care recipes. The antioxidant and antibacterial component of honey makes it a great partner to oatmeal in a relaxing face mask you could actually eat!
4. Soothing Cucumber Milk Mask
- Cucumber
- Milk
- Honey
- Brown Sugar
Peel and blend the cucumber into a puree. Combine milk, honey and brown sugar together in a separate bowl. Add the milk mixture to the cucumber puree and mix together thoroughly. Apply the mixture to your face and let sit for 10-15 minutes before rinsing with warm water. Don’t forget to follow up with your favorite moisturizer.
Benefits: Milk and honey revitalize your skin while the sugar acts as an exfoliator removing dead skin cells to reveal healthy, less stressed skin.
5. Edible Mud Mask
- Greek yogurt
- Cocoa Powder
- Buttermilk
- Banana
- Honey
- Lemon Juice
Combine 2-3 Tbsp. Greek yogurt, 1 tsp. cocoa powder, 1 tsp. buttermilk, 1 tsp. honey, 1 tsp. lemon juice and ½ mashed banana in a small bowl and mix well, but the mixture should still be thick and not runny. Apply a thin layer to your face and allow it to sit for 20-30 minutes before rinsing with cool water. Follow up with your favorite moisturizer. (Recipe should make enough for 3-4 uses, store excess in leak proof container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.)
Benefits: Like dessert for your face! These ingredients are packed full of benefits for your stressed out skin: Greek yogurt’s lactic acid helps smooth skin’s texture and helps to clear out pores, honey is especially good for parched skin, cocoa helps to rejuvenate the skin, while buttermilk is a natural probiotic and helps to restore and brighten your skin. Lemon juice contains vitamins C and B which help reduce oiliness and diminish the look of age spots.
6. Brightening Berry Yogurt Mask
- Plain Yogurt
- Honey
- Mixed Berries
- Lemon Juice
Using a blender, combine 2 Tbsp. plain yogurt and 2 Tbsp. honey and pulse until ingredients are fully combined. Add ¼ cup mixed berries and puree until smooth, finally adding in 1 Tbsp. lemon juice. Apply the mixture to your face and let sit for 10-15 minutes. Rinse mask thoroughly with warm water and follow up with your favorite moisturizer.
Benefits: If you have access to blackberries, they are packed full of antioxidants. Vitamin C helps to brighten the skin and honey’s natural exfoliator and antiseptic properties can rejuvenate stressed out skin.
7. Brightening Blueberry Face Mask
- Blueberries (fresh, if possible, but frozen work too)
- Honey
- Olive Oil
- Lemon Juice
- Sugar
Combine ¼ cup blueberries, 1 Tbsp. raw honey, 1 Tbsp. olive oil, and the juice of half a lemon in the blender, pulsing until smooth. Sprinkle in sugar and massage gently over your face avoiding the eye area. Let the mask sit on for 10 minutes and remove with a damp cloth of warm water. Follow up with your favorite moisturizer. (Recipe should make enough for 1-2 uses, store excess in leak proof container in refrigerator for up to 3 days.)
Benefits: Blueberries contain antioxidants, which help to brighten dull skin, while the hydrating powers of honey and olive oil rejuvenate skin’s moisture. Sugar is an excellent natural exfoliator and helps to remove dead skin cells revealing more youthful looking skin.
8. Mood-boosting Magnesium Body Butter
- Magnesium Oil
- Shea Butter
- Coconut Oil
- Cocoa Butter
- Orange Essential Oil
- Bergamot Essential Oil
- Frankincense Essential Oil
Heat up ¼ cup shea butter, ¼ cup coconut oil and ¼ cup cocoa butter together in a double boiler over low heat until mixture is completely melted. Remove from heat and add ¼ cup magnesium oil and 10 drops each of other essential oils. Refrigerate mixture for at least 30 minutes until oils are soft to the touch, but not solid. Using a mixer, whip ingredients for 2-3 minutes until it’s smooth like frosting. Apply daily as an all over body moisturizer. Transfer to a container with a lid and store to use daily or as needed.
Benefits: Stress is known to break down magnesium in the cells creating additional symptoms like anxiety, headaches and fatigue. Applying topical magnesium allows it to be directly absorbed the fastest way possible. Aromatherapy using essential oils is shown to be a great mood booster and a way to relieve tension.
9. Personal Facial Massage
- Facial Massage Oil (like Jojoba Oil)
- Lavender Essential Oil
Mix the oils together in your hands and warm them by rubbing your hands together. Cup your hands over your nose and take in three deep breaths. Gently massage oils in to your face focusing on smooth, movements from the middle of your forehead, down towards your hairline and temples, finally wrapping under the eyes, next stroke up from between your eyebrows along your forehead and down your jaw line. Finally, gently press along the chin and jaw line and down your neck across your shoulders.
