Lifestyle

A Food Blogger Reveals The 2 Things You Need In Your Kitchen For A DIY Face Mask

by Jordan Bissell

The face mask game has exploded with possibilities in the last few years. Now, you can buy a face mask infused with real gold, glitter masks, and even plastic-y masks that, TBH, kind of make you look a little like a serial killer. But if you need to give your skin a boost in a pinch and want the clean ingredients and quick assembly of a DIY mask, it’s helpful to have a few staple items on-hand to make your own. Do you want to know how to make a face mask with food using only two ingredients? Skyler Bouchard, the host of Food Network’s Snapchat series Treat Yourself with Skyler, has you covered.

See, by using face mask ingredients that you can also eat, you can cut down on waste and ensure you’re putting safe, natural substances on your body's largest organ, aka your skin. And believe me when I say there's no one better to ask about all things food than Skyler Bouchard, who you might recognize as Dining with Skyler on Instagram.

Bouchard, a super cool food blogger and entrepreneur, has been playing around with skincare and mixing unique foods in the blender since she was 11 years old, and she tells me in an exclusive interview with Elite Daily that experimenting with simple avocado and olive oil masks helped teach her how to bring skincare and the kitchen together.

The key to making a good face mask out of food, Bouchard says, is to use what's best for your individual skin type.

Bouchard says her skin is very dry, so she loves putting coconut oil on it — either plain or mixed with some sugar to create a great exfoliant. One of the perks of this ingredient, she tells Elite Daily, is its versatility for travel. Bouchard jets around the world constantly, tasting spectacular foods in other countries, and she says the plastic jars that coconut oil typically comes in help make it a great travel beauty product. “Instead of packing a bunch of lotions and face masks to go traveling, you can literally pack one jar of coconut oil,” she says.

But if, like me, your face tends to fall on the oilier side, Bouchard says you may not want to add an external oil to your face. Instead, she recommends using Manuka honey, which “has antibacterial properties that open up your pores, which helps clean them out,” she tells Elite Daily.

Plus, if you're worried about breakouts, this powerhouse ingredient may be able to help: "Its anti-inflammatory effects can decrease acne inflammation, and as an antibacterial, it leaves few bacteria to infect pores and cause acne," dermatologist Karen Hammerman, M.D., of Schweiger Dermatology Group, told Women's Health in an interview back in March.

And if your skin falls somewhere between oily and dry, there's no need to pick one of these ingredients over the other. Bouchard suggests mixing coconut oil and Manuka honey for an easy, nourishing DIY mask.

But even a food and beauty expert like Bouchard still has some face mask ingredients on her yet-to-try list.

When she traveled to South Africa, for instance, she tells me she learned all about the anti-inflammatory properties of washing your face with water that rooibos tea has been steeped in. The delicious tea has also been scientifically proven to be a significant source of antioxidants, and promote liver health when ingested.

Another country that fascinates the food blogger is Indonesia, where she says she’s captivated by how many women use rice water from rice paddies to wash their faces. She tells Elite Daily there’s a milk property in rice water that apparently really nourishes the skin: “I’m surprised it really hasn’t become a thing in the U.S." she says.

Curious about the skin benefits of even more unusual face masks? Bouchard tells Elite Daily that an upcoming episode of Treat Yourself with Skyler will feature a mask made of caviar and another yet-to-be-revealed ingredient. Does that sound a little too out there? Bouchard admits that it seems a little bizarre, but when you look at the science behind it, it makes sense. “People take fish oil supplements all the time because it’s packed with omega 3s and omega 6 fatty acids,” the food blogger says. “To put that on your face really makes sense because they can apparently help with regenerating collagen, and those fats are really good for the skin.”

Even better, you can spread a little leftover caviar on a piece of toast afterward if you're feeling snacky, Bouchard recommends. In fact, she tells me when it came to her avocado face mask, she “genuinely dipped chips into it." Hey, I'm not judging. If anything, I'm actually really hungry now.