All Natural Soothing, Bacteria Killing, Pimple Zapping, Exfoliating Miracle Mask

Ingredients:

• 5 small-medium strawberries
• 1/4 cup papaya seeds & meat
• 1″ chunk of medium cucumber
• 1 lime, juiced
• 3/4 cup cornstarch

How to prepare:

• DO NOT remove the leaves from the strawberries.
• Scoop the papaya seeds out of the center of a papaya. A small papaya will yield just about double the amount of seeds. You will find you’ll accidentally grab some of the papaya meat with the seeds. This is totally fine!
• Cut off a 1-inch chunk of a medium cucumber, and chop into smaller chunks for easier blending.
• Juice the lime.
• Add everything except the cornstarch to your blender. Blend until smooth, then add the cornstarch powder and continue to blend until well mixed.

EXTRA RECIPE INFO

• Approximately 5-10 “servings”
• Keeps for up to 7 days when refrigerated
• The papaya seeds will not blend perfectly and will be almost like ground peppercorns. That is totally OK!

USAGE INSTRUCTIONS

• As always, it is wise to check for allergies by using a patch of skin such as the back of your hand before covering your face.
• (Optional step) First, use a soft washcloth moistened with very warm water. Wipe your face with the cloth to open your pores.
• Gently using your middle and ring finger, rub the mask on your whole face. (The papaya seeds will gently exfoliate as you rub this into your skin.)
• Let the mask sit on your skin for 10-60 minutes. It will start to cake up and dry out, which is perfectly fine.
• When you are ready, use your dry hands to rub off the mask. This will be another form of exfoliation!
• Finally rinse your face with clean water and then use a clean washcloth to remove any last bits and dry your face.

• Strawberries (like most berries!) contain naturally occuring salicylic acid and many phytonutrients. In fact, manufacturers for commercial acne products extract the salicylic acid from strawberries!
• Papaya seeds have incredibly effective antibacterial properties (they can even kill Salmonella or E. Coli!). In FACT, papaya seeds help to kill intestinal parasites when ingested, as well. (My mother-in-law comes from a long line of Native American Indians here in Brazil, and she educated me about this recently!)
• Cucumbers are well-known for their skin-soothing and healing properties.
• Limes (and lemons as well) are natural astringents and help to lighten spots and skin discoloration.
• Corn starch powder can be replaced with ANY thickening agent, such as arrowroot powder. Its primary purpose is to thicken the mask.