This is a great section to practice figuring out your own formulations. The following section has plenty of room and ideas for heaps of variations based on your own facial skin type. Have fun, experiment, or simply follow the recipes that sound good. The recipes start with facial cleansers and work through all-things facial, ending with moisturizers, so you can create your very own facial set by the time you’re through!
Chocolate Roses and Honey Facial Scrub
Roses and Chocolate Facial Mask
Queen of Hungary’s Blemish Reducer
Acne and Oily–Prone Skin Moisturizer
Sensitive Mature Dry Skin Moisturizer
A NOTE ABOUT FACIAL CLEANSING GRAINS
Basic facial cleansing grains are perfect for washing the face when you don’t want to use soap! The idea behind cleansing grains is to create a gently exfoliating and highly nutritious cleansing experience. Pull out oil and dirt while removing unwanted dead skin or makeup to help with a healthy cellular turnover. The first recipe in this section is a great creative prompt because the variations are endless.
Kaolin clay is used as a base, as it is incredibly gentle, excellent for all skin types, and not very drying but perfect for cleansing grains.
Oats are used to exfoliate, soothe, and soften the skin while unclogging the pores. They have a wonderful blend of anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and moisturizing properties.
The following recipe is incredibly simple, using moisturizing marshmallow root and highly nutritious beet powder. Beets are full of antioxidants and skin rejuvenating vitamins that help reverse the signs of aging and promote cellular repair.
1 cup kaolin clay
¼ cup oats, ground
3 tablespoons beet powder
1 teaspoon ground marshmallow root
3 drops immortelle essential oil
3 drops chamomile essential oil
Makes 1½ cups.
Mix all the powders and oats together. Take a tablespoon of the powder and place into a separate container. Add the essential oils to this small amount of cleansing grains and mix thoroughly. Use your hands to squish the clumps into powder. Once the scents are incorporated completely, add this small amount back to the full amount of cleansing grains and mix well. Bottle and label.
To use, wet your face, and then massage a little bit of grains into your skin. You can also choose to add some of the grains to a little water until you get a paint-like consistency and massage into face, rinse off, and follow with moisturizer.
marshmallow root, powdered beet, kaolin clay, oats
FACIAL GRAINS PROMPT
Substitute your own herbs. Try adding an herbal blend. Use different grains. Get creative and don’t be afraid to mix it up!
This is another soap alternative that incorporates the moisturizing powers of glycerin. The formula is wonderfully astringent and nourishing but gentle.
4 ounces garbanzo flour
1 teaspoon ground lemongrass
¼ teaspoon ground kelp
½ teaspoon beet powder
6 ounces glycerin
Makes 11 ounces.
Blend all the powder ingredients together, and then slowly mix in glycerin until fully incorporated. Pour into jars, cap, and label.
To use, wet face first. Take a bit of your facial wash in your hands and scrub into face in circular motions. Rinse, then follow with toner and moisturizer if desired.
powdered beets, glycerine, kelp, garbanzo flour, lemongrass
This blend is very gentle and softening. Just one more recipe to share so you can see there really is no limit to facial cleanser variations.
½ cup banana flour
½ cup oat flour
¼ cup kaolin clay
¼ cup ground nettle
1 tablespoon ground hibiscus
Makes 1½ cups.
Pour all ingredients into a mixing bowl and blend well. That’s it! This makes about 1½ cups of banana grains.
If you’d like to put the blend into little jars, do so now, or store in an airtight jar. Label, and enjoy!
To use, pour about a teaspoon of cleansing grains directly into your hand. If you prefer, you can add the grains to a small bowl and add enough water to get a liquid paint-like consistency. Rub into face in circular motions, wash off, and follow with toner and moisturizer. Feel the joy!
kaolin clay, nettle leaf, banana flour, hibiscus, oats
Bananas—this tropical fruit just might be your skin’s new best friend. It’s full of potassium, vitamin A, C, E, and more. In your body, potassium helps maintain moisture and is necessary for creating new cells. Without this hydrating nutrient, your cells die, your skin and arteries become hard, the heart has trouble moving fluids, and toxins build up. Vitamin C is necessary to produce collagen, and reduces redness, and blemishes. Vitamin E is moisturizing as well as wrinkle-, fine line-, and scar-reducing. Bananas help balance skin tone and oil production.
