While we’ll admit it can be fun to channel your inner Martha Stewart once in a while and whip up an at-home, do-it-yourself mask or scrub, most of us don’t have the time (or let’s be honest, the inclination) to pull together a homemade beauty treatment—and then clean it all up afterwards.
Save yourself the time and effort by test-driving these masks, scrubs and eye treatments, which use the same natural and effective DIY ingredients—without the mess and the fuss. After all, at-home spa treatments are supposed to be relaxing!
1Papaya
The tropical fruit is a natural exfoliant. Papaya contains enzymes that dissolve dead skin cells and promote cell turn over, preventing plugged up pores and dull-looking skin. Try June Jacobs Spa Collection Papaya Purifying Enzyme Masque, which contains—you guessed it—papaya enzyme to smooth skin, the anti-inflammatory borage seed oil extract, moisturizing aloe vera and nourishing almond oil extract. The mask is also safe for sensitive skin types.
2Cucumber
While kicking back in a robe with a slice of cucumber placed over each eye is the quintessential spa image, you can still utilize cucumber’s cooling and soothing benefits without covering yourself in vegetables. Go the easy but still natural route with Yes To Cucumbers Soothing Eye Gel, which deflates puffiness, lightens up dark circles and tightens and cools your skin.
3Yogurt
The dairy delight is a beauty mask staple. Yogurt contains lactic acid, an alpha hydroxy acid that helps to soften dry, rough skin naturally. Rather than messing with a perfectly good carton of yogurt, try DairyFace Green Tea Magic, which is made from pro-biotic yogurt—you store it in your fridge, not in your medicine cabinet! The mask also contains skin-smoothing olive, almond, apricot and avocado oils, as well as antioxidant-rich green tea, which helps protect the skin from free radicals and soothes skin irritation.
4Honey
The sticky treat has many benefits beyond sweetening your morning cup of tea. Honey is hydrating, contains age-fighting antioxidants and has antibacterial properties (research shows the sweet stuff helps with wound healing). But using it in an at-home skincare recipe can make a real mess. Get the benefits and save yourself some clean-up time with The Body Shop’s Honey and Oat 3-in-1 Scrub Mask, which contains moisturizing honey and glycerin, exfoliating oatmeal grains and Kaolin clay to draw out impurities from the skin.
5Olive oil
Olive oil floods your skin with hydration and is loaded with anti-aging antioxidants, including vitamin E. But rather than slathering yourself in salad dressing, try Candy’s Organics Rescue Me! Scrub, which is based on Candy’s grandmother’s own at-home scrub recipe and uses all natural, 100 percent organic ingredients—olive oil, citrus plant extracts, raw organic honey, almonds and sea salt. And you get some good karma with it: A portion of the proceeds from every jar sold is donated to help animal shelters and to clean up our oceans.
But don’t forget your lips—they need some lovin’, too. Olive oil also helps banish a parched pout. Mount of Olive’s Olive Oil Lip Balm contains super-moisturizing organic extra virgin olive oil, as well as pumpkin seed oil. The balm is also safe for people with nut allergies.
6Pumpkin
This tasty fall favorite isn’t just for making pies. When used in skincare treatments, pumpkin enzyme helps dissolve dead skin cells without using harsh scrubs that do more harm than good. The result? Your skin is super-soft and smooth. Try Renée Rouleau Pumpkin Smoothing Peel, which contains exfoliating pumpkin, papaya and pineapple enzymes and corn meal grains for baby-smooth skin, as well as antioxidant-rich green tea extract and beta carotene (vitamin A). Even better, it’s gentle enough to use on sensitive skin.
7Sugar
The sweet stuff gently sloughs off dead skin cells, leaving you with silky skin from head-to-toe. Sugar scrubs are a great alternative to the more abrasive salt scrubs (you wanted to keep your top layer of skin intact, right?). Try Lather Pink Grapefruit and Ginger Sugar Body Scrub, which has exfoliating sugar, super-hydrating shea butter, antioxidant-rich green tea extract, arnica extract (an anti-inflammatory) and organic aloe vera.
