Aloe Vera Face Mask

It’s been a while since I have uploaded a treat yourself but that doesn’t mean they haven’t been happening. I have been experimenting a lot in the kitchen with DIY’s but all that is for a later point in time. At the moment we’re going to discuss something that I have wanted to get my hands on for a very long time. Freshly cut Aloe Vera. No not bought in the store but from the actual plant that someone who knows what they are doing cut for me. The knowing how to cut the plant is very important, at least so I have been told. Either way I have some fresh Aloe Vera to play with👏🏽. Thanks to my lovely parents who brought it for me from Curaçao. Now I can finally try an Aloe Vera Face Mask.

Apart from the fact that my parents brought the Aloe for me, it is actually easily found in the Caribbean and warmer countries as it is more ingrained in the (Latin) culture. So I’m a 100% sure that this is pure Aloe Vera, without any added substances (EU store-bought Aloe Vera often have that😒). A fact that to me is very important. Now Aloe Vera can be used for many many things, such as calming the skin, antibacterial properties, heal burn wounds, wrinkle prevention and acne. I have some acne scars left and the occasional skin irritation so I thought I’d use it to make an Aloe Vera face mask. In order to actually do this treat yourself you have to do some practical stuff beyond just having access to pure Aloe Vera.

The Aloe Vera is frozen in order to preserve it better, obviously it cannot go on your face frozen so you have to defrost it. What I do is defrost the whole jar and take out enough for about three masks once it is defrosted. Defrosting in this case means putting it in the fridge instead of the freezer, never leave it out because it will spoil way faster!! I usually leave it in the fridge for about 4 hours, then I transfer what I need to a smaller jar and put the big one back in the freezer. The reason I take out enough Aloe Vera for about three masks is because the constant defrosting makes it spoil faster so I try to limit that process as much as possible.

I try face mask all the time, some great ones to try are the baking soda face mask or if you want a more luxurious one perhaps the Cleopatra Gold mask. You can also type ”face mask” in the search bar and you’ll find lots more!

Now that I have ‘’reharvested’’ my Aloe Vera I can finally apply it to my face. Now you can mix it with a multitude of essential oils, which is something I might do in the future, but for now I did it pure. This caused a little hiccup. The Aloe Vera stinks. Like really really reek. It kinda smells like an old used sweaty sock left in a gym bag for 39867737879 years. So my nose didn’t get treated however my face very much did. I think I’m going to categorize the smell in this treat yourself as the ‘’price of beauty’’🤔🤷🏽? It was a small price to pay for the actual benefits that I got because my face was baby soft, moisturized and very calm. Any redness was treated very well by the Aloe Vera.

Normally I do face masks at night, but for some reason I managed to work this in, in my morning routine every other day approximately for the past month. My skin has been loving it. I can actually see my acne scars becoming a bit lighter so I very much am onto something. I leave the Aloe Vera face mask on for about 20 minutes. I use that time to prep my mind for the day ahead. Either by reading, meditating or listening to some motivational speeches. These 20 minutes are so great because instead of that feeling of rushing through getting dressed, I actually stop and appreciate the process of everyday self-care.

Just one last thing the smell of the Aloe Vera goes down while the mask is on your face but as soon as you start washing it off with warm water the smell is right back in its full force. A handy-dandy side effect of that is that you’ll definitely be awake if you do it in the morning.  

Aloe Vera, apart from the smell, creates a long-lasting feeling of being treated.

Love,

DCPR.