Chocolate Roses and Honey Facial Scrub
Try this smooth and creamy facial goodness for some really soft skin!
1 teaspoon ground rose petals
½ ounce cocoa powder
1 ounce kaolin clay
3 ounces honey
Makes 4½ ounces.
Stir dry ingredients together, add honey, and blend well. Honey tends to be a little tougher than glycerin to mix into formulations due to its viscosity, but it will blend in nicely eventually. Put into containers, label, and cap.
To use, wet your face, take a little bit of facial scrub into your hands, massage into face, wash off. Wowzers!
cocoa powder, rose petals, kaolin clay, honey
Chocolate is surprisingly fantastic for the skin, which really is no wonder when one considers how delicious it is. Kaolin clay is a gentle and wonderful exfoliator that shrinks pores while pulling out excess oil.
A NOTE ABOUT FACE MASKS
This section could fill an entire book. The idea behind a facial mask is to draw out toxins while tightening the skin. Finding the right balance of skin-tightening ingredients for your skin without leaving it flaky and dry is important. Some masks are more tightening and drying while others can be far gentler. So if you have dry, mature, or sensitive skin already, something gentle will be more suited for you than something for acne and oily skin.
The following are a wide variety of masks to get you started, but be sure to come back to the prompt when you’re ready to leap off on your own formulations—I’m excited for the things you will create!
You will almost always want to follow a mask with a toner and a moisturizer, as they are very effective on the skin. This first recipe is a very basic, no-strings-attached mix; it’s a good blend to start with as a base and add things to or substitute. The kaolin clay is very gentle, almost too gentle on its own, whereas bentonite is far too drying on its own, so I created this mix. It’s a really nice blend, using just the right amounts of clays.
As I mentioned in the box on the previous page, this recipe is a very easy, no-questions-asked mix. You can use this as a base and add whatever you’d like. See the prompt below!
4 ounces kaolin clay
2 ounces bentonite clay
Makes 6 ounces.
Blend both ingredients together, pour into jars, cap, and label.
To use, place a little bit of mask in a bowl, add water until you have a paint-like consistency, massage onto face, let dry, wash off. Follow with moisturizer.
kaolin clay, bentonite clay
Basic Clay Mask Prompt
As you can see, the facial mask is very easy to use for your own formulations. Go ahead and start adding your own ingredients, substituting clays, etc. I have included a number of other face mask recipes to get the idea juices flowing, but feel free to copy, tweak, or entirely reformulate any for yourself.
A deliciously aromatic skin treat, jasmine softens the skin, making a lovely balance to the drying effects of the other facial mask ingredients.
2 ounces kaolin clay
1 ounce bentonite
½ ounce powdered jasmine
3 drops jasmine sambac (or Jasmine Absolute) essential oil
Makes 3½ ounces.
Mix powdered ingredients together. Then place just about a tablespoon of powdered mixture into a mixing bowl, add essential oil, and mix with the back of a spoon. Eventually, you may need to start pinching it with your fingers to incorporate the entire tablespoon of powder. When you feel you have mixed the essential oil in as thoroughly as possible, add it back into the bigger pot of powder and mix in fully. Bottle and label.
To use, blend a little of the mask with water in a separate mixing bowl, massage into face, let dry, and wash off. Follow with moisturizer.
kaolin clay, bentonite clay, jasmine flowers
For an incredibly beautiful twist on the facial mask, consider incorporating essential oils for their aromatic and therapeutic qualities. This smells incredible when you apply it to skin, and the delicious scent stays after the mask is washed off. Yum!
This lovely gray-hued facial mask is probably the most drying of all the facial mask recipes, making this the ideal recipe for those with oily skin.
4 ounces kaolin clay
2 ounces bentonite
1 teaspoon activated charcoal
Makes 6 ounces.
Blend ingredients together until mixed, then bottle, cap, and label.
To use, place a little bit of mask in a bowl, add water until you have a paint-like consistency, massage onto face, let dry, and wash off. Follow with moisturizer.
Keep in mind, charcoal is very absorbent thus very drying, so a little goes a long way.
bentonite clay, kaolin clay, activated charcoal
Pink clay is a very gentle clay. It gives this mask a fun pink hue and creates a nice facial mask for sensitive skin.
