Eyes are the windows to the soul, or at least that’s what people say. For most people eyes are the window to how tired, old, or just plain exhausted you are.
Dry skin, puffiness, and dark circles under the eyes can cause you to look a lot older than you truly are.
For most people, the work week hustle doesn’t leave a lot of time for spa treatments and mud baths. That may leave you wondering what you can do at home to make your own eye masks.
Break Out the Potatoes
Surprisingly potatoes are a frequent ingredient in eye masks. Many beauty bloggers note that potatoes are great at getting rid of dark bags under the eyes and wrinkles because they are a wonderful source of beta carotene and antioxidants.
While the people at Homemade Masks recommend that you mix potatoes, olive oil and honey for your face mask, those at Natural Facial Cares note you can simply take a slice of potato and place it on your eyelid for 15 to 20 minutes to get the effects of the potato.
Two great recipes for potato eye masks
1. Mix potato juice with cucumber juice and blot under your eyes to help tackle dark circles.
2. Take one medium potato, 1 tbsp of honey and 1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil; peel the potato and finely grate it. Mix the ingredients to form a paste. Leave the paste on your eyes for half an hour. Rinse with warm water.
Tea Bags
I happen to be a huge fan of tea bags as an eye mask because they are perfectly self-contained and they require little cleanup.
Using herbal tea bags also encourages you to drink more herbal teas, which is always a good thing.
When using tea bags as an eye mask, you are going to want to refrigerate used tea bags until they are cool but still damp.
Place the damp tea bags over your eyes to help reduce swelling and dark circles under your eyes.
When you’re done simply toss the bags into the trash and gently wash your face with water.
Egg Whites
Egg whites are a great binding agent for your eye mask. Hello Glow has a great recipe using aloe vera, egg whites, and shredded carrots.
When you whip the egg whites, they will become frothy and help bind the other ingredients together. It is good at holding things like herbs, and shredded ingredients together.
If you want to use juices in an eye mask, try using egg whites as your binding agent. The whipped peaks of the egg whites will allow you to spread all the ingredients evenly.
Coconut Oil
This moisturizing oil is a great base ingredient for any facial mask that targets your crows feet.
While it is nearly impossible to get rid of wrinkles that you already have, a coconut oil face mask will certainly reduce your chances of getting additional lines at the corners of your eyes.
You can mix any of the inflammation reducing agents, like cucumber, potato juice, or even carrots in with coconut oil to get both effects.
Combining moisturizing and anti-inflammatory ingredients into one eye mask will allow you to spend less time treating your eyes.
There are plenty of options available for you to make your own eye mask at home. Depending on what you’re looking at targeting, you can reduce your chances of new wrinkles, moisturize, reduce redness, or reduce black circles under your eyes.
The key to making your perfect under eye mask is choosing the right binding agent. Honey and egg whites make ideal options since most people have these on hand in their kitchens anyway.
When making your eye mask try not to make more than you’re going to use at one time, especially if using items like whipped egg whites.