Benefits: Facial massage oil is effective in boosting skin’s moisture and increasing blood flow for a brighter, healthy glow.
10. Detoxifying Bath Snow
- Coconut Oil (melted)
- Almond Oil
- Essential Oils of your choice
- Epsom Salt
- Baking Soda
Combine ¼ cup melted coconut oil and ¼ cup almond oil and whisk together. Stir in drops of oil (we suggest 10-20 drops of lemon, 10-20 drops of rosemary or eucalyptus oil and 20-40 drops of peppermint or lavender). Lastly, add in 3 cups Epsom salts and 2 cups baking soda and stir. The bath mix will have the texture of freshly fallen snow and should be stored in an airtight jar. To use, drop ¼ cup in the tub of warm water and soak for 20-30 minutes. To maximize the experience, follow your bath with applying Magnesium Body Butter (recipe above) all over your skin.
Benefits: Boost magnesium intake to help combat the side effects of stress and help to relieve itchy skin with baking soda. Coconut oil is anti-fungal and anti-bacterial leaving skin clean and moisturized.
Destress your Body
If you’re looking for a way to treat your girlfriends to a night of relaxation to destress from the hustle and bustle of the holidays, host a holiday spa night and really pamper yourselves. Here are some key components and super soothing DIY recipes for a holiday spa night at home:
You’ll need the following things to set the stage:
- Hot towels
- Scented candles
- Soothing Music
- Mani-Pedi Kit
- Nail Polish
- Flavored Water or Tea
Try making flavored water combining 12 cups of filtered water with 1 medium cucumber cut in slices, 2-3 small lemons sliced and 10-12 mint leaves. This detox water will be the perfect beverage to keep you hydrated and relaxed.
Use any combination of the DIY recipes listed above or try a few of these variations to focus on other areas of the body and still enjoy the effects of a relaxing night in and send your friends home with some treatments to try when they need a little extra de-stressing!
1. DIY Lip Scrub
- 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
- 1 tsp. coconut oil
- 1 tsp. honey
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp cinnamon
Combine all of the ingredients together in a small bowl and mix well. Use this lip scrub to remove dead skin from your lips and bring added moisture. Get a few small containers from your local craft store and let your friends take some home.
2. Relaxing Foot Soak
- 1 cup Epsom Salts
- ½ cup Sea Salt
- ½ cup Baking Soda
- 2 drops Red Food Coloring
- 5 drops Peppermint Essential Oil
Combine salts, oil and baking soda and add 2 drops of red food coloring for a more festive look. Break apart the clumps using a fork and pack mixture into a glass jar. Enjoy this nice homemade foot soak while chatting with friends and send home the extras in jars.
3. Peppermint Body Butter
- 3 oz. Cocoa Butter
- 4 oz. Coconut Oil
- 4 drops Peppermint Essential Oil
- 2 drops Red Food Coloring
Melt cocoa butter and oil together in a double boiler and then transfer the mixture to the fridge for 5 minutes until it looks and appears opaque. Use a mixer to whip it until it’s fluffy like frosting. Add oil for aromatherapy and food coloring to make it a little more festive, but feel free to use the color of your choice. Store mixture in a small glass jar and your friends will love the memories they make as they use the body butter at home days later.
4. Pumpkin Mask
- 1 Slice of Pumpkin
- 1 Egg
- 1 tsp. Honey
- Few drops of apple-cider vinegar or lemon juice
Blend the slice of pumpkin until smooth and combine with egg, honey and vinegar or lemon juice and whisk until well mixed. Apply this mask all over your face avoiding your eyes and allow it to sit for 15-20 minutes or while you’re waiting for your nails to dry. Makes enough for 1-2 masks, should be made fresh or may be refrigerated for up to 24 hours.
Stress relief doesn't stop there! Indugle yourself in bath bombs, sugar scrubs and more. Looking for completely different ways to destress? Check out the amazing videos by Boho Beautiful: with a calming voice and gorgeous backdrop, she'll guide you through some stress-relieving yoga!
You can try these stress relief methods either by yourself or with friends. If you can find the time to really indulge this season and try out some of these amazing DIY recipes, you may just feel your stress level decreasing and a little more energy to enjoy another holiday luncheon or Black Friday shopping. And your girlfriends will think you’ve given them the best gift ever – a night of relaxation with friends and something to take home and try again later.
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