4 ounces kaolin clay
1 ounce bentonite clay
1 ounce pink clay
Makes 6 ounces.
Blend all ingredients together, pour into jars, cap, and label.
To use, place a little bit of mask in a bowl, add water until you have a paint-like consistency, massage onto face, let dry, and wash off. Follow with moisturizer.
bentonite clay, kaolin clay, pink clay
This is a fun blue-colored facial mask. Indigo is incredible for skin health, reducing itching, dryness, and inflammation, and is found in a variety of really high end facial products.
4 ounces kaolin clay
1 ounce bentonite clay
1 ounce blue clay
1 teaspoon indigo powder
Makes 6 ounces.
Stir ingredients together until mixed, then bottle, cap, and label.
To use, place a little bit of mask in a bowl, add water until you have a paint-like consistency, massage onto face, let dry, and wash off. Follow with moisturizer.
kaolin clay, bentonite, blue clay, powdered indigo
Taking our basic blend, we can add herbs and adjust clays and creat a lovely blue-hued face mask. Indigo is incredibly good for all skin types.
Utilize elements from the ocean for a high in skin healthy minerals facial mask.
4 ounces kaolin clay
1 ounce bentonite clay
1 ounce sea clay
1 teaspoon ground jasmine
⅛ teaspoon ground kelp
Makes 6 ounces.
Stir ingredients together until mixed, bottle, cap, and label.
To use, add a little bit of mask to a bowl, add water until you have a paint-like consistency, massage onto face, let dry, and wash off. Follow with moisturizer.
kaolin clay, betonite clay, sea clay, powdered kelp, jasmine flowers
Sea clay is very gentle, jasmine is softening and soothing, and kelp is super great for the skin in counterbalancing negative effects of age and time. Rich in minerals, this blend is in my top favorites masks ever.
One thing to remember for all your formulas using matcha: The higher quality the matcha, the better for your skin (and the better to drink!). The flowers and leaves surrounding this facial mask in the photo to the left are a variety of camellias.
2 ounces kaolin clay
1 ounce green clay
½ teaspoon matcha
½ teaspoon ground nettle leaf
½ teaspoon spirulina powder
Makes 4 ounces.
Mix all ingredients together, bottle, cap, and label. This recipe is a hefty dose of serious greens for your skin!
To use, blend a little of the mask with water in a separate mixing bowl, massage into face, let dry, and wash off. Follow with moisturizer.
kaolin clay, bentonite clay, matcha, nettle leaf, spirulina powder
Matcha comes from the camellia plant; rather, camellia leaves are tea leaves. Green tea is steamed and dried leaves, oolong tea is mildly fermented, and black tea is fully fermented camellia leaves. Matcha, however, goes through a completely different process where, nearing harvest time, the leaves are covered so they get less and less sunlight. The finest matcha will have the brightest color. The amino acids in matcha create the savory (umami) flavor.
Roses and Chocolate Facial Mask
Irritation-reducing roses and antioxidant-packed chocolate make this facial mask a great blend for all skin types.
2 ounces kaolin clay
½ ounce bentonite
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 teaspoon rose powder
Makes 2¾ ounces.
Mix all ingredients together, bottle, cap, and label.
To use, blend a little of the mask with water in a separate mixing bowl, massage into face, let dry, and wash off. Follow with moisturizer.
kaolin clay, bentonite clay, cocoa powder, rose petals
I think roses and chocolate are one of my favorite things to eat, drink, and rub all over my body, as well as share with my loved ones, so I couldn’t help but add a mask with my favorite ingredients!
This facial mask is ideal for mature and dry skin types, helping to increase skin resiliency to external stressors such as sun, wind, oxygen, and gravity. With moisturizing marshmallow, nourishing chaga, circulation stimulating turmeric, fine line–reducing sandalwood, and healing vanilla, this is a precious blend of skin care ingredients.
½ cup garbanzo flour
½ cup kaolin clay
¼ cup bentonite clay
1 teaspoon sandalwood powder (spicatum)
¼ teaspoon turmeric
1 pinch powdered vanilla bean
¼ teaspoon ground chaga
1 teaspoon marshmallow root
Makes 1¼ cups.
Mix all ingredients together, bottle, and label.
To use, blend a little of the mask with water in a separate mixing bowl, massage into face, let dry, wash off, and follow with moisturizer.
kaolin clay, bentonite clay, garbanzo flour, marshmallow root, sandalwood powder, chaga, vanilla bean powder, ground turmeric
This is very gentle and nourishing. Excellent for all skin types including mature, sensitive, and dry.
A NOTE ABOUT TONERS
Toners naturally follow facial masks and facial cleansers, as they work on the skin right away to take care of the pores after the excess oil and soil has been removed. Toners help shrink pores and tighten skin, but also are the first step in hydrating before adding a moisturizer. Often, toners go hand in hand with moisturizers and work together to lock in the effects of each other.
In creating toners, there is heaps of flexibility. I will share a few recipes before setting you off on your own.
Toners are generally composed of a hydrosol; however, the best-known toner currently is witch hazel due to its awesome therapeutic and astringent qualities. That being said, it doesn’t smell very great on its own.
Basic Toner
To tone and tame, to calm redness, irritations, puffy skin, or just because you like rose.
8 ounces rose hydrosol
Pour directly into a bottle with a spritzer attachment.
Use after washing face and before moisturizing, when you need a calm breath, when you’re hot and bothered. . . . Seriously, I carry a bottle of this around with me during the summer to use all day long.
TONER PROMPT
As you will see, creating toners can be as easy or as complex as you choose to make them.
Try making rainbow toners, or mixing different tincture blends to get different colors and actions.
You can also add essential oils for skin type.
Another type of toner—and possibly the first toner ever written about—is the cologne archetype Queen of Hungary’s Water, which likely started with rosemary and other plants were added later. It was basically the elixir of longevity; it cured illness, kept skin youthful, and worked all sorts of magic.
8 ounces witch hazel
1 drop vetiver essential oil
2 drops sandalwood essential oil
½ drop patchouli essential oil
2 drops rose essential oil
1 drop orange blossom essential oil
2 drops lemon essential oil
2 drops lime essential oil
2 drops orange essential oil
3 drops lavender essential oil
3 drops rosemary essential oil
Makes about 8 ounces.
Blend all ingredients in a mason jar, cap, and shake. Pour into bottles with spritzer attachments.
To use, shake and then spray onto face, keeping out of eyes. Follow with moisturizer.
Queen of Hungary’s Water II
This is my rendition of Queen of Hungary water, soaked in organic grape alcohol. The finished product smells so incredible that I use the straight stuff as perfume.
8 ounces organic grape alcohol*
1 teaspoon sandalwood powder
¼ teaspoon patchouli leaf
2 teaspoon rose buds
1 teaspoon orange blossoms
1 teaspoon dried lemon peel
1 teaspoon dried lime peel
1 teaspoon dried orange peel
1 teaspoon lavender
1 teaspoon rosemary
*I use a 190-proof variety from the Organic Alcohol Company.
Makes 8 ounces.
Put all ingredients in a jar with lid, shake 2 times daily for 2 weeks, strain through a coffee filter, and compost plant ingredients. Pour strained liquid into a bottle with spray attachment.
To use, add 1 ounce of tincture to 8 ounces of witch hazel.
Queen of Hungary’s Water II ingredients: rosemary, sandalwood powder, jasmine flowers, lavender, patchouli leaf, orange peel, lime peel, rose petals, lemon peel
This blend uses a variety of ingredients found in ancient Egypt. I like to think that the reason Egyptians were so good at embalming bodies to last forever was due to the ingredients they had on hand. It makes sense that it would help living skin keep its youth forever, as well.
8 ounces witch hazel
3 drops frankincense essential oil
1 drop jatamansi essential oil
2 drops benzoin essential oil
3 drops myrrh essential oil
1 drop galbanum essential oil
2 drops lotus essential oil
3 drops rose essential oil
1 drop cardamom essential oil
Makes 8 ounces.
Mix all ingredients together, shake well, and pour into bottles with spritzer attachments. Label.
To use, after washing face, spritz on toner, and follow with moisturizer.
cardamom, myrrh, benzoin, rose petals
I created this recipe after I was inspired by a dream. This blend is used in many of the things I make. Although here we will use it as a toner, it works wonders for burns, cuts, abrasions, acne, scar reduction, wrinkle reduction—you name it. This is the water of miracles, but we will simply refer to it as the water of the heavens.
8 ounces witch hazel
1 ounce powdered myrrh
1 ounce powdered frankincense
Makes 8 ounces.
Blend all ingredients together in a jar with a sealed lid. Shake 2 times a day for 2 weeks. After this time, pour through a coffee filter into bottles with spritzer attachments. Label and enjoy.
To use, spritz onto clean face and follow with moisturizer, if you’d like. This stuff is so good for the skin that often I will not use a moisturizer with it.
frankincense, myrrh, witch hazel
Honey has been used throughout history in many beauty formulations, and for good reason—it has many youth- and beauty-retaining qualities. In nature, honey never goes rancid, as it contains a host of antimicrobials and antifungals, not to mention it is antibacterial, antiseptic, and anti-inflammatory. It also contains probiotics. Imagine the potential this has for your skin! Perfection! Honey is moisturizing and softens the skin, reducing dryness and increasing plumpness. It has a plethora of wonderful enzymes that balance your complexion, too.
8 ounces water
½ teaspoon honey
Makes 8 ounces.
In a bowl, mix the ingredients together until honey is dissolved. Pour into bottles with spritzer attachment, label, and enjoy.
To use, wash and spray directly onto face. I like to spritz this on my face multiple times a day.
water, honey
Keep in mind this mist will go rancid now that you’ve added water to the honey. So keep this mix in the refrigerator and use within a month.
This recipe smells so divine it may as well be the aroma of the siren’s song, so intoxicating it has created many, many addicted users, transporting the wearer to a magical ocean retreat, while being incredibly soothing for the skin.
4 ounces rose hydrosol
4 ounces orange blossom hydrosol
3 drops seaweed tincture
⅛ teaspoon sea salt
Makes 8 ounces.
Place all ingredients in a bottle with a lid. Shake until well incorporated. Pour into a bottle with a sprizter attachment and label.
To use, wash face and spritz on toner, being careful of the eyes. Follow with moisturizer.
This is a blend of all the wonderful above ingredients, but the coolest thing about this blend is it’s truly for your whole body (on the outside anyway). This formula is as incredible for the hair as it is for the sensitive facial skin, but don’t stop there—apply it to your whole body! I’m not kidding, I like to generously spray this all over myself after a shower, then follow with moisturizer.
4 ounces Aqua Celestis, filtered (page 73)
4 ounces rose hydrosol
½ teaspoon honey
Makes 8 ounces.
Place all ingredients in a container with a lid, shake well, and pour into bottles with spritzer attachments. Label and then store in the refrigerator.
Due to the honey mixed with liquid in this blend, it has the potential to turn rancid, so add a preservative, like a tiny 3-milliliter shot of alcohol, or keep in the fridge.
A NOTE ABOUT BLEMISH REDUCERS
Blemish reducers are generally used after a good face washing but can really be applied any time you feel the need for a quick spot reduction.
These work on acne, black heads, white heads, and inflammations. They are comprised of strong astringents and bacteria slayers, are antifungal, and they increase healing while creating a pH balance uninhabitable by irritating microbes.
While toners work to all over balance and tone, they are not as strong of an astringent or drying agent as a blemish reducer, so while these are definitely not something you would want all over your face on healthy skin, they are highly effective for spot reduction and maintaining skin mantle harmony.
A note on alcohol in skin care (as blemish reducers generally contain a high percent): alcohol may be not so good for the skin because it’s stressful, but it helps aid in rapid absorption of nutrients, tightening skin, cleaning skin, destroying bad bacteria, and it can work as a preservative. So use it sparingly, but don’t be afraid to use it if the benefits outweigh the detriment. With natural skin care, you’re automatically doing more good than bad with well-formulated recipes.
A powerful blemish-reducing recipe that uses the superb healing and blood-cleansing attributes of dragon’s blood resin and a gentle drop of humectant agave. I created this recipe for my two teenage children who recently started breaking out here and there; they were begging for something to cure their blemishes overnight. This liquid turns from blood red to a milky red when finished; it’s really fun to make!
½ ounce dragon’s blood tincture
¼ cup witch hazel
1 teaspoon agave
3 drops tea tree oil
3 drops rosewood leaf oil
Makes about ¼ cup.
Strain dragon’s blood tincture following instructions on page 21.
Blend all ingredients together, shake well, bottle, and label. Blemish reducers can be stored in air-tight jars like mason jars or in easy-to-use smaller bottles with spritzer tops.
Apply to blemishes as needed.
Queen of Hungary’s Blemish Reducer
¼ cup witch hazel
½ ounces Queen of Hungary’s Water II (page 70)
Makes ¼ cup.
Mix ingredients together well, bottle, and label. Blemish reducers can be stored in airtight jars like mason jars or in easy-to-use smaller bottles with spritzer tops.
Apply to blemishes as needed.
Quick Blemish Reducer
Frankincense and myrrh, being the sap or blood of the tree, act to purify and heal our blood by fighting off bacteria and increasing cellular turnover.
¼ cup alcohol
5 drops myrrh essential oil
5 drops frankincense essential oil
Makes ¼ cup.
Mix all ingredients together and shake well. Blemish reducers can be stored in air-tight jars like mason jars or in easy-to-use smaller bottles with spritzer tops.
Use on blemishes as needed.
BLEMISH REDUCER PROMPT
Substitute an alternative herbal tincture, or try adding a few essential oils. Switch it up; there are many wonderful astringent herbs and essential oils.
A NOTE ABOUT FACIAL MOISTURIZERS
I like to use oils and toners to moisturize my facial skin. Oil absorbs into the skin much more quickly and efficiently than a cream or lotion, which is very nice for the face. Natural moisturizers can be tough to make and have very short shelf lives, and the HLB (Hydrophilic-Lipophilic Balance) calculator for moisturizers is a bit much to wrap one’s head around, but . . . it’s worth it!
Basic Face Moisturizer
This moisturizer is not too heavy, is healing and nourishing, yet incredibly simple and can be easily varied with additions of essential oils or herbal oil extracts (see page 22).
1 ounce squalene
1 ounce apricot kernel oil
1 ounce jojoba oil
2 drops jasmine sambac
Makes about 3 ounces.
Blend all ingredients together, mixing thoroughly. Bottle in a container with a dropper top.
To use, take drop 3 to 8 drops in palms of hands and rub into face in outward circular motions.
Squalene, jojoba oil, apricot oil
Acne and Oily–Prone Skin Moisturizer
The beauty of this moisturizer is that it is low on the comedogenic scale, astringent, and moisturizing without being greasy. It tightens pores and cleanses the face with a bacteria-slaying blend of essential oils.
2 ounces hazelnut oil
3 drops black cumin oil
1 gram carrot seed oil
2 grams rosehip seed oil
2 grams black raspberry seed oil
1 gram castor oil
4 drops cypress essential oil
6 drops myrrh essential oil
1 drop frankincense essential oil
8 drops lavender essential oil
1 drop chamomile essential oil
5 drops bergapten-free bergamot essential oil
Makes 2¼ ounces.
Blend all ingredients together. I like to shake them in a jar for extra mixing.
Pour into applicator jar with pump and label.
To use, after spritzing toner on face, rub about three drops of oil between palms, and work into facial skin. Enjoy your magical skin!
castor oil, black cumin, black raspberry, hazelnut, rosehip seed, carrot
Sensitive Mature Dry Skin Moisturizer
This blend contains the beautiful camellia plant oil. It’s actually the plant that the tea comes from. Camellia is phenomenal for the skin, highly nourishing, reduces fine lines and wrinkles, and is non-greasy. This magical blend is made with a number of other supportive oils and the outcome is simply divine!
3 ounces camellia oil
1 gram pomegranate oil
1 gram borage oil
1 gram meadowfoam oil
1 gram indigo naturalis oil extraction (see page 22)
2 ounces apricot oil
1 ounce squalene
8 drops sandalwood essential oil
Makes 6¼ ounces.
Blend all ingredients together. I like to shake them in a jar for extra mixing.
Pour into applicator jar with pump and label.
To use, after spritzing toner on face, rub about three drops of oil between palms, and work into facial skin. Enjoy your magical skin!
pomegranate oil, squalene oil, camellia oil, meadow foam oil, apricot oil, borage oil, indigo oil
